Sunday 21st January 2024
Three weeks of this year completed. This weekend turned out to be a rather busy one after starting Friday off with absolutely no plans. Today my sister invited me to 'gatecrash' her friend's birthday celebration at a venue in Pretoria called the Red Barn. I'm glad I said yes because it turned out to be a lovely morning.
Unlike the quiet Cowboy Town of yesterday, this venue was packed. It's a nature reserve with walks and hikes and it is both kid and dog friendly. Hundreds of families were out and enjoying the fine weather. There were lots of lycra clad cyclists too, so no doubt there's cycling trails too. Zip lines, trampolines, go karts and a tree top adventure route gave the kids plenty of variety while the adults sat under shady umbrellas at the restaurant. I enjoyed watching all the dogs under the tables with rhe occasional excited barking when an interesting furry friend passed by.
The area of the capital city of Gauteng, has been developed into huge housing estates with manicured gardens and decent pavements conducive for running. It looked extremely clean and organized, obviously a lot wealthier than the run down area surrounding Cowboy Town.
South africa has so many huge contrasts and it's both interesting and exasperating to see. Rich and poor is the most obvious and seeing the wealthier areas today reminded me that there's still a lot of money going around. The multi cultural society is also fascinating as the modern world navigates new friendships and relationships that were once against the law. People are discovering the similarities and appreciating the differences more and I do enjoy a world that has more tolerance.
The afternoon saw me take Debbie's Fiat out on the motorway for a quick drive to my friend, Marlene. Unfortunately the warning lights blared at me again but luckily didn't cut out on me. Sigh. I had a quick catch up with Marlene and the drive back had the car behave. It's frustrating with the intermittent problem, but hopefully it gets sorted before my drive to Cape Town next month.
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