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| Golden web spider at home |
I couldn’t go for a walk or a swim today. 35,000 cyclists were taking
part in one of the largest cycling events in the world around the Peninsula and
all roads to Kalk Bay were sealed off until after noon. The race is a
challenging one over undulating countryside with some steep mountain climbs and
is a little over 100 kilometres. First riders are away from the city centre at
06h30 and we heard the helicopter filming the overhead shots shortly after that
as the route brings the cyclists down the freeway which is not far from the
cottage. One of the natural hazards the riders often have to face is very stiff
winds, but today it was still, but very hot – about 35°C (95°F) – and more than
one hundred cyclists were hospitalised as a result. Madness I reckon.
Virtually trapped in the cottage, with only a golden web spider (and Rab) for company, I spent the morning catching up this
blog, having fallen some days behind, swimming and relaxing as the temperature
rose. There was no air-conditioning – just a ceiling fan, so I was not too
comfortable. My heart problems and the associated medications mean, as my
cardiologist says, that my internal thermostat does not work too well. As the heat goes up I become
enervated – I feel like those bunnies in the
Duracell advertisement as they gradually run out of power. I seem to
sweat less too, so that a cooling breeze or a fan merely means circulating warm
air over me, not allowing the cooling factor of condensation.
I had to venture out into the sweltering day after twelve when the roads
were open again to get some rolls for the braai this evening – sadly the last
here at the cottage as we are moving out tomorrow. I also had to collect, hopefully, the beaded figures from
Terence. There were no kornspitz rolls – our favourites – as the flour hadn’t
arrived, so it was said. Terence was as good as his word however and we now
have two reindeer and two matching angels to give the grandgirls for their
Christmas tree.
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| Sue |
Sue and Mike came around at fourish and we settled down to a good chat
and an even better meal. It was kassler and wors again after the success of
Friday’s meal and we had a good selection of wine from our foray into the
country with Sue and Mike earlier in the week. A quite three bottle evening and
early to bed after another swim.
A nice restful day, thanks to the riders.
MOVING TO THE STABLES Monday March 12
We moved today from the cottage to The Stables, the lovely B ‘n’ B run
by our old friends Lola and Rick Bartlett but
before I started packing for the move I got my morning swim in.
As I drove off soon after 06h30 I passed
dozens of smartly dressed women and men walking down the roads in the area.
They had all got off the bus that stopped at the end of Strawberry Lane and
were walking to the houses where they worked as housekeepers and gardeners. It
often takes an hour or more to get from the areas where most of them live, so
it makes for a long day for them. It is always a bit of a shock for us to
realize that most of our contemporaries still have servants. It is many years
since we had home-help!
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| Guinea making a run |
As I headed down towards Muizenberg and Kalk
Bay, I spotted a flock of guinea fowl feeding on the side of the road. It is not unusual to spot these birds and I
wonder how they survive in suburban areas where there is still so much poverty.
Surely they would provide a reasonable meal for someone who may otherwise
scavenge food from the trash cans of restaurants? Yet these people and the
birds survive side by side. Maybe they are more difficult to catch than I might
imagine.
Roadside vendors abound down here. They seem
to have stopped selling plastic hangars – well we haven’t seen those in
evidence – but black plastic rubbish bags are common lines, as are all manner
of small craft items and licence disc holders, but also larger items – bean bag
seats, cane furniture and so on. You can even get a new silencer fitted right
there. I think the prize for the most unusual item is grass – not to smoke, but
to lay down in the garden or yard. There is one spot where rolls of turf are
readily available. The fact that the site is very close to a golf course always
gets me wondering where the supplies come from – and another stray thought is –
how do the purchasers move a reasonable quantity – it isn’t lightweight
material.
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| Early morning at Dalebrook |
The water was delightful as the tide was
coming in and breaking over the pool wall sending up walls of spray. I managed
to get one half decent shot of a couple of little brothers enjoying the game of
balancing as the waves swept in.
Back to the cottage and we cleared the fridge
of all the contents, finishing the fruit and sundry bits of sausage and chops
on the “waste not, want not” principle. Then it was down to packing. Rab had
packed most of her case while I was away, but it is incredible how much we seem
to have accumulated in ‘extras’. Of course we weren’t packing as carefully as
we will have to next week, but we landed up with a great number of packages as
well as the two suitcases and the animals’ travelling box. The weather was
hotting up with a forecast of over 33°C. The work of shifting all the goods got
me sweating a bit more than usual so at least I felt a bit cooler in the gentle
breeze.
Paying for our stay presented a bit of a
problem initially as Judy, our hostess does not accept credit cards and of
course we don’t carry large amounts of cash with us in foreign parts. The cost
for the ten days we were there was R8,000 (A$1,000 or A$100 a day) which we
felt was pretty reasonable, although many of our friends thought we were being
somewhat extravagant. The normal
procedure would have meant using a bank transfer but those vultures charge so
much for the service that I was reluctant to spend the best part of another
day’s rent just to pay for what we had. It was far from clear if PayPal was yet
operating in SAfrica which still has very complex foreign exchange regulations.
My brother Steve said he thought that there was only one bank which offered the
facility, but, as it turned out, he was
not correct. I tried sending A$100 through as a test and Judy received that, so
I then sent her the balance. All done in a flash and at no charge. When will
the banks get the message? I guess when more people use PayPal more often.
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| The Stables |
Unloading the luggage at The Stables used less
effort as Oscar the gardener was on duty and carried the heavier items. He is
from Malawi and smiled when I greeted him in his own language – which is about
the limit of my knowledge. The pool, which is just outside the door of our room
beckoned after we had unpacked and I thought I could have a quick dip before
heading back to Kalk Bay for lunch with my brothers. What a shock to the system
to find that the water was warmer than I’d run a bath. Rick has solar heating which he does not turn off even
in summer as, it is said, his guests who are mainly British like the warm
water. OMG! Not for me. I quickly had a cool shower which was much more
refreshing.
Off to Live Bait, one of the eateries in the
Kalk Bay Harbour. I was amazed at how much traffic there was and how many cars
were parked in the somewhat limited space available when I got there at a
little after 12h30. the car guards were stacking the vehicles very tightly and
I got a good spot, but was a little late in the end – about seven minutes in
all. It says something for my reputation for promptness that the brothers
thought something must have happened to me and even called Rab.
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| View of False Bay from our table |
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| Overlooking the harbour - our house was above the corner of the building |
The restaurants around the harbour have
spectacular views and an excellent reputation. On most days you can see the
fish that will be served in the restaurants being landed from the fishing boats
and that is part of the attraction. People milled around, some of them buying
the fresh fish for their own kitchens, others just to see the sights. The seas
had calmed down a little so we could have the windows open (at least until
someone complained!) and it was very relaxing sitting there with the gentle
wash of the waves on the rocks below. The purpose of the meeting was for the
boys to get a full briefing on my current health status away from the womenfolk
so that we could speak frankly. I always try to spell it out as clearly as I
can, but some of the complexities can, at times, create a reaction that I have
seen when Steve gets onto his genealogy subject. A somewhat glazed look would
probably be the best description. I had
a very good salad as did Steve; I think we both envied Pad his excellent looking
fish and chips which was certainly better looking and better value than Doyle’s
in Sydney.
Back to The Stables for another shower – it
really was a hot day – and a snooze. I’ve found that since my reference to heat
being enervating doesn’t always ring a bell, I now use the analogy of the
Duracell Bunny. My energy just drains away, leaving me feeling pretty lousy.
The hotter it gets the quicker the process.
Fortunately I had enough energy incorporated
from my nap to get into the bar where Rick offers drinks to his guests and
where most of them gather in a wonderful atmosphere for a chat before they go about their business
for the evening. It is a good way of meeting the other guests and although the
session is usually for about an hour, there have been times when that has been
extended somewhat, especially when guests have brought in some of the wine they
may have purchased when touring the vineyards. This was not one of those
sessions however, so they dispersed in an orderly fashion, leaving us chatting
with Lo and Rick about the almost half century that Rab has known them – I only
met them 45 years ago, so I’m very much a Johnnie Come Lately.
I had assumed we would be going out for a meal
and was somewhat taken aback by Rab saying that since I had lunch (she went out
to lunch with Lola and Lorna and had a more substantial meal than I) and a good
deal of biltong in the bar, we could make do on the scraps we had salvaged from
the cottage. No point in arguing, so I fell in with her requirements and fell
into bed to sleep soundly.
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