Time check

The Time Ball Tower in Cape Town's harbour harks back to 1894 and has was restored and officially recommissioned in November 1997. It is next to the Harbour Engineer's former residence, Dock House. The Time Ball, a large painted ball that drops at a predetermined time, enabled the ship's master to test the accuracy of his chronometer whilst docked in Cape Town. (Interesting for all who read and enjoyed Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time by Dava Sobel.)

Shoe shine

Apologies for the hiatus - Internet troubles. Seems to be fixed. A strange little program was sharing my files with someone and blocking my bandwith.
Anyway, on Friday evening we went shopping for hiking gear at Cape Union Mart on the Waterfront. Very pretty shop with nice stuff and a fantastic window of shoes.

Sail the ocean blue

Where shall I go to next? Hmmmmm ...
Why not hop aboard Pelagic Australis and head into the higher latitudes? She is in Cape Town harbour for the moment, just in front of the Aquarium, for refurbishing and servicing. Sighhhh.

Tommy the Tugboat

A fun way to see Cape Town's working harbour. Hop on to Tommy the Tugboat.

Mediterranean meze

Last night at The Greek Fisherman on the Waterfront we were regaled by two robust tenors singing Italian opera arias without any accompaniment, but in perfect tune. They then came around collecting money which some of our party found irritating, but they are Zimbabwean refugees trying to earn a few rand - and there we all were, stuffing our faces! The food? The most most delicious meze (starters) with a selection of heavenly psomi (bread). Next time I won't even bother with a main course, I will just have more meze and psomi.

Movies at the Mall

Two old movie projectors have become part of the central steel structure of the Victoria Wharf Shopping Mall, which is surrounded by several cinemas. We went to see The King's Speech which was thoroughly enjoyable. For more Ms, see ABC Wednesday.

Picture perfect

Cape Town's picturesque Waterfront in front of Table Mountain. Cape Town's prevailling moisture-laden summer wind, the Southeaster, pushes air up over Table Mountain, which cools and condenses, forming the famous Table Cloth. (We were having a delicious Italian pasta at San Marcos.)

PS. So proud of our very own Charl Schwartzel who won the US Masters golf tournament yesterday!

Cute as a button

It's my niece, Sophie's birthday today. What should I buy her? This is one of Cape Town's most popular kiddie clothing shops, Naartjie. Mmmmmm ...

Ice cream on the Waterfront

This scupture at the Cape Town Waterfront by Gavin Younge is entitled "Still life with ice cream cone and blue cheese". With the temperature up near the forties, I thought it was an appropriate sculpture to feature today. I bet these kids wish it were real, but I am not sure they would fancy the blue cheese bit. I think they would prefer it to be chocolate cake.