I have to post early as we have a power cut at 5pm, 1.5 hours away.
We are dismantling our garden in preparation for a move and this Gecko jumped onto Marian's arm.
The new Stage 4 declaration means that we will now have 4 power cuts per day, for the rest of this week. Bad news as we are already struggling with two cuts and the lack of electricity is playing havoc with our economy.
In any case, let me show you some more of Marian's happy occasion.
Come and look.
See what I mean about true happiness?
She was ecstatic with this brave little guy, not knowing that he was desperate as we moved a trellis and he wanted to get back to it.
But of course, she put him down when he walked down on to her hand and he scurried off in such a hurry that I couldn't get a shot of him.
Meanwhile, the squirrels were also very busy in the garden at the same time, worried that we would uproot the nuts that they buried.
Hard and thirsty work for the squirrels to dig up their nuts and to bury them elsewhere where we were not busy:)
What can I say? A lack of electricity is not nice in good weather, and now that Winter is creeping in it is going to be cold and bad for us. We have many hungry souls in the townships and a big danger is that without electricity in the shacks, they use candles. And if the candles are not constantly watched, they fall over and burn the shacks down. Yesterday, we had a family of five that died when their shack burnt down.
At times, when a shack is on fire, the fire spreads to the other shacks and it can burn half of a township down with the residents losing everything.
So, we face many struggles, but thankfully Mother nature keeps us happy.
And That's All Friends.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.
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How long do the power cuts last for.4 a week is a hell of a lot!
And yes, that was a very cute little encounter!
Normally 2.5 hours each. Good news is that the 5pm power cut is done in other areas, and we have escaped this one. So the next one is at 10pm tonight. That one will get us for sure.
That is one cute a daring little critter and clever enough to take a ride.
!BEER
2.5 hours. Ouch! Here's hoping this nonsense ends soon
Yeah and a real pain my friend. Certainly will not end soon.
It started in the end months of 2007 and due to the old power stations that is way past their designed lifetimes, a lack of planning and maintenance and we are now faced with the results that will last into the future.
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BEER.Moving? I missed that was in your plans. Those power cuts are brutal.
I hope you are going to a new place with plenty of new wildlife to keep you both entertained.
Thank you and yes, the noise from traffic and people has finally decided it for us. A new place that is quiet and luckily the wildlife is all over here.
!PIZZA
I'm very excited for you! You deserve a quiet, peaceful place, rich with nature!
Thank you for the kindness milady and for your understanding about our dilemma.
!LUV !PIZZA
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They are not fun and have looked at the level 4 schedule and it is nasty. Basically 4 cuts per day with 90 minutes of power and 150 minutes of nothing on a recurring cycle. I hope it does not happen as we need at least 6 hours to run our material at the factory. Seriously contemplating the big move as this has no future.
Maybe you know that my eldest daughter took her little family and emigrated to the UK last year.
I talk to her every Sunday and they are so happy there.
You will be in real trouble if they raise it to Level 8, as some experts are saying that it can happen soon.
Maybe a big generator can help with your material runs?
Costly of course.
Pure madness and have options on the table setting up somewhere else whether another business or relocating the factory to another country. Big generator is just too costly as I know a factory spending R20k per day on diesel which is probable tax exempt as it is a cost but still a hassle. I am not prepared to go down that route and inclined to think moving is the only option now.
If the factory is profitable then it will be best to set it up elsewhere methinks.
You have put a mountain of work in to make it successful and it would be a pity to waste it.
Yep, a big generator is certainly a money drain, but I know that you will select the best option available to you.
Here in the Western Cape they are working at generating their own electricity for the province, totally independent from Eskom and I hope to hear some good news soon.
That would be excellent and hope it happens. Eskom is never going to be fixed unless it is privatised and even then what will the costs be. I think my mind is already made up and just got to take the time to plan everything. Sad that you have to start all over but it will be for the best.
Yes, it will indeed be great news. Some political parties are already fighting against Eskom being privatised, but I just cannot understand their argument, as surely they have seen the results of the government monopoly.
Thankfully you have time to plan everything and the production have to have only a short interim before you start up again.
I was employed by a big company and had to manage their re-location from Illovo to Modderfontein, without interrupting the production systems.
So we took the machines over two at at time, strip at the old place, load on the trucks and accompany the trucks to the new factory. Offload and used forklifts to transport each machine to it's new place and assemble the machines immediately. I had 5 fitters and two electricians and as a team we moved 30 machines in this way. We all worked double shifts.
Good planning is essential and you have the experience.
!BEER
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BEER.Aw the interactions are so cute! Although the gecko must have been terrified.
I wasn't in the loop, so I didn't learnt much about the power cuts in your area... What was causing them? It doesn't sound very good, hope all goes well and it returns to normal soon.
Thank you and surprisingly the gecko was as cool as a cucumber, almost like he catches a lift on humans every day.
We have very old powers stations that are being run way past their lifetimes and for the past couple of years we have had regular power cuts. They built two big new ones, but they don't work due to design faults and corruption.
So the power cuts are estimated to last for at least another 10 years.
A very sad situation.
!BEER
That's really a sad situation... Corruption is a terrible thing. Hopefully there will be hope for a change for the better in the future.
It has been one long hard battle my friend and nobody knows if and when things will improve.
Such is life.
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BEERKING.touchy! I have some pictures in the same 'lizzy on me' jangre (with my babygirl))))
Great and maybe you must also post them :)
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Yes, definitely one day when I stumble that certain folder and not be side-tracked by any other stuff xD
!LUV and !PIZZA for you, again 🤩
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Hahaha, I work the same way, as the only times that I go to my files is when I cannot go out to take photos. Then I stumble on many stories that I haven't posted.
Some more !LUV and !PIZZA also for you.
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The fresh recent photos are always the best photos indeed. Very subjective but true - that is how hooman's psyche works. Thanks for the extra tokens, a hot mushroom !PIZZA and !LUV back. 🙏
Fresh is indeed the best. Hooman's psyche I will say nothing about 🤣
A white pumpkin !BEER and !PIZZA will make a nice party.
Hooman's psyche is a 'dark matter', as , er... thats a famouse saying in one of classic soviet movies. even !BEER cant help to understand it. nothing but !LUV - I just returned from a cool little night walk with my baby and is full of happyness. but we missed the !PIZZA, itwas was too late already 🍕🤪
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His size is cute. I wanna hog things like that!
Thanks and he is indeed a cute critter!
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That looks scary to me
Nope, not scary at all as lizards are harmless.
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When I lived in Africa, my house would be full of geckos, I loved them as they kept down the mossies in the house. They are so cute as well.
The power outages are a pain in the arse, and I can see it will only get worse before it gets better. That is what happens when you don't maintain the infrastructure.
So sad to hear about the townships, and the shacks yes, usually they are on top of each other, and if a fire takes hold then bam it rips through a whole neighbourhood, I have seen it happen in too many countries.
As usual, it is the poor that suffer.
Good luck with the move Zac.
Did I tell you that a gecko dropped from the roof into an Eskom inspector's plate of food?
I worked on the the high electrical feed towers and a local inspector had lunch with me in my rented cabin when it happened. He was not very impressed with the table manners of the gecko :)
Yep! No maintenance for years and running the old machines into the ground comes at great costs later on. It is going to get much worse as there is also corruption and sabotage at play.
Some reckon that we might soon see Level 8 power cuts. (8 power cuts per day)
Time for the authorities to wake up and to start providing proper mass housing systems. I think that's never going to happen for many reasons.
So you are right, as the suffering will simply continue.
Thank you and we are used to moving my friend.
!BEER and !PIZZA in case the one or the other is finished.
jaja that is quite brilliant, and well done to the fearless gecko🤣
Yes preventative maintenance, people have no clue, much our costs in the oil industry was for preventative maintenance. Keeping on top of things will make things last longer, but when you do bugger all, then you are goosed. Seems that is where you guys are at now big time.
Level 8 seems ridiculous but words won't solve anything.
It really seems that South Africa has gone backwards, I thought that townships with respect to shanty towns were going to be replaced years and years ago.
Yeah I remember you telling me often you have moved over the years!
Have a great weekend:)
Preventative maintenance is a priority and it was drilled into us during my apprentice years.
Never do a job if the preparation was not done correctly. Simple things like washing a wall before it is painted is not done anymore. People like to take short cuts for quick money and 3 months later the same job has to be done again.
All empty talk only to get votes by the politicians. Our president said last week that there will be no Level 4 taking place and today we received notice that Level 4 will be implemented today.
So no proper changes to the townships and no electricity in winter.
If we suffer, then imagine how the poor people suffer.
We are confirmed nomads my friend and I hope that your weekend is also good.
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