Blogs from Saint Francis Bay, Eastern Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 3

“We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, driven from end to end.” – Blaise Pascal If there is one word which now underpins the current Covid-19 journey, it has to be “uncertainty”. What was put out on media platforms as fact and latest update last week on the trajectory of the coronavirus is turned on it’s head a week later. Consider the following; schools are under huge pressure globally to re-open on the basis that people younger than 18 years of age don’t get infected at the same rate as older folk. And yet, in America there are current reports of a 40 percent spike in school children infections in one state. The jury is truly out as to whether it is wise to re-open schools and the consequences will play out in ... read more

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” – Thomas Jefferson It is mid-August 2025 as we sit around a roaring camp fire under a star lit night sky somewhere in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve chewing the fat on a wide range of topics. All eyes gaze intently at the bright, flickering flames of the fire providing a gentle orange glow and warmth against the evening chill. The conversation focuses on the superb animal and bird sightings of the day and we marvel at how the animal kingdom was left largely unscathed by the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. On the other hand, the impact on the World’s human population was catastrophic. Apart from the significant loss of human life, the economic implosion left many countries almost destitute, other diseases such as malaria and TB ... read more

“It is in the admission of ignorance and the admission of uncertainty that there is hope for the continuous motion of human beings in some direction that doesn’t get confined, permanently blocked, as it has so many times before in various periods in the history of man.” – Richard P. Feynman On any journey undertaken, irrespective of destination or duration, there is always a moment of reflection at some point. Questions swirl in the mind; how far have I travelled, am I on the right routing, how much further, what lies ahead? The Covid-19 “journey” is one that every human being on planet earth is currently undertaking and, if many of us dropped anchor to reflect at this point in time, there is probably only one recurring question in most minds; when will this nightmare end? ... read more

“Normal is an ideal. But it’s not reality. Reality is brutal, it’s beautiful, it’s every shade between black and white, and it’s magical. Yes, magical. Because every now and then, it turns nothing into something.” – Tara Kelly In a normal world, Sue and I would be flying round about now with special friends, Ian and Sue Prior, to Vancouver, Canada. But the reality is something completely different. Covid-19 arrived about six months ago and turned nothing into something big, which humanity is still desperately trying to comprehend. Vancouver ranks in my top three cities I have ever visited (Cape town and Sydney being the other two). Beautiful waterways and snow-capped peaks in the city background. This is where around about 9th July we were scheduled to collect our RV’s and set off on ... read more

“There is no such thing as race. None. There is just the human race – scientifically, anthropologically.” – Toni Morrison. A martyr is defined as someone who suffers persecution or death for advocating, renouncing, refusing to renounce, or refusing to advocate a religious belief or cause as demanded by an external party. Accordingly, the status of the “martyr” can be considered a posthumous title as a reward for those considered worthy of martyrdom by the living. Over the centuries there have been a number of martyrs who qualify according to this definition and one who springs to mind in these modern times is Martin Luther King, leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the USA from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. What does this have to do with the Covid-19 pandemic? Well, look no further ... read more