Clowns

Definitely a clown but it's not Coco we're dealing with...

RSA - Part IV

 

Our fourth day in Cape Town was mainly taken up by a "local food tour" on foot, we met our guide at 9am in the City Centre and he lead us around eight venues where we sampled a different local food (or drink) at each. We also did a little sight seeing along the way as well, one of the stops was in the historic Bo-Kaap district where most of the buildings are painted in bright colours (see above) 

This district is one of the oldest in the city and was established in 1760 it was formally known as the "Malay Quarter" and is still home to many Muslim residents (there are a couple of old Mosques there too), it's said that some are even ancestors of the Malaysian and Indonesian workers bought here by the Dutch, initially as slaves, but later in different waves of immigration. During the Apartheid years this areas was zoned under racial laws meaning that only "Malay" people could live here, other districts in Cape Town (i.e. District 6) were bulldozed and re-developed as "white only" areas, luckily the race-zoning rules probably saved Bo-Kaap from being leveled.

The area is changing now though, being close to the city centre (i.e. within the "city bowl", as it's known) it's gradually being bought up by wealthier Africans, "gentrified" as it's commonly known as, it's a shame because the character of the place will almost certainly change or even disappear. Understandably, Bo-Kaap is the centre of "Cape Malay" cuisine and the food here has spicy far eastern origins although it's morphed somewhat over the centuries from what you usually get in Malaysia and India, our guide told us that it originally had to change because the Dutch overlords didn't take to the ample spice in the food, back in the day meat and two veg was more their thing.

In the picture above you can see some of the dishes on offer from a local cafe, curries of course but also more Indian style bites like Samosas (Samoosas), Pakoras (Daljies) and Rotis (an Indian flat bread), despite the Dutch influence in reducing heat in this style of food, some of these snacks were still pretty (spicy) hot!

In another spot we had a BBQ selection or traditional South African "Braai" this was a popular option with our tour group, ribs, sausages and chops, very nice (see below)

After our tour we headed back to our hotel and freshened up then headed out for a bite to eat (back at the Jamaican themed bar!) and a reasonably early night as we had a very early start the next day, more on that in part V..

Triple Tipple

Had one of these at the weekend, it's a TIPA or Triple IPA, made down in Cornwall by Verdant it's their annual "Puttty" offering, deep, rich, thick and bursting with hop flavour a real assault on the senses. I managed to snag one of these last year too and wrote about it at the time, I would say that this years beer is more balanced, another triple T winner!

Same ole, same ole...

It would appear that the latest Epstein avoidance scheme trumped up by, well, you know who, means that the shopping malls of the desert are being attacked by the parties of God.. I'm not sure how this particular member matching contest will turn out but a couple of things are guaranteed, firstly plenty of totally innocent people will lose their lives, secondly nothing will be achieved and lastly shares in the industrial-military complex will rise, praise be...

Feelin the heat

I thought this was interesting, the number of days per year when the temperature exceeded 30 degrees Centigrade comparing the first halves of two decades 20 years apart.

Friday Smirk

It's a good point made by the boys here, there's something sinister about most religions in that they demand that their petty conformities become compulsory in society, worst of these is "love" and the surrender of our rational faculties, the very definition of sadomasochism..

Thoughts on a scandal

Here are my thoughts on the whole  Andrew/Mandelson thing going on at the moment..

They are both career liars, parasites and grifters so don't bother with an expensive investigation and trial, just sequester the money direct from their offshore accounts and make them do community service, in Ukraine..

Midweek Mirth

What with cold snaps and all of the rain the UK has had over the last couple of months I suspect there are many towns up and down the country that feel this way..

DEYA day

Cracked open one of these on Saturday evening. Left over from my Christmas stash it's a hazy pale ale from Cheltenham maestros DEYA called "Magazine Cover" it's delicious fruity combo of  classic US hops including Simcoe, Citra and Mosaic, perfect for a rainy weekend!

Stoic Wisdom

 A bit of Stoic wisdom for a drizzly Monday...

RSA - Part III

 

Our third day arrived bright and early, I had booked a driver to take us around the dramatic Chapmans Peak Drive and to show us around the Eastern side of the Cape, we'd also scheduled a couples of stops at some of the vibrant craft beer breweries that have sprung up around Cape Town in recent years. First stop was Noordhoek, a little beach town nestled on the Western side of the Cape Peninsula, a quick 30 minute drive from our hotel over the mountains separating the Western and Eastern sides of table mountain  delivered us there. It was a little early for drinking beer so our first stop was a stroll on the huge beach there (see above) the sky was blue and, even at 10am, the sun was really strong! The turquoise water appeared framed by the mountains and the white surf in a picture postcard way, such a contrast to the previous few weeks in the UK.

After a decent couple of kilometers on the sand we headed back into the little village to a venue called "Aegir Project Brewery" a little wooden framed building nestled in the trees above the beach, it was a delightful location and the views from the outdoor terrace bar, looking back over the sands, superb.

The tap list was impressive (see above), just like being at home! Plenty of choice and some interesting brews on offer. I opted for the "Fields of Simcoe" as Simcoe is one of  my favourite hops, it was delicious and a perfect remedy for the growing heat as we approached midday. The beer (pictured above) was a classic Simcoe forward brew tropical fruits with an underlying (dank) herbal vibe, very good indeed. We agreed that it was difficult to beat the combination of (cheap) quality food and drink and that being consumed outside in the Sunshine, in a picture perfect setting with 28 degree heat, I might just move here myself!

Our driver "Mark" was a youngish chap (although most people look young to me these days!) and we had a good old chat with him about life the universe and everything, although he was more interested in getting our opinion on his love life, which sounded similar to that of our own Son back in the UK. After a quick beer at Aegir we headed back to the car and drove along the Chapmans Peak Drive (built in 1915 with convict labour), a 9km toll road that clings to the side of the cliff and is reputed to be one of the world's most spectacular marine drives, it doesn't disappoint (see below) 

At the other end of the scenic drive is Hout Bay ("Wood Bay" in Dutch, after the saw mill that used to be here), another beach side town that's part of the Cape Town Metro-Area, home to many rich South Africans, some of the houses up on the surrounding hills with sea views are to die for.

After a pit stop in Camps Bay we headed up to a suburb called Kenilworth and a little spot called "Banana Jam Cafe", a Jamaican themed bar and restaurant serving up an impressive range of craft brews (made on-site) along with some fiery Caribbean inspired dishes (see below)

The beers were of excellent quality, the vibe relaxed and the food looked good, we vowed to return one evening later in the week when we had more time. After a full day of being driven around sight seeing and imbibing some really good craft beers we headed back to the hotel as the Sun was setting, and after an early dinner and an excellent wine from local Constantia producers Steenberg (a Nebbiolo, see picture below) we were ready for some shut-eye. 

We had an early start the next day and a full schedule of touring around the city sampling some of the sights and local food delights, more on this in part IV.

RSA - Part II

 

Our first full day in the Cape arrived with the Sun and after a nourishing breakfast we called for an Uber (incredibly cheap here!)  and headed out to the neighboring town of Constantia some five miles up the road. Famous for it's vineyards and wines Constantia is an affluent, leafy suburb containing many posh houses and old cape wineries; we were visiting friends who had lived there since the late nineties and who we hadn't seen for at least a decade. It was an interesting journey as I'd stayed in Constantia myself back in 1991 for a month over Christmas and I recognized some of the landmarks and road names, although the place has grown a fair bit since I was last here! 

We arrived at our friend's house and immediately all agreed that no one had changed a jot in the last ten years! It was really nice to catch up and hear about their lives since we last met and after a few drinks we headed out to a local cafe for a quick bite of lunch and then back to their house to laze around by their pool in the sun for a couple of hours, drinking cold white wine, chewing the fat about holidays, and of course, gossiping about old friends and fallen comrades.

After leaving our friends and having agreed to meet up with them again at the end of our tour we retired for an early dinner at our hotel restaurant where we had some great food and an interesting, and tasty,  Barbera from Idiom, a Somerset West based winery (see photo above) total bill for food and wine came to a very satisfying £35, I can see why our friends decided to settle down here!

Our hotel was set in beautiful gardens and grounds with a fabulous pool and gym complex (see pictures above) it was a very relaxing setting and so quiet! On a previous visit to the Cape on business in the late 90s, I'd stayed here, it was vaguely familiar but had been extended quite a lot since that trip. It's claim to fame is that the Dutch founder of the Cape Colony back in 1652, Jan Van Riebeeck had planted the first Vines along the Liesbeek River on the site of the hotel, there were still vines here and ever since that time the area had been called "The Vineyard", the name of the hotel to this day.

We were up early the next day as I'd organized a little beer themed tour and our driver was scheduled to arrive at 9am, more about this in part III

RSA - Part I

I haven't been posting much for the last 4 weeks, the reason is that we've been off on our travels once more, to the Southern Hemisphere again but a different continent this time, Africa!

We departed from Heathrow airport on a dark, drizzly and cold January evening and the next day landed in a sunny, bright and warm Cape Town, South Africa, having slept through most of the night passing quietly over the "dark continent". On the approach into the international airport (CPT) I was lucky enough to be sitting on the right side of the aircraft to get a good view of table mountain (see photo above) and a panorama of the entire city, a wonderful view!

It was the start of a 24 day tour of the Eastern Cape in which we would visit many different places, see old friends, try new foods, laze around on white sandy beaches, see multitudes of birds and animals and drop into some stunning vineyards where we would sample some outstanding Cape wines! We were eager to get going and after a couple of stamps in our passports and a walk to the car park, we emerged into the African heat where our driver was waiting to take us to our first stop, Newlands, a leafy suburb of Cape Town and our first hotel.

Upon arriving at our hotel we quickly checked in and were shown to our room for the next five days; it was a nice room overlooking the hotel gardens (complete with giant tortoises) and with a wonderful view of table mountain itself (see above) The temperature was 28 degrees with a light breeze and having spent the last few weeks in seemingly continuous drizzle and grey UK skies it felt like a rebirth, we were keen to get out and explore and over the coming days that's exactly what we'd do, see more in part II

Friday Smirk

The lads showing us that our religious brothers and sisters seldom appreciate their own arguments being reflected back on themselves and their beliefs, of course secular logic would suggest that what's good for the goose etc..

(WWW)Wise Word Wednesday

Quite a lot of people fall foul of this conundrum these days, especially when social media pumps out mostly garbage and has become de-facto the sole source of news and data for many.

Friday Smirk

The lads discussing how important communication is for a religion to spread, interesting to note however that it's 2000 years since the supposed "good news" occurred and there are still parts of this planet that haven't received it yet..

Favourite Dublin Pub

Doesn't look much from the outside but on our recent trip to Dublin last month this was by far our favourite pub. Bowes Lounge, a classic old fashioned Irish boozer, replete with private booths and an authentic Victorian vibe. The Guinness was good here too, according to those who know (certainly not us!) it's the second best in the city!

Friday Smirk

The lads talking about how reliable Biblical predictions are, i.e. if  you wait long enough then something is bound to turn up..

Wine Gadgets

Tried out one of my Christmas gifts last weekend, it's a Coravin system which enables you  to drink a glass of wine without opening the bottle. This is very useful when you want to spread a bottle over a weekend or just want to see how a particular vintage is coming along. We tried it with an old St Julien by Leoville Lascases, a 2nd growth, the wine was 30+ years old (1995) and full of sediment, fortunately the device also acts as a filter too! It was a stunning wine, at the peak of it's powers right now I'd say.

Friday Smirk

The boys showing how tolerant and flexible their theologies are... (not!)

New Siren Pale

Tried one of these at the weekend, a new pale ale from Siren. It's got a ton of Citra and Krush in it which gives it a really nice tropical fruit note with a reasonable amount of dank in the background, at 5% it's also quite quaffable!

Midweek Mirth

 

How Northerners view the rest of the country...

Obvious

Apparently Donald Trump owns business interests here in the UK..

Well, now that we all know what little he thinks of us and the value of our troops' lives in the defense of  US interests in the world we should all draw the conclusion that these businesses are to be avoided with extreme prejudice, it's obvious really.

Oh and while we're at it if you buy a Tesla you're a fool.

All the best.

PS. at least the UK troops that fought in Afghanistan alongside US troops didn't get their dads to buy their way out of serving their countries, like Trump did..

Mickey Mouse States

It's fast reaching the point where the "ROW" will have to look elsewhere for strategic alliances, the USA is fast becoming a "Disney state" i.e. Micky Mouse... 

Saturday Smile

Yeah, it kinda feels like this at the moment..

Friday Smirk

Doing my bit to keep the boys in the media and just waiting for the day that Trump says he's more popular than Jesus, after all when he opens his mouth all that ever comes out is doggy do..

Winter Warmer

We visited one of my favourite pubs last week when in London, "The Woolpack" on Bermondsey Street. They don't have a huge range of beers on offer but what they do have is class, the (almost finished) pint in the picture above is a lovely hazy boy called "Steady Rolling Man" or "SRM" to the locals. It's from a brewery down in Cheltenham called DEYA and has been mentioned on this blog many times over the years, it's as good as ever and fresh on tap in the Woolpack (get there early as it gets rammed after 5pm)! (tea light for perspective)

Putty time

Excitement is growing, only one more sleep until "Putty time"...

Spooky

The only advantage of walking early in the morning on these cold, misty January days is the spooky nature of the landscape, no wonder our ancestors built monuments to the Sun, it looks so impressive (and rare!) at this time of year.

Some People?

Out for a walk the other morning and came across this monstrosity in a children's playground! Seriously, some people!

London Stories

Waterloo station, past and present, the second busiest station in the country with over 70 million entries/exits per year (24-25) We use it a lot since it's the main London terminus from where we live in Berkshire, handy as a jump off point for destinations South of the river.

London Treats

We spent a nice couple of hours with the kids in London on Friday evening, firstly having a drink in the Mikkeller bar in Exmouth Market (see pint of hazy pale ale above) and then a meal in The Eagle pub on the Farringdon Road. Everything was delicious and the youngsters were on great form and even the weather cooperated (for a change!)

Friday Smirk

The lads pointing out the great danger surrounding "the religion of peace" today, this is because it's claims are so totalitarian, it's population of literal zealots so great and it's truth values so weak.

Sun Memories

A memory from last year, the Salinas salt flats in Argentina, boy was it hot! The people there take silly photo's of tourists for loose change, here's one of our little group looking like we're emerging from a Mate cup into an azure sky. It's freezing cold in the UK today and pouring down with rain, we really must go back to the Southern Hemisphere soon!

Chilly Patterns

Got an early appointment today so had to go for my usual lunchtime walk at 8am, spotted this rather beautiful pattern on a car bonnet, flippin chilly!

Scott Adams

One of my favourite cartoonists, Scott Adams, author of the inimitable "Dilbert" died yesterday. This strip had a special meaning for me and many in my industry as it seemed to be about us, it illuminated many of the issues surrounding technology and man-management and we felt a real affinity with it. I believe that Adams fell foul of the woke police in later years and was "cancelled" by many. I must confess that I don't know anything about that period or what he said (or didn't say) so I won't comment on it here, all I can say is that the number of smirks his work delivered to me over many years far outnumbered those of any other artist.

Picture Medley

 

A little medley of pictures from my recent weekend in Dublin, clockwise from the top right we have, The Millennium Spire on O'Connell street, Trinity College main Quad, The Bank bar, the Cricket pitch in Trinity and some delicious Carlingford Lough Oysters (also with a pint of Guinness) An enjoyable couple of days, my Son and I vowed to do more (local) trips around the British Isles (see here) this year, let's hope we get some decent weather for it!

Changing Times

A couple of pints in the Palace Bar on Fleet Street in Dublin at the weekend (supped while chatting to a group of French blokes who were over for the rugby). The left hand pint needs no introduction, nice and creamy and sold by the millions all over the world. On the right hand side we have a new contender, "Clockwork" by the "Changing Times Brewery" (Dublin) a craft nitro stout being sold in the same Irish pub as the ubiquitous Guinness! (I never thought I'd ever see the day) It's a similar beer but sufficiently different to provoke interest among the drinkers gathered, more flavour with slight roasted coffee vibes and just as creamy, times they certainly are a changing!

Irish Weekend

Just spent a great weekend with my Son in Dublin (Ireland) we were so lucky with the weather too! As you can see in the picture above (the view from my hotel room) we had blue skies and around 8C perfect for wandering around the city and dropping into the many famous bars for father-son bonding sessions and of course, a pint of Guinness or two!

Hope

Here's hoping that the majority of people in Iran achieve what they are clearly yearning for, i.e. freedom from a bunch of clerical gangsters, good luck and 'god's speed' to them!

Friday Smirk

The boys pointing out how the defense of "it's God therefore anything is possible" is an utterly empty one, that which can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence..