The Plaster

Here, take a cookie. I promise, by the time you're done eating it, you'll feel right as rain. It is Saturday, Matthew and I are relaxing at home when we notice a commotion at the bottom of the garden. An ambulance and two paramedic vehicles constitutes a commotion in my book. So we took the dogs and strolled down to the bottom of the garden to see what was going on. It seems someone got thrown off their horse and broken their hip. Not nice.

To give them space we gave them a wide berth and by the time we got back to the cottage I noticed a chunk of fir rip out the side of Maxy. He must have gotten snagged on something. Anyway I patched him up as best I could but he kept trying to rip the wound even bigger by pulling at it. So my only solution was a plaster which surprising worked as now he left the wound alone to heal. Have a cookie Maxy.

Serious Matthew

When I look at Matthew I can see myself, very little seriousness but still trying to be. Tonight Nigel and Doreen invited Matthew and I to the David Phelps SA Tour at the Mosaïek Teatro. David as usual reached such high notes. One part he quoted Psalm 139.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Noma in Red

I kind of like this setting on my Canon PowerShop S100, the monochrome with accent. I know it doesn’t help my photography by I am now looking for high contrast colours. So now Nomangaliso decided to come to work wearing red. Just like Red Delia the other day.

I sure enjoy playing with my new camera but the only shadows hanging over the week are my sick home computer and Vespa. Sigh! Going onto a week since Sophia got sick. I phoned Scoots this afternoon to get the prognosis but nothing been found.

Paul

I started work this morning tired and the day just draw on and on and on. But I just started one side and worked through and before I knew it was evening. I then headed north for coffee after work with an old work colleague from Metrorail days. Paul and I reminisced about the past and how PRASA has been good for us. Then it was time to look forward to futures.

Walk Tall

The month ahead is going to quite trying with the budget stretched to the limit as Sophia is out of commission and so is my home computer. Sigh. But my head is held high. Walk tall, walk straight and look the world right in the eye.

Red Delia

This morning Delia came to work with this red top on peeping from behind a black jacket. It made an awesome contrast that I thought it would be a perfect test for the built in Creative Filters of my new Canon PowerShot S100 camera. I selected the monochrome filter with the colour accent and this was my result with a little change to the default colour from green to red. Please note no external software like photoshop was used. It is just select the colour you want to accent and then shoot in monochrome. By the time I took the photo Delia had taken off her black jacket and had a red apple on her desk. I am quite impressed the outcome of the photo with its black lines caused by the blinds.

To get awesome photographs it is not the camera but the photographer but to have a camera like the Canon PowerShot S100, it does make it easier.

Canon PowerShot S100

This is it my birthday present from Canon, the PowerShot S100 camera. I started my passion for photography by working for a professional photographer for over two years doing post production work with my superb Photoshop skills. This photographer's main bodies were the Phase One with different backs and the Nikon D1.

My first camera I bought was the Fujifilm Finepix S240. It did a good job shooting some fine photos. I also bought a small camera for the pocket as I believed the best camera is the one you have on you. The small camera was the Finepix A203. With these two cameras I started my journey of street photography and the Joburg Photowalkers. On many photowalks I proved that you don't need an expensive DSL camera to take awesome photographs but been surrounded by many Nikon and Canon DSL cameras it was obvious my next purchase would be a DSL camera.

The choice was Nikon or Canon, both had good and bad points but Canon 550D eventually came top of my selection list that had feel quality, performance, initial layout cost and lens cost judging points. Because of my daily photo blog this camera went everywhere with me taking photos of a smorgasbord of topics. After one and a half years of everyday use, nearly 50 photowalks and over 23,000 photographs later the Canon 550D is showing a lot of wear and tear.

My natural progression is to get the Canon 5D MkIII but that is slightly above my pay grade so I thought the best companion to my battered Canon 550D is a smaller camera that I don't have to lug the larger DSL camera around but not to sacrifice the performance that I have to gotten use to with the 550. So this baby DSL, the Canon PowerShot S100 became mine. Mine baby.

The S100 is a fully adjustable small digital camera that has a similar CMOS sensor as my 550D, it shoots in Raw format at 12 megapixels at up to 9.6 frames per second. By fully adjustable I mean I have full control to change the ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and focus points. The only big difference from my 550D is that I can’t change the lens, well I can't go wrong with this nifty 5.2 - 26.0 mm f2.0 - 5.9 lens. The bonuses for me are that the S100 has a built in GPS, it can do HDR photos on the camera without the need of off camera software to merge the images, it is small enough to carry everyday with me and it carries a 2 year warranty. Remember the best camera is the camera that you have with you, and it does help if it is the Canon PowerShot S100.

Canon EOS Adventure Roadshow

Once again it is time for the adventurous Canon Roadshow and this morning cold rain would not hold wild horses at bay as the queue to get in went around the corner. In this photograph you can see some of the crazy Joburg Photowalkers like Mark, Pascal, Geraldine and if you look carefully Craig right at the back of the queue. Please note that Robin was still in bed.

It was good to see Roger as I walked past the registration tables and a good man hug was in order. Many other Joburg Photowalkers, that is the Canon part, were seen streaming into the building such as Alan, Candy, Clare, Desiree, Jacqueline, Johnny, Niamh and Paul. Sadly Robin was still in bed.

Roger the Man,Canon’s DSLR Product Manager, opened the Roadshow to a packed house and introduced the range of Canon EOS cameras and the new models such as the Canon 650D, Canon 60Da (for astrophotography), Canon 5D MkIII, Canon 1D C and the Canon C500. Sadly my camera the Canon 550D has been replaced by the 650D. :-( See the unhappy face here. At least Roger punted the Joburg Photowalkers towards the end of his talk, which made me smile all over again. He mentioned our names including Robin who was still in bed.

After Roger was Abri who introduced the DSC (Digital Small Camera) and printer range. He briefly mentioned my camera that I had my eye set on since it was mentioned at the last road show by Abri. I wanted a small camera to carry around instead of lugging a DSLR around and sometimes security frown upon cameras. The S100 was the perfect camera, small with most of the features of my now defunct camera.

Then it snack time and time to catch up with the other Joburg Photowalkers whom I only catch a glimpse of earlier. After the break the first of the guest photographers Richard presented some of his aerial photographs of the beautiful and not so beautiful landscape around us. Watching the slideshow of his images I thought of a perfect title for Richard’s next book, Fingerprints of Man. Next was Manus from DSLR Training who educated us on talking photos in low light, now this was very interesting and I have leant some new tricks which I have to go try out.

As usual at the end of the Canon Roadshow comes the best part. Well they do leave the best for last. Names of the attendees of the Canon Roadshow get randomly drawn and super duper prizes get given away. And smiles were broad as this time my name gets called out and I was handed a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens. Big Smiles. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday Mr President.

After the Canon Roadshow Craig, Geraldine, Pascal and myself met at The Digital Experience at Fourways Crossing. Now if you need any camera gear no matter what brand, Digital Experience is just the place with the best prices anywhere in Johannesburg. Pascal left with a battery pack for his new Canon 5 D MkIII and me the Canon S100. More about this stunning camera tomorrow as we off to an awesome late lunch at Fournos Bakery.

Milkybar Ice Cream

Is ice cream an anti depressant? How that is an interesting question, I am glad you asked it, say I as I take another spoon of Nestle Milkybar ice cream. My Sophia is still at Scoots and I have no news yet what is wrong or how much it will cost me to get her running again. The preliminary diagnosis is that her drive belt has snapped and a new belt is in the region of R 1, 600. Not cool therefore the ultimate cold comfort is my friend tonight.

If I didn’t care

If I didn't care more than words can say. I parked Sophia next to a shiny Harley this morning. I thought she would be happy next to a well chiselled bike. But I didn't know she only has eyes for me.

Sophia heart broke on the way home. We were flying along without a care in the world and all of a sudden there was a loud bang, Sophia let out a sigh and was no more. At first I thought we had a tyre blow out but the Sophia was stable as we coasted to a stop alongside a busy main road. As I checked the back tyre, and it dawned on me that it was serious. Sophia must have snapped her drive belt and I pray that it didn't do a lot of damage to poor Sophia. We both sat at the side of the main road as darkness fell, heartbroken and alone watching the cars speeding by.

Words from a song written by Charlie Chaplin came to mind as Sophia sat at the side of the road waiting for help to come. Smile though your heart is aching. Smile even though it's breaking. Help soon arrived in the form of Bruce from Scoots with his flashing lights. The nice thing with the flashing lights was that the speeding cars were now no longer whizzing past, they slowed down, and inquisitive on what was happening.

Sophia I am so sorry that this had to happen. I will not let other bikes especially that distasteful Hog near you, again. There I said it, are you happy now? Smile and maybe tomorrow you'll see the sun come shining through.

Delia Woker

Today is the shortest day along with the longest night and it feels like it. Delia started yesterday at National Positions with the shortest day of the year as her second day. Shown here, Delia seems to be a bubbly character but it is still early to sus her out. She also likes taking photographs and Delia says she is a Canon girl. Thank goodness, I don’t know what I would have done if she was Nikon.

Back to today, it sure did felt short as I couldn't fit all my work into the hours of the day and then it is the night, yes this very long night. My computer is giving endless booting problems which if I had hair would be all pulled out by now. My evening has become very long as I struggled to fix the booting issues of my PC. I think I know what the problem is but just need more hard drive space to sort it all out.

Now I am throwing my toys out of the cot. My computer is dying a rather slow death and I went and deleated my 3G drivers and connection interface by mistake. Humph.

Brazen Fire

Another day has come and gone. The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest. Day two. After work it was home cell meeting which was now back at the Sims now that they are back from their cruise in the Med. Then it was off to Picolinos to watch my team win their indoor soccer game 12-4. It was here that I saw this brazen fire, bold and without shame. Oh the warmth it gave just by looking at it. And there I was shameless in the dead of winter, late in the evening outside watching a soccer match next while standing next to a brazen fire. Priceless.

Gas Heater Warmth

I left home this morning, it was still dark and arrived at work as the sun rays still had to break past the trees to start warming up the surrounds. I worked continuously and left as dark was settling in.

I arrived home in the dark to a warm welcome from my dogs. They were so pleased to see me that I decided to take a short walk in the dark down to the bottom of my garden with my dogs. They were everywhere zipping past me so fast that I only saw them when they had already past. I was not sure how they saw by the starlight but that didn't stop them. It was a short walk and soon we were back inside with the gas heater on full heating the cottage.

It is now toasty in the cottage and my dogs are asleep in their bed nice and warm. Although is still early in the evening, I must think about jumping into the shower and settling down for the night with a book.

Luv’d

Father's Day and Matthew and I just chilled together. After all the fun we had yesterday, today was supposed to be relaxing but after BBC, Matthew and I found ourselves at a Steak House enjoying some rather large fillets.

Today's photo was taken by Matthew after BBC of my heart on my cheek. I love you Matthew every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Paradox

Today started like any other Saturday, with me slowly talking my time to wake up. There were slight differences that could have set this day apart like after picking up gas for the heaters I made a detour in the timeline to stop at Woolworths and bought a new shirt as a present to myself.

Then in the afternoon it was off to Thinking Pets for a hour of doggie school where I got Skye jumping through hoops. Today's snapshot in time is of Skye staying while I step away during our Thinking Pets lesson. Skye is starting to become slick at agility.

Another change from the plan, yes there was a Saturday plan, was that Matthew and I went off to Montecasino where we watched the movie Men in Black 3. And this is where Time Jumps came into our conversations. Over spare ribs afterwards Matthew and I discussed, no argued through the paradoxes that this movie tripped over. I mean it was right in front of Agent J.

Our conversations or juicy discussions covered if Boris the Animal time jumps back into the past and kills Agent K then Agent J would have never been recruited to wear the black suit in the first place. Better still Agent J's dad would be still alive and Agent K would have never found him. Now an interesting question arose over our messy ribs is wouldn't Boris the Animal not have summoned the Boglodites to invade in 1969 if he succeeded in stopping the ArcNet being deployed? Let’s agree to disagree, uhmmm paradox it is.

Now Griffin, the Arcadin, is an interesting didn't see that coming character. The bitterest truth is better than the sweetest lie.

Matthew and Maxy

Matthew with me again this weekend, yay and it is Fathers Day this Sunday. It didn't take long for my dogs to abandon me for Matthew soon as we arrive back at the cottage after driving all the way to the East Rand to fetch Matthew. The first thing I have to do when arriving home is to feed the dogs and to start the gas heaters to warm up my home. Here is Matthew still with his jacket on along with Maxy not interested in supper but already fixated on the television.

O Gole O Gole Abuti

Thank you all my friends and family for all your lovely words, wishes and phone calls. I am not sure what to say other than thank you. I am also not sure what to write in today's blog post but an idea is coming to mind.

I am truly surrounded by friends with over 125 people posted on my Facebook wall today. I don’t know how to thank each one of you but maybe this way each one of you can say you have contributed to my blog. I will leave all the well wishes names off in case I miss any.

Happy birthday to you jerome! Hey there J. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope your day has been stunning so far and carries on that way for the rest of the year :-) Hey badly boy, happy birthday! Hope that you have a god day! Happy birthday :) Happy Birthday Jerome!! Tradition - Happy birthday Old man!!! Hallo Jerome. Happy bday.

I hope they spoil you rotten. May God shower you with blessings and goodwill. Happy birthday. May you have many more and be blessed in enough of whatever you desire. Happy Happy Birthday Jerome. Wishing you all the best. Hope you having a super amazing day. Hugs and kisses. Happy Birthday Mr Jerome.

Happy happy b-day friend!! May you have a super fantastic day!! Hey happy happy birthday:) I hope u have had an awesome day!!x Happy Birthday from South Florida...have a wonderful day. Happy bday :) Almost missed this, but how could I not wish a huge Happy Birthday for such a large personality as you!

Happy Birthday Mr Vespa! Hope it's a good one. Have a great one J! Happy birthday, Jerome. God bless today and always. Have an amazing Birthday Jerome! Hey Jerome, happy birthday! Also, happy Flag Day in the USA. Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday Jerome, enjoy :) Hi Jerome, hope you are having a great day! Happy birthday!

Happy, happy Jerome! Hope you have a birthday to remember! Happy birthday Jerome :-)) Happy birthday, I hope you have a great day. Happy birthday brother!! Happy Birthday bro!!!!

☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆ ★ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
╔╗╔╦══╦═╦═╦╗╔╗ ★ ★ ★
║╚╝║══║═║═║╚╝║ ☆¸.•°*”˜˜”*°•.¸☆
║╔╗║╔╗║╔╣╔╩╗╔╝ ★ Birthday!
╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝═╚╝ ♥￥☆★☆★☆￥♥☆★☆★☆


Happy Birthday. Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday Jerome. Happy birthday. Happy Birthday Jerome! :-D Hey you, happy birthday! :) Happy birthday!! Happy Birthday Cuzzie. Hugs and Kisses. Xoxo Happy Birthday Jereome .. hope you are having an awesome day and that the year is filled with many blessings ...

Happy birthday brother may u see many more days like this one en be treated specially today. Hi Jerome. I hope you have a crazy, mad, life altering birthday today. How's that for a wish. Enjoy because you can! Happy Birthday Jerome. May your day be filled with God's richest blessings! Happy Bday bud, have a good one. Happy birthday, Jerome!

Happy birthday - hope you having a blast! I know ALL 948 messages on this wall are going to make you smile never mind how great your day continues to be, yes! HAPPINESS rules Mr West :) Happy birthday Jerome - have a super fantastic lovely day! HaPPY HaPPy Belated Birthday!!!!!!!! ♥

Happy Birthday - may this year be one of Joy x Happy Birthday, hope you have a great day! Happy Birthday Jerome, have a super fabulistic day! Happy birthday Mr. West!! Hope you have an awesome day :) Happy Birthday! Hope u have an awesome day :) Happy birthday Jerome!!! Happy, Happy Birthday Jerome, have a wonderful day...

I picture you in an 11 by 14 frame, celebrating with family and friends with the fire department extinguishing the fire started by all those candles on your birthday cake! Happy birthday Jerome! Hope it's picture perfect!

Happy happy birthday ! Have a awesome day! Happy birthday Jeromulus!

Happy Birthday! ~♥~
.//^ ^\\.
(/(_•_)\)
._/''*''\_ .
(/_)^(_\)


Happy birthday Jerome... Hope you have a good one! Happy birthday old man ;-) Happy birthday Jerome! Have a great day. Have a great day and a happy birthday. Hey Jerome, hope you have the awesomest of days & many many more. Happy birthday Jerome. Have a great day and keep smiling.

Have a great and wondrous year Jerome - lots of fun, lots of pix, lots of joy. Happy Birthday Jerome. Hope you have wonderful day. Happy happy neef! Hope your day is full of smiles!!!! Happy birthday Jerome - big happiness this year :) Happy birthday Jerome, may God bless you always and in all ways :)

Happy birthday Jerome. Best wishes for your new year. Happy Birthday Jerome - have a great day. Happy happy birthday Jerome!! I hope its a special one :) Happy Birthday. Hope you have an enjoyable day. Happy B'day Jerome. May u have a blessed day and new life year. Have a good one! xxx Hey old bean, happy birthday, and hope you have a good one.

Happy Birthday Jerome, may your day be filled with joy and laughter. Happy FB b'day! Happy Birthday Jerome. Happy happy for today. Happy birthday old man :) Happy birthday Jerome! May your Vespa use no fuel and need no maintenance for the year ahead;) have a very happy day!

Rock and roll birthday wishes old chap and richest blessings for the year ahead. Happy birthday. Happy birthday, hope you have a great day. Enjoy. Happy Birthday, have a fun filled day. Happy b day old man hope you have a nice one. Happy birthday ! Haappy birthday! Happy Birthday Jerome! 

Hey, fellow PhotoStalker - have a great one, and may you find many snap-happy things in gift wrap! Hippy bathday! Happy Birthday Jerome! Happy birthday Jerome! happy happy mate.... A day in the life of a birthday boy"...lol Happy Birhtday Jerome. Have a great year ahead. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEROME. HOPE YOU HAVE A LEKKER!!! DAY!!!

Happy Birthday Jerome!! Hope you have a wonderful day and fabulous year ahead. May you be blessed with a year filled with love, laughter, happiness, good health, peace, success and many days to create loving memories. Have yourself an awesome day!! Lotsa luv, xoxo Many Happy returns Jerome! Happy Birthday China hope you have a great day!!!!

O gole - O gole abuti. Happppiiiiiii Hey Jerome, happy birthday, have a blast and go wild! Hey Jerome, happy birthday, have a blast and go wild! Happy Birthday Jerome, hope you have an awesome day. Happy Birthday Jerome - hope you have a super amazing day... ah ...wishing you the very best of birthday wishes ... have a good one.

Happy Happy Jerome... Hope you have a great birthday. All the very best... Enjoy... Happy Birthday Jerome! Happy Birthday Mr. West, wishing you all of the best! Hey West!!! Hope your day doesn't go south...lol. May you have a wonderful bday, with many perfect appertures, and may your shutterspeed be spot on every time in the year to come!! Cheers!!!

Happy birthday! Mr West... Happy birthday ! God bless you :-) Happy birthday Jerome! Have a super day & God bless!! Happy Birthday from the beautiful South Coast of New South Wales. Wish I could share a 'dop' with you ;) Happy birthday Jerome! Hope it's a good one.

A special Happy Birthday to a GOOD friend. Have a great day Jerome, with many blessings. Happy Birthday!! Happy birthday, hope you had a great day. Happy birthday to the man who was so patient with me coming to his desk every half hour at Now Media to ask him HTML related questions... you have taught me a lot and I'm very grateful to you for that. May you see many more birthdays and hope u got spoilt rotten today...

Happy birthday, hope you had a great day. Happy Birthday Boss!!!! Jerome, honey, happy birthday!!!! Hope you had a fabulous day and ....the night is young!! Happy Bornday Jerome!!! Happy birthday.Happy B-day!! Hope it was a good one!!! Happy Birthday Jerome, I know for sure that you enjoying yourself. Enjoy whats left of it.

Happy birthday jerome.... Happy Birthday Hunny ... slightly late in the day, but no less heartfelt. Happy birthday Jerome! Sorry I'm a day late. I hope it was amazing! HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRIEND, sorry it is so later but have been thinking of you, hope you had a wonderful day.. Love from us all here.

Happy birthday Jerome, hope it was fab! Hi there. Happy Birhtday. Hope it was a great day & that you were able to stay warm ;-). Happy Birthday Jerome - have an awesome day with family and friends. Hello Jerome ... happy, happy ... hope it's going to be extraordinary. Enjoy! Enjoy!

And finish it off some extracts from a chat with a good friend in Potchefstroom. A 50 fat cows worth of a friend. Happy birthday Mr West - May God continue to bless you. Thank you for your friendship - much appreciated. I think you the best dad for Matthew. Here is to many more years of life filled with laughter and God's amazing grace. Blessings!!!! O gole - O gole abuti May you grow and grow my brother. Okhule okhukobe. Veels geluk liewe maatjie. Mag die Here jou seen, omdat jy verjaar.

Joyeux anniversaire! Sorry for the late birthday, but I hope that you had a great one.

Eight Friends plus me

Tomorrow I turn 28 plus and tonight was the best time this week to get eight friends together around a table, be it an Italian table and do dinner. We spent a wonderful evening at Lucios Pizzeria in Blackheath catching up and just having a good time together. This is what friends are for. The eight were Richard, Michelle, Paulo, Tanya, Riaz, Ann, Magda and Martin. I haven't seen Paulo since his 40th because he has been in Mozambique most of the time so here he is looking all dignified without his hat between Tanya and Michelle.

Peanut and Coriander Soup

At first I was afraid,
I was petrified.
Kept thinking I could never eat this food.

Then I took a taste, just how wrong I was.
Peanut and Coriander Soup with a dash of chilli to taste was from out space.
I should have said no, but I had to taste.
How wrong was I? Now I can't get enough of this soup.

Just turn around now, put that spoon down and walk out that door.
This soup is just too divine, but I don’t have the strength,
I need more of this Peanut and Coriander Soup.

Maximilian

Monday is now over. No matter how well you slice it or dice, Mondays still stinks. Anyway I rushed home after work after a really long day and arrived just before the sun set. My dogs and I sat on our patio with a glass of red wine, well, I had the red wine and they had treats. We watched the sun dip behind the horizon together. Here is the greatest Italian Greyhound, Maxy, watching the last rays of the sun with me. He has this aloof nature yet deep down he is the sweetest and warmest dog ever.

Little Long Johns

Although the sun was shining, a cold wind was blowing and the temperatures plummeted even lower than yesterday. We stayed indoors all day today daring not to venture outside only when necessary. Our heaters were on full power thought out the day and the cottage was toasty. Here is Matthew walking around the cottage wearing my thermal long johns. I had purchased them for my Lesotho trip last winter and now once again they are coming handy.

Wanna Be Lipizzaner

A cold front past over us yesterday afternoon and it is rather cold today with 5cm of snow reported in Lesotho and the Drakensberg. Yes Brrrr, but Matthew, Skye and I braved the weather and did dog training at Thinking Pets in Bryanston. I must report that this is his 5th lesson and Skye is doing well. After our lesson, Matthew tried his hand at instructing Skye. Here is Matthew trying to get Skye to sit but Skye thinks he is a Lipizzaner. Although we live just down the road from the South African Lipizzaners, Skye had to eventually he gave up his horse impersonations and Matthew was well on his way getting Skye to Sit, Down and Stay.

Nomangaliso

Nomangaliso or Noma as she pefers is our new copy writer and she just survived her first week at National Positions South Africa. I have taken other photographs of her but I think this best portrays her character. You know that there is a smile behind that hand?

It has been a long week and the weekend has finally arrived. This Friday has been an anti climax with a mad rush of work in the afternoon but it too has past and the weekend has started. So let's enjoy it. Nom Nom Nom.

Jade Asleep

After supper, my family of four dogs and I wind down the day on the couch with the heater on to ward off the encroaching dark cold outside. There is so little time at the end of the day just for me that I relish the time on my own. Although it is getting a little lonely now that it is winter is here but my dogs are doing their best to keep me company. Here is Jade, my female Italian Greyhound, asleep on my lap. I had to stretch to reach my camera bag without disturbing her peaceful slumber.

Cape Dutch Gable

After work I had an appointment with an old client of mine just around the corner from our offices in Houghton, right next door to the Great Park Synagogue. This lovely Cape Dutch style building used to be the White House Gallery and now houses the offices of Light Kinetics. The Cape Dutch architecture with its Dutch Gables originated in the seventeenth century and is one of my favourite architectural styles. Although this building looked newish, it was a stunning of Cape Dutch style of doing architecture and just had this personality as seen here in the setting light of the end of the day under this large tree that had lost most of its leaves due to winter.

Gary

On a cold winter's night a few from our home group gathered at Gary and Tracy's home for some lovely soup and a movie. Tonight there were two soups, an Asparagus and a meaty soup, both were quite tasty and I went for seconds. My card reader got misplaced so I uploaded this photo of Gary a bit later than usual. Don't you think he'll make a wonderful Santa Claus? Yes I know that we need him to grow a beard.

Under the Bridge

As winter tightens its icy grip on Johannesburg, many migrant workers from the poorer countries to our north find themselves living under the bridges along the Jukskei River without warmth and food. Although it is already freezing at night it is not the coldest as that is still come.

At BBC in Bryanson we run the Under the Bridge feeding program, the food is not fully nutritional but it fills the belly. This evening was our home group's turn to prepare the food and man the counters. Here is some members of our group preparing the food, from left to right are Doreen, Raymond, Brenda and Pearl. I can honestly say I am very thankful that I have food and a warm bed to go home to because tonight is cold.

Emmarentia

The very next day I found myself back at Emmarentia Dam, this time with my dogs and at the end of the day compared to early in the morning. My Italian Greyhounds and Whippet love the park at Emmarentia because there is lots of wide open spaces in which to run plus plenty of other dogs to socialize with.

We even met another Italian Greyhound called Molly and two large Greyhounds. Here are Jade, Patch and Skye who found something interesting to sniff at the edge of the top dam while Maxy was doing his usual meeting and greeting of all the new dogs.

Winter Dawn

I was up at the most ungodly hour this morning. Even the gravity had sensibly doubled around my bed but a few minutes after four, I managed to dragged myself up and was on my way to Emmarentia Dam near Greenside by five. Along the way I stopped at a service station for a large café late and arrived at Emmarentia in the dark.

About twenty Joburg Photowalkers started arriving about the same time as I did and soon we were on our way to get to find a perfect spot to catch the winter sunrise over the dam. While we were waiting for the sun to grant us a guest appearance, a lone canonist paddled by. Thanks for modeling. Much later after the sun had risen well above the horizon, we all took a walk through the golden leaves of the autumn kissed forest. I posted some more photos on my Facebook album A Winter's Day for you to enjoy.

Winter Sunset

Not as beautiful as the summer sunsets but crisp with a slight touch of beauty. Aaah Africa you are so beautiful. And I took you by the hand and we stood tall.

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair. In the words of Mumford and Sons, Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you. It will set you free. Be more like the man you were made to be.

It has been a frosty week and as I look up at the winter sky and know that I am so small. Well I am scared of what is behind and what is before. There is only you to take my hand. And we stood tall.