Wednesday 12 August 2020, Day 73 of Level 3, after 66 days of Levels 5 and 4 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for so much rain that has fallen today, even though it was chilly at 15C max; for an admin morning after my writing was done, another Do List item ticked off; for providing Information to Law Enforcement Officer Ivor Ramsay about other complaints from locals about harassment by the homeless beggar Michael Shange, and for being able to finally lay a charge against him at the police station, getting to both before it started raining again; for the joy in seeing the vegetable garden thrive, especially the cauliflower, radishes, coriander, and our first nasturtiums 🙏; for good service from Chad at Vodacom at the Waterfront; for a lovely evening at Mosambik Restaurant, a dinner invitation from Jennifer Morris to a number of media persons, being especially lucky about the table I sat at; for getting home safely after 21h00, the Seaboard streets being deserted; for a Discovery Gameboard play; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙

My Blogpost today was about the Government regulations in how Tourist Guides should show tourists around at current Lockdown Level 3 regulations..

Corona Lockdown Tourist Guiding regulations gazetted by the Government!

At the Waterfront it was shocking to see how quiet it had become, barely any shoppers, almost all kiosks closed, almost all jewelry stores closed, and almost all restaurants other than Willoughby’s, DipnDip, and Mozambik closed. I paid some outstanding Vodacom bills, but could not get a statement for the past year to contest an arrears amount showing. Chad has promised to assist me in sorting this out 🙏. I walked on both levels, to gain steps, but wanted to drink something, and not even Woolworths WCafé is open. So I went to try DipnDip, a winter’s day indulgence, with Hot Chocolate, which was delicious, but a Crispy Crunchy Chocolate was not, a type of Rice Crispies with a drizzle of chocolate, and topped with mini marshmallows. Service was not good, no management. And I was double charged, as the card machine did not work properly the first time round. 🥵

I was interested to see what Kamers did in the former Out of Africa space in the Waterfront, no comparison at all to how it has been held in the past. No stand owners to connect with, a lot of craft products in a not very big space, and no interest by the two staff in customers entering the pop-up store at all. 😢😢😢

We met at Mozambik at 18h00, taking up the whole restaurant, with good social distancing, our temperature taken, hands sanitized, and a register signed. I shared the table with Pippa Hudson from Cape Talk, Linda from Mai Thai Spa, and Chris from the Deepest Darkest Art Gallery. Jennifer Morris was a fabulous host and we met owner Christa Deacon, generous in the dinner offering: starters of calamari, chicken liver, and green olives, with Portuguese rolls; main course of hake and chips with lemon butter sauce, or peri peri chicken; and dessert. Non-alcoholic Savanna Cider was generously offered. It poured as we were leaving, and we were shown an underground walkway to get to the parking area, staying dry. The Waterfront is charging for parking again, but R30 for 4 hours seemed more reasonable than in the past. There were hardly any cars when I drove home at around 21h00, as if it was already Curfew.

SA Corona Status 568919 cases 12010 deaths 😷😢

FitBit 10000 steps 7 km 👣

Lovemylife ❤️

The Corona Virus Lockdown (Level 5), announced by our President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier to commence on 27 March and to continue until 16 April, subsequently extended to 30 April, lowered to Level 4 from 1 May, and lowered to Level 3 from 1 June, is an unprecedented event in my lifetime. I am posting my daily Facebook post to journal this Corona Lockdown Journey, perhaps to serve as material for a future Book.

About Chris von Ulmenstein

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein