Quiet weekend after the week's activities. Elizabeth's choir has been involved in a local Eisteddfod ( a big deal in SA for some bizarre reason) and came second. She is performing again this coming Thursday, so fingers crossed once more.

We decided to celebrate the first day of spring with a long walk at Kirstenbosch on Saturday - the most glorious botanical gardens that merge into forest and eventually lead to a series of rouites all the way up Table Mountain. The 550 hectare estate once belonged to Cecil Rhodes who left it to the people of the city on his death, and it is a truly wonderful idyll. We had lunch in the tea rooms first, then walked about two thirds of the way round the pretty strenuous Silvertree Trail. The first couple of kilometres climb relentlesssly until you reach the aptly named Contour path. The going is then much easier as you follow the line of the mountainside, until eventually the path descends again back to the gardens.

Milkshakes, pots of tea and double choc chip muffins in the cafe seemed like a suitable reward at the end of the day.

On Sunday, we met up with some friends to take the girls rock climbing at the climbing centre at Observatory. City Rock is very close to Groote Schuur, the hospital where Christian Barnard carried out the world's first ever heart transplant. Lisa, an English woman, met her South African husband Chris in Cafe Rouge on Putney Bridge Road, nearly opposite my old house in London. She's been here for twelve years now, and is a fount of information. Chris works extensively across Africa and gave me the lowdown on Kenya. Their daughter Sophie is in Lottie's class, and the girls had a great time, gradually climbing higher and higher up the walls.

Then home to plan two birthday parties! We've decided to wait until after the school holidays at the end of September to try to maximise the number of friends who might be around. Lottie's birthday was a month ago already, but she hardly knew anyone at that stage and it seemed premature to try to arrange a party. So the weekend of 9th and 10th October is going to be super-busy with both girls having parties. Lottie has opted for a gymnastics party, Elizabeth for a rather ambitious African drumming, dancing and story telling do. I have found a local performer who now tours Europe (!) but is apparently willing to run a party for Libby and 15 friends. We're intending to transform the garden into an African village for the day. Just hope the weather is kind!

It's weird to think everyone at home is gearing up for the start of the new school year. Poor Lottie is going through yet another round of assesments as we approach the last quarter of the year here, but she seems cheerful about it all. We've been incredibly lucky not to be touched by any more strikes. The situation in CT is definitely better than in Joburg, where many schools have shut indefinitely and where hospitals are facing an absolute crisis. Nurses and teachers appear to have simply given up, and there are terrible stories of intimidation of those who want to work. Some hopsitals are in melt down, with even very sick people being turned away. The government has increased the pay offer to 8% (can you imagine!), and the nation seems split between those who are outraged that public servants are behaving so irresponsibly, and those who support their claim. Selfishly, I'm most concerned that my work permit extension gets through the blockade. I'm due to go to the US on business at the start of October and may not get back into SA again without a valid stamp!