Awoke to rain at dawn - a north-wester! Unusual at this time of the year and I rushed to Muizenberg to catch the early wave. It was perfect, glassy 3-4 foot swell with some bigger sets at the back. Table Mountain was covered in cloud but out in the water a warm, milky sun blinked through. We're just back from Plettenberg Bay, or Plett, one of SA's most popular watering holes, crammed with holiday-makers mainly from up north around Johannesburg, with loads of SUV's, Mercs and Beamers, flashy gear and general signs of conspicuous materialism. When you're at a sunny holiday resort over Christmas and New Year, with family, some not seen for years, it's hard not to consume far too much. It's a good way to get the belly to start hanging over the belt. SA was an early-adopter of lite beers and I stuck to the 2.5% alcohol Windhoek lite all through. Not sure if it made much difference but I sure felt virtuous! And it still tastes like beer. Each can carries about 2/3 of the calories of an ordinary lager. To round off a nice holiday equities surged on the first day of trading in the New Year with the FTSE 100 closing above 6000 for the first time in yonks and the local FTSE/JSE All Share breaking to an all-time high above 40000. Plett was named by Baron Joachim van Plettenberg, Governor of the Cape in 1779, after himself! The QSL is from a Dutch pirate station Radio Blue Star, using 50 watts, heard on short-wave in Kent in 1996. It was based in Zwolle where van Plettenberg was laid to rest.
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