Child of Africa

I have edited this entry – 4/1/2021

 The original post was about Monty Don, a very negative entry about him – he was very negative about South Africa in general and it upset me massively. So, let’s keep it positive!
The following comes from the BBC’s site
Around the World in 80 Gardens
Mon 7 Apr, 12:40 am – 1:40 am 60mins

South Africa

Monty Don continues his extraordinary journey Around the World in 80 Gardens with a journey to South Africa, one of the most plant-rich zones in the world.

At Cape Town’s world-famous Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens he revels in the impressive display of native flora, including the strange King Proteus, South Africa’s national plant before taking a journey to the Drakensberg Mountains to see some native botanical treasures in their natural environment. Along the way, he traces the garden-story of the Dutch colonists who settled in the nineteenth century and looks at what some of South Africa’s gardeners are doing today.

Monty’s discoveries leave him excited to find that South Africa is forging a new identity for itself through a fresh appreciation of its environmental wonders.

Source: Click HERE to read about his program.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7852086.stm

Monty in South Africa 2011

Monty in the Cape – 2018

This next song is sung by Machiel Roets.

One night I listened to a radio station and he was interviewed and asked a question. It’s about 2 years ago and I can’t even remember the radio station nor the question! However, I sent the answer by email and was lucky to be one of the winners and received his cd called “Afrika Kind” This song is on the cd and I translated it quickly so you can follow the lyrics and see what a beautiful song it is. It’s just to give you an idea what it’s about. On the video there’s some beautiful images to see about South Africa. 

Child of Africa

Come take my hand
through this country of hardship
come let’s laugh
’bout the day of tomorrow
walk with me
through this wetland-region
hear the song
nature poured over you

Chorus:
‘ts here where the wind speaks to you
by the rhythm of the earth
and water that flows
and soothes you
suddenly there’s a voice that says
You’re my child!

Come take my hand
here in sunshine land
let’s carry together
what’s going on around us
walk hand-by-hand
here on Africa soil
come breathe the air
that soothes your soul

Chorus
It’s here where the wind speaks to you
by the rhythm of the earth
and water that flows
that soothes you
suddenly there’s a voice that says
You’re my child!
Repeat chorus again..
You’re my child!(2x)
My African child.
 Translated by: Nikita 

This next song is for those who grew up with Afrikaans and a song about a frog that would like to hire a fire fly to have light when visiting his girl friend! A song we all love!

Die Padda wou gaan opsit

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Oranje Blanje Blou

 

Flag of 1928-1994
Following the Union of South Africa , that is the joining if the former colonies of Natal, Cape, Transvaal and Orange River on 31 May 1910, South Africa used defaced red and blue ensigns. Having suffered defeat in the Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), many South Africans particularly of Boer extraction found these flags unacceptable. Discussions about a new flag had taken place from time to time but were interrupted by such pressing issues as World War I and achieving Dominion Status within the British Empire etc. and it was only in 1925 that the matter began to receive renewed attention. The Balfour Declaration adopted at the Imperial Conference of 1926 defined in general terms the mutual constitutional relationship of the self-governing members of the British Empire (later Commonwealth) whereby Great Britain and the dominions were “equal in status, in no way subordinate to one another” and as such South Africa, as an independent state was entitled to a flag of its own. The flag issue in South Africa was also considered along with the question of nationality.

The issue of inclusion of the Union Jack proved to be a very emotional subject, with the English-speakers on the one side demanding its inclusion and the Afrikaners (Boers) seeing its a symbol of British imperialism demanding it be excluded! A number of proposals were put forward but it was not until the Princevlag design based on the House of Orange that consensus began to emerge. This design was based on the commonly held view that Jan van Riebeeck has raised an orange, white and blue horizontal tricolour when he arrived at the Cape in April 1652. The original design had a quartered shield in the centre, each quarter having a symbol to represent the territories making up the Union. Various other designs were submitted to a Parliamentary Committee which had been established to resolve the issue but none found favour.
Read on this link HERE more and it is really worth visiting…very extensive site with information/flags/history on South Africa ….

This song, unfortunately in Afrikaans, is beautiful… “oranje”… = orange…”blou” = blue…it’s a song to motivate people in South Africa to stand together… and to keep spirits high… to have hope….worth listening even if you don’t understand…beautiful images of the country you will enjoy… This flag is…of course you know perhaps….also our country’s old flag.. and we used to call it the “Oranje Blanje Blou”….

ORANJE-BLANJE-BLOU

Woorde: EITEMAL, na “O.D., hoch in Ehren”
Musiek: HENRY HUGH PIERSON

Die Hoogland is ons woning,
die land van son en veld,
waar woeste vryheidswinde waai
oor graf van meenge held.
Die ruimtes het ons siel gevoed,
ons kan g’n slawe wees,
want vryer as die arendsvlug,
die vlugte van ons gees.

[REFREIN]
Dis die tyd, dis die dag,
om te handhaaf en te bou.
Hoog die hart, hoog die vlag,
hoog Oranje-blanje-blou!
Ons gaan saam die donker toekoms in
om as een te sneuwel of oorwin,
met ons oog gerig op jou,
ons Oranje-blanje-blou!

Die ruwe bergereekse
staan hoog teen awendlug,
soos gryse ewighede daar
versteen, verstyf in vlug.
En stewig soos die grou graniet
ons Boeretrots en -trou,
die fondament waarop ons hier
‘n nuwe nasie bou.

[REFREIN]
Dis die tyd, dis die dag,
om te handhaaf en te bou.
Hoog die hart, hoog die vlag,
hoog Oranje-blanje-blou!
Ons gaan saam die donker toekoms in
om as een te sneuwel of oorwin,
met ons oog gerig op jou,
ons Oranje-blanje-blou!

Die God van onse vaders
het ons hierheen gelei,
ons dien sy grootse skeppingsplan,
solank ons Boere bly.
Ons buig ons hoof voor Hom alleen;
en as Hy ons verhoor
omgord ons bly die lendene:
Die toekoms wink daar voor.

[REFREIN]
Dis die tyd, dis die dag,
om te handhaaf en te bou.
Hoog die hart, hoog die vlag,
hoog Oranje-blanje-blou!
Ons gaan saam die donker toekoms in
om as een te sneuwel of oorwin,
met ons oog gerig op jou,
ons Oranje-blanje-blou!

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Lift your spirits!

I’ve said before that I love the story about JLS….well, today I want to blog this book because I’ve found this self-explained video on You Tube… there are others about JLS too, (Part I, II and the End), which I blogged before, but this one has got some text to support the pictures/music which I like. I’ve read this book a couple of years ago in South Africa. I googled for the cover of my first book, but couldn’t find it. It is a hard cover, peach colour and the pictures of Jonathan Seagull are printed on some tracing paper, so if you turn the pages, the seagull is “flying” in the opposite direction than the previous page…beautiful! I came across the book again – in London- bought it to read….again! I feel this is really an inspiring book to read…! Richard Bach has written many books, he was a USAF Fighter Pilot and I can truely recommend his books if you’re a book-lover like me!  “This is a story for people who follow their dreams and make their own rules: a story that has inspired people for decades”….

This book inspired me even more to be the person I am, not to be a sheep and follow others…. on page 5 … 2nd paragraph… “Jonathan nodded obediently. For the next few days he tried to behave like the other gulls; he really tried, screeching and fighting with the flock around the piers and fishing boats, diving on scraps of fish and bread. But he couldn’t make it work. It’s pointless, he thought, deliberately dropping a hard won anchovy to a hungry old gull chasing him.”…. Well, that’s one message I want to send to anyone reading here… do what you want to do, don’t follow others, you have a dream and live your dream… don’t be a sheep, be an individual and reach for your dreams! Be like Jonathan, try your best and don’t be satisfied with the second best! — well, that’s me… you might have a different view…
On THIS LINK you can see all the books he’s written … in the “Novel” section, you can see all his books which I’ve read, the most recent book was “Illusions….”! and…on THIS link you can read more about him…

 

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Love-light Bitterbessie

7 December-poem
This poem comes from a “poetic calendar”. There’s a poem for every day and it’s actually a book used by Teachers and I want to share a poem for today from this book! Fridays always feel to me like a special day for poetry! A day to relax! So…relax and enjoy! As student, Ingrid Jonker’s poems really appealed to me…and “Bitterbessie Dagbreek” was always somewhere on a door/wall in my room. At the bottom of this post, you will find a link to read more about her….her poems were translated in many languages!
Follow this link HERE to listen to her poem in Afrikaans, and at the same time, you can read it in English! Please Click on the play button!
Love-light
A taper lit in sunlight,
Pale yellow leaf of flame,
An upturned heart that trembled
As soft winds breathed your name,
Its brightness was diluted;
But, when the darkness came,
It shone with such pure brilliance
As put the stars to shame.
Vernon Scannell 
From:Read Me2: A Poem For Every Day of The Year

BITTERBESSIE DAGBREEK
Ingrid Jonker

Bitterbessie dagbreek
bitterbessie son
‘n spieël het gebreek
tusen my en hom

Soek ek na die grootpad
om daarlangs te draf
oral draai die paadjies
van sy woorde af

Dennebos herinnering
dennebos vergeet
het ek ook verdwaal
trap ek in my leed

Papegaai-bont eggo
kierang kierang my
totdat ek bedroë
weer die koggel kry

Eggo is geen antwoord
antwoord hy alom
bitterbessie dagbreek
bitterbessie son

On THIS LINK you will find interesting reading about her life! Read HERE more about INGRID JONKER.

  SONG 

 

 

Another Afrikaans poem of Ingrid…
Madeliefies in Namakwaland
~~~Ingrid Jonker
Waarom luister ons nog
na die antwoorde van die madeliefies
op die wind op die son
wat het geword van die kokkewietjies
Agter die geslote voorkop
waar miskien nog ’n takkie tuimel
van ’n verdrinkte lente
~~~
Agter my gesneuwelde woord
Agter ons verdeelde huis
Agter die hart gesluit teen homself
Agter draadheinings, kampe, lokasies
Agter die stilte waar onbekende tale
val soos klokke by ’n begrafenis
Agter ons verskleurde land
~~~
sit die groen hotnotsgot van die veld
en ons hoor nog verdwaasd
klein blou Namakwaland-madeliefie
iets antwoord, iets glo, iets weet. 

I had to blog this Afrikaans song of Laurika Rauch as I think the mood suits today’s poems!

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