The Silver Falcons air force aerobatics team was originally formed in 1946 as a four-man team named the Bumbling Bees (what were they thinking?). In 1967 the new five-man team was renamed as the Silver Falcons - a far cooler name I'm sure you'll agree.

Currently all five pilots serve as flight instructors at the Central Flying School located at Air Force Base Langebaanweg (a little over 100 kilometers up our west coast). This is where they also spend their spare time practicing routines and formations that dazzle crowds at Ysterplaat each year.

Silver Falcons, thanks for an spectacular display earlier!

We're busy preparing a few extra photos taken at the air show this weekend. With any luck we'll have them ready by tomorrow, so do check back here early in the week.

After what Cape Town's weather has been like over the last week or two, the organisers couldn't have hoped for a more pleasant weather. The sun was out, there were no clouds and although there was a breeze it wasn't enough to disrupt the carefully planned maneuvers which were executed with utmost precision.

We spent the day watching all kinds of aircraft, from the Oryx multipurpose helicopter to the Russian MI24 and South African Rooivalk (Red Falcon) attack helicopters. We watched as huge Boeing and Airbus commercial planes and Electric Lightning combat aircraft danced in the skies above.

However, in our opinion it was the Harvards that stole the show. After 63 years of flight, their bright colours, the distinctive high-pitched sound from their propellers beating the wind, and the impressive aerobatics again allowed them to steal the show for us.

We unfortunately had to leave before the Gripen figher aircraft and the Silver Falcons took to the sky. If things go according to plan we'll make it though to Ysterplaat tomorrow and bring back a few photos of what we missed today.

Even though a military presence exists, the base isn't really used for military purposes anymore. It's in fact rare that we see fighter jets landing at Ysterplaat these days. Besides for the cost involved in running a fully operational base, the residential areas have steadily crept up on the base and today thousands live in very close proximity. Noise-wise, I'm pretty sure that local residents are grateful that the base has been scaled down.

Anyway... I digress. It almost seemed to have slipped Mother Nature's mind too - it's been raining like crazy today. The good news is that the rain will have passed by tomorrow afternoon, just in time for Saturday and Sunday's air show - which is open to the public at a fairly low charge of R50 for adults (and a little less if you pre-book, are on pension, or happen to be under 12 years of age).

I haven't been to the air show in years, so this weekend is my chance to catch up on all the photos I've missed out on. Be sure to watch this space. :)

Click here if you'd like to see a map of how to get to Air Force Base Ysterplaat, or here if you'd like more detailed logistical information, or here for a Google Maps aerial photograph of the venue.

At some stage it would seem that the Arum Lily was taken over to Australia, where it flourished and was subsequently declared a weed. In true Australian style [we do love you guys ;)] the government had strict laws enforced with respect to the transport and control of the plant.

What few may know (I certainly didn't) is that the boiled Arum Lily was, and perhaps still is, used by traditional medicine practitioners as a cure for headaches as well as a means to reduce skin inflammation.

Disclaimer: We don't suggest that you actually try using the plant for medicinal purposes... at least not before doing a truck-load of research on the Internet. :)

Tip: And, never utter the words "I read on the internet..." in the presence of your doctor.

Click through to our CTDP Extras blog to see photos (perhaps a little more impressive) of the rising sun, as well as the unexpected view from the suite's spa-bath.

This 15-metre heated swimming pool is a dream for anyone wanting to keep fit without having to head off to the gym. As I mentioned, the villa lies on the slopes of Table Mountain, and the owner reckons that there's a 20 or 30 minute walk that one can take up the mountain to a spot where you're able to see the tip of Cape Point.

So, with the pool for doing laps and the mountain for climbing stairs, I'm pretty sure that a month in this exquisite location could go a long way towards the formation of a fitness regime.

It may be of interest to mention that we've neither swum a lap nor climbed a step on the mountain since arriving... we have however suntanned, napped, and made use of the spa-bath (which overlooks the Constantia Valley and Boland mountains) - if that counts for anything. :-/

When our hosts, Ric and Robynne, invited us to stay with them at their Camelot Villa this weekend, we gladly accepted. What we hadn't realised was that Ric had purchased the culinary services of celebrity chef MK on a charity auction.

MK has an interesting history. A former street-child, he was selected to undergo training at Jamie Oliver's famous restaurant Fifteen. You can click here to read his story.

MK has worked at a number of top restaurants around Cape Town, and on one occasion even cooked for Nelson Mandela! This evening he treated us to a starter of tabbouleh wrapped in cucumber strips, a main course of dorado topped with mashed peas and parma ham, and a chocolate fondant dessert with blueberries and ice cream (which you can see in the photo above). The meal was absolutely sublime, and I know without a doubt that MK has a very successful career ahead of him.

Doom of the earth aside, it's been pretty gloomy in Cape Town. Nature has been raining her proverbial cats and dogs over the peninsula all week, and I think that I speak for all Capetonians when I say: We've had enough of winter!

I met with a consultant from Johannesburg on Tuesday who couldn't believe that we're having such cold weather - apparently they've been suffering somewhat of a heatwave up north, only 1500Km away. Come on Jo'burg, send some of that warm, sunny weather our way!

This photo was taken in the parking garage pictured in this post.

Killer Robot is a club in Long Street (Cape Town) just over the road from the Long Street Cafe. The venue hosts techno music by DJs such as Ivan, Bruno Morphet, and AK47. It does sound interesting, I think we're going to have to stop in some time - just to check out what's happening.

At this time of the evening this parking garage is pretty empty, although during week days it's filled up with colleagues' cars. Only a few vehicles remain after hours, belonging to very committed workers trying to catch up on things undone. On September evenings like this one, there's an icy wind that rushes among the cold concrete pillars, almost pushing you along, and encouraging laggers to vacate the building and head on home to their families.

Kerry-Anne and I shot through to the Goodhope Centre (perhaps an aptly named venue) at about 11am this morning to catch the opening act, Matthew Gair, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (that's not him in the photo, though).

The rest of the day was filled with superb performances by CODA, Failing Forward, The Little Kings, Tristan Waterkeyn, Louise Day Band, Hot Water, Cold Hand Chemistry, Nomfusi Gotyanan, Freshly Ground, Jacsharp, Overgraze, The Rudimentals, Autopilot, Ike Moriz, The Plastics, Shy Guevaras, The Dirty Skirts, Betray The Emissary and New Altum.

Please visit our Cape Town Daily Photo Extras blog to see about 60 photos taken during the course of the morning.

I took this photo in a field near our house. Believe me when I say that it's rather bland in comparison to what's in store a couple of weeks from now (when we'll eventually have the opportunity to take a drive up the West Coast). In fact, we would have driven up to visit the flowers tomorrow, but there's something far more exciting happening at Cape Town's Good Hope Centre... To those of you who are attending Zimfest - see you there. And to those who don't know what I'm talking about, stand by, I'll show you the photo(s) tomorrow. :)

After the past weekend's rain and heavy winds it must be hard to imagine that we've just had two days of perfectly clear weather. As quickly as bad weather arrives, it vanishes without a trace, leaving in its stead a crisp, clear and smogless skyline.

Ah, the beauty of Cape Town...

I was hoping to get a photo of the pink city skyline this evening, but ended up working a little later than normal. I snapped this shot as I was about to leave our parking garage.

The amount of innovation within the Web community of Cape Town is simply astounding. This evening local web-entrepreneurial hero Vinny Lingham, CEO of Synthasite (a Cape Town web-based startup company) presented a talk to some of Cape Town's web entrepreneurs, explaining how to go about seeking venture capital to help turn small under-funded startup companies into the next Google or Facebook.

If you are thinking about investing in a Cape Town-based startup I'd suggest that you don't wait too long. Over the next couple of months and years I think we'll see Cape Town's web entrepreneurs attempting to turn that virtual dial "way up", making a couple of lucky investors very, very happy in the process.

"Hundreds of commuters were left stranded this morning after Metrorail closed eight rail stations from Muizenberg to Simon's Town due to damage caused by turbulent seas and huge waves crashing over the railway lines.

We live too far from the Muizenberg coast to verify whether or not commuters were stranded this morning, but I would imagine that after the past weekend's storms and raging seas the train lines would have certainly been knocked out. Click here to see exactly how close the rail lines are to the sea. Beautiful, but crazy!

I took the train photo a couple of months ago, so no, I wasn't aboard a rogue train today.

A round-up of storm coverage:
- Saturday afternoon at Three Anchor Bay and Sea Point
- More photos of the Sea Point area, after the storm had struck (thanks to www.6000.co.za)
- Stormy seas and giant waves at Kalk Bay
- Zoopy video of wave damage at Kalk Bay's Polana and Harbour House restaurants
- Storm damage and flooding in Strand and Gordon's Bay

Jokes aside, you'll find these signs all over now as our roads are being prepared to receive the onslaught of traffic over the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup period, and during the expected tourism boom beyond.

Kerry-Anne and I are looking forward to this simply because we enjoy meeting visitors. However, for many others, an increase in tourism means a permanent job, a stable income and food on the table.

So in as much as you're blessed to experience the wonders of Cape Town, we're blessed and glad to have you visit.

The final positions were unveiled on 20 August, with Montreal declared the top city. Riga achieved second, with Cape Town in third position (followed closely by Belgrade and Paris).

So it seems as though Hasbro and their Monopoly World Edition will help put Cape Town solidly on the map for many households. :)

The Monopoly game in this photo is the South African edition and has been passed down from Kerry-Anne's parents to us. It's apparently seen the family through many cold and rainy winter days - as I'm sure you can tell by the well-worn box.

The record was first set in Cape Town in 2003, where I believe 550 dancers participated in a class. In 2006 this record was broken by 551 dancers attending a class in Pretoria (near Johannesburg, South Africa).

The Cape Town organisers expected between 600 and 700 dancers to arrive today; so when 983 excited dancers arrived at the Canal Walk shopping centre they were caught just a little off guard!

Well done Cape Town, and better luck next year Pretoria! ;-)

The irony about this shirt is that I reckon someone with an adequately inflated ego would actually love to own it. The problem that I have with this statement is that in reality I'd love to own it myself... ;-)

I received an excited call from a colleague on Wednesday evening saying that I should really look outside and take a photo of the setting sun. So I grabbed my camera, drove to a viewpoint, and snapped this beautifully cloudy red sunset (click the photo to see the big version).

The following day's weather was terrible - it rained buckets in the morning. This led me to think of the saying, and how it should have been a "sailor's delight". Today, Friday, I type this post as the sun is setting. The sky is again a brilliant red hue, so I just took a look at WeatherSA and guess what I found? Saturday:"Cloudy, rain mainly afternoon (60%)"!

So I'm thinking that perhaps the saying should go "red sky at night (in Cape Town), sailor's warning, red sky in the morning (in Cape Town) sailor's delight". Our red-sky mornings really do turn into beautiful days. :)

I was rather surprised at the large turnout that the event had. The tickets weren't cheap (though not unreasonable) and yet the various rooms (each hosting different topic tracks) were pretty full every time (as was the lunch hall at 13h00).

It would seem as though Cape Town's IT industry is booming. If anybody knows, I'd be interested to find out whether or not ticket sales for this event have increased over the last couple of years.

Thanks Daryl Plummer and Frank Kenney for the comedic, yet well thought out and informative talks you gave on SOA and BPM. We'll remember to watch out for the Black Mamba. ;)

Our next match is against Australia on 23 August where we really need to pull off a victory. After such a disastrous loss on Saturday, we fondly think back to our past glory during the 2007 World Cup, hoping that our boys will take courage, demonstrate their skill and find the determination needed for victory on Saturday.

We're behind you all the way, guys!

Edit: The score was actually slightly worse, 19-0. See the comments below.

It's pretty late in the evening, so I'm about to head off to the huge four-poster bed shown in this photo. Watch this space tomorrow to find out more about where we are and how absolutely beautiful it is.

From what I've been able to find out, Gilbeys Distillers used to bottle alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in Devon Valley, near Stellenbosch. It would appear as though Gilbeys closed its doors some time back and that a couple of its senior executives bought much of the bottling equipment, hand-picked many of the good Gilbeys staff, and started Rostberg Pty(Ltd), a company specialising in the bottling of wine.

Now, this still doesn't explain what the text on this wall is all about - but for some reason I really like the photo. Perhaps it's simply the colouring and incomprehensible black text... I'm not sure.

Since then they've helped keep me, and many others, safe on poorly-lit roads. I only wish that there were more of these little helpers on more of our back-roads, as they're often the most poorly lit areas.

I find it really disconcerting not being able to see bends in the road ahead, or, when it's raining, not knowing whether I'm veering over into another lane or not. Well done Percy Shaw, this really was a simple yet brilliant invention.

I've been told more than once that if you're planning on travelling up through Africa then an old Land Rover is probably the best vehicle that you could take. The reason is simple: the Land Rover is so pervasive in Africa that no matter which village you end up in, you're bound to find an old Landy from which you can salvage parts to fix your broken-down vehicle.

I've noticed over the past few years that many large Blue Gum trees have been removed from the area in which I live. The negative impact that this tree has had on our environment has caused it to be regarded as an invader that should be removed.

To get back to why I brought up Chicago: If you're visiting Cape Town at any time and would care to see a show or two, then it would be a good idea to take a look at Computicket's online booking website where you're able to book tickets before even arriving in South Africa. It's fairly simple to use and once you've booked your tickets all you have to do is collect them a day or so before the show from a kiosk in one of the listed shopping malls. Easy peazy.

Weaver birds are given the name because of the intricately woven nests. What's interesting is that you'll most often find that the entrance to their nests face downwards, towards the ground. I remember hearing once that they do this so that snakes are unable steal their eggs.

The slithery predators are forced to approach the nest from the branch above and due to the shape and location of the nest are unable to hold on to anything while attempting to enter the nest, causing them to fall unceremoniously to the ground.

I wonder which was the first Weaver to think of this bright idea?