An upgrade

World Tour time. But on this occasion, we actually get a visit!

And the Cape Town Cigarettes After Sex gig sold out much more quickly than I expected. Especially given that it’s a whole year away. I actually initially thought that it was going to be in May, which seemed much more reasonable, but I had fallen foul of the American dating system, and it was 5/3 rather than 3/5.

Or whatever.

So yes, we’ve still got 50 weeks to wait for the concert. And I didn’t get very good tickets, because I was a bit slow off the mark, because I genuinely thought that it would be a real slow burner.

What a muppet.

But here’s the thing: because it sold out so quickly, they’ve added another date! And I was much quicker off the mark this time, booking some really awesome seats: right next to the people who are spending far too much money on concert tickets, but only spending a fraction of what they did despite only being 50cm further from the action.

Now all I need to do is get my previous tickets refunded (thankfully, the promoter specifically allows for this “second date” situation on their website) and we’re golden.

Oh. And then just hang about for 11½ months until the gig actually happens…

The timing

A (sort of) oldie, but still a goodie. Each time I see this exchange shared on “the socials”, it makes me laugh. And because that happened again today, I thought that I’d lob it up on here for posterity.

This one is all about the timing, and the looks on their faces after the thing happens. Such simple stuff, but just really effective and really funny.

A number of poor decisions

It’s not been a great day. That’s probably mainly due to the copious amounts of Guinness, Black Label and Klipdrift I drank last night. A very South African approach to celebrating St Patrick’s Day.

I then compounded last night’s poor decisions with an intense game of 5-a-side this morning. Bright sunshine, much effort, iffy legs, iffier head and tummy. Everything hurts.

Thankfully, I’m all done with making mistakes like that.

Right now, I’m heading out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner: an early start to make sure that we get there in time for their tequila cocktail specials.

What could go wrong?

Rubbing it in

An incoming email from famous neo-classical composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi:

Spring is coming!
As we reconnect with nature and the world around us, Spring represents a time of looking forward; as we plant the seeds for our year ahead.
To celebrate the changing of the season, I’ve released a collection of songs inspired by the coming of Spring and it’s yours to enjoy at the link below.

And yes, he provided the link as promised. And even a countdown to the Vernal Equinox (not the meteorological one).

The thing is, he’s forgotten all about his Southern Hemisphere listeners here. Spring isn’t coming for us. In fact, if Spring is coming for them up North, we’re headed straight for Autumn. Goodbye sunshine and long summer nights, goodbye crippling heat, goodbye days on the beach, blue skies, and fresh, new growth.

Hello winter storms, roaring fires, copious red wine, and (apparently) disconnecting with nature and the world around me. Oh, and the 2024 Euro Championship.

Of course, those of you who know me will also know that I have no issue with any of this. Because why on earth would I?

Happy Spring (or Autumn) to each and every one of you.

Balloon

Mornings are early in Limpopo. The sun rises almost an hour earlier in Hoedspruit than it does down here in Slaapstad. And so I was up very very early to get some shots as the sun came up while I was away.

Busy busy, and not much time for looking at other stuff, but when you are placed right next to the Blyde River Canyon and the lip of the great African escarpment, it seems foolish not to grab a couple of shots as the tourist hot air balloons rise for their early morning trip.

This literally taken from car park of the main subject of my photography that morning. How they get any work done there with this as a backdrop is beyond me.

Of course, when I pointed this out, they reminded me that we have Table Mountain in Cape Town, and they’d likely have the same issue trying to work down here.

Which is a fair point.