Happy Christmas to all our guests! May this Christmas be one to remember and may you know the peace and joy which we celebrate at this special time of the year. We pray that 2012 dawns to bring you health, sufficient wealth and many good times with the people you love. We hope we see you again in 2012!

Legodimong Bed and Breakfast

528 Kruin St

Muckleneuk

Pretoria

012 343 5609

073 620 4160

www.legodimong.com

legodimong@mweb.co.za

When Spring comes...

Spring at Legodimong brings a profusion of colour and scent. As you enter the property these are a few of the sights to welcome you to our Bed and Breakfast. Come on in. This is a piece of heaven.

So near and yet so far (continuation of article below)

We stand above our government city Pretoria, the Washington of South Africa. We watch the planes fly in formation across the skies on national days of celebration. We see the crowds gathered at the Union Buildings on Youth Day or Freedom Day. Out of sight to the near west, are the two hills competing for attention with national pride - the Voortrekker Monument on one, and Freedom Park on the other, each representing its own world view. Each impressive, each inspiring. Below both, the Pretoria Station in all its Victorian splendour now includes the Gautrain terminal and the fast golden train flies high and then low on its new track to Hatfield and back, promising quick access to Johannesburg.

On the south UNISA holds proud position over the entrance to Pretoria, high on the ridge and demanding recognition. The biggest correspondence university in all Africa and possibly further afield too, UNISA spreads itself across the southern slope of the ridge, spreading more recently down into the city with an impressive new Registration Building and the Sunnyside campus. It is a power to be reckoned with, bringing academics from all corners of the globe to Pretoria, along with jubilant students from far and wide to their graduation ceremonies.

So near and yet so far

Legodimong is in Muckleneuk, Pretoria, nestled against the warm north-facing slope of the UNISA ridge. On a summer's day when there is no haze hovering over the city, one can see for miles to the north, past the stately Union Buildings, over the Wonderboomnek, all the way to the Onderstepoort hill.

Our house stands with its back to the south, alongside a portion of the old Groenkloof Nature Reserve proclaimed by President Paul Kruger, and its front facing north overlooking the city of Pretoria. We love to joke that at the back of the house we are in Johannesburg and on the front we are in Pretoria, so different is the weather! In winter there can be a difference of up to 6 degrees on either side, with Johannesburg pulling in the lower temperatures on the south.

We are perched above the city; so near and yet so far. Close enough to hear the zoo lions roar in the quiet early hours of the morning. Close enough to hear the roar of the crowds when the Bulls score at Loftus Versfeld Stadium. Close enough to hear the bells of the old Oos Kerk on a Sunday morning. Far enough to stay out of the daily traffic build-up into town. Far enough to watch the high-rise dwellers head for bed, one by one as they switch off their lights, leaving only corridor lights burning through the night. Far enough to watch the rain roll in from the west, dousing suburb by suburb until the city is lost in the squall and the rain batters on our roof. Close - or far - enough to count the hills around Pretoria and climb them during the holidays.

Night across a quiet city

Early - before the sun begins to swipe its light across the dark sky - our city of Tshwane/Pretoria lies peaceful and almost still. The view full of detail in the day is limited to a thousand sparkling lights tonight and it leaves me awed again and again. I don't tire of this immense vista, day or night, but at night I feel something deeply calming. The city is at rest. I look down on a gently rising and falling ocean beneath us, a sigh of stillness as the city slows its pace and gathers itself for the morning tide.