Stonehenge Summer Solstice Celebrations

To celebrate the summer solstice, English Heritage allows the public access to the 5,000-year-old stone circle for the annual event.

Drum-beating and chanting turned to cheering as the sun broke through the clouds shortly after 0500am.

Although the overnight weather dampened the sky and atmosphere, I still think these pictures are especially magical in their own right.

Mystical Love and Sun Worshiping
Orangeblossom xxx

Once upon a Time in the Shire…

Once upon a time across the land of the shire country, lived three hobbits; Orangeblossom Brandybuck of Buckland, Dimple Boffin of Whitfurrows and Lobelia Grubb of Everywhere.

One day there were all sent alone onto the Great Road that led them to the New Yorkshire Forest where they spent 6 months working with other fellow hobbits. It was there where they met each other for the first time. It has been a few years since those days of shared, but the three hobbits have drifted in and out of each others merry lives, always carrying with them the fondest memories of each other.

Of late, the three hobbits have found themselves together in the Old Forest and their friendship and connection just keeps getting stronger. Over rivers, meadows, mountains and fields, they find each other and spend many lazy and exciting days together, basking in the bubble that surrounds them in their ventures. They share so much fun and laughter as they play, and also wonder together about the world to which they belong.

And now Lobelia Grubb of Everywhere is going to settle in the Cornshire with another lovely hobbit called Mungo of the Warwickshire and live happily ever after. Because Lobelia is such a beloved hobbit, some other hobbits may be reluctant to let her go, and maybe cast some shadows of doubt over her new green and happy fields.

And if these other hobbits cast gloomy clouds upon the horizon, willing the rain to pour down, her hobbit sisters will be her sunshine and keep the grumpy clouds at bay.

Her fellow hobbit princesses also want her to remember that they will be her beacons of light and pillars of strength in all times. Not just sad, but happy and merry too. They rejoice in her bliss and hold hands as they dance and jump barefoot in circles of love, friendship and soul sisterhood.

As Bramblerose Cotton of Overhill truly reflected about hobbit sisters:

“She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows when you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your sister."

How blessed Orangeblossom feels to have such beautiful and inspirational soul sisters!

Love and Soul Sisterhood
Orangeblossom xxx

I am an African

I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa’s

I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa

I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa

When Africa weeps for her children
My cheeks are stained with tears
When Africa honours her elders
My head is bowed in respect
When Africa mourns for her victims
My hands are joined in prayer
When Africa celebrates her triumphs
My feet are alive with dancing

I am an African
For her blue skies take my breath away
And my hope for the future is bright

I am an African
For her people greet me as family
And teach me the meaning of community

I am an African
For her wildness quenches my spirit
And brings me closer to the source of life

When the music of Africa beats in the wind
My blood pulses to its rhythm
And I become the essence of music
When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun
My senses drink in its rainbow
And I become the palette of nature
When the stories of Africa echo round the fire
My feet walk in its pathways
And I become the footprints of history

I am an African
Because she is the cradle of our birth
And nurtures an ancient wisdom

I am an African
Because she lives in the world’s shadow
And bursts with a radiant luminosity

I am an African
Because she is the land of tomorrow
And I recognise her gifts as sacred

I am an African

~~ a poem by Wayne Visser


I think this poem is so stunning and inspiring about Africa. Once you have walked upon her sacred ground, breathed in her heavens, and witnessed her pure and extraordinary beauty – you are never left the same. I like to think that I take a bit of Africa’s spirit with me wherever I go, because I am also an African, and what a magnificant blessing that is.

Peace, Love and Happiness
Orangeblossom xxx

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

My many moments of small revelations, present themselves lately while I am on the bus – and yesterday morning was no exception.

I had started thinking about all the decisions I have made in my life so far and how they have influenced and affected me and my outlook on the world.

If you have ever seen the movie “The Butterfly Effect” will agree how well it presents the notion of “every action has a reaction”. Perhaps this reaction is direct or indirect. Every decision affects you or those around you or a strange or all of the above in one way or another. Sometimes for the best and sometimes not. If one really had to analysis every decision one makes, I think that would in itself drive you straight up to the gates of the loony bin.

But I guess one of lifes many lessons (I think this Life Lesson List belongs in a Mary Poppins bag because it becomes never ending!) is that instead of analysing why you made a decision, you should focus on what you learnt from that decision.

I think that through every decision we have something to learn. Learn about ourselves and/or others.

That is all well and good if you feel you have made the right decision, but a whole different ball game if you feel you made the wrong decision. Yet, in saying that, one could argue that who is to say what is “right” and “wrong”. What is sauce for the goose is not always sauce for the gander.

Many things influence the decisions we make as well, like your friends, family, circumstances, values, morals, consequences etc etc. So when faced with a difficult decision, how do you know what to weigh up against what.

Now often I have these mental debates in my head. Sometimes they are quiet and civil, other times it is like a waging war going on. When the verdict is in, I am left with two options. Either I emerge with a winning verdict or I am left feeling like a prisoner of my own convictions.

The latter is the one that we struggle to come to terms with and accept. But I reckon that even in these sad times, we can either come out reformed and safe in the knowledge that we have lived with the consequences of our own actions and have learnt the lesson entailed. Or we continue to look to the past for answers, instead of focusing on the future and to where our decisions have brought us on our life’s path.

Its hard to know where to look for answers. I feel that if you trust your own self enough, those answers will never be far away. Sometimes our lessons are not so obvious and it takes time to finally see the light, so to speak.

I like to believe that everything happens for a reason. How cliché that is, but how so very true. Change happens. And we change. Sometimes I feel I push others to hard for this acceptance of change, but I know that everyone in their own time. Change is neither good nor bad, it is just change. It is the attitude towards these changes that ultimately determines how we allow it to affect us.

So decisions and change…how they add to the trials and tribulations of our lives.

But these trials and tribulations are what makes us stronger. They are a part of life. A part of us. We cant escape them, else we would not be able to learn our lessons and move forward.

So have faith in others, but most of all have faith in yourself because every ones journey is unique and extraordinary.

I will leave you with a few quotes:

“A peacefulness follows any decision, even the wrong one.” ~Rita Mae Brown

“Life is the sum of all your choices.” ~Albert Camus

“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” ~David Russell

“It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off. You cannot make progress without making decisions.” ~Jim Rohn

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” ~Confucius

“We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them.” ~Kahlil Gibran

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Love and Happy Decision Making
Orangeblossom xxx

Summer in the City

England is no doubt a stunningly pretty country, with their green meadows and vast fields carved out by meandering river streams. But oh how this land of the shires comes to life under the beaming rays of the gloriously baking summer sun.

London, especially, is a city transformed when the sun comes out to play. The sun seems to magically inject people with a new vitality and lust for life and the outdoors.

This was the occurrence I witness upon my visit to the capital city this weekend.

I woke on Saturday morning to crystal blue skies, warm sunshine and crisp air. A good start to my journey already. So off I went on my very merry way to Jo’s place in Canada Water.

I think both of us were so eager to bask in the glorious weather, we immediately set forth to catch the bus to Greenwich Park. Greenwich Park lies smack bang on the footsteps of the Greenwich Meridian Observatory.

We found a patchy piece of grass, munched on our picnic munchies and did a bit of people watching. As you do. The sun was belting down and we retreated to some nearby shade on the other side of the park. And we just chilled, lying back and listening to the music of human commotion and activity all around us.

As the afternoon progressed, we walked to the Village. Well sort of. More like we stumbled upon a market with all these great stores. Quality European produce – especially the delicious Turkish Delight we bought.

I have never been to that part of London, but now I will definitely visit their more often. Another fascinating part of London’s multi cultural megalopolis.

So we trekked home, had a cup of tea and contemplated our next move. We were not going to stay indoors on an almost perfect evening. So out we came with the tube map, and let our fingers to the walking, where it stopped by Angel. We decided to just roam the high street and look at all the pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants before deciding on a place to settle. But we found this bustling little Turkish café and managed to secure a table on the street. The chairs were adorned in lush purple velvet and they had all these brightly coloured silk cushions (which we insisted on getting!). Anyway I think (ok I know) our waiter thought we were quite insane, but he warmed to us. As we sat to some authentic Mint Tea and Hookah, our waiter brought us shawls to wear (they had just been washed and smelled like flowers!). Talk about pampering! We felt like princesses! Anyway we tried all sorts of tea… Mint Tea, Turkish Apple Tea and then Mint Tea with orange blossom! Hey we had to try it, and I must say that if I were a flower, I would taste mighty fine indeed!

Before calling it a night, Jo made us some more tea and we went out to the bench by the water and had such a wonderfully insightful and energetic chat – at one point we realized how loud we were talking and how nuts we must of sounded, and in turn, erupted in fits of girly laughter!

Sunday arrived and the sun will still out in full force, although not as intense as Saturday which was maybe a relief as I was beginning to feel giddy with sunny happiness! Its so amazing the effect that sunshine has on you. Its such a life force.

Oh yes, so Craig kindly took us out for breakfast at a traditional English café down the road – very warm and welcoming in there. We lined our stomachs and headed to Regents Park for the Camden Green Fair and Bike Fest.

The Green Fair is to promote Environmental Day and London Sustainability Weeks. There are all sorts of campaigns and charities on show – I headed to the Climate Change and Friends of the Earth stall and chatted to some guy about my degree. But then he started rambling on about something and I couldn’t follow his train of thought, so I hopped along to the next stall. But there were also crafts and vendors offering organic and fair trade food and clothing. There was a stage where some unusual bands played thumping good tunes.

We met some of Jo’s friends throughout the day, and in doing so managed to get permanently lost and walked in circles and circles. But Jo got to have a few conversations with the resident ducks along the way, so happy days!

We finished off the day watching a bit of Street World Cup football between Columbia and Bulgaria in the one section of the park. I am not a sports fan (let alone a football fan!) but I enjoyed the vibe and energy of the game and of the fans.

After two such magnificent days, I was reluctant to leave and only arrived back home at 11:30pm last night.

But it was all worth it – bring on the English summer!!

Love, Happiness and Sunshine
Orangeblossom xxx

Dawn in Darfur

Thanks to Werner for his daily updates, pictures and insight in Darfur. Its so amazing to read what is really going on in places that we see so frequently on tv, but cannot really relate to.

So I read this poem on one of his postings last month and it was so touching. I will keep the authors name Anonymous, to respect his identity. But his poem carries the echoes of his soul, and those of millions of other Sudanese refugees, trying to make sense of the turmoil and devastation left around them.

Darfur is a Casualty

Worry nights about poor babies

whose life on the ground resources

Still waiting for the cloud raining

cleans starvation conflict boiling

The youth instead of standing by

They left Darfur to North Sky

Music of Darfur drums noising

not only for singing and dancing

neither for harvest nor collecting

only for chairs politicians are fighting

also for diet many people are suffering

The youth instead of standing by

They left Darfur for North Sky

Darfur is a great mother of men

she paid for now and then

but nature of life is often

loses hand of generous thieving smile

wonderful world beautiful people exile!

and the robust case which is alive

When do we build responsible life?

The youth instead of standing by

They left Darfur to North Sky

To end off on a more positive note, I have attached a picture that Werner took.

I don’t really have the appropriate words, but when I look at it I don’t just see a man and a boy standing looking out to the horizon. But I see what they must see; the sun rising and bringing with it a new dawn of hope. Surrounded by nothing, the still stand, side to side, in prayer and giving thanks to the sun. Giving thanks and praise to the life that still lives on in Darfur.

Peace, Love and Hope
Orangeblossom xxx

The Bookseller of Kabul

I picked up this book called “The Bookseller of Kabul” by Asne Seierstad, in the library a few weeks ago and finished it this week.

I began reading it and was so taken back by the stark reality and honesty of this story. A fire within me was ignited when reading about the way in which the majority of Afgan families live out their every day lives. In a country torn by war, this book focuses more on how their religion and politics dictate and still reign supreme. It’s the women that bear the brunt of the suffering. My heart bleeds for them and countless other women around the world, ones that we hear of, read of, but seldom stop to just think about what their lives are like in comparison to our own.

At times I had to stop myself from reading further, because I got so upset by the truth of these people and their existence. I felt like just shouting at them in the book! I found this review (from Publishers Weekly) of the book that gives a good overall summary and insight:

“After living for three months with the Kabul bookseller Sultan Khan in the spring of 2002, Norwegian journalist Seierstad penned this astounding portrait of a nation recovering from war, undergoing political flux and mired in misogyny and poverty. As a Westerner, she has the privilege of traveling between the worlds of men and women, and though the book is ostensibly a portrait of Khan, its real strength is the intimacy and brutal honesty with which it portrays the lives of Afghani living under fundamentalist Islam. Seierstad also expertly outlines Sultan's fight to preserve whatever he can of the literary life of the capital during its numerous decades of warfare (he stashed some 10,000 books in attics around town). Seierstad, though only 31, is a veteran war reporter and a skilled observer; as she hides behind her burqa, the men in the Sultan's family become so comfortable with her presence that she accompanies one of Sultan's sons on a religious pilgrimage and witnesses another buy sex from a beggar girl-then offer her to his brother. This is only one of many equally shocking stories Seierstad uncovers. In another, an adulteress is suffocated by her three brothers as ordered by their mother. Seierstad's visceral account is equally seductive and repulsive. An international bestseller, it will likely stand as one of the best books of reportage of Afghan life after the fall of the Taliban.”

“Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering. Some suffer too much, others too little.” – Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta (founder of Buddism)

Sands of Time

A while ago, I read a famous book called “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran (I think it was actually Shireen that bought me the book – once again another shining example of my sisters enlightened influence on me!)

In a nutshell, this book was written by the Lebanese poet, philosopher and artist, Kahlil. It regales the story where, in a distant, timeless place, a mysterious prophet walks the sands. At the moment of his departure, he wishes to offer the people gifts but possesses nothing. The people gather round, each asks a question of the heart, and the man's wisdom is his gift.

It is Gibran's gift to us. On the most basic topics--marriage, children, friendship, work, pleasure--his words have a power and lucidity that in another era would surely have provoked the description "divinely inspired." Free of dogma, free of power structures and metaphysics.

Over time, I will post chapters of his writings when I feel they are most relevant to me - with what is happening in my own life, in the lives of others close to me.

Talking of time, that is what I wanted to blog about. Lately I just feel like I am urging time on, looking to the imminent months ahead, becoming impatient at time. I feel like a child sitting under the Christmas tree, staring at my presents, willing time to hurry up so that I may open them! So, I read this passage again, and I feel more relaxed and at ease. Time is really quite irrelevant, when you think that is only really a measurement of sorts, created by man to explain, justify and live out and our existence.

I always tend to overuse the expressions “Only time will tell” or “Everything and/or everyone in their own time”, but we are all on our own paths, walking along with our own clocks, which tick and tock to the individual rhythms of our own spirits. In essence I believe we will all reach the places we are meant to reach, meet the people we are meant to meet, and live the life we choose to lead, all in our own space and time. Time that is ours…making our time, timeless.

This is what Kahlil has to say about Time…

“ On Time

And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"

And he answered: You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.

Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?

But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.”

Timeless Peace, Love and Happiness
Orangeblossom xxx

To Stir Or Not To Stir

Well it only took me five days to write up a posting about last weekend – I have been in “recovery” mode. But I was also waiting for my photos to be developed, even though I know that photos can never truly justify an experience or moment. So you will just have to take my word for it!

So let’s start from the beginning. I arrived in London on Friday evening and met Jo at Baker Street and we headed up to Shazz’s house. We just mellowed out there until Shazz and Justin (who I hadn’t seen since New York two and a half years ago) arrived. We then went out to Brick Lane in the East End. The evening was warm and mild and there were so many people on the street outside 1001 Café that it looked and sounded like a street festival was on.

We met up with Shelly and Kerry upstairs (it was like a New York reunion of sorts!) and stayed for a few hours. We didn’t do an all nighter, as we were preparing ourselves for Saturday night. Upon waking on Saturday morning (after sleeping on the biggest bed I have ever been on!! Seriously it was like a King and Queen put together!), we were entertained by Shazz’s flatmate Nathan and his friend. They had just come back from a night out in Willesden, so needless to say there were pretty mashed. Shazz made us breakfast in bed and we chilled out there until Jo arrived and then we started getting Shazz’s bags together (as she has taken up care work outside of London) and got a cab down to Jo’s place near Canada Water/Surrey
Quays. Pic below of us by the water.

Justin and Shazz then trekked to Camden, while Jo and I lazed at home and attempted to watch The Fifth Element, but we passed out before halfway. I made us dinner, then we got dressed, were joined by Jo’s mate Craig and made our way to Vauxhall (where we met up with Bryony and Mariano). Finding our way to Stir, we entered the Renaissance Rooms. Ill let you read the review:

“Psy Trance and Breaks two of the fastest-growing underground dance music scenes in the UK are set to merge at STIR the new night from a joint venture by Nano records and Breaksday. STIR follows on from the successful merging of the Breaks and Trance crowds at last summers festivals creating an indoor festival vibe, with two banging dance rooms supported by 2 other tripped-out areas, plus an outdoor chill, chai café, markets and lots of colourful nutters for a pre summer hit of festival feeling. There’s not been anything like it before... Make sure you can say you were there for the first one.”

Now to those that are new to the trance music/party/festivals, it is difficult to define or explain what it is, but this guy wraps it up pretty well:

“I think it’s misunderstood, it’s certainly not easily accessible music - you have got to be in the right frame of mind and that can be challenging,” he suggested, “But like so many things that are acquired tastes, once you get it, you’ve got it and it has long lasting rewards. Another great thing about psy-trance is that the people who are into it are some of the friendliest, most creative people on the planet.”

Happy, Shiny People!!

Anyway….yes so the night kicked off, the rooms were all amazing and the music was trancetastic! We ended up staying in one room, mostly, with us drifting to different rooms and outside. The vibe was really comfortable and not invasive. People just going about doing their own thing, chilling out, chatting, dancing, wandering.



Pics (from left to right): Jo and Shazz ripping up the dance floor. Mariono, Jo and Justin. Mariono, Me and Justin. Byrony, Jo and Me.

We ended up staying until 5am, by the dawn had broken. Shazz, Byrony and Justin took a cab home. Jo and Mariono stayed on. Which left Craig and I to make our way back to Surrey Quays. Now I had printed off a TFL (Transport for London) itinerary earlier in the day, so that we would know which night buses to take. So off Craig and I head on our merry way home, we manage to get two buses to get us to Parliament Square where we had to catch another bus to get us home. That was the plan. Of course, plans rarely go to to plan. So instead of walking all the way round the square to find our bus, we flagged down two lady police offers to guide us the way. Which they did…over the bridge to Waterloo. But hey, I got to see Big Ben and the London Eye on our way – Craig did say we would be doing some sightseeing! So we are standing by the bus stop waiting for about 30 minutes, when we see the bus we want heading in the opposite direction. So off we trot down to Waterloo station, wander along there for a further 30 minutes. Then we see the bus we want, hop on it, head upstairs and rest. About 5 minutes later the bus stops and everyone gets off – but we were in the centre of London – we had got the right bus, just not the right direction!!! So we walk aimlessly for about 10 minutes until we get to Tottencourt Road. By this time we had had enough. And I had run out of change for the bus. So we went into some café and grabbed a juice (which got us going for a few more metres) and finally Craig saw a bus that would take us to Surrey Quays. Which we did and we walked back to Jo’s – finally arriving back at 7am. Two hours later!! Our own little mini adventure! I made us a cup of good ol Rooibos tea and we sat outside, chatting and listening to the birdies chirp their morning tunes.

Jo arrived back soon after and I showered and then headed to meet my “ex” boss from South Africa at her hotel near Hyde Park. By this time I am running purely on ovetiredness – auto pilot mode. We go to Camden and I showed Ann all the crazy, weird and wonderful sights, people and markets. We had a yummy Thai vegetable curry lunch and then I took Ann back to her hotel. From then I just missioned back to Jo’s and arrived just in time – because my feet were about to fall off and I was going to burst into tears because I was soooo tired (29 hours straight, no sleep) and my brain felt like it was all dryed up and I was going delusional!! After a 3 hour nap, I trekked to Euston to jump on the train back to Coventry.

That night and Monday and Tuesday I was pretty knackered and getting ill – nothing an overdose of Vitamin C wouldn’t cure! But it was all worth it.

And that is the just of my weekend – now I am going to hibernate and relax this weekend!

Ta da !!

Love Orangeblossom xxx

The Truth about Cat and Dogs

My precious fairy, Lobelia, sent me these gorgeous pictures a while back. And I thought I would also include some rather agreeable quotes I found on the species of the animal kingdom. Ok I know I may have displayed my affections for cats so obviously, but I did include other animals too!

Oh and the kitty cat in the clothes hanger is actually my cat, Shandy, who has now joined his brother, Oscar, in Cat Heaven.



“Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms” ~ George Eliot

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr.” ~ Martin Delany

“Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve.” – Erich Fromm

“Ever consider what pets must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul - chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!” ~Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist

“Lots of people talk to animals.... Not very many listen, though.... That's the problem.” ~Benjamin Hoff, The Tao of Pooh

Earth from the Air

Hello all you wonderful earthling dwellers!

I have come across a most awesome website (well actually I was given the 2006 diary and saw the amazing pictures and startling facts about the Earth we all inhabit) and thought I would share it with you.

You can have a closer look on www.earthfromtheair.com

I did send this via email a few months ago – but I feel I should Blog it too!

Please take time to read the literature as well (I know it looks lengthy, but it's worth it!), and not just the pretty pictures! It puts things and life in perspective and I think that after reading all the facts, figures and statistics, you might find yourself appreciating your own life and blessings in a new light.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own chaotic lives and worlds, we tend to forget that most of the people in the world are not as lucky as we are. We also don’t appreciate the beautiful planet we live on as often as we should or would like to.

Love the Tree Hugging Wannabee OB xxx

Earth from Air Exhibition – by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

“Our Earth is art, the photographer is only the witness.”

Some facts: how people are living in the world today
This Exhibition presents of aerial photographs show the astonishing beauty of natural and man-made landscapes. Closer up there is a starker reality… illustrated by some facts about humanity at the start of the new millennium:

· If the Earth had formed a year ago, on January 1st, life would have appeared on February 26th, dinosaurs would have arrived on December 10th to vanish 16 days later, and Homo sapiens sapiens would only have showed up very late on December 31st. A few minutes later, in less than a second, he would have drastically altered the fragile balance between land, seas and atmosphere.

· In the last century, the population of our planet has been multiplied by 3, the world fresh water consumption by 6.
· 20 % of the world population lacks access to improved water supplies.
· 20% of the world population living in the richest countries consume 60% of commercial energy.
· 40% of the world population does not have access to electricity.
· World population :1800 : 1 billion1960 : 3 billion (30% urban)2000 : 6 billion2050 : 9 billion (70% urban) projected
· Every week, more than 1 million people are added to the urban population in the world.
· The amount of oil consumed in 6 weeks, half of which is used in transportation, would have lasted 1 year in 1950.
· The decade of the 1990’s was the warmest since 1861.
· Half of humanity lives on less than $2 (£1.15) (AU$2.80) (R12.55) a day.
· Total world military expenditure : $798 billion (£457 billion)
· Official Development Assistance : $53.7 billion (£30.8 billion)
· In industrial countries, the volume of garbage generated per inhabitant has tripled in the last 20 years.
· World available reserves of fresh water :in 1950 : 600,372 cubic feet per capitain 2000 : 275,465 cubic feet per capita
· 826 million people are under-nourished in the world.
· 11 of the 15 major fishing zones in the world are in decline today.
· One out of five adults is unable to either read or write ; 98% of them are in developing countries and 66% of them are women.
· Average temperature has increased by 0.6 °C in the last century; it could increase by2 to 6 °C over the next 100 years.
· CO2 releases due to human activities are responsible for over 60% of the increase in greenhouse effect.
· The average thickness of the Arctic ice field has dropped from 3.12 m in the 1960s to 1.8 m in the 1990s.
· During this century, ocean levels should go up by 50 cm *5 . Holland could see 6% of its lands disappear under water, and Bangladesh, 17%. The evacuation of the Tuvalu archipelago in Micronesia has already started.
· The frequency of climate related natural catastrophes has more than doubled between the 1970s and the 1990s.
· From the 1980s to the 1990s, the number of people affected by natural catastrophes has increased by 50%, and the related costs have multiplied by 10.
· The death toll of a natural catastrophe is 47 times greater in developing countries than in rich developed nations.
· Every year, there are 15000 to 20000 casualties due to antipersonnel land mines and other unexploded devices.
· Throughout the world, over 300,000 children, both boys and girls, are soldiers. Many of them aren’t even 10 years old.
· Over the last 10 years, public aids to development have dropped by 29%.
· On average, an American draws 600 litres of water per day, a European, 250, an African, 30.
· 80 countries, accounting for 40% of world population, suffer from serious water shortage.
· 70 % of fresh water are used to irrigate cultivated farmland.
· A third of the world landmass suffers from desertification.
· In developing countries, 80% of farmers do not need to alter their production methods to be certified organic.
· The making of a personal computer necessitates 8 to 14 tons of non-renewable raw materials.
· In the course of his or her life, a child born in an industrialised country will consume more and generate more pollution than 30 to 50 children born in a developing country.
· 40 million people die of starvation every year in a world that produces 356 kilos of cereals per person.
· The food industry spends $40 billion a year in advertising. Children are the first victims: 10% to 30 % of children in developed countries suffer from overweight. At the same time, 500,000 children throughout the world become blind each year for lack of vitamin A.
· At harvesting time in Kenya, 30% of coffee pickers are children.
· The sales of fair trade products in Europe are going up, but they account at best for 3.5% of purchases on their leading product – coffee.
· 600 million people throughout the world live in the insalubrious shantytowns around big cities.
· Some 140 countries out of 200 worldwide now hold pluralistic elections.This is more than at any other time in History. However, 82 countries only, accounting for 57% of world population, are fully democratic.
· Nowadays, dire famines only appear where there is no democracy.

Amazing Art Work

Just thought I would place these amazingly different pieces of art on my blog (thanks to Lobelia fairy!)

They are awesome - great to place is some frames, something different.

OB xxx

Soldier of Africa

My sister, Shireen, sent me an email this week, which included info on OCHA (the UN Office for the Coordination Humanitarian Affairs). I have researched OCHA and other NGO’s as part of my Disaster Management research. It is not just the amazing efforts by these organizations that strengthen the response to both complex emergencies and natural disasters. But by the soldiers on the ground, from all over the world, united as one movement to help aid those in need.

Werner is a South African soldier, working as an infantry captain and is also a UN/AU military observer in Darfur, Sudan. Please check out his blog “Soldier of Africa”

http://rsasoldier.blogspot.com/

His pictures are truly amazing and heartbreaking. It really puts the truth of the situation into perspective.

My admiration and awe at people like Werner cannot be fully expressed in words, and I hope one day (after I finish my degree) I can join in their league of people doing extraordinary things. Like Werner says in his blog: “This is my world and I could not imagine doing anything else”.

It’s simply...a calling.

PEACE, love and safe travels (esp to Werner!)
Orangeblossom

Shiny Happy People

After my last blog of unhappiness, I thought I’d balance it out with a blog of happiness!

What is the definition of happiness anyway? It is probably impossible to objectively define happiness as we know and understand it.

Here are some happiness quotes and some happy thoughts:

“True happiness is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” - by Helen Keller

“Happiness is man's greatest aim in life. Tranquility and rationality are the cornerstones of happiness.” - the meaning of happiness according to Epicurus

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” - by Hugh Downs

“Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.” - by Aristotle

"If you want happiness for an hour -- take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day -- go fishing.
If you want happiness for a month -- get married.
If you want happiness for a year -- inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime -- help someone else.” - Chinese proverb

"Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have." – by Doris Mortman

There is also Positive Psychology in happiness or doing things that make you and others happy. Martin Seligman in his book Authentic Happiness gives the positive psychology definition of happiness as consisting of both positive emotions (like comfort) and positive activities (like absorption).

He presents three categories of positive emotions:

past: feelings of satisfaction, contentment, pride, and serenity.
present (examples): enjoying the taste of food, glee at listening to music, absorption in reading, and company of people you like e.g. friends and family.
future: feelings of optimism, hope, trust, faith, and confidence.

There are three categories of present positive emotions:

bodily pleasures, e.g. enjoying the taste of food.
higher pleasures, e.g. glee at listening to music.
gratifications, e.g. absorption in reading.


There are so many ways to find happiness. What makes you happy? What brings you happiness?

I will leave with a song from REM that automatically popped in my head when I wrote the subject line.

Shiny Happy People – by R.E.M

Shiny happy people laughing
Meet me in the crowd
People people
Throw your love around
Love me love me
Take it into town
Happy happy
Put it in the ground
Where the flowers grow
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing
Everyone around love them, love them
Put it in your hands
Take it take it
There's no time to cry
Happy happy
Put it in your heart
Where tomorrow shines
Gold and silver shine
Shiny happy people holding hands
Shiny happy people laughing

Peace, love and HAPPINESS
Orangeblossom xxx

Zuma Circus

On the way to work today, I picked up the Metro newspaper andfound myself looking at the laughing face of Jacob Zuma after the not guilty verdict was read out. Then I saw pictures of his fanatical and die hard supporters, cheering him on. I need to vent out my anger, frustration, and arrrgrrgrggrrrrgggg!!!

As a fellow South African, I can say that it is indeed a sad day for South African politics and the nation. How can a man who faces corruption charges, be reinstated as deputy president of the ANC. It’s shocking. And how can he placed in such a high position of power, when he is not even educated in the basic prevention of Aids. He is living in a country with the highest rate of AIDS infection in the world - yet he is so ignorant and arrogant about the fact that he had unprotected sex with a women with Aids and thought he would "wash himself clean" in the shower! Where is his logic? Where is his common sense? And this coming from a man set to be the next president.

There will never be fair justice in South Africa for the politicians that continue to corrupt and be corrupted. He may have been found innocent of rape charges, but what next? Now all his supporters will use this verdict as a campaign to ‘prove’ that Zuma is the man to take the next presidency. Where is the logic and common sense of these people – seriously if they can support a man who is still facing corruption charges - corruption of the very people he claims to ‘love and would die for’. It’s a joke.

Not to mention that its the tax payers who gets to foot his entourage of lawyers' bills for both cases. Good to see our nations money is being so well spent not by the politicians, but FOR the politicians.

I saw a documentary on channel 4 last week about the appalling conditions in Kenya. In one scene you saw almost a million people living on the biggest rubbish dump in the world, trying to exist in a country that will not even acknowledge their existence. Then in the next scene you see the ministers of Kenya all decked out in suits outside the parliament, driving away in the latest Mercedes Benz’s.

The investigator made such a startlingly accurate observations that if the African leaders would get over their insatiable lust for money and power, only then will the African people they ‘serve’ be truly served.

I vented my anger on the www.bbc.co.uk/news website and found these comments from people all over the world.

“What saddens me more than anything about not only the trial itself but also the circus that surrounded it (both media and various groups) trivialised not only the right to due process but also the courts ruling in this regard. This trail (circus) has set womens' rights in South Africa back 20 years, and any good that had so far been done in terms of educating the masses about HIV/AIDS and rape is now laid to waste.”

“What i can´t find an answer to yet,is this educated leaders who are suppose to bring about changes, goes about having unprotected sex and enriching themselves with public funds.”

“Guilty or not guilty, the whole episode is a serious indictment to Africa. We have leaders who say one thing and practice another. What makes this whole saga sickening is the fact that we have gullible men and women who blindly follow leaders just because they are from the same tribe. Zuma is morally dispicable and has shown a weaknesses that are unbecoming of a future leader. Zuma's supporters have nothing whatsoever to celebrate. With leaders of Zuma's calibre, South is headed for disaster. Just look to the north of Limpompo to see what a reckless leadership can do to a country.”

“Just a thought. If the complainant has to go into exile what will happen to the judge who takes the corruption case should he not rule in Zuma's favour.”

“Its a sad day for SA. Being black, I had hoped that we could have shown we are not like the rest of Africa, where power means you can do what you feel like and get away with it. Anyone with some common sense know what Zuma is, powercrazed and corrupt. I'm sure he'll be freed of the corruption charges even if anyone can see that his earnings could never pay for his lifestyle and property buys.Sadly the masses are easaly led and education is lacking, this makes it easy to corrupt these people.Now I can only see SA go the way of Zimbabwe - shame on us.”

“As a South African living abroad I felt this trail a least brought to light the evidence that he is not fit to be deputy or ever president. His poor knowledge of Aids , something that is affecting millions is unacceptable!”

Balance, Love and Life

I feel I have been neglecting my little blog, but I guess I have just been feeling ‘not with it’ for the last couple of days. Like my mom always said “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” I have just been having days when I am frustrated, irritated, anxious – and even more annoyed because I cannot pinpoint the exact reason why I am feeling like this…arrgg!! Ok breathe…no its all good. Ups and downs. Highs and lows. Such is the cycle of life.

But anyway so I figured I would just try to stop analysing people and situations, because it was just creating negative energy around me.

It seems like a lot of my friends are going through a bit of an emotional time right now. And even though you try to give them the best advice or motivation, they just can’t see past their pain and confusion. You just want to cocoon them in a bubble of love and warmth and tell them that everything will be alright. Everything will work out for the best. Then there is the reversal of this, like when friends fall hopelessly in love, and they tend to neglect their friends and consume all their time with a partner. I know they don’t do this intentionally, but still you can’t help but feel slightly brushed aside. Balance. I guess we all need a bit of balance in life, and I am trying to consciously be aware of that in what I do and also with who I am and around.

Anyway my good friend, Lee-ann, sent me this passage from Kent Nerburn’s “Letters to My Son” and I thought it was so beautifully expressed and written. And I thought I would share it too. It is titled “Falling in Love” but I think it applies to other relationships, friendships and life experiences as well.

***

Falling In Love

It is a mystery why we fall in love. It is a mystery how it happens. It is a mystery when it comes. It is a mystery why some love grows and it is a mystery why some love fails.

You can analyze this mystery and look for reasons and causes, but you will never do anymore than take the life out of the experience.

Just as life itself is more than the sum of the bones and muscles and electrical impulses in the body, love is more than the sum of the interests and attractions and commonalities that two people share.
And just as life is a gift that comes and goes in its own time, so too, the coming of love must be taken as an unfathomable gift that cannot be questioned in its ways.

Sometimes, hopefully at least once in your life - the gift of love will come to you in full flower, and you will take hold of it and celebrate it in all inexpressible beauty. This is the dream we all share.

More often, it will come and take hold of you, celebrate you for a brief moment, then move on.

When this happens to young people, they too often try to grasp the love and hold it to them, refusing to see that it is gift that is freely given and a gift that just as freely, moves away.

When they fall out of love, or the person they love feels the spirit of love leaving, they try desperately to reclaim the love that is lost rather than accepting the gift for what it was, then moving on.

They want answers where there are no answers. They want to know what is wrong in them that makes the other person no longer love them, or they try to get their lover to change, thinking that if some small things were different, love would bloom again.

They blame their circumstances and say that if they go far away and start a new life together, their love will grow.

They try anything to give meaning to what happened. But there is no meaning beyond the love itself, and until they accept its own mysterious ways, they live in a sea of misery.

You need to know this about love, and to accept it. You need to treat what it brings you with kindness.
If you find yourself in love with someone who does not love you, be gentle with yourself. There is nothing wrong with you. Love just didn't choose to rest in the other person's heart.

If you find someone else in love with you and you don't love her, feel honoured that love came and called at your door, but gently refuse the gift you cannot return. Do not take advantage, do not cause pain.

How you deal with love is how you deal with you, and all our hearts feel the same pains and joys, even if our lives and ways are different.

If you fall in love with another, and she falls in love with you, and then love chooses to leave, do not try to reclaim it or to assess blame. Let it go. There is a reason and there is a meaning. You will know in time.

Remember that you don't choose love. Love chooses you. All you can really do is accept it for all its mystery when it comes into your life. Feel the way it fills you to overflowing, then reach out and give it away.

Give it back to the person who brought it alive in you. Give it to others who deem it poor in spirit. Give it to the world around you in anyway you can. This is where many lovers go wrong. Having been so long without love, they understand love only as a need. They see their hearts as empty places that will be filled by love, and they begin to look at love as something that flows to them rather than from them.

The first blush of new love is filled to overflowing, but as their love cools, they revert to seeing their love as a need. They cease to be someone who generates love and instead becomes someone who seeks love. They forget that the secret of love is that it is a gift, and that it can be made to grow only by giving it away..

Remember this, and keep it to your heart. Love has its own time, its own seasons, and its own reasons for coming and going. You cannot bribe it or coerce it, or reason it into staying. You can only embrace it when it arrives and give it away when it comes to you. But if it choose to leave from your heart or from the heart of your lover, there is nothing you can do and there is nothing you should do.

Love always has been and always will be a mystery. Be glad that it came to live for a moment in your life.
If you keep your heart open, it will come again.

***

Love and Balance!
Orangeblossom xxx

My Matrix May Day May Day

Another long weekend come and gone, this one seemed to escape quicker than the others though.

I was blessed to have Jo and Sharon visit me in Coventry this weekend – how wonderful! We spent our days lazing and grazing in Memorial Park chatting to each other and listening to the birds singing their own songs. We roamed a bit around the cathedral and cathedral ruins – then went to this Spirit Fair in the church – it was refreshing to see Christianity mixing and merging with other holistic and alternative spiritualities.

Looking back on my weekend, there was a theme that kept running and resurfacing through, and I am not sure how to delve into the topic, so I will do as I usual do and just let the words flow onto the pages in whatever random order they wish.

Rebirth.

Rebirth or resurrection or awakening or whatever you may call it. Seeing something or someone for the first time in all its truth, even though it was right in front of you the whole time.

It’s like you don’t often fully appreciate the freedom that most of us have had since our childhood. Until we reach a certain age, we are dependant on our parents for nutrition, clothing, safety and love. When we start developing our own personalities, our own curiosities and our own opinions, our parents allow us to explore all these different things. We are allowed to fall, so that we can teach ourselves to rise. We are allowed to hurt, so that we can teach ourselves to heal. We are allowed to play, so that we can learn the importance of connecting with others and ourselves.

I guess sometimes our parents never full explain themselves in the way that we would understand. This is no fault of their own, they are just trying to do the best for their children. As adults and we think about some of the things our parents taught us, suddenly make sense and we can laugh about it, or cry about it, and most importantly appreciate it.

So what happens when you have not had freedom in your life? What we call freedom, could be another persons prison.

Which ‘world’ is the right world to exist in. The West and East continue to fight about this debate today. The West sees their world as one of freedom of expression and speech, democracy, just and full of opportunity. The East sees their world as one of tradition, spirit, discipline and faith. Both East and West see each other’s worlds as suppressing, controlling, corrupt, and faithless.

What is comes down to, is that everyone should be allowed the freedom…of choice.

And when you come across another that has not been able to share in this gift, you are astounded as first, but then a sense of deep sadness overcomes you. Ignorance is, indeed, bliss. We see it on tv, but it remains an image on a screen, it does not become real because the reality of it would overwhelm us too greatly. When it does become a reality – your reality – then it sets off little alarm bells in your head. You are taken back in time to your memories to reflect, remember and appreciate the good in your life.

I saw the Matrix again last night, and every time I see it, I see it in a new light. On a literal level, it seems quite straightforward. But scratch the surface, free your mind, and you will discover that the Matrix is like a metaphor for the world we live in. The Wachowski brothers probably scribbled a little P.S. note when they finished the script saying: “THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT YOUR EXISTENCE. What is the Matrix, you ask? Something that's closer to reality than you think.”

One of my favorite verbal exchanges is between arch enemies and nemesis’s Agent Smith and Neo when they are finally having the fight that will end all fights.

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more that your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

Neo: Because I choose to.

So I will end this rambling of thoughts with something from Mother Teresa:

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is life, fight for it.

Then there are days when I feel that sometimes we need to stop analyzing the past …stop planning the future…stop trying to figure out precisely how we feel…stop deciding with our mind what we want our heart to feel and sometimes we just have to go with "whatever happens…happens".

How I love contradiction !!

Thanks Dimple Boffin and Lobelia for another inspiring and energetically, spirit fused weekend!

Peace, love and safe travels
Orangeblossom xxx

Proudly South African!

What does it mean to be South African?

Besides having it printed on your birth certificate and passport. Every nationality has its own culture, quirks, expressions etc and one way or another you always end up carrying a bit of this culture with you, wherever in the world you may find yourself. One tends to notice our unique Saffer tendencies more when you are out of SA, andyou cant help but wonder where and how on earth we came up with these expressions.

Those of you who have lived in London – you know exactly what I am talking about. You can see and hear the boereseuns with their khaki shorts and Springbok jerseys on, and you cringe. And we don’t cringe because we are offended by them, or think that we would react the same way if we were back home. I just guess that they represent a sort of extreme type of Saffer and that you don’t want them parading around giving other people the “wrong” or extreme impression of us. I know that sounds extremely judgemental (ok I admit, it is judgemental of me!) but when you step out of your country and into another, your views and opinions inevitably change. For the better or for the worst.

Sometimes I go down into London and I just don’t want to be around fellow Saffers (besides my precious Saffer friends from back home) because you see the change in them. We do have a reputation for sticking together, staying in our little clicks. You end up thinking “Is this how we really act? Or is it just for show? Is it a rebellion of sorts or celebration of new found independence that causes this change in behaviour?” It is like we rediscover our patriotism!

Like food that you suddenly miss (or discover a new affection or craving for!) when you are out of Safferland:

Biltong and droewors
Niknaks, Chappies, Fizzers, Lunch bars, Tex bars, Super C’s, Jelly tots
Mrs Balls chutney
Pronutro
Zoo biscuits, Romany Creams, Marie biscuits, Tennis biscuits, Ouma rusks
Fanta Grape, Sparletta Cream Soda and Lemon Twist, Milo, Rooibos Tea

Ok, so that might be an extreme look at things, but I think that it all boils down to that we are all really proud of being a South African (no matter what the current state of affairs is there) and we want the world to know about it how beautiful our country and her people are.

Our South Africanisms become even more apparent and obvious when you surrounded by non-Saffers (like Aussies, Kiwis, Pommies) and other nationalities even though to try explain our unique social, political, religious, geographical divisions to a foreigner can be quite complex and long winded. You just want to hand them “An Idiots Guide” because our culture is so rich and diverse, that one really has to experience it.

I will always remember one time in Australia, Shireen, Shae (my cousin) and I went to the shop and bought some goodies. Anyway Shireen has bought two things (I struggle to remember if they were chocs, drinks or food! Porridge brain alert!) and Shae asked if she was going to have them both at the same time. To which Shireen replied: “No, I am having this one so long, and the other Ill have just now.” I merely nodded my head in understanding. But Shae just stared blankly at us and asked “Sorry, what on earth did you just say? Are you speaking English? How can you have something so long? How long? Whats long? And Just now? That doesn’t even make sense!” We ended up hosing (see definition below!) ourselves and my aunt (who had been to SA, and had married a Saffer) just shook her head – she understands that while most of us speak Saffers speak fluent English, that doesn't mean you'll always understand what we're talking about!

A beginner's guide to the real South African language and culture:

Ag
This one of the most useful South African words. Pronounced like the "ach" in the German "achtung", it can be used to start a reply when you are asked a tricky question, as in: "Ag, I don't know." Or a sense of resignation: "Ag OK, I'll have some more mieliepap then." It can stand alone too as a signal of irritation.

Amped (Full of energy)
Usually induced by adrenaline, feeling wired or high on fear, either before paddling into a huge ocean, or the sheer stoke of being alive afterwards.

Aweh ('Ah-wear') (Greeting) eg "Aweh my bru" (Hello my friend) Also howzit, yooit, hoesit, yo.

Braai (pronounced br-eye)
What is a braai? It is the first thing you will be invited to when you visit South Africa. A braai is a backyard barbecue and it will take place whatever the weather.

Babalaas ('Bub-ba-lars')
The hangover from hell, fondly called a "Barbie". The Babalas is no mythical beast. But look at yourself in the mirror and you'll wonder as you examine that furry tongue slithering in a mumbling, parched mouth, puffy eyelids scraping bloodshot eyeballs.

Bakkie
This word is pronounced "bucky" and can refer to a small truck or pick-up. Boerewors (vorse)Farmstyle sausage or "wors". (Literally, "Farmers Sausage"). It is a spicy sausage made from hundreds of secret recipes all over the Platteland and beyond. It is consumed in vast quantities on braais all over the country.

Brew (Beer)
"Buy me a brew bru." (Buy me a beer mate)Bru ('Broo'), broer , brah, bro, bree, brahdeen(Brother, friend, mate, china, buddy) Variations include brah, bru, broer, bror, bro, bra, brra and brah. It's from the Afrikaans word for brother (broer), which is pronounced 'broo' with a roll of the rrr at the end. That's why lazy English speakers adopted only the 'broo' sound.

Cooldrink, colddrink
This is the common term for a soda. Ask for a soda in South Africa and you will receive a club soda. Coca-Cola is a colddrink or cooldrink.

Check (Look, do you see?)
"You check" (See what I mean? Do you follow? Are you with me?) or "Check this out" (Look at this) or "Are you checking me skeef?" (Are you looking at me crooked - do you want to fight me?)

China (A friend) And a colleague or acquaintance, or someone you don’t know at all.

Chuck (Depart, leave, go, split,) "Let's chuck."

Dof ('Dorf')
(Afrikaans – “not bright”, “dull”) Stupid. Dunce. Someone who is dof, is not necessarily that way all the time. It is often used to describe a temporary loss of brain cells. It can also be used as a noun "You doffie." (You stupid person)

Doss (Sleep) or take a nap of kip

Dop
A dop is a drink, a cocktail, a sundowner, a noggin.

Eina (‘aynah’)
Widely used by all language groups, this word, means "ouch."

Fully
This is also an affirmation. If this was the question: "Did you check that?” this might be the answer: "Fully bru."

Guava ('gwava')
Apart from meaning the fruit, South Africans use guava as an alternative name for a bottom, backside, bum or butt. "His skateboard hit a rock and he fell on his guava."

Hone (Stink) eg "Your feet hone bru"!

Hose (Laugh) eg "He was hosing himself when he fell in the pool."

Hey
Often used at the end of a sentence to emphasize the importance of what has just been said, as in "You're only going to get donnered if you come in late again, hey?" It can also stand alone as a question. Instead of saying "excuse me?" or "pardon me?" when you have not heard something directed at you, you can always say: "Hey?"
Howzit
This is a universal South African greeting, and you will hear this word throughout the country. It is often accompanied with the word "Yes!" as in: "Yes, howzit?". In which case you answer "No, fine."

Isit? (Izzit?)
This conversational word is used widely and in response to just about anything. Derived perhaps from the English way of saying "Is it really?" If you don't feel like participating in a conversation with a dik ou at a braai, but don't wish to appear rude, just say "Isit" at appropiate gaps in his description of how he decapitated a Kudu with his bare hands.

Jawelnofine
This is another conversation fallback. Derived from the four words:
"yes", "well", "no" and fine", it roughly means "OK". If your bank manager tells you your account is overdrawn, you can, with confidence, say: "Jawelnofine."

Jislaaik (pronounced yis-like)
This is an expression of surprise, as in: "Jislaaik, I can't believe that I won the national lottery!"

Just now (In a little bit)
Universally used in South Africa, If someone says he will do it "just now", be warned. It might be in 10 minutes, 10 hours or never. "I'll clean my room just now, Ma." If someone says "now now", you're making progress. It won't be done immediately, or instantly, but probably less than 10 minutes, barring distractions that relegate it back to "just now".

Klap ('klup')
An Afrikaans word meaning smack, whack or spank. If you spend too much time in front of the TV during exam time, you could end up getting a "klap" from your mother. In America, that is called child abuse. In South Africa, it is called promoting education.

Koki (pronounced koh-key) - A coloured marker or felt-tip pen.

Kak ('Kuk')
This is used in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways, in exactly the same way as the word "shit". Hence, "Don’t talk kak" or "Don’t give me kak" or "You're so full of kak” or “Having a kak day” or “He is in the kak” …

Lappie (pronounced luppie) - A cloth used for various cleaning purposes. It might be a kitchen cloth or the oil rag that your china is using while he works on his car.

Lame (Weak, feeble) "That was a lame excuse,bru."

Lank (A lot, much, many)
It’s used as an all-encompassing South African adjective to boost the size of things, whether objects, emotions, or whatever. "There are lank people in the water.", "I dig her lank."

Larny (Fancy, designer clothes, snob, friend)
A number of variations on a word denoting someone who is well-dressed, or designer clothes, or a well-to-do function. The person can be larney. The clothes can be larney as in "Jees, you are wearing larney clothes." or "Why are you dressed so larney?"

Lightey ('laai-tie')
Is a youngster eg "That lightey is a pretty good surfer, for a grommet." (That boy surfs well, considering he belongs to a lower caste)

Loskop (Afrikaans: "Loose Head")
Absent minded, forgetful . Someone with plenty of space between the ears for the brain to rattle around in.

Lekker
An Afrikaans word meaning nice, this word is used by all language groups to express approval. If you enjoyed a braai thoroughly, you can say: "Now that was lekk-errrrrrr!" while drawing out the last syllable.

Naught (No, Oh no!)
Used like "nooit". "Naught bru! Don't drop in on me again or I'll moer you with a pole." (No mate! Don't try and steal my wave or I will beat you with a pole.)

Now Now (In a little while)
"We're going surfing now now." (We're about to go surfing. Exactly when? Well, that depends on how long we take to finish watching the video and putting on the roofracks). The good thing about Now Now is that it is probably going to happen quicker than the even more flexi-time "Just now."

Padkos ('put-koss')(Afrikaans – lit. “road food”)
Food for the journey. Padkos is usually a few sarmies (sandwiches), some cooldrinks, chips, fruit and maybe a lekker stukkie biltong.

Park off (Chill out) When you park off, you sit down and relax. It can also mean to sit down, as in, "Pete, why don’t you park here?"

Poepol ('Poo-pawl')
Idiot, twit. Enough said.

Robot (Traffic light)
Peculiar way of describing a traffic light. But then, we only got TV in the mid 1970s. Sometimes they pronounce the word "row-bow". An example of usage would be when giving directions: "Turn left at the second robot."

Rock up
To rock up is to just, sort of arrive (called "gatecrash" in other parts of the world). You don't make an appointment or tell anyone you are coming - you just rock up. Friends can do that but you have to be selective about it. For example, you can't just rock up for a job interview.

Rooibos (Red bush tea)
This tannin-free herb tea comes mostly from the Clanwilliam area of the Western Cape. It is made from the Aspalathus linearis bush. Homesick South Africans buy it from gourmet stores around the world, even if they don't like it.

Sarmie (Sandwich) Kids sometimes take a sarmie to school in the morning.

Scale
To scale something is to steal it. A person who is "scaly" has a doubtful character, is possibly a scumbag, and should rather be left off the invitation list to your next braai.

Schlep (Hassle, hard work) "It's such a schlep working for someone."

Shot (Thanks, goodbye, yours sincerely)
"Shot bru", "Shot Dot", "Shot". You will end your letter, "Shot, Peter" You will say "shot bru" when you say goodbye to a friend. You will also say, "shot" when your bru (mate) buys you a brew (beer).

Sjoe ('Shoe') (Afrikaans expletive)
"Sjoe broer, that wave was awesome." Also shew and shewee.

Skeef ('Skee-urf') (Afrikaans - Bent, crooked, provocative)
A classic saying heard in bars around South Africa is "Are you checking me skeef, China?" (Are you looking at me funny, brah?)

Skeem ('Scheme')(Think, opinion)
"You skeem?" (You think so?) "What do you skeem?" (What do you think?)

Skedonk (Afrikaans) Battered car. A really beaten up old jalopy.

So long
Meaning ‘in the meantime’

Sosatie (Kebab)
Made from either chicken, lamb or beef, this is often interspersed with pieces of tomato, green pepper, onion and sometimes fruit, especially apricot.

Stukkend ('Stuk-int')(Afrikaans – broken.)
Broken, ruined, finished, wrecked, to the extreme. There are a number of variations, such as "I'm going to moer you stukkend if you do that again" (I am going to beat you senseless if you do that again". "When she left me my heart was stukkend" (my heart was smashed tight with despair), "I was stukkend last night" (wrecked) or "I smaak you stukkend" (I dig you lank).

Sukkel ('Sukul')(Afriikaans – Struggle, have difficulty with) eg "With the current so strong the surfers are sukkeling out there today."

Swak (‘swuk’)(Bad, nasty, downer) A disappointed surfer will choon, "Swak bru, the surf is flat."

Samoosa (pronounced suh-moo-suh) - A small, spicy, triangular-shaped pie that has been deep-fried in oil. Made by the Indian and Malay communities, samoosas are popular with South Africans in general.

Shame
Unlike elsewhere in the world, this is an expression that broadly denotes sympathetic feeling. For example, when admiring a baby someone might say: "Ag shame!" to indicate that the baby is cute.

Skinner
Gossip, as in: "Hey china, have you heard the latest skinner?" Someone who talks behind someone's back is known as a skinnerbek. Example: "Jislaaik bru, I'm going to donner that skinnerbek for skinnering about me." Translation: "Gee my friend, I'm going to hit that guy for gossiping about me behind my back."

Skrik
This word means fright and will often be used as follows: "I caught a big skrik." You'll catch a skrik when there is a sudden noise behind your back or if a car veers in front of you on the highway.

Slap chips (pronounced slup chips) - French fries, usually soft, oily and vinegar-drenched, bought in a brown paper bag. "Slap" is an Afrikaans word meaning "limp", which is how French fries are generally made here.

Slip-slops, slops
Sandals or rubber thongs worn to the beach. These usually have a thin strap between the big toe and the toe next to it. Not to be worn with socks!

Spanspek - The South African word for cantaloupe.

Still - Often used to mean "on the other hand", as in "Still ... you never know." It is also used in place of "nonetheless" or "regardless".

Tackies
These are sneakers or running shoes. The word is also used to describe automobile or truck tires. "Fat tackies" are really wide tires, as in: "You've got lekker fat tackies on your V?, hey?"

Tjommie (“chômmy”)(Originally Afrikaans - Mate, friend, bru)
Slightly old fashioned Afrikaans word that originates from the quaint Victorian word "Chum". Not to be confused with chumming, when you throw gore into the water to attract sharks. That's not a lekker way to treat your chinas, especially if they are surf "tjommies".

Tune grief
To be tuned grief is to be aggravated, harassed. For example, if you argue with somebody about a rugby game at a braai and the person had too much dop, he might easily get aggravated and say.: "You're tuning me grief, hey!". To continue the argument after this could be unwise and result in major tuning of grief.

Yissus, yerre, yussus, yurruh (Expression of surprise)
Many use it without knowing where it comes from. It's an expression of surprise, or fear, or shock.


Still my tjommies, you check what I am trying to say?! Ag, I must chuck now now and skeem I go find a place to park off and munch my lekker sarmie and drink my rooibos. Have a lank cool weekend hey!!

Peace, love, and safe travels
Orangeblossom xxx

My Path To Healing & Spiritual Growth

I am not sure where to start with this, my thoughts filter in and out so fast, that I need to consciously grab them and stick them all together in a little box somewhere in my brain – so they tend to get jumbled up and scrambled!

I have taken out a book called “The Idiots Guide to Buddism” because I have been gaining an interest in more Eastern philosophies and religions. Not that I am about to pack up my bags, trek to the Himalayas, shave my head and spend the rest of my days in deep mediation in a monastery (although how good does that sound?!!)

Why journey on a path of enlightenment? Why go through this “Spiritual Growth”?

Can it even be defined? Is it to find the meaning of life?Is it to find your self?Is it to get rid of the Self itself?Is it to become a better person?Is it to become a greater person?Is it to become enlightened?Is it to become at all?

Maybe, but there is this extract from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying that can perhaps simply shed some light on our spiritual growth and why is it so hard to keep it nourished and flourishing:

I walk down the street

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost.

I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I'm in the same place again.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in, it's a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

My interpretation of this, is that instead of trying to ignore or forget our faults, disappointments, tragedies and failures – perhaps we should embrace and face up to them. Embrace them because without them, we would cease to find out just how high we can rise from the ashes.

Buddhism actually teaches that the essence of the unenlightened life IS suffering.

In my times of sadness, regret, pity, anger, heartache I often push myself to move on and be strong about it. But sometimes I don’t want to be this pillar of strength, I just want to grieve, feel the emptiness and sadness wash over me, as if I was lying on a deserted beach and allowing the tide to flow in, to a point where I am eventually drowning in the waves around me. But then with a gasp, I surface and breathe in the light that I couldn’t see in the darkness I was in.

You cannot find the Light unless you enter the darkness. There is always light – in life and in the people in your own life.

Some of the worst things and feelings that we experience at some point in our lives:

Being told that someone is better than you. Knowing that you're being lied to. Letting yourself be beat down. Crying hard. Losing someone close. Watching yourself fade away. Falling apart because you're alone. Being alone when you're falling apart. Hating yourself. Not being good enough. Being mad at someone because you're mad at yourself. Best friends falling apart. Being on the sidelines. Breaking up. Falling out of love. Being used. Being made fun of. Changing for someone else.

Whenever we are struck by such hardships in our lives, we tend to focus very inwardly and inflict unnecessary self blame. We ask “Why did this happen to me?” instead of saying “Ok this has happened. Now what lesson can be learnt from it?”

But perhaps we need to go through these trials and heartaches, to fully grow and move on. I found the following quote on a website called

www.boardofwisdom.com and I think it rings so true:

“Happiness needs sadness. Success needs failure. Benevolence needs evil. Love needs hatred. Victory needs defeat. Pleasure needs pain. You must experience and accept the extremes. Because if the contrast is lost, you lose appreciation; and when you lose appreciation, you lose the value of everything.” - Philippos

Through pain, we heal.

I think to start our own healing process, we need to forgive. Not just each other, but also ourselves.

The dictionary defines the word forgive as: to pardon, as to for-give an enemy; to cease to feel resentment for, as to forgive an offense.

Often times after we have been emotionally, physically or spiritually hurt, the pain quickly turns to anger and resentment. We go over the episodes of the past in our heads, re-living each painful moment again and again like a never-ending nightmare. Each time we do this the old feelings surface and we once again feel the gut-wrenching pain the person caused us. By doing this we are living in the past instead of the present and if we hold on to resentment, along with anger, hate, jealousy and other negative emotions. These will eat you up inside and can cause actual physical ailments and disease if they are not recognized and released.

By forgiving you are taking away the control the other person has over you. You are empowering yourself and growing by spiritual leaps and bounds. You will heal deep-rooted pain that perhaps you thought was gone a long time ago but has survived, living under all of the resentment that you have held onto for so long.

How do we release resentment and offer forgiveness? Try to begin by sending your loving thoughts and forgiveness to that person who has wronged you. Most importantly, you need to forgive yourself first and take responsibility for your own choices and actions towards that person as well. The pain you hold in your heart will slowly pour out, and you will be left feeling better about yourself and the other person.

The next time you think of the act of forgiveness, try not to only see the other person as the only recipient. You are the most important recipient involved, and you are well worth it.

To forgive is a freedom and a gift to others, and yourself. By forgiving, you are one step closer to your journey of self-growth and healing.

I am not an expert on healing, and I don’t claim to have all the answers (I wish I did! But then again that would defeat the purpose of my own existence), I am just a little seedling that has been planted in the garden of spiritual enlightenment – I crave and seek the sunshine of love and the water of knowledge.

Peace, Love and Healing
Orangeblossom xxx