Today is a good day...

This is probably the best news I've ever seen on a Monday morning!

It's official, Foo Fighters are coming to South Africa. More details to be announced by Big Concerts at 16:00 local time.

A day and a half in Franschhoek

After a busy weekend showing Em around my hometown, we've ventured beyond the shadows of Table Mountain, to the winelands of Franschhoek for the night. We're spending the night at Lavender Farm, which is a lovely little guest house just beyond the main strip in town. Our room is very spacious, and faces a small field planted with lavender with the mountain in the distance. Hopefully there'll be a break in the rain so that we can take some more picturesque photographs.

We had springbok pies for lunch at the Franschhoek Station Pub, which is situated towards the lower end of the Main rain. The pie was quite good, although a little dry, as there was no gravy in the filling, but as a result there was more shredded meat present. 

After lunch we went went for a brief walk down the main road of the village, visiting the Huguenot Memorial, and popping into a few of the curio shops. After having walked of our lunch, we decided to go on a wine tasting trip to the Dieu Donné and Haute Cabrière vineyards. Em and I tasted eight wines at Dieu Donné, a micro-brewed beer at the neighbouring Roca Restaurant, and three wines and a potstill brandy at Haute Cabrière. Neither of us had heard of Dieu Donné prior to the trip, but since we were offered a free wine tasting as part of our nights accommodation, we decided to take advantage of the deal.

Dieu Donné's wines were pleasant, but none of the eight we tasted, made me go, "Oh, wow! I really need to buy a bottle of this so I can drink it again." In contrast, at Haute Cabrière, Em couldn't decide on how many of each bottle she wanted to buy. In the end she went for the 2012 Chardonnay Pinot Noir, and 2011 Unwooded Pinot Noir.

Following an afternoon of strolling through the village, and sipping on some wine, it was time for dinner. Earlier in the day while chatting to the barkeep of the Franschhoek Station Pub, she had suggested a few restaurants to have dinner at. One of those was The Grillroom, which was an exceptional dining experience. Em and I both decided to have the "Local's set menu," which has two-, and three-course options.

I'll continue writing this post (and add pictures) tomorrow, after we've finished our tour of Franschhoek, and have arrived back in Cape Town.

I'm on an aeroplane...

Em and I are currently sitting on an aeroplane destined for Cape Town. If all has gone according to plan, we should be about halfway into our trip, and you're able to read this because the schedule post thingy has worked successfully. Good job.

In the meantime here's a video showing a mini bus taxi burning on one of Cape Town's major highways...

South African flag featured in Rob Zombie video

A recent still from Rob Zombie's next music video for the single Dead city radio and the new gods of supertown has been posted on Facebook. The black and white image shows a belly dancer, balancing a kilij or Mameluke sword on her head, with the word "Radio" tattooed above her navel. A bicycle can be seen, leaning against a wall papered with the flags of the United States, South Africa, and what appears to be Namibia the Democratic Republic of Congo. I'm not so sure about the identification of the Namibian flag though, as the flags in the still feature a five-pointed star, while a correct Namibian flag should bear a twelve-pointed.

From left to right: National flags of South Africa, United States of America, and the Democratic Republic of Congo

I'm not sure what the significance of these three flags appearing together is, but I'm sure it will all make sense once the full video has been released. While some are speculating that it could hint towards Zombie touring southern Africa, this is quite unlikely especially with regard to the DRC. My interpretation is that local South African radio stations represent  the "dead city radio," as they all play the same horrible, over-commercialised music every opportunity they get. It would be much more exciting if the explanation for using the South African flag is the latter one though.

--Updated 02 April 2013--

Initially I was't certain about the identification of the third flag, but I assumed it was Namibia since it shares a border with South Africa. This morning it suddenly occurred to me that the flag of DRC had a star in the upper left canton, and was cut diagonally by a stripe, just like the Namibian flag. A quick consultation with Wikipedia confirmed my suspicion, and now all three flags have been positively identified.

Adopt a Penguin for Valentine's Day

Do you want to do something different for your loved one this Valentine's Day? Why not adopt a pair of African Penguins (Spheniscus demersus), and name it after yourselves? 

No, that is not a joke. The South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, or SANCOBB, are running a Valentine's promotion that will allow for the adoption of two penguins for the price of one. By adopting a penguin you will help cover the cost of rehabilitating an injured or ill bird, allowing for it to be released back into the wild when it is strong and healthy enough.

In addition to be being able to name the pair of penguins, as part of the adoption package you will also receive a  letter containing the history (where they were found, what type of ailments they were suffering from, their weights, etc.) of the birds you've adopted, photographs of your adopted penguins, and certificates of adoption.

Why adopt a pair of African penguins for Valentine's Day, you ask? For starters, African Penguins mate for life, and as a result penguin symbols are often used to signify love. More importantly, by adopting two penguins you will be contributing towards the conservation of these world-renowned birds, which have seen a rapid decline in number over the last decade, largely due to food shortages. As a result of the decrease in the number of breeding pairs, the conservation status of the species was changed from vulnerable to endangered in 2010.

If you're ready to adopt your pair of African Penguins for only R 500*, then go here, and if you have a few more questions, look here. If you don't want to adopt a penguin, but would still like to help, then you may still make a monetary donation here, or purchase stickers, books, DVDs, plush toys, etc. from SANCOBB's online shop here.

If none of those options tickle your fancy, then maybe you'd prefer to buy a bottle of wine with a penguin on the label for your better half this Valentine's Day.

--

*ZAR 500 is the equivalent to about US$ 56, or EUR 42.