In which I try to find some glimmer of hope in the seemingly endless death spiral of the planet.

The Suiderstrand Log If you walk down onto the beach at Suiderstrand and take a right turn, following the coastline along and into the Agulhas National Park, you'll come across a large log on the beach, about 1½km towards the cottages out at Piet se Punt. Just next to the rocky outcrop know…

Sirens and Smoke That might mean something else if you were in the Middle East right now, but it's very much the South and the West of the continent that I'm talking about here. At the moment, hidden away in our little corner of Africa - away from all the sirens and the smoke - seems to be a very…

Careful now, Iran Incoming from the whirring newsreel on my second monitor this morning, this: What? Threatening the stability of the Middle East? That absolute paragon of stability throughout my lifetime? The shining example of security, solidity and steadiness for the global population? The role…

New hoodie? Looking for the perfect gift for a loved one with winter apparently on the way? How about this hoodie featuring - almost - a well-known proverb about education and empowerment? Think about it: every person who sees you in the mall or at the bar will have something - something deep - to…

A little premature? That thing I did on the drama of the Doomsday clock. Awful. But then, this also suggests that we could keep going at the frankly horrendous rates of killing each other and destroying the environment that we’ve been working so hard upon for the last 12 months for at least…

Solo Piano A compilation of Solo Piano pieces by Ludovico Einaudi. Available to stream, buy on CD(!), several different types of vinyl, or even as sheet music. 17 tracks that between them have amassed well over a billion listens on Spotify alone. And, given that he's written a lot more than 17…

The hotel coffee machine row This cartoon... ...was published before the sh1t hit the fan - or kettle? - when a so-called "influencer" revealed her repulsive hack of washing her dirty underwear when away from home: Tara Woodcox, an influencer and fitness coach, is speaking out after an earlier…

Another one One of the spin-offs of religion dying out in the UK (and in a lot of other places too) is fewer muppets. But another spin-off is old, no longer required church buildings being converted into residential accommodation. Like this one from a few weeks ago. And this one, which I saw…

Bye! Any football news from Up North today? Only this: Not the 20-0 rout that some foolish people were predicting. It was never going to be like that. But the history books will record that Wednesday were relegated at Bramall Lane, and that's what really matters. The three points are also very…

Don’t get distracted With Prince Andrew being arrested this week over his connections with Jeffrey Epstein (although not for that, but who knows where the ongoing investigations may lead), suddenly someone is panicking and pulling out all of the stops in order to distract the world from his…

I don’t know what to say I said a lot of things here, but sometimes even I run out of words when I read something like this. The story: “He just learned how to ride, he got the hang of it right away,” Ethan’s dad, Luis, said proudly. “He wanted to go outside because he wanted to jump on his…

Weather Man Mentioned briefly here, here is some more photography by Russian Arctic photographer, Evgenia Arbugaeva. This is part of her series Weather Man, tracking the day to day activities of meteorologist, Vyacheslav Korotki for The New Yorker. It's worth clicking through on this link to see…

Test Drive I test drove our new hob yesterday. And wow. What an amazing difference from the old model. The old model was in here when we moved in several (or more) years ago now. The old model shouldn't have been in here when we moved in, because it fails the gas certificate of compliance even at…

The more you ignore me It's been a while since I put some music up on here. And this one is nothing new. Just an earworm I picked up and I can't get rid of. And the more I ignore it... well... you know. Incidentally, I think I picked this up from the Amy Lamé Superfans show, which is a great…

Airports Wondering about airports? Of course you are. Wonder no more - has got you covered for all your airport data needs. You can even download a CSV file full of airport information: airports.csv (12,511,182 bytes, last modified Feb 16, 2026)Large file, containing information on all airports on…

More great Asian signs It was quite a while ago that I (possibly) introduced you to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in India. They are the ones putting up signs like this one: ...with the sole intention of keeping you safe while on their roads. I've been sent a couple of other Asian signs…

Apple Thought for the day: Is it true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, or is it just one of Granny's myths?

Don’t forget… ...that you're supposed to be doing a blog post each day. It's late and you've been busy, I get it. That gas hob wasn't going to buy and install itself. United weren't going to win at Portsmouth without your support, and yes, that was an absolutely superb braai. The steak was…

Nice guy Valentine's Day tomorrow. Commercialism gone mad, preying on the young lovers of the world, or the Feast Day of St Valentine who lived in the 3rd Century. How about both. Busy guy, too. Aside from his caring for the poor and weak during his brief time on the planet, he's also got himself…

Tell me why… ...I'm not particularly looking forward to this coming Monday. With apologies to the Boomtown Rats. One of the best bits about this blog (ok, ok: possibly the only good bit if you want to be like that) is the fact that I don't have to stick to any one given topic. This isn't a blog…

Ice Road news Great news for anyone wanting to travel between the Estonian islands of Hiiumaa and Saaremaa, but who hasn't been able to get a ferry because of all the sea ice in the... er... sea. The authorities have opened a 17km ice road between the islands - specifically between Tärkma on…

Done (a sad rant) Forgive me. Bit of a moan incoming. When April comes around this year, it'll mean that for 20 of the last 24 months, we'll have had building work happening on our doorstep. Not literally our doorstep, obviously. Our actual doorstep is perfectly functional, but rather small and…

I could live here It's Denmark, which is the most boring of the Scandinavian countries I have been to (n=3), but still - look at this: This bar will give you a free beer between 12 and 1pm. There's no catch, no obligation to buy another beer or any food or any other product. You just turn up and…

Yellow warning There's a yellow warning out for potential severe thunderstorms and heavy rain over Cape Town and parts of the Western Cape tonight, and I couldn't be happier. Everything is dry and brown and so very DUSTY. Not only do we need some rain to alleviate the drought that we've been…

Upload Great news: TLC have decided to upload the new series of Mock The Week onto YouTube. You can find it here. Not so great news: You need to be in the UK to watch it. Of course, there are many ways of being in the UK when you're not actually in the UK, and so that's not too much of a problem.

Quickie Bit rubbish today: Mrs 6000's chest infection has caught me out. But a day of rest, and hopefully, I'll be up and at everything again tomorrow. Pub quiz last night was good. We didn't win, but I think we had about an equal number of brilliant answers and really silly mistakes. Broco's area…

Why don’t the City do more? People are always whining about the various levels of Government in this country. Actually, in any country. No-one is happy. We've said this on here before. But alleged mis-management and poor prioritising aside, the City could do more if it didn't have to stop…

Still got it? Sort of. I'm old and creaky, and my chest has been a bit iffy this week, but I thought that I'd better give it a go and get back out and play some football for the first time this year. Too many false starts and missed games, and damn: suddenly it's February. So I went out and I gave…

Frustrating, Infuriating, Embarrassing The whole situation regarding childhood vaccinations and childhood illnesses continues to worsen. And not just in the USA, where there are obvious reasons for the problems. Measles is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet, and it's estimated that…

What are the blue dot things? Some weird symbols on my weather app this week. What are the five blue dots on the cloud for Wednesday? I'm sure I have seen them before - maybe like six months ago - but they just aren't familiar to me. Answers on a postcard, please. Could it be another event - I'm…

Long story, but… I did target more physical work than I was expecting to today, and I'm fully knackered. So please accept this quota survey/map as today's blog post. I won't be doing another survey like this for a while now: it's silly to break an international court order.

Just a quickie, Southern Suburbs people. I had cause to phone for an ambulance for one of the residents in our neighbourhood yesterday. It was a serious situation. Literally life and death stuff. The first number I tried was Netcare911. They are arguably the best known private ambulance company in…

The “Secret Location” ad I was on some social medium the other day, when I got served this, by local AirBnb clone LekkeSlaap. I've no problem with getting adverts from LekkeSlaap - we've used them a few times and their service and the places are great. This ad didn't really work for me though.…

A fire in Hout Bay – but why? A fire, indeed. And I should know, because I was there, watching the horseriding and watching the helicopters picking up water from the dam up the road and dumping it all over the fire in question. There seem to have been more fires than usual in this fire season, but…

Oh no. We’re all going to die. /s We've been here before. This time last year, in fact, when the Doomsday Clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight. Well, now it's set at 85 seconds to midnight. 4 seconds closer to oblivion. Oh no. And look, I get it. The world is in an absolutely terrible state.…

Long Tuesday It's been a scorcher of a day, and it's far from over. Two meetings - one at school and one in the neighbourhood - will keep us out until after 9, and honestly, I could really do with being in bed already. The heat is manageable in the short-term, but draining overall. It seems likely…

Who needs enemies? When you have "friends" like America? The Danish government has ordered public officials across Greenland and Denmark to deactivate Bluetooth on both professional and personal devices, citing increasing concerns about foreign surveillance capabilities. The move affects civil…

Ouch A great win for United yesterday, and this: as Callum O'Hare scored the opening goal was every bit as nasty and painful as you might imagine. I'm not saying that the keeper left his boot up as O'Hare fell towards him, but that is actually exactly what happened. You can watch it from about the…

Justifying hunting In a bit of a rush today, so have this, which did make me chuckle. Stew for dinner. And possibly some innocent forest animals saved from a knife-wielding bunny.

Remember Reuben Ireland? Remember Reuben Ireland? OK, but more specifically the quote from SA wannabe political party COPE? Well, as the Orange Shitgibbon invites not one, but two, wanted war criminals to his laughably named "Peace Board", we should also recall the EFF and their political…

Let’s not forget… All the calls for Canada as the 51st State, the actions of the state-sponsored militias running around Minnesota (and beyond), the rambling speech mixing up Greenland and Iceland, and the persisting sabre-rattling about the alleged necessity of the annexation of the former "for…

Another reason to buy in Zone 1 City Centre living. It isn't for everyone. And if Cape Town is anything to go by (and it is), it's damn expensive too. But other than the convenience of your office being right on the doorstep, what else is there to justify the massive price tag? I'm sorry, did you…

Not enough Bit knackered this evening. But I've worked out the reason why. Getting back into the rhythm and routine of the school term shouldn't really be a struggle, but it seems no-one has told my body that. Can't keep going on like that. But... On the plus side, I had a great drive around the…

View from the weekend We went away and then we did very, very little. Save, of course, from enjoying the views, the hot tub, the pool and the pizza oven. On Saturday morning, I went out on a bit of run that then turned into a bit of a hike, and ended up climbing up onto the koppie 250m above our…

Live in a church Appropriate for a Sunday. I'm not religious. I don't go to church. But I could live in one. If it was this one. At £995,000, it's a little out of my price range right now, but it is gorgeous. Apparently, it featured on Grand Designs. I'm a fan of the show, but I haven't seen this…

Back again I did mention that this was going to happen, but I also said that I would have some reservations unless certain criteria were met: And look, if it is correct, then this is clearly great news, but... so much of the original MTW was good because of the regulars and especially Hugh Dennis…

This could be amazing. Or... Look, let me preface this by saying that I won't be going along to this anyway. But as a 90s raver and a long(ish)-time resident of Oxford, I might give it a go if I was still there. Because it could be amazing. The words "Tribute to" could be doing an awful lot of…

Need to send a letter? Of course you don't. No-one sends letters anymore. But let's just suppose that you did need to send a letter. And that you were unlucky enough to be in the United States of America, under the control of Adolf Trump and his evil minions. Sending a letter is going to cost you…

A bit of a moan It hasn't rained much in Cape Town over the last few weeks. Maybe even the last few months. And there is a bit of "Day Zero" talk entering the chat, although to be fair, we're a long way from that sort of scenario at the moment (but you never say never). In fact, looking back, I…