Dear All
This is very overdue, so please accept my apologies! The rest of last week just scampered away ....
Unfortunately, on Sunday, the game drive could not happen as Gwa Humbe was covered in mist and the lightest of light mizzles. Instead we lingered over lunch ... just the six of us in the dining room with a log fire ... chatting about
this and that. When lunch was over, we visited RiverBend, which is one of the cottages ...and found ourselves sitting and chatting about action research and living theories matters and the contexts in which we work and live. We eventually drove back to DBN
at about 17.00 after a truly relaxing and refreshing day ...
Monday was a very busy workshop day with Jack at the Conference Room at the ML Sultan Campus. We had a good attendance again and much lively participation. In addition to all else, Jack was interviewed at lunch time by local radio about
BP Singh's book, 'The Chalk is Down', which was launched on Saturday evening at the Westville campus of UKZN. In addition, members of the proposed 'Transformative Education/al Studies' (TES) also attended the workshop... so Thenjiwe Meyiwa from Walter Sisulu
University, and Lebo Moletsane, Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, and Daisy Pillay from the University of KwaZuluNatal were with us for the day. At 15.00 when the workshop ended, we quickly convened a meeting of the TES Consortium members, and Sibu Moyo joined us.
We spent an hour discussing the proposal written by Kathleen, Thenjiwe and myself for R3 million funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa for 2011-2013. We suggested that it would be a good idea to write a critique of our own proposal
for publication in an accredited journal! This might still happen ... who knows??
On Monday evening, Jack had dinner with our DVC TIP (Technology, Innovation and Partnerships) Professor Otieno who sponsored our trip to NMMU in August, 2010.
We set out for Pietermaritzburg at 07.30 on Tuesday morning for the workshop due to run from 09.00-12.00at the Indumiso campus. By 10.30 we had not yet reached Cato Ridge due to the 26 vehicle accident and fuel spill on the N3. By 10.30,
I was becoming very concerned about our progress and realized that even if we reached PMB, there would be no time for a workshop, and it would be difficult to get Jack to the King Shaka International Airport in time for his flight back to the UK. We were fortunate
to find a way back onto the N3 to Durban, so were back at DUT by 12.30 for a restful lunch and last meeting, before leaving for the airport at 15.00. I finally saw Jack safely through the departure gates at 16.00.
Jack has once again been amazing! In spite of the daily schedule which started at 08.00-ish and finished at 21.00-ish, he shared his knowledge and wisdom warmly and generously with everyone who came into the workshops and meetings.
We have agreed on principle that he will visit with us again in June/July 2011 .. for further workshops to see how we are getting on ...
The feedback from participants has been most positive and appreciative. So we have work to do, and a sense of happy and enthusiastic purpose in the doing thereof ...
Thank you, Jack!!!! You continue to be an inspiration to us SeStuTHESA-ites at DUT! Thank you for getting to SA at this very very busy time in your schedule ... and being such a caring and sharing role model ...
Take care
Joan
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