Basie & Bern Cloete

I had the pleasure of having lunch with Basie and Bernie at - (listen to this) One of their homes - in East London today. The view from their house is far better than from the house they had over looking at the Sand River in Virginia.
They have been married for 38 years!!!
Basie was the Head Master at the primary school that Angela and Jenny went to.

Fear and Fun

Cheetah's differ from the leopard as they are smaller and have black tear markings from the eyes to the mouth.
They run at a speed of 114 km/ph.
They make various sounds, this one was purring............as a way of communication not as a sign of being happy like a cat!!!
The skins were worn as a sign of wealth. There are only 10-15000 left in the world.

Technology

I watched Stan lead the parade for the commemoration of the Battle of Delville Wood in Port Elizabeth today. 3000 young South African volunteers died there in the First World War.
After the parade I squeezed out a tune and met some of the band members.
I bought my pipes in 1984.
It had (still has) a sheepskin bag which was sealed with a thick syrupy substance. The cane reeds were kept moist.
Nowadays the bag is made with an airtight material and zips closed. Inside is a contraption to absorb vapours from the air breathed into the bag. The reeds are now plastic. The advantage of this latest technology is that the pipes are easier to tune and the reeds last longer.

Grahamstown Festival

I went to the Festival in Grahamstown recently but did not go to any shows for various reasons.

I met Stan and Harriet in 1982 in Welkom in the then Orange Free State. Stan taught me to play the bagpipes. Today I went to their home in Port Elizabeth for a braai and saw what the "new" pipes are like. They have come a long way since 1982!!!!