Good morning, everyone! :hug:

Can you believe that another year is drawing to a close? :eek: I would like to say a special thank you to our fantastic Duck for another great year of The Buzz. :thx:

May you all have a very blessed 2007!

Hope you both have a great day on opposite sides of the pond..

All the very best
:chef:

to the other 2, Bokkie and Valkery - a happy birthday as well

Hi Folks:

I am off to Cape Town in Jan and so my thoughts caught up with me about GBZ, and I thought I would drop in again and say hello!

I hope you have all had a great year and a good Christmas, and are all set to have an even better year in 2007.

I am off on 9th and have spent some time zooming in and out of CT on Google Earth (what a great prog!) and I am wondering how many changes I am going to find in CT from the last time I was there, which was about 3 years ago I think. Anyone care to tell me?! At that time I remember (amongst many other things) seeing whales in the harbour of where I was staying; really great weather; oh, and I took a journey to the Kruger Park for a couple of days as well, I think - which I am not doing this time round!

I am going to have a little browse around GBZ now too and see what other pointers I can pick up. I am glad (and a little proud) to say, GBZ still seems to be the premiere SA site! Well done The Duck et al.

Best,


TP

[COLOR=Navy]I received a phonecall from a Saffer friend telling me that kid from their small little village in SA was killed in Afghanistan. Then I read this:

A UK soldier killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan has been named as L/Bombardier James Dwyer of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery.

The 22-year-old was killed on Wednesday when his vehicle hit an anti-tank mine during a reconnaissance mission in desert south of Garmsir, Helmand.

Another serviceman was seriously hurt while two sustained minor injuries.

The seriously injured man had been operated on and was "doing well", a Royal Marines spokesman said.

Read more here about it...

:rip:

I received a letter from a friend in Canada and she was telling me about her Grandmother who is 107 years old. Amazing!

She wrote: "Last Sunday I went to visit my Grandma. She is a young 107 years old and though she can't hear or see as clearly as she once could, you still could not pull the wool over her eyes. When she turned 104 she finally agreed to move out of her own house where she lived alone and into the community lodge for seniors. One of her biggest complaints is that her legs are not strong anymore and she can't walk around. Believe me, it they were, she would walk right out of there.

On this visit she conscripted my mother to give her a hair cut. She refuses to let the hairdresser at the lodge cut her hair as she claims they con't cut it the way she likes it. She instructed me on where her scissors were (an item she is not allowed to have in her room.... Grandma leaned over and closed the door so no one would know what was taking place and contentedly sat still while my mother "hacked" her hair off with scissors that are old and dull. Still, at the end of the salon treatment, her hair bounced into a curl on the end and she smilded happily that she had got the haircut she wanted.

Grandma has lived in 3 centuries......."

Wow, can you imagine living in three centuries. You see so many people these days that are dragging their feet and moaning and complaining and they are not even half as old as Annette's Grandma. Another wow! Amazing!

I have been sitting with a sore jaw, bite sensitive teeth and a numb lip.The teeth are not hot/cold sensitive so its not an absese; the numb, tingling feeling in the lip is a worry, unable to eat is a good thing. Perhaps I'll lose weight. :p I think this is more a jaw problem than an actual tooth problem. No it's not broken - not done anything to warrant that. Though at 3 this mornign I thought someone had hammered my jaw to pieces

Can I get to see a dentist. NO. Mine has closed down for the season, those that are open are not seeing emergency paitents. The hospital does not have a dental department.........they've advised casualty. Sure lets block up the A&E with a jaw problem. I have been trying NHS Dentist Direct since 9am this morning. No answer. The longest I have held on for is half an hour. I am doped up on anti inflams which only dull the pain.

I've been here for 5 years now and I have never had the privilege of toothache or some such during the holiday seasons. Don't think I will again. It's no wonder people clog up the hospitals if this is the way they deal with medical issues.

Back to the phone and try again. Will prob lose my mind in the meantime

Some great pictures from the BBC