Here’s what we found on the beach today:

My readers will recognise this as a Spiny Cowfish (Lactoria diaphana).
I didn’t recognise it until I checked my reference books. Now, I’m the local expert on Spiny Cowfish.
Here’s what we found on the beach today:

My readers will recognise this as a Spiny Cowfish (Lactoria diaphana).
I didn’t recognise it until I checked my reference books. Now, I’m the local expert on Spiny Cowfish.
Rumours. Nothing but rumours at the moment. But if they happen to turn into genuine fact, then it seems that Newcastle United could be set to play in Cape Town this winter. Hence the hideous attempt at translating a Geordie accent into text in the title there.
Previously, we’ve had Man U (who they?) and Spurs coming over for the annual Vodacom Challenge in the English off-season, but according to the Sowetan, it could be the Mags this time around:
“Negotiations are at an advanced stage between the organisers and management of Newcastle United. I think an announcement will be made in a few days’ time,” said a source involved in the negotiations. “The organisers are also toying with the idea of getting Tottenham Hotspur back in the tournament because they are going back to its original format of four clubs, but the appearance fees asked by the English teams are massive.”
Hmm… “a source”.
Anyway, this comes after Cape Town “lost out” on being a host city for the upcoming Afcon tournament, citing a lack of guarantees about costs and a lot of other political nastiness. Grant Pascoe, Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing, was on a local radio station at that time suggesting that the city would at least be likely to host one of the Vodacom Challenge matches.
Putting those two unsubstantiated claims together and doing some rudimentary calculations, I have worked out that Newcastle are going to be playing in Cape Town sometime in the next couple of months and my hopes are now raised just high enough to be completely dashed.
Ha’way the lads!
Spooked
Dodging between hefty showers, and wrapped up rather warmly, we indulged Alex’s wish to take a walk around the Aguhas Ghost Trail. We had a great time in the hills above the village, but what I had thought would be a kilometre wander with the kids, turned into a 4.5km trail through dense bush, up and down valleys and over some distinctly iffy terrain.
The kids had a great time, although, due to an unfortunate miscommunication (I think) between Mum and Kristen during a loo stop, the latter ended up rather damp. She also got a nasty blister on her foot and so I ended up carrying her through dense bush, up and down valleys and over some distinctly iffy terrain. She’s not light and the going was not easy. She was also rather damp.
Once we eventually managed to get back down onto the road, I had to run back and get the car as the kids were totally knackered. And thus, we arrived at the Agulhas chippy with me covered in sweat and urine. Delightful.
However, a quick change before a late lunch of geelbek & chips and all was well with the world again.
The views and wildlife up there were amazing. But next time, knowing a bit more what to expect, we’ll certainly be better prepared.
One other good bit of news is that even though I’m not supposed to be running for another fortnight, my calf seems to have not been horribly torn again by my exertions. Happy days.
I’ll sort the photos out tomorrow.