Relaxing the rules

As we come to the end of our 5th week of level 5 lockdown, there has been much speculation about how the rules will be relaxed as we move to level 4 on Friday.

With the announcement, originally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, delayed until this evening, we have now learned that, aside from the changes which allow more commercial and industrial businesses to restart operations, there will be very little change as far as individuals are concerned.

We will now have to wear cloth face masks whenever we leave the house and are still only allowed to go out for essential shopping and medical needs. In addition, they have imposed a curfew from 20.00 to 0500 every night.

As far as exercising outside, they have conceded that we can go out to run or cycle within 5 km of our home between 06.00 and 09.00 every morning - which will be challenging for many since sunrise tomorrow morning will be at 07.18. I guess there'll be lots of runners and cyclists on the road when it gets light!

We already knew that we would have to wait till we reach level 3 before we could replenish the wine and beer stocks, but they have now changed their minds and continued the cigarette ban as well.

So, the bottom line is that the change in lockdown is purely an economic measure which will make almost no change to our daily lives.... Ho, Hum....

On the positive side, the lockdown has certainly flattened the infection curve - there have only been 93 deaths across the country out of a population of 57 million -  and the community screening programme has now screened nearly 7 million people with around 200, 000 having been tested. 

Cyril has spoken.

In his address this evening, President Ramaphosa spelled out the 5 stage process that South Africa has adopted to exit the current lockdown. We have been on level 5 for 4 weeks and have one more week to go.

On 1st May we will move to level 4 which sees an increase in permitted economic activity under strict guidelines and an increase in the range of items which can be sold by the supermarkets.

Unfortunately this means that while the sale of cigarettes and tobaco products will be allowed, I'll still have to wait until we move to stage 3 before I can buy a bottle of wine. Wonder if they sell Davidoff's - might have to start smoking cigars again.

And as far as flights home are concerned, we'll be waiting until we reach stage 1.

On a day when his government's response to the pandemic had received praise from the WHO, Cyril's address was clear and concise and truly in the manner of the statesman that he appears to be.

Unfortunately his attempt to finish off by donning a facemask as an example to his fellow South Africans did not go well and appeared as a meme on Facebook and Youtube within a minute or so of the end of his speech.

St George's Day

It's also Shakespeare's birthday and the anniversary of the death of Daniel Defoe but as usual, there is no mention of the Saint's Day on the BBC English news. Has always struck me as odd given the coverage of St Patrick and St Andrew when their days arrive.

Day 28 of the SA lockdown with one more week to go - subject to an address from President Ramaphosa this evening. The pundits are all predicting a relaxation in the rules which will allow some industries to start operating again but I'm not sure there will be much change in the rules affecting those who are not working in these industries. The mobilisation of another 70,000 troops to support the Police would suggest that the lockdown for individuals is going to continue - still, we'll know more tonight.

It's also 37 years since I joined Stewarts and nearly 19 years since I left for my early retirement. My friend Bernie, who left at the same time, commented recently - in relation to an article about Coronavirus - 'I’ve come to appreciate that Idleness, enforced or otherwise, is more an innate talent afforded to we fortunate few, rather than a skill that can be learned by the many.'

As usual, he puts it much better than I could! On reflection,  I reckon I've taken full advantage of my own innate talent for idleness. Lets hope Cyril has some good news for us tonight.

Neighbours

The lemon tree in front of our ground floor balcony is laden with fruit. We've had a couple of usable lemons so far but hoping for many more. In the meantime, the flowers have attracted a colourful visitor.

The Citrus Swallowtail is probably one of the biggest and most impressive butterflies we are likely to see here with a span of about 4 inches

Citrus Swallowtail
By Charles J Sharp - from Sharp Photography

We took an essential shopping trip to Babylonstoren today - normally a busy place with wine tasting, restaurant, cafe, hotel, gardens and shops. However, its only 10 minutes away along a red dirt road and the farm shop is one of the few local places that are open during the lockdown. Its a great source of fresh vegetable from their gardens, home grown meat, dairy produce and bakery goods. Normally, the produce is earmarked for the restaurant and cafe but they are now offering it all for sale.

Loaded up with farm butter, eggs, fresh bread, pastries, a selection of veg that we wouldn't normally see in the supermarkets and a few extra treats - of course. Planning to return for their steaks next week.

On the way home we drove through the wine estate and saw how the vines are changing with the season. Like the Maple and Beech trees around the golf course, the vines are definitely showing off their autumn colours.

Home to good news - for a change - Avis have reduced the car hire rate to ZAR 50 per day for the duration of the lockdown - which is just over £2.00 at today's rate. Now if the wineries were open I could head off and spend some of the savings......

Autumn

The seasons have definitely changed, our days are getting shorter and the mornings are definitely cooler but still bright and sunny. From our bedroom balcony we look over the lake towards the members driving range and the clubhouse beyond.

Today was another bright sunny day wth clear skies and a high of around 26C and we managed a walk around part of the golf course when no one was looking. 

Sunset was at about 18.15 but we lose the sun a little earlier as it disappears behind the houses and trees opposite.

We have now spent more time here in our SA home than we have  in the new Edinburgh flat and I'd guess that we'll be here for another month or so before we get back there.

Travelling home

Having registered with the High Commission at the onset of the lockdown, we were eventually offered seats on one of the repatriation flights earlier in the week. In the end, we decided to decline the offer and make the seats available for others on the waiting list.

To be honest I didn't fancy a cutprice Virgin charter, for the 'subsidised' price of £1000 each, with 250 other punters which required us to leave home at 5.00am for a flight which would arrive in Heathrow just before midnight and then have to find a hotel for the night and still make our own way to Edinburgh the following day 

We figured that it was almost guaranteed to put us in contact with someone who was infected. So we're here until the rules are relaxed. Hope to leave before winter sets in but...

I've spent quite a lot of time listening to the Flower Duet from Lakme while trying to get through to BA to get refunds for the flights they had cancelled. Finally got lucky yesterday and managed to speak to someone in 'Customer Services' who assured me that everything was in hand and that the refunds would show up in the next 14 days - with an apology that this was a bit longer than usual due to the heavy demand. 

Yesssss!  Success!!! until I received an email less than 20 minutes later asking me to call them back to discuss an outstanding issue on one of the bookings. Wouldn't mind so much - what else am I doing now anyway - but when its such a pain to actually get through to them ...  Anyway, one more successful phone call this morning and its all done and dusted.

Then, we received a further message from them this afternoon to tell us that our original return flights for May have now been cancelled, asking us to call them about the refund. GRRRRR.

21 days in

We've completed the first 21 day lockdown - should be cause for celebration - but we have another 14 days (at least) to go. Still, we have a routine, the shops all have stock when we need to go and many of our local artisan businesses have obtained their essential services permits so they are offering a wide selection of products.

We took a stroll over to the Backs Deli on the estate today - its a 45 minute walk each way but obviously essential shopping. Came home with their own olive oil, cheese, sausages, bread and eggs. Couldn't resist a quiche for lunch and a couple of brownies for coffee time. Not quite as good as a visit to Leith Market but not a bad substitute. Just a pity they can't sell their own wine!

On the way there, we took the perimeter road and had time to watch some more of our local wildlife. Our star today was a Bokmakerie  - a bushshrike with a great whistling call - which sat up and posed for Linda's camera.

We had a look at the lilies on the biggest of the lakes and noticed that Autumn has definitely arrived as we strolled through the carpark.

Friday night treat of pizza from Pappa Grappa - the restaurant is closed and they are not allowed to sell takeaways but they prepared the pizzas so we could take them home and 'cook' them ourselves. Excellent pizza and an easy supper tonight. Think we might be back next week.

Food Parcels

Linda spent a couple of hours this afternoon helping prepare food parcels for people in need in the local communities.

I'd have been happy to join in the effort but I was over the age limit - which should give Jimmy C a laugh. 

Lockdown rules

Not sure how our less than friendly police service would have dealt with the two young guys who just paddled past the deck - doing circuits of the lake in a kayak.

Thankfully they weren't doing anything nearly as stupid as the two Brits who crashed through the border from Swaziland into SA, evaded a police pursuit and drove for 3 1/2 hours to Durban, only to be tracked to their guest house by the GPS unit on their hire car. Reckon they'll be spending a few months in jail just for the border crossing stunt before they are investigated for anything else.

Meanwhile, there's growing pressure on the Police Minister to relax the alcohol ban - although I don't think it will happen anytime soon. While it has certainly reduced some of the public order offences it has spawned a whole new industry of home brewing and liquor store looting which is diverting police resources from more important issues.

The number of gender-based violence offences is climbing so fast that they are in the process of establishing a new police task force to deal with the issue.  While this has been an ongoing problem in SA, the lockdown has contributed to a dramatic rise in the number of cases.

On the Covid-19 front, the lockdown has substantially reduced the growth in positive cases which has only just passed the 2000 mark while the number of deaths has now reached 25. The latest government report is predicting that the peak in the number of infections has been pushed back  to September (after the winter flue season0 which probably means that they feel the lockdown has had the desired effect. We'll have to wait and see what they decide at the end of the extended period before we know any more.

No Church, No chocolate - almost

Not the first Easter that I haven't been able to get to church but it still felt like something was missing. On the chocolate front we were not prepared and couldn't find any eggs or bunnies on our last shopping trip. However, we were saved by Ally, Sue and Cam who dropped off an easter chocolate package - along with a bottle of Glen Carlou dessert wine - yesterday afternoon. Definitely owe them for that!!

Roast Lamb for dinner - Greek style with roasted aubergines and couscous - and a Fairview Jakkals Fontein Shiraz made it feel more normal. We also managed an illicit walk around the golf course on the buggy paths. Didn't see a soul so no problem with social distancing although the Sacred Ibis, Blacksmith Plover and Egyptian Geese were all enjoying the space.

Unfortunately the internet has been very slow over the weekend - made it impossible to watch movies or online TV - have had enough of Montalbano and Italian food so I've moved on to Dave Robichaux and memories of my time in South Louisiana, although the body count is higher

Monday morning brought us back to routine and the first of this weeks daily workouts from Fitlife.

Another three weeks

So, its official, the SA three week lockdown has just been extended to five weeks which will take us to 30th April. Not the news we wanted to hear, but probably not unexpected.

Had planned to binge watch Phoenix Nights from the beginning tonight but the first episode was interrupted by news that the President was about to 'address the Nation' so Brian, Paddy, Jerry, Max, Ray and Holy Mary are on pause until a later date - of which there'll be plenty.

Straightforward message from Cyril Ramaphosa in his usual style - the lockdown is beginning to have the desired effect but despite the hardship that an extension will impose on millions of South Africans, it is essential that we stick with the programme for an additional two weeks.

While this is inconvenient for us, it is difficult to imagine the effect that it will have on the millions of South Africans who are living in crowded townships with little or no income, limited food supplies and continuous harassment by the Police and military when they try to stretch the rules to make their lives slightly more bearable.

However as I noted in an earlier post, the lockdown is definitely 'flattening the curve' so lets hope that the extension will get SA to a point where the health facilities can cope with the reduced number of cases and avoid the sort of death toll that is being experienced in other countries.

Of course, my major concern tonight is whether or not my wine supplies will last until the wineries reopen - we're not considering rationing yet but there is a chance that some of the 'special occasion bottles' may have to be sacrificed along the way.

No Snogging

The SA Police Minister Bheke Cele - clearly not a man who is concerned about the public vote - has followed up his ban on the sale and transportation of Alcohol and Cigarettes during the 21 day lockdown with a further ban - this time on hugging and kissing.

He was briefing Police and Army officers, who are enforcing the lockdown, during a visit to the Western Cape when he added this clarification - clearly sensible under the social distancing rules - but a little worrying given the somewhat heavy-handed nature of the policing so far.

According to the news reports, there have been more than 25,000 arrests for breaches of the lockdown rules so far and numerous claims of police brutality and a number of deaths attributed to them.

On the positive side there have only been 94 murders so far during the lockdown compared to 326 for the same period last year. The number of reported rapes has also reduced from 700 to 101 in the same period. However there has been a substantial increase in domestic violence - around 800 per day.

The Covid-19 news is pretty good with a total of 1700 confirmed cases across the country and 13 deaths so far. The lockdown has certainly slowed the spread of the virus and today was the launch of a mass screening and testing programme which will focus initially on the most vulnerable communities.

Of course, we are all waiting to hear whether the lockdown will be ended in 8 days as originally announced, or extended for a further period as many expect. The President was ducking the question in today's press conference - although he did quip at the end that while they had announced April 16 as the end date they hadn't specified which year!

Two more neighbours

The Anhinga is resident on our lake - usually swimming with his body almost entirely submerged - which why is he is also known as the 'Snakebird'.

African Darter - Anhinga rufa

 Egyptian geese - like their Canadian cousins - are often a nuisance in residential and urban areas. This fellow and his partner roost on a chimney next door and generally wake us at dawn most mornings - tempted to reach for the shotgun - if I had one!

Egyptian Goose - Alopochen Aegyptiaca

Ups and Downs

Just to remind us that the season is changing, we woke this morning to a cool, damp grey day - 17C outside and some heavy rain showers. Hoping the rain passes during the day but it's forecast cool for a couple of days.

Also woke to a Foreign Office message about repatriation flights which they are organising with Virgin Atlantic. Four flights scheduled from Cape Town over the next week but by the time we completed the registration we were told that all flights are full and we are on the waiting list. At the moment, there is no guarantee that there will be any further flights but we'll keep fingers crossed.

Seems odd that after the Foreign Office encouraged everyone to register their interest in repatriation flights more than 10 days ago, they don't appear to have arranged enough flights to accommodate them all. In addition, since there were Economy return flights with BA for £330-550 in January and February it seems a little rich that the one way economy fare on a UK government 'sponsored' repatriation flight with Virgin Atlantic is priced at nearly £900. I guess Dominic Raab's '£75 million repatriation budget is being used to pay for the consultants who are organising the operation.

After taking Sunday off, we were back to our workout routine again this morning - I'm discovering a variety of exercises which I like less and less. However it is definitely helping us to keep active.

It was such a grey wet day that we even managed to get started on a 1000 piece jigsaw which has been waiting in the cupboard for just such an occasion. Hopefully the rain will have passed and the sunshine returned before we get it finished.

A Red Letter Day???

After our Fitlife morning workout - day 7 0f 21 - and a little Vitamin D treatment, we also managed a live yoga class with Sharon in Edinburgh - via Zoom.

The Lockdown has increased my social media presence substantially. In the last two weeks I've signed up to Twitter - for communication with the High Commission and British Airways; Instagram - for our SA yoga teacher; and Zoom - for our Edinburgh yoga teacher. Had already signed up to Facebook and Whatsapp - which we use for our Fitlife workouts.

Clearly this variety of online interaction has not been free of frustration. I did find it hard to maintain the calm relaxed attitude which is helpful for the start of a yoga class after I had spent 10 minutes swearing at my laptop because either the sound wouldn't work, or the picture wouldn't orientate properly.  However my inner calm was restored this afternoon after a glass or two of Windhoek Draught and an excellent Delheim Merlot with our Spaghetti Bolognaise. Due to limited ingredients, the Bolognaise was sub-standard but the Merlot lived up to expectations.

Having abided by the letter of the law - almost - for the first week of the Lockdown, we needed to top up some essential supplies - no, not alcohol which is prohibited. So we headed to our local Woolies after lunch to find a queue of fifteen or so people waiting to get in. They are being very strict about limiting numbers in the store at any one time.

Unfortunately, the old English gent in front of us in the  queue appeared not to understand the 'Social distancing' guidelines. He also didn't notice Linda's reaction which was similar to that of a priest faced with the arrival of Lucifer. I'm not sure if she would have used the Cross to protect herself or to bash him over the skull.

Anyway, our shopping experience was not all we had expected but we came home with most of what we needed - although without a few things that would have been nice to have. We certainly won't go hungry - and the wine supplies are holding up well. We'd planned a stop at our favourite butchers but they have adopted a 'no mask- no entry' policy so no luck there.

After a couple of cooler days, we were back to 34C this afternoon, so we had to choose a shady spot for our sundowners.

Sightings

In addition to our usual selection of birds, we have now also seen:

an African Hoopoe

 a Pied Kingfisher

a Malachite Kingfisher

a yellow-billed Kite