Swellendam via Hermanus today.
And then Caledon on Monday and Tuesday. Not quite sure what to expect of this weekend, but it should be fun, and even if it isn’t, we’ll make the most of it.
The weather today looks… iffy.
In Hermanus:
And in Swellendam:
But these things are out of our control, and so while we’ll prepare for the worst, we’ll hope for the best.
Photos coming up on Instagram (if I can find an internet).
And the Smalltown Western Cape Roadtrip playlist here.
I don’t do many photoshoots, but I did one last week.
It’s been a bit of a mission, and more work than I expected, but the images are finally all edited and ready to go.
It’s a good feeling.
As ever, I’ve learned a lot about taking photos and editing photos, and how the two processes can be better aligned – when I stop learning, I stop photography – but actually, I’m really happy with the results.
Now, the anxious wait until the client (hopefully) likes them too.
Because many of the shots are of people, I can’t share them on here. But part of any event is capturing the ambience and the vibe, and the view of the mountains in the sunset wowed many of the crowd that evening, and it was definitely worth capturing, because that will be a part of many people’s memories.
I think I can share one of those images here.
“Ooh. Look how he’s almost lined the dying tree up with the mountain peaks.”
Yeah, that’s just raw, natural talent right there.
#Blessed.
But these pics aren’t going to get themselves onto the client’s desk. I still have to do that bit.
So let’s go. Because today is going to be a busy, busy day.
Last night’s result might not have been great, but it was a really good night out, and we did get to see this goal by Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
Ooh, I say…
Pick. That. Out.
On a more serious note, football matches remain THE best, most multi-cultural, most enjoyable, greatest community-building events in South Africa. We were surrounded by every race, every language last night, and people just engage with one another over a common activity.
All friendly faces, no trouble, no stress, just a really happy night full of good vibes.
How it should be.
Just not a good result.
After a day of photo editing…
Bafana Bafana are back in Cape Town, and we’re going along. I’m writing this from the back of an Uber, heading into town and towards the DHL Stadium.
A spot of food and a drink or two on the Waterfront, and then we’ll head up to watch the second leg of the two-legged friendly between South Africa and Panama. A decent test for each of them ahead of the World Cup, and all to play for after last week’s 1-1 draw in Durban.
I’ll try and share a few photos on this post a little later, so do pop back.
HT 0-0. How did he miss that chance though?
Cape Town (DHL) Stadium continues to be beautiful…
FT: Disappointing result. Some work to do on the defensive side of things.
Quite a lot of work, actually.
Our petrol prices in SA are regulated, meaning that everyone knows exactly what they will pay for a litre of the good stuff. And each first Wednesday of the month, the price goes up or down, depending if there has been an under or over recovery in the previous 4 weeks, given the price of oil and the USD/ZAR exchange rate.
Brent crude has climbed from about $69 to over $115 a barrel, while the rand has weakened sharply against the US dollar, slipping from around R15.85 to above R17.00.
It’s going to go up this month. Surprise, surprise.
It’s going to go up by a lot.
As it stands, and assuming there is no last-minute government intervention, month-end data from the Central Energy Fund is pointing to petrol price increases of between R5.31 for 93 Unleaded and R5.82 for 95 Unleaded. Diesel looks set to increase by between R10.13 in the case of 500ppm and R10.27 for the cleaner 50ppm.
A R10.27 increase for diesel is quite literally (in fact, almost exactly) 50%. I didn’t need diesel today, but I went and bought some anyway, because tomorrow will be a disaster at the fuel stations, and 50% of not very much is still quite a lot. I saved R360 by topping up this morning. That’s the price of 12 litres of Castle Milk Stout.
Priorities, ne?
“Fortunately”, President Ramaphosa is on the case.
(The war has only been going on for a month and a bit.)
He confirmed that a ministerial task team has now been established to examine how the country can be shielded from the economic fallout of the war.
It can’t. We’re part of a global economy. We’re all buggered.
It has been reported that the task team’s work will go beyond fuel price alone. “It is quite urgent, yes, with a quick turnaround, but the scope of what they will be looking into is broader,” one insider said.
“They are not just looking at fuel prices; they are tasked with looking at the whole geopolitical situation and its implications for the country.”
OK, but can’t we just do the fuel price thing first so that there is a country left for there to be implications for? Because I think that the whole situation is going to head south (no pun intended) very quickly if we can’t sort just about the only thing that the government has control over, somewhat rapidly.
Meanwhile, I guess it’s time to start walking again.
Everywhere.