Abby and Chris

Carol seems to have caught the same bug and is coughing away in bed. Telkom has SMS us asking us when can they come and fix our telephone/DSL line. Abby and Chris are new friends so they couldn't escape the wrath of my camera.

Pushing up Daisies

AGGGGHHHH Our DSL is still down and I'm still sick. When will Telkom pull it's finger and this flu rebate. Spring is on it's way very early which is a good thing.

Tony Da Man

I thought I was going to drown in my sleep last night with the bubbling noises coming from my lungs. I even tried sleeping sitting up but that didn’t help. Anyway I dragged myself off to work and was so busy that I didn’t have any time to cough my lungs out. My first stop of the day was an important meeting with Tony, PRASA’s Senior Communications and Marketing Manager. Let’s hope I didn’t get them all sick. Oh before I go I heard that the missing tiger has finally been tracked down and reunited with its owner today.

Nasopharyngits

Nasopharyngits, well you try read a doctor's handwriting. All I know is that the bug is affecting my upper respiratory tract and my chest is bruised from all my coughing.

Sick feet

I'm sick in bed with flu and the worst part is that no DSL all I can do is count toes, no sheep, no tigers. Someone from Mpumalangawas bringing his pet tiger to the vet in Johannesburg on the back of his pick-up and it made a dash for freedom. Just pick one FREE or DOM.

Grey haired Phillemon

Welcome, this is my first Phillemon on this blog. It is quite a common name in South Africa so I am surprised that I haven't had one yet. I am not well and down with flu so I will keep this short. And post this while I still can.

Still no DSL

Yes this Helkom thing is becoming a pain and today I have come down with something nasty. I am not sure how I would last this coming week. But I managed to drag myself to BBC and took a photo of the sunglasses gang, Tracy and Gary.

Newtown

Our DSL still down at home but that didn't stop me having an extremely busy Saturday. Firstly Matthew and I went to The Compound FMX Park at Daytona to watch the pro freestyle motocross riders do their thing along with some amateurs. It was a dusty morning but fun did not end there. In the afternoon I joined the Joburg Photowalkers on the Worldwide Photowalk in Newtown. After a lot of walking and gigabytes of photographs later we ended up at the Market Theater for drinks. So today’s photo is of the old Park Halt Station structure. According to the Newtown website the structure was designed by Dutch architect Jacob Klinkhamer (1854 - 1928) in 1895 after being commissioned by the ZAR government. It was originally manufactured in Rotterdam and re-erected at Park Station between 1896 and 1897. (I am not sure about the "manufactured in Rotterdam" part because on the steel columns was stamped "Pletterij den Haag" – Steel Plate Works of the Hague).The structure is an excellent example of late nineteenth-century building technology. In 1952, as part of the renewal of Park Station, the steel canopy was dismantled and re-erected in Kempton Park as a training centre for railway personnel. In 1995 the old structure was once again dismantled and re-erected in its current position, Newtown.

Right Parting

Refiloe arrived at work today sporting a new hairstyle. Wow African women spend so much time and money on hair pieces and extensions, just to look more westernized. I suppose it is all for the sake of looking good for us men.

Nie Lis

This has been a weird week. No DSL at home (thanks Helkom). The Seacom cable is down which meant extremely slow internet speeds at work. Carol suffering from second degree burns to her right arm. The budget is starting to get to me and on top of it all it has been very cold in the mornings on the Sophia that I am starting to get up later and later. It has just been one of those weeks when you become nie lus vir niks nie. Not to bring anyone down to my level here is Felicia from the Risk Department to brighten up the rest of the day.

Think Mutavha Think

Work goes on here at Metrorail. Bring on the weekend. Our DSL at home still down which makes the weekend hard in some places but I need to think out of the box. Here is Mutuvha pretending to think about the weekend and trying to look intelligent while doing it.

IT Jimmy

Work slowly goes forward here at Metrorail although the technicians are always running around; our two IT technicians Jimmy (shown in today's photo) and Theo remind me of Roy and Moss from the TV series "IT Crowd".

Armoured Casper on Rails

On my visit to the Braamfontein Training Centre I popped my head into the shed where I saw three run down armoured train units, a Funkey, Likkewaan and a Casper. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Casper had been refurbished and was looking good even inside. I asked someone about the refurbishment and they think that it was done for the soccer world cup. Interesting thought! The other two armoured units are still in the disused state when I last saw them.

iKhaya Lethemba

Today is Nelson Mandela's 92nd birthday.He spent 67 years of his life in prison as a convected terrorist. So today many South Africans did 67 minutes doing some community work to make our world a better place. I went off to iKhaya Lethemba in Braamfontein to make a difference not just for 67 minutes but the whole morning. iKhaya Lethemba is a project run by the Department of Community Safety for abused women and children.

"Where there is poverty and sickness, where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done. Our work is for freedom for all. After 90 years of life, it is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now." - Nelson Mandela, Hyde Park, London, June 2008.

I became a Gender Safety Ambassador not just for 67 minutes but for the rest of my life. What did you do for 67 minutes?

Aquarius - Go Sonics

Our DSL line is still down. Can't Telkom get anything right? Anyway spent the morning watching Matthew at the Bryneven Primary School's Athletics Day. Matthew's house Aquarius managed an respectable second while I caught up with Rudolf's parents Suzanne and Jean (shown in today's photo)

Tello

A cold front came through yesterday and today is freezing cold. Tello from Facilities showed us how to dress warm for this weather.

Down but not out

DSL is down again. Welcome to Helkom. What is up with Telkom? I had to use my cellphone to do my post but could not get the photo from my camera to the cellphone to upload. I have to work on that. In today's photo is Karabo who seems to want to change his career to modeling

Tiny Tinyiko

Wednesday seems to be dragging itself. The weekend cannot come sooner. Tinyiko who works on the Help Desk at the Pretoria Station come to spend time with Refiloe at the Help Desk this side.

St Mary the Virgin

Just outside Park Station is the old cathedral of St Mary the Virgin. It is built to typical Anglican designs of the period. From what I understand the building of the cathedral started in 1921 and finished in 1926 but I found another stone plaque which states "Saint Mary's Hall 1887" so I am beginning to wonder if the cathedral replaced an earlier church from 1887. The cathedral stands out of place in downtown Johannesburg among all the hawkers and an ultra modern cathedral of the Universal Church of God. Once entering you feel that you walking through history. The dominating feature inside is its famous rood hanging from the ceiling and on the opposite side a large rose window. The very revenant Desmond Mpilo Tutu was the Dean and Rector here in 1975 to 1976 during the turbulent apartheid era.

Monday Stubble

Norman our ICT boss at Metrorail has been working hard over the world cup period during which time he vowed not to shave will the tournament was on. I fully expected him to be clean shaven this morning but he arrived this morning stubble and all.

A boy and his dog

Matthew is very fond of his Italian Greyhound, Maxy. As the school holidays draw to an end Matthew is feeling down and Maxy is always there to bring comfort.

Braces

Lynette came round today to help Carol and she was armed with a full set of orthodontic braces. More and more 40 something parents are becoming metal mouths because they want that gorgeous smile and because they can.

Last Football Friday

We all quite thrilled that it is Friday at last and that the world cup is just about over. Today is the last football Friday for a long while. Rugby season is upon us. Let show the boys what the men can do. No more fake diving, only real blood allowed. Karabo is also overjoyed that he couldn't hold it in anymore.

TK

With the world cup coming to an end, all the rushing will final be over. Next is the ICT reorganization but that is another topic. Here is TK one of Protection Services' supervisors at Metrorail.

Blowout

Timing is everything and when everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane. But now is never a good time to have a blowout. Carol came home last night on this tyre. Luckily no body damage was done to the car. A day without sunshine is like, well, night.

Johani Bread

Johani just finished his breakfast this morning when I pounced. No escaping the watchful eyes of my camera that never sleeps always looking for opportunities to capture colleagues in their day to day living.

Lion Hearted Leon

Continuing with my close-up series is Leon. Good to see him relaxed and recovered from all the work making sure the new Railcom system is running smoothly during the world cup. Just a few more days Leon then it is over for good. We are all soccered out as we wonder what has happened to the beautiful game? It is not a sport, it's a joke.

Saskia's bloed is Oranje

I don't have a high opinion about soccer with all the cheating and acting that is accepted in the sport. How can Suarez be so proud of what he did? "I am the new hand of God", more likely the hand of the devil. And the Uruguayan coach who supports him stating that he did it for the team. Bloody Agents! I now know how England feels when they think about Diablo Maradona because we now have Diablo Suarez. But in South Africa we rugby lovers have to support the soccer boys who are playing here in the good RSA. Saskia whose family originates from the Netherlands is fully behind the orange boys. I have no feelings for the boys from south america because they are the biggest cheaters out there. Germany is playing with German precision while the Dutch are playing with pride.

Fetching the kids

Shannon, Carol's daughter, and Darrel came to pick up their kids this morning. Carol enjoyed having her grand children around and it was good for them to get to our side of Joburg for a change.

Uncle Matt

Matthew had his niece, Amy and nephew, Conner spent a couple of days visiting. Today is there last day so perfect photo opportunity.

Always Play it Safe

The Gautrain has been quite a bit in the news lately with its launch of operations last month. But ignoring the new Brothers for Life building wrap on the Schlesinger Building, they did not play it safe with a soft launch. Although they didn't have too, they rushed into operation the Airport-Sandton link just in time for the soccer world cup. Along with this came the teething problems that a soft launch and six months testing would have ironed out. But expectations of the public have all been met and the Gautengers along with hundreds of thousands visitors are very impressed with the Gautrain. We are proud to have what we hope is a start of many new public transport options. In today's photo is the construction of the Braamfontein Terminus of the Gautrain in the early morning light.