Reading a poem by Rudyard Kipling outside Clarke’s Bookshop in Long Street

A young man picks up the pulse of the rhyming and strides with it.

"Poetry is lekker-deep"

Everyone, but

everyone, on the pavement affirms this comment: "Ja, man! Die wêreld is lekker-deep!"

[Lekker-deep: Sweet-deep. Nice-deep. New South African English. Expressly used for poetry and chance moments of beauty in everyday life]

The recall Rudyard Kipling I am the land of their fathers, In me the virtue stays. I will bring back my children, After certain days.
Under their feet in the grasses My clinging magic runs. They shall return as strangers. They shall remain as sons.
Over their heads in the branches Of their new-bought, ancient trees, I weave an incantation And draw them to my knees.
Scent of smoke in the evening, Smell of rain in the night – The hours, the days and the seasons, Order their souls aright,
Till I make plain the meaning Of all my thousand years – Till I fill their hearts with knowledge, While I fill their eyes with tears.
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) is one of 149 poets included in the amazing definitive anthology, Africa! My Africa! He was an English poet, novelist, short story writer and children’s author who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907.

Photos by Don Pinnock
Africa! My Africa! An anthology of poems selected by Patricia Schonstein ISBN978-1-874915-20-1 African Sun Press afpress@iafrica.com 1 November 2012: http://patriciaschonstein.bookslive.co.za/blog/2012/11/01/reading-a-poem-by-rudyard-kipling-outside-clarke%E2%80%99s-bookshop-in-long-street/

A retreat for children’s book writers and illustrators

 Illustrations by Doug Cushman

The first of a series of retreats run by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) was held at the end of October at Fynbos Estate.   The general aim of the retreat was to create an opportunity for writers and illustrators to hone their skills, learn new techniques and boost their confidence about writing and illustrating children’s books. The retreat was run by the SCBWI SA. The facilitator of the retreat, Doug Cushman, is an  award winning children’s book writer and  illustrator  from Paris, France. By the look of it, this retreat was a great success! More on SCBWI below.

Comments

Perfect venue for creativity. Perfect food to feed the soul. Perfect being looked after. Thank you

Marjorie Van Heerden Co-Ra of SCBWI SA

For me it was a critical transformation event. I do not quite know how I would have got from where I was to understanding what I need to do to create ‘characters’ if I had not attended this retreat.
I probably cut several years off my development program!!
The oje on one help from Doug was inspirational.
Also I found that the willingness of everyone to share  what they do and are trying to do refreshing and helpful.
Craig Paton-Ash (Illustrator)

The retreat at the Fynbos Estate was perfect.  Your idea of decorating the “walls” with art work, to have plenty of books available for inspiration and to have it set in such a peaceful, beautiful setting was great.  I fell in love with the veranda near the dining area, and the visions of the sun in the lush garden, watching the weaver birds, will stay with me for many years to come.  The food was delicious, the hosts were charming and Doug and I came back very impressed by the dedication and quality of work, as well as the friendliness of everyone in your group.  Although I am not very artistic, I really enjoyed making my anorexic dragon, and writing the weaver birds into my story while sitting in my favourite spot on the porch.
Angela Schellenberg (Writer)  

I particular enjoyed and felt I benefited from the combination of foreign and local expertise at the last retreat. 
The local expertise specifically referring to Marjorie.
I am still on a high of inspiration and working like crazy.
Pippa Lugg (Illustrator)

Thank you for the warm welcome. It was quite idyllic and a lovely experience to visit your beautiful farm Paddy Bouma

What a beautiful setting – removed from the hubbub of the cities. The perfect place to focus on our tasks at hand – illustrating. Thank you

Pippa Lug

Thank you for a wonderful Inspirational weekend

Karen Ahlschlager

What a fantastic venue full of inspiration and a wonderful way to discover the bires and flowers in a beautiful quiet spot of south Africa.  Merci Beaucoup!

Angela

Beautiful, friendly, homely, peaceful,l wholesome. I would love to come again!

 Lisa

ABOUT SCBWI

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) was formed in 1971 by a group of Los Angeles-based writers for children. It is an international organisation that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers and others involved with literature for young people. There are currently more than 22,000 members worldwide, in over 70 regions, making it the largest children’s writing organisation in the world.

The South African Chapter of the SCBWI, which was formed in October 2003, presents professional talks, workshops, critique sessions, open studios, publishers’ days, retreats, conferences and other themed events for its members.

For more information or to join the SCBWI, visit the Society’s local and International websites: www.SCBWI.ZA.org; www.SCBWI.org.

New Year’s Ninethun Retreat

Shambhala Retreat with Shastri Jennifer Woodhull

December 31st—January 9th (2013)

This Precious Life will be directed by Shastri Jennifer Woodhull. Teachings will draw on the book of the same name by Khandro Rinpoche, as well as other sources within and beyond the Shambhala tradition. These inspiring teachings are designed to help us cultivate heartfelt appreciation at all levels of our experience.

The daily schedule will include seven hours of sitting and walking meditation, meditation instruction, individual meditation interviews, contemplative practices and group discussion. This retreat is suitable for complete beginners, experienced meditators, and anyone else interested in exploring a more authentic and meaningful life. Participants will have time each day to rest, walk, or enjoy the pool. Portions of the retreat will be conducted in noble silence.

This Precious Life will be held at the lovely Fynbos Mountain Estate in Malmesbury, an hour’s drive from central Cape Town. This will be our fifth year at Fynbos, whose spacious natural environment and gracious, unpretentious hospitality have made it our favourite retreat venue.

Cost: R 5 625.00 per person for 9 days – includes accommodation, 3 meals per day, teachings and materials

Attendance is limited to 12 participants, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

For more information, click here.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Stonework to astound

Alice Cohen sent us this link to some extraordinary stone work.

For more see

http://designtaxi.com/news/354377/Japanese-Artist-Creates-Amazing-Sculptures-Out-Of-Stone/

SAFCEI: ANOTHER INSPIRING ORGANISATION AT FYNBOS

Increasingly we are hosting the kinds of organisations and groups that we envisaged and hoped would benefit from the farm. SAFCEI (South African Faith Communities committed to cherishing living earth) works to mobilise and support religious institutions and people of faith in their commitment to their environmental and socio-economic responsibilities. They engage at the level of policy and ethics as well as action, and their membership includes

Baha’i, Buddhists, Council of Traditional healers , Hindu  Maha  Subha,  Muslim Judicial Council, Jewish Board of Deputies,  Quakers, SA Council of Churches  and World Conference for Religions for Peace.

Staff members and representatives had their yearend board meeting at Fynbos over 3 days. They were a gentle, open and appreciative group and we enjoyed their presence very much.

If you would like to find out more, or become a member of SAFCEI, you can contact them through the following:

Tel 0217018145

www.safcei.org

 Comments

Wonderful hospitality. I feel at home here. Much appreciated.

Much love

 Lydia

Thank you so much for your `at home’ hospitality and delicious food set in your delightful home in the midst of Fynbos. We hope to come on Retreat

Bishop Geoff Davies  

Beautiful place with diversity or creation, good food, nice views. Great hospitality111

Bapiwe SAFCEI Board

 It was a joy for us to be back at Fynbos estate! Thank you for creating this sanctuary

I hope we can find another excuse to spend more time there before too long.

And the food was out of this world! Please thank Johan!

Warm greetings from all of us at SAFCEI

Kate Davies

I enjoyed my time in a place of peace beauty and tranquility. Thank you for this precious gift.

 Tahiri Director Bahai

 Thanks for allowing your space. Awesome beauty

Jayseelan The Saviour Project

Open Studio

Thumbs up for Fynbos as a wedding venue on Stylemepretty

Caroline and Andrew Brooks, who had a relaxed and somehow whimsical wedding here last year, sent us this link to Stylemepretty, where Fynbos  got a resounding thumbs up.

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2012/11/09/intimate-cape-town-wedding-from-dna-photographers/

For more info on the photographers see
www.dnaphotographers.com

+27 71 495 1103

Spring volunteers at Fynbos

With spring came Hillary Thornton from Oklahoma, and shortly after and overlapping, Tania Dinnery and Glen Holst from Australia.

Hillary

Hillary had just been an intern with a wildlife photographer in Mossel Bay, where she won a competition with the photographs below.  At Fynbos she worked in the kitchen and the garden and took lots of lovely pics some of which have already been posted.  The photo of her above was taken at Rocking the Daisies which she and the other volunteers attended.

Letter

My last days in CT were wonderful. I met several great people in The Backpack, and we all had a BLAST. I am now back in America -- currently in Oklahoma, but this weekend I am moving back to Chicago where I will continue my job hunt.
I love reading the blog and seeing everyone's pictures -- it definitely helps me to still feel connected.  I think about you guys all the time and how grateful I am that you took a chance on this silly American city girl!

Tania and Glen

Tania and Glen have both done a lot of travelling and have homes and families in Perth (Glen) and Tenerife and Barcelona (Tania). They worked like demons - in the garden, fixing things, painting, cooking, and Tania’s favourites, relating to the sheep and looking after guests.   Originally they planned to stay for just a few weeks, but ended up staying over a month.  It was great to have them.

During their stay here Tania and Glen spent time in Hermanus where they watched whales and dived with sharks. They loved both.

Letter from Glen and Tania

Five weeks ago Tania and myself arrived at Fynbos Estate for some volunteer work. Originally we had only planned to stay for three weeks though we loved it so much we stayed on for five.

Diana and Johan are really lovely people, both of them make you feel so welcome here, as if we were here at home. Their warm hospitality, beautiful farm, amazing food, range of animals and large variety of work duties has mad our stay here very enjoyable and left us with some great memories.

During our stay here, on one of our weekends off work, Tania and I were given one of the cars from the farm and spent four days away on the coast in Hermanus staying in Diana and Johans awesome holiday house. Hermanus is one of the best land based whale watching towns  in the world and we did indeed see a lot of whales. We also spent a day cage diving with the great white sharks. A great weekend.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and it’s our time to leave.