Heartbreak for haminals

www.usatoday.com There is something I really don't enjoy when I watch TV, that is to see companies using the sorry look of animals to sell a product. When I watch these adverts I often end up with tears streaming down my face, The advert works well with regard to reaching my emotional side, but in all honesty, I never want to buy their material products. www.abc.net.au An ad for a car depicts a baby jelly in a spacious back seat having fun, but at the end, you see the baby elephant in a huge barred truck looking out at kids in the car. I can't help imagining how trapped the poor elephant feels and how the ad makes mockery of his imprisonment

www.catrescue.com.au Another ad shows a cat running back to it's old home after the family has moved, why? to rub against paint. But on the way he must get splashed by cars passing through puddles, dodge trains and all sorts of things. Do I want the paint? No I want to rescue the cat from these sadistic advertisers

www.zeke-fund-animal-rescue.com The only ad I like is one inwhich many puppies in the pound plead for assistance, at least that ad is asking the consumer to help them.

The other day I dropped Craig off at work and I saw a pack of about 8 dogs tearing into one helpless pup. I immediately slammed on breaks and jumped out of the car. I felt a quick flash of joy when I saw another person had stopped only to be horrified as he picked up a brick and began beating the dogs on the head. The attacked pup managed to get free but his front leg was hanging out of it's socket. I was just about to reach it when this small child came running up and threw a huge rock at it. I spun around and was about to scream at her when I saw her age, I managed a chocked "don't throw stones, she is hurt" but when I turned again, the pup had run away.

So often I see things like this and it is so hard for me to accept that people don't see that animals have hearts and feelings too.

The advertisers may think they are not hurting the animals they put in their adverts, but they add to the bigger picture of animal cruelty.

In the lap of luxury...

This is a Teeboy De-Luxe exactly like the one I own

Teeboy Deluxe - 1970's After a long period in which there appear to have been no new models, one finally appeared in the 1970's. This teasmade is mechanically and structurally very simple (the base is a thin sheet of hardboard!) but it works well and has a simplistic appeal. It has a square kettle and teapot, with the handles and spouts set diagonally at the corners, but the Metamec clock breaks new ground for teasmades with its unusual design. oooooooh! The Teeboy Deluxe was made with several different kettle designs, some are ceramic, some chrome, and all the lids differ, as do the clock faces. Despite these variations no Teeboys have a visible model or serial number. Servicing details for this model spanned two premises. Some examples of the Teeboy Deluxe, featuring a Metamec clock with a production date of 1976, have on them a label stating that for repairs and service the owner should contact Teeboy Engineering at Pump Lane, Hayes. Other examples bear a label stating that the service address for Teeboy Engineering Limited is in Uxbridge.

Reference: http://www.teasmade.com/teeboy.htm

This handy little helper makes me coffee rather than tea, but it is such a great little invention and always gets people talking.

Craig received it as a gift from my dad, but usually wakes up before his alarm so it never got used. All the lonely hours without caffeine in my lab made the little kettle clock seem very appealing and although in the lab next door a modern cappuchino machine can be found, it isn't half as interesting as my little friend.

Teeboys were quite popular back in the day as you can see from the following photos

All rights belong to Teasmade and can be accessed at the above website

....

Hey mama, if you couldn't come now, maybe you'd like to come in say December?

Karoo nights

The 20th January 2006 was meant to be a night of celebration with my mum and Moira, my mum's best friend. I was about 500 km on my way to Johannesburg when I received the news that some selfish thug had robbed my mum of her passport and tickets and that she could no longer leave Europe. I wonder if and hope that some good can come out of this, but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth to think about. It gets me that in the first world, people still feel the need to steal from others rather than do an honest days work which is abundantly available. Grrrrrrr

These pictures were taken in the karoo, 10 kms from where the Orange River meets the

!Gariep Dam. The combination of moon and star is quite unusual and very beautiful

The pics were taken with a camera phone hence the poor quality you will have to enlarge this pic to see, but we were priveleged enough to be able to witness the McNaught comet, the brightest comet to be seen in 30 years. It was only discovered last year by McNaught, an Australian scientist

Animal magnetism

There are many amazing creatures around our little cottage, most are too quick to be photographed, here are the few most often seen I am pleased to report that no animals were harmed in the making of this blog, even the big fish got away!

Cars In the Park

We have, on the farm, a field full of magestic old cars. Of course I had to find some fun in it. This is me pretending to be a kidnap victim of the mafia in the boot of an ol Chevvy, With space like this, it's no wonder so many people got bundled in rolled in the lounge carpet, there's even space for my concrete shoes!!

Craigus Brutus

Out with Them Dogs

No, don't panic we didn't get another dog! This is Apollo, he belongs to Trevor and Sally, he is Kofi's new boyfriend, and Chloe, well chloe doesn't like anyone except chloe, and occasionally Craigus

Best of friends have the occasional tiff

All things bright and beautiful

This is Miuki, Craig and I went to fetch her from Colesburg where she grew up for the last 9 years, she is a 1998 Mitsubishi Colt, 2.5 L Diesel. From the time I was little, I always wanted a truck, be it a landrover, a Jeep or a bakkie. I always had a passion for the outdoors and these are the vehicles that symbolize hard work, freedom and the great outdoors! This is Red Rooster, a gelding that went wild after his brothers and sisters were killed off by a poisonous dip and later horse disease. He was the horse of a young girl but she didn't have time to visit him so he was brought to Slaaikraal farm to work as a shepherd, but the staff are petrified of him and no-one has given him much love except for Sally who lives on our farm. She could not really touch him much as he was so wild, but Craig and I decided it was time for some of what Sindy would call "ongewenst intimitatsie" or love therapy! He now lets me stroke his big old fat belly and slobbers apple juice all over me, he chases chloe around and is very interested in being a cat with holly and Poppy. We think a few more months of love and apples and he'll be quite a well adjusted horse (pony)

This is our farm, slaaikraal

Its actually Trevor's but I love it very much and with it's beauty and wild life, I get a special thrill out of just walking outside everyday

Happy Birthday Dear Craig lal ala la la laaaaaa

OCTOBER 12 Craigus Brutus Anthonio Banderas Scott HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRFDAY from all of us at #2, Holly, Poppy, Kofi, Chloe, MoMo We hope you had a great day!!!!!

On this day....

Many many moons ago Brave young black shorts took on wily red streak-striped pant, followed by innocent and unsuspecting long hair. Black shorts and long hair lured into red streak-striped pant’s evil trap. The brave and squaw learn valuable lesson that day…stay low, hang back, think quick. Long hair divert attention and black shorts tailed by red streak-striped pant make way to local market place where long hair come across vital escape water faring vessels. Red streak – striped pant no cross river so black shorts and long hair swim happily to safety. Red streak- striped pant yell from shore flexing bulging muscles. Mischievous brave and giggly squaw rest on green grass while beaming sun keep warm.

CAMPUS CHALLENGE

On Saturday, Nasar Mannan an ol and MoMo Money partook in a race organized by a local cellular network service provider. We were extremely hyped up and met the challenge like a bull running after a matador, only to run straight into a series of big booboos which ultimately meant we didn't finish. It was great fun although extremely physically demanding and we ended up having to recover for the rest of the weekend by vegging out in front of the TV flat out on the couch. We were navigating the campus using a series of clues and had about an hour to run almost eight kms whilst figuring out cryptic clues and using the LG game phone to make silent movies, take pictures and find the ever elusive skipman. In the end Nas won a cap for "bringing sexy back" with his unique dancing skills and we both got free T-shirts, caps and goody bags. I love free stuff so i was happy as... Craigus was base command and helped us navigate by surfing the web for answers to the clues and did an awesome "worm" breakdance move, which featured in our silent movie. Ahhh, now it's back to the lab, till next time!

Ladies and Gentlemen...The Prince and Princess of Grahamstown

Congradulations Roxi and Damien!!!!!

Now if that isn't true love, what is??? I think Damien's face says it all. These two have been inseparable for the last four and a half years. We all knew this day would come, but never imagined it would be quite so beautiful.