Public Holiday recap

It’s Freedom Day today, giving a nod to 32 South African years since the first democratic elections back in 1994. There are many, many things that you can argue could have been done differently in the intervening period, but so as to be able to celebrate the good bits therein, we get the day off.

So how did we spend it?

Well, after gym (which wouldn’t have been quite so high on my agenda had I known what was coming), there was a walk on the mountain, enjoying the waterfalls:

…and overlooking the leafy green suburbs of Newlands and Fernwood.

Before dropping down into Kirstenbosch Gardens (mid right of the photo above) where we found a Malachite Sunbird (Nectarinia famosa):

And then an afternoon at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, where we saw a Betway sponsored horse win a race underwritten by LuckyFish Betting.

We’re all good. It’s not a problem. (It really is a problem.)

That said, if you have things under control and you set your limits and stick to them, you can still have fun and come out richer than when you went in. Which I did, and which was nice.

A real pot of gold at the end of that rainbow then, mostly likely guarded by a leper or a unicorn*.

Pretty good way to spend a pretty good South African day.

Putting things right

Remember this post about a kak afternoon at the races?

None of the horses that we wanted to win, won.
And that was quite annoying.
At first, it was just a bit annoying, but then, as the sequence continued, it got more and more annoying.

Well, let the record show that not every afternoon at the races is kak.

Because we turned out today in the cold, wet, windy weather and with limited expectations, and then this happened:

Not my pics*: I was just there for moral support (and to win a bit of cash).

And we had a lot of stuff to get done, so with the obligatory interviews and a quick glass of bubbly out of the way, we left with happy hearts and slightly fuller wallets.

This was a good lunchtime at the races.

* edge patrol on that second one!!!!

Gallops

A great morning out at The Gallops at HollywoodBets Kenilworth this morning. Ostensibly to watch one particular horse, but it was just a chilled morning out with some drinks and some bacon rolls, while the horses do their thing along the track there.

Taking photos of a ton and a bit of horse running directly at you at 60kph through the heat haze is never hugely easy, but I actually quite like this all action shot of all eight (equine) legs all airborne taken while they were about 200 metres out.

It’s just for exercise and familiarity with the surroundings for the horses, so there’s no real competition here, but you know that the jockeys don’t want to come in second on any of their rides, so the speed is very real.

I’m not heading back to the races in the foreseeable future, not least because the next meeting there is The Met, and I haven’t got a stitch to wear.

(I know, it’s gruesome that someone so handsome should care, but I do.)