Ralph & Angela

Thanks, as ever, for bringing a smile to my face on a Monday morning in the office.

I'm never too sure whether to be jealous or remind myself how lucky I am to have wireless broadband, Sky TV, a car which keeps tooth fillings in place, a desk and chair, rain and the cold, central heating and access to the latest news on the financial markets.

Do you not at any point feel you're missing out on all these luxuries?!

Here's an update though in case you need updating: Weather cold. Unemployment up. FTSE down. Repossessions (where's my spell checker when you need it) up. Interest rates down. Tories up. Labour down. Crime up.... you get the picture!

On a more positive note, we still have Girls Aloud and now The Saturdays (don't say "who?"!).

Be sure to get back before the green shoots of recovery start showing or you'll miss all the opportunities!

Richard.

Ralph,

Way to go, your last post had Ann demanding a return trip and me thinking how do you keep 32 bottles of wine cool for 44 days. We've still a meter of snow in the yard but the light is returning and the disconnect between massive sunshine (occasionally) and a meter of snow has begun.

Thanks for journeying on and providing wonderful accounts of it all for us to dream of doing in the future.

There really must be some permanent gig available from the big networks looking for the next big sale of "Adventures with R and A, wine, Boep's, and wildlife, the unseen side of the African South"

Just cuz I can, I'm bragging on some new news. Brad and Jola are getting married in April and will have a youngster popping out September or so!

Take care, we continue to totally enjoy the vicarious experience you offer with each entry.

Tim

Hi Arjan & Patricia,

Pleased you didn't pick up anything nasty in Uganda, how was it?

I managed to get a bout of Delhi Belly in the Kgalagadi so for first time in years I've lost weight!!!

Take care

Ralph & Angela

Hi Bim & Linda

Thanks for comments, we have just re-surfaced from a very wet Kalahari after 42 days! Will update the website shortly. All well with us.

Did I get an invite to the film festival, it probably went to our agent's address?

Take care

Ralph & Angela

Ralph and Angela,

Haven't heard from you in awhile and wanted to make sure all is okay. All is well here in Santa Barbara. Just finished our film festival and all the stars have returned to Hollywood, leaving the town quieter and for the locals again.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Hi guys,

Long time no hear!?! How is it with you guys? Here all is fine, too cold, too wet, too cloudy. Still healthy after our Uganda trip, so I think we are out off the woods now ....

Love to hear from you soon......

Arjan & Patricia

Hi All

Thanks for the messages.

Ann & Tim, I think we need to re-visit Peach Schnapps, but car full of wine, beer, vodka, gin, whisky and Malibu at the moment, good job Landrover Upington have just fitted new shocks!

Beth & Perry,

Sorry we missed you guys going through, glad you liked De Hoop, it is one of our favourites. Comisserations on owning a Landrover now, you'll need those spoons back as you won't be able to afford any more!

Simon Doddle & family

Nice to hear about Costa Rica, maybe we will ship the car to South America! Heading towards the Cape sometime in Feb so we may be in Simons Town sooner than you expected, but can we skip the doddle walks, my back is still in relapse!

Take care

Ralph & Angela

Hi Ralph & Angela.

First, condolences Angela for your father, a difficult time I'm sure,

The Allen family has just returned from Costa Rica where we had a wonderful holiday (minimal shopping, internet and cell phone contact). Great river rafting, zip-lines, doddle jungle walks etc, fantastic weather, rain forest, scenery etc. Spending ZAR's though is quite painful - R70 for a beer / glass of wine in San Jose (reminiscent of Ozz)!

I reckon you could 4x4 through a lot of Costa Rica though. December is the start of the dry season and I would certainly recommend that you stay away from this place in the wet season.

Off to Cape St Francis now (actually writing from OR Tambo airport in Jhb) then back to Cape Town on 4th Jan.

Hope to see you guys soon in Simon'sTown!!

Take Care,

SIMON, LYN, NIC, BEC, LENNY

Hello Ralph & Angela!

We are in Stellenbosch, and have been on the Cape for several weeks now. (DeHoop Nature Reserve is a jewel!) Angela - my thoughts are with you. My father passed away just 4 months ago. The grief is fresh, especially during the holidays.

We depart Cape Town in 4 days.... it appears we will be leaving just as you are arriving. Our timing has not been so good, has it?

But we are now the lucky owners of our Land Rover - the buy-back company went bankrupt - so we will store it here in Cape Town and return to South Africa soon. We'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, take care of our spoons, and we will plan our next rendezvous!

Cheers - B. & P.

Hey you two, Happy New Year! Hope your travels back to Africa went well and that you are someplace stupendous to ring in the new year. I have to say, as I sit here and sip Peach Schnapps, that Brad's post way back in September (which I just saw) indicates you all don't understand the finer points of Peach Schnapps.... Take care and travel safely, we look forward to your upcoming entries.

Hi Jan & Terry

Thanks for your comments. Good luck with the motorhome and your impending drive around Europe. Just hide Terry when you go over the borders, at least until he gets the microchip in his neck!

Just about to go to Heathrow, nice sunny morning but freezing, next time we see the sun it will be a bit of a scorcher!

Take care and all the best for 2009

Love Ralph & Angela xx

Good to talk to you both in the past couple of weeks, in what has been a sad time for you all, especially with Christmas coming so soon after. Still, you must by now be all prepped up for the big return to Africa, and, as usual, we're bloody envious!

When you're sitting under that big sun think of us here in Britain shivering in brrr degrees - while you're watching the new life stirring around you we'll be trying to decide how many pairs of socks to put on today.

Have a good trip - maybe we'll catch up in Europe sometime later this year!

Love to you both, from Jan and terry x