Pluribus; Coca-Cola swims; slippery spiders; What I Want is Family
PS: Spend a couple of 2026 nights at Wildekrans Country House, a few days at Langebaan Beach Cottage or a week at Casa di Simonetta, with some walking, or none at all. E-mail info@greenmountain.co.za
Good Morning
Vince Galligan’s PLURIBUS, a new sci-fi series has our attention. ‘Pluribus has great lines and blackly funny moments but escapist fluff it is not. It’s almost as bleak as real life.’ writes The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan, November 2025.
Plur1bus takes its name from the unofficial motto of the United States ‘E pluribus unum’ a Latin phrase translated into English as ‘Out of many, one’. This original, unofficial motto of the US can be found on the country’s seal. In an American context, it refers to the federalist system which sought to forge a united republic out of disparate states but has been used in more recent times in reference to America’s status as a country of immigrants. The phrase was considered the country’s de facto motto until 1956, when, in response to Cold War tensions, the U.S. Senate passed an act formalizing ‘In God We Trust’ as the official motto. Brittanica.com
Back to The Guardian’s review of Pluribus. ‘Rhea Seehorn as protagonist Carol is the only U.S. citizen immune from an alien virus that makes everyone in the world supremely happy. It takes some chutzpah to look at the world in 2025 – especially if you are a non-Maga citizen of the U.S. – and say to yourself, ‘Yes, but wouldn’t it be almost more terrible if everybody just … got along?’ It’s easy to see why so many have embraced the AI reading of the series, as the idea of all humans being absorbed in a unified entity that is annoyingly eager to please very much recalls the state of AI. Generative AI models have been “trained” (without permission) on the work of artists, writers, filmmakers, photographers and countless internet commentators, whose words were vacuumed into the data set.’ Lucy Mangan
Forbes magazine takes this further with ‘The scene very much reflects the feeling of being an AI-hater surrounded by people who simply do not care if their media is AI-generated or not.’ A Forbes magazines reader comments that Vince Gilligan has perfectly captured how maddening it feels to watch everyone around you surrender to AI, while they act like you’re the crazy one for having critical thinking skills.’ Dani di Placido, Forbes.
Moving back to terra firma. This term’s Italian language class discussed Italy being the country to hold the highest number of sites on the World Heritage list, 61 of the 1,223 UNESCO sites worldwide.
The two sides and eastern end of the Elgin Valley abut World Heritage Site, The Cape Floral Region. South Africa has twelve UNESCO sites.
A week back I joined a group of hikers, lifelong friends from Pretoria (one now London), on their third day of the Blue Mountain Trail. This weekend on SAFM’s Jet Set Breakfast, Michelle Constant recalled her Coca-Cola swims on the Blue Mountain Trail, exclaiming on the glory of the golden tannin-rich mountain water, and the sheer soulfulness of bodies of water.
Andreas Groenewald taught us the symbiotic relationship between slippery legged spiders and the clever sticky fly catcher plant. “Roridula gorgonias, called Gorgons dewstick, fly bush or fly catcher bush in English and “vliebos” or “vlieëbossie” in Afrikaans, is a very interesting plant with a fascinating life story that can be found on our Blue Mountain Trail. Roridula is a genus of evergreen, insect-trapping shrubs, with only two species. Roridula gorgonias occurs in the Overberg, growing in acidic and nutrient-poor sandy soil, in relatively moist locations, at altitudes of between 150 and 925m.
The leaves and sepals are covered with many sticky hairs of different sizes, that trap insects. Roridula does not break down the insect proteins, but bugs of the genus Pameridea prey on the trapped insects. These bugs later deposit their faeces on the leaves, which take up nutrients from the droppings. To prevent it sticking to the leaves, Pameridea have a thick greasy layer that prevents direct contact between the resin on Roridula hairs and the insect’s cuticle. This allows them to roam freely across the plants.
To hear first hand the story of the slippery spider and sticky plant, watch Diane McCarthy’s video which will be posted next week. Follow us on Facebook (Green Mountain Trail) and Instagram (@greenmountaintrail)
The last two hikes of the year are upon us. First, a 2024 hiker returning with her family to celebrate her son’s graduation walking the Blue Mountain Trail. Closely followed by a mixed group from Jozi, starting their holidays on the Green Mountain Trail.
Huge gratitude to each of you for your stays at Casa di Simonetta, Langebaan Beach Cottage or Wildekrans Country House, your walking the Green and Blue Mountain trails or simply you reading our news.
Signing off 2025 with Jacqueline Suskin’s WHAT I WANT IS FAMILY
What I Want Is Family
Everyone come over, get
closer, be casual, stay late
and talk about things
that matter, laugh and roll
around in ideas, silly jokes
repeated, kids barefoot,
messy, nothing perfect.
Be dramatic or quiet, eat
and cook, dance and sleep.
Do it every day or once
a week. Rely on this place
and these people, rely on
this warmth. Be familiar
with each other, shared
stories, depth or levity,
just together under our
roof, our stars, our sense
of connection relentless
and satisfying.
-j.suskin
Feb, 2020
Huge gratitude to each of you for your stays at Casa di Simonetta, Langebaan Beach Cottage or Wildekrans Country House, your walking the Green and Blue Mountain trails or simply you reading our news.
With love
