Wargames

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I mentioned yesterday how hot it had been. It was also weirdly hot and massively foggy throughout last night as well. I know this because I was awake for most of the night and consequently, I am completely broken today.

Still. A quick wander along Muizenberg beach seemed like a good idea and we got to see the delightful sight of the IRIS Shahid Mahdavi (and friends) in False Bay for the laughably titled Will for Peace 2026 Naval Exercise.
Russia (still bombing Ukrainian civilians most nights), China (always a leading exponent of exemplary human rights), Iran (which has killed more than 500 of its own citizens this week) and South Africa playing with ships and guns.

Lovely.

Not that I am saying that any other foreign nation is any better. What I am saying is that there’s no real need for us to have naval exercises with anyone at all. No-one is coming down here to attack us. We’re far too far away and far too unimportant. Literally no-one cares.

But here we are inviting some shitty nations around to play anyway.

“You are not responsible for what your friends do, but you will be judged by the company you keep.”

And I think that anyone with an ounce of critical thinking could agree that our friends out in False Bay are not the greatest company to keep.

Nice walk, though.

Now all I have to do is stay awake and be sparkling company (as always) for our evening guests, before sleeping – possibly forever – this evening.

Bring it on.

Hot

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Everyone has their limits when it comes to heat. I never really thought about this before I moved to SA (because I never had to), but I’ve worked out that mine is about 34oC. Anything up to that, I’m fine – or at least, I can manage. Anything beyond that, I’m in immediate trouble; trouble which will vary from just “not very pleasant”, through to “actual death” on the three or four days each year when it approaches 40oC in Cape Town.

Today was below my threshold (just), but OMG. I struggled. And it took a while to work out why, but then I had a quick look, and, well…

Yeah. That would be it.

Honestly, what is this? We’re not in Durban here.

Great for the washing powder industry, I guess. Not so nice for those of use that were having to change clothes every couple of hours.

Bit melty.

Much time was gratefully spent in the pool (mainly because you can’t see the football from there), but while it’s a bit cooler this evening, I’m not really looking forward to just how warm our bedroom is going to be later on.

Tomorrow looks cooler – which will be nice – but my weather apps don’t show humidity, so I’m not really sure what to expect.

Kill the heat with cold beer. Always the best way forward.

Winning horse

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The Real Prince won the big race today at Kenilworth.

I was close enough to him to get sprayed while they were hosing him down.

No big issue, given just how hot it was out there today.

I’m not an expert on horses, but this guy seemed pretty happy.

And why not, given that he had just earned a cool R1,781,256 for his jog around the track.

Nice work.

Ugh. Sp0.0nsorship

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I learned yesterday that all the London Underground stations and lines with a double O in their name (and some popular ones that don’t even have a double O in their name) are now sponsored by Heineken 0.0.

It tastes terrible, by the way.

But that’s not really the issue here. Is this a bit of corporate marketing fun, or is this actually a bit rubbish?

Answer: It’s both.

What?
Oxf0.0rd Circus doesn’t even work. If you already have to start making crap up after you’re done with Bakerloo and Waterloo, then this is a campaign that probably shouldn’t have got further than the drawing board.

And to those who say that it’s not confusing and just a bit of harmless fun, that map advert above on the left has got Kilburn Park and Maida Vale in the wrong order.

Well done!
Is this a lack of effort? A lack of attention? A lack of just… caring?

Whatever. Maps are meant to be maps: to help you get from A to B (or to 0.0) as easily and clearly as possible. They aren’t meant to be adverts.

And yes, there are bigger things to be concerned about going on in the world at the moment, but I (and hopefully you) have the brain capacity to be concerned about more than one problem.

No. Less of this kind of thing, please.

Flycatchers in Jonkershoek

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That was a nice day out.

A drive to Stellenbosch, and then out into the Jonkershoek Valley, where we stopped off at the Oude Nektar Gardens and had a wander in the peace and quiet, taking in the fresh air and the amazing trees, flowers, lawns and birds. Which included plenty (or more) Black Saw-Wings (Psalidoprocne pristoptera) overhead, and at least a couple of flycatchers nearer the ground:

That’s the Fiscal Flycatcher (Sigelus silens) on the left, and the African Dusky Flycatcher (Muscicapa adusta) on the right. The size is a bit off, because the Dusky Flycatcher is small, but the Fiscal Flycatcher is Far Away.

But they are always nice to see, anyway. Whatever size and wherever they were.

Then next door to Stark-Condé for some wine tasting and lunch.
Both were really good, but certainly not cheap:

When did R60 per wine for a tasting become a thing? Could we not organise some sort of locals rate, please?

That said, we did particularly enjoy their Cabernet Sauvignon and their – wait for it – Oude Nektar Red Blend. We tried the 2022 vintage of the latter, and you could definitely taste the potential. It really just needed a few more years.

And (of course), they’ll do that cellaring for you, but (of course) you’ll pay a pretty penny. The 2015 vintage comes in at a cool R1950 a bottle. I can imagine that it would be rather amazing, but that’s a lot for a bottle of wine, when you’re (mostly) just a happy quaffer.

And so we enjoyed some really good Eastern Cape fillet with the 2022 version of their CabSav, had a leisurely walk around the beautiful lake:

…and headed home happy.