Category: positive thoughts

Arderne wander

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When I got those new tyres for the Yosh, they came with a complimentary Tyre Care/Insurance package.
Free balancing and rotation for life, big discounts on alignment. And the tyre place emailed me last week to tell me that I was due for my first appointment.

These things take about an hour, so I popped across the road for a wander around the Arderne Gardens. Given that I was almost first into the tyre place, I was also almost first into the Gardens, and I had the place pretty much to myself. I didn’t bring the camera along (maybe next time), but with some decent morning light and some pretty trees, flowers and ponds, I think that the phone did an OK job.

My next phone will have a much better camera, though. Believe.

As for the work on the car: obviously, it didn’t need doing, but it’s just good practice to get it done.
Except: when I got back in and headed off, it was like driving on thin air. Like a different car. Woo.

Great service, too: quick and friendly. Hi-Q Claremont get a big thumbs up from me.

Anyway, if you were looking for a sign to sort out your tyres out (possible) or to head to Arderne Gardens (less likely), then maybe this is it.

Sorry about yesterday

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Yeah. Sorry about that.

Let me explain. I had a sudden craving while out in Hout Bay yesterday. Steak. Specifically rump. And even though I’d already prepared dinner before we left, I knew that I had to deal with things.

Thankfully, I had a pretty agile team at home.

So a quick call to the troops to light the braai, and then a quick drop in at the steak shop on the way home, and we did the thing.

Red wine came courtesy of Miles Mossop, and with some lamb ribs as an amuse bouche it was quite literally a dream come true. And then there was this:

Which wasn’t too shabby either.

Today has seen some gym, a wander around the Waterfront, including a first visit to the Time Out market (nice place, but jeeeeez… expensive!!!) and some weighty fur seal action:

Bit of a bend there, boys.

I’m now settling in for a bit of football this evening.

Boing!

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It does finally feel like Spring is beginning to… well… spring. The sun is out, the flowers are budding, the birds are singing. And – if ever there was a sign that the better weather is on its way – I have chosen today to varnish all the garden furniture, ready for the outdoor season ahead.

Well, all the wooden stuff, anyway.

This is the garden furniture equivalent of turning your central heating off in the UK or ordering braai wood instead of firewood down here in Cape Town.

It should be a day for optimism, happiness and positivity. Sadly though, it’s all up against a soundtrack provided by Edwin Knobhead and his Power Drill Orchestra, because the inept builder next door is now running over a month and a half over his already rather lax schedule.
We’re heading towards 6 months now. What joy.

I’m not saying that it’s loud out there, but even my fancy ANC headphones – that’s Active Noise Cancelling, not the dodgy political party – were being overwhelmed. And they are literally meant to actively cancel out noise.

Which is what there is outside.

And so, job done, and tables and chairs actually looking pretty good, I have legged it back inside. Not that the walls of our house are enough to find peace, but it’s more bearable when you try to overcome it with some loud Nemone on 6 Music while banging out a blog post.

In fact, buoyed by the stuff I have achieved in the garden over the past 24 hours, despite facing such aural adversity, I might even bang out tomorrow’s post while I’m at it.

You can read that tomorrow.

A rather decent afternoon out

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We were lucky enough to get box tickets to see the Boks play the All Blacks. And we had a really great afternoon out. And what a view the box had. This was during the warmups.

The atmosphere, the gees, the actual match second half of the actual match, the winning try scored right underneath us. The excellent service and free-flowing drinks. A very cool day, all in all.

And with that winning try, South Africa won the Freedom Cup, and all but sealed the The Rugby Championship 2024.

And a lovely touch as we left the well-planned, well-executed event at the Stadium – nice work, City of Cape Town – the biggest national flag I’ve ever seen. (It’s generally not something that I keep a record of, but I can’t think of a time I’ve seen a bigger one.)

It’s certainly reignited my appetite for live sport, and for going along to the stadium again. I was there for the first and second ever events they held there, and several – or more – since, but it’s been a while.

Not so long again.

Maintenance visit in progress

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Unable to play footy tonight due to mild injury, I made the best of a bad situation and headed down to Agulhas to do a few jobs. A clean and tidy, sort out the electricity, meet the builder and get stuff ready for a proper family visit a bit later this month.

You don’t want to be faffing about making up beds and stuff when you arrive. You want to dive straight into the holiday frame of mind with a beer and some sunshine.

But it’s not all work, work, work. I went for a 4km wander along the beach in the chilly (14oC, feels like 8, apparently) Westerly breeze (32kph, gusting 40, apparently) and I saw… no-one. Not a soul. Amazing.

I’ve always been a fan of the off-season seaside resort (not quite what this place is, but it has the same sort of vibe), but it’s always a special privilege to have an entire beach to yourself.

Didn’t take the camera out today, so that’s a phone image above, but I’m very happy to report that Murphy’s Law did not come into play today, and so I didn’t miss that shot, because there was no that shot to be had anyway.

Phew.

And now it’s back to the cottage before the night really sets in, open a bottle of Roy Vane, and make a very small braai on which to place a bit of sirloin, which has been soaking up some Hendo’s since my arrival here.

Meat, bread, salad, wine. The four staples of a perfect, simple diet.

Early night, hoping for enough recovery to do a little jog in the morning in the new trail running shoes. If not: photo walk, I think.

But more of that if it happens. Right now, that steak needs cooking.

Bon appétit!