Union Day

I spent last Friday with a good friend and her husband learning about a beautiful South African building and landmark.

Susara has been a wonderful friend here in South Africa. I met her last year when she presented herself at my door, because another friend of hers (now also mine!) and  president of the Pretoria Jacaranda Quilters that I  had been corresponding with mentioned to her that I had moved in on her street. One day Susara arrived on a whim, and was just going to leave a note attached to a Fat Quarter of Shwe Shwe with the guard. But I was home, still waiting for our House Effects to arrive, and really didn’t have much in the way of stuff, but I did have the makings for tea.

Susara and her husband Johnny picked me up and we went over to the University of Pretoria for day of lectures and presentations on the Union Buildings; the history, the architect and the location.

(I did not take these pictures, the building is huge- the picture above is only showing a bit of each side, the photo below shows the whole building)… I learned a lot about a beautiful building and the grounds and the people that were instrumental in building. The last lecturer did a talk on the furniture in the building, much of it was designed by the Architect. Talk about industrious. The University has a web page devoted to the South African Architecture and the histories. I will use this when an area we are visiting doesn’t have much in the way of other things to photograph.The Union Buildings are coming up on the Centennial of their completion in 2013.

The Union Buildings sit up on a hill and are remarkable to view, and I would absolutely love to see inside. There is from all accounts and the few pictures, lots of wood, large windows and wide halls and passages. The building is still the seat of Government here, so having a bunch of people troop through… is not condusive to a work environment.

One thing everyone can seeare the gardens. We were here in 2010 on a beautiful summer day in January and saw the flowers and roses in bloom. I would love to take a trip back, but I can’t go alone, as security on the grounds is ‘iffy’, especially in the ‘Natural Garden Area’.

The picture on the left is looking up the hill and the photo on the right is looking down the hill.

More Later-Beth