Tag Archives: Friends

Cape Town and a 70th Birthday Party

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I am back in Durban, and it is already rather warm here. The forecast for an El Nino event seems to be unfolding as we were warned. It could be really serious for much of the world, but the whole of Southern Africa might experience extreme drought again.

It has been over a week since I left Norwich. I caught the 6 AM flight to Amsterdam and then connected on the KLM flight to Cape Town. I was fortunate that there were two empty seats (the middle section) between myself and my neighbour, so we had room to spread out. After the 11-hour flight I was picked up by a prebooked shuttle service, and taken to my accommodation, the Mouille Point Apartments. Once there I checked in and fell into bed. I wish there was a direct flight to Durban, I normally change planes in Johannesburg which is a real pain, and I must spend a night at a hotel.

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Drought looms, fires burn

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I spent just under three months in Durban and returned to England over the last weekend in July. There was virtually no rain in Durban, and while it is the dry season, this was exceptional. We know, thanks to El Nino, there is an impending drought across Southern Africa. This dry spell suggests it may be severe, perhaps even the worst since 1983/84.

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And the final birthday celebration

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I arrived back in Durban on 14 May, after the usual 6 AM flight from Norwich to Amsterdam to catch the 10:30 KLM flight to Johannesburg, overnight in the City Lodge, and then to Durban on an 11 o’clock flight on Thursday. It was all straightforward. I should have gotten the earlier flight down, as I had more than enough time to get to the check-in, one learns. In Durban I picked up a car and drove to Haymarket where I had to negotiate my way into the car park at the back of the block of flats I live in. The remotes had been changed due to an incursion when one was stolen from a car.

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End of March

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I have had a busy time this month. Wednesday, 18th March, was my birthday, a big one as I turned 70. I decided as it was, obviously, a once in a lifetime experience, I would organise several celebratory events. On the day Rowan, my daughter, Ailsa and I went out for lunch to Cafe 33, a popular venue in Norwich. Rowan brought Ledger, our grandchild, of course. He is now seven months old, and I will admit to having the grandparent prejudice of thinking he is exceptionally smart and good looking.

I had never been to this venue but had noted that it is very popular, with queues outside the door, even in winter! I now understand why. The food is excellent and the prices extremely reasonable. The exterior is not very inviting, the frontage is on a busy city street and it is not easily accessible. Once we were in it was really special.

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Theatre and Short Breaks

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This somewhat meandering blog began in Paternoster, a small former fishing village on the Cape West Coast. My contribution to grandparenting is limited at this stage, so I decided to head for South Africa for a spell. As people who read this regularly know, I avoid Durban from January to April/May; it is just too hot and humid, so this was the last chance to visit for a while.

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Durban winter is the best time of the year

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I have just had 10 glorious weeks in Durban. I travelled over in mid-May and came back to the UK at the end of July. I barely left Durban during this period. The only trip from the city was to Hilton, just outside Pietermaritzburg for lunch with people who attended Waterford. Most were a year or two younger than me, and I had not seen some for more than 50 years. It affirmed the value of the Waterford education and values for all of us.

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Warm by day and cool by night

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The weather in Durban has been glorious, warm days (22-24°C) with cool nights. One bonus of this is there are few mosquitoes, which is unusual. What normally happens is I am just dropping off to sleep when there is a piercing hum in my ear. A mosquito, and it can’t be ignored. The little bastards are persistent, and action has to be taken. I have spray and mat to deter them. I had a friend and former colleague stay with me for just under a week. He is a good friend whom I have known for over 40 years. We played touch rugby with academics, trade unionists and people who wanted a good run around, once a week for many years. He and I did a couple of road trips which appear in blog archives (here and here).

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Cool Nights and Warm Days

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May is one of the best months to be in Durban. The day-time temperature is in the low to mid-twenties, it is cool enough at night for a light blanket, and the days are gloriously sunny. Having said that, I recently started my day in a short sleeved light shirt and shorts, by lunchtime I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers and wondering if a jersey might be necessary! Fortunately, the day warmed up.

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Old Friends and Long Walks

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At the end of March 2024, I spent most of a day in London with my friend Simon Dalby. He was appointed to the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) in 2013 just before me and was in the office next to mine. He retired a couple of years ago and lives on Mayne Island, off the coast of British Colombia. He was in Europe for a series of meetings and to contact and visit family members he had never met or not seen for decades.

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As we move to the end of the year

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Christmas is only a few weeks away and it is time for an update to my blog. I don’t want this to become purely a record of health issues, but I have had a rotten time recently.

The reality is that, as we age, ill-health becomes more likely and recovery is slower. I am, again, suffering from an abscess in the fleshy part of my backside. This is technically a peri-anal abscess, not, as I said to my shame at one consultation, a peri-natal abscess. It is a second instalment of the same malady that put me in hospital in Durban a year ago.1

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