Hippos and Rudyard Kipling..

What do they have in common Jean?

Nothing.. yet EVERYTHING!

Its like chalk and cheese!

Hippos came back with me in my suitcase after my trip back to South Africa last year.. 

They are pure delight to me

Every time I see them it takes me back instantly to that day that my mom and I stopped next to the roadside en route to lunch, and we purchased them.
And then went onto this divine restaurant called
'On the Rocks' Blouberg Beach Cape Town South Africa 

Lovely last day spent together mom and I had! 

 

The weather was perfect.. Not a cloud on Table Mountain.

Aah.. perfect memory!

My 85 year mom, still so strong, and determined, so healthy and so fit!

Now to get back to Rudyard Kipling.. 

South Africa

Kipling in South Africa

In early 1898 the Kiplings travelled to South Africa for their winter holiday, thus beginning an annual tradition which (excepting the following year) was to last until 1908. They always stayed in "The Woolsack", a house on Cecil Rhodes' estate at Groote Schuur (and now a student residence for the University of Cape Town); it was within walking distance of Rhodes' mansion.^[39] With his new reputation as Poet of the Empire, Kipling was warmly received by some of the most influential politicians of the Cape Colony, including Rhodes, SirAlfred Milner, and Leander Starr Jameson. Kipling cultivated their friendship and came to admire the men and their politics. The period 1898–1910 was crucial in the history of South Africa and included the Second Boer War (1899–1902), the ensuing peace treaty, and the 1910 formation of the Union of South Africa. Back in England, Kipling wrote poetry in support of the British cause in the Boer War and on his next visit to South Africa in early 1900, he became a correspondent for The Friend newspaper in Bloemfontein, which had been commandeered by Lord Roberts for British troops.^[40] Although his journalistic stint was to last only two weeks, it was Kipling's first work on a newspaper staff since he left The Pioneer in Allahabad more than ten years earlier.^[18] At The Friend he made lifelong friendships with Perceval Landon, H. A. Gwynne and others.^[41] He also wrote articles published more widely expressing his views on the conflict.^[42]Kipling penned an inscription for the Honoured Dead Memorial (Siege memorial) in Kimberley.

'Something of Myself' Rudyard Kipling
is a memoir not only for Kipling admirers,
 but for anyone who cares about the arts and craft of writing.
'Something of myself 'was composed in the year before he died
and published posthumously. its spare, polishes phrases and masterly anecdotes offer a unique insight into the mind of this divided man who upheld the Victorian imperialist values of
duty, patriotism and obedience, and yet sympathized with outlaws and children.
Kipling describes with unforgettable vividness his bitter childhood years
in the 'House of Desolation'
 his apprenticeship to the craft of writing,
through the hard grind of journalism in British India,
his beloved parents and his pride in his own work.