There's always something happening in the South Peninsula. Yesterday we had hot, balmy weather all day and right through the night, and awoke to more of the same, although high cloud threatened thundery weather. This has not yet materialised, but the wind has picked up from the north west and the sea has developed quite a chop. This must have been very uncomfortable for the return trip of the tunny boats that left Hout Bay in the early hours to look for fish way down beyond Cape Point. I watched one boat literally lift out of the water with only the propeller making contact with the sea. I know from experience how hard on the knees it is to brace yourself for that crash down into the trough or the face of the next wave. Bone-crushing! The low cloud that is racing in from the sea now is as gloomy as Scrooge at Christmas.
Earlier on, a pall of smoke rose from the valley and thanks to social media it was quickly established that the cause was arson (isn't it always?) and the reeds in the wetlands between Kommetjie and Noordhoek were ablaze. The good news is that the arsonist was caught, but that is cold comfort for the creatures trapped in the flames or for those who have to suffer from the falling ash and smoke inhalation. Perhaps said person could be put on firefighting duties for the next five years.
Tonight is Guy Fawkes - a celebration that is meaningless here and should have been dispensed with decades ago. The trauma suffered by cats and dogs and doubtless wild animals too, just for the sake of a few sparkles in the air and the usual incidents of burns and more fires (perhaps today was a practice for a bonfire!) cannot be justified and I hope that people will eventually allow it all to fade away.
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