One flew over ...

On the banks of the Liesbeek River in the Two Rivers Urban Park that has recently been created in Observatory, you look across to the sprawling buildings of Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital. It was named after Cornelius Valk who established a farm on the land in 1720. It then became a "lunatic asylum" in 1891 and today it the main teaching hospital for the University of Cape Town's Department of Psychiatry and is also a specialised training centre for psychiatric nursing.
Famous patients include the poet Ingrid Jonker (our very own Sylvia Plath) who was admitted with depression in the 1960s and Tshepo, the lead character in K. Sello Duiker's novel The Quiet Violence of Dreams.
These are not cuckoos, but Hartlaubs Gulls.

Astronomical

This delightful house is the home of the Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory in Observatory, on the banks of the Liesbeek River. Several rare and endangered species grow wild in front of the house which is on a remnant of "Peninsula Shale Renosterveld" vegetation. The Blue Peacock Moraea (Moraea aristata) that does well in cultivation but is almost extinct in the wild and only occurs naturally here.

Acacia out of place

A typical Cape Town stormy, sunny windy day - back to work for some - although it is a school holiday today as tomorrow is also a public holiday. This very African fever tree (Acacia xanthophloea) caught my eye this morning in front of the Magnet Theatre in Observatory - with its amazing yellow bark and green leaves trying hard to maintain a traditional acacia umbrella shape in the teeth of Observatory's famous Southeaster wind.
Pretty soon we may have to change the name acacia to "senegalia" because at an international botanical conference in Vienna in 2005, a sneaky decision was taken (while some botanists snoozed or couldn’t afford to attend?) to replace the name for the African acacias with "senegalia" and keep the name "acacia" for the Australian wattles. (The African and Australian species that used to live under the all-encompassing genus name Acacia apparently need to be split as it seems they are no longer closely enough related to cosy up together in the same genus.)
We Africans are mightily miffed! It seems to me that the integrity and credibility of the international botanical nomenclature system has been brought into disrepute. If a bunch of well-organized, well funded Australians can bamboozle the entire African, Asian and American botanical fraternity so easily by flouting the time-honoured law that precedence of a scientific name is an exceptionally important principle in biological nomenclature, what is the point of having such an organisation? Why not just give the name to the highest bidder?

Painting the town red

Scene in Obs. A good advert for Dulux paints!

Mmmm

Early morning coffee at Mimi's, in Obs. Just the thing to brighten up a Monday morning.

Scene in Obs

"I'd rather be riding on the Vespa."

Did you know that Vespa is the Latin name for wasp?

Ecclesiastic

Enter through these exciting gates to a world of ecclesiastic edification and education. St Michael and All Angels is a large and impressive church in Observatory designed by the illustrious Sir Herbert Baker. The foundation stone was laid in 1898 and the church consecrated in 1906. The services are "high Church" with incense, majesty and awe, and the music out of this world.
The word Ecclesiastic means "of the church" and the root Ecclesia first meant "general assembly" (of Athenian citizens) ultimately from the Greek work ekkaleo which means "summon". Isn't etymology fascinating?
For other E-posts, go to ABC Wednesday.

Stop here

Oh to be young and in Cape Town in the summer!
Check out this fun backpackers establishment in the hip hop suburb of Observatory here.

Friday night jazz

Another interesting jazz joint in student bohemian Obs. For more about Rabindranath himself, click here.

Bluegrass in Obs

Listening to Blacksmith on a Sunday evening at A Touch of Madness.

Devil take my heart*

Devil's Peak looms over Groote Schuur Hospital, which is famous for being the hospital where the first heart transplant was performed by celebrity surgeon, Chris Barnard. Groote Schuur is Dutch for "Big Barn" - also the name of the stately colonial mansion that is the official residence of the South African President. (Perhaps they needed lots of large barns in the early days of Cape Town.)

As I drove past this misty morning, the sun briefly lit up the old section of the hospital. You can see the mist swirling in on the left, over the concrete "new" section of the hospital. The old section was opened in 1938, making it 72 years old.

I hear it is in rather a tatty state at the moment.

* with apologies to Webster.

Obviouzly Bright

This bright building in the trendy suburb of Observatory is the Obviouzly Armchair Backpackers & Pub.
I will be away tomorrow, so am cheating and posting this a bit early!
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Street lit

A street book stall in "Obs" - one of Cape Town's enduring student-trendy suburbs. Obs is short for Observatory and the one hundred and eighty-two year old South African Astronomical Observatory is still going strong.