Proudly South African

I know that this beautiful country of ours has many problems, but I am very proud to be a South African and is very patriotic.  I probably would have made a great American cause they know what it is to be patriotic.  South Africa has what must be one of the most beautiful and recognisable flags in the world.  Although there is no official symbolism attached to the flag, it does represent what is going on in the country today.  Black, green and yellow are the colors of the African National Congress which is the ruling party, while the colours of the former Boer republics flags (red, white, and blue) have also been included.  The Y shape represents the convergence of South Africa's diverse society and unity.  The red stands for bloodshed, blue for open blue skies, green for the land, black for the black people, white for the European people and yellow for the natural resources such as gold.

Horse jumping

The South African Junior Equestrian Championships took place at the Port Elizabeth Riding Club over the last week or so and I popped in with the Rugrats for a quick look.  A quick look you may ask? They were bored after 10 minutes and doesn't matter how much I was enjoying it, we had to move on.  I did get a couple of photos before we had to hit the road though.

The sun peaking through the tree tops

The sun peeking through the tree tops on a visit to St Georges Park in Port Elizabeth

Visit Skywatch for more pictures from around the world featuring the sky

Port Elizabeth City Hall

The Port Elizabeth City Hall is one of my favorite historic buildings in the city.  What makes it even better is that it is surrounded by a number of other historic buildings.  The City Hall stands in the Port Elizabeth city centre on Market Square.  In the photo the Old Post Office is visible on the left while the two buildings on the right are the Feathermarket Centre and Plein Huis.  In the foreground is a replica of the cross planted in the bay by Bartholomeu Diaz in 1488.

The beautiful city hall was built between 1858 and 1862 from the design of Robert Archibald who became the city's first Town Engineer in 1860.  Unfortunately the city hall was gutted by fire in 1977 and a number of paintings, including the only portrait of Elizabeth Donkin, was destroyed.  The building was fully restored and reopened in 1981.

The city hall was originally built without the clock tower which was added on in 1883.

Hairy caterpillar

I found this hairy caterpillar taking a stroll down my driveway and crawled around with it for a little while taking some pictures.  I couldn't find it in my The Wildlife of Southern Africa book and only found two or three pics of it on the internet.  Unfortunately non of them had descriptions, so for now it will have to stay nameless. 

Orange Lacquered Bracket

I was at a Christmas party over the weekend and found these Lacquered Bracket fungi growing on tree stumps lying in the garden at the venue.  They grow up to 500 mm in diameter and is found either singly or in groups.

They are corky in texture when young, but turn woody when they mature and is found in Summer and Autumn.

Roses at the Union Buildings

Roses in the Union Building Gardens in Pretoria