Had a wonderful dinner with friends last night outside on their terrace overloooking Saxonwold and Killarney with Rosebank on the opposite hill top where all the cranes attest to the major building activity around the new Standard Bank satellite campus. Was one of those glorious balmy Highveld summer nights under a cloudless clear starry night sky.  So what’s happening [...]

Delta Park, 104 hectares of open park land, is just 5 blocks from Liz at Lancaster. The area now known as Delta Park was part of the  farm Klipfontein in the 19th Century. In 1902 it became a grazing area for cows as part of William Rattray’s estate.   Delta Park as we now know it, [...]

The Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust runs tours to interesting places which are very varied on their offerings.  Many of these tours provide access to places that one cannot always get to independently.  Sadly however,  the guiding  style and information provided can be a little superficial and descriptive, with in-depth information often tantalizingly lacking. But enjoy the outings.  [...]

In the new year I am going to ensure that I make a visit to the Brenthurst Gardens.  Guests staying here at Liz at Lancaster joined a tour and were completely enthralled.  Brenthurst, built in 1906 and the home of the Oppenheimer family since 1922,  is the only one the Randlords mansions on the Parktown Ridge that has survived [...]

Candlelight shopping Parkhurst : The outdoor shopping event Jozi looks forward to every year: Parkhurst 4th Avenue’s Candlelight Shopping. Enjoy 2 evenings of late night dining and Christmas shopping on Thursday November 24 and Thursday December 1  from 5pm to 10pm.
Parkview Charity Christmas Market The 2011 Christmas Market at the George Hay Park, Parkview (opposite [...]

  You can’t complain about the lack of variety of what’s on in Jozi this weekend:
* Sat …5th Nov at 14.00 Join Parktown Heritage Association for the last Jacaranda Walk of 2011; park at the La Roche offices, 54 The Valley Road; no booking necessary; R40; stunning views of Parktown & Forest Town; more info [...]

Watch Mercury overtaking Venus early evenings this week  As it starts to get dark, look over to the west for the very bright “evening star” – Venus.  Venus is so bright it can be seen in twilight. As the earth turns you will see:
 * Mercury appearing as a relatively bright ’star’ below left of Venus* [...]

So much to do over weekends in Joburg: Why not head out to Toadbury Hall in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Toadbury Hall offers specially packed picnic baskets to enjoy outdoors under a shady tree or in the warm sunshine. The menu changes with the seasons and includes a range of handmade snacks, [...]

Pay a visit to the Margaret Roberts Herbal Centre, on the outskirts of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site - learn about herbs at the Herbal Centre, have a  cup of tea at the tea garden or pay a visit to the historic apothecary.

Remember there’s a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday 15th June. It starts at 8:22pm, is total from 9:21 pm to 11:02pm, and ends at 00:02am. It will be visible from all of Africa, although north-west Africa misses the start. You don’t need any special equipment to watch this. The next total lunar eclipse will be [...]