Historic Glenshiel

 My friend Anni arranged for us to go and sketch in the beautiful gardens of Glenshiel on Saturday, one of Johannesburg's historic Randlord homes, housing the Order of St John which ran it as an auxiliary military hospital during World War Two, and now as an ambulance service. I chose a view with plenty of flowers and foliage in the foreground so as not to have to tackle all that architecture, just having a manageable corner peep through. Even so, it took me most of the afternoon to get that little bit of building down.

After that effort I turned to a tiny house that I thought had been some lucky little girl's wendy house, but which I now read is 'Polly Ann', one of many similiar Tudor Style cottages that were built as a a fundraising effort during the war, forming 'Olde England" with a Wishing Well and a Town Sign Post - I was wondering what those were doing there!

And last, with my architectural skills exhausted, I sketched a gnarled old tree trunk before going on a stroll around the rest of the property, finding a rose garden, a waterfall with a pond, plenty of nooks and crannies and a beautiful view over the Northern suburbs - plenty to go back for if we get another chance.