Downtime

In Mthatha, Downtime is a regular occurrence - no power and no water.  We even have a 5000 litre JoJo tank in our garden, as do the schools and  many residents. 

But sometimes Downtime is a good thing.  Especially when it means Down at the Beach.

A few weeks ago, Bob was called to meetings in Port Elizabeth and East London.  He suggested that instead of staying at guest houses by himself, we (dogs included) should join him and make the trek to the seaside for a looong weekend.  Excellent idea!

So off I go to stock up on essentials. As I leave the bottle store, the chap helping me take my purchases to the car asks me if I own a B&B.  I tell him no, I don't.  "Does ma'am own a restaurant then?" 

Then I realise why he's asking.  The trolley he's pushing for me contains 1 case Hansa, 1 case Savanna, 1 box red wine, and 4 bottles Old Brown Sherry (just in case we needed to ward off a cold front).  To me, this is a perfectly reasonable amount of refreshment for a four-day weekend for two, with a bit left over in case of visitors.  Apparently this is not the case in Mthatha.

As the weekdays away were business for Bob, he was allowed to use company transport.  As I clambered aboard, my olfactory nerves were assaulted to the extent that my nose hairs were singed.  We had to endure five hours of Stale while we drove.  Stale cigarette smoke. Stale sweat. Stale junk food. Stale farts.

And it didn't end there.  On arrival at the shack, we discovered that a bushbuck ram had died in our back garden a few weeks before. The neighbours had wondered for several days about the dreadful smell, and eventually discovered the carcass in our garden. The degree of putrefaction was such that the date and cause of death could not be determined, but the length of the horns indicated that the buck was about 8 years old.

When we thanked them for removing the remains, they said there was no need - they removed it purely because they couldn't live with the smell themselves.

The spot where the bushbuck ram was found. 

 Fortunately that was the end of the bad smells, and the Downtime continued as it should - lots of reading, eating, sleeping, walking on the beach, laughing, playing games and chatting to neighbours, friends and family.

(In case you were wondering, the four bottles of OBs returned to Mthatha intact.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the rest of the provisions.)

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside..

One of the deciding factors in migrating to Mthatha was the proximity to our holiday shack in Kasouga.  Instead of the usual 12-hour pilgrimage, we would now be able to take a 'quick' 5-hour drive to the coast - making a weekend away possible.  We tested out this theory last weekend.  

We had been warned not to drive at night, but Bob had meetings at work, so we only managed to leave at 4pm.  We thought we'd be extra careful and look out for the Stray Animals that the signs warned us about.  We crossed the Great Kei without incident and relaxed a bit. Bad idea. A very, very large brown pig, (the size of a bear, Bob swears) decided that crossing the road at night would be a good idea.  Thank heavens for ABS.  Seriously.

The next morning, we were joined by family members we only see once a year, which is really not often enough.  First job was to take the dogs for a walk to the beach...

...which included throwing sticks for Jasper.

Even though the wind was quite strong, it was pleasant enough to explore.

Back at the shack, we caught the resident rodent on the hop and quite indignant at having been disturbed six months earlier than usual

As the wind picked up and it became too unpleasant to be outside, we were reminded that a cupboard full of pots is much more fun than sitting in front of television.

Fighting off the cold front with a bottle of OBs is also much more fun than television, especially if a chili has been marinating in the bottle for two days.  And while we're trying new things, let's see what a custard apple tastes like.

We decide to do a Before and After with the chili sherry.  Here are the verdicts:

Before:
W - Yum
S - I don't need to taste, I know what it tastes like
B - Why do we have to do this?
G - Lekker
D - (6 3/4) - *splutter* Yuk
C - (10 3/4) - Tastes like medicine.

As you can see, I had a willing, knowledgeable, co-operative panel.  Not.

After:
W - Jislaaik - you can even SMELL the chili
S - Smells gardenified.  Tastes more like green pepper than chili
B - What a waste of good sherry
G - Not bad, but I prefer good old OBs
D  - (6 3/4) (spat it out - no comment)
C - (10 3/4) I'm not even going to taste it. I'm scared. (Relents) *cough, hack, cough* Very potent (eyes watering)

So there you have it.  The opinion of connoisseurs.  So, did you try it?  What do you think?

Sunday was even colder and windier, but we decided to go to the beach anyway.

Harry decided she'd had enough, so Lara Croft came to the rescue and carried Harry to safety

Meanwhile, the boys decided that no beach trip is complete without splashing and being splashed

A hot outside shower is the perfect way to warm up!

This is a replica of a pic taken forty-mumble years ago with me and the same duck.  Sadly, duck has become brittle with age (don't we all?), and shortly after this pic was taken, he went to the big duckpond in the sky.

This is a replica of a pic taken forty-mumble years ago with me and the same duck.  Sadly, duck has become brittle with age (don't we all?), and shortly after this pic was taken, he went to the big duckpond in the sky.

OBS Mthatha style - with chili option

Apparently you just break the skin of the chili, pop it in the bottle, and two days later, Voila! C'mon Cape Town, get with the programme!