(I got so far behind with this
diary/blog that I am only writing it days later. No doubt there will be less
detail than for earlier entries as a result)
It was cool when I woke up and looked out of the stable door to our
room. The foliage at The Stables doesn’t give much of a view of the sky and
since the sun had not risen yet, I thought it looked OK – there didn’t seem to
be any clouds. Once there was a bit more light as a drove through a slight
shower on my way to the pool, I realised there were no visible clouds because
the whole sky was nothing but high level cloud.
There were cyclists and runners everywhere again. I had forgotten how
these Kapenaars seem so very keen on their exercise. Although the major cycle
race is over until next year, there is a major marathon following a similar
track which is run after Easter each year. It has an enormous field, so all
these keen folk were training for that event.
It was raining again at Kalk Bay when I stepped out of the car and went
down to the pool and it was quite cool. We had been concerned about the weather
because Kate’s wedding was to be held at 17h00 but the forecast was for a good
afternoon and there were patches of blue breaking out to the South. By the time
I’d finished my swim there was a bit of weak sunshine and sure enough, by the
time I’d had my breakfast, the clouds had evaporated and the sun was out in
full force. Unfortunately someone had stolen the shower head at the pool so I
had to drive home sticky with salt.
Rab had an early appointment with the hairdresser, so we gave Lola’s
tasty breakfast a miss and I took her down to the salon. Fortunately there was
a restaurant – Tribeca – adjacent, and they had free WiFi. So I was able to
have an American breakfast - well, not
quite because the pancakes were a curious size; about a silver dollar size, but
three times as thick. But I got bacon eggs and maple syrup with them and that
was fine for me. It reminded me of many happy meals we’d had on our US visits
where breakfast is usually the most reasonably priced meal of the day. An
important issue in the early days of our travels when funds were really tight.
I read the Australian papers in my iPad as I sipped my excellent cappuccino –
that’s something that’s a bit difficult to find in the US – and felt somewhat
guilty since I was occupying a table in what turned out to be a very busy
restaurant as all the cyclists trooped in to refuel.
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| Minnie |
We had a lazy day. Rab and Lola chatted away pretty well non-stop and I
got on with my blog which was running a couple of days behind at that stage. At
least until Lola’s daughter Vicki turned
up with two year old son Oscar and mini-dachshund Minnie. That was a bit of a
distraction. It was good to see Vicki and Minnie reminded us so much of our
Barnaby. Although she is ten months old, she is still hyper-active and spent a
good deal of time chasing the shadows of the butterflies. Oscar showed off his
unusual swimming style. He is active in the water (and tells us he is a pretty
good surfer, like his Dad) but can’t get his legs up to kick as he swims, so he
paddles along with his head back and his mouth and nose just out of the water.
At lunch time Lola invited us to have a braai with her and Rick and
Oscar. She gave me a shout and asked if I could help her with the fire and the
cooking. I was happy to do this, although the fire wasn’t a bit light on
charcoal and the cooking took longer than it should have done. But time was no
problem, it was fairly cool under the shade of the extendable canvas, and the
chat went on – so may years to review. I was trying to ‘sell’ Lola and Rick the
concept of a big 50 Year Reunion in Australia next year with Jan and Ros – and
to celebrate their Golden Wedding Anniversary, but I don’t think we’ll see them
here. It’s a pity because Lola, in particular, with her interest in cooking
would be amazed at the quality and diversity of the food here, while Rick would
be amazed by the Australian Rules Football at the MCG. But…..you can lead a horse to the water….not
everyone enjoys travel as much as we do.
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| Kate and Steve, her father |
We headed off to the wedding a little early because we weren’t sure how
much traffic, parking or road work there was going to be. As it turned out,
there was plenty of parking and very little traffic while the road workers had
closed down for the weekend, apparently, so we were in good time. The
eighteenth century church was originally built by a benefactor in memory of his
daughter who had drowned at Danger Beach. It is a charming structure perched on
the side of the hill overlooking the harbour and Bay beyond. The guests were
all smartly dressed in contrast to some of the other weddings we have been to
in the past few years, where, it seems anything goes. Kate’s brother Nick was
an usher. He runs a shop selling graffiti based clothing and shoes and tends to
dress like his clients, so we didn’t recognise him initially all scrubbed,
shaved and suited.
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| Kate and Steve, her husband |
It was a lovely service and at the end of it we all stood along the path
leading from the church to the lych-gate with family at the end. The bridal
couple and their year old daughter, Ella, processed between the lines of guests
who showered them with rose petals, preceded by two musicians. One played the
violin and the other a concertina and it added so much atmosphere – they were
to continue to play for the best part of two and a half hours. Kate, Steve and
Ella then led the wedding party to a small local park for casual photographs and
then headed on up the hill to the small hotel where the celebration was to be
held. We didn’t follow the parade as the sidewalk, streets and pathways are
rough and the hill quite steep, so we drove up (and got a good parking spot!)
and waited for the party to arrive.
The hotel is on three levels – the main public rooms at the upper level
and two terraces below. A stone public staircase runs down the side of the
grounds. The way Kate had arranged things had her and her Steve (not my brother
Steve) coming down the steps, with the guests behind them, to a gate on the
bottom terrace. There they formally welcomed the guests who entered the
grounds, picked up a drink and chatted until the happy couple returned from
their photographic section.
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| The bride and groom join the party |
Rab and I were stymied by the rough and steep steps leading down below
to the so we sat up on the third level like those old blokes Statler and Waldorf in The Muppet Show, observing everything. It was
odd being out of the mainstream of the party, and we laughed when we recalled
the old folks from our youth who would sit quietly in the corner at functions
and realized we had become them. In due course the drinks were over and we sat
down amidst a lot of laughter and gaiety to an excellent meal.
I was fading badly by
about 10h00 when the dancing started – why is the music so darned loud and
cacophonous at functions these days, or is it merely that we are old and
intolerant, so we bade everyone good night and made our way home. It was a
lovely wedding and everyone was so happy. Nick had done a deal of design for
Kate based on Kate and Steve’s profiles. One of the items was a large canvas on
which we were invited to write a message. I wrote “Good luck to you both. May
you be as happy as we have been for as long as we have – 45 years and
counting.” Rab pointed out, when I told her what I had done, that it is only 44
years!!
LOAFING AROUND Sunday March 18 2012
When we said good bye and thank you to Stevie (the groom not the
brother) last evening, he asked if I would be having my normal early morning
swim the next day and offered as a piece of bait the plan to have Hot Cross
Buns on the beach. I said I would, but thought it might be a bit early for the buns, especially as he was
looking set for a loooong evening. He assured me he would be there because he
wanted a photograph of himself and his (very large) brother dwarfing the three
Herbert brothers.
Needless to say we didn’t meet. The concept of ‘early’ morning had a
different definition for the youngsters in the bridal party and me. My early
morning was waking about 5.00 am, reading my mail and the internet papers, and
then heading out for a swim at about 6.30. Their idea of an early morning was
apparently to get to bed by 5.00 am. After the band stopped playing at the
reception soon after midnight the party moved across to the Polana night club
in the harbour . (The only place open after midnight for miles, according to
brother Pad.) Brother Steve smuggled in his drink of the night – caramel
flavoured vodka – and the party went on until….well, no one was quite sure.
Estimates varied considerably, but then who looks at their watch when they are
having fun? Who can read their watch in those circumstances?
They did all meet for buns on the beach somewhat later in the morning,
having been held up while Stevie tried to catch a dassie (rock rabbit) that had
entered the village from off the mountain.
By then I was long gone. It was a bit nippy early on and the water had
cooled a degree or so, but the swim was, as ever, very invigorating and set me
up for the day. The sun was breaking through the clouds in a spectacular way illuminating
a small fishing boat returning to harbour with its catch.
We had nothing organised for the day, so just loafed around, catching up
this blog a little, sorting out my pictures, chatting to Lorna, who popped
around to see us, and Lola and Rick. We drifted down to see Sue and Mike in the
afternoon and then I had me a little snooze before we went out for a meal.
We thought we’d look for a nice sole at Mamma Mia, a restaurant owned by
the same people as the one where we had such a good meal last week with Lorna
and Liz. We found when we got there that they were about to close down, beaten
by an increase in rent which combined with the financial squeeze, had made the
business no longer viable. Obviously
clearing out their storage they were offering ‘fresh crayfish’ and although we
had our doubts about the freshness of the fish because the season was closed,
we still thought it was worth trying. Mine wasn’t as good as it might be, but
Rab enjoyed hers.
We slept well.
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