#2 A little bit about me...

As Austin Powers said: "Let myself introduce... hmm...myself..."

I was born in Pretoria a long, long time ago, while the Dead Sea was still sick...
I am the eldest of three children, the two in this photo still in this world. This is me and my sister at an aunt's wedding, the photos being taken at the Union Building- the Prime Minister's office of old South Africa, and at the moment President Zuma's office.

We grew up in the then new suburb of Monumentpark, Pretoria, overlooking the Voortrekker monument, another controversial monument in South Africa. My father worked at Iscor- South Africa's steel industr, And my mother at this time was a sister at a Maternity hospital- helping new people arriving on planet Earth...
Our suburb was at the foot of the Waterkloof Air Force base,where many of South Africa's fighter jets were based. As schoolboys we were all very interested in anything Air Force, and we could recognize the different planes by sound alone- the Mirage F1 was our favourite as- in our eyes-  the fastest and most dangerous fighter jet in the whole wide world. Growing up in South Africa meant we didn't have a clue how big that whole wide world actually is. The Mirage F1 had a different sound from the older F 3. The most common plane we saw coming over were the Impala-  made by Airmacchi in Italy.  As little boys we also knew the sound of the Buccaneer bomber with it's off-centre canopy. And sometimes they started the old museum pieces as well- the Sabre- which our 2nd Squadron took part in the Korea war with as part of the Allied Forces. The whisling sound of the old Vampire- these sounds we knew well.  We were not that interested in the Airforce's helicopters- they were just not that interesting in our eyes as being too slow to do anything exciting... But we knew the difference between the French Aluette, Puma and Super Frelon choppers coming over.
I have a great love for flying, and really enjoys any movies about flying to this day- Top Gun! Amelia, Iron Eagle- all those flying movies rated high on my must see list.  To this day I am actually sad that I never believed enough in that dream to become a pilot. And to this day I never miss a chance to hop onto an airplane if I can get the opertunity to fly along...

I lived in Pretoria from birth to the age of nine, when life took a few nasty turns, and I ended up in the cold cold town of Bethlehem in the Orange Free State for two years... Skipping right along...

At the age of eleven we moved to the coal mining and steel producing town of Newcastle in Natal, the Last Frontier of the British Empire. Quite nearby was various battlefields from South Africa's different wars. Between Newcastle and Volksrust is the mountain of Amajuba, where the Boer Forces won a major victory against the British Empire in the First English War (1880's) Some people still do not want to call it the Anglo Boer War, because, they say- we didn't start it.  As schoolboy I climbed Amajuba several times, following the different forces' route up. At the top is a remembrance plaque which marks the spot where the upcoming star of the British Army, General George Pomeroy Colley, was shot and killed. He made the classical error of underestimating his opponents. In our town, very close to our home, was the old british Fort Amiel. There we went and played archeologist, digging up old bottles and buttons from the English forces staying there.  Also not too far away is the old battlefield of Bloodriver, which was a major piece of Afrikaner history from the Groot Trek. And a little bit further the battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, where the British took on the Zulus, and where the most Victoria crosses in history were awarded for a single battle...
Growing up as an Afrikaans boy in Natal was quite a war in itself, being one of the provinces where English speaking and Afrikaans speaking children grew up in the same school/  And we fought the Anglo Boer Wars over again- we thought we hated each other. Sometimes the fists would fly around during the breaks at school. South Africa was, and still is, quite a divided place to stay.  I really loved history from very young age, and it was only at university where we actually became aware that our country is regarded as one of the skunk nations of the world.  That time we had our own versions of history, being God's chosen people like Israel of old. Local history will always be tainted in South Africa, we white people had our version of it, and now there is the version of the Struggle, and the Other Side being taught at our schools. I really hope that in my lifetime there will come a time where all South Africans can share Our History, forgive the wrongs of the past, and work together to build a better future for our children. Because we live in a very special place, a country of such magnificent natural beauty and cultural difference... but as little boys we knew so little of what is going on around us.

Do I still hate the British? No- my sister on the photo lives in England and is a UK citizen... And I had the opertunity to visit the UK several times- I really love the Lake Distrct and Scotland, but that is another story,,, 

And that, I think, is enough for one day, now I want to see why the Tour de France riders is experiencing so much flat tires today...