More Food Parcels

We're very excited to be able to deliver twenty food parcels this week especially so soon after the last lot we distributed towards the end of August (see: Food Parcels).

This time we've worked in partnership with St. Andrew's, Kinson in Bournemouth in the UK who have blessed The Gathering with a substantial gift allowing for these food parcels with quite a bit left over for our planned Soup Kitchen Christmas Lunch in December.

Paula did the shopping yesterday and managed to get 17 items for each parcel to which we've added two bags of soya mince and some soap, making them some very nice parcels.

We have earmarked ten of them for folks we know are in need and the other ten will be delivered by church members to people they know in the community who are in need.

It's great to be able to share the blessings of God in such a way!

Jade Plant

I went on to our garage roof in the pouring rain to check on a suspected blocked drain pipe and was amazed to see this little fella growing in between the roofing sheets and the waterproofing (which clearly isn't doing its job!).

He has now been re-homed and will grow in to yet another spectacular Jade plant to join the many others already growing in the garden.

I do like the variegated nature of this one, the contrast between red and green is quite striking.

Read more about Jade plants here: Jade plants and Trees.

Water Water Everywhere...

This is great news! Cape Town's dams are sitting at an average of 91.3% full and are at their highest levels in six years.

The best part of this is that we're in the middle of a cold front which means more rain is due over the next 24 hours and there are more cold fronts expected later in the month, all of which will bring more rain and fill the dams that bit more.

Whilst this is good news, it doesn't mean the drought is over and we can go back to old habits with water. Cape Town's population has grown by over half a million people since 2015 which puts a huge stress on the water supply.

Finally, A Weekend Away!

It's been a long wait since we were last able to escape together for a bit of peace, quiet and recharge aided handsomely by great food and the odd glass of vino, but we managed it.

Eli was off with a friend for his birthday, celebrating in Montagu, and Joel had his long time buddy Sean over for a couple of nights so we were able to decamp to Kalk Bay to enjoy some down time.

We have to thank The Gathering for allowing us the time off and for stepping up and leading in our absence, you guys rock!

Soup Kitchen

It's not always clear blue skies and beautiful sunsets, sometimes the weather turns hideous and yesterday afternoon this was the precursor to some of that hideous weather.

Thankfully the storm held off until a while after our Soup Kitchen so everyone would have got back to wherever they stay safely.

That Was August

That was my August, how was yours?

Getting back to anywhere near my level of fitness pre-lockdown and herniated disc has been really hard work, but for the first time in a long time I feel on top of the world after a great week of boxing training. This time last week even it was a different story as I felt exhausted, so it's good to know that I'm getting back to where I want to be.

Food Parcels

It was pure joy to make up another twelve food parcels this morning to distribute to some of the neediest families in and around the community.

Each parcel contained a couple of kilograms of soya mince, lentils, maize meal as well as soup mix, several tins and a few other bits, and we hope and pray they are a real blessing to those that received them

Home Brew

The gurgling sounds from my home brew have reduced dramatically in the last day or two so it should be ready for bottling later in the week (see: Where There's A Will, There's A Way), which means it's time to be getting the bottles ready.

Unfortunately home brew supplies seem to be very thin on the ground locally so I'll need another trip out to the airport to pick up some detergent and steriliser for the bottles, but I'm sure I can combine that with another trip out.

I have enough home brew on the go for about 40 bottles of beer so I definitely have enough bottles for the job, but it was quite a commitment draining these bottles of their original contents ready for this joyous occasion. 😉

Pad Work

Hope you enjoy this short video of me on the pads with Coach Anathi

An Odd Few Days

It's been a funny odd few days this week as we were gearing up to say farewell to Paula's Dad. Our routines seem to have gone to pot, but in the midst of it all some good stuff has been happening. Joel received confirmation of his place at college next year to study Sound Engineering, we're all super thrilled by this news!

The other great piece of news is that SA entered Level 2 Lockdown.

Farewell Dad

Today we said farewell to Dad/Brian/Grandad and it was hard to do so from such a long way away, but that's one of the harsh realities of these strange times.

Rev Mandy from St. George's did a great job in leading the service at the crematorium and spoke so well about him and his life with genuine grace & wisdom. Thank you Mandy!

We had to decamp over to The Gathering's home in order to live stream the service given that loadshedding was due to begin at 12pm at home and it was lovely to be joined by our dear friend Annatjie.

We did have the privilege of recording a video tribute by Paula and a Bible reading by Dean, so though we were over 6000 miles away we were there in spirit as well as the live stream.