Last Day in South Africa – Kirstenbosch

April 2026

We were very pleased that Harriett had wanted to visit us for a few days. We stopped off in Warrington at Steve and Karen’s house before we drove to Manchester Airport. Harriett and her boyfriend, Zak, flew from Amsterdam, where they are both students at the...

March 2025

I joined the U3A photography group outing to the Lakeland Wildlife Oasis at Hale Milnthorpe. On another Friday, I was back out with the photography group, this time at Colbeck. Alan, the group leader, gave me a lift as usual. I try to contribute by paying for the...

February 2026

February 2026 Good news at the start of the month – Sam will be coming to stay with us later this month. The Guardian newspaper online has changed. Previously, I’ve had access to the full paper at a reasonable price but that has changed. I’ve now started to get a free...

January 2026

A very happy New Year to both my readers. We spent New Year’s Eve at the Village Hall, wine tasting, with our Penrith friends, Phil and Deborah. We had an evening meal there and saw the New Year In. We do get on very well with them. They had breakfast with us on New...

November 2025

The month started with a photo in the local paper (Cumberland and Westmorland Herald) and another on their annual calendar. A couple of our neighbours joined us for a Sunday evening roast beef dinner. We went to the leisure centre in Appleby, Annabel in the swimming...

October 2025

I started the month walking with the Culgaith walkers, led by Big John. These short walks are aimed at people’s health and well-being and are supported by the Ramblers. Back at the village hall we were treated to coffee and homemade cakes. What was not to like? The...

September 2025 part 2

Another appointment at the surgery, this time for a Doppler test – to test my circulation. Luckily, it was not a problem. In the afternoon, I sat outside but my stomach began to feel peculiar. Annabel drove to the pharmacy in Appleby to buy some Gaviscon. I didn’t...

September 2025 part 1

I have cheated a little with dates for this blog, as so much happened in August. Dumfries Gardens Dumfries House and fountain Annabel and I set off with Angela, a local friend, on a U3A trip to Dumfries House in Ayrshire, which has magnificent gardens, an arboretum...

August 2025 Part 1

Part 1: Visit to Athens with Tom and Tara’s family. Tom and Tara very kindly asked us to join them for a holiday in Greece, as April and Cooper had been particularly keen to visit. We drove to a hotel near Manchester Airport in the late afternoon, and Tom’s family...

July 2025 Photos

We went to ‘Art in the Mart’ at Kirkby Stephen to an art competition. April’s ‘Dragon eye’ was awarded ‘Best Young Artist’. Accompanied by Tom, Tara, Cooper, Grandpa and Grandma Hollis aka Mic and Annabel. April swam one hundred lengths in 50 minutes at Appleby...

We caught the bus to the spectacular Kirstenbosch Gardens and spent a very pleasant day there walking, looking at scenery, flowers, shrubs, trees, birds, insects, lizards and mountains. It was fairly nippy first thing in the morning but warmed up during the day.

The gardens were most impressive and very well maintained. Built on the side of a hill, the gardens offered good views of the surrounding area.

Lizard

Orange breasted sunbird – incredible florescent feathers.

Mantis, I think. This one appeared to be stuck in the water. It made fairly slow progress.

Not for the faint-hearted!There were many, many spiders. Occasionally, we would be walking through woodland and find their profuse webs stretched across remote paths – not a plesant experience. Yet it was possible to photograph them with ease.

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