Handlebards & Hedy Lamarr

Suddenly had to alter some maps this morning for a pending case on wetlands going to the high court.  Had been going to go back into school before going to HIFA but as it turned out the other teachers weren't going to be in today either and there is still no electricity - sigh. I need to have prepared everything for next week by Monday so I can go in and can give what I desperately need to be printed to the head and some sort of plan is going to be made. Will just have to do board work as much as possible but homework is a bit of a stretch as we don't have text books for each student and they usually get hand outs.

Just got to Girls High School in time for the play on Hedy Lamarr performed and written by Heather Massie. Fascinating to hear how Lamarr created frequency hopping. Food for thought that if the US had recognised her invention in WWII and used it as was intended to detect torpedoes, the war might have ended sooner and possibly might not have needed the atomic bomb. It was only in the '90s that Lamarr was credited when frequency hopping was used to develop WIFI, GPS and bluetooth. Heather Massie is in fact a physicist herself and uses theatre to show women in science.

I had some time to kill between Hedy and then the Handlebards. My mum and a friend Vee were going to Baroque 2000 (a classical ensemble from Durban) and then a play titled Bessie about Bessie Head. I pottered around the craft market and then decided to go in to the National Art Gallery to see the photographic exhibition by various photographers of the events here in November. They wouldn't accept Ecocash at the door though unless you were paying for five people which was a bit ridiculous. Found I had $2 in bond notes but would have otherwise walked away. I still had a bit more time, so had a strong cup of filter coffee at the Elephant and Pineapple before meandering to the Handlebards' Glade by the Monomatapa. I ended up being the first in line but some others joined me fairly quickly. We strategically didn't sit in front so we wouldn't get picked on for audience participation but it turned out the actresses picked on someone in the second row and he had to be both Romeo and Juliet at one point. It was very funny and luckily the trees offered some cover when it rained (yes it is still raining quite heavily - it should stop now as it's practically winter, but you do sometimes get wet HIFAs).

We hit peak traffic on our way home and there was a car accident to top it by Alan Wilson school (thought we were never going to move). We are headed back tonight for Slavic Soul Party (I shall take my raincoat).