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Spring has sprung…..

Usually it would be the sounds of birds chirping hopefully, flowers popping up in happy colourful profusion, winter coats being stored away.... but PE is never a place that can be considered predictable and boring, so on our spring day yesterday, we had a big surprise. Our coastline was pounded by Tsunami type waves, railway lines covered with huge chunks of the concrete breakwater wall, businesses flooded, and the freeway closed most of the day due to waves crashing over…

2 Comments
02/09/2008
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Monthly Theme Day: Sister Cities

Port Elizabeth seems to be part of a large family, and has a few sister cities, including Tainan in Taiwan, and Jacksonville, Florida as well as Palm Desert, California,in USA!The one I have always felt was the closest relation is Gothenberg in Sweden. When Panoramio first started on Google Earth, and there was a small community of photographers who all corresponded and knew each other, a guy called Andreas Elmquist from Gothenberg used to post pix, and I was putting…

5 Comments
01/09/2008
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Then and Now #3

Gaston has been finding more fascinating old photos for us. This is Govan Mbeki Ave as it looked in 1953 ........ (it was the only place in town to go shopping, long before de-centralisation took place)And as it looks now, with the recent development into a pedestrian mall with shaded lock-up trading shelters for the street traders.

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31/08/2008
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happy birthday dear Ma-ax….tra la

It is the m in sam's birthday today, and the family decided on an outing to the wonderful Addo Elephant Game Park which we are lucky enough to have on our doorstep. So we packed a great picnic and set off this afternoon when our son-in-law got home from work.Addo is looking quite dry, which is a bit scary, because we should have had some major rain at this time of year. As we drove in we saw a huge…

6 Comments
30/08/2008
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Then and Now #2

Again, many thanks to Gaston from France, who sent some of his pictures, taken when he lived here in the late 50s early 60s, and enabled us to do this comparative series. This is St Augustine's Cathedral, taken in 1960. And here it is this week. As with the Campanile view, I really question whether "progress" has brought around any improvement. The lovely gardens and fountain in front of City Hall, with natural stone paving, has been replaced by a…

4 Comments
29/08/2008
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Aftermath of the Fire

Last week the Greatermans building in the city centre burned down in a fire that started in a neighbouring warehouse. This week the fire department was still busy securing the ruins and ensuring that there is not another flare up. It is amazing how, in such a short time, what seems like a strong and lasting structure can be reduced to rubble.

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28/08/2008
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trees under threat

These 2 wonderful old members of the ficus family have grown at the end of Main Road Walmer for as long as anyone here can remember, and are really well known landmarks. As the system of roads surrounding them is being constantly upgraded, and shopping centres developed all around, they are looking sadder and sadder. Despite the watering they receive from tenants of Fig Tree Village, which was named after them, they are looking much sparser than they did several…

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28/08/2008
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Eight legged critters

Seeing that two of my "blog friends" have posted spider pics over the last day or so, I decided to do the same. I went digging for some spider pics and found two I took a little while ago. This one I caught kind off unexpectantly. I was trying to get some nice pics of the water drops on the web when the little guy made his appearence. Good ol' Daddy Longlegs sitting in a corner that we have neglected…

5 Comments
27/08/2008
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Then and Now #1

Thanks to Gaston from France, who used to live in PE in the 1950s and early 60s, and who very kindly sent us some of his photos from that era, we will be doing a few Then and Now comparisons in the near future. We start with the Campanile, which we did a whole series on recently.Here it is around 50 years ago..... And as it looked yesterday......As you can see, the pretty old building on the right was demolished…

5 Comments
27/08/2008
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British Settlers – The early years of Grahamstown

Grahamstown is situated about 130km east of Port Elizabeth. It is the biggest town in frontier country and the place where most settlers moved to once they were allowed to leave their farms. It started out as a garrison town named after Col John Graham. It was they sight of the Battle of Grahamstown in 1819. 5000 Xhosa warriors under the command of Makana gathered on the hill overlooking the valley in which the settlement were. The fort was manned…

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26/08/2008