We arrive at
Johannesburg international Airport in the morning at just after
9am, having flown for 11 hours, and are met by my Uncle Les, his
wife Lynette and daughter, Caroline.
We make our
way to his house in Benoni, which is "10 minutes away" - more like
twenty! The temperature is in the mid-twenties which makes a pleasant
change from the freezing temperatures we left behind in the UK (they
had to de-ice the plane at Heathrow!).
The difference
in the cultures between the UK and South Africa is difficult to
spot at first glance, but becomes more apparent the more time we
spend travelling towards the family's house in Benoni. There are
many people walking along the roads, but every one of them is black
- White people, it seems, do not walk the roads!
My Uncle's house
in Benoni
When we arrive
at the family house, we are rested, introduced to my cousins Greg
and Alison, swim a little and imbibe a well deserved beer. We spend
the day catching up on twenty years and go out in the evening to
Lynette's brother's restaurant in the town - an exclusively white
establishment. This doesn't particularly perturb me, but does invite
the question of what problems are lying under the surface in this
seemingly normal country.
