Pagan Fest / Rhodes Park - Kensington - Friday 27 2012

The first Pagan Festival in South Africa and weren't we keen to go and see what's what? We left bright and early that Friday (Public holiday - Hoorah!) and got to Rhodes Park nice and early, very excited to see how this festival would be pulled of! We expected stalls and fires and people in witch hats and all sorts of interesting things. 

Well, weren't we Gyp'd! It was basically a few stalls with nifty little trinkets you'd expect to find in any emo teen's room, that you could get at well near any flea market that would at least have had a pet stall to keep you entertained. There were no festivities, no odd balls in black cloaks, no excitement, not even a virgin sacrifice! I'm not sure weather I myself or any covert Christians were more disappointed.

I did love this big wad of magnets! Reflecting a thousand Jo's taking photos! We explored the entire thing in 5 minutes.

Luckily Rhodes Park itself turned out to be terribly fun and we went romping about taking some stunning pictures of the autumn foliage!

 And lovely water scenery!

We took pics from the local wild life (that either watched us suspiciously, or totally ignored us!)

 To odd tree roots...

 To piles and piles of cushy, crisp leaves...

To the mouth watering autumn vista that was all around us in general!

 There was even a playground where some over-sized kiddies were getting their kicks!

 Some of the ponds and pools of water were so crystal clear!

 You wanted to just dive in and swim - if getting a free dose of Bilharzia wasn't on the menu.

 We also explored all the old ruins at the park. Houses from yester-year, all over weeds, broken glass and random jackets and paint cans lying about. The plastic on this one's roof made it glow green and eerie!

 Back to perving over nature!

 I love this photo!

 We even found an old outdoor stage, where maybe, a decade or so ago, you could have put on a small play for friends and family.

 Mind there was a whole ton of wasps in the ceiling which sort of put you off hanging about there very long. This pic was taken with the utmost bravery!!!
(And it's good to know no one got to see me high-tailing it out of there afterwards!)

The whole park was really stunning!! Personally, I think, wrapped in all that beauty and nature, we had a far more spiritual time than anything the Pagan Festival had to offer. Amen.

Discvery Paints the Hospital Yellow - April 2012

Off went the Discovery volunteers to Chris Hani Baragwaneth hospital to paint the halls and corridors! This was the biggest group that I'd ever been in and everyone seemed keen for some nice, mid-week physical labour!

 When we got to the hospital we had a bit of a time finding the entrance to the place and the bus driver got to practice his reversing skills in full! I managed to get this shot on the second time we drove round!

Inside the hospital we were taken to the area set up for us to paint, given a basic lecture on painting and the joys there of, and then set loose with trays of paint, rollers and brushes!

 This was my brush, in the burning bright yellow that was to become part of my clothing, hands and hair. 

Yellow incidentally, is scientifically proven to make people feel happier and more joyful. I know slathering that stuff on the walls there perked my mood right up! (admittedly I was already cheerful and would have been happy slathering pea green onto the walls, but I like to think the yellow added a certain dimension of pizzazz!)

 Paint, paint, paint!

 We finished in record speed! So fast in fact that in an hour's time - POOF, instant glowy yellow walls! That’s Discovery employees for you, we know all about knuckling down and getting a job done!  We toured the hospital a bit then reluctantly went back to work. (Hey we might be hard workers but we’re human beings as well!)

But the end product looked lovely and it was wonderful to know that we had all contributed to making a place of wellness just that much more so!

Annie - School Play - April 2012

On a fine, dark Wednesday night we went off to my old Alma Mater, Parktown High School for Girls, to watch the school play they had on. Major Productions, the schools drama club, was putting on Annie and I was really curious to see how it would go!

Everyone is getting ready. 

Some a bit more nervous than others.

Over all, I must say I really enjoyed the event! There was a lot of talent there and the show moved smoothly through each scene without hitches or glitches.

The songs were lively and fun, the actresses all deep in their parts – Annie was all saccharine sweet like a tot on uppers, the villains despicable and wonderfully sleazy and the supporting cast very up to scratch! In fact my only complaint was that the orchestra was too close to the stage and so sometimes drowned the girls out so that if felt like we were more at a mime show then musical.

Annie’s wig also haunted me! It was big and orange and looked like it would leap off the stage at any moment. However this was my own personal psychosis. I meant to take a photo of it, I just didn't have the courage!

Oh and the chairs! Those things were hard on the rear end so very literally! After a while you weren’t sure if people were moving to the music or for the backside relief!

On the whole I really had a fun evening and still catch myself singing a mangled version of “The Sun will come out tomorrow” from time to time. So maybe don’t try to weasel out of the next play a kid in your area is having, you might actually quiet enjoy it! 

Just remember to pack a cushion in case!

Mosque they do that?

 There is a mosque (a Turkish Masjid to be exact) being very, very, very slowly built in Midrand.

Isn't that interesting?

By Day really it's just a rather ugly building constructed for religious worship by someone to whom 'ghastly' is a medium worth delving into.

 

 I affectionately call it the Dead Cow, because of those four legs in the air in 'udder' despair!

But okay, it's not the world's most glamorous building, being all dark and stoney, interesting but not all that?
Ah but this bovine has a few tricks up her sleeves!

Because Baby when the sun goes down the lights go on!!!

Neon greens, purples, reds and blues!
Lit up like a Christmas tree - which ironically is something they'd not be into...

Don't you think it looks a bit like a casino?
"Come in for worship - slots are hot and the aces wild, by the end of the night we'll give you ample reason to pray!!"

In the early morning the building tends to wind down a bit. It's left with a few lights upon each hoof  and these bands of colour around the legs.

Bands of colour that change colour that is!
Heaven, or whatever paradise is connected herewith, forbid the lights should stay the same shade!
Red, blue, green, purple! (They do seem to have their favorite colours right there hey?)
This temple does nothing by half!

I must admit I always feel a place for worship should be somewhere out doors with mother nature, or at least somewhere pretty where you can contemplate all the wealth your god(s) has given you. But I suppose for others they need a bit of Razzle-Dazzle to heighten the experience, and each to their own I say!

 If nothing else it does give us "heathens" something to talk about!

I think one day I need to go in for a visit and see what's cooking! Until then I've attached a link to someone else's website for you to see what it's like within. Trust me, it's worth a look!

Aren't other cultures fascinating?

http://www.nanima.co.za/2010/11/midrand-masjid-complex-largest-in-southern-hemisphere

Discovery World Health day - Friday 13 April 2012

 Friday afternoon, World Health Day and us Discovery Volunteers were ready and waiting for the kids who would arrive soon to help us celebrate it! They came from various schools aged from around 5 to 16 years old. I don't think the kids new what to expect. I'm not sure we did either!

 While we waited for all the children to arrive we took a bunch of photographs to signify the sober way we undertook this  solemn challenge.

Finally we got to mingle with the kids! Dance, the language we all understand! (With varying degrees of success...)

Our photographer cleverly camouflaged himself within the crowd, can you spot him?

 We had a few speeches from different inspirational speakers. For example this lady told us all about what it was like to climb mountains, and how she trained by walking up and down 21 flights of stairs carrying 10kg's of potatoes! We're sure the potatoes enjoyed the company! I think her little friend there was to help her in case she got a case of nerves!

The kids were held rapt by the speeches.

Then the bunch was divided into groups. My group, Group 2, ended up with 11 little tots who mostly didn't understand a word of English. But a little kindness went a long way to bridging the language barrier.
Here's our lesson on recycling, The kids were better at it than most adults I know.

 Then off we go to a new station and new tasks and challenges! I think most of our exercise came from darting between stations!

 Here we had an interesting lecture on all the good and bad foods you can put into your body. Our young friends didn't seem to really understand what was going on but were very well behaved all the same. I couldn't help but notice though, that while the lady talked of fruits and veggies, their eyes often strayed towards the chocolates and chips. I'm not entirely sure this talk was a complete success...

 

 Run! Run! Run! Good exercise with everyone getting a case of sticky bums!!
Let's just say the events were nothing if not interesting!

And how often do you get to legally tie up kids?

When is junk not junk? How about making skipping ropes from black plastic bags? There's always a way to stay healthy when you're willing to think out the box!

Work those bodies!!! The kids enthusiastically got to do aerobics! The Discovery volunteers did as well! There was some moaning and groaning but the kids understood that sometimes adults just behave that way.

And as the day draws to a close and energy levels start to sink, tired bottoms happily filled chairs. We even got to sit through a fire drill. I suspect we were so tired that even a real fire might not have seemed all that scary.

As the day drew to a close, we had one last farewell and then waved good bye to our tiny charges as they went back to their buses happily burdened down with great Discovery goodies!

It was a very rewarding event, and I think, in the end, our bodies were warm with more than just the ache of used muscles.

Cansa Shavathon 2012

The Cansa Shavathon came to Discovery on the 2nd of March (To the building itself) and the 3rd of March (At Sandton shopping area). I volunteered for both days and this is how it all went down!

FRIDAY - AT DISCOVERY - WEST STREET:

Before 8am and we're down on the loading deck getting things ready for the big day! We're having even the big-wigs of the company come down and spray hair so everything has to be just right! Sprayers to the left, Shavers to the right! Arm yourselves with bottles and razors and tissues and let the masses come!!!

With my blue gloves on, I'm ready to get down and dirty with the spraying! (I figured I'd best do hair spraying since accidentally spritzing someone in they eye would probably be easier to fix then lopping an ear off - people don't forgive things like that...)

Co workers were treated to some colourful creations! "Dah'ling you look Da'VINE!!!"

Some even went the whole hog and got shaved AND sprayed. Later troops moved through the building giving everyone a chance to have their hair fiddled with for a worthy cause! (Or at least get talked into it by co-workers who egged each other on and then chickened out at the last moment.)
Either way it was a great success!

SATURDAY - SANDTON CITY - PROTEA COURT:

When I rocked up, bright eyed and busy tailed, to Sandton shopping centre on Saturday to help out I was part of the second wave of volunteers. The first shift having gone in the morning. I was informed that it was tons quieter than it had been earlier which was a little disappointed but there were still 2 hours yet so let's not get too blue just yet!

This time it was on with purple gloves! I liked the blue better, they gave me a mad doctor look I felt the purple just couldn't. Mind, I took off my one pair as they were extremely hot and left them on the table. When I turned round again someone had made off with them! Personally I'd rather have made off with something a little less reeking of latex but here's to hoping they found a good home and weren't used for dastardly deeds!

This brave lady decided to donate her locks to the organization. She sat on stage as volunteers put her hair into pony tails and then snipped it off. One moment on...

 The next moment gone! (And very well documented as you can see!) This guy right beside me, jumped ten feet out of his skin when my camera click went off!

 The tools of the trade! Someone wonderful had marked exactly what colours where in which bottles. The day before you often just reached blindly for a container and hoped, this way was a LOT easier. And they had so many colours to choose from!!

Everyone was having a blast, excuse the pun!

With all sorts of interesting outcomes!

While onstage various "acts" kept us entertained throughout the day, like these guys dancing to "I'm sexy and I know it" Glad someone does...

Now that's starting kids out right!

I missed whatever puppet show they had with this little guy, for which I am rather sorry for I think it would have been interesting to watch!

 Rules and regs for the shavers. Art by yours truly.

But it was really a lot of fun and some people totally got into the mood and the fun! Like this little fellow. He had his hair spray painted at least twice, and his face decorated, then had his head shaved and spray painted once more! He certainly got his money's worth!

It was really a fun event and raised a lot of money for those in need! For those who think volunteering is boring or a waste of time, now you know better! Here's to a very colourful time had by everyone at the Cansa Sahvathon 2012!!