"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of dispair,"
Dickens, in his immortal words, goes on to say that he was "in short" describing a "period so far like the present period" and how often can these words be applied to the present day. Certainly they can be applied to the past year in South Africa falconry.
We have taken our place in world falconry by taking up our membership of the IAF. We have gained acceptance in conservation circles and are entrenched as members of the Bird of Prey Working Group. Falconry in South Africa has never been of so high a standard and compares with the best, internationally. All these positive aspects are reflected in articles in this publication.
Much sadder events are also recorded. We have lost Rudi De Wet, a real character, and one of South African Falconry's "old guard". We have also lost Ron Hartley, whose untimely death has left us all the poorer and whom knew him will sadly miss.
it has been the custom to use the work of South African Falconer and Artist for the cover of Mews Views. This year's cover is the work of H. Von Michaelis, is peraphs our greatest falconer/artist artist and author of several books, the best known being, Birds of The Gauntlet. The painting is used with kind permission of his son, Helmuth Von Michaelis who has also contributed an article recalling memories of life with his father. I think that this picture is both unusual, but also very appropriate for this publication. It shows the obvious fascination and wonder on the faces of the two youngsters. How many of us started falconry in just this way, our life-long enthusiasm sparked by contact with an often inappropriate but enthralling bird. This is the hope for the future of falconry and emphasises our need to invest in the youth.
I hope that this year's contribution will give pleasure, food fo0r thought and some useful information. My thanks go to all the contributors, both those I have bullied and cajoled into writting for us and those, often unexpected, who have contributed without prompting. This publication is yours, enjoy it.
Good Hawking
Adrian Lombard
Editor: Adrian Lombard
40 Forrest Way, Glencairn, 7975.
Cape Town, South Africa.
E-mail: Lombard@mweb.co.za
Phone: 021-7823883
Cell: 083 462 9486
Contributions are welcomed, as are photographs and artwork.
Please send articles as a word document attachment
The opinions expressed in these articles are not necessarily the opinion of the editor or of SAFA.
