Wild weather continues

43 degrees one day flooded the next.

 Not sure how the fringe organisers will be feeling about the opening of the fringe tomorrow with Rymill Park under water. (facebook photo)

The new pool

When it's 40, throwing yourself in the pool is just the ticket.

The latest use for the hills hoist...a shady pergola

Lucky ostriches!

Shanty towns under the shadow of Table Mountain.

Brave parking.

Not fearful of a tow this guy parks right next to the warning sign at Table Mountain, Cape Town.

U.S. Spying.....(?!)

Happy Australia Day 2014

Women's work...Botswana

A mere 20kg each...on their heads!!!

Table mountain table cloth

Our last view of Table mountain with its customary cloth of cloud draped over it. 

 

Nelson Mandela's tooth

The Shenton tradition with fallen teeth is not to call on the tooth fairy but to offer the tooth to whatever exotic location is on offer. This time India thought her tooth would be a fitting tribute to Nelson Mandela so we placed it surreptitiously in his exercise yard at Robben Island where he had hidden his manuscript for "The Long Walk to Freedom"

Dalai Lama meets Neldon Mandela

As I prepared to meet Nelson  Mandela I considered that his reputation was in fact larger than anyone else's. But only in this case was the individual much larger than his reputation. ~ his holiness the Dalai Lama.

Unbelievable!

This rotating gondola from the summit of table mountain has to be seen to be believed! Fabulous!!

Botox

Can't imagine this form of advertising works well to sell Botox....but...I guess you never know.

The freeway to nowhere..,.

Thirty two years ago the SA government realised that the 2 ends of the by pass were not going to meet. Nothing has changed since then and the centre of Cape Town has this eyesore awaiting completion.

Dried Ostrich snack anyone?

Preparing the Braai

Cape Town

Sons

Sons have always a rebellious wish to be disillusioned by that which charmed their fathers~Aldous Huxley

How can one resist

Meringues from Gruyere with double cream from the same region are IMPOSSIBLE to resist.

South bar within

1000 year history

Skipton Castle, built in 1090 has had a torrid history of attacks and sieges, that has seen the likes of the Lord of Bolton Abbey, Oliver Cromwell, and Lady Anne Clifford. Being one if the best preserved medieval castles in England it's well worth a look in, to imagine how the Tudors lived and survived so many years ago.

Someone is watching you.

At the Raf Menwith Hill facility there are cameras posted at very regular intervals along the fence line and nearby roads. I'm not sure what  or who they are protecting/hiding.

Resentment

Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.~Nelson Mandela

Swiss chocolate

Farewell whistler

Feels like a Disneyland queue

Keen cyclist

Puts theAdelaide cyclist to shame really who doesn't even get out when it rains.

Fresh tracks

Best day on the slopes yesterday after a dump of fresh snow and locals to show us the hidden  powder bowls out back.

The abominable snowman

Bodhi was NOT happy!

Tea time

De-icing the plane

Twins

Today's travellers

Together again.

Mum and both babies relieved to be reunited in the breathing world. 

Well done Natasha and Paul! 

Freshly squeezed

Baby Aurra minutes after her birth and half an hour before her twin brother Einar arrived. Birth sure us a miracle. 

The poo log

The guest book at the mccabes is in the toilet and gives one the opportunity to be creative with their daily ablutions. There is even space for those creative ones amongst us to draw their sample.

Yorkshire "Tour de France"

North Yorkshire is gearing up for the  "tour de France" which starts here in 2014!

Anyone feel like a fry up?

Our local Abbey ruins

Walk your way across England

One of the many walking paths that criss cross thorough this country, remnant of ancient pathways that today's local farmers cannot change or prohibit.

Winter is coming

A taste of cold yet to come to North Yorkshire 

York

One of the many gates leading into the centuries old, walled city of York with its narrow alleyways cobbled streets and very festive Christmas atmosphere.

Cattle sales at Malton

Paul and I took the opportunity to join with the local farmers at the weekly cattle market. The bulls were first judged and  awarded prizes then, wearing their merit badges and ranking numbers they were lined up in the corral, first to be weighed then paraded...with the onloookers silently nodding their bids.

The red glowing digits record the weght of the animal and the bids are in pence/kilo.

The beasts sold for up to $2300 each....to the happy butchers around the ring. 

A visit to the tailor

For three centuries this tailor shop, next door to Natasha and Paul's Yew Tree cottage, has been in operation, handed down from generation to generation. These days Peter is still making garments for the high and mighty but spend the majority of his time outfitting riders for the hunt. His scissors handed down from his father have NEVER been sharpened

A brace of pheasants

In preparation for the festive season the wild games is lined up outside the local butchers...a bargain if you're prepared to do the plucking

Joy of flying

The best thing about flying is having a window seat to gaze at the amazingly diverse world of humanity continuing  it's daily routines below. Here I can see hundreds of ships coming and going around the port of Singapore and I can imagine the smells and the humidity they must be enduring.