Willmore Adventures: Pinkies and Penguins

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It’s been rather a while since writing my last post, and it’s a house move that has kept us busy. Add to this a break in Cape Town with Laurence’s sisters, a few trips to hospital with Joel and Amelie, and an expensive lightning strike, and you will have a complete picture of Willmore life in South Africa these past four months.

Cape Town, 2020

Let us begin with the hospital trips… Way back in September, when life was no less simple, we decided to take the children ice skating to celebrate Amelie’s 10th birthday. Outnumbered three children to two adults, we stepped on to the ice; and with the dangerous combination of over confidence and lack of skill, we began our ice-skating adventure. A rogue plastic penguin spinning out of control towards Joel was to begin the day’s drama, as it caused him to fall, and in turn caused Elowen to skate over his finger. Ouch! One child off to hospital. Laurence and the girls continued their speed skating extravaganza weaving through the crowds and building on their once-a-year experience on ice. Suddenly, someone skated across Amelie’s path forcing her to perform the lesser known ‘shoulder on ice’ stop, a.k.a. a nasty shoulder breaking fall. Off to a different hospital with Amelie we went (to preserve parental dignity) to end what was a somewhat disastrous birthday outing, but one quite fitting for the year 2020.

Joel with his pinkie glued together

Amelie in a sling with a nasty crack
to her humerus

We escaped Johannesburg in the school holidays that followed, for a break in Cape Town, and stayed with Laurence’s sisters, who live in this coastal capital city, and who indulge in the surfing, snorkeling, sailing, and trail running lifestyle that is on offer. Cape Town lies on the South West tip of Africa where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. The latter is a lot colder and fiercer, so with children in tow, and my love of ice-cold water waning, we opted for the beaches on the Indian Ocean side, and truly embraced the magic of the seaside. With South Africa’s borders still shut at this point and therefore beaches quite empty, we indulged in rock climbing at Windmill Beach, an area of outstanding natural beauty; being chased by waves at Fish Hoek; burying Joel in the sand at Llandudno; and even seeing real penguins in their natural habitat near Boulders Beach; it was the perfect antidote to six months inside, (and an opportunity for Joel to make his peace with the penguins).

Rock climbing at Windmill Beach

Being chased by waves at Fish Hoek

A Joel head on Llandudno Beach

A baby penguin in the bushes
surrounding Boulders Beach

The calm of Cape Town was to precede the storm of Johannesburg, metaphorically and literally, as we prepared to move to a new house in October, and as we entered Johannesburg’s season of stormy weather. It was a stressful move, as they always are, and it was sad to say goodbye to our little community (or cluster) of ten houses, but it was exciting to move out of a rental and into a house of our own; a beautiful, thatched house that could be mistaken for a game lodge if it were not for the surrounding suburbia. Eight days into house ownership, and in the middle of a game of hide and seek however, a particularly ferocious storm arrived. Safe in the knowledge that our thatch has a lightning conductor to protect it, we innocently carried on with our game, naïve to our impending doom! The lightning struck us with an almighty crack, causing the house alarm to ring out, the lights to go off and the children to emerge from cupboards screaming. It was the ground that was hit, and with an electric gate, fence, and sprinkler system on a long list of things to repair, we have learnt that electrics in a Johannesburg house require surge protection and a lot of crossed fingers during an electrical storm. Let’s hope the saying rings true that lightning never strikes the same place twice, and that our next game of hide and seek is somewhat less dramatic!

Goodbye Bishopstone

Hello Acacia House!

Testing out the new pool...

The Buttercup 2 Preschool in the township of Cosmo City has gone from strength to strength in the last three months. October saw many newcomers as people started to find work again post lockdown and require childcare. With fourteen children attending, and many more signed up to start in 2021, a new room is being built by the landlord to accommodate the growing preschool. It is quite an incredible turn around and would not have been possible without support from the UK, so thank you very much to all those who have helped over the course of this year.

So, as we come to the end of a crazy, unpredictable year, and the end to our second year of Willmore Adventures in South Africa, there is a real sense of Mother Nature being at the centre of it all. For us it has been in her awesome beauty in Cape Town, her incredible power in an electrical storm in Johannesburg, and her ability to bring society to a standstill with the global pandemic. There have been many reactions to this pandemic, but the support shown to Buttercup 2 Preschool from my friends in the UK is something to treasure, and a light in the darkness of 2020.

I hope you all had a peaceful Christmas in whatever form that took, and I look forward, with hope, to a better 2021 for everyone.

Lots of love,

Jess xxx

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A few extra photos...