What you see in the background is St George's Mall - an open-air shopping mall with several restaurants, and most importantly a Vida E Caffé, a well-known and well-loved coffee shop franchise.
General
“Whites Only” benches – a bizarre era
"In the 1960s a room in this building was the scene of hearings of the most bizarre and humiliating kind as ordinary people came before an appeal panel to argue about what 'race' they should be labelled. Between 1950 and 1991 apartheid's Population Registration Act classified every South African as belonging to one of at least seven 'races' - and accordingly granted or denied citizenship rights on a sliding scale from 'White' (full rights) to 'Bantu' (with the fewest). The classification was subjective, and families were split apart when paler or darker skinned children or parents - or those with curlier hair, or different features - were placed in separate categories."
- The Times
Don't you think the word "bizarre" describes this practice fairly accurately?
Waterfront shopping
This is the Barrow Mall on the first floor of the Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre at the V&A Waterfront. At these barrows you can buy anything from pet's clothing to jewellery, and from sporting merchandise to mugs. This is presumably a slightly cheaper option for retailers, offering them a space to sell their products at a very popular mall, but without the high costs associated with renting an actual shop. Of course, it means they miss out on some of the luxuries of a shop too, like, say, a door...
As someone who used to sell products at a craft market, I think it would be awesome if these barrows were actual trailers that could be towed behind a car - you'd be able to sell your products anywhere you liked, without having to pack and unpack every time. Of course, with the way I take corners in my car, I'd have to tape everything down with duct tape, or stick to selling soft, non-breakable items like cushions. ;-)
Stormwater drains
Ever since I was a kid I've been curious to know what lies beneath holes like these. When I was young I remember playing in stormwater pipes not far from my parents' home. I remember walking below the streets watching people pass by from beneath the drains in the road. Fortunately for my brother, sister and friends we had sense enough not to play in the tunnels when rain was imminent, but still, I sometimes shudder at the danger we put ourselves in. Not only was there the possibility of being trapped by some kind of freakish flood, but there could have easily been freakish people wandering the tunnels too.
A few years after leaving home, I noticed that the municipality had erected heavy iron grids in front of the entrances. I do hope this was in response to residents' complaints, and not as a result of some unfortunate incident. To be honest however, I suspect it was because the cops got tired of chasing baddies down the tunnels! :)
The rain in Cape Town
... falls mainly on Greenmarket Square. Well, not actually. The rain in Cape Town has been falling pretty much everywhere over the last day or two, and in rather large quantities too.
We had to go into the city for a friend's birthday party, and both wondered at times whether it wouldn't have been better to take a motorboat or canoe instead of our car. There's been flooding in quite a few areas, including Camps Bay, Newlands and Somerset West. Fortunately our neighbourhood seems to have escaped with a bit less rain than everywhere else, so we weren't affected in any way (apart from getting a bit wet walking from our car to the restaurant from which this photo was taken).
Of course, the great thing about Cape Town's winter is that we get all the cold, rainy weather in a few short, intense bursts, and for the rest of the time it's sunny and clear. ;-)
The mountains of Cape Town – a helicopter’s perspective
I guess you're all used to seeing the traditional Table Mountain photos, where it does in fact look somewhat like a table. I took this shot from a helicopter, after I'd spent about 50 minutes taking photos of two Tidewater Marine boats passing by Table Bay. Read yesterday's post for more info.
Since this isn't the traditional photo of the city, allow me to take a moment to point out which mountains, peaks and hills you can see here. Starting at the back, on the left is Devil's Peak, with Table Mountain to its right, kind of in the middle of the photo. You'll notice that it doesn't look as much like a table from this angle. If you click on the photo and view the large version you'll faintly make out the cable car station to the right of Table Mountain. Following on from the cable station, all the way to the right of the photo is the 12 Apostles mountain range (but, to be honest, I'm finding it tricky to pick out the 12 from this angle). In the foreground, you'll see Signal Hill (from where the Noon Gun is fired each day) on the left, with Lion's Head just to its right.
From this angle it's fairly easy to see why Signal Hill is often still referred to as "Lion's Rump".
A Wednesday morning sunrise over Table Bay
I took this photo this morning at about 07h50, at a location just past the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront. I overheard several people say that the sunrise this morning was the best that they'd seen in a long time, perhaps even the best ever!
Yesterday I gave a clue as to what I'd be doing today, but given that only Hilda from My Manila commented on the post I'm guessing that the clues must have been too vague. Well, either this, or the Internet is ignoring me... :-/
Today's clue in the photo above is the last one and will surely help narrow it down. In fact, I'm sure by now you have a fairly good idea of what I did this morning. Still, today's clue will help you uncover only one half of the puzzle... with the other half still represented in the second clue from yesterday's photo.
Two pennies for your thoughts
I took this photo yesterday while sitting at Blouberg beach, which is on the east side of Table Bay. Table Mountain is to the left and the famous Robben Island to the right of this picture - both just out of frame.
The two subjects of this photo sat on the fence for a long while, seeming not to talk, just looking out to sea. It was interesting watching the couple because due to the fact that they weren't sitting right next to each other I found myself wondering if they were uncomfortable with each other (being on some kind of "first date") or perhaps they'd been arguing and now sat silent, or maybe they were simply friends enjoying the warm sun (even though the sea breeze was a little cool). I felt that in some way the ships anchored in the bay were a silent reflection of the couple.
On a different topic, tomorrow, 7 July, is Kerry-Anne's birthday! If you will, take a guess at how old she will be. She won't be offended if you guess wrong, promise. ;) If you want to help and have a moment, have a look at the "Drummer-girl Project" that I devised in order to get her the drum kit she's been hounding me for.
Under the bridge
I mentioned graffiti, and its often un-artistic form, in the previous post. This photo is taken at the Kuilsrivier crossing of the N1 national highway - about 30 kilometres from the city centre.
Reflecting on the photo caused me to wonder if the 26 painted on the wall was a reference to the 26s prison gang prevalent in the Cape Town area. As I understand it, the 26s, 27s and 28s are three prison gangs with different roles. I won't get into it now, but it seems as though the 26s are focused on accumulating wealth "which was to be distributed among all three segments, through cunning and trickery but never violence", according to this article.
Who in the world is Dratlock?
I have no idea who Dratlock is. It may not even be someone's name, nickname, or callsign. Does anybody have an idea as to who or what it is?
I've posted photos of graffiti in Cape Town before, mostly of mural art rather than instances of vandalism. The reality is that just like any city ours has its fair share of graffiti that is not always the most appealing or artistic type. Plenty of tax money ends up being spent on cleaning up the mess instead of on improvement projects, or benefiting the community in some way. The City of Cape Town is however in the process of drafting a by-law to address graffiti. The by-law will put in place a graffiti unit that will focus on the problem and be in a position to lay civil and criminal charges against offenders.
I remember years ago when we visited Sydney my nephew mentioned that kids under 18 aren't allowed to buy spraypaint at all... and in fact may not be in the possession of such unless in the presence of an adult! This law is much like the law that prevents kids in South Africa from buying cigarettes. The reality is that many kids under 18 manage to buy smokes anyway, so I don't believe limiting who may buy spraypaint would be very effective. In fact, it would have totally sucked if this law were in place in South Africa when I was younger. I remember buying loads of paint in my youth to spray everything from skateboards to science projects, and even shoes! Seriously.
If you are an artist, then don't worry too much. It seems as though the by-law will cater for graffiti artists, providing areas for them to express their art... which I must say, is often just astounding.
First aid for electric shock
This site is where (presumably) high-voltage current, carried from huge electricity pylons and copper wire, meets the earth, heading underground to nearby homes. The signs posted around the fence are supposed to help you with first aid in case you need to assist someone who's been electrocuted.
Of course, it goes without saying that when someone has just been electrocuted, it's highly unlikely that you'll have the luxury of time to read this board or surf the web for an answer. So take a moment, read this article, and do some more research on how to give first aid - you could save someone's life and prevent yourself from getting injured in the process.
Four points that may be obvious, but are key to remember, are:
- Switch off the power source
- Don't get yourself electrocuted
- You may have to start CPR
- High-voltage victims may have broken bones and internal damage - be careful if you have to move them
Lego – fun for all ages
Come on now, admit it, everyone loves playing with Lego... don't they? After chatting with several friends who have kids I've decided that guys (and perhaps a few girls) have kids only so that they can justify buying Lego. I believe that our stand-in photographer Mandy has no kids and is unashamedly a Lego-lover (which is why we have this photo today!).
An interesting thing that I discovered from the Wikipedia article on Lego is that Ole Kirk Christiansen, Lego's inventor, actually used a patented design by Hilary Harry Fisher Page called Kiddicraft. Kiddicraft was developed in the 1930s, while Lego materialised in the 1940s. Lego (due to its remarkable success) eventually succeeded in purchasing the rights to Kiddicraft in 1981.
Aren't we all lucky that Ole "leveraged" the Kiddicraft design? Were it not for this small part of history, it's possible that millions would never have experienced the joy of Lego!
No apparent danger
The area around this signpost is littered with dolosse - big concrete blocks used to break the force of the waves hitting the retaining wall of the V&A Waterfront's parking area.
Even if you were a strong swimmer accustomed to braving the icy water, and even if the ocean looked particularly calm, the small waves ebbing and flowing would quickly crash you against the barnacle-covered concrete dolosse, making your swim at best rather unpleasant, and at worst, fatal.
It's strange how apparently calm waters can actually be very rough seas for humans, when combined with immovable objects like these dolosse. This sort of "apparent safety" is presumably also the reason that I see parents driving with their young kids unrestrained in their cars. If you do on occasion allow your kids unrestrained in a vehicle, imagine for a moment running as fast as you can into a sheet of glass. It takes a lot to make me angry - but this does.
If you're a parent, take a moment to visit the Childsafe website and read the Arrive Alive article on ensuring that your children are kept safe while in transit.
Thank-you to Mandy for helping out with photos, including this one, while we've been touring around the country for the Confederations Cup.
Buildings, banners and winds
Thankfully we haven't been in Cape Town to experience this week's storms, which seem to have been an illustration of why the Dutch at first called the area the "Cape of Storms". Mandy, on the other hand, has been there, but absolutely refused to walk about in the rain taking photos of the carnage! (Which I completely understand.)
As quickly as the storms arrive, they disappear, leaving in their wake blue skies and, in this case, torn banners. Normally, once the storm has subsided, we find that our beaches and seaside roads are covered in foam and debris from the ocean. One good thing resulting from these kinds of storms is that the skies are cleared completely of all the smog that would have hung low in the air, obscuring the beautiful nature that surrounds the city.
Garcia D’Avila, a Brazilian warship
Mandy, blogger, writer, gadget-freak, and owner of brainwavez.org kicked off today with this shot of the Garcia D'Avila moored at the Cape Town Waterfront. This warship found its way to Cape Town in support of the Sea Power for Africa Symposium held at the CTICC (but I think they're actually in SA to support Brazil in the Confederations Cup!). Mandy mentioned that the public were actually being allowed to board the vessel for a short tour. We're not sure if they're still giving tours, but if you're in the Waterfront, stop by and try your luck. ;)
If you have a moment, visit brainwavez.org. The homepage lists article summaries, which link through to the main articles. Unsurprisingly, the first article I read was a review of a silly, yet fun game, Death Dice. (I'm on level 7 at the moment ;) ).
Kulula to Mango
Yesterday was the first day of our semi-vacation to Bloemfontein, a city in the the Free State province of South Africa. The plan was for us to catch a 06h30 flight to Johannesburg, then hire a car and drive about 400km to Bloemfontein, with three hours to spare before the Spain vs Iraq Confederations Cup football match being held at the Mangaung stadium.
We stopped packing at about 1am yesterday morning... and woke up at 3am to finish packing. (Note to self: don't catch a 06h30 flight, ever). We arrived at the heavily congested Cape Town International airport, where queues were doubling back on themselves and stretching far out of sight.
Through much running and scrambling we managed to board the Kulula plane on time... and then sat patiently for an hour or so, waiting to taxi to the runway. It turned out that the reason for our wait was that a micro-switch controlling the aircraft flaps had malfunctioned. After much investigation the pilot announced that we were to disembark, as it would take some time to repair! Argggghhhh! Not only was this inconvenient, but the three-and-a-half-hour delay would cause us to miss the football match - the whole reason for our trip!
We sat in the airport lounge to drink a depressing cup of coffee, and in the midst of our disappointment and anger at the situation, we hit upon a plan. Kerry-Anne checked online and found that Mango, one of only three operators that fly to Bloemfontein, had an 11h15 flight that would fly directly to Bloemfontein, arriving in time for the match; while I went to find out whether we could get our baggage off the Kulula flight before they started boarding again.
Some quick talking from our side, and quick thinking by Ameen Sabardien (one of the Comair supervisor-type guys), got our baggage removed from the Kulula flight just before it was to depart (in fact, the boarding doors had already closed!).
We purchased new tickets from Mango (at a cost of around R1,100) while Ameen collected and returned our luggage to us and arranged for our car hire to be moved from Johannesburg to Bloemfontein. He was really amazing - when nobody else really wanted to help - he did.
After all the racing we managed to make it to Bloemfontein in time to see Spain and Iraq take to the field. The only challenge that we now face is claiming the R1,100 for our Mango flight back from Kulula!
An interesting piece of trivia is that Mango Airlines brand almost everything in orange - as I guess you're able to see from the photograph. Bloemfontein is a city in the Free State, which use to be called the Orange Free State... which perhaps is why they have Bloemfontein as one of their destinations. :P
The mystery of traffic
I imagine every city has sections of road like this one. No, I don't mean sections of road with a breathtaking view of the mountain - we can't all be that lucky :P ... I mean sections of road that have frequent and utterly inexplicable traffic jams.
This is the N1, near Bellville (one of Cape Town's northern suburbs), heading in the direction of Cape Town. The left fork is the offramp that leads to Durban Road, Bellville CBD and Tygervalley Shopping Centre.
For some reason that continues to elude me, traffic on the small section of highway from this offramp to the corresponding onramp that joins the N1 on the other side of the bridge almost always slows down to a crawl. This photo happens to have been taken on one of those rare occasions when it was relatively free-flowing.
And it's not that there's a bottleneck because of the cars coming from the onramp - there are more than enough lanes on the other side of the bridge, and the traffic is always free-flowing by the time I get level with that onramp. It's utterly bizarre - all I can think is that people must sense some kind of weird voodoo in this dip and therefore instinctively slow down...
National highways and fly-overs
I used to have a perfect view of these fly-overs from my classroom when I was in high school. During exam time, we were seated in alphabetical order according to our surnames - this put me right over at the window, which suited me perfectly. I've never been able to sit and do nothing for very long (my record is about 3 minutes, and I was all worn out from the exertion afterwards), so whenever I finished an exam early - which was fairly often - I'd have to invent elaborate mental games to keep myself from going crazy with boredom.
These fly-overs over the N1 were a godsend, as you can imagine, because they meant I could keep busy by counting cars. I would keep a tally of how many cars of a certain colour went past in each direction, how many trucks went past, how many motorbikes, and so on. Yes children, when we were young, back in the olden days, we didn't have fancy computer games or iPhone apps - we had to make our own fun.
Talking about fun, the latest episode of The Digital Edge podcast is available - download it here. (The Digital Edge is South Africa's best podcast, and I'm totally biased, because I'm in it.)
City Parks – The City Works for You
I only read this sign only after I played on the "play equipment". I think I'm in trouble... but shhh... don't tell anyone. :) I was driving past this field and noticed a guy standing more or less in the middle, whacking stones as far as he could, baseball-style. Technically I guess he's allowed to as it seems only golf is prohibited.
I wonder how many times a Metro officer has argued with a member of the public over technical interpretations of what's allowed in play parks and what's not. Technically, one is allowed to sleep in the park during the day, ride a motorbike as long as you don't wheelie and let your dog run free as long as they have a leash attached. I'm in no hurry to test the point, but if I had been challenged on the point of not being under 14 I may have considered arguing the point that I'm certainly under 14 inches. :D
Houses of Welgemoed
Welgemoed is a wealthy suburb of Cape Town, just on "the other side" of Tygerberg Hill, facing the Boland Mountains. If you were to stand on top of Table Mountain, overlooking the City Bowl, and allow your gaze to extend further, over the city, then Tygerberg Hill is the hill that you would see in the distance, about 20km from Table Mountain, and Welgemoed is just on the other side of that hill.
We took a drive around the suburb, and the strange thing was how isolated everyone seemed to be. High walls barricaded each propery, and it felt like people were peering from their windows suspiciously when we stopped our car to look around.
The property in the photo seemed different. Firstly, there were no large walls to be seen, only fences, and secondly, there is far more open space around this house than other houses in the area. Also, the abundant trees, garden and green rolling hills seem to give the home less of a densely-packed suburban feeling.
Friends and babies
In the early hours of Sunday morning, friends of ours welcomed their first baby - a girl, named Mieke - into the world. Mieke arrived in the middle of the night, a day or so before she was expected, making their gynaecologist rush from a peaceful sleep to the delivery room in only a couple of hours.
After doing a bit of research I found that there seems to be a trend in South Africa - a few more male babies than female are born here each year. It's interesting, because I thought that there were more girls than boys! The latest stats that I could find were for 2007, and what I found fascinating in the report was that our province, the Western Cape, is responsible for just over 10% of the births each year! Go Cape Town! :)
Party in a jukebox
A fun thing to do for a party is to hire an old-fashioned jukebox... and I imagine that a fun thing to do during the summer holidays in Cape Town would be to hire a jukebox for a few days. :) I hired one for a party a couple of years ago, and it was a blast - quite literally.
These days the only boxes that you can hire are fitted with hard drives containing hundreds of MP3 tracks. I'd love to find one of these babies that still uses LPs. I guess that finding one, especially in a public place, would be nearly impossible. Please leave a comment if you know of a genuine jukebox that plays genuine LPs. We may just have to visit! :)
We’re on a road to somewhere
A few months back I decided that it was time for my little web copywriting business to start growing. So I bravely rented some office space not too far from home and hired my first full-time employee. So far, it's turned out to be one of my best decisions ever - the offices are lovely, and I'm firmly convinced that my Operations Manager (she started off as a Personal Assistant, but very quickly outgrew that title) is the best anyone could wish for.
I'm looking forward to watching this baby business grow and expand into a formidable force; and one day when we've taken over the world, we'll be able to look back at this picture and say, "That's where it all started." This is the view from the street just outside our office block - beautiful, isn't it? That's the Boland mountain range in the distance, and in a month or two's time, there'll probably be snow on those peaks. And yes, it is still winter in Cape Town, just in case this picture confused you. ;-)
Have you ever taken a big step that seemed a little daunting at the time, but turned out to be a fantastic move?
A hospital room with a view
The building that you can see more or less in the middle of this photo is the Panorama Medi-Clinic, one of the best known private hospitals in Cape Town. Take a look at the lights spreading out in the background and you'll probably be able to work out why this area is called Panorama. It's located on the slopes of Tygerberg Hill, in the northern suburbs, and from here you can see a very large part of greater Cape Town.
The Panorama Medi-Clinic was opened in 1986, and was the very first hospital launched by the Medi-Clinic group. I'm not a big fan of hospitals in general, due to having spent quite a bit of time in one when I was a toddler. Being in a hospital environment always brings up vague feelings of trauma for me, so I avoid them as far as possible. If you don't have any such qualms, though, then take a visual tour of the Panorama Medi-Clinic. :)
Vehicle licence
Each year around this time I receive a kind letter in the mail (as do many of you, I'm guessing), requesting me to present myself at the traffic department to pay for and collect my new vehicle licence disc. This year I got smart and handed the paperwork and cash over to my company's "Yell4Yellow" staff who stood in the queue for me and returned later that day, disc in hand. It was the best experience ever. :D
Yes, I realise that although I mentioned a "licence disc", this paper doesn't look quite like a disc. I've in fact neatly cut out the disc from the bottom left corner of this sheet and attached it to the lower left corner of my car's windshield. From my quick Google image search it would seem as though the UK has a similar system.
Please leave a comment and let us know if your country uses licence discs?
Oh, the red scrawl in the background is the makings of a blueprint for software that a colleague and I were designing. Isn't it lovely that my job allows me to draw pictures?
You are what you do
The quote "You are what you do" appears to originate from Jean-Paul Sartre, a 20th-century French philosopher. This particular sign can be found obscuring the view from my office, which lies somewhere between "the" and "exceptional". :)
I understand that the view held by Sartre was that you are responsible for who you are, and what you do dictates the person you are - which is a fair statement, I think. So, I guess that the message today isn't as much about Cape Town as it is about deciding to be awesome.
So, go ahead, do the right thing, be exceptional! ;)
Cape Town on sale
I can't understand why some people think of Cape Town as a cold, wet, windy and depressing place during winter. Sure, we have our periods of grey, and our fair share of cats and dogs (proverbially speaking). The converse is also true, however; many of our winter days are as this day - sunny, warm(ish) and beautifully clear. On these days, the sky seems crisper and cleaner, and it's a privilege to be living in one of the world's most beautiful cities.
Now that I've painted this pretty picture of our perfect peninsula, let me explain the title of today's post. Each year Cape Town Tourism runs a discount promotion whereby both visitors and locals can take advantage of cheaper rates for an assortment of activities and accommodation. From the website, it looks like the season starts on 25 May, only a few days away. So, if you are planning on visiting between 25 May and 25 September, then remember to visit the Cape Town On Sale website to check for any bargain opportunities!
The first Governor was coloured?
Simonsig, the wine estate that produces these bottles of wine, is named after the first Governor of Cape Town (then called the Cape of Good Hope), Simon van der Stel.
Van der Stel became Commander at the Cape in 1679, after which he was promoted to be the first Governor of the Cape in 1691. The interesting fact that I learned only today (and something that our apartheid history books conveniently ignored) was that while his father was Dutch, Simon's mother was Indian (in fact a freed slave woman), meaning that he and a large part of Cape Town's population have more in common that I'd previously realised. :)
Driving rain
We woke up early this morning, with about 42 fire trucks blasting our house with their huge fire hoses. When the pounding water eventually held up, I looked outside and found that every single fire-truck and fireman had mysteriously disappeared without a trace... leaving behind pools of water all through our garden.
Oh alright... you saw right through my story, didn't you? It wasn't really firemen, of course, but rather the biggest and heaviest cloud that we've seen for a long while, unleashing all its rain in one enormous downpour. I must say, I'm not particularly looking forward to this winter; it's been icy cold this afternoon - around 11°C (which is freezin' for a Cape Town afternoon)!
We're heading off to a friend's birthday party at FTV in Cape Town this evening. It's storming outside, but Shana's convinced it's going to be hot inside. ;) I'll let you know tomorrow how it went!
Scary old clay man
I found this piece of pottery-work hanging, for sale, in a nursery. My first thought was about whether or not the intent of this piece of art was to keep kids away from a particular place in one's garden... but then I realised that it may in fact be intended to scare away would-be burglars! :D
Seeing this clay reminded me of how much clay was around when I was young. I remember several red clay dams in our area as well as marsh-like fields of white clay, known as plastic clay (or plastic fire clay, or ball clay). I remember walking through these wet fields, either soiling my shoes, or feeling the fine white clay squishing up between my toes. Today we have few such fields where kids can play and get really dirty. While we still have a huge amount of open space, most of the large open fields that were in our suburbs are now filled with buildings and roads.
Incidentally, according to the South African Institute for Mining and Metallurgy it seems as though Brackenfell (the suburb next to ours) and Kraaifontein (the suburb next to Brackenfell) have some of the finest white clay in the land. Had I appreciated this fact, I would many years ago have started selling it off to potters!