My mother once told me that the older you get, the faster time seems to pass. I did not believe her then, but I do now! Without much hype January became February, and while our President is still missing in action we continue with our daily lives as if that dreaded pandemic never happened…
We’ve got really wonderful tenants at our rental property in Centurion. They’re from the Taiwanese Embassy and have been paying rent without fail since the start of their contract, unlike many others who, rightfully or not, stopped paying ‘due to Covid’. They were also extra cautious during the past two years and wanted no unnecessary contact with ‘outsiders’; hence no maintenance except in an emergency. So, February was the month to catch up on the maintenance backlog.
February is also when we go to Pretoria for our annual visit to the optometrist. We still go there after all the years in Johannesburg simply because I require rather unique correction and Johann van Graan understands it better that anyone I’ve tried in Jo’burg. Anyway, when it was Roger’s turn to be examined the optometrist sounded alarmed when he exclaimed
“Oh dear, you’ve got big problems! Letitia come and have a look.”
I looked through the microscope (called a slit lamp, I believe) and could not believe what I saw: there was a piece of metal lodged in Roger’s cornea, fortunately not obstructing his vision, but already surrounded by rust rings. He had complained about something in his eye a week or two before, but it eventually got better and he thought it was merely a scratch that had healed.
The ophthalmologist was not immediately available, so Roger had to go back to Pretoria the next day. The piece of metal was easily removed, and the rust rings scraped away, apparently without much trauma or to-do. The doctor and his receptionist spent more time chatting to Roger about aviation than dealing with his eye. After a good night’s sleep, he was as good as new. Who knows how it might have turned out if it wasn’t time for our annual check-up? He is going to have to wear proper safety glasses at work from now on! His normal glasses are clearly not good enough. Now to find safety ‘reading’ glasses so that he can see what he is working on…
There was a Valentine’s Movie Night at Silver Creek Gorge on the 12th of February, organised by our friend Anthea. I was asked to make chicken liver pâté for the snack boxes that ware handed out to all attendees. Each box catered for two people. Eugene was in Gqeberha for the National SALTBAA (South African Light Tackle Boat Angling Association) competition, so Marlene joined us for the event. They made a ‘box for one’, especially for her. It was an outdoor event at the hangars, and it became surprisingly cold after sunset but despite that it was a lot of fun.
The next morning Roger and I flew to Eugene and Marlene’s plot to have coffee with Marlene. Louis was not well. He had ear infection which they thought was caused by teething. He was initially listless and hadn’t been eating but after being spoon-fed by his mother he certainly perked up again.
I had an appointment with the Absa Bank Sandton’s Home Affairs office on Friday the 18th to replace my old ID book with the new smart card. When I got there the bank was closed ‘due to COVID’. I could not believe it. Really? Surely businesses don’t do that anymore because one staff member tested positive! And without notifying folk that had appointments. It took me a few minutes to calm down.
As soon as I got back home I resorted to ‘Hellopeter’, an on-line platform connecting consumers and businesses; a watchdog type of facility I suppose. And believe you me, the response was amazing. Phone calls, apologies, explanations, you name it. Apparently the decision to close for the day was only taken late on the previous afternoon and Home Affairs had no means of communicating that to their clients. Roger and I both tried again, successfully, on Monday.
My February hike was at the Tswaing Meteorite Crater, a place I’ve always wanted to see. It was very beautiful, despite the extreme heat and pesky mosquitoes.
Tswaing, meaning Place of Salt in Setswana, is an ancient impact crater, 100 m deep and 1,3 km across, formed some 220,000 years ago when a meteorite slammed into Earth. Today, a blind salt lake lies at the bottom of the crater, and the area is surrounded by dense vegetation, forming part of a 2000-hectare heritage site.
Stone Age implements and pottery have been discovered at the crater rim, where deposits of salt were collected from the lake by these early inhabitants.
In the early 20th century, salt and soda ash were mined commercially from the lake. The mining went on for nearly 50 years, lasting until the 1950s. The remains of these activities are still present as ruins around the crater.
At the centre of the lake, the remains can be seen of several boreholes from the drilling that helped confirm the meteoric origin of the crater.
In geological terms, the Tswaing Crater represents one of the youngest and best-preserved small bowl-shaped meteorite impact craters in the world. It used to be known as the Pretoria Saltpan.
Anthea’s birthday was on the 24th and we were invited to join them for a celebration at Wickleys Steakhouse in Fourways. Sean managed to keep it under wraps, so she was genuinely surprised when they arrived at the restaurant and were welcomed by a group of friends . The food was very good, as was the company.
When I received notification that there was a hike very close to Buffelspoort Dam where we spend many weekends I decided to break my rule and do a second hike for the month. Realising that it was in the Grootkloof Roger promptly registered and signed up for the hike as well. We first met in the Grootkloof in 1996 so it is a very special place for us. It was good to be hiking together again.
Much to my surprise we both received an SMS from Home Affairs that our smart ID cards were ready for collection, only four days after going for our biometrics. Impressive!
