If you are flying along in a northerly direction through the Karoo Heartland on the N10, the main drag between Port Elizabeth and Cradock, do slow down a bit after you pass the first turnoff to Somerset East and keep a look out on the right hand side of the road for a cenotaph like monument. Once spotted, do pull over and have a look as this is a very significant spot in the early history of the area.I'm not…
No doesn't that just look inviting? And before somebody comments about the fact that the water is probably cold because there are all those people on the side and nobody in the pool. This was taken at the Ironkids event last weekend. The people are parents and supporters watching the kids in the water in the other pool.
The windpomp is one of the icons of the Karoo Heartland and as part of the landscape as Karoo koppies, sheep and Angora goats and a good ol' farm gate. But have you ever wondered where the windpomp came from and how long they've been around?The first windpumps were used to pump water since at least the 9th century in what is now Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan. They later became widespread across the Muslim world and also spread to China…
This is a scene that played itself off over and over at Saturday's Ironkids event. Fathers doing the run leg along with their kids (often with mothers a few steps behind). But if it only was as easy as it sounds. Most of us huffed and puffed along carrying bags and cameras, taking photos, encouraging the kids to keep going and sidestepping other parents and the general public along the way. Not quite as easy (or dignified) as it sounds.…
One of the main reasons we wanted to go down and support the runners along Beach Road during Ironman was to cheer on four of our friends taking part. We parked our camp chairs in front of the McArthur pool complex and settled in for the evening. Our friend B had a tough time on the second loop of the bike so she was slightly behind the others but we decided to stick it out till she passed us the last…
After we spent most of the day on Sunday supporting the Ironman cyclists we headed down to the beachfront after dinner to spent some time supporting those same Ironmen and women on their running leg. Loved Die Burger's poster that said "Moenie omkyk nie" (Don't look back). I don't think I saw anybody look back. I think they are just too tired to care what is happening behind them.
Due to the change of route for Ironman this year we couldn't watch the cycle leg from our usual spot next to Buffelsfontein Road at Mount Pleasant. After church this morning we packed our lunch in a cooler box, grabbed the camp chairs and headed off to the intersection of Victoria Drive and Sardinia Bay Road. After having to walk from the previous intersection because the road was closed way back there (with tons of tuning space and parking at…
Ironkids takes place the day before Ironman and consists of a swim and a run. The Ironkids in Port Elizabeth is the biggest Ironkids competition in the world and would probably have been mush bigger if they didn't have to cap entries. Drama Princess took park in her 5th Ironkids competition this year and had to do a 100 meter swim in McArthur Pool and then a 2 km run that ended on the main red carpet at Hobie Beach…
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GucppFH6TxU&w=500&h=400]Ironman weekend is upon us and tomorrow (Saturday 9 April 2016) we will be in the beachfront to support Drama Princess participation in the Ironkids event. Ironkids take place on the Saturday afternoon and is made up of a swim in McArthur's pool and a run to the main Ironman finish line at Hobie Beach. The video I've posted is a highlights video from a few years back as I couldn't find one from last year.
One of the new additions to the newly revamped Port Elizabeth Opera House is a stained glass window featuring the only three Africans on the continent to win the prestigious Tony Award – John Kani, Winston Ntshona and Athol Fugard. And best of all, they're all from our city. Forty years ago, the trio were nominated for the best play Tony Award, for their co-written play The Island. Kani and Ntshona both walked away with best actor awards for The Island and…