Talking of Walks

On Sunday was the annual Walk the Talk fundraising event where 50 000 people pound the pavements of Joburg, starting and ending about 500 metres from our house. Those who've been watching this blog since it's beginning (I know there are at least two of you ;-) will know that means that the second anniversary of A Sketch in Time is therefore coming around soon! I'm embarrassed to read on last year's post I did about the walk (this is the first one), I vowed that BFG and me would be partaking next year...ahem, coff, coff, we weren't quite feeling up to, er, registering in time, and when we were feeling fitter, well, um, it was just too late...darn! I'm ashamed that a declared Sketcherciser chickened out - again, but we went down to watch and encourage, with camera and sketchbook, and it was lots of fun. My sketch of the walkers isn't nearly as 'accomplished' as last year's - that's because I tried to do it live, on the spot, with no techno-aids... just impossible really, they all came at me so thick and fast.
So I gave up and we went to Mark's Park where the end-celebrations were taking place. I sat in front of the stage and started sketching a group, trying to get a view of the interesting looking befeathered and beskinned people sitting in it, and on the stage - Bongani who sang, and some wizard soccer-ball jugglers with drummers.

Then the people in skins jumped onto the stage and began some very high-energy, high-kicking, stomping and springing - they were a Zulu dance group, I don't know from where - perhaps Gold Reef City or some such tourist destination - we don't generally have Zulu warriors and maidens in full regalia strutting around the streets - I thought they'd dressed up for the walk, as many do.


After their spirited show a group of Tswana dancers went up - dressed in different skins, they did a much more restrained performance - it looked like a courting sort of dance with much flirting, pleading and spurning going on.

I sketched these in a very small A6 sketchbook - trying as always, to be inconspicuous, but a few people around noticed and came to have a look over my shoulder, making me feel embarrassed at the little squiggles I'd produced. They were improved after I'd added a bit of colour at home.


While I was busy trying to make a scribbled record of the day, my husband was having a whale of a time routing out some famous sportsmen who were donating their time and energy to the occasion and it's charities, and cajoling them to pose with him for his version of a brag book. Here he is with, from left to right, Michael Vaughan, the ex-England cricket Captain, 'Baby Jake' Matlala, our flyweight boxing champ, and Bafana Bafana soccer star/ex-Leeds United captain, Lucas Radebe. He already has pictures with many of the Springbok rugby team who he was overjoyed to find himself with, on a flight from Cape Town some time ago, and with whom he now identifies so strongly that the green-and-gold Springbok jersey is donned at every opportunity.