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I like thunderstorms. We usually get one or two when we're in Italy. I watched a spectacular storm one night when I was working on Mt Lemmon near Tucson. It must easily have been 100km away (around Kitt Peak, maybe) , and we didn't hear a thing, but the lightning was spectacular.

G'day.
It's overcast but 17c
I'm sat in Lidl parking with a flat tyre waiting for SM to collect me. I'll get a tow truck after lunch.
Regrettably I have a spareless car. If I use he repair kit it says replace soon as so I might as well cut the middle man and get taken to a tyre place after lunch.

It never ends does it.

Magnus wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:52 am

I like thunderstorms. We usually get one or two when we're in Italy. I watched a spectacular storm one night when I was working on Mt Lemmon near Tucson. It must easily have been 100km away (around Kitt Peak, maybe) , and we didn't hear a thing, but the lightning was spectacular.

We like thunderstorms for the rain but down here in the tropics it is horrendously noisy.

The safari camp up river had a guest croak on them on Friday. A frog but there you go. They were on tour in the Delta. As you can imagine sorting this out here was a bit of a nightmare. At one point the manager found himself in the mortuary at the hospital with the only mortuary attendant and a rather large lady on a trolley with wheels like a supermarket trolley. Apparently trying to get her into the freezer was like the golden shot, they were all over the place. Managed to chuck her in, in the end.

The British High Commission are onto my assault case. Two phone calls and an e-mail today. They are talking to the police here. On request I went to try to get the case number today. Only the police office in charge of the case knows where the papers are and he was off duty. Gave the High Commission his mobile number and he says he will discuss it with them in the morning from the cop shop when he has found the file.

A balmy, or should that be barmy, 27 degrees Celsius here and although Caco is beset by a ferocious sore throat and power cuts, the glass of Loyal Service Afrikander Just Nuisance Scrounger Chenin Blanc is making all such minor travails palatable.

South Africa is suffering the worst Stage Four Electrical load shedding in its history with five hours outage today, so advice to Woody is to go long on candle futures. All a result of a vicious combination of neglect, lack of planning, maintenance and outright war between the Unions and Ramaphosa's plans to break the ESKOM monopoly here.

Looking down on the SANDF fleet I feel strangely disengaged from the politics and a smile has returned to my ugly dial.

A submarine has just set out into False Bay.


Caco

In the days of over-rated and over-paid kickers of leather, a giant of a gentleman and superb sportsman has left the field of play.

RIP Gordon Banks.

Hombre has come and located the cut in the tyre. It's in the sidewall naturally. Now waiting for the tow truck to take me to the tyre shop. Just rung 25 mins. I told them it would need a truck.

Ever heard of a black leopard? Here is proof that they exist; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/trav ... frica.html

From our 600' height we watch the approach of thunderstorms across the plain below with trepidation. Will it / won't it go right overhead. And if it does, will the unthinkable happen....

The picture below was taken just before midnight. Amazingly I hit the phone camera button just as lighting struck on the ridge to our east.

Wodrick, it is often on the sidewall isn't it? I admire you for knowing when to call for assistance. I managed a visit to the yellow and blue furniture store and not only that. I stuck to the list and I did not acquire a single additional item.

Most of the flat tyres here between the French border and Barcelona on the AP7 occur after the driver of the (foreign plated) car has stopped at a service station. You pull out, friendly south Americans in an old car point out the puncture, knife slice in the sidewall, so you pull over, get out......and your passport, phone, wallet and luggage all gone in a flash. Despite frequent warnings happens all the time to foreigners. I.e. last week, good friend lost the lot.

Go back to border checks and keeping out illegal aliens, life would be better for decent law-abiding people who would not have to live in fear of crime. The downside is going back to the old days of queues at borders.

When the Euro falls apart, you can spend that time changing Frog money to Pesetas, Escudos, Lire ........ etc.

I don't do smartphones.
I send my daughter emails (from my PC laptop) with links to items that I believe will interest her (such as the proposal to build a new school on the site of her old school - without interrupting continuing use of the current school buildings, some of which will be demolished afterwards, but there is much more involved).
She tells me that she cannot open these links (in this case a pdf) using her 'phone'.

Is this typical? or does she need to update her mobile?

Just back from wake for my departed friend. His widow is Moroccan. He was planted at a private family only service yesterday, within 24 hours of his death.
Tonight at their villa, she hosted a sit down Moroccan meal for thirty of his close friends, so we could celebrate his life. Two main courses, one after the other and a sweet. Soft drinks only. A chef assisted by her mother and sister did all the prep and cooking. The food was exceptional.
Interesting and great way to say goodbye.

Wodrick, it is often on the sidewall isn't it?

From a puncture free life, more than 50 years without I am making up for it with this vehicule, three in two years, one a blow on the Autovia, a screw in the sidewall, and now what looked like a small cut from a stone on the inner sidewall.
Unfortunately each time I have fallen foul of Spain's rules for matching tyres on the same "axle" and needed a pair. That's 200€ to you sir.

I admire you for knowing when to call for assistance

No choice really. Car has no spare just an inflation device and a can of sealant. The breakdown cover is part of the insurance policy and does not affect my NCB. No brainer let someone else do it.

Glad your pal had a good send off Ibbie

Ibbie wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:52 pm

Just back from wake for my departed friend.

What age was he?

G-CPTN

....Is this typical? or does she need to update her mobile?

She needs to update her mobile. Mine is a top of the range Galaxy and works like a mini computer.

Afternoon. Family sh!t still going down here. A lot of facts, hidden emotions and blind hatreds are finally out in the open (with the help of spiked drinks. Sodium P couldn'tve done better). With the exception of her sis and a certain cousin, Ap's clan are a bunch of sheer backstabbing arseholes. Apsara herself has been subject to a hell of a lot of crap and then today they hung out her entire dirty laundry. Virtually the whole clan reckons her getting remarried to me was a huge mistake. Practicing polite Buddhists my arse - more like a bunch of ravenous hyenas out to wreck our marriage for no damn reason other than to get me off the scene.

Might be away a longer time till this is over and done with.

My friend was 69, G-CPTN.

Ours are bottom of the (price) range Huaweis and also function like mini computers. Rarely use the main PCs or Chromebook now.