Getting it wrong

And here is a video of a guy getting it wrong!

Getting it right

Here's a video of a guy getting it right.

Sky Diving

So, went out to Wunderboom airport this morning to try to get a sky dive.

They have a national canopy control competition on all weekend though, so I was told it will be a case of fitting me in where they can.

I watched some of the competition accuracy event. Here the competitors have to get as much speed as they can by doing 360 spirals down into the landing zone. Then they have to swoop down, break a light beam at the start of the water pool, then ride the length of the water (extra marks for feet dragging), before having enough energy left in the wing to lift out the water and land in the sand at the end.

Bloody Welsh

Right.. I've been working in Cardiff and having to travel there every day.... so now, finally in SA you would think I was safe from the Welsh..

In the lift this morning there are two welsh folk talking about how they live in Cardif....

The lift opens and there is a bloody delegation of the leak botherers in the lobby!!! arggggh!

Robots

Yeh.. I know what you are thinking... where is the fecking Robot ?

Well, its there. On the right...

that's what traffic lights are called here. When the first person tell you directions and tells you to 'turn left at the robot' you wonder if they are on drugs.

Hotel Pool

Here's a piccy of the hotel pool. Looks inviting ? Yeh... until you stick a foot in it. What with it being winter here, the water is bloody freezing. I've not seen a single person in it yet.

Phone Boxes Everywhere

Mobiles are just taking off in SA. Probably like UK 10 years ago. So everyone still uses phone boxes. It's strange to see them on most street corners in use. You only then realise that noone really uses them anymore in the UK.

Funny Shops

Want a book, come to CUM books... a chistian (!!) bookshop.

Afterwards, why not pop along to your local Mullets for a beer and a Braai (barbie).

Downtown Pretoria

This is a picture from the glass lift in the hotel. As you can see, it has a look of downtown LA to it. It's the same for the whole city really.

Car Protection

In South Africa (At least in Cape town and Pretoria) every car park has some black guys hanging about. They seem to have a unoffical job of 'security' for the cars. I've never seen a break in, so maybe it works. Anyway some folk give them a few rand when they get back to their cars.

Friday

Finally got a loan of a 3g card from IBM, so got net access during the day at last.

So.. thus ends my first week. Turns out is is a bank holiday on monday in south africa.. 'youth day'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_Day

So.. office will be closed on monday. Which means I don't have access to the bit of hardware I'm over here  to build/configure.

However, can probably be productive for a day on the laptop from the hotel (or drop zone...), so will see how I get on at the weekend skydiving.

Shops at the big mall (Menlyn Mall) close at 9pm tonight, so plan is to get out of here at 5pm, back to hotel for a quick change then out to get some cheap clothes. Last time I was here there were some good deals to be had. Say, in your sort of 'burtons' equivalent shops prices are about 1/2 what they are in the UK. And at least you get some shirts and t-shirts which arn't the same as every other bod is wearing in the UK.

Have to be at the drop zone for 9am tomorrow morning.

There is a pool there apparently, though dunno if it will be open in the middle of winter (maybe I can aim for that?). So like last time, there will probably be quite a bit of waiting about during the day, so I'll bring a book and the mp3 player.

Weather looks like being decent so can maybe get some sun.. though the locals think I am mad walking about with a tshirt on as they wander by in parkers with wooly hats on.

I'll try and get an SDHC card reader at the mall too, and can post some piccies over the weekend.

It is now 3.30pm on friday, and I'm about the only one left in the pigging office, what with it being a long weekend :-(

Zulu

More folk speak Zulu here than english (30% more), and I just heard my first zulu conversation in the corridor going back to my room. I reckon it was zulu because they do that 'clicking' of the tongue. I believe it is called 'zulu click dialect' or something... it is well weird listening to it:

"aba fri CLICK! asda mimi CLICK! aba aba "

Just had a 16 oz fillet steak, and a bottle of 2004 merlot. total including tip cost 300 rand (20 quid).

Day 4

Sorry for the lack of piccies. I thought my camera had a USB plug.. but its a mini thing that I didn't bring a lead for, and my laptop won't read the card :-( I'll try and take some with the N95 or get a card reader. In which case, look out for piccies over the weekend.

Just checked the weather for the weekend: 16-20 degrees, no clouds and no wind. Ideal for jumping out of planes !

And the local club has got back to me and said they can fit me in over the weekend, so I might as well go for it. Probably be quite a bit of waiting around, but I think I only need 2 dives with instructors, and assuming it all comes back to me I can then go onto my solos again.

Now just need to try and remember what to do again... I think it was left hand to pull, or was that to release my chute and plumet to my death....hmmm..

What else.. it is a really classy neighbourhood the hotel is in... next block has a 'drive thu' Huster sex shop... quite how that works I'm not sure.

And the streets are full of these little feckin vans that act as buses for the locals... and they toot their horns contantly to drum up business. I mean constantly... all throughout the day. And night... so I'm glad I brought ear plugs.

Oh yeh, did you know South African's pay a tv licence every year just like us ? And just like us they have adverts telling them the 'detector vans' will be coming to get them if they don't pay up... thought we were the only ones that had licences.

Day 3

Well, with it being dark at 5.30 I can't do anything at night. It's not the sort of place you wander about... so not much to add to blog really at the moment.

Here's an interesting fact for you: only 6% of people speak english in Pretoria. Surprising eh ?

I'm goin' oot shopping friday night. So I'll tell u about any bargain then.

Day 1

Well, I've survived my first day in Pretoria... South Africa's 'administrative capital'.

It's a bit of a commuter town I think. Not really very cosmopolitan compared to what I saw of Joburg.

Weirdest thing so far is... the moon is on its side! I never noticed that last time I was here.. i.e. it is like a smiley face. I'll need to get a picture of it.

Second weirdest is that.. this is their coldest month.. middle of winter. Still 15-20 degrees during the day though, so t-shirt weather for me, but everyone else has hats and coats on, etc. And of course because it is warm, when it goes pitch dark by 5.30pm you wonder who switched the lights out! strange.

Funny enough, it actually seems more integrated than cape town. Most houses don't have 10 foot high barbed wire all around them. Factories don't have 20 foot high electric fences round them. The centre is just pretty much like down town LA.. run down.. poor housing/people and crap shops.

There is a big mall somewhere. Friday night it opens till 9pm, so I might try to get down there then and leave the weekend free...

since at the weekend I want to try and fit in some sky dives to finish my course !! - however I've already contacted the local club and they have a competition on all weekend, so they are not doing any training so I might need to look further afield.. if I find somewhere I'll hire a car for the weekend, and go to wherever it is.

According to my log book I needed one jump to complete the training (just a low out a 4500 and pull), but because its been a while, I'll have to do 3 jumps to complete and refresher training.

Anyhoo, we'll see.

I'll try and take some piccies to capture life here tomorrow.

Pretoria, South Africa

I'm in Pretoria, SA.

Business class is  frecking cool.. never been on the top level of a 747 before... lie flat massaging eletric seats, power sockets, video on demand, 3 course meals with wine lists (had some nice vinatage champagne, red wine, cheese and port, etc). I have to say... defnately the way to travel. £2500 for a one way ticket!! - only thing was cause it was last minute I had to go with KLM via amsterdam which was a pain. But I've booked BA direct business class home (£1900).. I could get used to this. The first time I've came off a long haul flight and feeling that I could do a full days work.

I just realised my mail for screwed up before I went and I hadn't seen any of the emails you've sent me in the last few months, so appologies for not replying to anyone. I'll get on it.

Will try and update blog regularily with stuff and pics from around Pretoria

stu

Lightning

Had the most amazinf thunder and lightning last night. Never seen anything like it. For over an hour there was a flash of sheet or fork lightning every few seconds!! The thunder was just constant.. on and on. Closest I've ever seen to that was up in the Rockies where you'd get something similar sometimes but it would never last longer than 5 mins or so.

New 'arty' video

I've stuck a short new video on my torvizcon phanfare album.





I wanted to create something which was like watercolours and pencil sketches of the villa, etc. Sort of like you see of Tuscany, etc.





Anyway 3 or 4 hours with Virtualdub, Sony Vegas and a few other bits and bobs and this is the result.

Click here for video

This is a still from the video so you can see the sort of effect I was going for.

One week gone

Thought I'd post a few piccies from the winding streets of Torvizcon. All taken with my Nokia N95 phone if that interests u...

45 degrees in the shade!!

That's 113 F in old money.

It peaks at about 5pm in the day. Really really hot. Nice though. It's so dry.

I noticed today, that metal in the shade is even nearly too hot to touch.. so even the air has heated it up.

Bloody bliss lying by/in the pool. Still got aboot 1/3 of Harry Plopper to read.

I've built the mountiain bike up, but tbh I'm not sure it's gonna get much use... I mean mountain biking (and it would be up and down mountains) in 45+ degrees heat would be slightly mental.

I think the best thing is maybe to get up early one morning and go for a bike run. It's coolest when the sun rises. By about 11am it is getting very hot, so it'd need to be pretty much after sunrise.

Saying that, I ain't planning anything.. it's a holiday. If it happens it happens.

I'll buy a place here in a heartbeat though... it's just so perfect and quiet, and hot.. :-)