Saturday 10 July 2021, Day 13 of Level 4 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#grateful for a wonderful day after a night of zero noise disturbance 💙; doing some work and then heading out to collect Emma in Pinelands, to start our Southern Suburbs Roadtrip, including tea with Stuart Bailey at The Andros Boutique Hotel, the Black Forest German Butcher, Lime Tree Café, and Collaborate in Fish Hoek, to meet Carina du Randt for tea and the most entertaining reunion, meeting her friend George; for a walk through Kalk Bay, and ending off with a delicious ice cream at Bootlegger in Muizenberg 🍦; for the sun coming out from behind the clouds, giving us a 15C day; for a Woolies shop in Garden’s Centre, and a Manager coming to assist me with a troublesome Supervisor and cashier; for my kitty cats being happy to have me back home; for my first almost complete day off in a month, Emma taking my program in her stride; for my Google Maps Lady guiding us in finding so many unknown places; and for being happy, healthy and free. 🙏💙

I asked Stuart if I could come to The Andros Boutique Hotel in Claremont, to take some photographs. When I was there for the Homespun opening it was too dark. By chance Chef Matt and his two Chefs Chris and his sister Naomi were there, doing a photography shoot. Always delighted when the tea is Dilmah. 💙

Our next destination was the Black Forest Butcher in Plumstead, having heard about it, but only ever having bought cold meats at Hartlief. The Butchery is very small compared to Hartlief, and one staff member looks after all one’s needs. I had a very efficient staff member assisting me, but something went wrong when I checked on my steak tartare which is not pre-made as Hartlief does. One has to wait for the butcher himself to go into the kitchen to spice one’s portion. Rose Klein had recommended it, they also buying from the Butchery. While almost only Germans go to Hartlief, the Butchery had a complete mix of clients, none speaking German when I was there. The Butcher’s wife told me that they have owned the Butchery for 34 years! It looks like it hasn’t changed since then.

Lime Tree Café in Bergvliet posts in my Lockdown Restaurant Group, so we popped in there. Owner Jeremy and Emma connected immediately on a discussion on how to claim UIF/TERS from Government for staff. Cakes were expensive at R50 a slice, but a lovely atmosphere and fresh restaurant interior. Deli attached to the Restaurant.

We were under time pressure to get to Collaborate in Fish Hoek to meet Carina, not having seen her in two years. She owned The Stargarden Boutique Cafe, a fabulous restaurant but was forced to close it last year. I saw a post of Carina a few days ago, not having seen one for a good 18 months or more. She summarized her life in the past 18 months, and I knew we had to meet. We sat with her friend George van den Bergh, who was playing the guitar when we arrived. We each drank a beverage and ate a sweet treat, my Danish being the best I’ve ever eaten. The service by the waiter was exceptional. What a lovely friendly colourful space Collaborate is. ❤️❤️❤️

All our deadlines were met, so we parked on the Main Road in Kalk Bay, walking it up and down on each side of the road. In Memory Lane there was a tiny art gallery, its work including cats. Outside the Gallery were angel wings, so Emma and I had to have a pic, as well as one with a modern day Van Gogh and his cellphone 😱

The final treat was the Bootlegger ice cream stop in Muizenberg and a walk along the beach, amazed at how many surfers there were in the water, at 13C by then, the sun having left the east side of the mountain.

After dropping Emma off at home I stopped at Woolworths Garden’s Centre. The staff at this branch seem to have such attitude. A supervisor reprimanded me severely for using the Express queue with more than 10 items. There was no one else behind me and no queue, so it was really bad service to be so petty and spoken to by her! The manager walked me out of the shop, carrying my shopping bag, and apologized.

We were impressed to see people wearing Masks everywhere we went. The only exception was at Muizenberg Beach, mainly young people there eating or drinking, or coming out of the ocean. I’ve never struggled so much to find a parking bay there.

Such a fabulous day, and a complete break from two bad apartment related weeks. ❤️❤️❤️

SA Corona Status: 2 179 297 cases 64138 deaths 4 225 021 vaccinations

FitBit 8500 steps 6 km 👣

Lovemylife❤️

 

The Corona Virus Lockdown (Level 5), announced by our President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier to commence on 27 March 2020 and to continue until 16 April, subsequently extended to 30 April, lowered to Level 4 from 1 May, lowered to Level 3 from 1 June, lowered to Level 2 from 18 August, lowered to Level 1 from 21 September, and moved back to Adjusted Level 3 from 29 December,  extended to 15 February on 11 January 2021, extended but relaxed on 1 February, and relaxed back to Level 1 on 1 March 2021, moved back to Adjusted Level 2 on 31 May, moved back to level 3 on 16 June, and moved back to Adjusted Level 4 on 28 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.

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whaletalesblog.com www.chrisvonulmenstein.com/blog Tel +27 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@Ulmenstein Facebook: Chris von Ulmenstein, My Cape Town Guide/Mein Kapstadt Guide Instagram: @Chrissy_Ulmenstein @MyCapeTownGuide