Autumn

I have had a second picture selected to be paired with a poem on The Poetry Project website (and hopefully the book that will follow). Its a site run by a cyber friend of mine who takes poems from relatively unknown poets and pair them up with pictures from local photographers. The first one was used with a poem called At God's Gate. This time around my picture below was paired with a poem called Autumn by Aboo Hansa.

AUTUMN

High but not so strong was the morning sun
A later rise and earlier set, has all of nature adjusting their clocks
Dew glistens on the knife like blades of grass
Birds chirp to the beat of the concrete jungle, oblivious to the depravity of space
A sigh of relief breathed from the overture of heat
Trees begin to shed their green garments opting for a rather rusty look with hues of browns, yellows and reds
A crisp Autumnal breeze hits my face
The smell of a new beginning, the smell of Autumn

Middleton Church

On our recent visit to Somerset East we stopped at Middleton between Port Elizabeth and Cradock. While the Damselfly and Rugrats were browsing through the farm stall, I had a closer look of the historic Methodist church that stands at the entrance to the village. The guy working in the shop asked me if I would like to see the inside of the church and unlocked it for me.

The church, built in 1903, is what you would call quaint. It only has 5 rows of seats and has services in it every Sunday for the residents of the village. The services are run by the Noupoort Christian Care Centre who owns the village and uses it as part of their rehabilitation process for drug and alcohol addicts.

The church has two stunning stained glass windows in the front which the guy was quite proud of as he asked me a couple of times if I got a picture of them.

Middleton

Barrelling along the N10 between Port Elizabeth and Cradock, most people don't even notice the little historic one horse Karoo town of Middleton. Situated about 20 km before reaching Cookhouse, Middleton is a charming little village steeped in history dating back to 1879. The village is situated next to the Great Fish River and includes the Middleton Manor hotel, a restaurant, pub, general dealer, bottle store, post office and camping site.

What makes the village unique is that its privately owned. It was bought by the Noupoort Christian Care Centre (NCCC) some years ago. NCCC is a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centre. They place those who have rehabilitated and those still rehabilitating in Middleton as part of their second fase of rehabilitation. The residents are entrusted with everything from finances, to purchasing, stock taking, cashing up and the general running of the projects available. This trust given to those rehabilitating builds self confidence, self esteem and a sense of achievement which is paramount in completing recovery.

From the road passing motorists can't see much of the village other than the bright pink farm stall and the historic little Methodist church, which I will post about tomorrow. So if you do slow down on your way to the coast, do pull over and go have a look at this extraordinary little village.

National Monument Plaque

In South Africa buildings, places and things of historical and cultural importance were declared National Monuments by what used to be the National Monuments Council. Each place was then given a brass plaque which was mounted somewhere prominent. Unfortunately a lot of these plaques have been stolen over the years and sold as scrap metal. The National Monuments Council has now been replaced by the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA). What used to be known as National Monuments are now termed as Provincial Heritage Sites and will in future receive a provisional heritage site badge. The next step is going to be identifying places with qualities so exceptional that they are of special national significance and to declared them national heritage sites.

Reflextion of blue

I have posted a lot of sunrise and sunset pictures for Skywatch Friday lately, so today I decided to look down to look up. I got this reflection in one of the river pools at Sleepy Hollow just outside Port Elizabeth on our last camping trip. The water was perfectly still and gave me the opportunity to get the perfect sky reflection.

For more looking up (or down) sky pictures, visit Skywatch.

Ironman swimmers

The competitors in Ironmann South Africa setting off on the 3,8km swimming leg at Hobie Beach in Port Elizabeth. In the background is the the boat of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI). For more of my pictures of Ironman SA, go here.

Bug and bead of water