Castle of Good Hope...but where is South Africa of good hope?

Our outing to the Cape Town Military Tattoo at the Castle of Good Hope turned out to be an evening full of surprises, but also one of deep reflection. The theme of the event was the celebration of 20 years of democracy. Now, some may ask...what is there to celebrate since we have become a country with the highest figures for crime, murder, corruption, HIV and a number of other ills. Nothing comes to mind when I try to think of positive aspect of which we are the leaders or frontrunners. But, that is no way to start an evening...

Jordi and Damita posing in front of one of the canons which was later to form part of the event
 

Garry and the children posing in front of the monument in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the war
 

The Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town

 

The organization of the event was excellent and planned with military precision. The show was spectacular, the music of a high standard and I was proud of our military bands (the South African Army Band Western Cape, The Cape Town Highlanders, The South African Navy Band, The Algoa Caledonian Pipe Band, The Pipe Band of the 1 Medical Battalion and of course The South African Army Band Kroonstad, just to mention a few).

It is difficult to make an exception of any one event, but the performance by the TS Woltemade South Africa Sea Cadets was not only highly entertaining but made me proud of the skill and discipline displayed by our young people. They performed without a leader and did it without fault.

The young navy cadets moving in a figure eight

It was with sadness that I watched the motorcycle-cade displaying the flags of the different military services that came together under the umbrella of the SANDF after 1994. Upon hearing Nelson Mandela's recorded voice in the background I reflected about how much hope we had for this country and I wonder if this is just the pendulum swinging from very positive to very negative and that somewhere we will find a balance...or is this country on a downward spiral and lost forever? I hope and trust it is the former.

By the end of the evening I feel some nostalgia for what we had...the hopes and dreams and I decide that we cannot give up. We have to go forward with a positive attitude, regardless of our leaders having lost their way and that they are wandering around in the wilderness...albeit with more money, fancy cars and houses than they need. Regardless of the lies and cheating and their disregard for the poor...regardless of the fact that they live only for themselves and try and rape this country of all its resources. This is my country...my country of birth. I have nowhere else to go and I cannot allow anyone to take my hope away. I need to feel proud of that which I am part, that which I was born into. Regardless of who runs the country, I need to be proudly South African!

One of the final acts with all the role players

The Lone Piper