African Adventure
In January 1832 the Reverend William Davies with his wife Sarah and young two year old son set off from Deptford on the Barque Eclipse, destination Cape Town. William was a self funded Baptist missionary, responding to a plea from the first wave of settlers for ministers of religion.
The Eclipse foundered in a storm in the Cap Verde Islands. The child drowned and Sarah gave birth to twins on the beach, one of which died. I have an eyewitness account of the shipwreck!! It took two months for the Davieses to be rescued and they returned to London whereupon they set out again reaching Cape Town in December that year.
William was my cousin, nephew of my 4G grandfather Daniel Davies and was one of the first Baptist missionaries to venture forth in Africa. Lurgi abounded and he only lived a few years after he got there but I have extracts of his letters home to the Baptist Magazine describing their lot. His wife predeceased him but they had a number of children who survived, one of whom married a famous South African pioneer whose name escapes me but who became the subject of a play in the modern era.
Things are very different in 2024. Hannah and I have a very comfortable overnight flight from London landing in Cape Town just under twelve hours later. There is only a two hour time zone difference so we anticipate being able to hit the ground running. A driver is meeting us off the plane and we plan to spend our first day exploring the Waterfront around the hotel.
What a difference. Twelve hours drinking champagne and sleeping in a comfortable ish bed (well at least it will be horizontal) versus twelve months of seasickness, shipwreck, peril and poor food. At least with a journey time of twelve months they would definitely not have noticed the time zone change 🙂
This is the last in the cycle of dad and lad trips in which I take one offspring on a journey of exploration and discovery. Just me and them. On this occasion it isn’t a dad and lad trip but dad and daughter.
William Davies settled in Grahamstown but unfortunately we won’t have time to visit there as it is too far to the east. We plan to spend most of our time in Cape Town, the wineries and part of the Garden Route before heading north to the bush and adventure. I bring with me anti-malaria tablets and three different kinds of insect repellent including the trusty Avon Skin So Soft.
I expect to bring home lots of photos and videos. I have approx 160GB of SD card capacity for the camera and a long zoom lens. Also binocs.
A car is picking us up from the Park Lane Hilton at 3pm to take us to the airport. In the meantime I am sat in my suite on the 24th floor looking out over Hyde Park. Joggers and cyclists abound as do the long queues of traffic on Park Lane. Who’d want to be a commuter driving into London?! Our Tom is meeting me for brekkie at oh eight thirty.
My plan at some point today was to spend some time in the Tate Modern but I may well just chill in the hotel. The suite is great as is the exec lounge.
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Spent some time sat in reception after arranging a 3pm checkout. It’s quite nice watching the world go by. Lots of accents to be heard around me. Many Americuns as you might imagine.
Then on my way down to the lounge from my room there was an old couple in the lift. He had thinning hair and reached into his back pocket for a comb to tidy up the front a bit. I didn’t notice any difference 🙂
Another, younger guy was smartly suited and smelled of aftershave. I am wearing my safari jacket which I noted was clocked by the besuited younger guy. Unlikely he thought I looked particularly cool. That will lose me sleep! Mind you the jacket is not something I normally wear other than when on safari. In fact I’ve only just bought it. It is fleece lined and is serving as a jumper when in the UK. Versatility is its middle name. Safari Versatility Jacket.
My lift companions were all resident on the 24th floor – expensivo . Now I’m sat in the window of the lounge looking out at Park Lane. There is coffee, there are croissants and the world continues to go by. I note that there is a huge pile of rubbish bags in the central reservation of Park Lane. V unsightly. It is a v dull day in London Town.
A member of staff is making her way around the lounge with a cordless vacuum cleaner strapped to her back. Very compact and tidy. The lounge has gradually emptied.
Behind me there is a meeting going on with someone from Hilton and a marketing agency. The Hilton guy has chosen them to do some work and is talking non stop. On the other side of the lounge a woman has been sat quietly on her own. She has a book on the table in front of her and is doing something with her phone. She has been smiling.
All the things you see when you have time on your hands. Can’t be bothered to do any work. The Hilton marketing guy is getting a bit boring. It’s been quite a one way conversation. Lots of corporate speak. I’m sorry I’ve sat where I’m sat but it does give me a good perspective on Park Lane.
Just realised the pile of rubbish is actually a bunch of tents crowded together. No sign of any movement. Life is not very equal is it? The most expensive property on the Monopoly board occupied by the poorest people. Makes you pause to think.
A few years ago THG and I were en route to the Intercontinental on Hyde Park for a weekend jaunt. Our journey down coincided with the migration of one million members of various unions to a rally in Hyde Park to protest about some government policy or other. Pay freezes I suspect.
A couple of observations sprang to mind. Firstly quite a few of the protesters against pay freezes had first class tickets. Don’t blame em. Secondly we thought it was v surreal that the room in our five star luxury hotel looked out over the park where the protesters were congregating. Let them eat cake.
It was quite similar when we went down for the protest against Brexshit. We were staying in the Trafalgar Hotel. It took us hours to walk the mile or two from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square at which point we decided it made more sense to retreat to the hotel’s rooftop bar and drink cold beer and cocktails. There was no way we could get anywhere near where the speeches were in Westminster anyway.
This trip has been a year in the planning. Somewhat surreal (I find myself using this word more and more) that the day of departure is finally here. T0 and no longer counting. Just waiting. Two and a half hours until Han arrives and we head to LGW.
Trying to imagine what William and Sarah Davies went through in their planning and preparations for their trip. A massive upheaval for them but supported by a high degree of religious commitment. A knowledge that they were doing the right thing.
I have the Last Will and Testament of William’s dad David Davies. He was the Rector (or curate – this is not clear as yet) of the established Church in Llandysul. His eldest son, John Phillip had effectively been written out of the will and most of the dosh left to William. At the time of the writing of the will JP had become a Baptist and established himself as a renowned speaker on the circuit in Wales. The father was not to know that William would follow in JP’s dissenting footsteps. David’s two brothers would also leave the church, one (my 4G Grandfather Daniel) as a Baptist and the other a Unitarian.
I haven’t got any further back in my family tree research than Daniel but I sense that the fact that David was an Anglican minister must mean there is more info in an archive somewhere. All three brothers must have had some sort of education. Their area in West Wales was the centre of the religious revival of the time. Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire.
There were lots of variations on Christianity, or at least the interpretation of the whole subject. Did Jesus die just to save those who believed in him or the whole of mankind. As a non believer I’d go for the latter but my vote probs doesn’t count. It seems daft that these differences were enough to divide people. Suspect they didn’t go as far as a punchup 🙂
The marketing meeting has broken up. They all have calls to make 🙂Unfortunately the Hilton guy looks as if he is going to make the call from where he is sat in the lounge. Another one way conversation. At least his voice is not too loud or irritating. Talking about the Conrad in Cairo and then the one in Istanbul, as you do.
I’ve moved back to my room which is a calm haven looking out onto the park. Banging out a bit of ABBA. Reasonably good speakers on the macbook pro fair play. Han is about to arrive, an hour earlier than plan. I think this’ll do for the day. I’m now moving into adventure mode.
Ngibambe kamuva.