Considering a Future Career

For my future career, I am thinking about becoming a vet. I am not sure if I want to be one, but I am thinking about it. So I decided I would like to see what a day in the life of a vet is like, and my mother phoned the vet and arranged to spend a day with him.
I went last week Tuesday, and it was very nice and interesting. I was there at 8:00, and received a friendly greeting. When I arrived, the vet was reading in a textbook about an unusual operation for later on in the day. The vet had an assistant who helped him, but didn’t actually operate.
During the morning there were seven operations, which were very interesting. But there was only one problem: I ate breakfast shortly before leaving, and so I felt rather light-headed during the first two or three operations. The first two operations were two female cats being spayed. I will spare you the grisly details in this post, but if you want me to write about them, just let me know. Anyway, the operations were interesting, but I didn’t watch too closely because I was feeling weird. The assistant would give the animals a dose of sedative, so that less anaesthetic was used. Then he would give them the anaesthetic in their leg, sometimes shaving the fur away to get at the skin. After he had done that, he would empty the cats bladder (if it was a cat), and then shave the belly. Then the assistant would wash the skin well with a liquid soap, rinse it and then the vet would take it to the operating table, and operate. By the way, one of the cats’ names was Bibi. I will include all the names of all the animals as I go.
Next, there were two beagles, a male and a female, by the names of Piesang (Afrikaans for banana) and Papaya respectively. They were in for a spay and neuter. These I also did not watch too closely, but soon felt better. After these two adorable dogs, there was a fox terrier cross by the name of Smudge, who came in for several tumours on her belly. These were soon removed, and she was alright.
After her, there was a massive Neapolitan Mastiff, who had come in earlier in the day, who was called Khublakan. He was a big, heavy dog, who had a tumour on his foot. The vet’s assistant said the dog must have weighed around sixty kilograms, which is a little less than me, and his head alone at least fifteen kilos, and I found this when I had to hold the dog’s head up while the vet pushed a pipe down the mastiffs throat to help him breathe while under the anaesthetic. Khublakan was carried to the table, and his paw shaved around the tumour, and then washed. The vet then cut the tumour out on the sides, between the pads. The tumour must have been on average three quarters of the size of a golf ball! After cutting it out, he then sewed the paw pads together again.
But there was a tragic happening in store. Later on, sometime after the operation, the vat’s assistant came to check Khublakan, and found him not breathing. He got the stethoscope and listened to the big dog’s head, but heard nothing. Khublakan was dead! Sadly yes. We were not sure what had caused him to die, but the assistant took him to an outside room, and had a look at the dog’s heart, and found that the cancer had spread to his heart.
Next up was a dog called Blackie, and he was like his name: black. Anyway, his problem was that he had trouble with one of his salivary glands, which were seeping saliva into his neck, in pockets I think, because he had two large squishy lumps on his throat. And the cure was simple: remove the gland, and plush the area of saliva congregation.
Another interesting patient was a beautiful white cat, who (surprisingly enough) was a diabetic. If you have seen one of my previous posts about Tartufo, this cat looked similar, but whiter, in fact snow white, and with longer fur. Her name was Lady Poppet, and she was staying with the vet while her owner was in hospital.
There was also a Jack Russell Terrier, who was blind in one eye, and had had the other one removed some time before, and so she couldn’t see. But the sad thing was, she had a stroke not long ago, and as a result her head constantly tilted to one side. When she stood up, her head would pull to the side, and she would go in circles until she sat down. But she was also old, and the vet was trying to convince the owner, who wanted to keep the dog, that it was time to put the dog down.
It was a very nice day, and I like the idea of being a vet. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a camera with me, and so I have no photos. I hoped you enjoyed the story of my day.

My full-time hobby.

Everyone collects something. If you lived 100 years ago, you might have collected stamps. If you are an active little kid, you can easily collect bruises, or dirt. Most men collect tools, and some cars. Me? I collect something else: business cards.
This is my collection, minus the ones I have got since I took the photos.
It all started several years ago, actually. My first card was from Magnum Archery, an archery range not too far from us. I decided to collect the cards from the two archery places near us: the above mentioned, and The Bow Shop. Two years ago, our bows were stolen in the night out of our car. We went to an archery place in Benoni to buy new bows (South Africans will know where Benoni is), and I got their card. We also found another place in Centurion, and I soon had their card.
Around that time, I did not plan on a large collection. I was just interested in getting the business cards from all the archery places I knew. But then, sometime later, I started to like the idea of a collection. Until around October last year, I only had seven cards. But that soon changed when we went to a shooting range quite close to us, and they had eight or so different cards there, several from other places than the shop. I took seven (call me greedy if you like), and that was my starting boost. Over time, I collected more and more, and slowly my small bunch grew. But my biggest addition was when in march, my grandmother heard of my hobby, and gave me sixteen cards! It might not sound impressive, but to a starter, all is welcome.
The cards in the left and middle columns are some of the ones my grandmother gave me.
I now have 71 business cards in my collection. They range from The Bow Shop to Umklewu Bushveld Lodge, from For Horse and Country Saddlry to a tree feller, from a private photographer to Pringle of Scotland, from a pet shop to a dentist. When compressed, it is about 3 cm thick. I could never beat the world record, which is 900,000, owned by a boy of 10, so says the ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not’ 2010 book. All of mine have been collected, donated, or found honestly, and I hope to increase my number to over a hundred by the end of the year.

This is is one of my latest cards: a card from a Harley Davidson seller.

Since I took these photos, I have got a few more cards, and so they are not in the picture. Thank you for reading.

Working on a warship

You can call me an amatuer model builder. I do not build models of celebrities, nor for toy companies, or props for movies. I build my owm models of aeroplanes and hang them on my bedroom ceiling. The kit comes in a box with plastic grids on which the peices are. These you cut out and glue together, and then paint.

(Work in progress)

So far I have built two of my own model aeroplanes (these can be seen in an earlier blog post), as well as helped build two of my brothers' ones. That is all, and that is why I am only an amatuer.

Just a few weeks ago, I bought a model warship. The name of it is the USS San Francisco CA-38. It was launched in 1933, and commisioned in February 1934. In october the next year she was taken in for a refit at Pearl Harbour Naval Yard. Two months later, when the Japanese attack came, she was still under repair. Hastily repaired, she joined a task force to relieve wake Island, but was too late in arriving. In August 1942, the criuser covered for carrier in thhe Guadalcanal offensive. In Novenber, she came upon a superior enemy force, suffering major damage and losing 83 crewmen. After being decomissionedin 1947, she was awarded 17 Battle Stars, making her the most decorated ship in USN history.

It took me six days to complete construction on the ship, making my record, which previously a week. It is up on a shelf in my room. It came with an option of a full hull, or a waterline plate, which is just a plate in the cutaway shape of the hull, so that the ship could look like it is in the water. It comes with three main cannons, each with three barrles. In the middle of the ship, on the sides, are three smaller single-barreled guns. At the back and on the forward tower section are two quadruple-barreled guns each, making four of these. To top it all off, there are twelve Bren guns over the ship. These Brens are between 1.7 and 2 metres in length in real life, but on the model ship are a minute 6mm! These are rather hard to glue and paint. Also, the ship comes with two masts, two gantries, a searchlight tower, and two seaplanes.

It is fun to build models, and I am hoping to build up an air fleet. My brother Daniel wants to build a 1700's ship called the HMS Constitutioner.

I hope you like the photos.

Brass Brothers

  Everyone knows what a trumpet is: it is a brass instrument that has been around for thousands of years. But how many people know what a cornet is?

  A trumpet is basically a brass instrument that is blown on to make a sound, and is often used for announcing or calling. The modern trumpet has several valves, curving pipes, and is rather small. But then what is a cornet?

  The trumpet has evolved over hundreds of years, but the modern trumpet first appeared in the early 1800’s. The cornet was invented about the same time as the trumpet, first built in the late 1820’s. Even so, the cornet’s sound was preferred, and was more used than the trumpet for some years.

   This is a cornet. 

  Among other things, the cornet is slightly smaller than the trumpet, but it plays in the same key, Bb. The cornet has a sweeter, more mellow sound than the trumpet, and does not have the sharpness of the sound of the latter. Also, they look slightly different.

  This is a trumpet.

  I started playing the trumpet last year. When my father was in school, he played the cornet in the school band. Recently I have taken an interest in the cornet, and some time ago, my teacher told me that he had a cornet. So several weeks I ago asked him if there is any difference in the playing technique between the cornet and the trumpet, and he told me there isn’t. Also, he offered to let me play on his cornet. Then on Thursday I asked to borrow it for a week, so now I have one of each (not to own, of course).

  I am still trying to decide which I prefer, and if I choose the cornet, I might change to the cornet. I have included some photos so that if you do not know the difference, you can see. The shape of the cornet varies slightly.
  The best photo that I have of the two instruments has my brother’s French horn in it.

Tartufo, our cat.

This is about a cat of ours, who is about as old as they get, if not older. If he was a human, I would have a lot of respect for him, as the saying says you must respect your elders. And that is what he is. And his name is Tartufo (or Tufo for short), named after the Italian dessert.
Tufo’s previous owners, some friends of ours, got him shortly before their eldest son was born. Their son was born in July 1995, and I was born in November the same year. They got Tufo as a kitten, and gave him to us when they emigrated to Australia in 2003. So we have had him for nearly eight years, making Tufo near 16 years old.

But the amazing thing about him is that he is as fit and healthy as many other cats. He can still jump up onto chairs and beds, he will run if frightened, and shows no sign of rheumatism or any other illness. He is a very sweet cat and ‘talks’ to us if we talk to him. He loves tuna and chicken, and can smell it cooking, and will cry for some until you give him some. He is not a fighting cat, but sometimes one of our other cats, Caticus, will jump at him or bat at him with a paw. He also doesn’t hunt or stalk small animals.

Here he is 'talking' to me.
He has a lovely colouring of white and cream, and he is part Persian. He loves to be petted, especially scratched on the head and his ears rubbed, and likes to sleep on peoples beds, but not often mine.
In short, he is a lovely, quiet, but aged feline.

Recent Room Renovations

Within the last two months I have been doing work on my bedroom. I decided that the holidays were a good time to do work.
I started by sandpapering down my cupboard doors, and that was in the middle of November. This was over a period of a couple of weeks, because I would sand the doors, put them in my study, and then forget about them for a few days, or I would just not feel like working on them. My sister then started to do her cupboard doors, and she made better speed than I did.
After that, I started to paint. I could have made the work go faster, but I only worked on one door at a time, and this made slower progress. I don’t want this to sound like I went at a snail’s pace, but everything I did took me the whole holidays. But I still went on.
Another thing that I did was that in the holidays I was working on three aeroplanes. No joking. And they were fighter jets. I had to go to the airbase twice a week. But the cool thing was, the airbase was my study, and they were model jets. (Oh, and I worked on them nearly every day, and going twice a week was part of the joke. Ha-ha.)
After my cupboard doors were finished, I emptied, vacuumed and painted the inside of my cupboard. I did this in about four or five days. But then the one day, I had just given a thin coat to the bottom of the inside, and I came and found this:

And the paint was wet, and it stayed. Maybe Jordan (That’s my little brother) just wanted to help, or to make the job interesting. (Sigh) If I can’t wash it off, it will have to stay there, or I will have to do more painting. Oh well, it’s not that bad, but I just don’t want to have to paint again.
Another new thing in my room was that I had two new additions to my air fleet that I want to build. Here is a picture of it:

The jet on the left is an F15E Strike Eagle, the small one in the middle is a Eurofighter Typhoon, and the one the right is an F111E bomber.

'Jack and the Beanstalk' by Roald Dahl.

This poem is Roald Dahl’s version of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’

Jack’s mother said, “We’re stony broke!
Go out and find some wealthy bloke
Who’ll buy our cow, just say she’s sound
And worth at least a hundred pound.
But don’t you dare to let him know
That she’s as old as billy-o.”
Jack led the old brown cow away,
And came back later in the day,
And said, “Oh mumsie dear, guess what
Your clever little boy has got.
I got, I really don’t know how,
A super trade-in for our cow.”
The mother said, “You little creep,
I’ll bet you sold her much too cheap.”
When Jack produced one lousy beam,
His started mother, turning green,
Leaped up high in the air and cried,
“I’m absolutely stupefied!
You crazy boy! D’you really mean
You sold our daisy for a bean?”
She snatched the bean. She yelled, “You chump!”
And flung it on the rubbish dump.
Then summoning up all her power,
She beat the boy for half an hour,
Using (and nothing could be meaner)
The handle of a vacuum cleaner.
At ten p.m. or thereabout,
The little bean began to sprout.
By morning it had grown so tall
You couldn’t see the top at all.
Young Jack cried, “Mum, admit it now!
It’s better than a rotten cow!”
The mother said, “You lunatic!
Where are the beans I can pick?
There’s not one bean! It’s bare as bare!”
“No no!” cried jack. “You look up there!
Look very high and you’ll behold
Each single leaf is solid gold!”
By gollikins, the boy was right!
Now glistening in the morning light,
The mother actually perceives
A mass of lovely golden leaves!
She yells out loud, “My sainted souls!
I’ll sell the Mini, buy a Rolls!
Don’t stand and gape, you little clot!
Get up there quick and grab the lot!”
Jack was nimble, Jack was keen.
He scrambled up the mighty bean.
Up up he went without a stop,
But just as he was near the top,
A ghastly frightening thing occurred-
Not far above his head he heard
A big deep voice, a rumbling thing
That made the very heavens ring.
It shouted loud, “FE FI FO FUM
I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN!”
Jack was frightened, Jack was quick,
And down he climbed in half a tick.
“Oh Mum!” he gasped. “Believe you me
There’s something nasty up our tree!
I saw him, Mum! My gizzard froze!
A Giant with a clever nose!”
“A clever nose!” his mother hissed.
“You must be going round the twist!”
“He smelled me out, I swear it, Mum!
He said he smelled an Englishman!”
The mother said, “And well he might
I’ve told you every single night
To take a bath because you smell,
But would you do it! Would you hell!
You even make your mother shrink
Because of your unholy stink!”
Jack answered, “Well, if you’re so clean
Why don’t you climb the crazy bean.”
The mother cried, “By Jove, I will!
There’s life within the old dog still!”
She hitched her skirts above the knee
And disappeared right up the tree.
Now would the Giant smell his mum?
Jack listened for the fee-fo-fum.
He gazed aloft. He wondered when
The dreaded words would come… And then…
From somewhere high above the ground
There came a frightful crunching sound.
Jack heard the Giant mutter twice,
“By gosh, that tasted very nice.
Although” (and this in grumpy tones)
“I wish there weren’t so many bones.”
“By Christopher!” Jack cried. “By gum!
The Giant’s eaten up my mum!
He smelled her out! She’s in his belly!
I had a hunch that she was smelly.”
Jack stood there gazing longingly
Upon the huge and golden tree.
He murmured softly, “Golly-gosh,
I guess I’ll have to take a wash
If I am going to climb this tree,
Without the Giant smelling me.
In fact, a bath’s my only hope…”
He rushed indoors and grabbed the soap
He scrubbed his body everywhere.
He even washed and rinsed his hair.
He did his teeth, he blew his nose
And went out smelling like a rose.
Once more he climbed the mighty bean.
The Giant sat there, gross, obscene,
Muttering through his vicious teeth
(While Jack sat tensely just beneath)
Muttering loud, “FEE FI FO FUM,
RIGHT NOW I CAN’T SMELL ANYONE.”
Jack waited till the Giant slept,
Then out along the boughs he crept
And gathered so much gold, I swear
He was an instant millionaire.
“A bath,” he said, “does seem to pay.
I’m going to have one every day.”

Sadly, I could't get any of the illustrations from the Internet. I hope you had a good laugh.

Roald Dahl, A writer of childrens books.

 Roald Dahl was born in 1916 in Llandaff, South Wales. His parents were Norwegian, but lived in Britain. His parents were Harold and Sofie Dahl. His father died shortly after his one sister, Astri, when Roald was only three. He went to school at Llandaff Cathedral School for two years only, and then his mother sent him to St. Peters School.

  It was during this time that Roald had the car accident. After his first year at St. Peters School, during the December holidays, his family bought a motor-car (as it was referred to then) which his ancient half-sister would drive. During the drive, they had an accident, and Roald’s nose was cut almost right off his face. The doctor sewed it on again, though.
  Roald Dahl went to high school at Repton High School. Here he was good at games and he took up photography. After school he went on an exploring trip to Newfoundland. After this, he got a job in the Shell Oil Company which sent him to Africa. During this adventure, in 1939, World War II broke out, and Roald went to Nairobi to join the RAF. While in the Air Force, he got shot down and was rescued by six soldiers.
  Later in his life, Roald began his career writing for adults, but then became interested in writing children’s books by making up bedtimes stories for his daughters. His first children’s novel was James and the Giant peach, published in 1961.His other books include: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, Matilda, The Twits, The Enormous Crocodile, Danny the Champion of the World, The Witches, George’s Marvelous Medicine, The Magic Finger, The BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Esio Trot, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, The Wonderful story of Henry Sugar, Revolting Rhymes, Dirty Beasts, The Minpins, Rhyme Stew, and the three books about his life, Boy, Going Solo and My Year. The books Dirty Beasts and Revolting Rhymes are made up of rhymes. He took a lot of stories and rewrote them in a humorous way, but he also changes the story a bit.
  We like his books, and have read most of them. I will post one of his poems soon.
  Here is a photo of him.

A snatch of my day.

• Lately I have been working and studying for exams.

• I am looking forward to going to stay with some friends after my exams are finished.

• I want to get back into archery practice, as there is the year-end competition in a couple of weeks.

• I am practicing for a trumpet exam in two weeks.

• I have to clean my hamster’s cage sometime.

• I am thankful to God for all He has done for me.

• I am remembering the play we did by William Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice, which we will be doing again sometime soon.

• I am wishing I was at the Drakensburg Mountains….. They are so beautiful, and the weather there is very nice.

 The following photos are of the Drakensburg Mountains, a stream there with mist over it, and Me and my sister washing dishes there at the camping resort.

For several years, the whole of South Africa has been looking forward to the Soccer World Cup, which is being hosted by us. Since the beginning of this year, the country has been in a state of excitement, with everyone waiting for the games to start. In 2004, South Africa won the bid to host the Fifa World Cup. Since then, many people have been waiting for this year.
MTN, (a cell phone company,) Fifa’s main sponsor, has been advertising a lot about the World Cup, and using their favorite motto, ‘Ayoba!’ Also, the Cup has created a bigger income for flag sellers, who sell 2010 flags, vuvuzelas and t-shirts at street corners. The flags come in different sizes, ranging from small ones, about the size of an A6 sheet of paper, to larger ones about one metre in length, and also wing mirror socks that are made to look like flags. Fifa t-shirts are usually yellow, MTN’s colour.

I am sorry that the picture is blurred, but it is the only one I could get.And there are flags everywhere! In the shops, on cars, on buses and taxis, even on shirts. And the vuvuzelas are the worst!! They have a horrible noise, and are blown the WHOLE way through the soccer match. The other day I went past a restaurant where a soccer match was being shown live on TV, and there were speakers outside, and with average 10 000 vuvuzelas being blown, it sounded like a swarm of bees!

This is a vuvuzela, for those who don,t know what they are. As we don’t watch soccer, we aren’t interested in the Cup. Some of our friends are, though. Last week, on either one of the first matches, or one of the warm-ups days, Nigeria scored a goal, and suddenly very large crowds pushed open the gates and stampeded into the stadium. 15 people were injured, but I don’t think anyone was killed.
Sometime last year or the year before, construction was started a new train system called the Gautrain, named after the province of Gauteng. It is meant to take passengers from the airport to Pretoria, going through Sandton and Midrand (several cities in our country, for those who don’t know what I am talking about). One or two sections have been finished, and are even running, but not all of it.
The games are finishing on Sunday. It seems like just yesterday the games started. The final game is between Holland and Spain. I think Spain will win, but I am not sure.

Gold Reef City

On Monday we went to Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, and we enjoyed it very much.

It is called Gold Reef City because the fun park has been built on the site of a gold mine that was used in the 1900’s but the mines are not in use now. All sorts of activities have been built there to entertain people including rollercoaster rides, shops, a 4D theatre, restaurants, etc. and there are several old houses from the old times with old household equipment in them.

When we arrived, the Soweto youth league was playing music just inside the gates, but I will come back to this later. After we went in, we walked around a bit, went into a shop that sold stones and had a scratch patch, saw some luminous rocks, and went out. Next we looked at the old houses, and it is extremely interesting to see small items, furniture, and other household objects such as kitchen tables and clothes. The weird thing is that everything is so small, and it makes you wonder if the people were smaller in those days. Outside there was an outhouse in which there were a bath, a washstand, a cabinet and a tin bucket, and next to this in a separate room (both rooms were joined by a wall) was a toilet, also called a long drop.

After going to buy some chips to eat, we went to the Big Wheel, from which at the top you can see a lot of Johannesburg. It is probably about 100 metres high or more at the top. It is quite exciting to be that high, but when you look down, you get a funny feeling in your stomach, so it is a better idea not to. The tops of the gondolas are made to look like soccer balls, and this gives it a funny appearance. Some distance away from this there was a large tower ride called the Tower of Terror, but it was closed so we didn’t see how it worked. After this we walked around and took Keren on some kids’ rides that were very fun for her, and she went on a kid’s roller coaster called the Shonggololo and Mom and Ben went with her on this. At the highest point it was only about 3 metres high, so it wasn’t too dangerous. Keren also went on a bumping car ride and a carousel.
When she was finished we went to the train station, but it was full, so we had to walk. We went through what was called the Town, and it was made to look like an old town, but I don’t know if it was really a town in the 1900’s.

After going further along the road, we went on the Golden loop, which is a roller coaster that starts in a station, and suddenly starts after a siren has announced that you will soon be speeding. Dad and Ben sat right at the front, Eden and I sat in the middle, and Daniel sat in front of us. Mom stayed with Keren and Jordan by a snack bar at the foot of the ramp to the station. The start is very sudden, with an acceleration speed of 0 to 80 km/h in 3 seconds, so it surprises you even if you are expecting it. It shoots forward along a track of up to 200 metres which it covers in about 6 seconds, and during that time you go through a metal shed with a hole in it for the track to go through, but at that speed it feels as if you are going to crash through the walls. After going through the shed the track has a loop in it that goes in the same direction as it did before, and then promptly climbs to a point, and then it falls back down, goes around the loop again, and then flies back through the shed and station, and then climbs to another point, and then stops at the station again. While I was going up the loop, the G-force threw my head forward to my legs, so I didn’t see much then. Unfortunately we didn't get any photos of it.

After that we headed for the Anaconda, which was further up the road. This is a roller coaster that takes you around in chairs suspended from the tracks. It starts by pulling you up to a high point, where it drops very sharply, and all the people start screaming. It falls very fast and it made me feel a bit sick. It takes you through a tunnel before spinning you on a loop, after which you go on a single corkscrew turn. You then fly around a rock formation twice, and then there is another loop and several turns, before it comes to stop in the station again. Afterwards you feel dizzy and slightly sick, but it is an unforgettable experience, but I didn’t go again, although Dad and Eden did. In the following photo, you can see the Golden Loop in the background, and in the sixth seat from the front you can see my father.
After this Mom, Eden, Daniel, Ben and I went on a short rafting trip in some rapids in which we got very wet, and when we came home the seat of my pants were still wet, which wasn’t very comfortable.

This was around 1:00, and we went to have some lunch at a Wimpy there. After lunch we went to a 4D theatre where we watched a Kids movie called Robots of Mars. The first time all of us went except Dad, Keren and Jordan, and the second time Mom watched Jordan while we went in with Dad. The movie was a childish movie, but the way the glasses change everything to look like it is actually coming out at you,
with moving chairs and air and water spray blowing at you, it was very interesting.

On our way back to the entrance, we got caught in a downpour, and we had to stand in a doorway for about 40 minutes until it stopped and we could make our way out. We were feeling cold so we went back to Wimpy to have some coffee, and when we got there, in a sheltered spot the Soweto Youth League was playing music, but the instruments they had were six different xylophones, a drum kit, two Zulu drums, and some weird metal instruments that looked like the bottom of a metal drum had been cut off and then dented in, and by hitting on different places, different sounds were produced. There were about fifteen of these, and altogether it made a very African, but nice-sounding, music. We watched them for around half an hour, and then we left.

Trumpet lessons

For quite some time I have been wanting to play an orchestral instrument. I play the piano, and I am at Grade 4 level. At first I thought about the oboe, but then as I prefer brass instruments, I decided I wanted to play the trumpet.

I decided this about a year ago, and I have been waiting since then to start. I wanted to start last year during the fourth term, but my mother said that it was better if I started in the New Year. We knew of two people who taught trumpet, but we chose the one because he lives closer.
We decided that it would be better if we hired a trumpet at first instead of buying one, in case I didn’t enjoy playing it, because then we would have had a new trumpet that we aren’t using. We phoned Lovemore Music Centre to see if they hired out instruments, and they said that they didn’t, but knew a man that did. So my mother called him, and he said he had a trumpet we could use, and we arranged to pick it up at the music shop.

The next week I started lessons with Herrie Venter (Pronounced Harry). I have been taking lessons for six weeks now, and I am enjoying it thoroughly. Because I have been playing piano for about six years, and know a lot about music, I progressed very quickly, and I had done a years’ work in two or three weeks, and I am already playing Grade 4 pieces now, although I struggle with some of the high notes.

Our family is very musical. Both my grandmothers play piano, and one of my grandfathers. My one aunt played trombone when she was young, and my uncle played tuba in the school band. My other aunt plays piano, and used to play flute and clarinet. My mother played piano when she was young, and after she was married, she started viola. My father played cornet (which is very similar to trumpet) when he was in school in the band. My elder sister plays cello, my one brother plays the French horn, and my other brother plays violin and the recorder, which me and my sister both played when we were young (the recorder, not the violin or both).
I am enjoying the trumpet very much, and I am thinking of joining an orchestra when I am good enough. My sister plays in two, the Pretoria Youth Philharmonic Orchestra (PYPO for short), and Simphonia Juventi.

Friendly Frogs and Wierd Worms

On the 5th of February we went to a party at some friends of ours, and while we were there I found a bull frog.
I put it in a butter tub with some sand and water and decided to take it home.
When we got home I put it in a new tub that was bigger than the first one. We tried to get it an aquarium but we could not find one of suitable size. I looked around for something to put it in and found nothing but an unused cat litter tray. It was still new and my mom was a bit unsure but after a while she decided to let me use it .
I have had my Frog for ten days now feeding him on earthworms and dead flies that I kill with our electric fly swatter. I either hold them in my fingers or with a tweezers. He first takes some time to aim and then he lunges at it, grabs it in his mouth and swallows it whole.He is about as big as the tip of my thumb but he will grow bigger than two man’s hands together. Click here to see some pictures of adult bullfrogs.

Saturday's Archery Competition

On Saturday we went to an archery competition held by the South African Bow hunters Association (SABA) at Magnum Archery in Donkerhoek. This shoot is a sort of practice for bowhunters as it closely resembles hunting in South Africa. On the course there are 30 3D rubber targets (there used to be only 20 but the number was increased to accommodate the large numbers of people that attend) of animals, but only 20 are shot at. There is a range of animals that are made for shooting at with broadheads for hunting practice, e.g. wildebeest, gemsbok, springbok, impala, baboons, crocodiles, lions, lionesses, warthogs, bush pigs, hyenas, leopards, seals occasionally, and one can also buy rabbits and ducks. The people are divided into groups, and each group starts at a different target and moves onwards. There are two lines drawn on the animal in a not-so-circular shape around where the lungs and heart are if viewed from the side. In the middle and smaller circle is the heart shot, and if the arrow hits here, you score ten points, but if the arrow hits in the other and larger circle, five points are scored, as this a lung shot. If the animal is hit outside the two circles, then one point is taken off your score. If the arrow misses the animal completely, then no points are scored. There are between 30 and 100 metres between the rubber targets, and put together, this makes a long course to walk. During the winter the weather isn’t too bad, but in the summer it gets hot, and I mean really hot, especially in the sun. There are refreshment vehicles where you can buy drinks and sometimes snacks, and it is always a pleasure to see these on the course. Sometimes one person’s arrow hits the back of another arrow, and this is called a Robin Hood, as this legendary character splits other arrows, and I did one of these on the course by splitting one of my father’s arrows. On the course, arrows are lost, and sometimes not found. My brother Daniel shot an arrow past a target into a river, and had to wade in to get it. If the arrows hit a rock or stone, this can damage the arrow or head.
After the course has been finished, which takes three to five hours, everyone goes back to the reception area for a late lunch and cool drinks, and while this is happening the committee works out the scorecards for everyone, and then prizes are given, and then there is a lucky draw for all the people who shot over 70 %, in which prizes such as knives, lanterns, money and other equipment are given. I came third in my category which is Junior Male Broadhead, but nobody else in my family placed in the top three. At the previous shoot last year, all of us placed. At this shoot, two of our friends came with, an eight year old boy (James) and his father (Uncle Eddie). In the lucky draw I won a backpack and a lantern. I don’t know why my name was in twice, but I was lucky.
All in all, it was a good day.
(P.S. I also received free sunburn on my neck!)

Fun on the farm.

Yesterday we went to visit some friends on their farm in Benoni. We originally were just going for tea, but ended up having supper there. While we were there,we had a mud fight, packing mud into balls and throwing it at the enemies' team, but unfortunately we didn't get any photos of it. They have a dam on their farm,but the recent rain made it flood, washing away a boat of theirs, the paddles for the boat and a small bridge. Due to this, we couldn't go on the dam, but we had other fun, such as playing 'Stuck in the mud'. During the afternoon, we saw an owl in a tree and identified it as a Barn Owl. Soon after flying to the tree, it looked like it fell asleep. It wasn't very big, but very cute with cream coloured feathers. After dusk we tried to catch bats with a net, but we couldn't.

Here is a photo of the owl:

Introducing the Family

For the benefit of those who don’t know us, it may be a good idea to introduce the family:
Eden is the eldest. Long ago she was an only child. That was about 15 years ago, and it only lasted for 15 months! Eden will turn 16 this year, and is largely the leader among the kids in this family. She plays the cello very well, and enjoys her X-board, photography, listening to music and reading, as well as spending time with friends.
Nathan is the eldest son, and is 14. A quiet, gentle soul, he plays piano and trumpet. He is an excellent archer and competes regularly. He also enjoys reading, shooting with his air rifle, X-boarding, swimming and being with his friends.
Daniel is our family’s comedian! He will soon be 12, and he plays the French Horn. He also enjoys archery and collects knives. He loves animals, especially the Big 5. When he’s in the right mood, he can keep the family in stitches with his excellent humour.
Ben-Jonathan is 8 ½. He plays recorder and violin, and takes part in archery too. He spends most of his time living on another planet, and will probably be something like an inventor one day! (He’s VERY creative!) He’s also the family noise-maker – asking him to be quiet is like asking the sun not to shine.
Keren is 3 ½ and has more energy than the whole family put together! She NEVER keeps still! She has the most amazing imagination, and just loves being read to. (That’s probably the only time she’s vaguely still and quiet).
Jordan will be 1 in February. He’s getting cuter by the day, and should be walking soon. He tends to cry quite a lot, but should be outgrowing that soon (hopefully…)
Mom and Dad are not as interesting as the kids… Suffice it to say that we’re happily married and love our children to bits!
Add to these two dogs, three cats, a hamster, two rabbits and an unknown number of tropical fish, and you have our complete family.

At the back: Nathan holding Jordan, Eden and Daniel. In front: Keren and Ben.