The part of the rubbish dump that you see in this photo is for garden refuse like branches, leaves, grass, etc. The big yellow machine is used to chop larger branches into finer pieces that are easier to compress and dispose of.
Whenever I stop to drop things off at this rubbish dump there are invariably five or six guys around who are very keen to help people offload their unwanted goods. It's sad in a way, but as the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Taking the glass elevator up to my office each day often gives me a moment to ponder this phrase and wonder what the story behind it was. It's needless to say that the intended recipient of this message never owned up to being such.
I wonder if the note had it's intended effect...
This photo is of the canal at the Canal Walk shopping centre - taken over the weekend, after the Canon roadshow.
You'll remember from yesterday's post that I attended Canon's Playground roadshow at Ratanga Junction. During the refreshments break we had the opportunity to walk around this deserted theme-park, and although the security officials kept us to our designated area, I managed to snap a few shots. This carousel is relatively small, and is really something to entertain toddlers and dads while mom has a go on the terrible ride called Congo Queen. This particular ride (featured in yesterday's post) is a long boat that rocks back and forth like a huge pendulum, and leaves no way to escape once the nausea sets in.
We don't have kids, but I can assure you that I'd be the first volunteer to babysit and escape the wrath of this Congo Queen.
Canon gave away loads of awesome equipment (lenses, camera bags, an external flash, photo printers, remote triggers, magazine subscriptions, etc.), which clearly went down a treat with the audience. Sadly, I didn't win anything this year... but you can bet that I'll be back next year, not only to learn, but also for that remote chance of winning one of Canon's spectacular lenses! ;)
The theme-park was closed to the general public today, so unfortunately I don't have any photos of people having fun or feeling nauseous, as Kerry-Anne and I do respectively. I'll show you one or two more photos from inside Ratanga Junction in the next day or two.
There's one area in the middle of the building where (for asthetic reasons) there are no sun shades. Even though the windows are tinted, offices in this part of the building tends to be a few degrees warmer in the summer months. Every now and again, when my office become to chilly, I find a reason to visit colleagues in this area for a quick cup of coffee. :)
The parking bays closest to the building are snapped up by the few early risers - with the rest being left to park some distance from the building. Parking a little way from the building is good from an exercise point of view, but seriously unpleasant when it's raining or after your car's been baking in Africa's hot summer sun.
I did some research and found that oats is very good for combating LDL (the bad form of cholesterol). A pharmacist also told me about a natural product called Cholesterex, which is said to increase HDL levels, and HDL helps manage LDL in the bloodstream (or so I'm told).
What you see here is my daily breakfast, in the office kitchen - a cup of uncooked oats with cold milk and honey (a good alternative to sugar). This keeps me going until lunch time... after which I'm left ravenous, and head off to the canteen for a quick bite of lunch.
Now as far as the stress portion of the equation is concerned, I'm afraid this is unavoidable without the risk of being fired; and the exercise aspect - well, that's still up for decision. I think I'll give this diet a couple more weeks and then have another test. Perhaps eating better and taking supplements will be good enough? ;)
It's been a cold and rainy day today so we didn't venture outdoors much. I took this photo at Cape Garden Centre, a local nursery, a while back. Heh - perhaps it's appropriate to post a photo taken at a nursery for Mother's Day. ;)
My own mother reads this blog, so I'm dedicating today's post to her. Thanks mom for the 33 years of love and support - you've done good and I love you loads.
Sinn's, named after its chef and proprietor Thomas Sinn, has an awesome cocktail and tapas-style snack menu, and the cocktail lounge is fast becoming a favourite spot for casual get-togethers. And of course, it doesn't hurt that they offer free wi-fi. ;-)
This card isn't a normal credit card. I can't use it to buy dinner, a fine set of glasses or even a candle holder. All this piece of plastic is good for is to buy petrol or diesel.
South Africa must be one of the few countries where you cannot buy fuel with your ordinary credit card. How disastrous it must be as a tourist to find out only once you've filled up your rental car's tank that the filling station won't accept your credit card.
Since we can't use traditional credit cards to purchase fuel, we have to either carry wads of cash around with us, draw money at the filling station's ATM, or use one of these special "garage cards".
I'd love to take a poll to find out how much you would expect to pay for this piece of cake in your country. So, please do leave a comment and let's find out where we're able to get the best deal on chocolate cake.
Perhaps some unfortunate motorist once had to reverse faster than a pregnant woman at a chocolate exhibition after the vehicle in front came to a halt at the red light. Or, perhaps the city council was smart enough to realise that drivers are often much like sheep. Whichever it is, this sign certainly is large enough to catch anyone's attention.
About four years ago a good friend of ours dropped off a broken-down Austin Seven at our home for safe-keeping. He had bought it for a song and had the crazy idea that he could make some money out of it. It turned out that it would cost him far too much to restore and so he ended up selling it for around R2000 (200 Euro).
If I remember correctly, the new owner wanted to cut it in half, down the middle, and make some kind of artwork out of it...
We recently had the pleasure of catching the train again for the first time in 10 years. The trains are still the same old trains - minus the aluminium baggage racks, which I'm pretty sure were stolen and sold as scrap metal. That said, as much as things stay the same, some things do change. In this case, the presence of armed security guards was the most apparent. There were (seriously) no fewer than 5 fully-armed, flak-jacketed security guards on the coach we were in. While looking perfectly approachable, all five had "don't mess with us" looks on their faces. I'm guessing that the intention is for them to discourage criminals from even boarding the train.
Although the train was no where close to the standard of trains in Paris, Singapore or Sydney, it was a pretty interesting ride along the Simon's Town route. 25 ZAR buys a ticket from Cape Town station all the way to Simon's Town and back - allowing the traveller to hop on and hop off at any stop along the way.
Kerry-Anne and I ventured outdoors this afternoon and popped in at the coffee shop attached to the Wordsworth bookshop at Willowbridge (an outdoor shopping mall). If I had left Kerry-Anne there she would have spent the remainder of the day just like the subject of today's photo... reading and drinking coffee (though in her case it was white hot chocolate).
Click through to our Extras blog for a few more photos of what you may see out on this huge concrete tongue.
In case you're unaware of what's happened in Zimbabwe, let me explain. It's been five weeks since the Zimbabwean elections and only today were the results revealed. It appears as though the current president Robert Mugabe (leader of Zanu-PF) has lost to Morgan Tsvangirai's party (the MDC). Neither has gained an outright majority which means that a second round of voting will have to take place for one party to establish an outright majority.
For good reason many claim foul on the part of Zanu-PF, but it appears as though it's back to the waiting game to see who will rule the country. God bless and peace be with you Zimbabwe.
I would have bought a fish from her, but thought it not wise to attempt the long train trip home with a freshly cut fish under my arm.
It was a cool and windy day today, so walking out on the pier was a somewhat chilly experience. Nevertheless, we saw hardy fishermen casting their lines, taking their boats out to sea, and gutting their catch along the water's edge. I truly think that fishermen must be a special breed.
I'm not sure how old this radio is. Some of you might remember it from the days of your youth. If you click on the photo you'll see a larger version with a list of countries and cities like Moscow, France and Norway. Surely it's not possible that a radio in South Africa could actually receive a signal from as far away as Moscow?
So, on your next trip to Cape Town be sure to visit the Cheetahs at Spier. If you bring a little extra money along you'll have an opportunity to visit the cheetahs inside their enclosure, and even stroke them - if you're brave enough!
Being able to reach a speed of 120km/h makes the Cheetah the fastest land animal around. They are reportedly able to accelerate from 0 to 110km/h in only 3 seconds... which is more than twice as fast as my 6-cylinder BMW!
Fortunately slave trading was banned way back in South Africa's history and today all that you will find to trade are African curios, clothes and perhaps other items you would expect to find at a flea or craft market.
This could however all be utter nonsense and so it would be awesome if someone could shed some light on this matter - either confirming my suspicions or pointing out their true meaning.
Have you seen these arrows before? Do you know for sure what they mean? Can you help?
Just remember that whether you're going for a walk on the slopes of our beautiful mountain, or simply visiting the Waterfront, be sure to bring something warm along - April evenings tend to turn unpredictably chilly.
This chap has been at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town for quite some time. The photo sees him making his way out of the remains of a 25 gallon metal drum. I couldn't find any information about him, but interestingly enough, based on his accent I realised that he wasn't from South Africa... in fact, I don't think he's from Africa at all. For some reason I had the idea that he may even be American... can it be?
It's rumoured that the City is looking at converting part of our rail network into an underground system. Perhaps this will lead to some kind of underground Metro. I'm not sure exactly what the plans are, but a general upgrade of our rail system would help tremendously to alleviate congestion.
Amstel beer was first produced in 1870 by the Amstel Brewery in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. According to a Wikipedia article, and to my surprise, it was taken over by Heineken International in 1968.
Although I find the beer a little bitter for my taste I do have many friends whose drink of choice it is. Perhaps my friends simply have a more sophisticated palate than I do...
As many of our readers already know, Kerry-Anne and I recently moved into a "new" house in an old established area, where the trees are large and the birds are plentiful. Just how plentiful I did not realise - until today. We've been seeing large Guineafowl on front lawns, geese on chimneys, and earlier today I watched as several birds hopped from branch to branch just above and just out of reach of our cats, taunting them. It was delightful to watch. Birds can be so cruel. ;-)
