Tag: nelspruit

Alleged cable thieves arrested.

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ISTOTBIDMPD

We have enough problems with our electricity supply (I’m not even going to link to it any more) (ok, one last time: here you go) without bits of the actual power system being stolen. And yet cable theft is a huge problem here, especially with prices for metal being so high.

So it was good to see that a breakthrough was made in Nelspruit recently:

And not just a bit of scrap metal. A lot of scrap metal:

They allegedly found Eskom pylons weighing 740 kilograms, Eskom cables 350 meters long and a burned copper 98,5 kilograms valued to over R200 000. 

Here’s the shot of Beatrice which was shared.

Now, I’m no expert on cable theft, but I would have thought that disconnecting the cables at the other end before handling them would have been the way to go, Beatrice.

Ohm my lord: she looks shocked, doesn’t she? Watt was she thinking? I’m glad to see that she’s been charged. I wonder if she offered any resistance? Apparently she only got bailed at 10pm last night so when she got home, her husband asked “Wire you insulate?”.
Anyway, now she’s well and truly grounded.

It’s ok. I’m stopping now.
Sorry.

I was just trying to keep you all up to date with current events.

Nelspruit guest house

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[Written soon after arrival last night]

Nelspruit guest house. Mbombela guest house.
Same same. Despite the name change, everyone here still seems to call it Nelspruit. All the signs say Mbombela. I can see how foreigners might get confused.

And here in my room, once again, Afrikaner interior design is at play. They haven’t gone quite as far as the relief-tiled ceiling of last night’s place (in adhesive we trust), but we’ve got the obligatory overly ornate headboard and a glass sink perched upon a faux Roman concrete surface, raised by two faux Roman concrete columns.

It’s rather special:

And once again, I am cursed by faulty bedside lights and a barking dog outside the window.

I shouldn’t complain. The welcome was warm and the bed feels like it might be the most comfortable on this trip thus far. I intend to test this theory very shortly.

One more day of work up here, and then a Saturday morning dash to Joburg and a flight back to the cold of Cape Town. It’s been another fascinating experience, but I’m tired and just about ready to head home now.