Three Years later..4th and 5th year

I am now in my fifth and final year of Homoeopathy. I haven’t written for three years and I am not sure why…more than likely I have been too busy…but thats no excuse. Last year was an experiment in patience rather than patients. And it continues so. I had time to write but nothing to write about. Our clinics were curtailed and our lectures went online. Finally we begin again. My research has hit a wall as emails are never returned. Its like the world has gone awol.

I have been trying to take it easy and I see that I may still take another year, as we now have an internship to attain. the education spiral continues.. But I am determined to finish this. Working part time has given me the financial breathing space. I feel for my class mates who do not have the luxury of any kind of finance, whose families are stretched thinly, where the student fund was not extended to masters year and they were not warned and thus failed to apply for funding. I do not know how they are going to manage the year..or two.

These past two years have me frustrated with the Homoeopathy department (not their fault). We have the remedies for Covid but we have to follow the rules, as outlined by the AHPCSA and Durban University. However, as I have lived through this pandemic, what has become clear is that Allopathic medicine is hitting a very solid wall but there is extreme denial. The power of the pharmaceutical companies is becoming apparent as the world struggles to use methods that do not work. The paradigm of stopping and killing the bugs is not the solution, and they know of no other.

2020 started with the usual demonstrations by those EFF members who are pretending to be SRC members and a strong security presence resulted. Durban University has been quite clever in limiting on campus issues by getting a court order to restrict protesting within close proximity to the University and obtaining the means to enforce it.

2020, however, did begin well with my favourite course: Homoeopharmaceuticals..and somehow we managed to continue in a practical way, thanks to the perseverance of our lecturer.

Triturating in the early part of the year:

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As yet no masks. Later on ..

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But at least we managed some face time. the rest was home time and excruciating online lectures..well not all were excruciating, or materia medica lecturer was wonderful, But the talents of most of our lecturers did not extend to online classes. Clinics were sadly stopped immediatly.

I began doing my own studies: I attended every free webinar I could. Initially they were terrible as everyone tried to cope with a new online world, but I gleaned a lot of information on Covid by attending Jeremy Sherr’s webinars. It was interesting to be in touch with the masters of homoeopathy like George Vithoulkas, Rajan Sankaran and David Little. I did my own reading and thinking around remedies. This was a thought experiment around the miasms:

During the lockdown, it became urgent to get out. So I walked everywhere I could..legally or illegally.

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I cut my hair..finally

2021

Sadly I forwent my annual Cape Town trip. My car needed an upgrade and I decided to take on some school teaching to keep me from going crazy. This began online, and was not too bad, even although it goes against all my principals. But we are mask to mask now, and its been great being involved and meeting real people, but I have had to hone my teaching skills somewhat and re-experience the frustration of working with the Department of Education. KZN is full of micro-management by subject advisors. In the end this defeats the purpose, as you spend so much time sorting all the forms that actual teaching becomes a simple regurgitation of some beaurocrat. Remind me why I left teaching?

So thanks to covid, I have still to finish my research project and the Internship that was tagged on unexpectedly. I am teaching to keep the wolf from the door again. lets see what the year brings….

Trying to get qualified in Homoeopathy

I should have qualified two years ago. Covid prevented this in many ways. I explained this in my last post, where I did some part time teaching to keep myself sane..ish. the Allied Health professionals council of South Africa (AHPCSA) decided in my final year to add on some new requirements for homoeopaths before we can get registered. We were told that it would take 3 months at the most by the head of AHPCSA. Well, two years later, I am still trying to complete the requirements, as is my entire class. We are beginning to wonder whether this is a gate keeping exercise. Being the class rep, I questioned some of the requirements (and believe me, they are very odd and random). I was then threatened with a disciplinary strike by a person on the AHPCSA (who by the way projects herself as an enlightened being). After that, it DID make me wonder whether this is a gate keeping exercise.

We are also all trying to complete our masters theses. This has been extremely trying at DUT. I has been impressed with the undergraduate course, but the post graduate department is horrendous. Besides waiting lengthly periods for replies on submissions of proposals, lab work was severely curtailed due to: no staff present, vaccinations required, broken equipment that remains so, understaffing, inability to do certain processes, refusal to buy certain reagents, non-replies to Emails EVERYWHERE. …shall I go on.? One person who really tried to help was my co-supervisor, Pavrita Pillay, who found time, amidst being deputy Dean of the faculty of health, to intervene on my behalf after many ignored Emails. What gives, DUT?

Now DUT has this new programme called envision 2030. Well, its all in the realms of advertising and promoting without substance. On the ground, the ability to do research at DUT is virtually impossible. In the end I went to UKZN to do my research. UKZN is also oversubscribed with respect to available staff and space, but at least they were willing and able and had enough expertise and equipment to do so. DUT literally has ONE person who does tissue culture and she is the only one who touches the equipment that is locked in her office! Even she had a broken incubator, that remains so two years later. I am eternally grateful to the overworked Rene Kahn, who runs the very interesting medical biotechnology honours programme at UKZN, who found a willing student to help me actually get some data. If I had known about this programme beforehand, I would have done the course, which lasts a year. It would have been quicker than trying to do it by proxy.

DUT is smartening up..from the outside with a much needed new paint job..they have a lot to do on the inside.

Anyway, two years later, I got some data but by no means what I intended due to the Health department at DUT restricting research funds. So I am now completing the write up.

So how did I keep myself sane? the teaching helped a lot thanks to the wonderful staff at Roseway waldorf school, and my students..not all who were wonderful, but kept my humour up. It became difficult to complete my internship at the same time, however, where I spent my holidays working at Khula rural natural health centre near St Lucia, while also trying to find ways to do my research. I decided then to give up the teaching and work full time at Khula. Also because I wanted experience in Homoeopathy, my new career. Teaching was my old career, much as I enjoyed being at Roseway.

The entire year was spent at Khula, and I learnt a LOT. Wonderful people work here, and amazing patients, who, never having heard of Homoeopathy before, come back again and again because they feel better. Khula is the brain child of two wonderful homoeopaths: Nicoleine and Manuel Prinsloo-Steiner, and an enlightened Induna. They were invited by the Induna of Khula village to set up the Natural Health centre in Khula village. A team of wonderful people run it. It is fully sponsored by South African and Swiss entities with the dogged determination of Nicoleine. It started slowly, being open one week a month and helping only the local population of Khula village. Spread by word of mouth, people come fro as far as Pongola in the North to Empangeni in the south, and 100km west, an area of 20 000 km. Taxis come every day now, as Khula is open full time. The centre has seen almost 20 000 new patients, and has had close to 100 000 consultations in 5 years. A daily average of 50 -70 patients are seen. All manner of illnesses present themselves: from headaches to cancer. Many are HIV positive and are on 3-4 medications from high blood pressure to diabetes. The centre works to promote a healthy lifestyle and supports chronic illnesses with Homoeopathic medications.

On the average there are ten Homoeopath volunteers on any one day, supported by 10 translators. these Homoeopaths are mostly students, interns and newly qualified homoeopaths. Thus the patients get sufficient time with a practitioner to reach a good diagnosis, listen and advise them properly without feeling rushed. I will make a separate post on Khula..a wonderful experience.

I loved being there, but did not find enough time to complete my thesis and had to be present in Durban for practical work. So I am in this oven called Durban chained to my computer with my head down a microscope.

Me at Khula..

me now..

me now..

END OF SECOND YEAR.. A DEEPER JOURNEY INTO A FASCINATING WORLD

 

So, what have I learnt on my journey to Homoeopathy. Well, a lot. It is interesting for me how, although I used homoeopathy my whole latter life, (my mother was a nurse and all that came with that, so my early life was plied with pills and vaccinations), how little I really knew, and how much there is to learn. Also how skilled you need to be to be a homoeopath. I used to use remedies that I found in books more aimed at the layman, and found them to be very effective despite my limited knowledge. But now a whole new world is opening up.

I am studying classical homoeopathy. Durban University is the only place in South Africa where you can study this, and so I have had to relocate to Durban for the 5 year course. The course is doubly unusual in that we essentially do medical basics as any medical school, and so our degree is considered to be a medical homoeopathy degree in line with medical doctors specializing in homoeopathy, except we do a lot more homoeopathy.  Thus we can become members of the LIGA, which is an international association for medical homoeopaths. The BHHom degree is the only degree that will allow you to practice as a Homoeopath in South Africa now.

Clinical Homoeopathy , which is also a BHHom, is offered at Johannesburg university, is a very different animal to Classical. In Classical Homoeopathy, we treat each patient individually according to the original dictates of Samuel Hahnemann, who began Homoeopathy in the 1700’s. Of course the knowledge and remedies have advanced a huge amount, but the method is the same.  Clinical homoeopaths consider the illness before the patient and tend to use stock remedies that they individualise at the end, whereas classical homoeopaths consider the patient first.

The idea is that each patient reacts differently to an illness, their symptoms showing this difference. Thus two people with a cold: one can be red eyed and sniffly, while the other may have a sore throat and a dry bunged up nose. An allopath, (a conventional doctor), would say that they are two different viruses, a clinical homoeopath with prescribe often more than one remedy..one for the cold and one for the individual, or one as close to the person and the cold as possible, whereas a classical homoeopath will look at every one of the symptoms expressed..including things not normally associated with a cold, and prescribe on those…usually only one remedy at a time. This means that you have to know the full depth of all the remedies..and there are many.

However, we are learning ways of identifying appropriate remedies. So for example we learn about families of remedies.  Each family of remedies has a sphere of action that is related. Once you have found the sphere of action, you can further refine your choice of remedy. All Homoeopathic remedies are taken as close as possible directly from nature, with minimal processing (other than when potentising, but even this is not really processing, but releasing the powerful properties of the remedies). Thus, certain symptoms may suggest a family of plants, like the Solanacaea, or an animal remedy, or a mineral, depending how the patient is reacting to the illness.

Homoeopaths do not suppress symptoms. Their aim is to totally cure an illness, and they do this by enhancing your body’s own disease fighting mechanisms.  This is why the symptoms are so important. They show exactly what is wrong. They are the internal surveillance team that has kept you healthy since birth. Occasionally, in our pressured world, they need a little help, yet they provide the direction because they have the full inside take on whats going on. Allopaths rely on blood tests, urine tests, X rays, MRI’s etc etc for that internal information. Your symptoms, to a homoeopath, are like a pathology lab all in one, doing blood tests urine tests, xrays and also deciding the best way to fix you. So close attention to what your body says is all you need, together with knowing which remedies can support them.

A Homoeopath will spend at least an hour, more likely two initially, in order to find out how your body reacts, before selecting the right remedy or series of remedies.  As an analogy, it is like playing an instrument. Each instrument, like every person, has a range at which it can be played. When you are ill, your instrument is out of tune. A Homoeopath is there to tune you back to health so that you can be the best instrument you can be.  Certain sounds are appropriate for each instrument. You can’t tune a violin with a piano key, or even in the same way as a viola. This is the skill required of a homoeopath..to decide what kind of instrument you are, where exactly you sound flat, and to find the right key to allow you to sing again. Not an easy task, but certainly a fascinating one.

Homoeopathy has been criticized because of the low doses given, saying it is simply a placebo. Besides the fact that a placebo shows that your mind is not a small part of your illness, which is denied by Allopathy, many people do not realise how Samuel Hahnemann came to dilute medicines, which, by the way, if you look at the doses in conventional medicine today, they have become extremely low recently with criticisms of the side effects, in fact quite comparable to homoeopathic doses. Few people comment on this fact.

Why is this so? In Samuel Hahnemanns days, high doses of medicines was the norm, and they caused extreme aggravation of an illness, often killing the patient. (not unlike what is still happening in Allopathy today with their highly toxic medicines taken over long periods..a slow poison). In some ways, and as Hahnemann noticed, a medicine is equivalent to a dose of illness without the infectivity, ie a poison.  Hahnemann noticed that if someone is given a medicine that in a Healthy person produced the same symptoms as the illness, there would be an aggravation of the illness, but then, because the body was fighting more in the same way as the illness, it would cure it. This was the basis of homoeopathy…give a bigger illness of the same type, your body will fight in the right (same) way. However, Hahnemann was worried about the aggravations, and so he reduced the dose. And reduced the dose again.

What was amazing for him, and this was meticulously recorded, was that the medicines reduced the aggravation, but also became even more effective. Thus the minimal dose idea. He never tried to explain this. Although he was a chemist, chemistry was not advanced in explaining such a thing (and still isn’t). Only today, with some research into nuclear Physics, can it be explained to some degree. Diluting, and shaking (sucussing) does more than dilute, it breaks the strongly held bonds and releases the power of the medicine more effectively than anything else. One forgets that we do this all the time with everything that enters our body. We break it down with enzymes to the smallest pieces and then sift them through the finest mesh of our intestines and succuss them in our surging blood. Homoeopathy just does this beforehand and so does not stress our system, but the medicine is absorbed directly into the blood by the veins close to the surface under our tongues.

To me, the more I look at Homoeopathy, the more logical it is that it works. It was built on logic and observation, not a fantasy in someones head as many people think. In fact its logic outweighs that of Allopathy that, when you look at it, contradicts all that physiology knows about the workings of the human body. That this fundamental contradiction is not seen is astounding for me..but that argument is for another blog. Keep posted.

 

Travels into Homoeopathy

In some ways, for the next 3,5 years, my outer travels are over. However, I am traveling gaily inwards, as I explore this astounding world of Homoeopathy. Coming from a Scientific background, I am still amazed at how closed minded ‘scientists’ are to the remarkable insights from this direction. I can only imagine that the thought police that have infiltrated the world by the mind-boggling profits of pharmaceutical companies are doing their job. But despite this, and direct interference in the legalities of selling natural medicines, using every which way to denigrate it, going on now for a couple of hundred years, Homoeopathy spans the world today.

What do we learn as student Homoeopaths? Well many people are surprised that our first two, even three years are the same as conventional medicine, with anatomy and human dissection, physiology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry, general pathology, pharmacology.

 

Tell me what we don’t learn that is done in conventional medical courses! In addition, however, we also learn about the amazing and effective principles behind Homoeopathic medicines. Most conventional medical schools do not equate pathology with the medicines that they are meant to use. In fact they are two very separated subjects. In Homoeopathy, the medicines have an intimate link with the pathology. So we learn how to diagnose and prescribe in the same instance. This makes Homoeopathy unique as a form of medicine.

Conventional medicine looks at the human body in separate pieces, and then wonder why pharmaceuticals affect more than the illness or organ or system they are designed to ‘cure’. What they often do not realise is that all medicines affect all organs and systems in some way, not only one as prescribed on the insert. This fact is brushed over and relegated to an infinitesimally small paragraph of the package insert under ‘side effects’ . Homoeopaths, you may be surprised to know,  never discount side effects, in fact, they are so important as to be part of the full drug picture before prescribing. Homeopaths understand that each person reacts in different ways to different remedies and so will only prescribe if the illness of the entire person fits the drug picture as snugly as possible..even what one would call side effects must also remedy that persons illness. This fact also makes homoeopathy difficult to learn as there are far more remedies, each with many symptoms that are to be learnt, while matching whole combinations of symptoms to match them. It also means that the homeopath has to know her patient intimately..hence the long consultations required.

 

In every study of the Human body, also in conventional medicine, there is much emphasis put onto the concept of homeostasis as a mechanism of balance used by the body to regulate all that is put in and taken out of the body. Much time is spent on studying this phenomenon and it is crucial to healing. However, this fact is entirely forgotten when conventional doctors prescribe. They wonder why, (or do they just shut it out?), their patients need stronger and stronger doses of a medicine to just survive an illness. They forget that the body fights back at high doses by decreasing the natural doses made by the body when an artificial substance is added. This is homeostasis in action. Homoeopaths do exactly the opposite. They use the healing homeostatic properties of the body to heal by working to elicit a vital response rather than suppress it. They see the symptoms not as an illness, but as an attempt of the body to overcome the illness. If you stop these, you are stopping the messenger, not the illness. (This is what conventional medicines do). Homoeopaths use all the symptoms, not just the loudest one, as a guide to select the remedy. This remedy has the same symptoms as the disease, and so “pushes” a patient further into a disease in order to elicit a response. This then reminds the body how to come into balance again, and thus all the symptoms are cured, not just suppressed for a while.

 

The infinitesimal dose and potentising of remedies is where scientists criticize Homoeopaths the most. But they have not kept up with developments in physics, otherwise they would know.  They also forget that there are many substances that exist in the body at infinitesimal doses that have enormous effects..in fact one can say this of most substances in the body. Also, they forget that for the body to absorb anything from the outside, it needs to be broken down to infinite pieces, then absorbed into the blood and potentised to a high degree in swirling blood, exactly in the way homoeopathic remedies are potentised and succused. Homoeopathic remedies are absorbed directly into the blood via arteries in the buccal mucosa and so do not need to go through the digesting and potentising the body does. They go straight to where they are needed, and this is why they are so effective. One dose can lead to complete cure, because it is doing multiple jobs at once in the purest most potent form.

Physicists know that an enormous amount of energy is contained in any one atom. You do not need a whole ton. In fact the whole ton is what causes the aggravations that conventional doctors experience daily. Many people are not aware that the minimal dose came about when Hahnemann, the original discoverer of Homoeopathy, tried to minimize aggravations caused by remedies. The minimal dose was discovered by trial and error not some magical inspiration, despite what conventional medicine puts out.  All homoeopathic remedies have been trialed over and over and selected from experience of their effects to ALL parts of the body. Besides, they have been trialed in humans not animals, which may have an entirely different reaction to the remedy.

I put myself on one of the trials last year. It was a double blind trial, with no-one knowing the substance, nor who was getting the placebo. It was diluted and potentised at 200 times. This is a high dilution that should effectively have nothing of the chemical substance present.  I took three doses, and had violent reactions to it that took me over a week to recover from. It was something I had never experienced to that degree before nor since. It made me realise that Homeopathy is not to be trifled with and is as, if not more, potent than conventional remedies, yet has few side effects because the choice of the remedy will not effect what has not been damaged already, as conventional medicines do, and does not need extensive excretory mechanisms (that damage the liver and kidneys) to depart once its job is done.

According to a business report, 600 million people use Homoeopathy globally. That is no small number. It is growing, not shrinking, as some people like to believe. My venture into homoeopathy came from the experience of it on my own and my family’s health. It is interesting that it is more qualified people who choose homoeopathy, so it is not, as portrayed, an inferior form of medicine. In fact the more I study it, the more amazed I am at how powerful it is. In future blogs I will post some of the amazing things I learn.

Last Days at Imhoff waldorf High school

In my previous blog, I asked a number of questions about why the High school had to close. I was booked for some last main lesson work at Imhoff in November when the school was due to close, so I was in good position to try to evaluate what was and had happened. So this is a kind of report of how I experienced the last days.

The first thing I found was that the entrance to the High school was closed and a new one opened in the fence further up, but there was no sign pointing to where one should go. this did not bode well. I parked in the street, the only place to park, and went in to organise my first lesson.

Fortunately, as I entered the school grounds, everything was still as beautiful as I left it last year, thanks to the ever vigilant Lulumile, our wonderful gardener, handyman and security guard. We would always compete as to who would be at school first, and it was never me. He excitedly showed me that the climbing heritage rose I had donated to the school and he had nurtured, was at last clambering all over the pagoda.

The council had screened off the area they needed to build the Fire station. To my surprise,  the only rooms that were taken over was the library, two storage rooms and ONE toilet. This was odd for me, as the reason given as to why the High school had to let their last matrics go was that the matric classroom and safe would be taken over by the new fire station. This was obviously not the case..only the toilet used by the matrics was taken. (How difficult is it to build a new toilet, hire it or replace it with the compost toilet that was not used at the primary school.?).

I was also surprised to see that the school was still thriving. Despite the fact that class 11 had now been disbanded to Constantia and class 10 was very depleted in number, class 8 and 9 were active, full of beans, large classes and working hard. More children than we ever had at the beginning of the High school and I even discovered that there were more than a class full of applications for class 8 for next year. More than anyone could hope for if starting a new school. So I was really questioning the wisdom of the High schools closure. I also found out that, despite the belief,  Solole was still available as a venue for next year, and the High school could certainly have continued for another year.

But what had changed is the attitude of the High school teachers to the College and the Board, and vice versa. I noticed this when the co-ordinator blocked the High school teachers from accessing her, there was veritable jubilation from the High school teachers..I realised then that there was a lot of bitterness towards the College. I also found that the teachers were told that their Emails would be blocked at the end of term. Of course this is natural in any redundancy situation, but It was the fact that it was stated so early on before the end of the year that was concerning. (I was also told to remove the fact that I was teaching at Imhoff from my facebook page by the chairperson of the college, who was obviously unaware that I was still teaching there!). To me these were bullying tactics that were uncalled for have a place in the kindergarten of another type of school. Whatever it did, it left a bad taste in the mouth.

So I still sat with my million questions. I spent my time trying to find out what had happened, as I had left a thriving space a year ago. In all cases I found the answer coming back to a financial decision taken by one parent.  A parent who had never set foot inside the High school but only saw figures on a sheet. I tried to get some answers, but found that the teachers were as puzzled as I.

I met some of these bystanders of this decision by synchronicity a couple of times in odd places, Primary school parents who were members of the Board and collge members who taught in the primary school. They know who they are. I didnt say much but each one of them felt the need to conveyed their sadness at the decision, yet each one of them were people who had decided. Only one said that she was glad she made that decision, although I didnt ask, and I felt she protested too much. I still wonder if any of them thought there was another way, and I realised that few of them had even been to the High school. To them the high school was just figures on paper waved  under their noses.

Right at the end of the last week, the High school called a meeting with the college to get some answers .. unfortunately too late for any back track. (This should have been done long ago and called by the college. )This was a very emotional meeting. The College assured the teachers that they had been against the closure at all times. For me that was even more puzzling, as the school is supposed to be run by the College not the Board. It is the role of the Board to support the teachers decisions, not the other way around. It can never be one person who decides in a Waldorf school, so how did that happen?

They did however, admit that in a number of cases (and some of the most crucial decisions) the High school was not consulted. I am sure this is why there remains such resentment from the High school teachers and parents. I remember a previous time, ironically also on the same bursars watch, where teachers were made redundant by closing, in this case, a kindergarten class. This was done very differently, where the teachers were consulted a lot more. Resentment was a lot less. A different college then? What was the same was the fact that much money went into employing peripheral people (secretaries, PRO people etc) rather than in the core of teaching. The school remains so, with too many cooks, while teachers are stretched beyond their means. What was one job as Bursar/ bookkeeper/PRO/enrolment secretary/receptionist/ co-ordinator a few years ago is now 8: two secretaries, enrolment secretary, fundraiser, PRO, bursar, bookkeeper, and a co-ordinator to keep it all together ostensibly (more than teachers in the primary school)..all with fairly fat salaries, and not many more students than then to support the burgeoning administration. I notice none of these lost their jobs. why was this not looked at if finance was an issue?

The High school teachers, however never lost heart. Like good parents, they never let their negative feelings spill out to the students, keeping the ball more than rolling right up to the end..Janis with the eights doing a mini Shakespeare play to everyones delight, bringing in some wonderful drumming with Tim Ramsden, Charisse and Kath running a mini Parsival journey and presentation. Tracey putting together a last newsletter without bias, despite the college wanting to censor it before publishing. I am likely the only one who feels that the truth needs to be told, and even I have left out a lot (some of it quite damning), for the sake of the people involved,  but then I am outside this tragedy. Charisse has, regretfully, taken her children out of the primary school, but Janis and Tracey are still there despite all. Phumeza has decided to remove herself completely from the school despite being offered a job in the primary. The reasons are not necessarily to do with transport.

The last assembly had everyone in tears saying what they loved about the school..and there was a lot..it really made you wonder, when there was so much of value there.

Ironically, one of the long time parents, who started a small homeschool in their house have committed themselves to taking on the entire class 8 and employing Kath to hold them. If they saw potential, why could the school not? (They have even less space and resources than the school.)

And then everything was packed up or thrown out..left to the vultures to pick over. So much was donated to the school by parents and teachers that made it what it was. I recognised my whole house that I donated. Ironically again, the school kept only what it paid for, which was essentially, desks, chairs and boards…the rest were donations…so much for the support of the High school by the rest of the school. In reality not that much.

The High school was essentially developed and sustained by parents, the High school teachers and the will and energy of the students., but it was governed by people who had no real connection to it. It would have had more chance if it was independent of the primary school. It was fully registered as an entity…here the primary rode on the backs of the High school, as it is still not registered. I can think of many ways the High school could have been saved but NEVER with the governance it had. Much of my stress while I was there was related to battling with the College and the Board over the needs of the High school, despite it covering its own needs financially for most of its existance..sevn years is no mean feat. What it will become has a much better chance now with Kath and the Dowlings, who have always been extremely supportive in all ways. I am sure this is a kick in the gut for many of our parents who spilled them in helping to sustain the High school through its birth and life.

I did not want to post this blog and considered letting sleeping dogs lie. But on reconsideration, I feel I have to. Silence has led to repeats. I hope this lesson is never repeated. I do believe there are people who have to battle their respectful consciences about this issue. Who they are and what they have to question, only they will know.

 

 

The Birth and death of a High school

 

The reason for this post is to put down in writing the issues that faced Imhoff waldorf High school that lasted precisely 8 years and then died prematurely, still in its youth. I was involved from long before its inception to almost its end. I wish to clarify things that seemed to have got lost along the way, and examine what led to its untimely end.Perhaps there are lessons to be learnt along the way.

 

THE SITUATION BEFORE THE HIGH SCHOOL

Imhoff Waldorf High school was born in January 2010, the year my son was in matric. It was conceived 9 months earlier, but in reality it was 6 years from the first pangs of need. I was the midwife and lucky to have had the privilege of bringing this amazing High school to birth. With me have been an incredible team and wonderful students, who have breathed life into it..even to its last breath, which will be on the 8th of December. We are already in mourning. How can such a vibrant school die at such a young age, is what we all ask? So hopefully this will put some perspective onto a brave endeavor.

I was connected to Imhoff through my son, being in the pioneering days of Imhoff primary school from 1989. My son went through the primary school. I loved the school. Its values were good. It strove to be inclusive and diverse, and costs were affordable to middle class people like myself but also had a strong sponsorship programme so that those of lesser means could attend. I was on the board at the time the idea was put forward in 2004. It was already too late for my son.

At that time there were only one and a half Waldorf High schools (Micheal Oak only went up to class 10, and had done so for 20 years. Somehow they got stuck there). It was becoming difficult to get Imhoff’s children into either one of these high schools, as demand was increasing from all the Waldorf primary schools in Cape Town area (There were 7 other primary schools that did not have high schools at the time). A survey was done by Dassenburg school,  that showed that by 2010 there would be a huge demand for Waldorf High schools. Both existing High schools involved travel for Imhoff parents and were not as affordable. So the question was asked: How can we provide Waldorf High schooling for our children at Imhoff that would be affordable and convenient.

All the small schools met with the Federation to thrash out the problem. We suggested that Constantia waldorf school, which was the biggest school, double stream in order to accommodate this demand. We suggested Michael oak complete its High school. because, the fact that it ended in class 10, put pressure on Constantia to accommodate them in class 11, so didn’t really solve the problem of creating space for High school children. Both ideas  were turned down, as neither school wanted to expand at that stage, and it was suggested that each school should solve its own problems.

A further issue was that Imhoff had been wanting to buy land for a number of years. Land was expensive in the area and hard to come by. A financial survey done in 2004 showed that the only way the school could afford to buy land and build a school was to have a High school, as the numbers were needed to increase the turnover of the school.

Also, it was found that Imhoff had a drop off of students in Class 6 and 7.  Fishoek had a local government middle school, and if students were not enrolled at an early stage, they would not get into Fishoek High school later, especially as Imhoff’s Kommetjie and Scarborough residents were outside the Fishoek zone. There was already high demand for Fishoek High school from Sun Valley primary, as they at that stage did not have a High school either. So upper primary classes would be small where parents sent their children to Fishoek to get in there before the grade 8 “rush”. As a result of all these factors, Imhoff decided it needed to start a High school also to help fill the upper primary classes. At that stage, there was no teachers willing to take the step, so it remained in limbo. In the meantime, Stellenbosch Waldorf school decided that they were not going to wait. They started their High school in 2008. I was involved in that, and saw that it just needed the step to be taken. Once started, it would carry its own energy.

Now starting a High school is easier said than done. Despite the need, both parents and children were not keen to be the first class to go up. You may ask why. Its a complex issue, but one of the key problems is that teenagers need older teenagers and a big school idea, especially those from Imhoff, as it is a small school as it is. Teenagers need a wider social net and everything that opens and shuts, so they would resist just being a small class with nothing except a teacher or two.

So we did a survey on the class 7’s of 2009 to see how many would be interested in the High school. A number were interested but not committed, and some were definitely keen. Our eye was on the then class 5’s who were all very keen to be part of pioneering a High school, and were a large class determined to stay together. By then the school was negotiating buying land and drawing up plans with an architect, despite not having money to do so. Now, even if we were eyeing class 5 for the High school, we needed the wider social net for them to feel happy to be there. It was kind of a catch 22 situation. So we decided to start the High school, even although it may be small to begin with. We only needed one classroom initially. The Board committed to building a temporary classroom on adjacent land that I negotiated from our landlord, together with a desperately needed playing field with GRASS (the current soccer field was a dust bowl). This was actually a huge achievement, as relations with the landlord had been soured over the years.

STARTING WITH VERY LITTLE

 

So we advertised the new high school, despite having nothing in place, and lo and behold, we got a number of applications from both outside and inside Imhoff. They were waiting for a commitment from Imhoff. We got support from Constantia Waldorf school, who agreed to refer students applying there from our catchment area who didnt manage to get in there, as they were at this stage seriously full in class 8. I conducted interviews with only an artists sketch of our prospective school, and no building in sight. When students asked where the High school was situated, I pointed through the trees showing them where the buildings would be. Its amazing what imagination can do. I also negotiated with a local sports teacher to start a sports programme. This was one of the FAQs of prospective students. What sports do you offer? And so we could offer a lot by tying into other schools and local private sports clubs that were already in existence without having to provide the equipment. This sports programme benefited the primary school as well, as they had little in the form of sports at that stage.

The other FAQ was whether we were going to go all the way to matric. We had no idea, but we had to make that commitment to do everything in our power to make it happen. Without that, we would not have got the commitment from the parents that was needed. It was a crucial issue that led to this class going all the way to matric and keeping our High school strong.

GETTING GOING

Then Our landlord offered us a house close by. It had been used by Mr Opperman who was the farm manager and who died mid year.  Originally he had converted what were a series of chicken runs into a house. So the rooms were small. With the advice of a local engineer, we could convert it into 2 classrooms and a kitchen at the grand price of R5000! And so we had our new High school..just far enough away to be separate from the primary school, with a grass field in between. By then we had 13 students definitely committed and two teachers. One full and one part time, myself and Alexandra James Gets. She was the English, drama teacher, and I was the Maths, science and biology teacher..not to mention art, crafts, gardening, even woodwork and general dogsbody on the Board and the college. We also borrowed teachers from Constantia, swapping time with myself when I was not teaching at Imhoff. We ran a full on Waldorf curriculum using experienced teachers like Ed Fox and Howard Dobson on a part time basis.  Der Freunde donated 10 000 for equipment, and we stretched that money very far, buying sewing machines and science equipment.. science benches that could be wheeled in and out. The school bought new desks and chairs and a blackboard. It was seen as an investment into our future permanent school. Howard Dobson became our Federation mentor (a Federation requirement to be a waldorf school), and we ran teacher training sessions which we opened up to our parent body to help cover costs and prepare future teachers that we would need over time.

Janis came a bit later to teach IsiXhosa, and we had Maike teaching eurhythmy to students who had never done eurythmy before.  We had a great group of students who were fully prepared to pioneer the High school.

It was important for the High school to not draw on the primary school financially, and at the end of the year, we were the only area of the school to actually make a profit..a small one, but nevertheless, the viability was there.

There were many problems, which is what is expected when you are dealing with the vulnerable teenage years, but we solved them as we went. It was like rowing a boat on choppy waters. What kept us afloat and excited was faith and creative thinking. What we were NOT doing, was going backwards. We never faulted in looking forwards to a long future even though we did not have a plan beyond class 9. Nobody knew that of course, other than the inner circle of the college. I never doubted that we would find a solution.

THE NEXT YEAR

So, our next group of class 8’s numbered 10 and came from a class that had a rocky time in primary school. They had had 3 teachers in primary school, which is unusual, normally they only have one. What started as a large class of close on 30 in class 1, ended in 10 in class 7.  We took in some children from outside Imhoff and ended with 15. One of the problems of taking on people who had no Waldorf education, is that they were often struggling, with parents desperate to find a solution.  This second class had some social issues, with strong-minded students who resisted getting on with others. So at the end of class 8 we lost 5. After that, it remained a small class, despite new people coming. The pioneer class, however grew in strength and number. Ulric, an ex- Waldorf student himself, joined us to offer Woodwork and metalwork

CLASS 10

The question then arose about offering class 10. The college then questioned for the first time whether the High school could continue up. For me, this was a shock, as I thought that everyone was behind the High school, to find it was not so. I was the only High school member on the college at that stage. At this point the High school felt unsupported by the primary and the rest of the school back tracked on building any new classrooms. The High school had already expanded the crafts into a second building nearby, courtesy of our landlord. Yes, we were paying for it, but it was all covered by fees.

We set out in search of a solution deciding to separate the High school from the primary. We found a place in Noordhoek that used to be a school and so had education status. It was more expensive, but then we had more students and could still cover the costs. The school bought desks, chairs and we received some donations of boards from Michael oak, but essentially the equipment we had bought two years before using the Freunde donation stretched enough.

SAMSUNG

CLASS 11

Again, when we had to decide for class 11, although we had the space, the college and board questioned us going ahead. Again we had to convince them that it was worth it. This took a Big circle and added to our stress and there was a sense that the High school was still not supported by the rest of the school, especially now we were on separate campuses.  This was shown in other ways, and I think this was where a rift developed. We had a new board made of mostly Primary school parents. All we actually needed then was a eurythmy room, which we found within walking distance, thanks to a parent who ran a yoga studio there.

At this stage, the High school was the only part of the school that was registered with the department of Education. We were still covering costs, but it was then decided to charge the High school an admin fee. Nevertheless, we still covered expenses which included much higher rent. By this time we had a secretary, two full time teachers, the rest drawn from our parent body mostly and on various percentages depending on their teaching load. But it was vibrant and exciting. Charisse came in to teach drama and English when Alexandra left, and Tracey taught art. Matthew and Kath came in to teach class 8 and 9 We landed with a difficult class 8 class with some extremely naughty students, who again came from a primary school class that had 3 different teachers, and was not very cohesive socially.

By this stage, Michael Oak had decided to continue its High school into class 11. Also Sun Valley primary decided to open their very expensive private school to the general public with government support. Sandy Dowling, a parent had also started a small home school offering the cambridge matric. This drew some of our prospective students away from us.  (Stellenbosch, which was quite far out and so didnt really affect us, were one step ahead of us, offering class 12.)

Nevertheless, our classes were essentially full for our spaces, (which were quite small and could accommodate only 20 students in each classroom.)

CLASS 12

Our first Parsival Journey from Cape Point to Table Mountain. Our original group in class 11.

Now we had to decide on class 12. Our landlord was trying to sell the property we were on,  but it was too expensive for what it was and besides we didnt have the money, as the school was still negotiating to buy land at Imhoff to build on. It was also really too small.

At this stage, Solole nature reserve, which had gone bankrupt became available to rent, via a connection of a parent, Clive.  It had been bought by the council who were prepared to let it out at a good rate while they put plans in for a much needed fire station. We had to fix it up, as it had been vandalised quite extensively and the thatch needed repairing. Thus far we had spent every December holiday since 2010, either moving the school or doing repairs, so this was nothing new.

It was a beautiful space and big enough to house a full High school…but….we had it for 3 years only. Other plans were in the offing, however. A banker friend of Clives had offered to put up the money to buy the land for the primary school, with a proviso that they buy a portion for themselves. They would then build a high school there that they would rent to Imhoff High school, but also run their own post school education classes. It all seemed ideal.

MATRIC
By then we had our first matric class. We were registered to offer matric, by no mean feat, classes were running. We had 5 full time teachers, being joined by Maggie, Irene, Lorna and Carol Drew. Also Sandise very capably took on the Eurythmy..never an easy thing in the High school. We had a few high school parents on the Board, Irene joined the college,  It looked like nothing could go wrong, wrong wrong…

How wrong can you be.

By then I was stressed and exhausted. I felt that I was always defending the High school to a group of naysayers on Board and college. Much as words were said that denied that, the reality was that the Board was made of Executive types with primary school children who had little sense for the High school. I needed a sabbatical and to decide my own future. I was not getting any younger. I do believe teaching has a time limit. Janis and Tracey had joined the college and Janis the board at that stage. We also had two high school parents there. Our great supporter at the board was Clive. Part of my reason for leaving for sabbatical was to let the school firm up its feet.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
While I was away, a few tragedies happened: Firstly, Amani, a popular class 8 student, was tragically killed. After this his class dissipated somewhat. Secondly, but what was crucial, I think, is that Clive left the board. It was here that the banker,  who was to build our High school felt, correctly I think, that Imhoff was not committed enough to the High school endeavour.  So Imhoff Campus withdrew from the arrangement to build the High school.  Thirdly, the Imhoff board then decided to rather build the High school on the primary land, despite having no means to do so.

Fourthly, after the first matric, which was very successful, the college and board decided not to offer matric to the second group, as the class was too small to offer choices (there were 10 students, as there were in the beginning). Fifthly, and crucially, this decision was taken without consultation of the teachers or the parents to find a way of compromising, and so this sent shock waves through the school. I bumped into very irate parents on my return from sabbatical, who were not consulted.

After this confidence was leaking and so students from lower down also withdrew. Stopping a process in this way would inevitably bring results further down. This was known by High school teachers, but they were again not consulted. No alternatives were given except to send the students to Michael Oak, which was now offering matric.  It was forgotten that one of the reasons why Michael Oak decided to go further in their High school was because they lost students after class 9, where they left to go to other High schools that offered matric. Parents need to know there is an end point. This fact of the backlash further down was not seen by the college or board, as they were not involved in the everyday High school.

The decision that was taken from a financial savings perspective brought further financial restrictions through lack of foresight.

At a very late stage the board and college then put the High school on notice to close due to a deficit in the region of 100 000, mainly created by sponsored students who had no sponsors. The High school teachers then took it into their own hands to raise funds for the sponsored students in order to save the school. (There are dedicated people who generally do this, but for some reason sponsorship money was not allocated to the High school). This was already too late, and despite raising the deficit, the college and board decided to close the upper High school, again without consultation. They would build 3 classrooms for classes 8, 9 and 10 on the new land they had bought, ( although they still have to pay for it, and had no money to build). This already would shrink the school and thus lose the greater social atmosphere vital to a high school.

As a result of these cutbacks, new students for 2018 did not materialise by September, naturally enough, through the fact of the cancelling of the upper classes. Although this was very early to decide (many students applied later than this in previous years, even up to December), the board and college then decided to close the entire High school, again without consultation. Teachers were given severance notices, and class 11 was sent to Constantia Waldorf school for the final term. 15 students were to be interviewed, but they were told not to go ahead.

HOW TO KILL A HIGH SCHOOL

A sadness now descends on the dissipated high school, and a confusion as to what actually happened, who made the decisions, how and why. Only 3 members remain on the board and a key primary school teacher has resigned prematurely. A Waldorf school normally prides itself in circle management. No decision is made without the players involved in the decision. All big decisions were made at “Big Circle” meetings. This involved relevant parents and teachers and not just Board and College.

The other question is why were the High school notified of the financial situation at such a late stage to make gathering the funds so difficult? and further, why was the decision to close the entire High school so soon before the end of the year, even although there were 15 ppeople who had applied for class 8? one of the bigger questions for me was why did the school stop offering matric without trying to find a compromise with the parents and students? Waldorf schoosl have offered matric with far less students than this. This is what set the entire house of cards tumbling. The main question again and again is why were decisions taken without consultation with the people involved. This is not how Waldorf schools operate.

The question still remains as to how the primary school is going to afford to build and pay off its large loan with only a primary school. The fact remains that upper classes in the primary school will become depleted as they were before when there was no High school. What was to be the High school, has now been sold to a Montessori school in direct competition, and next door to Imhoff. (Strangely enough they feel quite confident of starting their own High school, with less students as what was at Imhoff High school.)

I also wonder that if it was the primary school leaking, would they have saved the high school and closed the primary? It makes you consider what is called support. I can think of many things that could have been done and would have been done if it was the primary school in this situation. I remain worried for the future also of the primary school. Its not only the foolish decision that was the problem, it was how it was done. If everyone had been consulted, new solutions could have been found. Am I wrong?

 

 

v

Trees beautiful trees.

After visiting England, where the trees are so huge and beautiful,

and I became so fascinated with them, it has been great to see so many beautiful trees in KwazuluNatal. I can see why Durban was a favoured colonisation place for Brits. Amazing trees are everywhere here and have the space to grow to their fullest extent. There is nothing like a fully stretched out tree even in an industrial area.

In Durban luckily the alien police have not attacked the trees that line the streets, and so you will find a host of the best trees from around the world. In this HOT climate you can always find cool parking. The trees take precedence in the street, as you can see here, and it has been amazing to see different trees blossoming at different times of the year.   At the moment all the coral trees are blossoming their red flowers. Its red season.

A little while ago it was orange with these amazing trees from Madagascar flowering along the streets.

Previous to that was these red flowering wide spreading trees. The red flowers made a crown on top.

On many of my walks, next to the houses are these unexpected fairy glades.

Of course my favourite place is the Durban botanical gardens. What I like most is that it is FREE to go in at any time, unlike the fee at Kirstenbosch. Its not that I resent the fee at Kirstenbosch..which is actually cheap compared to England where I paid R500 for a much lesser experience! (see previous post on the Eden project ..okay you can use your ticket for a year, but have no option for a once off visit.) The trees here are so exotic! This was a repository of all the corners of the Empire, a mini Kew gardens.

The intention behind the gardens was not  positive, as most colonial enterprises, and many plants were “stolen” in order to create a sort of “seed bank”, as medicine was essentially herbal at the time. Many of the trees come from India and Madagascar and further east. But they have been allowed to grow and grow and are stunning! I have been going back often to visit the changes over the seasons.

The first trees that really struck me were these cannonball trees. Mainly because the heady scent of the exotic flowers were so strong, I had to stop. I couldnt see the cannonballs but later in the year I found them in the place of the flowers.

There are simply HUGE banyan trees. (The ones here are small compared to ones in India that spread over 2 acres and people even make houses inside them)  These are fig type trees that spread sideways with roots that drip down from the branches. They are grown for good luck and are a symbol of immortality.

Banyan trees are thought to have spiritual significance, with the Lord Shiva being the branches (he has many arms), the Lord Vishnu the bark of the tree, and the Lord Brahma, the great God,  the large powerful roots of the tree. They have been used medicinally for centuries.

This is the legendary Bodi tree that the Lord Buddha sat under meditating to find enlightenment

There are other wild fig species with incredible trunks.

The palms are truly majestic and there are these ancient Woods and many cycads that were brought here a few hundred years ago and are also huge.

There is a fern garden with magical tree ferns  and ponds with lotus flowers,

lots of water birds and a couple of pelicans

and a special grotto with exquisite orchids.

My all time favourite are still fever trees, with their distinctive yellow trunks.

They were called fever trees because they looked like they had jaundice and were near to malaria areas. The bark is also used to cure fevers .Other medicinal trees are cinnamon (once more valuable than gold) with multiple health benefits including lowering cholesterol and blood sugar , rauvolfia caffra( called african quinine..very important in conquering africa). The bark has been used traditionally for many things including malaria. Look at http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Rauvolfia+caffra for more.

 

A sunken garden is very neat and reminiscent of English country gardens, I say.

New developments are this butterfly park where all the flowers grown are to attract certain butterflies.

As with Kirstenbosch they have music evenings and open air movies. I havent yet been to any, but fully intend to go. People use the gardens for special occasions like birthdays.

There is a lovely old fashioned tea garden run by volunteers with HUGE crumpets and scones and tea.

The best is the monkeys that race through the trees and a host of feral cats that watch you while you drink your tea.

 

Why I am studying Homoeopathy

One of the students I am studying with asked me what I would study if I could choose anything I wanted to. I found that question strange, but easy to answer. I would be studying Homoeopathy of course. They then went on to ask that if I had done conventional medicine, what would I be doing now, and I said that I would be studying Homoeopathy or probably have done it long ago.

I was not brought up with homoeopathy. Not at all! My mother was a nurse who fed us every form of conventional medicine. She loved hospitals and doctors. My sister was essentially drip fed on anti-histamines, that kept her sleepy for most of her young life. We had all the possible vaccinations, antibiotics with every case. We had dental checkups and horrendous fillings every six months. (Most of my natural teeth were eaten away by these).  I was fascinated by pathology and spent 2 years working in a pathology laboratory, which wakened my interest in biology and I went on to get a degree in zoology and microbiology.

I moved into the country in Cape Town, surrounded by the most magnificent plant life. What was special about these plants was that there were so many that were medicinal. As a hobby, I would collect plants and after identifying them, look up their medicinal properties. We also had a friend who was an ethnobotanist and also a medical doctor. he was a bit wacky and would experiment on himself..particularly hallucinogenic plants. He fostered an interest in the medicinal plants…and mushrooms around our rural home.  I was into hunting and gathering and we would have meals with local herbs and mushrooms. But I always had this question as to what makes a herb medicinal or edible or poisonous.

As a Biology teacher in a Waldorf school,I was expected to teach a main lesson on plants. My biology lessons at my own school (and in most government schools) have much to be desired .I could see NO connection to the plant kingdom then and we learned just lots of names and categories, and osmosis and capillarity and found the structure terribly boring..”you mean there are no organs inside?” As a Waldorf teacher, my challenge was to inspire my student to find a connection, and so I could only teach it the way I had found my own love of plants..through medicinal plants.

As a Waldorf teacher, your challenge is to scaffold a lesson so that it leads the students into questioning things as opposed to delivering facts. I could have delivered a whole lot of facts around plants, but I then researched the path of herbal medicine, and found it completely fascinating. Bu it also opened up a ton of questions.. like how did people know what was medicinal? Why are plants medicinal? Why do we talk about plants as if all they do is grow? What exactly is their connection with us? And so the big journey began.

In my own life, besides using a few well known wild plants for tea, I still used Allopathic medicine.  The change came with my own child. After six doses of antibiotics with a recurring middle ear infection, I went to a homeopath and he prescribed one medication which cured him almost instantly and he never went on to get a middle ear infection again. This hyped up my interest and I never went to a conventional doctor again other than for a couple of broken limbs. I began to research Homoeopathy and why it was different to herbal medicine and structured my main lessons around these researches. I bought my own remedies and self medicated, discovered my own constitutional remedies. I investigated Anthroposophical medicine and did two fascinating courses with Michaela Glockler. As a Waldorf teacher I had a fairly solid background in Anthroposophy and had read many Steiner books and attended many conferences and courses..more with a focus on education. But my desire had been lit to go deeper into the healing arts.

When my son left home, I decided  that this was a prime opportunity to change my career once more (I have had 5 careers, whats one more?). There were lots of circle arguments in my head. I was teaching in a school I loved and had helped to build. I was still needed in my role. I would have to move to Durban. (I loved Cape Town). It was a five year course. (I was not young anymore). I would have to go back to first year (intellectually I needed a challenge..I was busy with a masters in Education. Do I finish this first? What for?). I could see that based on many older teachers I knew, that teaching had a sell by date..and I was reaching it. I found it very heart wrenching to see excellent teachers being sidelined for the younger ones and then not knowing what they should do next. I could see myself become crabby and forgetting names and repeating my life story to sweet teens too polite to tell you to shut up.

I finally took a year off to think without distractions and to slowly extricate myself from my obligations at the school. I spent the year in England volunteer working essentially as a gardener in a college for autistic teenagers amongst the most amazing plants, which I could watch daily unfolding, while also learning a lot about radical education amongst damaged teens. It was run on Biodynamic lines and I learnt a lot about that side of Anthroposophy too. (See my previous posts). I spent my time observing and photographing and drawing medicinal and poisonous plants at various stages of development. At the same time I researched their healing properties from a homoeopathic and herbal point of view. I have not posted any of this up yet, but I think it is time to do so.

And so, here I am. In Durban studying Homoeopathy amongst a group of first years just out of school. (They only accept one mature student per year). Thus far it has more than met my expectations. At the moment it is like any other medical course, with extensive gross  anatomy with dissection and physiology, chemistry and physics (my nightmare come true). I have a little cottage at the back of someones garden and can just see the sea. There is a library FULL of homoeopathic and herbal books including on anthroposophical medicine. I have got credit for 2 subjects from my BSc and so I use this time to peruse these books and am trying to find the key that links these two great studies. I will have to do a thesis in my 5th year, and I feel this will be the direction I would like to take. So happy me!

 

Driving in Durban

One of the things that shock you the most in Durban is the driving, especially if you come from generally polite Cape Town and having spent a year in ultra-polite England. (although their motorways are a lot like Durban)

Here its like everyone is on steroids the minute they enter the road system. Everone hoots all the time for every misdemeaner, like taking one second to take off at the robot, or DARING to switch lanes even if you have signalled and checked for cars..there is always another racing into your bum.

Cars pass both left and right no matter what you do. They are always going the fastest they can, and trying to get ahead of the person in front no matter who they are and even if ,or especially if, cars are piled in front. Cutting across three or four lanes vertically is quite normal, and simply stopping in ANY lane by putting on their hazard lights is considered sufficient excuse.

I tried driving in the left lane, but discovered that, since there is no yellow line, as in other south african cities, the left lane IS the yellow line. After some close shaves in cars stopping without warning right in front of me, and lanes suddenly leaving the motorway, I decided to try the second lane. This is infinitey safer, but beware as the left lane then becomes the passing lane as well as the right. It feels a bit like a kyalami race track.

Most people blame the taxis, and they certainly are guilty of all the misdemeaners expressed above..the worst one being HOOTING..mainly for custom. I think all taxis need a special sound for custom so that they dont use their general hooters, as after a while you begin to switch off to all hooters. This is a dangerous thing to do. In England it is a finable offence to hoot for any other reason than an emergency so you rarely hear hooters. (British people are also solaw abiding mainly because their fines are HUGE, and you get fined more if you protest in court..a bit of a police state,I would say).

Anyway, I forgive all taxis because every taxi takes ten cars off the road. Imagine how many cars there would be if everyone in a taxi had a car? So I always am grateful and allow taxis their idiosynchronicities. Also, I have used them occasionally and they are far and away the best form of transport in South Africa. they are fast and efficient, air conditioned (often), not overcrowded, as most people think and will go anywhere and stop anywhere..unlike buses. They are also cheap for what you get.

I put the blame on the roads in Durban. The fact that there is no yellow lane ensures that the inner lane is a disaster area. Also, the road markings are bad, and you willsuddenly find that you are supposed to be in a right lane even altough you are going left off a highway. Also there are many offramps and roads that come into an intersection at an angle to meet a robot that is both red and green! Yes. unless you know the road, you dont now if you are supposed to stop or go or which robot slightly angled you should obey. Notice the robots in the photo below.

I just about killed myself taking this photo.

Durban has a glut of one way streets. Despite this, I must say they work well. I have rarely sat in traffic for long. The robots seem quite co-ordinated as a result, so despite theis photo, the traffic is not bad compared to other cities,its just that you have to constantly be vigilant that someone is not going to stop or turn in front of you suddenly.

More usual is HUGE trucks. As Durban is an industrial city, huge trucks are everywhere, and they dont drive slowly either..so its quite common to meet them in The right lane speeding with 10 new cars on their platforms or a number of containers. Can be quite fightening when they are on either side.

Durban also has high and huge highways, mainly because they ave to cater for high and huge trucks. I have not yet managed to get a photo of the astounding wall paintings on the N3 by graffiti artist Faith 47. I will post them up when I do. There is an amazing vibe at the taxi and bus terminus, and I deliberately drive through just for a bit of it even though I risk my life getting around the thousands of taxis. the photo above is of the taxi rank area. There is loud music with a real African vibe and lots of market stalls selling everything from muti to plastic.

I have been trying to get photos of the many white beggars in Durban. The only other place I have seen so many white beggars is in England. I’ve been told its because the weather is good that the Joburg beggars migrate to Durban, and back to Joburg in summer where the pickings are richer. I have an aversion to giving money to a white beggar, especially if they are young and fit. This is because I know they have been given every opportunity to not be on the street and have not taken them. (My bit of racism..sorry)

The contrasts of colonial Durban

Having spent a year in England, I was primed for the colonial side of Durban. The colonial street names are on their way out as we encounter double barreled street names like Solomon Maglangu rather than singular names such as Moore road. I have no idea who Edwin Swales is so I am happy to see him go.  I am quite happy to see more african changes. But there is still places like Victoria embankment and Queensborough. In fact the colonial side of Durban is very difficult to erase.
So I went to visit the colonial centre of Durban, and little England it is, from the sweet little hanging baskets (the pay and display parking also very reminiscent of olde England),

to the surprisingly undamaged royal statues and arches.

This is the city hall

Identified as South African from the cycads in front. (could be India from the palms).

In this precinct there are, as in all of Durban, the most amazing trees tat have just burst fort in flower. The alien police have not got here yet. This comes from Madagascar..looks like a normal tree for most of the year and then suddenly bursts into these amazing inflorescences. South African plants are beautiful, but some of these foreigners are utterly stunning.

No this was very british. Its the playhouse theatre

Teir shows are, however very African in style although they may have european origins. Inside it is quite stunning..with some very African artifacts. How about an African style corset?

The other import from Britain was the buying up of tickets and reselling them with an additional 50% price tag, I discovered when I wanted to see Handels Messiah over Easter. Someone called Zee had bought “too many tickets”. Strangely she hadnt even paid for them yet…sounds like some inside job too.

Open a space, and Africa will fill it. And so I wandered into a vibrant flea market

with some stunning shweshwe clothing (not shown here) and beadwork.

There were amazing fever trees..my favourite African tree..I love the colour of their trunks and the generous spread of their canopies.

There were also relics of the colonial and apartheid masters juxtaposed between the lightness of the market.

Open spaces also mean busking and this was a play with the audience. Difference to Blighty..less white skin thats all.

An odd and largely unnoticed sculpture was this Eduardo Villa’s mother and child. His sculptures appear in odd places in Sout Africa, and is a comment on te soft roundness of Africa compared to the hard sharpness of Western intellect. An unsung ant-Western commentator.

Ten I walked through the alleys to the Docks and unexpectedly in a dark narrow alley, I found this:

Rather taken over by a huge concrete monstrosity.

Durban has enormously diverse architecture..none of it all together but interspersed with hideous uncared for blocks. below is a beautiful art Deco building next to this pink thing.

This is on prime estate overlooking the harbour. Durban has these orphans needing paint and love but some may be too awful to do anything about. This is the view from these buildings.

And so I drove home, passing these iconic (art deco?) warehouses that sets the imagination off when you consider that they could be filled to the brim with sugar.