We love summer here in Cape Town. Perhaps less so this time around because we’re so very dessicated, but there will still be some people who will be over the moon at this news.
Summer is officially opened by insects: the Christmas Beetle (not actually a beetle, but never mind that) and the bastard mosquitoes.
We saw our first Christmas Beetle this weekend, which is always a sign that summer is just around the corner. Clumsy, noisy fliers, they are hated by gardeners and beagles. Apparently, they are related to cockchafers.
And then the dear mozzie, which is definitely one of my favourite things about living in SA. It’s not that we don’t get mosquitoes in the UK, it’s just that we don’t get 117 of them in each room, each night. I got devoured while I was in bed last night (by a mosquito, not a cockchafer) (thank heaven for small mercies).
The way I’m itching today means that summer has very definitely arrived in Cape Town.