Category: positive thoughts

Seize the day

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I’m writing a quiz.

It’s a fundraising thing that I’m presenting next month, and while the best quiz experience is the one that you take part in (and win, probably), for obvious reasons, I’m not allowed to take part this time. And so I want to make this one right up there for all the people who can do it, and are spending their hard-earned money in this economy to help others out.

It’s been a while (like lockdown) since I have done a quiz (from the writing the questions point of view, at least), but it’s fun to be back.

Well, sort of.

I’ve actually been pussyfooting around for a couple of weeks, jotting down questions (and answers), since I managed to delete all the work that I had previously done (entirely my fault, rookie error, despite being far from a rookie). Since then, my stupidity has been irritating me each time I return to the project.

But today is the day to break the back of this thing and get all the hard yards done.

I know that some people who read the blog will be going along, so I’m not dropping any hints or tips for them, but who knows: maybe I’ll chuck a few questions or even a whole round out on here once the event has happened, so that you can all test your knowledge of [redacted] or even [redacted].

So I’m seizing the day right now, and I’m going to nail the specialist round.

And then I’m going to get a coffee.

Happy Rooster

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Our second visit to this spot in Muizenberg, and though it feels a little like I was cheating on Dias Tavern, this place absolutely holds its own when it comes to Portuguese cuisine. In fact, dare I say it…?

[Whispers] Maybe it’s actually better than Dias…

Anyway…

It’s literally in the Muizenberg Railway Station building, up on the first floor (no wheelchair access, sorry), and you can enjoy the Edwardian history of the Herbert Baker design as you walk up the wooden stairs with their tiled risers, and into the expansive space and amazing enclosed veranda. The sea view over False Bay and Surfer’s Corner is spectacular, and the food and service are equally impressive.

They’ve just released their new Winter menu:

The food is good, honest fare, cooked with care and pride, and powerful Portuguese flavour. And yes, there are a few things on there to cater for those who have just wandered over from the beach for a post-surf burger, but that doesn’t detract from the authenticity of the specialised dishes.

Complimentary caldo verde when we arrived, warmed us up nicely and got our taste buds ready for the main meal. But here’s the thing: as an unlicensed restaurant, you are not paying through the nose for beers and wines (you’re welcome to bring your own – no corkage fees are charged) and so you end up coming out of there feeling wholly satisfied, but with a wonderfully reasonable bill.

Dinner was R1300 (including a well-earned, decent tip) for four of us last night, including two starters and two desserts and several soft drinks.

Incredible value.

I can’t recommend this place enough: it scores highly on every metric.
Booking via WhatsApp on 067 901 0900.

Landmarkr

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Done your Wordle today?
Sorted the Daily Challenge on Geoguessr?
Connections?
Flagle? Tough one this morning, hey?
The NYT mini?
Worldle? Completed. (Spoiler: it was Nepal.)

Good. Now you can get on with your day and start… HANG ON A SECOND!

Here’s Landmarkr!

Super straightforward: 6 photo clues to a Landmark, City or Country. The clues get progressively easier, and you get a guess each time a picture is revealed. And there are some helpful hints along the way:

Lisbon, Portugal is not on the right continent.

which can really help to narrow it down (this is sarcasm).

Much like Wordle, the quicker you get it, the better person you are. But of course, you’ll need to tell your friends about it so that you can boast to them about your superior record.

And with a full archive of over 200 days available, free of charge, it’s also super addictive. This post has taken me three hours to write, because I just keep popping back “for one more go”.

100% record so far.

My first failure will hurt.

Still pretty, still pricey

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Cape Town doesn’t look its best today.

It looks like a scene from a disaster movie, with floods, broken trees, branches and damaged buildings everywhere.

We did get completely battered by yesterday’s storm.

But… give it a couple of weeks (ok, or maybe a month), and all that will be tidied up and forgotten about, and Cape Town will still be the most desirable city on the continent.

Which has its drawbacks:

But still, you’d rather be here than anywhere else.

Horses that look better in the Parade Ring than they perform on the track

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Example No.1:

We spent the morning walking along Struisbaai beach before heading off at lunchtime back to Cape Town (Azerbaijani radio all the way home) (IYKYK) to be de-sanded and ready to get to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth to see this guy’s race.

Let’s just say that we worked a lot harder than he did. Another disappointing performance, despite looking happy and healthy in the parade ring.

Still, got a little bit of money back in the Lucky Last, so it wasn’t all bad.

And it was a beautiful day, but the weather has closed in already and we won’t be seeing the sun again until at least Thursday.