Snakes

Here’s an interesting article from this morning’s weekend read…

Puff adder

AN INCREASE in snake sightings around Port Elizabeth has prompted experts to issue a warning as summer heats up, with residents cautioned against confronting the reptiles when they come across them.

Snake catcher and Sandula Conservation director Mark Marshall said he had received about 150 calls this month, averaging about five calls a day.

Snakes that have been caught in recent months include puff adders, cobras and boomslangs.

“Boomslangs have been reported in Pari Park and Bushy Park, puff adders in Sardinia Bay, Summerstrand and Walmer, while both cobras and puff adders are in Westering and surrounding areas,” Marshall said.

“There are very various contributing factors. Developments in residential areas have seen snakes seek refuge in other gardens and areas. Another major problem is illegal dumping of rubble and garbage which is where snakes hide and seek refuge.

“This is what keeps snakes in the area,” he said. Continue reading “Snakes”

Memories of Greece 1963, pt. 4

By now we were old salts, so we could handle the long voyage from Rhodes to Iraklion in northern Crete with aplomb, almost able to ignore the loukoumia problem; but we were glad to disembark to the frantic accompaniment typical of every busy port we visited.

Our focus was to see the work of a famous alumnus of our college, Sir Arthur Evans, the pionering archaeologist who, from the start of the  20th C. first gave meaning to the ruins of the ‘Minoan’ civilisation; he named it after the mythical King Minos of ‘Minotaur’ fame. The fabled bull was a common feature of the frescoes he excavated and controversially restored in the reconstructed ‘palaces’ – probably a misnoma for rooms and streets occupied by more than just royalty.

Continue reading “Memories of Greece 1963, pt. 4”

Harrumph

Dear cherished colleagues. I apologise for my absence from The Chariot, which is down to chronic connectivity problems and a laptop that will be shot in the face very soon unless it shapes up pronto.

I know a photo comp needs to be set and I’m thinking of “My favourite thing(s)” as a working title. I shall put up a separate post on this.

Oh, a bit of news. In the early morning of 31st October, our fourth anniversary, I plied the NSW with champagne and freshly squeezed orange juice and asked her if she would do me the honour of becoming the next Mrs OZ. She eventually said, “Yesh” There was a solitaire involved.

Yippee!

OZ

Memories of Greece 1963, pt. 3

Rhodes was, and still is, a very pretty island, with wooded hills in the ‘interior’ and well-preserved old towns within ancient fortifications – including of course the two arms of Rhodos harbour where Colossus once bestrode the entrance. The three of us found a quiet corner on top of the city wall to make camp, conveniently situated for a water tap and even public toilets, a rarity in 1963; while below us the narrow streets were teeming with stall-holders and buyers of everything from local produce to car tyres, with fresh fish aplenty. Although it was of little use to us, with no means of cooking it!

A highlight of our visit was a bus-ride across the island which dropped us off at a valley called ‘Petaloudes’. Continue reading “Memories of Greece 1963, pt. 3”

Memories of Greece 1963, pt 2

The thing is, I was totally immersed in Ancient Greek language, literature and history at that time, having done my ‘public exam’ in Classics only a few months before. So to find myself setting foot in old Piræus was like coming home. It was a hot, bright, bustling harbour; vendors and hustlers meeting the ferry, children offering to dive for coins from the dock-side, delapidated vehicles of every kind, even some with engines. And livestock being herded all around, presumably to or from the markets. No exaggeration to say almost nothing had changed in 2,500 years.

The local youth hostel was by no means primitive though. In fact we made reservations for a month later, the night before the ferry left for Brindisi – but for accommodation on the roof this time; no sissy matresses for these lads! Because we already knew from the student grape-vine that spending good money on rooms was out of the question. It was going to be ships’ decks, roof-tops and beaches from now on, with our sleeping bags, no tents. Remember: it was July and August when the nights were warm and rarely wet. And nobody had even heard of a ban on sleeping rough in those days; it was just what less-affluent visitors did and we were made welcome wherever we laid our heads.

And we soon ‘did’ mainland Greece. Continue reading “Memories of Greece 1963, pt 2”

Memories of Greece 1963, pt 1

Is it 50 years ago? Can’t be. Yes, it is.

Steam Train the Flying Scotsman Leaving a Station, January 1963 Photographic Print

Two mates and I won college travel bursaries after our ‘first public exams’ – which in those days counted as ordinary degrees taken after 5 terms. Value: £36 each. So we planned a month away in the summer vacation – destination Greece via everywhere in between. It wasn’t called back-packing in those days; we were just travelling students, advised to sew Union Jacks on our rucksacks so that Johnny Foreigner wouldn’t mistake us for undesirables (!). Such innocent times! Continue reading “Memories of Greece 1963, pt 1”

Japan

Kaohsiung is often described as the “anti-Taipei” in much the same way as Osaka is the anti-Tokyo or Marseille is the anti-Paris. This view is very much true. In practical matters it holds true as much as it does in abstract. Kaohsiung is connected to its airport by its underground system. Taipei is connected to its airport by bus and only bus. I am not especially fond of buses and avoid them whenever possible preferring trams, trains and subways. There is something uncivilised about buses. Perhaps it is the tendency of peasants to use them as a favoured means of transport? But that is not relevant to this topic, so I will digress. After a long morning of walking about Taipei I took the bus to the airport to fly to Osaka. The security check was fast and pleasant. No aggro, no hassle. Everything was scanned, the metal detector did not sound as I went through and an exit stamp was duly affixed to my passport. Continue reading “Japan”

Quiz

The following initials represent the first lines of well known nursery rhymes:

1. R A R O R – Ring a ring a roses

2. D D B P I T W

3. T W A O W W L I A S – There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

4. O T, B M S -One two, buckle my shoe

5. T L P W T M

6. R A R T G – round and round the garden

7. J A J W U T H – Jack and Jill went up the hill

8. L J H S I T C – Little Jack Horner sat in the corner

9. J S W E N F – Jack Sprat would eat no fat

10. J B N, J B Q -Jack be nimble, jack be quick

Can you tell me which is which?

Movie title competition

Here’s a fun challenge for cherished colleagues. While watching a recent NFL game (that’s American Football to some or Gridiron to others) the production team came up with a couple of humorous takes on movie titles …

SILENCE OF THE RAMS

The St Louis Rams are having a bit of a tough time of their opening fixtures this season and this title is more than appropriate 🙂 Continue reading “Movie title competition”