Weekend Retreat in the Hamlet of Fort Nottingham

You have to admit that its great to get away when you're living in the city, away from the daily pressures that life demands of us. I am biased, but the Natal Midlands is a stunning area to visit. If you have never visited this beautiful area then you won't know that the scenery is stunning and has some of the most wonderful cycling to be had, that you can fly fish in some of the most pristine waters, that the Midlands Meander is full of the most interesting places to visit including potters, sculptors, country restaurants, gift and antique shops and much much more.
The Hamlet of Fort Nottingham is 15km out of Nottingham Road, surrounded on three sides by mountains in a nature reserve, and has to be one of the most peaceful places to stay for a weekend. Nature includes various buck, monkeys, baboons, various small mammals and the most prolific bird life. Look out for Blue Crane on your way, and for horse lovers you'll love the foals and horses that abound.
Things to do, other than just doing nothing, include stunning walks or cycling up the mountain, lesser walks over the river and up the infamous 'Highland Games Kilted Run', walking through the forest in the nature reserve, a visit to the local grave yard (full of history), a bite of lunch at Els Amics restaurant and a stroll around the Fort Nottingham Museum with its interesting little shops.
Where to stay? Sherwood Forest self catering Guest Cottage, once the home of the French restaurant 'Cafe le Fort', sleeps four in one double and 2 single beds. More appropriate for a young family as the rooms are inter-leading. It is very rustic, yet quaint, and is set in a lovely mature garden within the Fort.
The hamlet of Fort Nottingham is ideal if its peace and quiet you are looking for. Excepting, of course, Saturday 15th  May when you have to don your kilt for the annual Highland Games. An event not to be missed, so book your accommodation early.

Sam's having a gas!

The one thing you need to know about me, is that I love cooking and eating, the kind of person who takes cookery books and magazines to bed to read the recipes! So today i'm smiling after the purchase of a new, more sophisticated, gas cooker. Not that there was anything wrong with the old one. No, even when I ran out of gas the other evening, the electric rings in the centre of my old cooker saved the day. But I just couldn't resist the glimmer and attraction of this new one (especially with its convection oven) which I can already picture in our 'new kitchen', the new kitchen which is still only half built!

The other thing you should know about me, is that the property we own, used to house a little (little being the operative word) French restaurant called 'Cafe le Fort' and ever since I have dreamt of inviting friends for supper there, so I can pretend I have my very own restaurant without the strings attached. After reading Susan Herrmann Loomis' books 'On Rue Tatin' (highly recommended for those escapism foodies) I can see myself re-creating something similar to her little cookery school in Normandy, France. One can only dream.

Who of you have watched 'Come Dine with Me' on TV? Well that is my idea of a fun night out. I challenge anyone living in my area to join me in putting together our very own version of this exciting show and girls, watch out for that dinner invitation at Cafe le Fort!

Check out Susan Loomis' website on http://www.onruetatin.com/ She does have a blog too, but her website is so much nicer....

Recycling and eco friendly environments

Part of down-shifting has to include a nod towards living in an 'eco' environment where recycling should really be second nature to you. In South Africa we are still way behind the rest of the world, but we are at least giving the whole recycling thing a bash. Even before I moved permanently to the countryside we had our different kinds of bins in which to separate our garbage, though now we have Muncipal refuse removal they do tend to just bung everything into the same lorry. I am assured by my friend that people scouting the dumps for things are still happy  to find bags of the same thing which they don't have to sort through.

I also have a huge compost heap, ( nothing quite like spreading your own waste on one's garden) which I love, as well as a little wormery that we keep at the back door (my son's baby). My compost bin, inside the kitchen, is an old recyled pedal bin, painted in the colours of the Union Jack (yes patriotic!) with 'compost' written on it, so there's no making a mistake which bin is which.

Then there's nothing quite like recycling furniture. This is obviously one of my favourite past times. My best recycle of late has to be a matching pair of vintage Barbers chairs which I had recovered in Nguni skin. They now look stunning and could fit into any vintage or modern home.

I have to punt the fact that we sell Wormeries at our shop, though still have't quite figured out how they fit into a Brocante! We have a special on our wormeries at the moment with a discounted price, to encourage recycling in our area. So instead of the normal price of R450 they are now R400 until the end of March 2010. Click here to order http://www.simplysam.co.za/s.nl?sc=7&category=&search=wormery

Davante Living re-opens

Just pasted Rawdons on the R103, going down the Balgowan Road on the right hand side, 'Davante' Living' has just re-opened after a couple years of silence. At Davante, meaning Beloved, you will find a quaint little coffee shop surrounded by bookshelves of books to read or purchase at your leisure, like visiting a library with other perks! Quaint little items are for sale including kitchen smalls as well as furniture. Pop in for a slice of homemade cake and some of the best fresh coffee on the Meander. Tel: 022 2666097 or email: davante@vodamail.co.za

Out-reach in Africa

I have to say that I do love helping people but my Mother Teresa purpose in life has never really showed itself the way i've thought it would and I have often said to people that I personally don't think I have the humility Mother Teresa must have had, caring for people.

However our new gardener, who started working for us a few weeks ago, has a plight in life that I would like to share with you, in the hope that you may feel inspired to assist. We sometime underestimate the degree to which aids affects people, especially the families left behind, more over when that family is not directly linked emotionally to our own. We can ooh and aah, but then we can go home to our happy little nucleus.

TK, as my new gardener is known, has six children. She is twenty eight years of age. These children are not her own. She has one sister of twenty two and had two other sisters, both of which died of an un-known illness. These sisters left behind six children between them from the ages of five to fifteen, all of which TK is now responsible for. She cannot work for me full time, mainly because of the cost and time involved in getting to my property which is very far away and also because her family rely on her being there for them. She has found herself in a catch twenty two situation with responsibilities far in excess for someone of such a young age. Her younger sister is fortunate to be studying agriculture, but does not yet bring in an income.

In South Africa this situation is familiar to thousands of people across the country and is nothing new. Accepting this young lady is new to me and has crossed my path in life. So I am bringing her fate to you in the hope that together we can do something to help. So what do you think? Obviously financial is the first priority but she could be helped in many other ways. If you are interested to assist, drop me a line. This lady lives near         Howick, so a job offer closer to home is a possibility. So is clothing, food parcels etc.

Weekends are for weddings ..............

I thought this so appropriate for all those couples getting married, or planning their weddings, because the Midlands has to be the place to tie the knot, such is the romanticism of the area, and we have the most fabulous venues to choose from. 

This wedding was at Lythwood Lodge and Barbara Zietsman, owner and driver of the wedding carriage, said it had been raining all week and she was panic-stricken, only to wake up at 3.30am to see clear skies and stars. She says she slept like a baby after that! 

Sassy Sue, the horse leading the way, is a purebred Hackney. Hackneys are specially bred for carriage driving and are used all over the world. Barbara, the owner says "they are spectacular! I just love her - she has such a sense of occasion!". And doesn't she just. Though you don't look too bad yourself Barbara!

If you are planning that special occasion in the future don't just make it special, make it magical with this horse drawn carriage. You are sure to take everyones breath away. 

Contact Barbara Zietsman directly on 0828545698 or email  Barbara@whitfieldfarm.co.za


p.s Special Offer at Hartford House - Exclusive Getaways are offering a special between now and the end of March 2010 at Hartford House - Bed & Breakfast R560 per person. Only through Exclusive Getaways -  Book now at cathyc@getaways.co.za

From Pretoria to Nottingham Road, with love ......

Cycling to work this morning I passed a couple of Blue Crane with their chicks, a first for me, and I thought back to the days I would take the kids to the Blue Crane Sanctuary in Pretoria, as a way of trying to create a little countryside environment in the city. So hear I am enjoying this peace and tranquility on a daily basis, running my antique & vintage shop, being called by my first name in the bank and where two is a queue at the local post office.  I collect my children from school at way past four o clock, and I am not charged for this privillage, and our children have the freedom to remain children in a relaxed 'family' environment, where they are thriving. The other day I had a real tear jerker when I walked into teacher Caroline's class rehearsing 'Caravan' - a sea of multicultural kids singing at the top of their voices and genuinely having a ball. What a very special site to behold, a memory to treasure.

Yesterday I receive an expected call from a local shop owner who had mentioned she was pulling out her old Lavender bushes, and were being pulled out that day, did I want them? I call my friend Elena (another 'down shifter' from Pretoria) who promptly jumps into her car. Then I get a call, "should I take my trailer?". Then another call "where am I going?". Then another call "you crazy, mad lady, I need a truck to load all this Lavender!" Not having planned for this un-expected call from me, she now has a mound of work to keep her busy. No doubt there will be dried lavender bunches and pot pourie hearts for sale in Nottingham Road soon. And so it goes, this countryside life style, where time really does feel like it can be stored up for a rainy day or any other day for that matter....