There's snow in Africa?

Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa

In the depths of an African winter, we have continued to explore this awesome continent. We celebrated the winter solstice with a festival at Joel's school, followed by a wonderful skiing holiday high up in the Maloti Mountains, in the Kingdom of Lesotho. Not your average June or July, with the absence of Pimm's and Wimbledon, but some incredible experiences to treasure.

The second term at school ended in particular fashion as Joel's school celebrated the winter solstice with the Festival of St John. Originally to celebrate light in the height of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it also suits a cold dark night with lanterns and a bonfire. At Joel's school, the children passing from primary to secondary school, which happens at thirteen in South Africa, celebrate their transition by lighting the bonfire with a javelin style throw of a torch, followed by a jump over the lit bonfire (A British health and safety crisis in the making).

The primary school children carrying their torches to the bonfire. 

The transition to secondary school with a jump through the fire

With only a few sizzling and smokey shoes later, it was everyone else's turn to take on the bonfire, and Amelie and Elowen were in their element as they charged over it. We followed many rounds of fire jumping with a warm soup in the school courtyard, which was lit up with lanterns and twinkling lights. I, all of a sudden, felt like I had been transported to a beautiful and atmospheric European Christmas market. I loved the Christmas spirit which I found had been absent in December, and was so happy to experience it, albeit in June.

Amelie and Elowen jumping over the bonfire.

Some of the school children's homemade lanterns.

In the school courtyard with the lanterns and lights.

Joel didn't come to the evening festivities as the nursery school children can only attend when they start primary school, but had their own mini festival during school time. Prior to experiencing the evening myself, I had assumed that Joel's day had involved some homemade lantern waving and a few songs, but after further investigation and to my surprise, it had also included some fire jumping as well. I had a chuckle to myself; of course it did, we are in Africa after all.

We entered into the school holidays enjoying the warm sunny days, and then wrapping up in blankets with hot water bottles, for the bitterly cold evenings. The girls enjoyed a week of holiday club at a local church, after which our exciting skiing holiday week began.

Laurence's school friend Mike, who I've enjoyed getting to know over the past thirteen years, and his amazing wife Yvette invited us to go on holiday with them, their daughter Rebecca, and their extended family. Laurence's youngest sister, Ashleigh, joined us from Cape Town and we also got to spend some precious time with her too. We began our drive to the remote ski resort in the Kingdom of Lesotho, a mountainous country inside of South Africa. We stayed in a little dorp called Bethlehem en route to the resort so that we could get there early for our first day of skiing. Knowing my frugal ways, Laurence was panicking slightly that I had booked us a stable, but he was proved wrong as we pulled up at an Inn, even if it was opposite Bethlehem's casino!

Off on holiday to Lesotho with Auntie Ash.

Afriski was amazing. The girls were whizzing down the slopes in no time. Elowen spotted a ski park full of lots of quite large and intimidating ski jumps that she decided she wanted to try. My response of, "Maybe one day", seemed to fall on deaf ears as she promptly skied into the park and landed a jump.  As the adult in charge at the time I felt obliged to follow suit even though my heart was in my mouth. I would rather not break my leg skiing again... The resort was small and relaxed, to the point that one day, over lunch, I looked over to the main slope only to see Amelie navigating a slalom course on her own. She did really well but the child supervision package that we'd booked was seemingly a rather loose term. Joel learnt to ski as he snow ploughed and turned down the slopes, which was so lovely to see. If given the choice though, he would have spent the whole week flying down the slopes on an inflatable rubber ring waving at anyone who would care to look in his direction. It was such a special and happy week together.

All three kids in their best spiderman pose
 and ready to ski, outside our lodge.

At the top of the main slope together.

With friends Mike and Yvette

Laurence and Ash on the slopes.

A moment together on the ski lift

Selfie with Elowen

Joel before a successful descent.

Joel in his rubber ring with the ski park in the background.

As with all great holidays, it was sad when it ended, and we began our journey home winding through the beautiful Maloti Mountains. It was amazing to pass through small mountain villages where people were wearing blankets and straw hats, which is the traditional dress in Lesotho. Cattle were pulling carts; people were collecting grass for the roofs of their round houses; men were herding cattle, goats, donkeys and sheep; and children played on the mountain side. We even passed a sign pointing down a dusty track to a mission hospital. It was as rural as it gets, beautiful, and life looked to be extremely hard, particularly in the cold nights of winter. Once back across the boarder into South Africa, we had lunch in a peaceful and picturesque dorp called Clarens before heading home and back to reality.

A round house in the mountains of Lesotho.

A rural mountain village. 

The beautiful Maloti Mountains.

Lunch in the picturesque dorp of Clarens.

We are back to school and work now as Term 3 has begun this week.

It's been a magical month exploring traditions and cultures both at school and in Lesotho, and of course, action packed as ever with some memorable fast and furious skiing with family and friends.

We hope you are enjoying the glorious long summer evenings, all the summer festivals and events, holidays and special time with family and friends.

Lots of love, Jess xxx

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There are Ants in my Sugar!

Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa

We have had a busy 6 weeks here in Africa. There’s been a general election, we’ve delved further into South African history, and burst onto the sporting scene as a family. Grandma has visited from the UK spending a lovely 2 weeks with us, and teaching at the township school is going well, as we reach mid-year and the end of Term 2.

Grandma Carol, visiting from the UK.

South African elections took place in May but realistically only ever have one winner, the African National Congress (ANC), the party formerly run by Nelson Mandela. It has a tall mountain to climb and has been marred with corruption in the last decade, but it does however have a good leader in Cyril Ramaphosa. There are those who are apathetic, those who are frustrated and those who are hopeful about politics and the future of South Africa. Election day is a public holiday here. Whilst we decided to go on safari for the day, people queued at polling stations to cast their vote. In South Africa, you can turn up at any polling station in the country to vote so the verification process for each person is quite lengthy. Everyone is marked with a black line on their thumb nail so that they cannot go to a different polling station to vote again. And social media is awash with photos of voting thumbs as people proudly state that they voted and encourage others to do so.

Propaganda from the biggest 3 parties.
The yellow poster is the ANC.

The ANC, who gained a majority in this year’s general election and who have been ruling for the last 25 years since the end of Apartheid, have an incredible history. Mum and I went to a suburb called Rivonia, which is 5 minutes from where we live in Lonehill, where a museum now stands on the property of an old farm called Lilieslief. Rivonia back in the early 60’s was a rural area occupied by only whites. The ANC, who had been driven underground by the ruling Afrikaans party, secretly bought the farm and covertly ran their head quarters from it. A white family lived in the farmhouse so as not to raise suspicions, and Nelson Mandela worked as Thomas, a farm helper. The ANC had tried for many years by passive means to bring about change in South Africa, but, as the rights for black people were withdrawn, the ANC felt the only way to make the Afrikaans party listen was by force. It was during a meeting where they were plotting to overthrow the government, that an unassuming dry-cleaning van pulled up at the farm. Out jumped the special forces, and the covert operation was over. ‘The Rivonia 10’, both black and white men, faced trial and it was from here that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island. To top off what was an incredible morning, we sat chatting with a gentleman at the museum who told us that he himself had been imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela for 6 years and that Mandela had taught him, with some resistance, that he must befriend ‘the enemy’, the whites, as they were also trapped in the system of Apartheid. A truly amazing story.

Luckily, the one thing that seems to subvert politics is sport and we have thoroughly immersed ourselves in it. Amelie has taken up netball with the girls at school, and after a few lessons in the garden, is absolutely flying, playing both attacking and defensive positions. 

Amelie after her 1st netball match.

Elowen was quite adamant that she wanted to play soccer with the boys. I was surprisingly reluctant to let her, as I had travelled that same path at her age and know the heartache that comes with being different. But she wasn’t fooled by my subtle coercion, and now stands proudly on the soccer pitch shoulder to shoulder (or shoulder to elbow, she’s tiny) with the boys. Go Elowen! 

Elowen getting stuck in at a soccer tournament.

With Grandma and Joel after a soccer match.

All 3 children are playing hockey for our local hockey club at Morningside Country Club. The girls have picked it up quickly and while Joel is happy to go along, he would rather stand with the stick up his top and with his back to the ball. Maybe he’ll be more inclined next year… 

Amelie, Elowen and Joel at a hockey tournament.

I have also started playing hockey again after a few years out, both with the same club as the children and with a Masters’ team (I qualify as a senior in sport!). The former is quite serious with training and a coach, the latter is more relaxed with drinks of the alcoholic variety consumed before, during and after the games. I’m not a drinker myself but it seems to work as we are on a winning streak!

At Riversands Primary School, which is where I teach twice a week, the children are making huge strides in their understanding of English and with their reading and writing. Little Naledi *, who started out this year with very little spoken English has made great progress. She not only knows the sounds of letters but can blend them together and reads 3 letter words beautifully. Her vocabulary has grown, and we have lots of chats about home and what she is learning. 

With little Naledi

Nkosi* however is harder work. He has a very good command of the English language but is really struggling to be able to blend sounds together. After speaking to my sister, Hannah, who is a Special Educational Needs Coordinator in the UK, I am now armed with some tools to help him and make learning fun. We are progressing, just at a slower rate. I’m sure we will get there.

Practising drawing letters in the sand with Nkosi

The charity which runs the reading and writing program, The Link, have 2 buildings on the school property. And sadly, they have both been broken into this past month, twice. The jacks supporting the portacabin have been stolen, and all the cables out of the second building were taken both times, along with our tea urn. It makes you realise what poverty is up against in this township school. Our buildings are now alarmed so hopefully it won’t happen again.

And talking of breaking in… When it starts getting cold outside here, the ants find a way of getting inside the house and become quite a problem. Like us humans they head straight for the sweets cupboard and start living their best life on the honey or in the sugar. I have found that white vinegar seems to disrupt the party, and so it has become my cleaning product of choice. As it begins to warm up again in September, hopefully they will disappear back outside. Until next year…

I hope you are all enjoying the warm summer days and long evenings. We are evermore aware of the incredible history of this country, the lasting effects on society, and all the wonderful sporting opportunities afforded to us out here. Even if it is chilly by night.

Lots of love, Jess xxx

* The children's names have been changed to protect their identity.

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Humans, Humanity and some Fearlessss children…

Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa

We have been on school holidays here in South Africa and it was a stay-cation for us as we explored Johannesburg. We crawled through caves at the Cradle of Humankind, reflected on humanity at Nelson Mandela’s house, and played with some pretty ginormous snakes at a reptile park. All with the addition of Grandpa who visited us from the UK.

Grandpa Kieran and the girls

We had a great day out at the Cradle of Humankind. On the outskirts of Johannesburg lies a complex of caves where two complete skeletons of early man have been discovered. We went underground and travelled through time, learning about the Earth’s history, and also squeezed through some tight gaps (slightly tighter for me than the kids) to see where our ancestors were found. Johannesburg has a pretty unique weather system with almost daily thunder and lightning, often causing fires. The theory here is that we discovered fire from lightning strikes and learnt how to control it to provide heat, to cook and to ward off predators. Oh, how intelligent we are, (except for the two who fell in a cave).

Deep in the caves at the Cradle of Humankind.

The Cradle of Humankind also held an art exhibition which was a parade of statues, each a figure and a personal story, of the resistance to European supremacy over the native Africans. It was called the Long March to Freedom and included tribal kings, missionaries, politicians, lawyers, men and women; all whose personal sacrifice was for the greater good. Humanity prevailed in South Africa when in 1994 freedom was given to all its citizens. This moment was spearheaded by Nelson Mandela whose house we visited in the Township of Soweto, (South West Township), south west of Johannesburg.

The Long March to Freedom

With Nelson and Winnie Mandela leading the way.

We travelled to Vilakazi Street, a massive tourist attraction in Soweto. It is the only street in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners have lived, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Nelson and Winnie Mandela's house was a constant target by the police and where the walls have visible bullet marks in them to prove it. It remained in the family whilst Nelson was in prison for 30 years and Winnie, who tirelessly campaigned during that time, was banned from the area. It is now a little museum where we learnt about their incredible lives. Mama Winnie is revered here as much as Nelson is. The area, however, is still desperately poor and reminded me that, in the words of Nelson Mandela, “It is in your hands to make a better world for all who live in it”. We must all play our part…

Standing on Nelson and Winnie Mandela's porch.

A picture up in the Mandela household.
'Do they call women the weaker sex here too?'

We spent a day at a reptile park in amongst all the silent and stealthy animals of this world. There were snakes, crocodiles, lizards and tortoises. Elowen was very daring when it came to holding some of these creatures, and the bigger they got the broader her smile! Amelie, Joel and I were less overjoyed by the occasion and saw it more as a challenge. Laurence discovered that the smell and taste of his feet were as attractive to a tortoise as a portion of fish and chips is to a British person. Either that or they were after a slice of his pizza, which we duly dropped under the picnic table for them. It was a fun day out if not a little unnerving.

Elowen the snake whisperer.

Does it need a comment?

Amelie has had an encounter with Accident and Emergency this month after falling over whilst playing with a friend. She fractured her right arm and spent three weeks in a cast; she was very relieved to get better and back in the pool.

Amelie and her cast.

Joel has been a very brave soul. After starting back at preschool in January, it was decided that a different environment would suit him better. So, we went on the hunt for a new school. A recommendation of a Waldorf Steiner School came our way and we will be forever grateful. Joel has found a place where he can be himself and be happy. What a relief.

Joel and Laurence
 on Day 1 of Steiner School.

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter break full of family, fun and reflection. We plough on into term two with an ever dropping outside and inside temperature. Autumn is in full swing and winter beckons. Let’s see how we get on without central heating!!!

A handmade broom by Elias,
our complex's 85 year old gardener!

Lots of love,
Jess x

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Life in the Bush-veld with the Cows and the Crocs!

Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa

It has yet again been a busy month here in South Africa. We have spent time with family and friends and indulged in the countryside and the culture.

We have been fortunate enough to spend a weekend with Laurence's cousins at their trout farm near a place called Dullstroom, about 3 hours north east of Johannesburg. The farm is truly in the bundus. The last shop and indeed building we passed before reaching the farmhouse was about a twenty minute drive away down some dusty tracks. Shortly after turning down one track we came across a doddery old man stumbling along with a stick to steady himself. With light fading fast as it does in Africa, and with no dwellings in sight, we stopped to give this old boy a lift. Little did we realise that his stumbling along was less to do with his age and more to do with his afternoon spent in a shebeen, which is a native African public house. So we had a rather eventful few minutes trying to establish where he was headed. We dropped him off at a cross roads and left him in the capable hands of two young men, who knew our jolly friend, and then we carried on to the farm in the dark.

Our weekend at the farm was spent quad biking, trekking rather adventurously to a huge waterfall, and fishing in the many dams. It was great to see all the little cousins having so much fun together, as were the big ones too!

A quick spin on the quad bike with cousin Shaun and his son Matthew

An early morning fish at one of the dams

With cousin Jo and Elwyn's daughters, Skylar and Kiera

We raced off on the quad bikes deep into the African countryside, the children's adrenaline in full flow and with Elowen wanting to 'win the race'. We then began our trek to a hidden waterfall. With toddlers in tow, we somewhat naively traipsed through bogs, long grass, trees and bushes, over rocks and across streams, up hills and down hills, until we arrived at this amazing cascading waterfall. Amelie rather daringly climbed right to the edge to touch the falling water and we all had a splash in the pool at the bottom, no-one feeling brave enough to jump in for a swim, (I was convinced that it was probably full of crocodiles and snakes!) Joel amazingly walked all the way there and back, on what was a really fun afternoon. Navigating our way round a herd of cows once back on the quad bikes was the final hurdle, and it was home for an evening fish at the dams.

Our trek to the waterfall

We made it to the waterfall!

Cousins on stepping stones at one of the dams 

Elwyn and Joel fishing together

As with everyone in Laurence's life, I have got to know people over the years as we've sneaked a Christmas here or a wedding there, but to get to know family and friends at a slower pace, has been really special. And the weekend at the farm was one such occasion.

Since arriving in Africa, we have had the absolute pleasure of getting to know Shepherd, the gardener who comes to our house once a week. Every Thursday we spend lunch together on the veranda and often delve into African politics, family news or explore each others cultures. Shepherd has loved hearing about the UK and learning about snow or the sea. Likewise I have delighted in learning about the Venda Tribe and hearing Shepherd's story.

Lunchtime with Shepherd

 Shepherd is from the Limpopo Province of South Africa, where the land is covered in grassy plains and clusters of dense trees, known as the bush-veld.  He also lives very close to Kruger National Park which is where all the 'Big Five' animals roam free. Shepherd never went to school but rather amazingly speaks six languages. As a child he would go for days without food, and now works six days a week to make sure that his children eat everyday. He also works with a very weak right arm as he was shot and left for dead a decade ago by someone wanting to steal his mobile phone. Needless to say, Shepherd's life is one of hardship and sacrifice, but incredibly, one of great stories and a wealth of knowledge too. Shepherd has taught me how to ward off lions with fire; and elephants by banging a pan (I guess with their big ears elephants are sensitive to noise!). He has told me how you must throw rocks in the river before you wash or swim, to scare the crocodiles away (I'm never going to try it); and he has sat with me in the garden and shown me how to thatch a roof, and explained how to plant, grow, harvest and store maize.

He has also told us, rather amusingly, how his village have put bells on the cattle and built them a nighttime pen. With all the roofs made of long grass, the cows are living in a sweet shop and if allowed to move silently at night, would indulge in a midnight feast of grass roof undetected until morning. So a late night tinkle of bells is sadly not a herd of reindeer in these parts but a cow escapee from the pen looking for a late night snack.

Shepherd lives most of the year in the township of Diepsloot, which is the area where I teach. The reason he is unable to live in the bush-veld is because his family can no longer sustain themselves off the land alone. With the population ever growing there is a lack of space to grow enough crops; and with the outlawing of hunting big animals due to all the poaching for tusks and horns in the ivory trade, Shepherd has had to look elsewhere to support his family. This is why he has worked his way up to becoming a gardener in the city and why his family now have to shop in the supermarket instead of off the land.

In a world trying to care more about the environment and live in a more efficient and sustained manner, Shepherd is a torch bearer. It is a shame that his tribe can no longer live in the way it once did. Maybe there will be a day when it becomes a way of life once more. Maybe a cow on the loose could one day become the world's biggest problem...

So as Africa is woven into our Willmore story and we experience and learn about the different cultures, it has once again been an adventure and a privilege to be in this wonderful place and to call it home.

Lots of love,

Jess xxx

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Previous post: School, School and School...

School, School and School...

Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa

It's been another fun packed, jet set, month out here in South Africa. I have put my working cap on and started volunteering at the township school, which I'm loving; the children have put their school caps back on and are enjoying playing lots of sport; and I have managed to take off my parent cap and sneak in a trip to Cape Town to meet up with two of my childhood friends from school in the UK.

My work at Riversands Primary School in the township of Diepsloot has begun. I work within a team of dedicated volunteers and am teaching phonics to eight year olds. I have three sweet little students called Kefentse, Refilwe and Melody, a boy and two girls. One is confident, one shy, and the other has no understanding of English at all, but they concentrate well and are keen to learn. I'm quite in awe of these children as they are often hungry, they live in corrugated iron shacks with poor sanitation i.e. no running water and sewage disposal, no electricity, and on top of all that, have to go to school and learn in a language that is not their mother tongue. It's a different world to the one I grew up in and currently live in. Even the Army provided us with portaloos on exercise and we always new the exercise would end. I'm humbled everyday by people's will to fight against adversity and sometimes even with a smile on their faces. I'm enjoying the challenge of gauging the little ones' level of understanding and in helping them as best I can. We are having fun and currently working on the sounds 's', 'a' and 't'.

Riversands Primary School, Diepsloot

The Preschool playing outside of my classroom window.

Amelie and Elowen have had a whirl wind start at school. Elowen has taken up tennis and Amelie extra swimming. Both girls are also enjoying computer club and working hard in class. Joel has learnt to swim and is really enjoying the water. He paddles along saying, "I'm doing it, I'm doing it!"

Off to school and preschool

Joel's first swimming lesson with Teacher Lollipop

Sunset at Hout Bay, Cape Town

Laurence and I, courtesy of Granny, were able to spend a weekend away from the kids in Cape Town. With no kids in tow, and therefore filled with wild abandon, we spent endless hours at the beach, whether it was watching the sun setting behind the mountains or going for a morning walk, it was truly revitalising!

Having a meal at Dunes, Hout Bay

We spent an afternoon with two wonderful school friends of mine, SJ and Jacqui, who were on holiday with their families. We had a braai together, which is a South African barbecue, overlooking the ocean in a little fishing village called Fish Hoek (Afrikaans for Fish Corner). And as the name would imply, it quite literally is a bay full of fish. So it was rather fitting that a shark siren should interrupt our afternoon. We looked on to see if we could catch a glimpse of Jaws cutting through the waves, which we thought for a second we'd seen, only to realise that it was a kayaker making their way rather hastily to the shore. Never a dull moment here in Africa.

Me, Jacqui and SJ overlooking Fish Hoek

I also managed to squeeze in another beach Parkrun at Melkbosstrand just north of Cape Town with Laurence's sister, Gina, and brother in law, Phil. It was absolutely breath taking, which given the task at hand was rather unfortunate, but, jokes aside, it was an incredible moment to be running bare foot along the beach looking across at the iconic table mountain. My little waterproof feet served me well and we finished off with a post run dip in the ocean.

Melkbosstrand Parkrun, Bare feet out and ready!  

Running towards Table Mountain

Post run with Gina and Phil

It's a two hour hop between Cape Town and Jo'burg, and our plane did well to land in thunder and lightening. The power was out everywhere, not due to the storm but because of load shedding, which means that electricity is purposefully turned off by the government to conserve supply. A combination of trying to provide low cost electricity to the majority of the population post Apartheid to boost the economy, and in latter years, corruption within ESKOM the government provider of electricity, has meant that there is now not enough electricity produced to meet the demand. So whole suburbs just get switched off for four hour blocks, and this was our turn. We cautiously drove along the unlit streets, where even the traffic lights were off, and made it home safely. It was then that I felt like I had walked straight into a 19th century Charles Dickens novel as I had to find our lantern (albeit a solar powered LED version) and walk around the house with it to get the children into their pyjamas and into bed, and to read the teachers comments in their homework books. Carrying my lantern up and down the stairs coupled with the thunder and lightening going on outside, made me feel that it was only a matter of time before the Ghost of Christmas Past would reveal himself to me! Thankfully normality was restored by morning and 21st century living reigned once more.

So, from school to seaside frolics, Joel's swimming to a shark siren, and 21st to 19th century living and back; it's been another fun and busy month out here in South Africa.

I hope you are all well and surviving the tail end of winter.

Wishing you all lots of love, Jess xxx

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