THE MESSAGES OF AN OLD WORLD

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!!

MAXMOM here...

Hello there to all my friends across the world!

(I hope this message will reach you...!)

Our recent trip to Mpumalanga (see previous post) left me with 770 photographs!!!
(Not bad for four days don't you think!?)
 My camera hardly left my hands and I realised then why the area is so appealing to artists and the numerous creative people who live there.
There are so many little 'studios' and quaint dwellings everywhere and it suggests that the environment promotes a creative ambience with beautiful people who live there.

Having said this, you will understand that I have millions of things I can blog about, my choice (from the photos) is endless!

It is apt that today I tell you a little about the..

PRINTING MUSEUM IN PILGRIMS REST

PILGRIMS REST
is my favourite little town in the whole of South Africa!
 It sets off my imagination and allows me privy into a world of the past.
I could get lost in its history!

The town was shaped in an era where hopes were high for the discovery of gold. 
Pilgims Rest blossomed in the late 1800's and people travelled from far and wide, by horseback or ox-wagon, through treacherous terrain and prevailing diseases, in search of the dream of discovering a gold nugget in the little stream adjacent to the little town. There they spent many hours toiling in their pans for the elusive 'shiny one', only to drown their sorrows in makeshift pubs that evening!
Nowadays when one walks around the town, one can almost hear their drunken songs.
 
The entire town has been converted into a national monument.
Each little house is steeped in history and atmosphere....

...and there were folks who recorded its history...

(The 'office' in the Printing museum)

Should you ever visit there and really want to "experience" the town, you need to set aside an entire day!
But for the moment, let's focus on the little Printing Museum with its polished stone steps and wealth of printing paraphenalia...

(Who know what this gadget is???)

The little museum tells about days gone by and how budding journalists tried to spread the news of the prevailing gold rush.

There are many examples of the equipment the printers used...

But perhaps you'd like a glimpse of what they produced...

Nowadays we have so much at our modern disposal and I suggest that we take much of this for granted. We have scrapbooking shops, stores with endless supplies of cards, the internet and it's own supply of "cyber" messages. It is hard to believe that an era like that even existed!

 Can you imagine what it must have been like to receive a specially printed card in those times?

...Remember too, that those cards would have been loaded into mail bags which were hauled up hills and down valleys, on horseback, by a weary mail rider. It sometimes took months for the post to arrive (if it actually did?). Yet the spirit of communication prevailed and the cards served to re-seal old contacts with loved ones and friends.

It just makes me wonder if the time and trouble people took for their friends in those times still prevails today?

It's just a thought...

We are having some serious internet problems, so I hope that this blogpost today, will serve to uplift you in the same way those beautiful cards did in that long lost time.

Sending lots of love to you all...!

Please note that South Africa is having enormous internet problems at the moment. Apparently it is due to damaged sea cables which connect us with the rest of the world. 
I am thus not able to visit many blogs at the moment . 
Perhaps a message to all my friends across the world, via horseback or sailing ship, would reach you faster:)
I am sending my love to you all and hope that the problems of communication will soon be sorted out.
(They say "Perhaps" it will be rectified sometime next week)
With love
MAXMOM