Michael

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Michael & Hayden in Chris Nissen Park yesterday. Michael was showing me how his 'extension' is coming along and Hayden really wanted to be held by Michael.

We sang Michael's praises whilst we were on mission education in June/July. He really is such a quality guy who has grown in his faith an amazing amount. I love the way so many folk in the community seek him out for advice, help and even just a chat.

Caption Competition

The weekend is just around the corner, it's Friday afternoon and you should be working but the internet has a far greater appeal. Anyway, you've ended up here, so let's have some fun.

Leave a caption for this photo in the comments bit and we'll post the best one. No swearing and nothing filthy, thank you!

Tiny Bubble Registration

We heard some really good news from Sandra at Tiny Bubble créche today. After several months of much frustration, form filling and scraping before officialdom, the créche is now officially registered.

This is great as it means Sandra and her staff can now seek some financial assistance from the education and social welfare departments. They will also be able to seek help with wages as presently they work voluntarily.

South African MP's Chair Mishap

This is SO worth watching on the BBC: South African MP's chair mishap.

Hope it brightens up your Friday and makes you laugh as much as it did me.

PS. Also available on YouTube.

CNP Update

We're in the final stages of working out exactly what we're going to be doing in Macassar with Grace Community Church as well as thinking about ways in which we can best serve the church. We're really enjoying church life again and it's great to be involved in something fresh and vibrant.

"THERE'S PROBABLY NO GOD"

I had to laugh when I saw this article on the BBC website: 'No God' slogans for city's buses. My amusement stems from three aspects of this 'advertising campaign'. Firstly, I love the use of the word 'probably'. One always needs to hedge one's bets just in case.

Farewell

Last night we officially left HCC. To a certain extent it was a mere formality and a box ticking exercise. It certainly wasn't an event we were keen to attend. Not because we'd done anything wrong but simply because we've moved on and are already seeing God at work in our lives and in Macassar and we're really excited about the future! To return to HCC and dredge up the past simply wasn't an exciting prospect.

Poverty - A Personal Rant

Poverty - Part of Blog Action Day

Whilst the Bono's of the world rant and rave about poverty -a subject they know little if anything about- the poor just keep on getting poorer. It's very easy when one lives in comfort to feel moved and send a fiver to whichever charity happens to spring to mind, but to actually get up and do something practical about addressing poverty, its underlying causes and its symptoms takes real commitment and dedication. You don't see many Bono type figures living and working amongst the poor! It's all too easy to sit in an ivory tower and pontificate.

Speeding Fine

Whoops!

I received a fixed penalty notice this morning for speeding. At first I was cross about having been caught, but then I looked a little closer at the notice and realised that the registration is for a car I've never owned. I also saw that the fine could be viewed online, so I went online for a look and nearly fell of my chair laughing. Clearly that's not me! and my wife is a whole bunch better looking than that!!

Holiday

We've been back almost a week and finally get around to posting some photos of our holiday. We had a great time staying on a really quiet farm called Ravenna Mountain Retreat which is about 30k's from Montagu on South Africa's famous Route 62. Apart from it being a bit too cold to use the pool right outside our cottage the place was perfect. The boys really enjoyed the jungle gym whilst mum & dad enjoyed the peace. On previous visits to this part of the Klein Karoo we've stuck around the Montagu area but this time spent more time in and around Barrydale.

"You Can't Bring That In Here!"

We're back from a wonderful 10 day break in the Klein Karoo on the local 'Route 62'.

I saw this set of signs at a supermarket whilst we were away and was amused at the thought that one is banned from taking one's porn collection into the shop.

I'll post something a little more edifying later.