We braai’d

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I don’t know why I always remove the E. Maybe four consecutive vowels just seems over the top.

Anyway, remember this from yesterday?

Of course you do.

Well, at that point, all of the above was true. But then we went to do a quick recce on the pub before we made a booking and… well… let’s just say that the braai option suddenly leapt into a massive lead.
And won. Immediately.
I’m not going to name the establishment in question, but wow… it made a lot of really rough places on the Wynberg Main Road seem positively clean and inviting. A dive bar, in a West End Coast Town, you could say. I did. I couldn’t help myself.

The only downside with the braai option was the wind, gusting to just below storm force and turning the braai into something like a blacksmith’s furnace. But we prevailed with ribs, boerie and porkies, and a bit of chicken for a vegetarian option.

Back in Cape Town now and missing the beach lifestyle of the West Coast, if not the icy cold waters of the Atlantic there. I’ll sort some photos at some point.
And that will reawaken the “Do I continue with Flickr?” debate. And then I won’t sleep for another month.

One last day

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Getting this written early, because it’s clear that even the local cell network is not coping with more than 10 hours without power each day. The batteries in the towers run down during the first lot of loadshedding, never fully recover before the second, and simply die before the third session has finished. And it’s only going to get worse because they’re starting from progressively lower percentages each time.

It’s not good.

Thankfully, there are other distractions here, like the beach, the braai, the dunes, and several (or more) family games to play.

Oh, and the sunsets – very pretty stuff last night (unedited):

After yesterday’s run, I managed another wander this morning on the very soft sand and into a hellish headwind to get a few snaps of Mrs 6000 on her beach ride (horse, before you ask).

And now, another gentle day before a walk round to the local lighthouse and a decision of whether to braai again this evening or head to the local pub. Both options have their merits, and for the moment, I’m completely undecided.

Long live pretending that this sort of thing being the most taxing problem I have to face.

It’s good to be back

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Yep. My first “proper” run yesterday after this little incident on the 27th November. I’ve done a few 1km jogs and a bit of hiking, but this was the first time I’ve dared to go out and “do” a “run”. And it turned out to be a very (very) leisurely 10km along the local beach here on the West Coast.
No records were broken. Just a fun little walk and run to pass the time while loadshedding was on. (Given that it’s the first of two four hour slots, I didn’t use all of it). And a lobbed in a few 50m “sprints” as well to see if I could still go “fast”…

[lots of quotation marks today]

…and apparently I sort of can still move quite quickly over a short distance when I need to.

Has today brought a World Of Pain™? Well, I don’t know, because actually I’m sitting on the deck yesterday writing this. There are already a few issues with cramping calves – sand remains a bastard to run on – but I’ll sort that out with some stretches and crying.

A return to playing football is still a long way off, but it’s closer than it was yesterday, and that’s a big plus. [party emoji]

The “bes kus”

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According to the popular marketing slogan

Die Weskus is die bes kus

Which translates as “The West Coast is the best coast”, if you’re willing to overlook a bit of Afrikaans abbreviation. More accurately, it translates as “The West Coast is the be__ coast”, but that doesn’t really work. If you’re ever in Langebaan and point this inaccuracy out to any of the Weskus diehards, they’ll come after you like Eben Etzebeth in a local casino.

So, don’t.

But the whole premise is incorrect anyway, given that when we’re talking about South Africa, the South coast is the one you want to be on. Although, I am currently on the Weskus, and it is actually rather nice. Mrs 6000 has done us proud with an amazing AirB&B about 50m from the beach, and we are going to be chilling here for the next few days. I’ll share photos and views a little later: I know there are a lot of fans of Geoguessr who would pick out my exact location in a matter of minutes, and I can’t really cope with the paparazzi at the door again. I’m trying to relax here.

One thing I will say (that won’t give too much away) is that there is a lighthouse within walking distance. So guess what my plan is, this morning?

Sleep. Yes.

Womble Grotto

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Having done a lot of research (I Googled once), I have discovered that the below image would have been right about the time that I was a kid. A Womble-loving kid. And yet I have no recollection of ever visiting the Womble Grotto on The Moor in Sheffield.

Why on earth not?

I’m guessing that the J Sainsbury sign is obscuring the actual Womble you would get to meet. The thought of going along to a Womble Grotto and then meeting John Sainsbury – who by that time would have been dead for almost 50 years – doesn’t really seem all that appealing.

I need to chat to my Dad and find out why I was never taken to the local Womble Grotto. To me, this seems like a massive dereliction of parenting duties.