Maltese Poodle of Sea Point Tannie Is First Victim Of New Scheme

Posted on

Just a few hours into the City of Cape Town’s bold new plan to allow “active mobility” on the Sea Point Promenade (see here), a Maltese Poodle has become the first victim of an errant cyclist on the Prom.

Hezekiah – now dead

The canine in question, named Hezekiah or “Hezzie” for short, belonged to long-time Sea Point resident Olive Sonnenberg and was hit by a bike during their normal morning walk at about 6:30 this morning, on the first day that restrictions on bicycles, skateboards and roller blades being used on the popular Promenade were lifted and only hours after hundreds of cyclists again defied local bylaws on the monthly Moonlight Mass bicycle ride.

A tearful Sonnenberg (86) told 6000 miles…

“Hezzie was my only companion since my dear husband Elias died a few years ago. We walked here every morning, come rain or shine. He knew to watch out for bicycles, because we had to cross the road from the apartments to get onto the Promenade and they always ignore the red light on the pedestrian crossing. But the Prom was his territory, it was his place of safety. He was happily chasing a seagull when the mountain bike hit him. There was a horrible yelp and then just silence.”

The cyclist failed to stop after the incident, but two skateboarders did stop, though apparently only to take photographs on their cellphones.

A Police spokesperson said:

“We are searching Facebook for potential witnesses. But we want to appeal to anyone who saw this incident to please come forward.
At the same time, we wish to assure Sea Point residents, joggers and dog walkers using the Prom that we have no evidence yet that any sort of scoring system has been instituted by cyclists and the like regarding “hits” while using active mobility options on the Promenade during October.
We are, however, concerned at reports that the cyclist involved in this incident was allegedly heard to shout something about ‘500 points’ as he left the scene.”

Local residents were unsurprised that there had already been a casualty under the new scheme, describing it as “a disaster waiting to happen”. Residents Association chairperson, Maurice Spitz:

“We are predicting at least one injury a week. It’s just like that pigeon that was killed in the rowing machine when they opened that outdoor gym at Three Anchor Bay.
The death of Olive’s dog so early in this idiotic project just shows what carnage and bloodshed will ensue on our Promenade during October.”

We’ll keep you updated on any further casualties here on 6000 miles…

On The Edge

Posted on

I’ve said before that taking good photos in Cape Town really isn’t difficult. And I also mentioned that the standards are therefore raised; that to be exceptional, your pictures have to be… well… exceptional. For me, Stanage Edge near Sheffield also falls into that category. The place is so picturesque, the views so outstanding, that you could just point and shoot and get something decent.
Like I did in November 2010:

image

Nice. But not exceptional. (In my defence, it was too cold to hold my camera and there was about 120kg of Rottweiler pulling me precariously close to the cliff edge while I was trying to paint with light). But it seems that Mat Robinson didn’t have ice or dog issues and thus, the photos on his blog should be appreciated. They’ve gone beyond “good”, beyond “nice” – they’re exceptional:

image

There’s lots more where that came from – just click the link above. Or visit his Flickr, for fewer words.

One stone

Posted on

This week, I have been mainly plagued by birds.
And not in a good way.

On Wednesday, I spotted a pigeon sitting on the one of the roofbars of my car, repeatedly defaecating onto the roof. I tried to shoo it away. I tried clapping. It was unimpressed. And so, I approached it and, almost in slow motion, took a swipe at it.
Hand connected with bird, hard.
Bird crashed off the roof and onto the car park floor, hard.
Unfortunately for me, my shooing and clapping had attracted the attention of the ladies in the office next door. All that they saw was me klapping an innocent pigeon.
Given the lack of context, they were rightfully horrified. But at least the pigeon didn’t come back.

And then, on Thursday morning, still half asleep, I opened the curtains at home to find another pigeon on the patio. It stared at me – its eyes burning through to my very soul – as if it knew all about the klapping incident the previous day. This time, I shooed and I clapped, but at least when it didn’t leave, I refrained from attempting to strike the thing (even though there was no-one there to witness it this time).
This pigeon had leg rings on and with a bit of help from google, I managed to contact the local pigeon racing union and they came round to collect it. Turns out that it had been in a race from Springbok in the Northern Cape, back to Cape Town (but not to my back garden). I guess it got lost and lost the race.
The winner got R100,000. Once again, I realised that I am in the wrong career.

Yesterday, on the drive down to Agulhas, I killed two birds (1x Cape sparrow, 1x Cape weaver) by smashing 1300kg of car into their puny little bodies at 120kph. I’d rather have avoided them, but I couldn’t.

Again, as with the pigeon encounters, this is an unusual occurrence. I was once in a taxi that killed a magpie between the airport and Castletown in the Isle of Man in 2002, but that’s it.
Birds and I are not mixing well this week.

Why am I telling you this? Because I’m planning to braai a chicken this evening and I’m now convinced that it’s going to kill me. So, thanks for reading all these years. It’s been fun, but I’m guessing that this is the last you’ll be hearing from me.
And stop that cheering at the back. Now.

World’s Best Father?

Posted on

I spotted this calendar idea on Kickstater and I think it’s fantastic.

Been there. Done all that. Should have taken photos.

[iframe src=”http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1447807309/worlds-best-father-2013-calendar/widget/video.html” width=”678″ height=”509″]

The “World’s Best Father” is Dave Engledow and that cute little lass is Alice Bee, his daughter.

Is Dave Engledow the world’s best father?

The hilarious photo collection featuring Engledow and his young daughter, Alice Bee, in a series of precarious situations might suggest the exact opposite.

But don’t worry, the Maryland-based photographer says. Alice Bee is always safe and much of the collection is photoshopped.

“When my daughter Alice Bee was born in 2010, I knew that I wanted to document her life creatively and put together a collection of photos that she would treasure as an adult,” Engledow writes.

Engledow has documented his daughter, now 1, in over 56 different situations — none of which are exactly appropriate for an infant.

In one image, she’s seen nibbling on a pack of sparklers. In another, she’s lifting a barbell like a true Olympic champ.

One object, however, always appears in each — a mug boasting the phrase “World’s Best Father.”

You can see Dave’s Facebook page here, his kickstarter page here and see some stuff on flickr here.