Random news

Been an interesting week. What with Guinevere getting stuck in a train carriage, delivering a good project, meeting some old friends for dinner, and having my new tooth rejected by the dentist!


I also discovered a potential solution to my total lack of energy of late. A vitamin supplement; and a world of difference it has made. Far better than a Coke to fuel the late afternoon snooze issues.

Then there was the surf on Saturday morning. We saw our first swell in months tumble onto our shores, and line up some lovely waves just ripe for surfing. It has been a long summer for a Cape Town surfer, flat seas and lots of wind. Winter is on its way, and this makes the surfer in me very excited!

Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, also found its way into our week. I took my boys to mass in the morning amidst much excitement. All the excitement of course, generated by the number of hours that they would be late for school, rather than for the event that we were celebrating. Regardless it gave us a great opportunity to talk about Lent and the preparation that we can do within ourselves for Easter.

The Pope provided some much needed inspiration for me to continue writing my book. At the tender age of 83, whilst in charge of a massive organisation, he still found time to publish another book. With another one on the way, God willing!

Tomorrow is Monday and I am immensely excited. We have a board meeting scheduled for 08h23 at backline and the waves are expected to roll in. Really looking forward to this week, I have a feeling that it is going to be filled with excitement!

Oh Guinevere

Life is full of sneaky twists and turns. My 1950’s sex kitten found herself ensnared in a dark, hot, rail car carrier, with no intention of leaving. Much to my bitter disappointment! Although brute force and a little ingenuity dissolved that disappointment into some barely disguised joy.

My mechanic, Kevin, and I set off good and early for the Cape Town Station. I call Kevin the mechanic, but he owns a garage in my town that specialises in Jaguars, so he is way more than that. We arrived early and as luck would have it, the train arrived two hours late! A chance encounter with my mom broke the tedium of waiting on platform 24 for transport that seemed determined not to arrive. She offered to stay with us but luckily we packed her off on a different train home.


It did arrive in its own sweet time, disgorging its multitudes of passengers, and heaps of dirty bed linen, before beginning the process of shunting its two car carriers. That took a little longer! The car carriers spewed forth car after car, none of which resembled my precious Guinevere. I was a little apprehensive, unsure if she was there, or even if I had made a good decision to acquire her.

And then we saw her. Parked at the back of the top level of the car carrier; grey and forlorn. She had spent the whole trip sulking and so refused to start. That posed a little problem considering it was pitch dark and more than a tight squeeze. Her handbrake had been wrenched up so high that her brakes were locked in place and so pushing her out was out of the question.

The railway staff lost interest and abandoned us to our tinkering. I am not sure how much we fixed, but we sweated buckets. We were still trying to figure her out when the last of the Shoshaloza Meyl staff saluted us on his way home. There we were, abandoned in hot box on a siding in the busy Cape Town Station, trying to entice an old two ton beauty queen to leave the darkness. It was a little surreal.

So, the engine would not start, the brakes were locked, and we were dripping with sweat. And then we discovered something even worse! We had known that the air had been let out of the tyres to get her into the carrier, but we did not realise she was standing on her rims. With only two centimetres between her roof and the carrier roof, there was no way we could jack her up and inflate them.

Without a word, we downed tools and went in search of chocolate. We discovered chicken burgers instead, and fantasized about Guinevere, the grey phantom, that prowls the railway lines between Johannesburg and Cape Town, stuck deep in a car carrier.

Revived, we got busy thinking! Kevin called in a family favour, and a flat bed was soon on its way. A massive rope was found on a track and hooked up to the back of Kevin’s bakkie. With barely 10 metres of space between the end of the ramp and a beautiful glass wall, and a high voltage cable above our heads, much was at stake.

Slowly and with agonising noise, we hauled her out of her hole, a couple of meters at a time. She inched down the ramp and stopped at the bottom, wedged on her rims and exhaust. Some clever jacking, reseating of the tyres, and inflation, saw her sitting proud once again. Then she had to be towed in reverse along the platform and out into the star lit world.

Her tyres and rims are probably history, but I was delighted to have her close to home. I am looking forward to courting her, and the world of adventure that we will tackle together!

Calling Guinevere

Yesterday Guinevere started her trip to her new home.


Unfortunately, she did not want to leave Johannesburg. She refused to pick up her skirts and make her way to the train station under her own steam. My uncle, who has been looking after her, had her forcibly hitched onto a flat bed and delivered with her ticket to ride to platform 14.

The fun did not stop there. She had an upper berth and was hardly interested in getting comfortable up there. A tractor and chain changed all of that. And then she played her trump card, standing too tall to squeeze into the available space. The problem was solved by the quick thinking flat bed driver, who deflated her ego somewhat, by letting the air out of her tyres. Cosseted safely in her cocoon, her new journey in life was began.

Right now she is chugging her way to Cape Town. I meet her this afternoon at platform 24. I am not sure what to expect, but it sure is going to be a mission getting her home Luckily, my mechanic has agreed to accompany me to our reunion. He will be bringing his bag of tricks and a heap of hot air. With any luck, she will fall in love with me, purr like a kitten, and whisk me home in 1950’s style!

We shall see...