The outside world

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I have noticed (and I’m sure that you have too, looking at reader figures, lol), that a disproportionate number of recent posts have been all about me (me, me). I don’t really have any problem with this, because my most important reader is me (me, me), but this isn’t a decision that I have made: it’s just something that has happened.

Why? Well, two reasons mainly. Firstly, I have been so busy lately that I haven’t really noticed anything else that’s been going on in the outside world. But I’ve told you all about that ad nauseum. And then, when there is time to look at what’s been going on in the outside world, well, why would you want to?

There’s very little encouraging news out there at the moment.

If it’s not war in Ukraine, famine in Eritrea, potential terrorist attacks in [checks notes] Johannesburg(!?!), global fiscal meltdown or the Loud Mouth Space Wanker taking over Twitter, it’s probably something equally depressing like wild conspiracy theories about Covid vaccine side-effects. (Always remember.)

Brushing this stuff under the carpet by simply ignoring it doesn’t solve any of those problems, but then neither does having them thrust in your face by news sites, and being reminded that everything is going to hell in a handbag and all the gory details therein does nothing (or everything, depending on how you want to look at it) for your existential dread.

And so sometimes it’s better to bury one’s head in the sand of lists of jobs, taxiing kids around, and the daily mundanities of one’s own life, rather than having to endure constant reminders of all the crap going on out there.

Thus, I shall probably continue doing just that. Sorry, not sorry.

UPDATE: It’s October 31st, and apparently someone agrees with my sentiments…

Exactly.

Winter is coming

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The clocks have gone back in the UK, marking the end of British Summer Time. Of course, that doesn’t really affect us here, where we don’t use British Summer Time, but it does mean that all the football matches in the UK start an hour later than they did just yesterday.

That actually gave me an extra hour before I settled down in front of a warm TV and watched a bit of the good stuff. But today does seem to have flown by. The beagle was thankful to have avoided a bath due to some unexpected, but very welcome, springtime rain.

Last night’s fundraising auction at Scouts was incredibly successful, but also a lot of hard work, and though I slept in a bit this morning, I’m still going to go for an early night tonight. Because that extra hour in the UK means that all the midweek games are going to start at 10pm and finish at about midnight. And I will miss my much-needed beauty sleep.

But right now, the second half of Arsenal and hopefully doomed Forest.

Does it ever stop?

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It doesn’t feel like it does. If it’s not school functions, it’s taxi services to Hout Bay and Ottery and Stellenbosch and Wynberg. And then helping out at a Scouts function this lunchtime and evening.
I did manage to fit in the United game [WBA 0-2 Blades], and though my list of jobs continues to grow, I’m thinking that tomorrow might be a day of rest.

And I’m also thinking that will be well-deserved.

But I do have to bath the beagle.

And – given that my [Bad Local Amazon] order has just arrived – look up some kettlebell exercises.

#Stwengf

Punch

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It’ a beautiful sunny afternoon, and we’re off to a school function shortly, which leaves me very little time to blog today. So let’s lob in a handbrake turn and add a gritty image from last week’s trip over to Robben Island as a quota photo for today’s post.

This was one of the original punching bags from the communal cells in the prison. Boxing was one of the sports practiced widely by the prisoners, with the other being – infamously – football.

No-vine

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MBCC dinner last night and we were tempted into trying a new venue, that being Bo-Vine in Camps Bay. Alarm bells ringing at the location already, but let’s overlook that and give the place a fair chance, shall we?
Bovine, because it’s steak, Bo-Vine because it’s wine as well.

Sometimes the local marketing wizardry just makes your head explode, doesn’t it? Sheer genius.

It’s going to have to be good. Firstly, you don’t take a place on the Camps Bay strip without some degree of restaurant know-how. It’s not for sissies down there. High risk, high turnover, short leases, high reward.

And secondly, a quick glance at the menu did seem to suggest that a 300g fillet was going for R380.

Wow. It’s going to have to be spectacular to justify that.

To put you in the picture, our regular steak haunt – Picanha in Newlands – isn’t cheap, but their 300g fillet comes in at R240. So was Bo-vine going to be able to offer something special for that extra, eye-watering 60%?

Well, it has Pete Goffe-Wood, local celebrity chef and well-versed restaurateur, who was doing the rounds and chatting to all the tables about the aging processes (for the meat: we’re all aware that we’re getting older, thanks) and suggesting the best cuts of the day. And you can tell that he knows his stuff and he loves sharing his knowledge and his food.

The service was very good. The ambience was pretty good as well, for a room with one open side onto a busy road (and the beach, obviously). The Stella Artois on tap was a joy (yes, with chalices), and the chips and the onion rings both excellent. Might seem like a small thing, but when you’re having steak and chips, it’s an important thing, too.

But the meat… Well, one of our six steaks (4 x picanha, 1 x ribeye, 1 x prime rib) was rather poor, and the rest were just… really good.
But not incredible. Not spectacular. Just really good South African fare. And certainly not worth the extra mark-up added on for the tourists with their pounds and dollars.

But I can totally see the appeal for those visitors. A decent steak, a local wine and that view out over Camps Bay after a hard day’s sightseeing. Affordable, too, when you convert it back from our Toytown money to your solid home currency.

It seems unfair in a way, to put any restaurant up against our favourites. They are our favourites for a reason, and putting it simply, it’s because their food is fantastic and the overall experience is repeatedly faultless. So it’s a hard act to follow. I get that.

But sadly – despite being a good night out – for us local boys, Bo-Vine just couldn’t match up on price or quality.

So it’s just the three stars. Sorry, Pete.