Cape Argus Cycle Tour (Mar 13th)

What can anyone say about the Cape Argus Cycle Tour that everyone doesn't know already! It has all of the lovely panoramas and scenery that one has grown accustomed to seeing and then there is the spectator support that many competitors also enjoy...

The Route this year was exceptionally well organized and signposted, which made it a delight for competitors and spectators alike. Following the usual route around the Peninsula, the competitors had to brave the vicious onslaught of the Cape Doctor (Southeaster), which gusted at manic speeds, causing chaos in some areas and disappearing completely in others. Though one has to feel sorry for the competitors struggling to pick-up speed for the uphill climbs, I think that the spectators got the worst of the gale like conditions and one Eurasian woman had to quickly duck for cover when her skirt was ripped of in the strong wind, as several people whistled!

The predawn start was a hassle, as thousands of competitors gathered to await the start of each individual section of riders and several complaints were heard about the lack of toilet facilities for the competitors. Which really was bad and in one place had a mammoth line for the portable toilets, resulting in a dozen of them having to inconspicuously hide themselves behind any available shelter in order to relieve themselves.

Fortunately, once the sections were underway, the cyclists charged of in a hurry to get out of the jostling madness that is common with these timed trials and luckily, there weren't any major collisions where anyone could get hurt. As the groups headed around the side of Devil's Peak, they started the thin out, as some went on ahead of the packs. Fortunately, many were prepared for the strong winds that suddenly appear around Hospital Bend, which any serious accidents or injuries...

A frequent feature of the Cape Argus is the numerous service sites along the route in which volunteers stand ready to hand out sachets of water and energy bars for the contestants to resupply their needs at. It was also very nice to see that there were a number of spectators that made themselves available to assist riders in trouble. Way to go people! Show that Ubuntu Spirit!

The long lonely stretches of the route were very tiring on many of the non-professional riders, as the uphill stretches and relentless shallow climbs can burn the calf muscles deeply, as well as the mind!

For many of the competitors, it must have been a godsend to see the welcome stretch of famous beach that is at Camps Bay and they all made that final push to build up momentum before the shallow but intense climb over Victoria Road, which then brings you around into the western end of Sea Point.
The route then took the screaming down to and along the Beach Road, as they made the final dash for the finish.



It was very nice to see some familiar faces taking part in the Argus this year and one of them was the famous Gabriella Sabbatini of professional tennis fame, who took part with one of the local teams. It is nice to see that she hasn't completely disappeared off of the face of the Earth and I know that a number of the spectators cheered boisterously for her when she was introduced to the crowd over the speakers.
May she come back soon and continue her adventures in South Africa!

Neil Diamond Concert April 12th

What a magic way to spend an evening, but in the company of a legend! most people would think that Neil Diamond would have lost all relevance for today's society, but it is definitely not so!

The Cape Town Stadium was once again in top condition for the international artist and the safety/security forces on duty were more than competent in ensuring an enjoyable experience for all of the concert goers. The only problem was that the streetlights on the stadium side of Main Road in Green Point were not working, which plunged the final stretch of the FanWalk into a funereal gloom that could have been very dangerous for the fans of Neil Diamond, as well as being a public relations nightmare! The City Planners need to get their proverbial thumbs out of their butts and rectify this problem in future on the same night...

There was a lot of people that knew the words to his songs and it really made for a pleasant, cosmopolitan atmosphere with all the spectators singing along to Neil Diamond's Hits like: Sweet Caroline; Cherry Cherry;and many others.

Unfortunately, the concert was over all to quick and many had to reluctantly make their way out of the stadium, as the buses were leaving! Hopefully, he will return soon, as it was far to quick!

Community Chest Carnival Wynberg (Mar 3rd)

Twilight photo of the Carnival site.

Wow! As you can see the annual Community Chest Carnival this year was stunning and it was like a fantasy wonderland, as you could see the lights from a kilometer away!

Though the queues to get into the entrance were massive, as at least 50,000 people had turned up for the night-time festivities, which created horrendous lines running halfway around the side of the Carnival park. You could hear the sounds of countless people inside shouting and enjoying themselves...


This year is the 80th year of the Community Chest Carnival and you can see how the event has grown exponentially over the years. Though the site hasn't got any bigger and if things keep on as they are, the organisers will soon have to look for a bigger location!

One can only guess at the amount of planning and investment that must go into this Carnival each year, as I don't envy them their job! most people forget that there are a number of auxillery requirements for an event of this size: Security, Sanitation, Emergency Services, Police, and Volunteer. Very few people (if any) ever thank these people for doing a good job, which is a shame...

Housemates enjoying some of the food

One of the first things that we all did was to go around and try some of the various food delicasies on offer at the cultural pavilions and the housemates had their favorites: Thailand, Greece, China, Mexico and the new Brazilian (with its exotic South American dishes and spices).

All of the housemates dressed up for the Carnival in bright red dresses and outfits, which really looked dramatic and Shimbavi's sister's tight red capri pants had more than a few men ogling her...

Giant Climbing Wall

One of the newest features of the Annual Carnival was the 5-storey Climbing Wall, which really tested the brave individual's skill at scaling a free-climbing wall bare handed with only the strength of the arm muscles to support them. As usual, they had a few different routes with various difficulties and gradients for the climbers to overcome.

Brianna, Kimberley and I all gave the wall a try with varrying success, as we got competitive with each other. Brianna with her athletic biuld was very quick and agile, clinging to the wall like a bat. Kimberley was not as fit, as either Brianna or me and so only managed to scale the easiest of the routes. I had more muscle mass than Brianna, but still I was not nearly as agile as she was with her higher endurance level. And as you can see, she actually beat me to the top of the two of the difficult routes! Embarrassing...

Food Stall Worker: Unsung Heroine

Afterwards, we were all thirsty and stopped for some cooldrinks at one of the nearby foodstalls, where we met a very helpful worker named, Primrose, who actually went out of her way to find the coldest cans available for us. And we made sure to compliment her to her supervisor, as these workers get paid very little for working the long hours that they do and they deserve all the credit that they get...

Housemates & Me inside entrance

All of the Housemates then gathered together in the one open area to decide on what they wanted to go and see first, as there were so many events and spectacles that it was actually hard to make a choice!

In the end, we decided to go and see what acts were on the stage, as several well known artists were scheduled to appear and perform during the Carnival this year. Being that it was also the 150 year since the arrival of Indentured Labourers from the Indian Subcontinent, there was also a celebration of the Indian contribution to South Africa.

Delightful Indian Dancer

I was actually stunned by the performance of the one Indian dancer, who had the whole audience enthralled with her dancing. I was amazed by her ability to move different parts of her anatomy to the beat of the music and even follow two or three beat rhythms with her arms or legs. Not easy by anyone's standards!

She is actually a professional dancer, who has performed overseas, which becomes all to obvious when you see the greadth of her repertoire. I can only guess at how many years she has been practising her dancing skills.

One of the many delicacies on offer

After that we went around to many of the cultural pavilions and started watching the entertaining ethnic performances that were being put on by local civic organisations for the benefit of the general public, as well as enjoying the various foods that were on offer at these pavilions.

The Chinese pavilion had a whole array of events planned and there were a number of young women dressed up in Chinese traditional costumes that walked around in amongst the carnival patrons. The six dances that were done on the stage were amazing and really got the crowd involved with the whole experience.

Two of the roving entertainers

This was just one of the many random entertainers that strolled around the whole carnival site keeping the atmosphere of the event electric as well as fun...

This pair are a short King Neptune and a beautiful Siren of the Deep, who had the crowds laughing with their antics. They were actually very good entertainers and definately knew their trade.

Kimberly & Brianna

Kimberly and Brianna split off from the rest of the group after we left the Chinese Pavilion, as they wanted to go to see another friend at the Irish Pavilion. This was a former schoolmate of Brianna's that she hadn't seen in ten years.

I was surprised in that I hadn't known that Brianna went to St Cyrprion's girl's School in Cape Town. This was because my sister, Michelle, had gone there at about the same time as Brianna and probably knew her or was aquainted with her in the strict Catholic school. At the time, Sister Agnes was the most popular of the teachers there, though the Principal at the time, Sister Margetta, was almost universally feared by the students at the all girl's school.

Shimbavi's Sister & Mom

Having Shimbavi's sister and mom spend the day with us was very interesting and very informative, as they told us all about her childhood in Durban. Which was really entertaining for us, as we heard all about Shimbavi's antics in High School and about how many times she got in trouble, as well as several embarrassing situations. Shimbavi was very embarrassed about her family's revelations and I bet that she would rather have forgotten all about that period of her life! Apparently, our Shimbavi, the Housemate, has always been a bit of a wild-child at heart! Though, I wonder just how far her adventurousness stretches, as some of the stories were really surprising...

Lines for the Portable Toilets!

The only complaint that I really heard about the Community Chest Carnival was that the toilet arrangements had been woefully inadequate, as usual, which necessitated people queueing up for an hour or more just to get a chance to use one of the portaloos! In all fairness, I think that the organisers only planned for just over five thousand or ten thousand visitors to be in the Carnival Site at any one time. However, after all of these years you would think that they have figured out that four areas consisting of a total of 100 portaloos will never be enough to cope with odds of 50 or 100 to a portaloo! With the length of the 

One of the ladies who braved the toilet lines...

lines that were present at all the toilet areas, it was definately more like 200 or even 300 people to a portaloo!The woman in the second picture had to make use of a secluded spot between the portaloos and the outside fence of the Carnival, as she could not wait any longer (and she had already waited 72mins at that moment already!)...
Nearly all of the Housemates were complaining bitterly about the ordeal of having to wait in the hope of eventually being able to use one of the portaloos sometime the near furture...
This is the one thing that the organisers definately need to get sorted out, as it is a major headache for the women, who have to wait for

One of the many Performers

+-300 other women to go first and it is really embarassing for any woman to have to squat behind the portaloos in order to relieve themselves!

However, a major compliment must be given to the organisers for arranging for the wide variety of performers on the Central Stage, as it was really exciting to see such a broad spectrum of South African Society taking part in entertaining the crowd and it was great to see that the South African Youth were also included for a change!

Overall I would give this years Carnival the following scores:

Variety of Entertainment = 5* Culutural Informativeness = 5* Security = 4* Organisation of Auxillery Facilities = 2* Planning of Charities = 5* Layout of Carnival = 3* Organisation of Crowds = 4*