My October seemed dominated by health issues. I don’t want to dwell on them but will give a short update, as it has taken time for me to process the events. The first day in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was bleak. The man in the bed opposite was hooked up to machines that beeped steadily, and constantly. Additionally, there was a nurse aide sitting watching over him. Over the course of the day the beeps slowed down and eventually stopped. There were no interventions, other than to finally draw the curtains round the bed. Not something anyone would want to witness. I was, I think, the least in need of intensive care and the most conscious of my surroundings. The main reason for my inpatient status was so antibiotics could be administered intravenously.

I had to take it easy and focus on recovery. There is a ‘Stomal Therapy & Wound Care Services’ centre just up the road. This was fortunate as I did not know what was going on with the wound. They provided excellent care on a daily basis for the first two weeks, and then a few days a week. The staff were outstanding, very professional and caring. It was a case of go in, drop your trousers, and get on the table. The only way I have some idea of the scale of the surgery and slowness of the recovery is that they took photographs for my medical aid. They shared these with me!

My daughter, Rowan, stayed with me for the first two days after my discharge. She, very kindly, travelled to Durban ahead of a planned holiday in Southern Africa. She then flew to Joburg to meet her partner, Ben. They travelled to the Victoria Falls, attended a wedding in Joburg, headed for the Cape and finally came up to Durban. They arrived in Cape Town a day after terrible floods. This meant the early, pre-booked part of their journey could not happen. They could not reach Hermanus for planned whale watching, and the hotel in Franschhoek in the winelands was closed due to damage.

Ben and Rowan were in Durban for the first week of October. It was delightful to have them. I am not going to spend more time on this, as I believe it is unfair to write about family members in a blog. Indeed, I have been reading up on memoirs and biographies, and one of the chief cautionary notes is to be careful about offending living people. That is not to say one cannot or should not do it, just one should be aware of the potential fallout. I will, however, note that we did a whale spotting trip on a boat from Durban harbour. It was amazing as we saw lots of humpback whales. These migrate from Antarctica to the warm waters of Mozambique and Madagascar to breed and give birth. They pass Durban during the months of May to November. While researching this for the blog I learnt they migrate five thousand kilometres, one of the longest migratory journeys of any mammal.

There really is a whale in this photo

Other whales that can be seen off Durban are Southern Right, Sperm, Minke and Bryde. The good news is that their numbers are increasing. Shamefully, a Norwegian whaling station was established on the Bluff in Durban, and operated from 1907 to 1975.

“This whaling station became the largest land based whaling station in the world. … At the time (1975) there were an estimated 340 humpback whales migrating along the Durban coast. Since the closure of the whaling station there are now estimated to be over 7,000 humpback whales migrating.”¹

Of course, one of the consequences of the surgery is that I could not, immediately, spend 12 hours sitting on an airplane as planned. I am fortunate that I have lifetime, elite, frequent flyer status with KLM and so was able to call the dedicated service line. I explained my predicament and asked what I could do. They were incredibly helpful, and I effectively have a return ticket for a date in June 2024. I will pay any difference in the fares. It is very possible that I will get home in time for Christmas. Despite this I was getting a little stir crazy in Durban so booked a trip to Cape Town, it is only two hours away!

I spent three nights with my brother, Derek, and his wife Lynn, and two days at a hotel in the city centre. One of the reasons for arriving on Saturday was that we were able to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup: South Africa versus New Zealand. They have a large TV; I had watched the previous matches on my laptop, which was not a satisfactory experience. It was a fast, furious, and intense game. South Africa won by just one point: 12 to 11. People who know about rugby said that it was not a particularly good game, but we really enjoyed it. I was on WhatsApp with Rowan during the game, and we were both shouting for South Africa! This is the fourth rugby world cup the Springboks have won since 1994, the first being in 1995. This story formed the basis for the film Invictus.

Hout Bay, looking towards Chapman’s Peak

Derek, Lynn and I had a day trip to Franschhoek, about an hour’s drive from their home in Hout Bay. The flood damage was very evident. Many of the mountains around the town have raw scars, where landslides ripped the vegetation away. Fortunately, they were all small. It is remarkable how quickly the mess has been cleared. This is a contrast to Durban, where there is sewage flowing into the street in my neighbourhood. Our city management is not good.

Maize, the first of the year

Derek and I visited two wine farms in the area. The one that I most enjoyed was Atlas Swift. The couple who own it, Martin and Welma Smith, are passionate about wine, and it shows. I can strongly recommend a visit. Their output is small, quite expensive, and very good. In addition to their own wine, they offer a range of four Chardonnays from different Cape regions, two warmer and two cooler. I admit many of the finer points of wine making and tasting go straight over my head. The classic ‘I don’t know much about wine, but I know what I like’. I am, however, very willing to learn. My ‘go to’ wine is a red blend from the Byerskloof.

Derek and Lynn invited three extremely fascinating couples to dinner. I was introduced as Derek’s brother and was delighted when they said that they had found my COVID blog interesting and useful. I must say I was pleased to discover readers and learn that the exercise had been worthwhile. It seems so long ago, but the adverse consequences of COVID are still being felt.

There is currently a public inquiry underway in the UK. It has been set up to ‘examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future’. There is a Terms of Reference and, of course, there is a website. The inquiry suggests the cynical buffoons running the country were not sure if COVID was a problem or a solution! The idea of herd immunity was put forward many times.

The BBC reports,

“Mr Johnson was “weak and indecisive” and “often changed his mind”; the prime minister apparently questioned shutting down the economy to save people who were going to “die anyway”; and “Health Secretary Matt Hancock said things which turned out to be untrue.”²

There is a great deal of coverage of the inquiry in the media. I hope there will be consequences for the donkeys who ‘led’ the country during this period, but I am not optimistic. How can they actually be held to account?

1. https://www.whaleanddolphintours.durban/ accessed 4th November 2023
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67316473 accessed 4th November 2023