According to my desktop thermometer it's 15C outside. In my book that's cold. In fact it's about as cold as I can manage. I just can't imagine how folks in Kahyalitsha or other informal settlements are able to stay warm, let alone not freeze in this kind of weather. We're blessed to have a fire place - especially as Eskom continue to battle the winter chills, public opinion and their own mismanagement.
Speaking of the fire place. We’re in our new home on the farm. Wow! The setting is idyllic - more so than before. I’m sure I’ve babbled on about this beautiful town and how at home we feel here - but these sentiments have escalated exponentially now that we are literally in the vineyards. As the wet weather approaches and autumn gives way to winter I’m experiencing a very unusual sight – for someone who grew up in the lowveld and has lived in Jhb or Pta for the last couple of decades – juxtaposed against the green of the grass and fynbos are the reds and browns of the autumn trees and vines. Everywhere I look it’s like an add campaign for the Canadian emigration folks – who make the cold and wet of winter look so inviting when they allow a reddening maple leaf to fall gently onto virgin snow and then distract you while the snow melts, carrying mud into the studio. Point is – before I digress – that winter means brown in my experience, and this mix of colors is brand new. And quite pretty.
The dogs have taken to farm living like proverbial ducks to water – in fact they have joined the ducks in the water on a couple of occasions the last few weeks! It’s quite a sight to see Bongi, tail wagging while the rest of her bar nose and eyes, lie submerged, heading off into the middle of the big farm dam with the ducks quacking quietly, or is it bemused, just meters away. Zanzi has become quite stocky and leapt in the other day without warning while Amber is taking a bit longer to be convinced that swimming is something that dogs do naturally. Her two stick retrieval attempts that involved leaving terra firma were brief and followed by much shaking, grunting and chasing of the other dogs.
Town continues to be quiet – in comparison with summer. But to my surprise it’s a lot busier than I was lead to believe at first. I guess locals become accustomed to the difference between busy and quiet and so the next couple of months will leave the town feeling almost ghost like when compared to the warmer months. Getting good seats at great restaurants is easier, that’s true, but then even the bad seats here are great. Wonder when the tourism guys are going to send that cheque? Speaking of trucks – the recent accidents at the bottom of the pass was tragic. My condolences are due to the families, friends and employers of those involved. As a sign of my support for the initiatives instigated to reduce the number of big trucks passing through town and up the Franschhoek pass expect to see me driving at 30km/h when in town, stopping to allow pedestrians to cross and certainly joining the picket line when it mobilizes. I can’t understand why it takes the sacrifice of life to get those in authority to listen when this issue has been on the cards for more than a decade. I guess it’s like that when issues aren’t close to home. A bit like the cold.
