Cape Town is not typical of South Africa, and it is hard to say if anything is typical of Cape Town. It is a place of great contrasts, full of life and colour and movement. It is now undergoing perhaps its greatest ever makeover in preparation for the world cup next year. Engineering works everywhere, dizzy and loud. The picture of the sunset to the right shows the almost completed football stadium. Visually it is a stunning city. Table Mountain dominates all before it, a constant presence. Wherever you put yourself, there it is, like an ancient temple of old, declaring “I am bigger than you”.
The Salesian Institute is also very big; it takes up a whole block in the city centre. But, from its upper floors you look up….. at Table Mountain. It is all quiet at the Institute. Next week the kids return, new recruits to the many projects will make their beginning, and it will be a maelstrom of comings and goings. Young people taking up a vital opportunity that will change their lives.
Let me tell you a little about today. Malcolm Pritchard is staying with us until Wednesday. He has been in Harare, Zimbabwe, for two weeks visiting and ministering at a seminary there. We spent some time in Green Market Square in the city centre taking in the many sights of an African bazaar. After a while, Malcolm noticed his camera was missing from his bag – his thoughts were with the missing pictures. It was a bit sombre. He went to the police and we then drove via Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Kirstenbosch back here to Milnerton. As we approached, there was a helicopter noisily suspended yards from our apartment. In the space of thirty seconds we made two discoveries. Malcolm’s stolen camera was in his bedroom and the hovering helicopter was searching for a missing ten year old boy caught in a riptide. The “incident” at Green Market Square paled somewhat in our minds. To complete this picture, a wedding party was doing its sunset photo session fifty metres from where the forensic pathology service were removing the young boy’s corpse. The bridesmaids were wearing black.
Lives changed forever in an instant.
i did finally figure out how to access your blog.interesting i was listening to the radio with a piece about ,white, poverty around joburg and the big shanty areas for the poor,although they were all smoking and described poverty as less than £340 per month...wow some places obviously have differing,as well i know,degrees of poverty...
ReplyDeleteenjoy you busy start up week..love to you both