20th. I have been locked out of the blog for a while due to the need to reset the password and the complication of that by having started tthe blog from a long expired Telkom.com email address. Add to that pressure of work, dog walking and training, DIY jobs. return to the French Centre for weekly “Déjurner Parlant” and you get the gist of why it has taken me so long to sort it out.
So walking in the forest with Zara where she was able to play in the water hole and I was able to admire the views went ahead as normal.
Top view up to Constantiaberg where you can just about make out the mast on the top. Difficult to believe that I have cycled up there more than once! And below the view of the back of Table Mountain.
One of the other joys of the Cape is its uniwue floral kingdom, some “citizens” of which are not found growing naturally in any other part of the world. Such as the proteas and some of the Restios grasses.
Even in the “dead” pine needle strewn forest floor there are colourful delights.
On the evening of the 12th I went to the Yatch Club for a talk held by Sea Search on the troubling topic of Rabies among Cape Fur Seals. It was first confirmed as being present in the Cape seal colonys in 2021 and of some 138 brains examined 40 tested possitive. There is no other way to test as the virus avoids the blood system and instead uses the central nervous system to navigate the body. The fact that Sea Search is holding a series of public talks around the Cape predicated on streading the information about what to look out for when coming upon sels and what action to take if scratched or bitten indicates how seriously the threat is being taken. It does mean that for now I will avoid taking Zara to run on the beaches. She is too curious and although vaccinated and therefore having a certain level of protection against contracting the disease herself I do not think enough is understood at the moment to take any risks. eg: if bitten would she potentially become a “carrier”? Would her vaccine really protect her since they are not yet sure what vaccine would be effective in protecting tthe seal population?
A really thorny issue. Even if they do identify an effective vaccine imagine the cost and the difficulty of administering it annualy to a wild population!
However the views across the Lake of Lakeside wre uplifting in the evening light.
Also finished the second litle vanity for under the hand basin in the guest shower room.
This one was a bit more complex as it had to be restricted to the footprint of the basin and be able to displace in order to get at the plumbing, due to the small size of the room.
22nd I took myself into Kalk Bay for the morning and pretended I was a tourist. Visited all the boutique outlets and bought myself a pair of earrings. Then treated myself to lunch at Cape to Cuba. I ate outside overlooking the harbour. There was a fresh breeze and a lively sea. Inside the harbour walls all was calm.
And the colourful little fishing boats bobbed gently
Closer to shore there is the dry dock, quayside with fish market and restaurants.
These were the views from my lunch table
It is such a charming spot and I fely thoroughly spoilt.
29th Met up with Brent, a friend from the MBA Class of 1993/4, who is visiting from NZ, at the South African Airforce Museum. Brent is a keen flier, ownes his own planes (yess plural) and enjoys aerobatics. I got there late as my SatNav took me all round the houses. I will probably kidnap some kids from the Complex and go there again in the new year.
The Museum is run by volunteers who run open days most Saturday mornings and once a month take the BIG Shackleton out of the hanger and rev all the engines up. They have the Shackleton Brewry and sell the beer and BBQ food at these events.
Clubhouse and beer bar
They have a number of old aircraft spread over two hangers
Including the Shackleton, one of the few remaining u-boat spotter and later marine shearch and rescue planes of the type remaining. Built in the 1940s and modeled on the Lancaster and the Lincoln, they were flow exclusively by the Airforces of UK and RSA. You can go into the plane and see the staff accomodation and flight stations.
The Ysterplaat airbase is close to town and has a view of Table Mountain
It has been a good month with dinner parties and lunches hosted “chez moi” for old friends, a great concert of early Spanish Barocque music at the Baxter and glorious sprin weather. It feels good to be back.
capetocarpe 