Richards Belly

A mixed weekend in Richards Bay.

On the plus side we managed to get a new battery for the car meaning that the mule will now start. Unfortunately we will have to put up with its numerous other annoying quirks. These include 1) a malfunctioning air conditioning system. Obviously a car with AC is highly desirable in Africa. Worse than not working, our ACS blows extremely hot air straight into the face of the driver and passenger for at least the first hour of a journey. 2) A previous owner of the car thought it a great idea to fit it with fancy alloy wheels and fat tyres. These are far too big. As a consequence, whenever we go over bumps (i.e. all the time) they rub against the car body above. 3) The petrol cap is nigh on impossible to remove. Petrol stations in SA all have service. Teams of young guys immediately rush round incoming cars to do different jobs – a la Formula 1. Our pc problems have led to ‘Sword of Excalibur’ scenes as the pump guys vie to be the one strong enough to remove the cap.

Also on the plus side we managed to buy some things for the house. Duplicitously, I managed to convince Mary of the importance of being frugal as we went through the home ware shop. We made lots of excellent savings. This created some budget space. I then assured my beloved wife that buying a speaker to allow us to play music at an audible level from our laptop was high priority. I’m extremely happy with ‘our’ purchase.

On the down side, I ate a dodgy burger the evening. My system responded with ‘great anger and furious vengeance’ (Bible/Pulp Fiction). I didn’t sleep much and felt very sorry for myself. (No photo to be included here.) Fortunately the misery was short lived.

My back is also playing up a lot. I have been seeking out help from our resident physio and popping Marilyn Monroe like quantities of pain killers. Hopefully it will come to realise the futility of resistance.

Tomorrow we host supper club. This is a monthly event. Huge pressure to deliver a culinary experience. I am still trying to win Mary round to starting with beans on toast on small triangles of toast. What’s not to like about that?