It's a small world ...

The Covid-19 pandemic has made the world seem like a much larger place, particularly so when you are separated from family by lockdown and travel restrictions.  Consequently, last week after exiting isolation it was very pleasant to experience two instances which would usually give rise to the claim that it is a small world. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I spent my primary school years in and around the coal-mining town of Newcastle in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The neighbouring town of Ladysmith was our sworn enemy in all things and particularly on the sporting field. Ladysmith’s primary claim to fame was that the British were besieged there for 118 days during the Second Boer War (11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902).  According to some accounts a young Winston Churchill was in the van of the relief. 

 

Imagine my astonishment when I saw a sign in Huonville saying “Ladysmith Park”. The Park is dedicated to the men of the Huon who served during the Boer War and the Siege of Ladysmith. Trees were planted on the site in 1902 and after 100 years, a period regarded as the safe life of the trees, they were used to craft a sculpture of a British soldier on sentry duty. It seems that I have come half way around the world and only to find Ladysmith on my doorstep again.

 

Then, soon after isolation ended we went on a hunt for fresh coffee beans. Cath found a place on the web called Cheeky Devil Roasters which had really good reviews, so we set off with high hopes. Things went rapidly downhill as we turned off the main road and headed into territory that reminded me very powerfully of the movie Deliverance (1972), which had terrified me as a young lad. I could almost hear those dueling banjos as we drove through deep eucalypt forest.  We couldn’t see any sign of coffee roasting at the designated address, so we turned tail and I floored the accelerator getting out of there. We then rang the number listed on the web and found that indeed we had been at the correct location. Even more amazing, the chap who owns the business turns out to be originally from just south of where I spent my undergraduate years at university! Cath and I have been invited back for a tour of the facility … cue banjos!