Monday 1 June 2020, Day 1 of Level 3, after 66 days of Lockdown Levels 4 and 5. 😷

Corona Gratitude 🙏

#Grateful for a day of ❤️, happiness, and beautiful weather; I went to exercise at my now-normal time, loving the early morning freshness and sunrise to photograph, getting as far as Glen Beach, there being lots of litter to pick up due to overflowing bins, with lots of disposable coffee cups from the weekend; to have our Building Manager Henry back at work, working with him in applying the Covid Compliance Code, setting up a Sanitation Station; for meeting Stephané Schoeman and her husband Anton Velleman, owners of the Vida e Caffe in Camps Bay, who invited me for a tea to chat about my post about Camps Bay yesterday, Stephané getting a garbage bag to clear out the green bin across the road from their outlet, overflowing this morning, so I squashed its contents down to make space for more cups whilst I was on my first walk 👏; for a little shopping trip to Tamboerskloof, getting my favorite poppy seed rolls at Dinkel Bakery, lusting for them for 67 days, and at Peppertree Café on Kloof Street, both reopening as Deli’s today; for another walk to Bakoven; for a fun call with Stuart Bailey; for a tremendous feeling of freedom today, being allowed to be outside when we want to; for dancing 💃 to Kfm; for updating the Facebook Restaurant Delivery and Collection Group pages; for hearing from my dearest friend Llewellyn Lambert, missing him so much, a message out of the blue 🍎🍎🍎; and for being happy and healthy. 🙏💙

 

At the end of Exercise Time I checked the store opening and closing times at Pick n Pay and Woolworths, hearing at the latter that they have roast chicken in stock again. This became my most reacted to photograph of the day. 😱

I had to cut my exercise time short as I had to be back at 8h30 to let Henry inside, having kept his keys during Lockdown. We are going to start composting my Veg and fruit offcuts, my tomato plants growing very well already without having planted any.

It felt like a new week, a new month, a new year, excitement in the air, so I put fresh bedding on my bed and got my laundry ready to take to the Laundrette when things quieten down.

After visiting Vida I popped in at Cafe Caprice, which reopened today, chatting to owner David Raad, he reassuring me that the restaurant alcohol prices will be very reasonable. I also popped in at Tiger’s Milk, having heard that they had reopened too, but they will only operate from tomorrow. I loved their Sanitation Station ……. in Corona boxes. 😱. Funniest was a foot bath in which to disinfect one’s feet….. 😷😂 . Next I said hello at Rainbow, which has been open since May, but not during Exercise Time. I succumbed to a mask with red hearts – how could I not buy it…. ? ❤️

A walk through the Promenade was scary, every second Shop closed down: Daluca gift shop, the hair boutique, two pop-up boutiques, Jessy’s Waffles, Out of this World, and The Butcher. 😢

I compiled a first list of the more than 20 restaurants which have closed down in Cape Town and the Winelands since Lockdown. And there are more, I heard this afternoon.

Restaurants in Lockdown: some have closed down, others have moved towards Food Delivery & Collection, and Alcohol Sales, as Restaurant Sit-Down remains prohibited, June 2020.

But I’m delighted for the Restaurants that are open, offering Food Delivery & Collection, and if licensed, also selling alcohol from their restaurants from today onwards. Some crazy pics of bottle store queues today, who would want to stand in one?

For the first time in about 30 years alcohol may be sold off-consumption in Camps Bay from today – history in the making … 🍷🥃🥂

A lovely day all in all, feeling so ‘normal’ again, yet still strange. 😷😷😷

SA Corona Status: 17291 steps 705 deaths 😷😥

FitBit 18000 steps 13 km 👣

Lovemylife ❤️

 

The Corona Virus Lockdown (Level 5), announced by our President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this week 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.

 

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