Letters to my Grandchild

 Hello my precious girl, You had visitors on the 1 February.  Brian arrived with a few of his cousins, Jacqui's boyfriend's daughters and a friend. Your Dad started sending us updates on the Corona Virus and on 4 February there had been 427 deaths.   We still thought of it as something far away - 11 000 km from Durban - and nothing for us to worry about.  We were more interested in the news that the landlord had accepted an offer on the house you were living in on Golf Course 1 and that you were going to have to move by June.  This was a bit of a surprise because we were planning to go to France and Spain in May so that you and I could walk parts of the Camino. You moved to Ryder Avenue in February 2018 so you've been there two years and your folks have done a lot to improve the garden, and painted rooms on the inside.  It is a lovely house but Gumpie and I always felt that it was too dark and too damp because of all the trees around it hanging over the house.  The brick pa

  February 2 — Global Air Travel Is Restricted By 5 pm on Sunday, those en route to the United States  had to have left China  or they faced a 2-week home-based quarantine if they had been in Hubei province. Mainland visitors, however, will need to undergo health screenings upon their return, and foreign nationals can even be denied admittance.  Other countries  started to impose similar air-travel restrictions at this point include Australia, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand. February 3 — US Declares Public Health Emergency WHO  d eclared  a Global Health Emergency as more than 9800 cases of the virus and more than 200 deaths had been confirmed worldwide. February 10 — China’s COVID-19 Deaths Exceed Those of SARS Crisis The COVID-19 death toll  surpasses  that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak from 17 years ago, totalling 908 reported deaths in China in the last month compared with 774 deaths in the SARS crisis. February 25 — CDC Says COVID-19 Is Headin

Spending time with your 2nd cousin Richard A couple of Christmas photos Our men - Gumpie, Mark and Greg, decided to go to the Game Reserve for a weekend. Sharon was working so you, Tammy and I decided to have a girl's weekend at Ashtonvale Guest Farm near Bulwer. There is a small playground and you and I tried out the see-saw, swings  and the jungle gym and visited the donkeys. You and your Mom were in a two bedroom suite and I was in a room next door    Peppa the pig was lolling about all weekend You played on the tractor - just like your Dad and Greg did when we took  them to guest farms like the Oaks and Hebron Haven when they were boys.    My friend Hlengiwe joined us that evening and after breakfast on Saturday we went to   Reichenau Mission where Mdu gave us a tour and then we went to Underberg for lunch.   You with Hhlengiwe Kheswa and Mdu There was a lovely playground at The Olde Duck and farm animals.  Just before we left a storm broke and sheets of rain and hail began to