A right royal shop

Looking as cool as this morning's weather - an elegant dressmakers manikin in one of the fascinating little shops in the Long Street Antique Arcade - all dressed up in a Lady Di dress.

Constantia's street kids

Snapped from my car window on the way home this chilly afternoon. Children begging are a common sight everywhere in South Africa.

Bread and butler

A very warm welcome to Woodstock's trendy new coffee spot - Bread at The Bromwell. The top-hatted doorman was part colonial butler and part artful dodger - an intriguing mix. This morning was chilly, but we sat outside in the sun and watched the world go by, sometimes quite noisily. Hubby said his cappuchino was one of the best he'd ever had. Unfortunately they were all out of pain-au-chocolat and my croissant was a bit stodgy and cold. And they didn't like me taking photos! I managed to sneak this one in before I was asked to stop. They wouldn't say why, but perhaps a camera-shy VIP was lurking amongst the rather eclectic patrons?

More soccer balls

Warmly dressed against the chilly morning, this little girl is trying to persuade her granddad to buy her a soccer ball in Checkers supermarket in Meadowridge. Just about everywhere in Cape Town is bedecked with flags from the 32 nations participating in the World Cup. The first two teams have just arrived in Johannesburg - the Socceroos from Australia who came last night, and the Samba boys from Brazil arrived arrived bright and early this morning.

Free wheeling

Cape Town is bouncing mad! Soccer balls everywhere. A cyclist seemed to want to blot it all out as he made his way down Loop Street in the city this morning.

Picnic at Kirstenbosch

The chilly breeze didn't put us off having a picnic lunch on the beautiful lawns of Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Today we learned that our exhibit at London's Chelsea Flower Show won a silver medal. This event is always a great highlight on the botanical agenda.

Rank and file

Taxis waiting on Constantia main road this afternoon. Storm clouds gather over Table Mountain, but the sun is still shining brightly on the other side.

Protea path

Homeward bound after a hike through Cape Town's fynbos on the Jonkersdam path.

Braai and newspaper

A Saturday lunch braai - boerewors and chops - in the glorious sun.

Shiny things

Street sellers with their colourful bead and wire creations enjoy the chilly afternoon sunshine at Contstantia Village Shopping Centre.

A geyser in Wynberg?

What is this water gushing out of the ground? Volcanic activity or a burst water pipe?

Wooah! Let me see.

Today in history. The original inhabitants of the Cape, the Khoikhoi, feel the pressure of colonization in 1659.

The cat next door

House-hunting in Fishhoek this morning, a neighbourly cat came to convince us to buy the empty house.

Striking out

Pedestrians cross the Strand Street bridge from Cape Town Station despite the Metrorail Strike.

On a high

The shadow of Table Mountain sweeps over the southern suburbs of Cape Town at the close of a very welcome sunny day. Far below at Newlands (centre, slightly left) the Stormers are storming home to a huge victory - making the Bulls a bit blue.

Guid mornin

Still raining in Cape Town this morning but our neighbour's scotties got a short walk in before it started pelting down again.

Today Frederik van Zyl Slabbert died.

A rainy evening walk

A lonely dog walker braves the rain in the Constantia Green Belt this evening.

Today is Ascension Thursday.

What a dump

Off-loading wild ginger plants at the Ladies Mile Recycling Centre and Garden Waste Dump in a rare burst of sunshine. Devil's Peak in the background.

Today is the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, who discoverered the three dimensional structures of penicillin, vitamin B12 and insulin. She is also the only British woman ever to have won the Nobel Prize for science.

Cricket for the birds

A wintry morning sky over the Jacques Kallis Oval at Wynberg Boy's High School. Although Kallis has been doing quite well in the 2020 World Cup in the West Indies, his innings yesterday was rather plodding, and Saeed Ajmal dismissed him for 22 runs, leaving the Proteas 56 for 3 after 10.5 overs. Pakistan went on to win by 11 runs, knocking us out of the tournament.
Perhaps cricket is better left to the hadedas after all.

Steps

A pedestrian wearily crosses Piers Road in the face of a gathering storm this Monday evening. Wynberg Main Road.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. It was a stormy winter's day in Cape Town and Checkers supermarket in Plumstead was cheering up moms by offering them free cake and coffee.

Wake up call

We do occasionally hear Fish Eagles in Cape Town, but the familiar chk chk call of the African Goshawk is a common early morning sound in Constantia. The day before yesterday was rainy and stormy, but patch of clear weather brought out our resident bird. It likes to call from the tops of trees - like this tall Norfolk Pine in our garden.