Seeing the Old Year Out

2019 was not a good year for me but I feel that it is the turning point. God and me have grown together in leaps and bounds. I know that we are much closer than ever before after this year. 

Anyhow to end off this year, we joined some friends to watch Peter Pan on Ice this evening, starting from the left to right is Matthew, Sean, Tina, Lynda, me, and of course Paulo. 

So here is to a better 2020...

Chevy Lane

I'm am not sure how Paulo got the timing right, as we found ourselves at a retro 50's Americana diner on the 4th of July, Independence Day for 'Merica, or the original Brexit of 1776 unless you British then it is Treason Day with a stiff upper lip.

Anyways no matter how you view this day, our old friend Paulo was up in Jozi with Shani and the kids. Now we haven't seen Shani for about 4 years so it was about a good time for a get together as any. So here we all are on a cold winter's evening in an American diner called Chevy Lane, seated from left to right is Sean, Tina, Shani, Paulo, Mr Claus (aka meself), and Lynda. 

Padre Paulo

Yesterday I got a call out of the blue; Paulo is in town from Mozambique. So a dinner was arranged for this evening, and so it came to past that we met at Dukes Burgers in Greenside. It was a chilly evening and Paulo came dress for snow, in a way he looks like a Jesuit Padre.

We had a lovely evening of catching up on all the news, skinner, and crack over some delicious burgers. One burger was named My Vespa, I kid you not, I don’t know why a chicken fillet burger would be named after this iconic scooter.

Pipoca

Pipoca, popcorn, oh dear we went away for the holidays and I was all prepared to upload to my blog but I forgot my password to my laptop. I can only kick myself. Anyway I took photos everyday and prepared the blog posts so here are my slightly delayed posts.

We haven’t had a holiday together since 2014 and as it was well over due we decided to go down to the Slow-veldt to do both family duties and have a well deserved holiday. It was a very early start before dawn packing the car and it turned out to be a golden start as we left our home for the long trip down.

We took it easy stopping along the way enjoying all parts of our journey down to Nelspruit. Thankfully the roads weren’t busy and the scenery changed from the city to open grass lands to rolling hills and down the mountainous escarpment to finally reaching the low veldt.

Soon the hills were alive with the sound of music. What do they say, keep calm and sing on the mountains, no that was not it, climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow until you find your dream, that’s it, that is a few of my favourite things.

Finally we arrived at our destination, but family duties started early, visiting parents and sister’s family, dropping off Matthew at cousins, booking in, and then visit friends. We were exhausted but there was no rest for the wicked.

We haven’t seen our friends Paulo and Shani for such a long time so it was very high up on our list of duties to get under the belt before our serious holiday begins, but this was more pleasure than duty as we never met their little Ariela or as Paulo calls her affectionately Pipoca.

The Posers Ride Again

It was good day as the original Posers Scooter Club members rode again. With the weather threatening in the late afternoon I was sceptical going out on the Vespa this evening but luckily the weather cleared and turned out to be one of those memorable Posers SC evening rides.

Left to right is Martin, Magda, Paulo, Jerome, and Lynda.

We all met at The Schwarma Co in Norwood for a good dinner and a long catch up with four Vespas lined up outside on the pavement. Reminiscing on the good old days along with all the bad. Paulo was all smiles as he proudly showed us photographs of his little daughter Ariela who wasn't even in the picture last time the Posers met, not even a twinkle in Paulo and Shani's eyes. It was just good to be among friends and just let your hair down. It has been a long time since the Posers met and we vowed to make this meetup more regularly as we rode back home four abreast along quiet streets late at night hooting at prostitutes plying their trade while they waved back.

Posers Reunited

Friday at last and what a perfect start to the weekend when the Posers Scooter Club got together at Lucio's Pizzeria. It was a night of catch up after such a long time of going a separate ways. The evening was excellent except for a mess up by Lucio's on the food but with good friends nothing could stand in the way of having a good time. From left to right is Lynda, Matthew, myself, Paulo, Magda and Martin. Watch this space as talk was in the air about another trip going nowhere slowly.

Ponta Dolphins

Shani and Paulo are up in Johannesburg for a few days, and because I haven’t seen them for many months it was a perfect opportunity to get together for some coffee with friends. So at lunch I met Shani and Paulo at Rosebank, and caught up with old times. It is a pity that lunch is over so quick. Maybe next time it will be in that bar on the beach somewhere in Northern Mozambique.

Eight Friends plus me

Tomorrow I turn 28 plus and tonight was the best time this week to get eight friends together around a table, be it an Italian table and do dinner. We spent a wonderful evening at Lucios Pizzeria in Blackheath catching up and just having a good time together. This is what friends are for. The eight were Richard, Michelle, Paulo, Tanya, Riaz, Ann, Magda and Martin. I haven't seen Paulo since his 40th because he has been in Mozambique most of the time so here he is looking all dignified without his hat between Tanya and Michelle.

Moyo

Tonight we celebrated Paulo’s 40th birthday but now I am also a bit confused as this evening Paulo said that his 40th is only next year. Does that mean we get another party? Anyway Palo and Shani invited their friends and family to celebrate with them Paulo's whatever his age at the African restaurant Moyo in Melrose and what a vibe it was.

The drums were beating with the sounds of celebration as the fattened cow was slaughtered and we feasted and danced the night away. The food at Moyo was good, the African rhythms catchy and the company of friends priceless. Happy Birthday Paulo.

Quadrophenia

Another dark movie about the era of the Mods and Rockers, Quadrophenia is the cult movie for the scooter boys and when invited by Paulo and Shani for dinner and to watch this 1979 cult movie at their place, how could I ever turn it down.

Both Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia weighed heavy on my soul, as the total despair people that found themselves in really pulled me down. The film is set around Jimmy and this girl, Steph that he has his heart set on and the three day 2nd Battle of Hastings between the Mods and the Rockers. Oh the masks we wear, the idols we follow and the lifestyle we pretend to adore. It all boils down to what Kevin, a Rocker and I suppose the only good person in Quadrophenia, is quoted saying "I don't give a monkey's arsehole about Mods and Rockers. Underneath, we're all the same, 'n't we?"

Dinner at Paulo’s

It is important to have friends who enjoy being in your company and you theirs. And the small group of friends that have become the Posers Scooter Club are just that, friends who enjoy being in each other's company. Paulo is one of the Posers and spending the evening with him was great. Chilling, drinking wine and catching up on all the events since we last met while the salmon steaks slowly grilled on the braai. Priceless!

It is slogging away at work then finishing the day off with good friends is what life is all about. Thanks Paulo and thanks to the Posers Scooter Club for being that dynamic group that you are.

Is it Monday or Sunday?

Today was a strange day. By strange, I mean it left like it was Sunday. Riding to work on my Vespa was a breeze with very little traffic. And once at work, only one other person pitched up to work today and that was at 12pm for about an hour and left. I had to check if it was Monday and that I didn't go to work on a Sunday.

After work I went round to Paulo's place for a braai and some wine. None of us felt energetic and simply relaxed around a fire with some meat on the grill drinking red wine. A good chilled finish to a Sunday, sorry Monday.

Morphic Fields

Saturday has being a weird day for me. Firstly I had to meet an old work colleague then go join other friends for a lazy Saturday afternoon braai in the garden. But things started to unravel.

The colleague phone to inform me that could not meet at the agreed location and wanted to meet at my home instead. Then another friend phone, he had car trouble and need help. Sounding like an infomercial, let me say that's not all; my brother phoned and wanted to visit. So I had to shuffle everyone around so I could still get to my lazy afternoon braai. It was hectic but all I was aiming for was spending quality time with friends.

The lazy afternoon started slightly late because someone forgot to give Paulo a hour earlier time but it was a great afternoon which turned into evening and somehow the conversation touched on this sub-consciousness that people have between each other. For example one of my friend's mom had connection with her loved ones and knew instantaneously when something disastrous happened to them. Another friend had this connection to her parrot and graphically described events which led her to think that.

At the time I knew that I recently came across a theory by Sheldrake that described just this but for the life of me could not remember the name. When I got home later I had to look it up. It is the Morphic Field. This is a field that links humans including animals to each other, like when a dog knows when their owner is coming home or when you feel that something tragic has happened to your loved one only to find out later that they died.

Interesting topic for a group of friends to discuss on a lazy Saturday afternoon but they are my friends and I am connected to them morphogeneticly or not.

Black Ice and Death

The Great Sani Pass Vespa Adventure
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five
Day Two: Black Ice and Death

We wanted an early start, well Magda and I did while the Paulo and Martin wanted breakfast first. I did protest to get them to change their minds but to no avail. The plan was for Paulo and Martin to escort Magda and myself down to Underberg but I think the distance got to them and they wanted to get back early so the plan was changed slightly. Paulo and Martin would ride with us down through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park to the town of Estcourt then head back to Johannesburg while Magda and I would continue until Underberg. Our four support 4x4s left Pretoria early this morning and the plan was that they would catch up to us round about Estcourt, from there they would travel with us.

But our plans changed again. While in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park we came upon a serious accident which happened minutes before we got there. A mini bus taxi with twelve family members travelling to a funeral in Fouriesburg, lost control due to black ice and plummeted over 200m down the side of the mountain. Sadly only six people survived including a twelve year old boy named Manuel. With tears running down her face, Magda tried to comfort Manuel as best as she could, not knowing if his parents are among the survivors.

We were badly shaken when we left the scene after the emergency services started arriving. Running late and with the weather changing for the worse, we made contact with the support vehicles and arranged to met them at Harrismith instead of Estcourt. In a way it was a blessing that we met the support vehicles at Harrismith because it started sleeting soon afterwards. We loaded our Vespas onto the trailers and headed for Sani Valley Lodge between Himeville and the Sani Pass border post. Round about Bulwer the sleet turned to snow.

After settling into our accommodation at Sani Valley Lodge, we set off to find some food. Here I must give a big black mark to Himeville Arms Hotel for turning us away we were too much for them to handle. Would you believe it they turned 18 hungry people away in the now falling snow. So we headed down the road to Underberg, only to be turned away from another restaurant because they didn't have enough plates for us. Nobody wanted our business. Ten stars must be given to The Grind Café who opened up the Wolly Bugger pub to us. The food was very good that even our tired bodies appreciated it. If you ever in this part of the country please support The Grind Café and its pub the Wolly Bugger.

Sophia summits Sani Pass...

Chef Paulo

I am well on the road to recovery. It has been a hard long road of coughing but I am sure not for long as this third course of antibiotics is much stronger. This evening I joined Martin, Magda and Paulo for a magnificent home cooked dinner of an excellent Spaghetti Bolognese, thanks Magda, and a wonderful salad, thanks Paulo. I took Paulo's photo while he rolled up his sleeves and started making the wonderful salad; I never thought I would hear myself say a salad was wonderful but there I did. I must be getting old and girls, now you know that Paulo is good in the kitchen.

Dinner was to discuss and plan the upcoming Vespa Ride to Sani. Us four are going ride down to the Southern Freestate on the Friday. On the Saturday we are going to ride through the Golden Gate and around to Underberg via Bergville. At the same time the support vehicles with the other Vespas on trailers will be leaving Pretoria and Johannesburg for Underberg. Sunday Paulo and Martin will head back to Johannesburg while the rest of us will do the odd 10km up Sani Pass on our Vespas. Monday we will be doing the Roof of Africa road but I think it will be in the support vehicles. On Thursday it will be the long slog back to Johannesburg and Pretoria. I am starting to look forward to it as the trip is only 2 weeks away.

Iwisa

On a very cold evening before the annual winter ride, Paulo held a dinner party at his home. Despite the cold, it was awesome to be around warm friends, laughing and having a good time. Here is Paulo showing us the Iwisa maize meal that he uses to make pup for his puppy Bullmastiff which is not that small anymore. Well with No 1 friends and No 1 food you can't go wrong.

La Dolce Vita

Ahhh, the sweet life. After yesterday's crash and burn, today was really sweet. A group of over 20 Vespas met in Wynburg to do a ride through the suburbs of Johannesburg. We went through Sandton, Craighall Park, Parkhurst, Greenside, Parkview, Saxonwold, Killarney, Houghton Estate, Fairwood, Cyrildene and all the way to Bedfordview just to get some breakfast. It was good fun riding in a large group of Vespas. Later three of the Vespas (Magda on Mama Afrika, myself on Sophia and Paulo with his lovely sister Tina on Esmeralda) went to Randburg Motorcycles for their open day which then caused me to be late for Ricky's surprise birthday party. Well only a hour and a half late. Wasn't it Craig who told me it is better to get there late well not that late.