Navajo has still been struggling with his ear infection and as a result is not sleeping well. This means that none of us get any sleep as he sleeps by our bed and he is so restless. He went back to the vet this week for an ear cleaning and injection and is now also on tablets for the inflammation as well as the ear drops. We had to buy a muzzle to put on him when we put the drops in as he tries to snap at us and growls the most terrifying growl.

After waking at 4am from Nav I was a zombie on Wednesday and had a busy day at work so when Norm offered to cook us dinner I was so grateful. He did Banting food and wrapped chicken breasts in bacon, steamed broccoli and stir fried baby zucchini with mushrooms. He grated sharp cheddar to top the broccoli. It was delicious.

While at the client site on Thursday we had a message come through that the protests had started up again. We have now had weeks of on-again, off-again protests which originated with people protesting the living conditions in the shacks which the government have arranged for them after the recent fires where 4500 informal houses were destroyed by fire in March‚ leaving 15000 people homeless. These conditions are not fit for humans to live in. They are in tin shacks which have no electricity or running water, only communal showers and long drop toilets. The field they live on is a flood plain and after months of drought the recent rains have resulted in the floor of their shacks being full of water. It is freezing cold at the moment and it is really unsuitable.

An update was posted onto a local Facebook group, Hout Bay Organised and the first post made at 11 a.m. advised us that “anti land invasion forces along with SAPS were removing illegal dwellings by court order in Dontse Yhake (DY). Apparently stun grenades have been let off to disperse crowds.

A court interdict has been in place and residents that have erected illegally and who are preventing the implementation of much needed infrastructure have been made aware.
Very large police presence containing situation in the DY area above IY. All main roads remain open. Hughenden Road is closed.”

I live off of Hughenden Road so this was rather worrying. I did not know if I would be able to get home. As Norm is part of Neighbourhood Watch I messaged him to find out what was going on and if our house was at risk but he did not reply. I found out later he was on the other side of the mountain having lunch with a friend. Later after he came home he told me the roads were clear but there was still a heavy police presence.

A house was invaded near the gates at DY and there were Nyala vehicles in place to deal with any further riots but they were being stoned and various battles were on-going between police and protestors.

We read about children being subjected to tear gas from within their shacks, as the shacks provide little protection from any outside elements. It was heart-breaking to read about the innocent being caught up in this chaos that was being perpetrated by a few.

Friday morning we woke to read there had been a night of violence in Imizamo Yethu. The ANC offices were torched and a community leader’s home was attacked, various businesses looted, and a young person was shot dead.

This is the second death due to these protests. Earlier this month, a probe was launched into the death of Imizamo Yethu resident Songezo Ndude, 26, who sustained head injuries during clashes between police and residents.

We heard that they cleaned out the Somalian shops and burned all the containers on the Main road in IY where the businesses operate from.

We then heard that the people who were behind the protests were the slumlords who had paid the local meth addicts to cause havoc and torch the buildings.

We also read that a body was found in the streets of IY. It was a 19 year old young man named Siyamthanda Betana and he was murdered in the cross fire of the shooting. He was at a friend’s house when he heard a noise. He went outside and was shot.

His family are devastated and one of his former teachers has offered a reward to anyone who has information about his death. Everything I have read about this young man has said he was a clever, kind and talented young man. This is such a tragic waste of life.

All of this seemed to happen predominately under cover of night as do most acts of cowardice. During the day it seemed to get relatively calm however we saw a heavy police presence when we ventured out on Saturday morning.

Friday night we stayed in to avoid any potential conflict with the chaos. When I got home from work I built a big fire as it is so cold. I played games on my iPad and indulged my addiction of home improvement shows. I cooked a banting dinner for the three of us as Caitlin was at home. I made pork chops & free range chicken sausages with roast veggies and steamed broccoli.

I had bought a new device for streaming which arrived that day and Norm spent the evening setting that up so we can watch telly from our bedroom. We love spending the morning in bed with the pups and endless cups of frothy coffee on weekends.

Saturday morning our gardener Mzudumo arrived early and said that he had not slept all night out of fear that his home would catch fire if they torched the area community leader who has a shack near him. The drought has meant our garden is barely growing and we cannot wash our cars so we asked him if he would mind going to Caitlin’s new flat and helping Cait with sanding the base boards which need to be repainted when she puts down her new floors. He is just happy for the work and it meant he was inside on that cold day rather than outside in the garden so he was agreeable with the change in routine.

Norm and I first went off to look at bathroom fittings as that is our next home renovation project. We needed something to eat and so we popped into the Earth Fair Market in Tokai.

We spotted Gail’s Kitchen, a trader who was selling Banting products.

We grabbed a chicken sandwich, an Origin coffee and a table out in the sun.

Norm got stuck in. The bread was divine!! Normally banting products can be very dry and tasteless but this bread was moist and tasty.

We decided to buy a couple of bite size quiches, a loaf of bread and some tiny carrot cake muffins to take home.

We finished our bathroom ideas shopping at the places nearby the market and headed off to Caitlin’s flat, stopping on the way at Mr Price. I needed a basket for carrying wood from the garage to the fireplace. They had several and I found the perfect one.

I also bought a new tin to keep my coffee pods in.

I found a clock for my newly renovated kitchen which goes perfectly with the cupboards we have installed.

We went to Caitlin’s flat and Norm pottered about helping her remove nails from the floor and walls and rehung her cupboard doors which were a bit skew. We hung around until Mzudumo was finished at 3.30 and we drove him back to Hout Bay as Caitlin stayed to continue working on the flat.

We were off to our friends Alison and Andy for a spit braai that evening and so Norm walked the dogs and we showered and headed off. Our friend Retha was also there so we had a lovely evening chatting to friends and hanging out.

We had heard at one stage of the evening that chaos was happening again in the township but none of the security groups was posting any thing new, but still we did not want to stay out too late and we headed home about 10ish.

The next day Caitlin went hiking but Norm and I had a pyjama day, I cooked a big pot of spicy tomato, sweet potato and carrot soup and we built a warm fire. A perfect lazy chilled out Sunday.

We watched the film Going In Style with Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine.

It was a perfect lazy choice and was a funny film. We really enjoyed it and give it 4 Kitten Stars.

The peace seemed to be across our valley as we read that finally there had been a Peace deal reached in Imizamo Yethu.

I hope this means that the re-blocking and building of more suitable homes can carry on and that the protests will cease.

Today I worked from home in the morning and I am currently at the hospital with Caitlin who is having minor surgery. Please send her your healing prayers and hopefully we will be at home soon.

Enjoy your week. xx