And that's pretty much how I've felt all day today, because the winter sniffles finally got me, giving me a runny nose and a foggy head. I'm very deur die blare.

It's even prettier INSIDE when there's a show on: the Planetarium hosts spectacular educational shows under that big dome, complete with a simulated night-sky full of twinkling stars.

A few Capetonians have asked us which "Company" is being referred to in the name of the Gardens (many people here simply know them as "The Gardens in Cape Town"). Well, it's the Dutch East India Company, who laid out a vegetable and medicinal garden here sometime after Jan van Riebeeck's landing in 1652.

The section shown in the foreground of this picture is the rose garden; it looks a little bare because it's not rose season for us at the moment. It's almost pruning time, in fact...

I just love all the artwork on the walls, and the unusual selection of furniture, don't you? It was the perfect spot to spend a rainy Friday afternoon.

The Theatre on the Bay is situated just one block up from the beach, so it's always great to go and see a show there.

This is the oldest lighthouse along the South African coast, and was first lit on the night of 12 April 1824. This is a pretty dangerous piece of coast (red means "danger", after all), and a fair number of ships have run aground here through the centuries. The lighthouse became a National Monument in 1973, and is now the headquarters of Lighthouses Services, part of the National Ports Authority of South Africa.

There are 100 blogs participating in this theme day. Take some time to visit them, and see what's red all around the world:
Shanghai, China - Mumbai, India - New York City (NY), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Hamburg, Germany - Stayton (OR), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Hyde, UK - Oslo, Norway - Brookville (OH), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Joplin (MO), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Selma (AL), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Seattle (WA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Evry, France - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Grenoble, France - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Hilo (HI), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - La Antigua, Guatemala - Brisbane (QLD), Australia - Singapore, Singapore - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong, China - Sequim (WA), USA - Paderborn, Germany - Saarbrücken, Germany - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Tenerife, Spain - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Sydney, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Mainz, Germany - Toru?, Poland - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - North Bay (ON), Canada - Jakarta, Indonesia - Montréal (QC), Canada - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Baziège, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - New York (NY), USA - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Sharon (CT), USA - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Villigen, Switzerland - Chicago (IL), USA - Torquay, UK - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Paris, France - Seoul, Korea - Manila, Philippines - Milano, Italy - Austin (TX), USA - Chennai, India - Madrid, Spain - Seoul, South Korea - Wailea (HI), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Ajaccio, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Budapest, Hungary - Moscow, Russia - Auckland, New Zealand - Torino, Italy

Yesterday was particularly bad, with trees being uprooted by the wind and roads being flooded. A few suburbs were without electricity for a couple of hours, because their power lines had been damaged by falling trees and heavy wind.

I don't mind the storms at all, but that's because I have a comfortable brick house, a heater, and enough clothing to keep me warm. But what about the people living in shacks made of corrugated iron and wooden boards? And even worse, what about those who call the street their home? This kind of weather has far greater consequences for them than a few hours without electricity...

It was absolute book-heaven. I watched live poetry performances, listened to a panel discussion on writing biographies, heard travel writers talking of their travel experiences, met the editor of one of our leading women's magazines, and got a book signed by my favourite Afrikaans poet.

Amid all this activity, I also got a chance to just wander up and down rows and rows of exhibition stands and enjoy being surrounded by millions of shiny new books!

Almost 50,000 people visited the Book Fair this year. It's really pleasing to see that despite the speed and complexity of our lives so many people still love a good book.

The construction of the CTICC started in April 2001, and the Centre was officially opened for business on 1 July 2003. Since then, it's played host to an enormous range of conferences, trade fairs, exhibitions, concerts and other events. Some of those that Paul and I have been to include The Cape Town International Book Fair, Hobby-X (an annual crafts and hobbies expo), The Good Food and Wine Show, the Johnny Clegg concert, a production of Mamma Mia, and the International Shopping Festival.

The Convention Centre is almost always buzzing, and quite honestly, I don't know how we did without it for all those years.

Peroni (pictured here) seems to be the fashionable thing to drink here at the moment - what's the drink of choice in your city?

Johnny Clegg is often called the "White Zulu", and if you see him dancing, you'll understand why. He has the most incredible energy on stage, and his performance is even more impressive when you realise that he's just turned 54! Most of his songs are a mixture of Zulu and English, although last night he sang us his very first Afrikaans/Zulu song too. Seeing young people of all races dancing together in the aisles to his legendary songs made me realise once again that despite our different cultures and skin-colours, all of us who call this country home have something in common: Africa is in our blood.

I know that Johnny has performed in Europe and North America as well - have any of you been fortunate enough to go to one of his concerts?

I remembered the boat in the foreground from the day we went to Robben Island - it left the harbour just before we did, and took a group of schoolchildren out to the island. They seemed to be part of some kind of orchestra, but we were rather disappointed that we didn't hear them playing anywhere on the island - no doubt they played a special concert for a few select VIPs. :)

This is what the weather has been like for the last few days - very cold and grey, with plenty of much-needed rain. There has been some flooding in a few of the country towns, but it hasn't been too bad in the city - the traffic has been heavy though.

Remember this post? Well, today's photo is taken from almost the same angle, after I had lunch at the same restaurant. :) Can you spot the blue Victoria & Alfred Hotel on the other side of the harbour?

I rather like it - the colours and the simplicity of the shapes appeal to me. What about you? (You'll need to zoom in to see the artwork clearly, although of course it's far more impressive when you're actually standing in front of it...)

Jules asked yesterday whether the grass was really that green, and yes, it most certainly was! It was getting close to sunset, so the light was quite unusual and really emphasised the luminosity of the grass.

Paul likes cows as much as I like sheep, so perhaps we should consider having a dairy and wool farm one day. :)

By the way, many overseas tourists tend to get sunburnt when they visit South Africa (our secret is that we always wear sunblock...) - if this should happen to you, get hold of some aloe lotion; it's reputed to be great for soothing sunburn.

By the way, the name "Goudini" is derived from a Khoisan phrase meaning “bitter honey”. The people who originally inhabited this area apparently found that the honey they made from the flowers of a particular local tree was bitter.

We live in a very security-conscious society - unfortunately, the reality is that we have a really high crime rate. So for us, it's not unusual to see security measures like this (though quite honestly, I think they're trying to keep out scavenging baboons rather than criminals here). I've seen a few pictures on other city blogs of spikes or broken glass on top of walls - how common are things like this where you live? Do you lock your doors at night? Do you have a burglar alarm system in your home?

Drilling and blasting of the 3.9km tunnel started from both directions in 1984. What I found astounding was that the opposing drilling heads met half way only 3mm out of alignment. The tunnel was finished in April 1988, four years after construction was started.

Whenever driving through this tunnel I feel a little like a Formula 1 driver speeding though the tunnel at Monaco - it's unfortunate that the speed limit is set at 90km/h :(.

Have you ever paid the toll for the car behind you as a random act of kindness? It's such fun to imagine what they might be thinking when the cashier tells them that someone's already paid for them. :)