Tag: summer

Looking back: The Daily Mail Weather Outlook for 2012

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This goes out to @StephanieBe who is heading out to the UK shortly and read this morning that… er… the UK is about to face its coldest winter for 100 years. Stephanie is Saffa born and bred.
Her genes aren’t cut out to cope with cold Decembers.

Stephanie is afraid.

Fortunately for Stephanie, that “coldest winter in 100 years” thing comes from the Daily Mail.
Regular readers will know that 6000 miles… loves the Daily Mail.

Britain will shiver tonight as temperatures plummet in the first taste of what promises to be one of our coldest winters for a century.
The cold snap is expected to last until the end of the week, creating dangerous conditions on the roads and adding to the misery of those already battling floods.
Temperatures could fall to as low as minus 3C in some places, with snow already falling in the Pennines.

Cold temperatures? In the UK? At the end of November? Whatever next?
Let’s have a look at how November ended when I was over in the UK in 2010, shall we?

 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 29th November 2010. Is that… snow?!?

But hey, maybe the Daily Mail has upped its weather prediction game since 2010. Let’s have a look at what they thought about 2012, shall we? This Daily Mail headline is from 15th April this year.

Britain faces worst drought since 1976 (and the Severn could dry up by summer)

Officials are concerned that a third dry winter this year could be a tipping point and trigger restrictions for businesses or even further restrictions in homes for the first time in 36 years.
The restrictions are embarrassing for the Government which is showcasing Britain during this year’s Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee. Parks are included in the hosepipe ban and London’s iconic fountains will be turned off.

Sounds bad. So what actually happened?

Well, here’s a photo I took at Howden Reservoir in Derbyshire in July, slap bang in the middle of the “worst drought since 1976”:

Yes yes, I know that the big wall is supposed to keep the water in, but the fact is that because the incessant rain throughout the summer, the dam was overflowing.

What happened? Let’s turn to… er… the Daily Mail for the answer. Here’s a story from August 29th:

After weeks of wet weather and seemingly never-ending cloud, many have dismissed the last few months as a miserable summer they would rather forget.
Today was no exception as heavy rains fell across many parts of the country as weather forecasters predict that September will bring some sun and reprieve from the wet weather but only for those in the south.
The north of Britain however should brace for more grim weather which is predicted to last until mid-September.

But… but you said that… Oh never mind. At least it wasn’t the wettest summ… oh wait. Yes, it was. Well, that is according to the Daily Mail (31st August) anyway:

The temperatures, which reflect the country’s cold and soggy weather over recent months, have proved this summer has been a complete write-off.
It came as it was revealed yesterday the summer has also been the wettest in England and Wales for a century.

The thing is, I know that forecasting the weather is not an exact science. And long range forecasting is even less exact. So yes, you’re going to get it wrong from time to time. But there’s no disclaimer in Stephanie’s “coldest winter for 100 years” Daily Mail story. There’s no:

However, while we’re telling you about how cold it’s going to be this winter, you might want to remember that we also said that this was going to be the driest summer in almost 40 years and we couldn’t actually have been more wrong about that.

So people like Stephanie who have previously lived a Daily Mail free life (lucky fish) thus far, read it – and believe it. Oops.

Stephanie, I’m no meteorological expert. I can’t tell you if it’s going to be the coldest winter foreverever when you visit the Republic of South Yorkshire this December. I feel that I’m standing on fairly solid ground when I suggest that you probably won’t need to pack your bikini for a day out on the beachfront at Filey, but that aside, it’s winter and I would expect it to be decidedly chilly. Especially when compared with your usual South African December day.

What I can tell you is that you really shouldn’t believe everything anything you read in the Daily Mail.

Happy Holidays!

Summer’s come…

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It’s hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I took the kids around the peninsular during/after the biggest storm of the winter.

Today is a million miles from that: a gentle breeze, cloudless blue skies and the promise of an even better – and hotter – day tomorrow. To celebrate that, I’ll be playing football at noon.

Will I never learn?

Summer Tourism in Cape Town

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This holiday, we went out of our way to do a few things in Cape Town that would normally – traditionally – be reserved for the visitors rather than the residents of the place. There’s something a bit odd about being a tourist in your own city: you see those “sights” every day on your way to work or when you’re doing some mundane activity like shopping – why would you want to look at them all again? Or why would you want to pay through the nose to do stuff solely designed to trap unwary and free-spending holidaymakers into paying through the nose?

In the name of research and entertainment, that’s why.

First off, the Cape Town City Sightseeing Open-Top Bus tour. These buses are found in beautiful cities across the world and Felixstowe (they do not operate a service in Jo’burg) and though I used to see them regularly in Oxford and London, I never took the ride.
Cape Town’s version isn’t cheap, at R110 per adult (including online discount) and R60 per child (5-15 years old),  but if you have a couple of kids under 5 years old, it represents fairly decent value. For that price, you get a pair of headphones to listen to the informative tour guides (14 different languages available) and even the non-paying kids get an activity pack including crayons, magazine etc., plus their own headphones to listen to the excellent kids channel on board.
We did the red tour – all around the Waterfront and City Bowl, then up to the Cableway and down the other side to Camps Bay and back along the Atlantic Seaboard to the starting point at the Aquarium. The bus stops at lots of tourist sites in the city (District Six Museum, Cape Town Museum, Cape Town Tourism, CTICC etc)
For us, the best bit was the flexibility and regularity of the buses, which meant that we were able to jump off at Camps Bay and have a run on the beach and an expensive ice cream before jumping back on and heading back to the car without having to worry about getting back to the stop at any specific time. The kids also enjoyed it and we all learned some interesting stuff and got a different view of places in Cape Town. Oh, and their website is excellent.
Pics
Best bit: Well organised, friendly, informative.
Worst bit: Bit pricey.
Don’t forget: Sunscreen!

Next up:  Snow at Canal Walk.
Now, this one has been and gone already, but if the popularity of it this year is anything to go by, it’ll certainly be back. It’s basically in two parts: an inner tube snow slide for the older kids and a snow play area for  the younger kids. I took Alex (4) along to the play area, which cost R30 for him and R15 for me for a 45 minute session.
Now, if you or your kids grew up with snow (I did), then you are going to be very disappointed. And walking into the play area – a sunken pit about 5m by 6m and about 40cm deep – I was very disappointed. What I had forgotten is that Alex had never seen snow before: he was amazed, fascinated and a little bewildered, as were several of the kids around us. I had to teach him what to do with it.
The snow is rather wet and icy, but that does make it good for building with and so we built with it.
The whole thing wasn’t particularly well organised, with the “No kids over the age of 5 in the play area” rule completely ignored which made it a bit boisterous for many of the younger kids. It ended up being policed more by the parents, rather than the ineffective “Snow Crew”.  But it was great value and just to see my child experience something completely new was amazing.
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Best bit: It’s snow!
Worst bit: Organisation was woeful.
Don’t forget: Spare clothes for all involved.

From snow to ice and the Ice World ice rink at the Waterfront.
We got there early and took both our kids along. What a great decision on both counts. This was brilliant.
R50 per skater gets you skate hire and an hour on the ice – Kristen (2) got in as a freebie. When we got there (10:15am) there were only two other visitors on the 200m² rink along with the two Ice Marshals. Apparently, they have had up to 70 people on the ice at one time, but that doesn’t sound like fun to me.
The live DJ was already in full swing, but we felt that his choice and volume of music could have been more appropriate to the clientele at that point. 110dB of hardcore gangsta rap just didn’t hit the mark with us, our two kids or the pair of 6 year old girls on the ice. Play it safe, dude – stick a bit of Britney on, hey?
Aside from that though, this was fantastic – they have small plastic orange pushchairs in the shape of seals which mum and dad can push the kids around on (see the photos on the links above and below). The kids loved it, we loved it and this one comes highly recommended.
Pics
Best bit: Lots of fun, good value.
Worst bit: Early morning muthaf*****g gangsta rap for the kids.
Don’t forget: Spare clothes, socks and to get there early.

The Wheel of Excellence
I still can’t get over the name for this – it sounds like something out of Monty Python or The Mighty Boosh to me – but it’s proving to be a big hit in Cape Town, as have similar wheels all over the world, including Sheffield.
They’ve moved this big wheel to the Market Square in the Waterfront (outside Vaughan Johnson’s) and the kids have been begging for a go on it. I was more reticent when it was opposite the CalTex, but we figured we’d give it a go now it was in a less industrial setting.
It was windy and busy when we were there, but we were impressed by the stability of the 42m wheel (which is bigger than you imagine and certainly bigger than it looks) and by the efficiency and organisation of the staff.
The views (unsurprisingly) are great and the cabins are fully air-conditioned. The ride is 3 full revolutions, plus however many little bits you have to do to get people on and off. This did seem a bit expensive at R80 per adult and R50 for Alex (Kristen was a freebie again), but it’s a chance to get a unique view of that Waterfront and the surrounding area (including how dirty the local roofs are and how public this place’s swimming pool has become).
Pics
Best bit: Views deluxe
Worst bit: Quite expensive
Don’t forget: Camera, vertigo-settling Klippies before entry.

Picnics at Buitenverwachting
We did this on New Year’s Eve afternoon instead of partying the night away. And what a relaxing end to the year. Wonderful food and wine on the lawn under the oak trees while the kids collected acorns and more acorns,which they simply had to bring home. Suffice to say that my back garden is going to be an oak forest in just under 200 years time.
The numbers of places for these picnics are strictly limited so that the place doesn’t get hideously overcrowded and although you can see the other people enjoying their afternoon as well, they are by no means on top of you.
The picnics run throughout summer opposite their winter soup evenings, which I also recommend. On arrival here, you get offered wine and your picnic basket is brought out to you. The food is excellent but the portions are a little small. However, you can (and we did) ask for more of anything that you want. The service is attentive, but relaxed: you wave to them across the lawn if you need anything, otherwise they leave you alone to enjoy your afternoon. At R120 per person (kids picnic basket at R45) and wines from R50 a bottle up, this is an expensive treat, but as a laid back alternative to a traditional New Year’s Eve celebration, it worked for us.
Pics
Best bit: Relaxing, great food & wine.
Worst bit: Quite expensive.
Don’t forget: Cash (they don’t take cards), something to carry acorns in.

Aside from these attractions, we also did other things, such as beaches (a morning at Noordhoek and sundowners at Llandudno) and Cecilia Forest (great for a cool walk on a hot day). And the kids still have another 2 weeks of holiday.

How ever are we going to keep up?

You done now?

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Probably because I suggested that last weekend might have been the first weekend of summer, the South Atlantic, in an entirely successful bid to prove me wrong, threw one more big winter storm our way. It came through early on Sunday morning and stayed throughout the day, causing instant cabin fever amongst the junior members of the 6000 clan.

It wasn’t like that on Saturday.

We fed ducks, climbed trees, bounced on bouncy castles and generally had a lot of fun despite not smashing any plates before Daddy headed south beyond the Lentil Curtain and won some fabulous prizes in a pub quiz. All good.

Sunday was less fun and the only trip out of the safety of the house was to stock up on essentials at Constantia Village, where the vast array of homemade garden ornaments on sale by the roadside had been scythed down by the vicious northwester and were now a pile of homemade garden ornaments on sale by the roadside.

From the photographic evidence above, it would appear that in order to survive this sort of weather, you needed to be a stylised pelican. More accurate representations of South African ornithological highlights were doomed. Especially the heron on the left.
We’ve had more of the same hefty meteorology today and while I enjoy such bleak, downright elemental conditions, I’m completely ready for some sunshine now, please.

Thank you.

Is summer finally coming?

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As proven by this weather forecast for Cape Town for the week ahead?

Things are looking up. It’s a good sign when even the cloudy days are warm. And I have it on good authority that we may be in for a 29°C scorcha!™ on Sunday. Bring forth my ceremonial braai tongs and slaughter that bloody sheep, Jennifer. Then make a salad.

Meanwhile, less good but far more spectacular weather for my parents in the Isle of Man as a particularly virulent area of low pressure rolled in across the Irish Sea:

This was taken by my Dad this morning in Port St Mary and has a distinctly Kalk Bay feel to it. A quick look at the latest weather report from the local airport suggests that the pressure is still falling there – not good news when you have a three-hour long boat crossing of that sea tomorrow like they do.

Bon voyage…