Monday 29th March
Here is the new Liz Inman. She had her head shaved when we crossed the Equator in a ritual ceremony. I was forbidden to publish until her family knew!
Apologies for not writing this blog for a few days. I think a kind of lethargy set in after the relaxation we all experienced in Mauritius at the Beach Club. It was so wonderful to be away from the hubbub of the ship and simply lie beside a swimming pool or go for a walk on the beach and eat different and very good food. Six of us went as you can see from the photos: Chris Hill (my British Empire History professor), Anne a Life Long learner of nearly 89 yrs old who is quite amazing. Lives in Salt Lake city but was originally British and has that sort of British spunk....wants in the worst way to sleep on the deck but also want to know the enthusiastic early morning cleaners and scrubbers won't wash her away! So i have offered her our little deck. Of course Liz and Audrey and us.
We had some quiet reading time and some hilarious meal time conversation. Just what the Doctor ordered in fact.
Now we are steeping ourselves in Africa, particularly South Africa and it has been fun. George and I acted a short scene from The Road to Mecca, one of our Bob Kemp Hospice fund raiser productions, directed by the incomparable Dia and with the incomparable Dana...we missed them both! I love this play but we couldn't find a copy anywhere on the ship so I emailed Dia who rushed off to the Oakville library, picked out the speech I wanted and a good one for George and copied and emailed them to us....what a friend! This was for Africa Day which was yesterday and we have been asked to do a repeat performance in the Faculty Lounge ....oooh nerves! Today in Global Studies Liz read out the testimony of an African woman who had lost her son. It was mostbeautifully done and so moving.
We have the CEO of the Cape Town Opera on board, Michael Williams, with his wife Ettie: George and I met them last year at the university theatre in Cape Town. He is a wonderful director (put on a musical show with 25 students for Africa Day after three rehearsals because he only came aboard at Mauritius!) and an extremely nice and inspiring man. He came to our performance class today and gace us a workshop in movement. There are only 6 of us and we did a wonderful scene of a rhino giving birth from a South African production. We did it with some of us assisting at the birth and chanting while three made up the rhino and the baby hanging underneath and ultimately emerging fron the mother's body. There were suitable grunts and howls of pain from the front of the mother, who was James, (who may never give birth again in his life!!) the hind quarters was Emily and the baby was a very agile Jennifer!
We are going to see a new Athol Fugard play at the very new Fugard Theatre in Cape Town on the night of the 31st, the day we arrive. This is soooo exciting for me because I love his work. Fugard directed it too so, who knows, we might see him. We're hoping that chrs and Jo might join us because they arrive in CT that evening but they may possibly be too tired.
We have an inter-port student Luzoku on board and I had a great chat with him. he has to work 2 years to get one year at University. His mother, who works as a domestic, is the only bread winner in his family , his sister doesn't work and he has a younger brother at school. So you can imagine how hard it is for him as te eldest son to save adequate money for his education.
We have been hearing lots of African music from South and West Africa. I have suggested that our performance class start a conga chain weaving round the ship doing traditional Highlife from Ghana/Nigeria. The rest of the passenger/students/participants can join in if they choose. I think it would be great fun! We did it I remember at the Benin Club on their first Independence day celebration which I organised. We had the Lagos Police band to accompany us which was fantastic. We danced to Highlife most of that night because their slow waltzes and quick-steps were painful to the ears! I think it was the first big occasion at the club for Nigerians and ourselves, it had been pretty "white" in Colonial days. It was a huge success, I had also made a ginormous curry for it which other people contributed rice and side dishes to. My friend Jeannie (who I'm meeting in Cape Town and who has come down from Kenya) and her husband Ian came to it. It was a HUGE surprise for me because John (my ex) knew but had kept it from me. They just walked in and Jeannie tapped me on the shoulder, I nearly fainted. The last time I had see them was in Kenya about two years before! She and I share so many memories. Ian died last year but we were fortunate to see them with my East African safari group in Naivasha in 2006. jeannie had organised a great last day in Africa for us in Naivasha, including Karen Blixen;s first African home now owned by friends of Jeannie's and a wonderful lunch overlooking the lake .. Ian who had lung cancer and alot of courage insisted on joining us dragging his O2 cylinder behind him.
You see what happens when we are at sea? I start reminiscing. i am so excited to be setting foot on African soil again the day after tomorrow.
Apologies for not writing this blog for a few days. I think a kind of lethargy set in after the relaxation we all experienced in Mauritius at the Beach Club. It was so wonderful to be away from the hubbub of the ship and simply lie beside a swimming pool or go for a walk on the beach and eat different and very good food. Six of us went as you can see from the photos: Chris Hill (my British Empire History professor), Anne a Life Long learner of nearly 89 yrs old who is quite amazing. Lives in Salt Lake city but was originally British and has that sort of British spunk....wants in the worst way to sleep on the deck but also want to know the enthusiastic early morning cleaners and scrubbers won't wash her away! So i have offered her our little deck. Of course Liz and Audrey and us.
We had some quiet reading time and some hilarious meal time conversation. Just what the Doctor ordered in fact.
Now we are steeping ourselves in Africa, particularly South Africa and it has been fun. George and I acted a short scene from The Road to Mecca, one of our Bob Kemp Hospice fund raiser productions, directed by the incomparable Dia and with the incomparable Dana...we missed them both! I love this play but we couldn't find a copy anywhere on the ship so I emailed Dia who rushed off to the Oakville library, picked out the speech I wanted and a good one for George and copied and emailed them to us....what a friend! This was for Africa Day which was yesterday and we have been asked to do a repeat performance in the Faculty Lounge ....oooh nerves! Today in Global Studies Liz read out the testimony of an African woman who had lost her son. It was mostbeautifully done and so moving.
We have the CEO of the Cape Town Opera on board, Michael Williams, with his wife Ettie: George and I met them last year at the university theatre in Cape Town. He is a wonderful director (put on a musical show with 25 students for Africa Day after three rehearsals because he only came aboard at Mauritius!) and an extremely nice and inspiring man. He came to our performance class today and gace us a workshop in movement. There are only 6 of us and we did a wonderful scene of a rhino giving birth from a South African production. We did it with some of us assisting at the birth and chanting while three made up the rhino and the baby hanging underneath and ultimately emerging fron the mother's body. There were suitable grunts and howls of pain from the front of the mother, who was James, (who may never give birth again in his life!!) the hind quarters was Emily and the baby was a very agile Jennifer!
We are going to see a new Athol Fugard play at the very new Fugard Theatre in Cape Town on the night of the 31st, the day we arrive. This is soooo exciting for me because I love his work. Fugard directed it too so, who knows, we might see him. We're hoping that chrs and Jo might join us because they arrive in CT that evening but they may possibly be too tired.
We have an inter-port student Luzoku on board and I had a great chat with him. he has to work 2 years to get one year at University. His mother, who works as a domestic, is the only bread winner in his family , his sister doesn't work and he has a younger brother at school. So you can imagine how hard it is for him as te eldest son to save adequate money for his education.
We have been hearing lots of African music from South and West Africa. I have suggested that our performance class start a conga chain weaving round the ship doing traditional Highlife from Ghana/Nigeria. The rest of the passenger/students/participants can join in if they choose. I think it would be great fun! We did it I remember at the Benin Club on their first Independence day celebration which I organised. We had the Lagos Police band to accompany us which was fantastic. We danced to Highlife most of that night because their slow waltzes and quick-steps were painful to the ears! I think it was the first big occasion at the club for Nigerians and ourselves, it had been pretty "white" in Colonial days. It was a huge success, I had also made a ginormous curry for it which other people contributed rice and side dishes to. My friend Jeannie (who I'm meeting in Cape Town and who has come down from Kenya) and her husband Ian came to it. It was a HUGE surprise for me because John (my ex) knew but had kept it from me. They just walked in and Jeannie tapped me on the shoulder, I nearly fainted. The last time I had see them was in Kenya about two years before! She and I share so many memories. Ian died last year but we were fortunate to see them with my East African safari group in Naivasha in 2006. jeannie had organised a great last day in Africa for us in Naivasha, including Karen Blixen;s first African home now owned by friends of Jeannie's and a wonderful lunch overlooking the lake .. Ian who had lung cancer and alot of courage insisted on joining us dragging his O2 cylinder behind him.
You see what happens when we are at sea? I start reminiscing. i am so excited to be setting foot on African soil again the day after tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment