Chris McGregor was born the son of a Scottish missionary, brought up on church hymns and Xhosa dances. He studied at the Cape Town College of Music and discovered the black jazz scene. His septet played in the 1962 National Jazz Festival, and after founding the Blue Notes in 1963, he led a big band. Harassed by the authorities, they escaped the country through an invitation to the 1964 Antibes Jazz Festival. Fellow expatriate Abdullah Ibrahim helped them find work in Zurich, then at Ronnie Scott's in London and the Café Montmartre in Copenhagen. The Blue Notes mixed South African rhythms with free improvisation, an unprecedented fusion that created a completely original, unmistakable style (In Concert, Vols. 1 & 2, Ogun 1978). McGregor's big band, Brotherhood of Breath, enlarged the Blue Notes with free improvisers (Evan Parker, Trevor Watts, Paul Rutherford).
Annie Hallack (later Vardy) b. 1852. Left: Elizabeth Hallack (later English); Right: Florence Mary Hallack (later Paterson) (1869 - 1936). Daughters of Russel Hallack of Port Elizabeth.
Florence Mary Paterson b. Hallack (1869 - 1936). Well known amatuer botanist at Port Elizabeth. Daughter of Russel Hallack, also a keen amatuer botanist.
Close-up of the thatching of a Native laborer's hut. The stems and branches of the Spekboom have been flattened by pulping and then stacked one on top of the other.
The 'thatch' is made from the stems of Spekboom trees, Portulacaria afra. The dried stems are beaten with stones to flatten them, and are then packed on top of each other to form the thatch. There is no grassy thatching material in this dry Fish River area. No wonder the Spekboom is been destroyed so quickly.
Valley bush with Rhigozum obovatum at what must be its southernmost point of distribution here. More in flower elsewhere to the Suurberge after good winter rains.
