Category: flickr

Back to (6000 miles from) civilisation…

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After a leisurely journey back from Agulhas (stopping briefly in Bredasdorp for food, drink and Kinder eggs for the kids) we find ourselves back in Cape Town’s leafy Southern Suburbs. Truly, I haven’t a clue what’s been happening while we were away. Something about Libya and someone getting shot in Cape Town was all I got from the newspaper billboards. I’m sure I’ll catch up just now, but I’m still in holiday mode and right now, I really don’t care. (I did pick up the Stormers v Bulls rugby result from an Afrikaans newspaper in a fish shop, is that cheating?)
I’m sorry if the blogging hasn’t been up to my usual standard: if you think things have been bad, just wait until I go away for two weeks later in the year. Expect plenty of photos.

We were greeted in Cape Town by traffic and burglar alarms: an unpleasant reminder of the negative side of living in the big city. The only sounds we’ve been used to over the last few days have been birdsong and crashing waves. The only traffic issue was slowing down to look at tortoises while walking down to the beach.

Already, the busy city existence has returned, with a dinner appointment this evening. I leave you with a few hastily-uploaded and varied photos (34, actually – including one of my best ever sunsets, I think) from the extended weekend. Right now, I wish it could have been extended some more, but once I’m settled back into normal life, I’ll be able to look forward to our next visit.

I’m not sure that I could live out in the sticks on a permanent basis; perhaps that would take away the “special” feeling of being away from home, but I think I’d also miss the amenities and convenience of urban living.
So for the moment, I’m happy to settle for the juxtaposition of city life and the weekend getaway.

While you were sleeping

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We’re down in the Southern Cape again this weekend, so I thought it wholly appropriate to share a pic I took last weekend of some ships rounding Cape Agulhas at night.

I’ve seen the ships in Table Bay illuminated at night, but I just assumed that they were lit up since they were stationary and just outside a major port.
Now I find that ships have headlights too – big bright ones.

It was rather eerie watching these bright lights moving silently across the horizon, especially with the atmospheric reflection off the cloud base.

Bigger and on a dark background here.

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Spray

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Weekends are meant for relaxation, but mine has been full of sorting out the garden, making biltong, upgrading the software on my phone, trying to stay calm despite having manic kids underneath my feet all day and enjoying enduring the worst meal ever at Spur. (Which shouldn’t surprise me, I know, but this was even poor by Spur standards.)

I did take a couple of minutes out to snap some sprinklers, which you can see here.

Far from earth-shattering in the skill required or the beauty of the subject matter, but I think the spray looks quite cool (also, it was). I especially like the non-uniform droplets which have rebounded off leaves. Almost like a rebellion; a revolution – very popular at the moment, I’m told.

But there’s really only so much excitement one can draw from a garden sprinkler photo. And I think that’s been thoroughly overdrawn already.

Mosque Light

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An amazing photo from my parents’ recent trip to Oman:

It’s not a spaceship, it’s a chandelier in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Bousher. This is the second largest chandelier in the world and is 14 (fourteen) metres tall. That’s about 8 me’s and I’m not small.
(Incidentally, the world’s largest chandelier is just up the road in Qatar. Consider yourself informed.)

The mosque also features the world’s second largest hand-woven carpet: 1.7million knots, 60×70 metres, 21 tonnes. I am reliably informed that its big brother is housed at the catchily-named Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan al-Nuhayyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

Quota sunset No.38

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Mowing lawns, laying pavers, feeding worms, watching disappointing FA Cup football, ironing, braaiing and swimming. Tomorrow is going to bring a whole new world of pain.
And thus, you’re getting this quota photo, taken at Llandudno last month.

As the post title suggests, this isn’t the first time I’ve done this.
It’s not bad though, is it?