We live in a quiet village in Africa, close to Johannesburg. We have lived for 12 years in our current home. We came to Africa over 30 years ago as a young married couple, looking for a different climate to UK where we had been living.
We had two children, but because of matters outside our control, they are no longer alive, Ann the eldest died almost 34 Years ago and Simon 4 years ago. We have three grandchildren aged from 6 to 12, who give us some of the pleasures we so miss from the loss of our own children.
Yvonne is an animal lover, so we have many stray dogs and a few cats that she looks after. The animals are a full time job for her.
We hear only bad things of other countries, so no dealt you have heard of our crime rate, well I must admit it is high to what a few years ago we considered acceptable. But when compared with some other countries, it is less, it's the relative sudden increase that has caused the world wide reaction.
The village is called Bapsfontein, it has some of the ingredients for an "English Village", however there is no resemblance other than in the word village. Firstly it is spread out over several miles, and does not have a "pub".
We live several miles outside the village, in a small holding area. We have 10 acres, and the house is built almost in the middle. There are no houses either side, just open veld (fields). The roads are tarred except for the last mile, which with our rainless winter, gets really dusty. There is a 3 mile drive from the main road to our home.
We are half way between Johannesburg and Pretoria, off set to the East by about 20 Miles. On the way to Johannesburg, you pass Johannesburg International Airport. I work a further 10 minutes drive towards the city, it takes approximately 30 minutes to the Airport. (Note that since I wrote the above, I am now retired.)
The two cities are very different. Johannesburg is a typical modern city with high rise building, although the highest building is only 50 floors, it does however give a good view of the older parts of the city. The city was build because of the discovery of gold, and only later did the city begin any planning.
Pretoria on the other hand is a well laid out spacious city, there are high rise buildings, but except for the "apartment" part of the city, again well spaced. It is a garden city, with fountains at the entrance from south, these fountains are the reason a city was build. Water being a major aspect in a country that has no rain for six months of the year.
