JUNE 1997.

SALEM...

(Lower Albany. Eastern Cape..SOUTH AFRICA)

bev_from_africa

Well dear diary........(nearly time for THAT birthday again!) Having started to really settle in......so to speak, into the community and the village in general. We have now started to explore the surrounding villages. This is of course, a two-fold exercise as to "feel" as well as note the historical buildings and stories that go with them.

Our trek this past weekend, was to the village of Salem. Having passed through it on one or two occasions, we decided that a good "nosy round" was the order of the day. Setting off last Sunday, mit three Yorkies, his Lordship, Cynthia and Ted, (they of the noble occupation of ....horticulturist, teacher, genealogist AND anthropologist!......err........retired).........is enough to give one an inferiority complex at best!....(we met, some 30 years ago, flower children? yeah I guess).....and suitably laden with comestibles, crystal glasses etc.......(all the necessary items that the landed gentry need for a picnic?) we sallied forth.

Ah the countryside! so gloriously "dressed" in a cloth of autumn grasses, Indigo Blue Plumbago.....(an in indigenous shrub to the Eastern Cape)..........vibrant Orange Tecoma and twinkling Yellow "Canary "creeper.........magnificent Orange and Yellow Gazanias.. and Purple Lantana........... creeping along the verges at the side of the road. Such a "happy" sight .........which makes one feel so close to the land............. Oy! and the breathtaking Aloes? their huge Orangey/Red flowers, like giant Candelabra...........nu? we arrived.

The village of Salem, was an important site....... the 1820 settlers that landed here from England, Scotland and wherever.......and set up "shop" so to speak. They built the village in the true English way, with churches, school, cemetery, forge, trading store, community hall, tennis pavilion and jail! Bakery, and cottages. Time has stood still there.........the wonderful White buildings, surrounded by hand-hewn-stone walls, are almost untouched. The village green, is now a cricket pitch, but the setting? in a tiny valley, surrounded by hills ablaze with flowers takes ones breath away!

We set off to explore, first having investigated all the old graves...........oy! they lived to such a ripe old age! Graves stones showing families having passed on at ages varying from .......the youngest at 81.......to 99!!!!!!!!! the graves became, once again, the source of animated discussion..........as with the discovery of all these beautiful, historical cemeteries, I cannot decide where I would like to rest......(when finally I have the chance)!

Ted and Cyn., were a RIOT! at these aged grave sites, reading all the 'stones' and finding believe it or not, actual family of Ted's.......not that he knew them of course......but Cynthia has been 'doing' the family tree for years, and has done hours and pages of research into the "Septhton" branch of family.....Ted's grandfather was one of the original settlers who discovered Salem in the eighteen hundreds.

The church was unlocked, so we helped ourselves to a booklet, and left a donation.........(such glorious stained glass windows)......his Lordship remarked that God was smiling when he saw a Jewish ageing lioness in the Methodist church.............. dunno why?....after all, I usually hum Amazing Grace, when confronted by divinity..........and the Yorkies were intrigued by the interior of the church.........a first for them............oh! did I tell you they met a tortoise??? This really puzzled them, a moving smelly animal that wouldn't run away when barked at? "Louie" peed on it. One feels as one ages, that pets opinions are important........don't you think? "Bambolina" regarded this "thing" with an air of disdain. She much preferred the friendly horse that she met up with later in the day.

Walking around the village green, we spied some cottages, and at the first, we made life- long-friends with the German lady who lives there. Coffee, was the "ice-breaker" and comfortably ensconced in her garden, we offered to share our lunch with her........later, beers and wine........delicious repast of cold chicken, salads and fruit....all consumed, having invited her to live with us all.......we wandered down to the next cottage.

This turned out to be a veritable "find"!................huge "Croft type" house, ancient trees, the original "forge" set in the garden, unbelievable trees and wild flowers, the owners discovered us setting out our tea and cake.....on a patchwork blanket..........err.......in their garden. Quick introductions all round, Cynthia impressing them with her knowledge, and I guess our irresistible friendliness...........? they joined us. His Lordship found a "kindred spirit" in John, and they talked for hours about woodwork etc. His wife Penny, was fountain of local lore, and only at the darkening of the day, did we realise that it was time to bid farewell to our new found friends.

Sadly we packed up and left.........I always wonder if one can "encapsulate" these unexpected wonderful days? Such a treasure-trove of memories? Such unexpected "finds" of wonderful, interesting people?....................ahh.

Driving home found us pensive.....I love this time of the day, when the sun is almost down and the colours soft and serene. The river intensifies everything, making it more beautiful, heightened somehow. In the quiet of the dusk you can hear the birds, their last plaintive cries echoing over the river, insects droning, and the slap of the water as the boats cruise by. It is the time of the day when you pay attention to beauty. I let my hand hang out of the window in the wind rush. Or was I trying to hold onto it all? I am going back, afterall, we haven't investigated the rest of the cottages.........or their owners.