A different view on current affairs & history
What a strange adage. More like the title of a PhD thesis in Philosophy than a high-falutin term for the seemingly intentional behaviours or happenings with non-sentient objects.
To pass time whilst jogging, runners often engage in inane conversations about the most frivolous topics. It was one such runner, Elbert Loubser, who introduced me to this concept.
Main picture: The remote that flumoxed the Loubser household
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Passionata, my enthralment with mills. I was terribly disappointed last year when I was unable to join the Border Historical Society, in East London as an invited speaker, on the subject of my passion, ‘mills’.
‘Raised’ in my formative years, in the NE Transvaal, by my beloved grandfather, {and orphan, escapee from Estonia 1917} he indulged my interest, as a true Rabbi by searching for mills while was away at boarding school. On my return, there would be an adventure to a farm in the district, to visit, that had a mill.
Main picture: Bradshaw’s Mill
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Main picture: CO2 Emissions in the UK from 1850 to 2016
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Mill Wheels Grinding- aka {Yenta searching for mills- like any good Jewish Donna Quixote would do} even if its chasing biscuits.
PORT ELIZABETH EC Biscuits- circa 1862- am copying this here, as I found it whilst looking for mills, and I had saved the mill pics months ago. Not quite the mills I was looking for, however, as fascinating, as there was similar factory, in East London EC.
“Remember PYOTT’S BISCUITS – makers of Salticrax, Romany Creams, Iced Zoo and many other SA favourites? Today they’re all branded under the Bakers label and the Pyott name is all but lost forever.
Main picture: Original Pyott’s factory in Port Elizabeth
Prior to the construction of the harbour wall in the 1920s, the beach from the Baakens River to the Shark River was largely unusable for swimming purposes. This is the reason why the first beach south of the Baakens River to gain popularity was Humewood.
Yet after the erection of the harbour wall, there was a steady accumulation of sea sand against the sea wall to the point where the accumulated sand now stretches along the whole length of the wall.
Main picture: Sand dunes covering the whole of what was to become Humewood and Summerstrand. Even though it is unclear, there is no beach along the coast
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{aka Yenta searching for mills} like any good Jewish Donna Quixote would do.
What began as a mild interest, seeing that I live near historical mills, has become an abiding passion. One of amazement and learning, to a degree that has me searching via the internet, physically looking for old mills, and listening to many, many stories, from farmers or ‘mill families’.
Main picture: Horse Mill
The CSAR existed from 1902-1910 and was well-known for its extremely luxurious suburban and main-line trains which were generally regarded as the most well appointed in South Africa and compared well to the best in the rest of the world. One of these four A-17’s was named the Pongola and became car No. 146 in 1911, and saw service until 1926 as a type A-17.
Main picture: Dining car of the Pongola 146 in its heyday
Main picture: Al “Scarface” Capone
It is not just the fact that the Chinese can manufacture their goods cheaper than the Americans, but it is also how slickly and cheaply the logistics system operates. One aspect of this chain, are these monster container ships.