5674 miles for a tweet up

Many years a go I met Suzi, @cantbarsed2, aged 14. We were friends for 2 years only, till she left our home town and moved to London.

I visited her in London many times and we last saw each other, aged 20 in 1992, after I stayed at her flat for the night prior to flying to Barcelona to the Olympic games. I had a baby by then and our lives went in different directions.

3 years ago we rediscovered one another on friends reunited, a few chats, added one another on facebook, tea bags were sent...PG Tips of course.

I reconnected we Suzi via twitter June/July 2011 and I invited her out to visit, work got in the way for her, but we became friends again.

I went back to the UK in December 2011 and we met for a couple of hours over lunch at our old local pub and we got on wonderfully. The visit was too short.

10 days ago I collected Suzi from OR Tambo airport, our first proper time together for 20 years. Her plane landed early and I was just pulling up in the carpark, she must've thought it was a big wind up when she walked through arrivals and I wasn't there to meet her.

We have spent the 10 days, gossiping, catching up on 20yrs with no real knowledge of one anothers lives, sharing both the good and the bad times.

We all got on really well, the kids responded to her, hubby got on with her really well, she even unloaded the dishwasher and swept the floor...without being asked or having it suggested...lol

We went to see Rhinos

We went to Pilanesburg to see the Elephants

We went to Krugersdorp to see the Lions

Sandton City shopping

Soweto

A day lazing in the garden, with our newly adopted cat (it adopted us)

Walking with giraffes and zebras at Groenkloof

Lesedi Cultural village and Cheetah reserve

Centurion Mall

Suzi left South Africa this evening. I am sad to see her go, she will hopefully be back in June, if work gets in the way I'll see her in the UK in August.

It won't be 20 years before we meet up again.

Does anyone else have a friend like this?

February's newsletter home

February’s Newsletter
Another busy month, more experiences, new place, people. It sounds all very glam and some of it is, but there is still and always will be the underlying fear for personal safety and although we’ve been exploring further afield, it is impossible to put into words what it’s like to do things that sound so normal when we were in the UK.
We’re starting to make some very good friends and can’t believe it has taken over a year to build and nurture a support network. We nearly lost all our hard work when the company explored the possibility of us moving to a smaller estate with cheaper housing. It wasn’t far away but would’ve have meant we no longer had access to where our friends were making it impossible for the kids to play or for us to just pop in for a coffee or have friends pop into us without booking in at the gate, scanning driving licences and vehicle details.
We are still having issues with the post and it only arrives after we go to the post office, demand they search for our mail, assuming it’s got past customs, and then wait a few days for it to be delivered, so we apologise if you’ve sent us anything and we’ve not acknowledged it. Surface mail takes 56 days to reach us and the only way we can guarantee delivery is if it is sent by recorded delivery and then you’ll need to tell us the tracking number so we can chase its actual arrival to us. Cards and letters marked as ‘printed papers only’ seem to have a greater success rate and anything with your name and address on the back has some chance of being returned to you. The second anyone puts a declaration of what’s inside, you can forget it; it’ll not get past customs.
Not working, studying or having young children is making it harder to make friends. There are lots of activities, groups advertised which we’ve joined but most take place in the evenings and with Peter working it’s not all that safe for Suzanne driving alone at night. A simple journey home from friends in Jo’burg after a meal was a hair raising experiences for us both in the dark. Suzanne has been knitting and has purchased a sewing machine for her to have something to do, that’s how desperate things have got.
We had a fab trip into Soweto with a guy who is from there and now works with Peter; he drove us round the tourist spots and took us to his family home to meet his cousins. We felt safer in Soweto than certain parts of the UK and it was so clean and tidy, even round the market areas and the shopping Malls are huge. We drove round the world cup stadium.

 
Suzanne ventured off into Pretoria to get her Police Clearance check so she can start to apply for work, but with the law here, unless she changes the colour of her skin and her nationality things don’t look too good. After having fingerprints taken, it was a trip into Pretoria, the capital to hand them in and took advantage of a walk around the city, which is something we don’t get to do here, usually everything is behind a security fence and it’s not somewhere one would go in the evening.

We took the boys camping to Bela Bela, about 90 minute drive north to go camping for 2 nights. Your tent is pitched for you for about £5, which stopped all the arguing that goes with camping and we had access to the water parks for the pools, wave machines and slides with a nominal charge for go karting and the pedalo’s. There was plenty of shade in the park and a Spur steak house and small shop. We were able to walk into the town, built in the 70’s and nothing done since for gas, coals and meat for the Braai.

March sees Suzanne’s old school friend coming out for 10 days, then the schools are shut in April, so we will be going back to Bela Bela and off to Durban for a week. Jamie is out in May and by that time, Suzanne will know if she’s been successful with her application to work at the London Olympics and we can then book our UK trip. Peter is off to Egypt for a week for a meeting and hopes to have a work trip to the UK soon. Dan is busy with his football at TUK’s, his Rugby with school and his upcoming matches and weekend tours. Alex is still busy being Alex and he wants a disco for his 13th, which he’s going to DJ to show off his lasers and music equipment. We are also looking at Scuba Diving lessons for him during the holidays.

I was disappointed that Soweto exceeded my expectations...

or bullet holes of Soweto....or walking in Mandela's footsteps.

A colleagues of my hubby offered to take us into Soweto to show us where he was born and raised.

We met him at the services on the N1 and he hoped behind the wheel of our car and drove to Soccer City. Such an iconic/familiar sight of the World Cup 2010.

We drove round the outside of the building, stopped for a few pictures then drove into Orlando East to the Hector Peterson museum.

Hector Peterson was a 13 year old boy who was shot and killed on June 16th 1976 in the Soweto uprising, after the government tried to enforce all teaching in schools to be in Afrikkans. Hector's body was carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo (an 18-year-old school boy and a photographer, Sam Nzima, snapped the picture of them along with their sister, which came to symbolise the people's struggles.

Inside the museum there is a quote from the children's mother saying that her son was not an icon in life, therefore should not be an icon in death.
I left the museum struggling to hold back the tears, any child identified of school age was a possible target and kids as young as 6 were shot by snipers.
Obviously as in any war/battle/conflict there are two sides to every story, but this was the people of Soweto's.

We then drove to a Catholic church, Regina Mundi, despite faith, this was the church where all the funerals of the Soweto uprising were held, it is also where the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings were held between 1995 to 1998, presided over by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The church was often used for anti-apartheid activities that were banned in South Africa at the time.

The church seats 2,000 people with room for a further 5,000 standing.

During the Soweto uprising, students sought refuge there, but were stormed by the police after tear gas was thrown inside and fired bullets in the church. No one was killed although many were injured and the tour guide was more than happy to point out the bullet holes in the ceiling.

The stain glass windows depict the uprising and the death of Hector Peterson and the church houses a painting of the Black Madonna by Larry Scully in 1973. I'm sure the guide does this with everyone, but he placed me where Mandela stood.

Next stop...Nelson Mandelas house

WOW....going back to the title of my blog, I wasn't disappointed with the house, the street or even Soweto, I had a set of expectations that were much lower. Have you ever been to the Louvre? Seen the Mona Lisa? People tell you it's a small painting and until you see it you can't explain how small you thought it would be...it's the same with Las Vegas, it's big, but until you actually get there, what you imagine as being big, is nothing on how actually big Vegas is. It was exactly like that for me in Soweto so called as it is a South West Township. But Soweto isn't a township any more, the roads are tarmac, their are huge Malls, markets, petrol stations, car washes, banks, in fact there are parts of the UK that Soweto would put in the shade. The houses, yes houses, were smart, tidy, freshly painted, flowers in the garden, it was safe, felt safe as we drove, parked the car. My expectations of Soweto were low and they needn't have been.

Hubbies colleague took us to his Grans house, he told us she couldn't read and write and was determined that her children and grandchildren would have an education and they did including her grandson with a degree and a successful career in finance. He drove us to his Mothers house, she was away on holiday and her maid was looking after the house for the week.

I will be going back to Soweto, I want to go to a match in Orlando and at Soccer City. I shall be taking family and friends there to do the tour (all sign posted) we will have lunch there and do some shopping.

Soweto was a lovely place to be.

January's Letter home

So it's been over a year now since we arrived, still so many things to see, places to go and things to sort. This month I've been tackling a list of complaints and renewals for car and house insurance.
The UK Banks Santander and HSBC (overdrafts, change of address and missold policies)
Vodafone (lack of customer service)
Britannia removal firm (their continued failure to reply to my emails asking for help, which yes has now been resolved but all by me, funny that I don't recall paying myself 4K to do it)
Barlowworld Toyota (we will get back to you in 4 days, 11th Jan, in regards to the silly little problem of replacing a valve)
I've synced my diaries...well written down everything off all the bits of paper that have come home from school onto the wall calender and my handbag diary.
Written birthday cards up till the end of March for MIL to post from the UK, sent just as many emails to family and friends, updated facebook, twitter and my blogs and started an Instagram of a picture a day to reflect where i've been, what I've seen or what I've done.

So this months letter home is as follows. I've obviously personalised it with each and everyone.

'Wanted to wait a while before replying just in case anything exciting happened, like a herd of elephants on a drive or an unexpected trip to Bloemfontein or Alex back in hospital after a Heely accident.
Peter's mum was here for 3 weeks, it was lovely to have her, this is the 2nd full day with the kids back in school since she left and I'm missing the company..oh well...cant have it all.
We were in Durban for 3 days it was 40c and 89% humidity without any clouds, so hot our skin literally peeled off our bodies.
Dan was 17 this month and he went with Peter and his mates to Wanderers stadium in Jo'burg to watch SA v Sri Lanka, they were sitting right behind the batsman and were omn the telly every shot, they had a fab day, I stayed home watching crappy films and sleeping.
Alex is fine after his heely accident (official version was a stone jammed under his wheel, I suspect he was being towed by his mates in a golf cart) just a massive black eye which a week on is now green, bless him, the following day he was off to Durban on his school trip and Dan was somewhere in the mountains on his. Peter and I took the opportunity to drive to Bloemfontein for a night away (5 hr journey, combined with work) but it was time away without the kids, which is always nice.
We are starting to make a network of friends now on the estate and have started a school lift share, which I love, Peter takes to school and two other parents collect Alex after school and Dan after sport, I've given the kids a key so I dont have to rush back from swimming at the gym or shopping.
Jamie is coming out in May for 2 weeks, that's the hardest part of living here, is not just being there for the kids when they need us, probably would've gone months without seeing him in the uk anyway...lol. An old school friend is coming to stay also in March, I've seen her once in 20 years and that was in December, will be interesting to see how we get on. We are off for lunch in Soweto next month with a guy we met who is from there.
Still no word from the olympics, im resigned to the fact i havent got it, that way it will be a nice surprise.
Love to everyone
Suzanne and Peter'

I've also set myself a few tasks for February and hope that writing them down on my blog will prompt me to get on with them and blog them next month.

Get a post box...I'm fed up of post being stolen/going missing. We had one birthday card and one letter from the UK and two bills from Telkom arrive in January, the first post since October.

Plan a trip to Soweto for lunch out, make gifts, sort photos, find out if I've got the Olympic gig, book son's flight, get Dan's provisional driving licence (no additional charge for family members on insurance with OUTsurance) I have an appointment to see Discovery about how med aid works (fed up of being fobbed off by agent) I need to get my police check sorted so I can donate some more time with The Baby house and I have a few leads to follow about volunteer teaching in an informal settlement in Mamelodi.