Pick n Pay Happy Hour

Once you’ve read this post, please share it so that everyone can benefit.

Pick n Pay Happy Hour??!!??

I thought that it was a bit of a gimmick, but there were a lot of signs in the local supermarket, so I updated my app, allowed notifications, and…

…then I forgot all about it.

But this morning: PING!

Happy Hour between 2pm and 3pm this afternoon. Get R250 off when you spend more than R500.

Seriously?

Well, there are two parts to this. Firstly, I needed some stuff from Pick n Pay anyway, and secondly, who turns down the chance of R250 off in this sort of economic climate? Or indeed in any economic climate?

The timing of the Happy Hour wasn’t ideal, but it was certainly doable, and so I thought I’d give it a go.

And… it worked:

R250 off, just for doing the shopping I was going to do anyway, but checking out at 2:06pm instead of a couple of hours earlier.
R250 is comfortably two meals for a family of 4. It’s 7.5kg of washing powder. It’s 10½ loaves of bread. It’s 14 litres of milk. Or slightly less of each of them if you share it about a bit, obviously.

I’m not sure how Pick n Pay gains from this, but for a family like us, who always have something on the shopping list, and usually have room in the freezer, this might actually be a bit of a gamechanger.

Add in the R115 of Smart Shopper points that I used, and that’s 46% off my R800 shop this afternoon.

That’s pretty amazing.

Note: This isn’t an ad. I’m fully transparent, and I tell you when I’m doing ads. But please share this post. Everyone needs all the help that they can get at the moment, and this offer is certainly helpful.

Car Parking Magic

This is not a paid post or an ad. It’s just a very cool idea (with an introductory offer, nogal!).

I used the “new” Admyt app to do some car parking earlier this week. While it might be commonplace in some countries for ANPR and an app to bill you for parking, in SA it still feels like some kind of magic as the car park barrier lifts in front of you as you pull in at the Waterfront parking lot.

Yo, VIP!

And there’s no more fumbling and stumbling around for change or worrying about misplaced or missing tickets. When you’re done, just get into your car, and drive out of the car park.

Magic again.

You can get the app on Apple here, or Google here. Then use this code:

TRE162273

to get R10 off your first parking bill (a promo that covered my parking on my recent Waterfront visit).

It’s very cool. Give it a go.

Geodetective

A spin-off from GeoWizard, Tom Davies’ occasional series here. (See what i watch in the sidebar.)

Basically a photo of a place (or a person in a place), and you have to find out where they are. Tom has been doing this for a while now, and as you might expect, he’s pretty good at it.

But now a fan has made a site dedicated specifically to it, and as a first attempt, it’s really rather good.

https://geodetective.io/

Basically, you are given an image of a place, and you have to locate the place. You can use whatever means you like: googling is actively encouraged – but you do have to find something to google.

This was the first one that I attempted. And I got it spot on in about 3 minutes. So clearly, everything you need is there.

Anyway, the only downside is that you have to create a (free) account to play. But it’s well worth it as an occasional fun distraction from the misery of modern life.

Paste

Not an ad. Although if Woolies want to pay me in cash or kind, I’m not going to say no.

Woolies do a lot of nice products, but with good quality comes a higher price tag. That said, many of their products are worth it (e.g. their Clemengold nadorcotts): they’re nicer, they last better and they look smart on your shelf/in your fridge/atop your Karel Boyz fruit bowl when fancy-pants people come round for drinkiepoos.

And then came this – definitely the best non-citrus product that they have ever sold:

I had to rotate the image so that it wasn’t long and tall and annoying on the post, but now look at the cod. He’s the right way up, but his Linnaean name isn’t. It’s those sort of little details that prove you’re getting a genuine Woolies product and not some inferior knock off. Always check the cod and the cod name.

And any inferior knock off would be inferior too, because this is SO GOOD. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s very tasty, it’s (quite) healthy, and – because you need so little – pretty good value at R79.99 as well. Made in Norway – almost certainly from Fjord cods – this is definitely worth dropping into your basket on the 26th.

Lob it on a cracker, pop it on some fresh brown bread or just smear it on the kitchen wall and have some fun while you’re home alone: it doesn’t matter how you eat it. It’s just great.

6000 recommends.

About last night

After an afternoon in front of the last home game at Bramall Lane (and the last home game in the Championship for at least a while) for Sheffield United, we headed into town for a pre-anniversary meal out.

Eighteen of your South African years. Incredible.

A night out in town can be a big adventure when you have become ensconced in the Southern Suburbs. And we were reminded early on of why we like to keep it local with a scary ride into the CBD in an Uber with no shock absorbers. Well, no working ones anyway. The driver also asked us what sort of music we’d like to listen to, and we said we weren’t really bothered – just not jazz. Sadly, something was lost in translation and we ended up with a Smooth Jazz mix which wouldn’t have been out of place in a 1980s elevator, the interesting percussion patterns augmented by the clanking of what was left of the rear axle each and every time we went over a bump in the road.

Thankfully, at the end of the journey was The Dark Horse, complete with beer, wine, rooftop seating and views over a chilly Cape Town. Jack Black Weiss? Don’t mind if I do. Heavenly stuff.

And then, after a bit of that, there was the place across the road.

The Black Sheep is always amazing. The vibe, the food, the wine and the service are all top notch. And last night was no exception. We were treated to tasting plates from several of the starters including their incredible chili squid before exceptional mains of kudu loin and coconut lentil curry. All washed down with some of Gabrielskloof’s Bordeaux Blend and a few glasses of Migliarina Chenin Blanc. So good.

No room for desserts, but there is always next time.

Sadly, we turn into pumpkins if we don’t get back to the safety of the ‘burbs around the mountain before midnight, so we headed home and this time I booked a ‘spensive moose Uber Black to avoid the dangers of a poorly serviced Toyota Corolla. The Beemer 3 series that turned up was lovely and comfy, but the driver had clearly never driven it before. Nor could he follow a map. A bizarre and wholly uncalled for left turn by the fire station in town. Weird acceleration and braking all over Philip Kgosana Drive. And then a couple of missed junctions nearer home meant that we went far further than we needed to. And then he didn’t end the trip on his phone.

A 2 star rating (you’re apparently only allowed to give 1 star if you died en route) and our money back following a complaint and a fare review this morning. But now I’m very open to Uber alternatives, please.

A late anniversary morning lie-in today, followed by a thorough workout in the gym, because I have loads and loads of calories to get rid of. And once this blog post is done – which it very nearly is (cue sighs of relief from both readers) – a quick wander in the Green Belt with the beagle.

Tomorrow. More food and wine. But more about that then.