Breaking into 2025 after a year-plus absence

I've got some lip one way and another for being such a revolting slacker at updating JI, so here goes from our little summer/winter holiday tour - hope you are loving the former in Dublin.

It was such a delight to meet Caren's folks - such diamonds, like you are lovely C.

Ange soaking up the end of the Pretoria winter sun...

...and then yakking to Sue into the fabulous highveld winter evening.

From P-town to Kenton - I cannot get enough of the Cox's fabulous house (decorated as it is
with their fabulous hospitality).  Had an absolute blast, but, dammit, videos a-plenty vs photos :-/

Eastern Cape roadside distractions on the way to Knysna - laughing

From Knysna ... road-trip to Cape Town in the back of the Grandies car :-O, and all credit to 
the birthday girl Wendy, who took an absolute beating in a fall less than a week earlier.

Fabulous winter canola fields along the way.

Sunrise in Kalk Bay the next morning - looking across the bay to the mountains that lead to Hangklip.

Fat seals and fishermen on the Kalk Bay harbour wall.

Kalk Bay in 1880 - pretty cool if you consider that at exactly the same time Billy the Kid was pronking
around the wild west being bad (he died the year after in 1881; cause of death: gunshot wound)

Roy and Ange stepping out in Kalkies - own the public space

Ruth and Ethan arrived on the Friday night - loved this Italian place

The Grandies heading home - very cool, they've been married 
for sixty years, a very small odds outcome and lovely

Ange with her two cousins and Auntie Jill, who is laat-lammetjie closer to Tracy than her sister Wendy.

Ange and Ev, awww they're such closies these two

Cocktail hour at the Cuban place across the road... rum hangover with Hemmingway watching on, wtf?

Emma, Aiden, Daisy and Ev - post cocktail glow

At Aiden's divine digs in Woodstock, super people, fabulous views 

Ange with Ev in Stellenbosch - catching a late lunch in a gap between lectures.

Wild skies flying into Joburg again - winter rain... huh?

Back in HK, the cat purring its head off.

Aiden turns 20

 

Birthday dinner for Aidie with the Coxs - sadly Dil and CC back in London 
Ange and Tracy the eyes-closed queens

The four of us 

And then the next morning at 6.20am - doing the Ev station for school run for the last time ever.  
Three more days of class - Ange doing the other two.

Rocking Bambalam for Jordan

I think we are all somewhat entranced by the growing success of Bambalam - such a cool expression of Jordan's arty entrepreneurialism and energy.  Action in the parking lot outside 89.  Also cool because they are the last pics I took of Aiden as a teenager.

The final sevens at the old stadium

I think I'm past my sevens best, man ... the toll ... so I go for a well behaved Saturday and leave the Friday and Sunday to the party people, who in this instance include the nextgen.

Evan going for the Top-Gun thing, loved the smile and dodgy salute.

The pic below needs some explaining.  At some point upon arriving at the stadium, Aiden discovered, and then declared that his Jail Bird outfit had an unfortunate camel-toe appearance - and particularly risque for correctional services inhabitants.  So he announces this as I've corralled them into a lineup (perpwalk?), Jordan bends forward to inspect, Mikey Schats takes his word for it, and Ev has a glance... and then the lovely laughter meltdown pic below.  I think they all had a massive jol.

The old bullets in the box... lordy

Jordan kicking back in Bambalam denim.

On the way home, Jordan rescued (clearly all of us rescued) by a quick reacting retrieval of a watertight plastic bag from my rucksack (for wet cozzies)... taxi voms... pretty standard Sevens fare.

Quality taxi driver, stopped at the bins for the offending package to be disposed of.

The aftermath... couch-time.  Evan got home 30 minutes before us, and went straight to bed.  Aiden had missed the night before, entirely, and was trying to disentangle an escape.  Lordy once a year is plenty.

The week with Easter, Ching Ming, the Sevens and three days of leave

What an absolute delight - a week of people, close and missed...

It was Simon's sixtieth, and part of the delightful surprise for him was having all of the Cox darlings home - the soon to be entirely UK crew returned.

Obligatory height comparisons... a lost cause of course.

... Courtney too, missing from the above

And then the days that followed, launching into Thai at May's in Sai Kung

Dil and Jordan with Daisy - now 91 in human years Jordan tells me.

Mist-out... and the sun was gone.

Mist blowing morning followed by a week of the same, fortunately coinciding with one of 
those 6am to 10pm weeks - now blow away! 

Joy, respect and wonder - congratulations! Happy 30th birthday darling Josh