Having forgotten to put on my high heels and slopped through Cavendish Square in running shoes last week, today I had an opportunity to rectify this. I duly dressed for a cool day in Cape Town according to the weather forecast and set off on errands, which involved taking Dad from pillar to post. What I didn't foresee was that after the Cavendish leg of the outing, we would be going to Kirstenbosch, our world-famous and most favourite place for enjoying the indigenous flora of the Cape Floral Kingdom and beyond.
Of course, most of the gardens are on a steep slope requiring tremendous stamina and definitely running shoes. But today I had on the high heels, didn't I? Ah well! Nevertheless, they are fairly comfortable, but I could have done without the tight jeans in what turned out to be a rather warm day. Being a Tuesday, it was Pensioners Day (free) and they were out in force, jostling for position in the line for the tearoom and ambling along the pathways as all good pensioners should.
We left Dad resting on Uncle Norman's bench (our great-uncle) which has been ideally sited near the pond since about 1973 and took a stroll around the lower slopes only (on account of the heels) and it was only afterwards that I realised I should have just taken them off and gone barefoot! The vygies and daisies are still in good nick despite it being October and I would have liked to go to the upper reaches to admire the glorious proteas, but that will have to be another time, maybe next week.
Kirstenbosch was Mother's favourite place and she always bewailed the fact that she didn't go there often enough. She would point out the huge oak tree which she remembered from her childhood, and doubtless there were many more trees that shaded her in her youth. I am quite sure she was walking with us and enjoying the beauty that inspired her garden at home.
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