I have read this book three times now and enjoyed it thoroughly every time. It’s quite unusual for me to read a book more than once.

This book touches on a subject that affects many families around the world when one spouse moves to another country during or after a divorce, and the children become caught up in a tug-of-war situation.

The author handles this subject sensitively, and with an excellent understanding of the complex emotions involved. Her writing has a lovely light touch, which kept me turning the pages eagerly. It’s clear she has a sympathetic understanding of the characters involved.

If you’re looking for an interesting, entertaining family drama, this is the book for you.

Chantal Davis-Swartz

A Judge Decided by Helen Fenwick is available from the author. Email fenwickh@jebomail.co.za

I am once again participating in Share Your World from Sparks who asks some fun questions this week.

Questions

What would be the most surprising scientific discovery imaginable?

That there is a simple way for human beings to master the art of flying using the power of the mind.

If aliens landed on earth tomorrow and offered to take you home with them, would you go?

Well, when I retired I vowed that I would embrace any adventure that presented itself to me – so yes, I would go along with them. I would ask them if it would be okay to let my family and friends know by letting me blog about my experiences. I reckon that would not be a problem with the advanced technology they’re sure to have back on their home planet.

What breed of dog would you be?  If you’re more a cat person – what breed of cat?

A dachshund. They are cute, the smooth-haired so ones don’t shed so are allowed on the furniture and in spite of their size are feisty and adventurous and can keep up with bigger dogs in their outdoor pursuits. As a dachshund, I would be petted and cuddled and be allowed to go accompany my people wherever they went.

Bubble gum?  Yay or nay? 

Absolutely NAY! I cannot abide bubble gum and chewing gum is not much better. Sorry American friends, I know you all love it. I don’t like chewing it or watching others do so. And bubble-blowing freaks me out!

GRATITUDE SECTION  (As always, optional)

Feel free (no pressure) to share some gratitude from January of this year.

January in South Africa is the beginning of the school year. It’s a time when parents have to buy school uniforms, pay school fees in advance, arrange aftercare for their little ones. It’s an expensive month! The Earl and I have been there and done that for five children and never thought that anything we did to make life good for our kids was a sacrifice. Of course, we told our kids that they were so lucky to have such fantastic parents (lol) but we enjoyed raising our family and wouldn’t have changed a thing. Compared to many others we were privileged and were able to provide adequately for our kids and to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle ourselves. For that, I am eternally grateful.

This year I have been made aware of the sacrifice someone I know is making just to send her kid to a good school. She is a single mom and works every day of the week including weekends to earn the extra because her child’s education is that important to her. She could choose free, inferior education but her child is worth more to her than that. And she does it willingly with a smile and a cheerful attitude.

Thank you everybody for your lovely comments on my introductory blog post about Flock to Marion. I know many of you are hoping to see lots of photographs of the amazing birds that we saw. We did indeed see the amazing pelagic birds of the Southern Ocean. But – I am not going to post many photographs. Pelagic Birding is next level – Higher Grade for the Big Bird Nerds. And in the Southern Ocean, it is Extreme Birding. Even the experts say they can’t be sure of what they are looking at until they check their photographs. Their photography is also at a much higher level than mine. Those guys have ultra-amazing cameras with lenses that have super-vision and can snap photographs at the speed of light. As much as I love my camera it is just not equipped to deal with this kind of photography.

So let me just tell you about the cruise. Most of the passengers were of course there to bird and did very little else. Some serious birding took place and these guys and gals were out on the decks from sunrise till after sunset. I am not quite in that league but when I was out there I tried to be as close to a guide as possible. The guides had radio contact with each other and there were often alerts like – “Sooty albatross – port side coming from the stern. ” I listened carefully and saw a variety of birds but only knew what they were because the guide told me! There was one awesome day when we were close to Marion and the birds just didn’t stop coming. We just enjoyed watching them fly over the choppy sea and come right in close to the ship. My favourite of them all was the Wandering Albatross which is the largest flying bird in the world. Is it any wonder that the Ancient Mariner suffered such guilt after killing one!

I am posting some poor photos just to give an impression of what it was like out at sea. Remember, these pelagic birds fly many miles away from land and are at sea for months at a time. Sometimes they settle on the surface of the sea but otherwise, they are constantly flying. This is also why they are so difficult to photograph! After a few feeble attempts, I gave up and just enjoyed watching them with my eyes. I am not even going to attempt to name them in case I get them wrong!

The bird watching was fun and we were really lucky with the weather. The first three days were sunny but the closer we got to the Prince Edward Islands the colder it became. However, it was not as cold as expected and I was comfortable on deck in jeans, boots, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and a puffer jacket. It rained a bit but not continuously and when it did the Earl and I watched the birds from our cabin. We even sat out on the balcony when it was dry. The sea was quite rough at times and walking in a straight line was difficult! The roaring forties were not as scary as I expected.

Every day there were lectures to attend and they were all excellent. We particularly enjoyed Peter Harrison the author of Seabirds – An Identification Guide and Seabirds – The New Identification Guide. He spoke eloquently about his travels to see and paint seabirds for identification purposes.

Marion Island and Prince Edward Island are sub-antarctic islands and belong to South Africa. They are 2300 km southeast of Cape Town in the southern Indian Ocean. There is a huge mice problem on Marion and these mice are eating baby chicks alive.

Marion Island has an amazing array of endemic species and almost pristine marine fauna but ships over the years have brought cats and mice to the island.

In the early 1990s, the cats were eradicated but mice were left and they had a huge impact on invertebrates like flightless moths and weevils. When this source of food was used up the mice started attacking the chicks. BLSA is now working hard to raise money so that the mice population can be eradicated. We learned in the lectures that they plan to use helicopters to fly in straight lines at narrow intervals to drop poison all over the island. It is extremely expensive and a great deal of skill is needed by the pilots to get this right.

It was awesome to see how many people on Flock to Marion pledged their support and contributed to the various fundraising initiatives. We really need to save our seabirds. We also heard how penguins and other seabirds are at risk too.

One of the ways to help is to sponsor a hectare on Marion Island. Click the link if you wish to contribute. Or if you would like to support BirdLife South Africa in any of their projects click here.

Here are just a few more photos of some fun times we had on board.

This was not a regular cruise as it was dedicated to serious birding. It was a wonderful experience as I love both cruising and birding. The MSC Orchestra is a great ship and if you feel the urge to cruise I can highly recommend booking a passage on her. The food is good, there is wonderful entertainment, the pool deck is great and they offer plenty of activities all through the day. It is also a great way to meet people. Of course, we were already acquainted with a lot of the other passengers but we also met lots of new folks. Friends who knew we were coming told us to look out for others they knew would be on board. Some we did bump into, others we didn’t. After all, there were 1700 of us. However, we did have one interesting encounter. While birding on deck I found myself next to a woman about my age. We chatted about the birds we were seeing and then I said, “Where are you from.”

“Durban,” she replied and I told her that we loved KZN and had relatives in Kokstad. She replied that she too had relatives in Kokstad and we chatted about nearly everybody in Kokstad being dairy farmers. Her relatives, she said, were dairy farmers and I told her mine were too.

“Who are your relatives?” I asked thinking I might know them as I have met many of the locals.

“The MacKenzies,” she replied.

“But the MacKenzies are my relatives,” I exclaimed.

“But I said so first,” she laughed.

We then told each other our names and realized that we knew each other but had not seen each other for over 20 years. Glenda is the first cousin to Barbara MacKenzie who is the Earl’s late first wife Colleen’s sister so her first cousin too. We keep up with Colleen’s family and so once she identified herself I knew exactly where she fitted in.

So that is cruising – you just never know what will happen or who you might meet. Give it a go!

After many postponements, BirdLife South Africa’s Flock to Marion Cruise is happening. The Earl and I managed to get somebody’s cancelled tickets and we are so excited to be aboard MSC Orchestra, ready to sail to the Southern Ocean.

This will be a pelagic cruise to see birds that would be impossible to see unless you went to sea so almost everybody aboard is a bird watcher! There are over 40 experts on board and they will be guiding us on the various decks and calling out and explaining which birds we see. The ship sails from Cape Town to within 12 nautical miles of Marion Island and then ends in Durban. It will be a 7-night cruise. I am able to post this blog today as we are anchored in Table Bay but once we sail I will not have the internet so will continue the story when I get home.

All 1700 of us had to pass a COVID test 48 hours before departure and then pass another antigen test this morning. So the ship is now full of negative people!

Originally our boarding time was set for 11:30 am but because of expected high winds, we were all asked to come two hours earlier than our given times. This was not possible for a few as they could not change their travel arrangements. For this reason, we are now anchored in Table Bay, and those passengers who could not make it are being collected in Life Boats and will join us soon. Cape Town Harbour’s entrance is very narrow making it difficult and dangerous for a ship the size of MSC Orchestra to get through it and out to sea.

Because of COVID restricting some people from travelling from overseas or not being able to get fully vaccinated some travellers had to cancel their reservations and sell their tickets to others. The Earl and I, just a month ago, were lucky enough to get such a passage at a reduced rate.

We were very excited when we awoke this morning and couldn’t wait to get going. Our daughter with whom we have been staying for four days booked us on an Uber and we were ready and waiting at the gate when he arrived just after 8. Getting through to have our antigen tests and check-in ran ever so smoothly and MSC and BLSA are to be congratulated on their superb, friendly and efficient service.

Once onboard, we had a short wait before our cabins were ready. We had a cold drink in one of the lounges and then went to have breakfast at the buffet. So far the food is amazing.

So that’s the introduction – Here are the photographs!