The inscription on this gun reads "...to the memory of all artillerymen who laid down their lives for their country."
War is never good - people tell me that it's sometimes a necessary evil. I've had the privilege of not having to make that decision, so I don't know; but hats off to all who have died defending those who could not defend themselves.
This 14.5-inch Howitzer can be found above the Company Gardens in Cape Town. It was first dedicated in 1926 to the soldiers who died in France in the First World War and later, in 1970, to soldiers who died in both World Wars.
This memorial reminded me of the Tomb of an Unknown Soldier that we saw in Paris, below the Arc de Triomphe.
When visiting Cape Town's more leafy areas you're bound to see an abundance of squirrels. Though skittish, they're still tame enough to collect peanuts from children's hands. While I was composing these shots one over-zealous squirrel missed the peanut and nipped a small girl's finger instead. Although... perhaps he didn't "miss" the peanut at all, and was rather expressing his annoyance at a poor-quality nut. All was fine though; I don't believe any blood was drawn :o.
We were wandering through the Company Gardens on Saturday, following the pathways as they dipped in and out amongst the trees, when I turned a corner and suddenly came upon this awesome wide-open view of Table Mountain. Paul had his zoom-lens fitted, which wasn't wide enough to capture the whole of the mountain from this spot... so I did what I could with my tiny point-and-shoot, and here is the result.
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...
This sundial in the Company Gardens seemed to hold this man's attention. It was a strange sight - he walked up to the clock, quietly stared at it for about a minute and then left. It didn't appear as though he was trying to work out how the clock worked or tell the time - though perhaps he was.
Click on the picture and view the larger version. What do you imagine he was thinking?
Many visit Cape Town's Company Gardens finding time to relax and reflect. Some draw, others write poetry, yet others while away the hours stretched out in the sun. This visit reminded me a little of our visit to the Luxembourg gardens in Paris. There was no wind, plenty of sun, and yet, the air was cool enough to cause a chill.
The man in this photo sat for ages, looking at passers-by and scribbling on the paper. We're not quite sure what he was writing or drawing, but he appeared deep in thought.
This fountain, in the Company Gardens, was erected in memory of Howson Edwards Rutherfoord Esq., who was apparently a member of the Legislative Council at the Cape towards the end of his life. He died in 1862, and the fountain was erected in 1864. I know nothing else about him, and in fact, didn't even know this fountain existed until now! But it is rather pretty, isn't it? And I love the way it catches the early-afternoon sun shining through the trees.
Aren't I a lucky girl to celebrate my birthday on 07-07-07? And even luckier to have started the day with a slice of delectable cake at Limnos in Green Point! Limnos cake is legendary in Cape Town, but it always presents a problem - they have such a wide selection that it can take half an hour to decide which kind you want. I eventually settled for a slice of Brazilian milk-tart AND a petit four. Both were delicious, and the kind people at Limnos told me that the milk-tart was a birthday present and I didn't need to pay for it. What a treat!
I had several cups of coffee at this restaurant today, and have promised myself that I will go back for a meal sometime. The restaurant is called Avocado (and the reason for that would be obvious if you saw the colour of the outside walls...), and it's situated in an old house in Oxford Street in Durbanville.
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.
With the South African 2010 Football World Cup only three years away, stadium construction is well on track. Our own Green Point Stadium has been demolished, along with a neighbouring golf course to make way for one of the modern 2010 stadiums.
To give you a point of reference, this photo was taken from Signal Hill, facing Table Bay. Table Bay Harbour and the Cape Town Waterfront are just out of this shot, off to the right. Isn't this just the perfect location for a stadium?
The atmosphere around the World Cup is going to be awesome, so if you have the money to travel and if you love football, join us! Be sure to book your place early - accommodation will be booked up quickly and tickets will be sold out before you have a chance to reach for your wallet ;).
The temperature was 25 degrees Celsius here in Cape Town today - it seemed like a good day for an al fresco lunch at Willowbridge open-air mall. Unfortunately I didn't get to stop here for lunch myself (too much to do today!), but I did get to walk outside in the sun for a while, past all the beautiful stores and restaurants lining this shopping "street". It's days like today that make winter totally bearable.
This is the view from one of the streets in Oranjezicht, above Cape Town's city centre. We're having lovely weather this week again - clear blue skies every day, with no clouds in sight. And it's almost been... warm. :)
We went to watch a production of the musical Hair yesterday afternoon, at this little theatre in Camps Bay (aptly named Theatre on the Bay). The production was brilliant, with loads of energy and spunk (and impressively flawless American accents from the all-local cast).
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.
Today is a Daily Photo theme day, and the theme this month is "The Colour Red"; so we went out yesterday afternoon and shot a few moody pictures of the Mouille Point Lighthouse. The sea was wild, the wind was bitterly cold and Paul forgot his jacket at home, but it was fun nonetheless.
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.
This rather opulent lounge is in the reception area of the BoE building at the V&A Waterfront. It looked so comfortable and beautiful that I started to wonder whether they'd mind terribly if I took my laptop there on Monday and set up a little temporary office for myself. All the surrounding walls are covered with an eclectic selection of artworks, and just around the corner there are enormous windows offering an awesome view of the Waterfront. My kind of office...
We haven't eaten at this cosy-looking deli on Kloof Street, but I think we'll have to make a point of it - apparently they have the most delicious Italian cheeses, meats, breads and antipasti. The Victorian building is really pretty too; it looks like they did a beautiful restoration job on it. I can imagine that it's a great spot to be on a summer's evening.
I couldn't resist getting a shot of this little car - isn't it cute? I think driving with those wings on might get a little dangerous though - you could take out a few pedestrians' eyes with those things. :)
This is the Cape Town Union Congregational Church in Kloof Street. The only piece of information I could find about this particular church was that it apparently broke away from the rest of the United Congregational Church of South Africa during the apartheid years, due to the denomination's support of a programme to combat racism. You can read about it here.
The last two days have been rather stormy here in Cape Town. I took this shot while driving down Loop Street today in the rain.
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...
These plants appear to be growing in mid-air... They're actually attached to the roof with some kind of rope or cord, but I have no idea where they get their nutrients and minerals from. Rather curious, don't you think? This house is near the top of Kloof Street, by the way.
Colourful houses and cobbled streets are some of the most immediately apparent features of Bo-Kaap. Traditionally known as the Malay-Quarter it is one of the most culturally-rich parts of Cape Town. The area was established in the 17th and 18th century as home to slaves imported by the Dutch East India Company.
I took this photo from a hill in a residential part of Cape Town called Bo-Kaap. I noticed this builder throwing bricks, two by two, up to the next level where his mates were adding them to the structure. I doubt going to gym would add much to this daily workout.
Instead of watching the Rugby on the television, Kerry-Anne and I visited the trendy Arnold's on Kloof for a late lunch (hence the largely empty room). The food was good and the complimentary bottle of vino was a treat!
The Cape Town International Book Fair took place from 16 to 19 June, at the Convention Centre (see yesterday's post).
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.
We keep mentioning the Cape Town International Convention Centre, so I decided that it's about time we show you what it looks like from the outside.
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.
Teenagers may obtain a motorbike license from the age of 16, though the license is limited to only 50cc. With the soring petrol price (currently 7.00 ZAR to the litre) and general traffic congestion, our cities and suburbs may see many more of these lower-cc motorbikes on the street.
Like any boy should, I love bikes - but, they can be really annoying at times, disturbing our quiet suburb by either buzzing backwards and forwards (sounding much like very really loud lawnmowers) or screaming down the road with 1000 cubes of brute force.
Thanks to Grant for this photo. He took it while visiting the Little Stream Conference Centre. Little Stream is situated in the Constantia winelands on the banks of Table Mountain. It's a small conference centre run buy the YMCA (a non-denominational Christian organisation). Groups can hire the venue for picnics (in the lush gardens), small conferences and other functions. Kerry-Anne and I, for example, hired the venue some time back for our wedding which was held outside in the gardens.
Oh, "Little Stream" was named such because of the little stream that runs across the property. I doubt that I'll forget the day that Kerry-Anne crossed over the stream's wooden bridge in her wedding dress. She was perfectly angelic.
Alice asked us to tell our lightning tale, so here goes:
It happened a few years ago. The day started out as a clear blue Saturday morning (much like it was today, actually). We joined Mark (a friend of ours) and a few others for a walk on the slopes of Table Mountain. We started walking the Pipe Track from Kloofnek Road, heading around to Camps Bay side.
Mark developed a need to go over the mountain - ascending from Camps Bay side and descending on the Cable Station side of the mountain. Kerry-Anne and I (the more sensible ones) voiced our concern at the oncoming clouds, and the distant rumble of thunder.
For reasons unknown to us now, we decided not to split from the group and instead to climb the mountain. About 100 metres from the summit we realised that the lightning (which had been moving in ever closer over the sea) was actually striking the mountain - not far from us either. We felt how the air became charged with electricity, and could smell the sulphur. At that point, everyone knew that it had probably not been a wise decision to climb the mountain. There was absolutely nowhere to take shelter; by then we were so close to the top that it was easier to just climb to the summit and descend the other side.
It was raining, and the top of the mountain was covered in cloud. The cable station was closed - naturally. We lost our way a few times on top of the mountain (it's not quite as flat as it looks in photos), but eventually found the pathway again. Our hike down the mountain was rather speedier than usual, and as I recall, the weather cleared pretty quickly as we descended.
Thank-you Mark for an unforgettable tale.
And tourists, this is a prime example of what NOT to do. Rather take the cable-car. :)
I dropped Kerry-Anne off at the Cape Town Book Fair at the Convention Centre this afternoon and then took a drive up into the suburb of Oranjezicht, just above Cape Town city centre.
Oranjezicht, a Dutch word meaning "View of Orange", lies at the foot of Table Mountain, where property prices are at a premium. On pristine days like today the suburb boasts superb views of Cape Town and Table Bay.
About twenty years ago my parents took my siblings and I up Table Mountain in the predecessor of this cable-car. It was a far more rickety ride than the one in this photograph. I remember standing on the edge of Table Mountain, looking down at clouds below and having a strange feeling that I wanted to jump down into them - they looked like so much fun. I wonder how many people get that feeling when looking down on clouds?
The cable-way underwent a complete upgrade in 1997. The first time I took a ride in the new cable-car was a few years ago when Kerry-Anne and I joined a few friends to hike up the mountain. By the time we reached the summit it was getting later in the day and some of our party didn't feel up to the climb down. We bought one-way tickets down the mountain. The ride down was much quicker than the climb up! The 360-degree views from the rotating cable car were awesome.
We have other more exciting stories about climbing the mountain in the rain and lightning... but let's leave that for another day, shall we?
