Our cell group (life group or small group in some churches) decided to ride the Guatrain from Hatfield Station to Sandton City last Saturday and take a bite of Jozi's Big Apple! Not everyone could make it but those who did voted the day a great success. The train and stations are entirely disabled-friendly and so Wilma had her first ever train ride.

The Guatrain is an 80km mass rapid transit railway system in Gauteng Province linking Johannesburg and Pretoria or both cities to the OR Tambo International airport. The Pretoria- Jozi link only opened at the end of July. Commuters are voting with their feet and the train is a great success as its 34 minute scenic journey cuts out a frustrating car ride on an overcrowded highway. But the greatest fun is had by the number of families, couples and groups that are 'doing the Guatrain' just for pure fun. A festive mood reigned on the platforms on Saturday and we were not the only group having photos taken.

Here we stand at the feet of Nelson Mandela's statue (apologies to Madiba whose stature makes a full length photo shot impossible with a Nokia phone camera). You can see that Ermelinda and Gytree enjoyed the magnficient shopping in Sandton square. The train ride was a pleasure. I enoyed the beauty of our inland urban sprawl. Both suburbs and industrial areas are tree-rich and the grasslands in between are spring-green. Everywhere jacarandas are in bloom.