Category: this is south africa

What a save

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No. Not top goalkeeper Michael Cooper.

Me.

This month – known as one of the busiest of the year – has been very busy. Not that it’s been bad busy.
We did this. And we also did this (and this and this). Oh, and this too, I suppose.

But aside from being away, when we were at home, we were also busy. Football, social events, football social events, horseriding (not me) etc etc etc. And so I had… mmm… “neglected” the pool a bit.

So when the time came to open it up for the Christmas week… well…

Oh dear.

Three weeks of hot weather and an opaque pool cover will allow this to happen. Especially if no-one intervenes. That no-one being me. Because I did not intervene at all, and the pool took the opportunity and returned to nature.

Let me be honest, though: this is the worst that I have ever seen a pool under my management. Ever. And by a long way too. But records are made to be broken, and this one was. Comprehensively.

Time to fight back then, but not much time, given the proximity of the festive season.

I attacked. And less than 48 hours later, after a bit of hard work and some extremely toxic chemicals, this:

Ka – if I might be so bold – boom.

Crystal clear. Inviting. Sorted. Altogether:

What a save.

So. Let the good times roll. Just as soon as I have cooked my gammon (not a euphemism) and made a final decision on some wine for tomorrow: the Penhill 2016 Shiraz (only 6000 bottles produced) is clearly leading the way right now.

Enjoy your day.

Eve Eve

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If we are going to have a few days off – no, don’t panic, not off blogging – then we have to get a few things sorted before we can relax. And after a whirlwind day of tasks and jobs being ticked off the list, I’m happy to say that we’re very nearly there.

Not quite, but very nearly. And if things go well tomorrow, then I think we’ll be done by lunchtime and then we can switch off a bit and begin the festive holiday thing. I t will likely involve some wine.

The two big bits of news today were signing an OTP on a car for the Boy Wonder, which is very exciting, and finally getting this delivered, which was a huge weight off my mind. 3 separate entities involved and I had to chase up each of them to manage to get things done. Amazon in SA has a long, long way to go.

But today, and the 17,500 steps it brought with it, has left me exhausted.

So happy Christmas Eve Eve, and look out for more fun and games tomorrow.

Barley Sharks

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I’ve dealt with a lot of baboons in orchards before. They’re not great in that context: eating fruit, damaging fences and waterlines, injuring trees. But I’d never seen them in a field of barley before.

This was on the way back from a wander around the area, with some superb views over the Breede Valley.

We christened the baboons “Barley Sharks”, with their dark shapes swimming through the field, occasionally popping a head up to check they were safe from any predators. The barley had been left – probably because the floods here earlier in the year at damaged the yield to the point where it wasn’t worth harvesting.

But the barley sharks were enjoying what was left as a free, easy snack.

How many times have you woken up and prayed for the rain?

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Many of you will recognise that line from The Stranglers’ 1986 hit Always The Sun. That also contains one of the most ridiculous lines ever written:

And who gets the job of pushing the knob?
That’s the sort of responsibility you draw straws for if you’re mad enough.

But that’s not relevant right now.

Yesterday was too hot for me. But today was meant to be cooler. And there was meant to be some rain. I was looking forward to a nice, cool run. And then we were going to go to the Bush Pub up the road. We popped in there yesterday to get some ice and it was rude not to try their Soup of the Day.

But:

How many times have the weathermen told you stories
That made you laugh?

It hasn’t started that way. It’s already rather warm and it’s only early morning. There is a bit of cloud, but there’s nothing even vaguely threatening at the moment.

I’m not sure I can face another stinkingly hot, humid day. I’ll have to resort to having some more of my matching beer.

Oh well.