Hold on to your hat!

Today the Peninsula is being battered by a strong southeaster, increasing to near gale force tonight. As if the dessicating effects of a three-day heatwave were not enough. Doors and windows have to remain closed, not only to keep the dirt and dust out, but to keep the pictures on the walls and the blinds and curtains on the inside of the house. The sea is just white spume blowing away to the horizon. No chance of a wave - even the Kakapo reef is struggling to rise to its usual magnificence.
Another hugely entertaining jazz lunch at the Cape Quarter in Green Point - highly recommended for smooth jazz and talented singers/musicians - meant that we would be in the midst of the 60 000 people attending the Rugby Sevens weekend at the Green Point Stadium, but amazingly the traffic was minimal and everyone was on Shank's Pony. It was a real treat to see so many people entering into the spirit of the festivities, dressed up in everything from dinosaur costumes to waterwings and rings to a raucous group in nappies who kept us entertained at the traffic lights. Turns out that all the rugby goers had parked at the Waterfront, filling the parking garages so that shoppers had nowhere to park, and then walked to the stadium.
The howling gale made for difficult driving along the freeways and trees were losing branches all along the route. Plastic bags and papers gusted in little tornadoes through the alleys and narrow lanes, and the sea inside the docks scattered in every direction as the wind whipped the surface. I would not like to be on one of the Volvo yachts currently moored at the Waterfront! Cape Town wind at its best!
Another pleasant surprise was the lack of traffic all the way out of town later in the afternoon. We went to Cavendish Square due to no parking at the Waterfront, and within the hour had found everything we were looking for, drove straight out, still no traffic all the way back to Kommetjie. The quietest day on the road I have known in years.
So the conclusion is that all of Cape Town's drivers must be at the rugby.