The Island Life

This is Ronnie signing in for her first post away from the other Kwashikids. Its Tuesday and today is my day off! I finally have a job! Hurray! I am working in InchMurrin hotel, which is on InchMurrin Island in the middle of Loch Lomond. The island is the biggest island in Loch Lomond, but is still very small. The hotel is also very small (just a wee hotel) and I think my first week has been extremely quiet, so I haven't been working very hard. It seems that there are a few weddings coming up though so I will be kept busy and out of mischief. I have been waitressing mostly, but also doing housekeeping and being a KP some of the time, which sucks because no one likes washing dishes!

I am living in a rather shady little house with three other people. Rachael is my roommate. She is also South African and is from Durban. She is lovely and we have been having fat chats about home. Conrad is a Polish man who works mostly on the farm, but is the KP on the weekends when the kitchen gets busier. Then there is David the chef, who is Scottish and has been working in the hotel for 25 years. He keeps to himself and I'm not sure that he likes us all that much. Apparently there is a new barman arriving tomorrow, so we will have more company. Rumour has is that he is Australian.

That is all the news I can think of for now. This is Ronnie signing out. Ciao.

Me, Conrad and Rachael - I love an happy friend!

View of Loch Lomond from InchMurrin Hotel

On the way to InchMurrin Island. The island is the one just to the right of my head.

As you can see, this penguin means business. He is a picture in Ronnie's travel journal. The journal gives you some useful tips of how to get by in the world. The first one is: Always smile at the Penguin. It turns out, the penguin live outside our flat...

Here he is. He lives in the playground of the school just accross the road from our flat. Do you see his enigmatic smile? I wonder why they would put such a dangerous penguin in a children's playground. We've been keeping an eye on him. We also always smile at him. You just never know with penguins.

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The kwashikids part ways

Yes friends, it is sad but true. Ronnie has finally found a job, but it is on an island in the middle of Loch Lomond, so she will be leaving Glasgow. Jeannie and Steve are staying behind to keep an eye on the penguin and to live in the beautiful flat. This does not mean the end of the kwashikids blog. Each kwashikid will be entering their own adventures, which will be most exciting for everyone involved! We'll just sign our names at the end of each post so that you know who is writing what. Does that sound like a plan, or what?

This past week end we had a visit from Jeannie’s mum! Kate arrived on Thursday, so she and Ronnie entertained themselves on Friday while the other went to work. They went to visit Pollok Park, a stately home and estate, where the Burrell Collection is Housed. Very beautiful and interesting indeed. On Friday night Kate contributed to the Kwashis’ quest to fend off Kwashiorkor by taking them out for supper to an excellent Indian Restaurant. Donald was there too and we had a chance to catch up.

On Saturday we hired a car and drove out past Loch Lomond to Loch Long, which is just next door. It was our mission to hike up a mountain called The Cobbler (a.k.a. Ben Arthur). We had a picnic lunch at the bottom and then began the hike up the mountain. It was a spectacular climb with a scramble up the peak and the views from the top were breathtaking! Ben and Loch Lomond lay to one side and on the other side we could see all the way down to the sea and the Isles of Bute and Arran! We ate some chocolate and felt very pleased with ourselves. The hike down was quicker and when we got to the bottom it was time for supper! So we bought ourselves some fish and chips (the best we’ve had so far) and sat in the sunshine overlooking Loch Long as we munch our well deserved dinner!

Ronnie sitting on a beautifully carved bench in Pollok Park. Can you see the otter?

Jeannie and Kate on the way up the mountain. That is not The Cobbler Peak in the background, That is the other mountain. The Cobbler peak is much more peaky and rock like.

Ronnie, Kate, Steve and Jeannie almost at the top of The Cobbler. Ben Lomond in the background.

The pointy mountain is Ben Lomond. The bit of water just below it is Loch Lomond. Truly spectacular!

Jeannie, Kate and Steve at the top of The Cobbler. View down to the sea and isles.

The Kwashi Kids, conquerors of The Cobbler!

At some stage during these past weeks, Jeannie and Ronnie joined a choir called Voicebeat. At our first practice they were singing some African songs, and had bungled the pronunciation – fezulu instead of phezulu! Here we met our German friends, Mandy and Daniela, who invited us on a trip to the Isle of Bute with a bunch of other foreigners. We graciously accepted the invitation and the morning of Sunday the 28th of May saw us at Glasgow central station, bright, early and ready for an adventure! We got a rail and sail ticket out to the island (i.e. we caught the train and then the ferry) where we went to visit the ruins of Rothesay Castle, which unlike the Dumbarton wannabe was very castle-like indeed. There was even a dungeon! After this we went on a tour of the island in a topless bus. The weather was good, by Scottish Standards, but we still got very cold. Reminiscent of the drive with Donald in the convertible! Bute was very beautiful indeed and we also made a trip to Mount Stuat – a stately home with extensive grounds! Mandy somehow managed to score us a free bus ride out to Mount Stuart; we think it had something to do with batting eyelashes and blond hair! The grounds at Mount Stuart went right down to the beach, and as we arrived at said beach the sun came out, so we decided that a bit of lounging was in order. Frank the German man even made like the natives and took his shirt off! Random!

On the ferry to Bute. From left: Vicky (New Zealand), Jeannie, Mandy (Germany), Ronnie, Marco (Switzerland), Frank (Germany), Steve and Houda (Tunisia)

From left: Marco, Ronnie and Mandy on the open topped bus!

Jeannie and Steve with a lovely view of Bute in the Background

A view of the Isle of Arran through the gorse bushes. The gorse smells like cocobutter suntan lotion, its quite lovely in a bizarre way. Those mountains are Arran. We have plan to go and climb them at some stage!

The following weekend involved even more excitement, of the African and Scottish variety. On the Friday night, we went to watch Lady Smith Black Mambazo and the Mahotella Queens. Truly wonderful music that made the poor old kwashis very home sick – Jeannie even had a little cry (Ag shame!). On Saturday, Clare took us on another outing, this time to see a quilt show, which was in the Dumbarton/Loch Lomond Area. We got to see the Dumbarton Castle (which was more like a house and less like a castle) and discovered that they were holding the National Pipe Band Championships in Dumbarton that very day! Excitement! The quilts were soon forgotten, and we ventured out in the rain to see the pipers. There were millions of them blowing their bagpipes all over the place. We got to watch some of the really good bands who were brilliant, and Steve and Ronnie decided that they would have to go to the Pipe Band World Championships, which are being held later in the year! Eventually we had to leave the pipe band to move on to Loch Lomond to see some more quilts. The weather was awful and the clouds were really low, but we finally got to see Loch Lomond! Hurrah!

Ronnie on the rainy shores of Loch Lomond

The Pipers at the National Pipe Band Championships. Could that be a MacGregor tartan?!

The Update has Arrived

Finally we have got our act together and managed to download the long awaited photos! They span back quite a few weeks, so we’ll have to fill you in on the details of our activities…

We have to stretch our memories back all the way to the weekend of the 12th of May! Although that was so long ago, we’re not quite sure of all our activities. But the photo evidence shows that Clare took us on an outing! Yay for Clare! This time we went down to the seaside town of Irvine (which is much more beautiful than Saltycracks). We went to watch “The Crucible”, because Clare had been involved in doing the music for the play. The play was excellent and we were enriched, culturally. Then we got some fish and chips, which were also excellent, and our bellies were enriched, nutritionally. Ha ha! We also went down to the beach briefly, where Jeannie and Ronnie couldn’t resist doing a few handstands. Steve got hold of the camera and we had a mini photo shoot. Clare thought we were crackers. These pics are the result.

The Handstand Fiends! Look at how good we're getting, synchronised and everything!

Jeannie and Steve at Irvine

An Unusual Incident
Ronnie’s account of The Machete Man

I was on my way to the post office. This was quite an innocent thing to do on a Tuesday afternoon (in my opinion). As I left the safety of our complex, I heard some yelling and shouting just down the street. I couldn’t help but notice that running down the street towards me was a man with a machete. He was sprinting, with quite a mean look on his face and a fierce gleam in his eye. A car drove past me and stopped at the intersection just outside our block of flats. The machete man sprinted up to the driver’s side of the car and started slashing at the window with the machete. At which point I put my head down and started walking away as quick as my short little hobbit legs would carry me.

I was quite worried about the driver, because the window was slightly open, and the Machete Man was really hacking at the window with the machete. As I passed the car, the passenger door opened and a woman got out holding a cup of coffee. I thought to myself, ‘Lady! What are you doing?! Don’t get out of the car; the machete man will get you! He’s the one with the machete!’ But lo and behold, in the hand that held no coffee was a wheel spanner! She yelled some profanities at the machete man, who gapped it. Wheel spanner woman chased him down the road and chucked her coffee at him, but I think he was too nimble and managed to dodge it. Still being chased, he and the wheel spanner woman exchanged profanities. I could still hear them as I rounded the corner and made my escape. It was quite funny, but I won’t lie, I was a little frightened as I made my escape. I couldn’t help but think, ‘I’ve never seen anything like that in South Africa, and we’re the ones who are supposed to have the road rage problem!’

- Ronnie