Funny people from "Ho-ome"

So I have this new (well not so new anymore) friend in the UK (Surrey to be exact). He works for the same company as me except in one of the UK offices. And in the spirit of young curiosity we have been emailing each other on a fairly regular basis and getting to know each other and our backgrounds and what we do and don't have in common. I can make the following amusing observations.

1. Poms at times can be extremely pommy - Proud of The Empire and the Spice Girls and fond of tea and Rain.

2. He was amazed to hear that I don't see a lot of rain for half of the year. Like dry ground for the whole of winter.

3. They have much nicer working hours in the UK. like he arrives at work after me (including accounting for the time zone differences) and leaves work before me.

4. He had no idea we live in different time zones - and just assumed I make it to work everyday at the crack of dawn.

5. He has asked me on several occasions about the crime in Johannesburg and is shocked at how blase I am about it.

6. He uses funny phrases that I have no idea what the meaning of them are.

7. He uses the word "posh"

8. Never heard of the term "a Thumb suck"

9. Fascinated by the multicultural dynamic of our country (he said God save the Queen and I said Which one? Queen of the Swazi? Queen/s of th Zulu? Queen of the Royal Bafokeng? Queen of Lesotho?)

And other amusing things. I must say the conversations we have been having over email are really really interesting to me - like really getting to know someone with a different background. Fascinating!

Frankies Travels - Final Day Aaaaah :(

And on the last day - we relaxed... Drove through some city centre and saw some marathon runners (some ladies in blue uniforms stoppd us running them over...) Then we cruised through Clifton to Camps Bay for a massive magnificient breakfast (wish I had taken a picture) Eggs/Bacon/Sausage/Tomato/Hash Browns/Toast/Grilled Mushrooms... Sunday Morning Happy-Food.

Then we went to go and enjoy the beach (for the last time in a while for me) I went to go dip my toes in the water (as usual managed to get my pant wet)

A Zimbabwean came to ply his wares and perhaps due to his effort we purchased a painting of a giraffe. I should snap a photo of it to show off - It has become another item of my collection of travel items for my new home (when ever it is that I manage to have a new home...) I am just not sure of the best way to mount it. I would want to preserve the fabric from aging so I was thinking of "laminating" it in glass with the unhemmed edges giving it a raw look ... but the glass will make it monstrously heavy to hang... hmmm... Ill have to give it a think.

Then we made our way back so I could finish packing and enjoy the sunshine (just about the only sun we saw all weekend) at least the mountains popped out from the clouds in farewell.

The airport was INSANELY busy and by flight was ultra full but at least I sat next to a pretty friendly Indian gent. Can't say the same for the drive home. I discover I am a bit of a hazard on the roads... Thank goodness for the more experienced drivers that were driving near by... And as much as I hate the drive to and from the airport... I should be driving it myself more often so that I can do it without having to Make my Peace with God along the way...

The End! :) ... until next time at least...

Frankie's Travels - On the Third Day

.... I remembered what rainy weather was. we have just come through
the dry dry Joburg winter so I haven't seen a lot of rain lately
(except for those 3 weeks in Germany...)

So on Saturday we woke up to a cloudy sky - the shy mountain was
almost completely hidden. We decided to make our way across to Cape
Point. So after a very scenic drive to and through and beyond
Simonstown (again) we paid our International Tourists Hiked entry fee
to the Nature Reserve. I decided that first prize would be seeing
Zebra and Ultra first prize would be to see Whales too. With the
gentle swish of the windscreen wipers we admired the alternate views
of the opposite coasts and made our way through to Cape of Good Hope -
snapping pictures of the view along the way. Like any intrepid
traveller we decided to brave the wind and the cold and climb up the
hiking trail at C of GH....

And OH BOY!! The wind was strong! It was all fun and adventurous on
the way up having my hair whipped around and trying to negotiate the
next step... (my co-tourist had his hoodie up and tied down - he
looked like a ninja!) And then!!... I got sand blown into my eye and
suddenly I was not having fun any more. So we turned around and slip
slide stumbled our way back down with one eye shut and the other half
covered for protection and made it back to the car for some precious
eyedrops. And happy Frankie returned. :)

Then we drove up and round and along to Cape Point where we tackled
the walk up to the lighthouse and were appalled to find out how unfit
we were. Ill say We found plenty of excuses to stop and admire the
incredible view...

It is amazing how clean the beaches look at the bottom of the cliffs -
like very clean and untouched. By now it was more than a drip drip of
rain and closer to a windy horizontal drizzle...

Let me say that I saw more foreign tourists at Cape Point than I saw
at OR Tambo international airport on Wednesday. We played a game of
guess the nationality by the accent - Lots of Brits, Aussies and
Chinese Tourists.

We made our way down again and paid for an overpriced lunch sarmmie
and moved on to seeing the last few sights of the park through the now
rapid swish swish of the windscreen wipers.

Saw Da Gama and (oooh can't remember the other spanish name...
Something also with a D - an old guy with a poofy hat) ... Diaz!
Crosses and some penguins and very big seagulls And then we decided to
leave and go on to drier more indoor sights.

So we looked up the Iziko museum and swished across there! Pleasant
surprise was that entrance was free for Heritage Day week... Score :)
And so we wandered around in the warm dry museum and saw life size
skeletons of enormous sea living creatures and a lot of taxidermied
animals (including a very very cute baby quagga - The Baby Quagga) The
dinosaur exhibit was interesting but I had my own personal views
raising big flags at the back of my head... just because the museum
can make a beautiful display of the artifacts, doesn't mean that I
believe the surrounding science is true... but Ill let these views
stew a while longer and make a proper blog post on it.

We made an exit from the museum when it was getting close to closing
time and drove through a slightly less wet Cape Town back to the place
of residence.

For dinner we went to a L-A-R-N-Y French restaurant. We enjoyed fine
conversation, a fine Shiraz and I had Beef Medallions in red wine,
onion and cocoa sauce. the cocoa was a brilliant ingredient and really
added to the flavour. then we made our way through ice-cream, meringue
and chocolate mousse for afters.... and proceeded to go home to digest
and sleep.

I saw a beautiful jersey dress through the window of a closed shop and
it can to call me to go and buy it in my dreams. Pity the shop was
closed in Sundays, - Frilly woolen jersey dress- I long for you (but
probably not your price tag!)

Frankies Travels Cape Town Day 2

... Written with some head scratching at the end of day 3...

Sooooo... On Friday we went off to Ratanga Junction. True we were among the oldest people in the queue but at least we weren't spending our parentally supplied pocket money on the entrance fee so there!

So of the rides were wild and some were pretty exhilarating and some were slow (boat and train rides) and bizarrely the longest queue was for the Bumper Cars (???? What's so exciting about that) Some of the kiddies rides looked like enough fun to be popular adult rides. We had a good time enjoying the rush of adrenalin and we got plenty of exercise walking from end to end to end of the park. My only real complaint was that the music was really bad - like taking an average of all the popular music on the radio and playing it at Full Volume ... Let me also say that renditions of the Single Ladies dance is so so so so last season ans old and going out of fashion - it's been done and dusted and youtubed and it's just about ready to be translated into Afrikaans and added to Sokkie Treffers 2009 to be blasted out at every caravan park New Years party along the Natal Coast! Give the song a break already!

Aaanywaay... After the childish exuberance of the theme park (couldn't figure the theme tho...) we decided to swap over to the adult solemnity of wine farm visits and wine tasting. First at Durbanville hills we sampled some of their best (which was a good way of learning which names go with which flavours: Sav Blanc - white, Cab Sav - Red, Merlot - Red fruity) I now can't decide if I prefer Shiraz or Pinotage but my education in vino is by no means coming to an end... (H: when you finish laughing at me... I welcome your guidance :P )

Then we decided we had time for one more wine farm so we drove along the road with all the wine farms and randomly turned off at the second next suitable wine farm. (for the sake of the story - D'Aria) There a super friendly lady behind the counter let us have a taste of their finest... I was amazed that the white wine with hints of asparagus Really did have a taste of asparagus! And the wine with a hint of green pepper really did too - didnt like it very much tho. Anyway I purchased a very tasty Merlot-Savigion Blanc blend called Blush And a very pleasantly light and fruity Merlot.

The novelty factor of the wines was that the labels were also in Braille! Extra points for originality!

Then we made our way home through the sights of town and District 6. After many several sip sip sippys of wine my gracious host decided to haul my fuzzy slightly inebriated unfit ass halfway up Lions Head and back my pounding head was soon replaced with the foul cursing of my buns-and-thighs. But at least the view on the drive and walk up and down was so totally worth it! Except that the clouds closed in and it all began to feel eerily like a computer game with a lazy scene designer...

and then I made dinner which was complimented by some of our newly acquired wine. High Five to my Domestication! I even washed dishes!

And after a DMC (look it up - I hope I got the TLA correct... or just ask...) we passed on to the exhausted happy dream-like state...

Frankies Travels - Cape Town

So I landed safe and sound in the famous Mother City and after negotiating an exit from the Parking Lot we (being myself and my host)made our way across to the foot of Devils Peak to stay for the next 4 days.

I got a tour of the sights of the area which was to admire the view down onto the city (sparkly yellow and white), how close the burning mountain became burning complex (very close) then to admire the hulking great view of The Mountain (invisible due to clouds).

Yesterday we went and looked at some natural sights of the area. First a visit to the Sea - Camps Bay (altho too cold to take off shoes let alone swim) Then Hout Bay area which became a search for the Hout Bay Embassy (snooty exclusive bunch...) which resulted in a stop for a delicious Lindt Cappucino and a magnificient slice of Lemon Meringue Pie.

We gave up on the embassy and decided to go across to Simonstown. The trip across had me marvelling at the over-mountain bos and sights and once in Simonstown, we went to Boulders beach to see (smell) the penguins. We decided to walk the wooden path before paying entrance and we got so many sights of the pink eyebrowed little black birds that we decided we didnt need to pay entrance at all!

We then decided to drive back into Simonstown and walk the historic Mile - and stopped off for a very generous hake and chips along the way!

We took the scenic route home and after all the walking and eating we settled for baked veggies and a classic movie and were asleep by 10:30pm!

Felt like an old lady by the end of it but it was all together a pretty darned great first day!

Frankies Travels - Cape Town

So after flying every month this year (except February) I am finally flying without needing a passport! I haven't been to Cape Town in more than 5 years and I am pretty darned excited. Firstly I am flying down by myself - this is like a spontaneous holiday all for me... Well as spontaneous as you can be when the flights were just about sold out a month before... Secondly I haven't been to the beach in quite a fair while so being at the sea (with or with out swimming weather) is something to look forward to for this born and breed Vaalie. Thirdly I am seeing a good friend who, despite the fact I see him VERY rarely, I could consider him amongst my long standing friends. Fourthly I just got that awesome monthly email saying my bank account just grew by a salary So I can be a lot less budget conscious this weekend. And finally (five reasons is enough) I have 4 work free days ahead and Ill be flying for at least 4 hours of it.

Let the Frankies (domestic) Travels Commence!

Reason 6 - Window Seat :D

A rant for Wednesday

I read the news every morning mostly with the possibly misguided idea that Google news clips will help me expand my understanding of current affairs. And this is what has caught my eye of late:

1. Patrick Swayze's greatest achievements seem to be the movies Dirty Dancing and Ghost and... wait for it... wait for it... having been married to only one woman for his entire adult life. Extremely Rare for Hollywood it seems.

2. The Wits students are rioting... again... about the fee increase... again.
And so the ANCYL will be voted out of the Wits SRC again when all the outraged students go and vote in the SRC elections. When will the students learn that the University SRC is inversely as effective as the number of political party representatives it has.
What dumbfounds me is that the complaint is about the annual fee increase. Which is how Wits affords stuff like equipment and lecturers (I am aware they have funding from people like the government too) And yet as part of their frenzy of showing everyone that they are really not in a good mood about the fees.... they break stuff! It is almost as genius as burning the train because it is late... Now when is the train going to arrive?
Last pearl of wisdom I wish I could bestow on the student rioters is that everyone would join in the song and dance for a good excuse to bunk lectures for a worthy cause because we honestly feel for you and your lack of funding. EXCEPT you are too busy intimidating us and throwing rocks at our cars!! Yeah we really feel for you now... Stupid Rioters.

3. I have a suspicion that some of the recent breach of manners that everyone seems to suffer lately is due to never having learnt to accept loosing honorably. As a Brownie Guider one of the life lessons we teach is that sometimes we let one team win and another team loose in games. None of this "Oh we didn't keep score so everyone is a winner Yaay!" If as a child, one learns that sometimes people beat you because they were simply better than you that time, I am pretty sure we'll have a lot less Storming on to stages, Storming off of Tennis courts and Storming of to the gender testing labs and then to the tabloids. I am sorry, sometimes you don't win. Time to be an adult about it.

that's all for today me thinks. Happy Hump Day - in honour of our Andy :)

Dear Friends, The bar has been raised

I received a postcard from a friend today. and it was sent to me from Switzerland. Which was a very nice gesture from a friend who lives in the UK. but! but! Not only did I receive a postcard but the aforementioned postcard had not one, not two but Three fluffy sheep on it! The bar of Ways to Impress Frances has now officially been raised.

Young hopeful Mr-Frances-Barker's across the world cry out "Curse you Frances'-Friend-who-sends-Postcards! I may be able to beat a postcard from a foreign country but a postcard with the added awesomeness of not one, not two but Three fluffy sheep! Never! My intentions are ruined! Dashed upon the rocks!"

Ha ha ha! A girl's gotta dream at least. I hereby attach a photo of the delightful piece of communication. not quite as great as the real thing but I think you get the general threefold fluffy idea.





Today has been a good day :) It's great being easily amused.

The Man in Uniform is looking at you.

So this picture was snapped with my replacement camera - I am still very snap happy with the macro function. But then who can resist a man in uniform?

I should be getting my new phone tomorrow (Finally) and again I am in great anticipation of having a marvellous gadget of my own. and as these things invariably work out, my father who has to accompany me will be not as passionate to trek across to Bedfordview to fetch it with me! "Hurry Up! Da-aa-ad!"

I am glad that teh Postal Service has suspended their strike. I am eagerly awaiting a postcard from the UK. the sender keeps asking me if it has arrived yet. As if 3 weeks is a long time for a letter via postage to arrive.... strange.

Midweek - Otherwise known as Hump Day

Wednesday is Hump Day as it is the day we change from the uphill into the week to the downhill to the weekend. Nothing more sinister or dirty...

I am at a bit of a loose wend at work these days where all the exciting work is finished for the moment and all the boring tasks are left. The things that are just too far outside of my expertise to enjoy teaching myself. And at the same time I am waiting for the go ahead on some documents that I can start some exciting activities.

I should probably go ask for some more work to do except last time i did that I got saddled with a Civil Works Spec to write. How many bricks? How much cement? How deep a hole? Thrilling indeed!

I thought I had lost my reading glasses and I have been giving myself monsterous headaches all week working with out them. They were in my laptop bag the entire time... O-L-D-A-G-E awaits!

I think Johannesburg is a very beautiful city. it's my home so I am entitled to some partiality. Since it has so many crests and hills, in the evenings you drive along the road and are greeted with a panorama of glittering yellow and white and red and green lights. Kinda sight to me home sick when I fly in late from Gaborone. Or driving home even later from that Club in Edenvale :)

The polluted and dry air makes for spectacular sunsets too. Especially in winter. The best bit is that I usually land up driving home around sunset. It always puts me in a good mood even after a long hard (or long boring) day. I was going to upload a sunset picture but I seem to be having a problem... oh well Ill have to look out the window instead.

Friday ... finally!

This week has been so beautifully sunny and warm that I have been really looking forward to the weekend so that I can be outside to enjoy it. but in my usual style I think I will enjoy it best with a good book in a sunny spot.

My brother surprised me today in a really good way. I had bought the new Regina Spektor CD a little while ago and he saw I had it and asked to copy it. Except he asked the moment the brand new CD box was opened so I said NO! because I was feeling selfish and I hadn't even given the disk a proper listen yet.

Anyway, I suspected my brother might decide to scale the disk and copy it while I was out so in a fit of spite I hid it in my laptop bag away from him... the very same laptop bag that was stolen the very next night!

So I was complaining to my brother that it was my fault for being so selfish and hiding the CD that it landed up being stolen.. and he posted a replacement CD to me.

That is the nicest thing to happen to me all week!

Yaay for big brothers!