That's Miami, spelt with a V

The US housing market is gradually picking up steam. It looks like the recovery has a long way to go. My index of household formation to housing starts has run in positive territory for several years, quite the opposite of its performance in the years prior to the bust. To me this is a pendulum that is swinging back or a tanker starting to turn. It takes time for the forces that drive prices to build up but once they get going it becomes a self-feeding loop. As prices bottom sellers hold back to see if they can get more; better prices mean more willing lending by the banks; as prices rise more people come out of negative equity enabling them to sell; successful sellers are freed up to move to other cities to find jobs; consumer confidence builds as people perceive their net worth rising again. House prices are now rising at a faster pace than the 30-year mortgage bond rate, something that we haven't seen for some time. This creates positive leverage for buyers and affordability is at the highest level for just about ever. Sure getting a loan is hard but bank credit committees are gradually chilling out and in due course competitiveness will drive them to extend more credit. The recovery is by no means universal with some cities still in the doldrums. But places like Miami and Phoenix are seeing V-shaped bounces. The QSL is from Radio Miami International, signed by the founder, Jeff White. It was heard in London in 1995. For quite a few years I used to travel to Miami on business and always liked the place.

The curious case of Curaçao

The London Olympics are done and dusted and countries have welcomed home their medalists as heroes, including SA. The Brits did very well, having spent their lottery money wisely upgrading the national sports effort. Not all athletes competed under a national flag, however. In three Olympics, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000 and the latest in London some athletes were allowed to compete as independents. In 1992 Yugoslavia was under UN sanctions and Macedonia did not yet have an Olympic committee so their athletes were allowed in without a flag. In 2000 it was the turn of East Timorians as their country's independence was not complete while in the latest show it was the athletes from the recently-dissolved Netherlands Antilles. Only Yugoslavians have won medals as independents, for shooting. The Netherlands Antilles break-up is a little complicated. Three islands, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba became  special municipalities of the Holland proper, while Curaçao and Sint Maarten became constituent countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Go figure what that all actually means! The QSLs are 1) from Curaçao Radio, a utility broadcaster using just 1 kW and heard in Johannesburg in 1993 and 2) Radio Republik Indonesia, broadcasting from Dili in East Timor on 90 mb heard in 1992, one of a bunch of RRI QSLs I'm so pleased to have.

From suckuz to Manila

'Suckuz, does anybody here wan' ice-col' suckuz?' calls the frozen lolly man as he sidles through the compartment before the train leaves the station. The Metrorail from Cape Town to Simon's Town is a unique experience. You have to know the route because you can't see very well out of the windows, smothered in graffiti. In any case even if you could see out there are few signs on the station platforms and they're easy to miss, especially if the trains are full. The 39 km ride is scheduled to take about 70 minutes but it's pretty variable. A sign on the station wall states that 78% of the trains make it on time. Sometimes the scheduled train simply doesn't show up; at other times several arrive within a few minutes. The best section is the leg from Muizenberg to Simon's Town, along the edge of False Bay. I love this bit. At Muizies I can check the swell and surf, especially if the wind is right and see how many guys are out there catching waves. The stations have these names from SA's past: Dutch like Muizenberg, mixed Dutch and English like Fish Hoek and Kalk Bay, Scottish like Glencairn. The very last bit has several twists and turns and the old carriages creak, squeak, screech and squeal at a snail's pace. Then it's Simon's Town at the end of the line, back in the Deep South. Kalk Bay is a fishing harbour with an interesting connection to the Philippines. In the 1840s a Filipino ship was wrecked off Cape Point and the survivors settled at Kalk Bay to be joined by others over the years. Being Catholics they established the nearby St James church and their descendants still live in the area today. The QSL is from the Far East Broadcasting Co in Manila, heard on shortwave way back in 1966, one of my very first.

Breathe deep in the Deep South

Back in Simon's Town after 11 months in London. Friday afternoon a steady north-wester blew, with a medium swell at Muizenberg, water temperature around the ambient air temp of 15 degrees, cold but no problem with a wetsuit. It was great to be back on the paddle-ski for the first time since April. Working out hard at the back you start panting a bit and that's when you notice the richness of the air. Sure Cape Town gets its fair share of smog but the brisk winds blow it away pretty quickly and compared to London the air is so-oo clean. It's like drinking babbling mountain brook water vs the stuff out of the tap. There's an extra deliciousness to it. In the World Bank's Air Pollution index Cape Town scores 15 against Greater London's 23, the highest in the UK. But in the 'Deep South' of Cape Town (e.g. Simon's Town) I'm sure the index is much lower given our proximity to the sea, exposure to breezes and lack of industry. The UK's overall ranking of 19 is actually below SA's of 24. SA burns a lot of coal for its power stations and also in urban areas for cooking. Topping the pollution country list are a number of African countries like Sudan, Mali, Niger, Chad and Egypt. The QSL is from Chad National Radio, received way back in 1969 and heard on 60mb broadcasting on the odd frequency of 4904.5 kHz. In those days the Francophone broadcasters were pretty reliable QSLers.