I've been getting a lot of those "Flag Percentage Pie Chart" style trivia quizzes served up to me on social media lately. I have no problem with that, it's fun to test yourself and to learn stuff. But today, I got the cheat sheet sent to me. It would be rude not to share. And there (Row 6, Column 5) is South Africa.

Or... both? I made a last minute decision to go and play some football last night. I've been getting increasingly fed up and frustrated with not having been able to play for the last few months. And although I'm improving, I've also been worried about taking things too fast and getting hurt - worse hurt - than I already am.

Here, we have the NSRI. In the UK and Ireland AND THE ISLE OF MAN AND THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, they have the RNLI. Both are incredible services, doing incredible work. And both are non-profit organisations, relying on donations from the public to keep them going. Er... I think you mean UK & Ireland AND THE ISLE OF MAN AND THE CHANNEL ISLANDS…

The London version of the Monopoly board was created in 1935 by Victor Watson, managing director of Leeds-based John Waddington Limited - better known as Waddington's Games. At its peak, Monopoly accounted for 40% of Waddington's revenue, before the company was sold to Hasbro in 1994 for the sum of £50 million. Decent money - especially back in those days.

I've sent three more images off to the printing people today, one to decorate a bit of my office, and two for a property down in Agulhas. I had chosen the sunset one for the wall right in front of where I'm sitting now, but suddenly, that long exposure of the winter sunshine in Suiderstrand is looking like it might be a contender too.

Dotting Is and crossing Ts here, because last week I did say this: And I promised to let you know which was the most accurate of the three different sites that I had looked at (yr.no, Accuweather and Google Weather). And, because there was actually no rain at all, Google Weather was the winner in this regard. HOWEVER... when I checked the same app the following morning, having had no rain and standing outside under bright blue skies, Google Weather did also tell me that the rain that was currently falling would clear by noon.

I have no idea what this cartoon is meant to illustrate or the point that it's trying to make. Maybe there's supposed to be some sort of warning in there about mixing noble gases and small canines, although my best guess is that there is no illustration or point. "Just for fun", as they say. But the cartoonist still took the time to draw it, and for some weird reason, it just quite appealed to me. I felt that it probably needed to be shared. Also, it's a great QP when we're off out this evening.

a-ha frontman and all-round nice guy Morten Harket has released a new single with his daughter Tomine Harket (actually Anna Katharina Tomine Malmquist Harket, but that's not important right now), and it's just happy pop. Every extra track is a bit of an unexpected bonus, and so I'm happy if Morten Harket is doing happy pop. They seem to have showcased some of the more ordinary bits of Norway's landscape in the video, which takes some doing, because it's hard to find ordinary bits of landscape in that particular country.

We joined the local Facebook and Whatsapp groups down in Agulhas. I've been a member of them both for several years now. I've even mentioned one of them previously on here: And that goes for today's post as well. Because while the local Whatsapp group continues to bubble along under the surface with occasional sporadic (and often very amusing) flare-ups, there are genuinely times when it is helpful, and therefore it would be unhelpful were I to be kicked off it for taking the piss.

Two very powerful men men holding powerful positions are getting desperate. And that's not good news for every single other person on the planet. Trump and Putin, the worst double act since... ever, are both in freefall. Although to look at Putin, you wouldn't know - just yet. He's now just 1,672 days into his 3 day special military operation, and he is losing ground and losing support.

Two things happened recently in Cape Town. Well, sort of, anyway. Secondly (yes, I said what I said), there was a MOERSE thunderstorm in the early hours of this (Tuesday) morning. This was unusual for a couple of reasons: firstly, we don't generally get thunderstorms down here in the bottom corner of Africa, and secondly, it was completely unexpected, as in, none of the weather forecasts seemed to have any idea that it was going to happen.

Lots of fun. And... quite a lot of alcohol this evening. Tomorrow could be fun, too. But in a whole different way.

It's been a busy, early summers day, and I had a rather productive morning, and got "some" stuff done. And then - ahead of a birthday dinner this evening - I decided to have a short nap. That was not a short nap. I have awoken (which, at this age, is always a bit of a bonus) a bit dopey, and in need of some strong coffee.

A day - and I mean a whole day - out taking photos at a national dodgeball competition. Didn't sit down for 9 hours. And now I can hardly stand up. 925 images to sort out tomorrow, but right now: bed.

But quite a long standby. Officials from NASA have been visiting the Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital in downtown Cape Town this week in preparation for the 2028 moon landing. See? Apparently, should things go pear-shaped with the Artemis IV (that's "4", not "intravenous") launch, then the big area of water just out there (some of it visible from the hospital windows, nogal) will be a potential splashdown site for the space vehicle.

I've known about VAERS - the Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System - for a long time. Based in the US, it's an important tool in making sure that people are able to report anything unusual or dangerous which has occurred after they have had a vaccine. In this way, if there are any issues with the vaccine - be in a specific batch or anything else - then they can be quickly reported and dealt with before they affect too many people.

6 weeks to go until the municipal elections here in SA, and the rhetoric is really beginning to build up. I'm not supporting any party in this post, merely stating my opinion from an independent point of view, and you can use that for or against whichever party or news source you wish. Because it's worth remembering that while we are all aware of the way that politicians "come out of the woodwork" when voting time comes around, waving their party's flag and reminding us what they have done and what they will continue to do when they get our votes, the hostile, unsupportive side of things also is a lot more prevalent right now, as well.

I was listening to Indie Forever (in the shower, as it happens, but that's not important right now), when they played Idlewild's You Held The World In Your Arms Tonight, but not the original. No, this was the BBC session version from Lauren Laverne's show back in 2015. Breathtaking. I mean, the song itself is explosive and full of energy, passion and meaning, but take away the noise and you're left with something quite extraordinarily beautiful.

Right. That's it. I'm done with this hip/lower back/sacroiliac joint/arse problem. It's been several (or more) weeks of a lot of pain, many struggles and a handful of visits to the physio, and I've gone from bouncing along the bottom to thinking I was on the mend and then finding that I was back where I started, just a couple of days later.

Everyone's talking about the Hawks. Not the ex-Special Crimes Investigative Unit disbanded by Jacob Zuma. But the African Harrier Hawks (Polyboroides typus), which are apparently returning and being sighted all over Cape Town. And we had one on a local roof today: Reddish face because it's breeding season, and Mrs African Harrier Hawk finds that sort of look…

I've got a birthday coming up, and the online advertising bots know it. Because I'm clearly at that age where the online advertisers bots feel that I need one of two things in my life. Every advert that I get at the moment is either for a new, better display for my vehicle's dashboard, and/or toys to make my braai experience a bit more exciting.

There's been a lot of stuff about the weird weather in Cape Town this Winter. And not just on this blog. Everyone's talking about the rain that never came. And now with Spring on the horizon, and the infamous South Easter already blowing, it looks like Winter is having one last go before it pops its metaphorical clogs. It's not going to fill the dams (currently sitting at 75.7% vs 92.2% this time last year), but honestly, we'll take anything right now. 3 days of rain and 14 degrees is a small price to pay as Winter's last throw. Summer is just around the corner.

There are 9 million bicycles in Beijing. According to the song, anyway. And there are 17 lighthouses on the coast of the Western Cape - officially, according to Transnet, who run them (and who could do with dropping a bit of cash to repaint the big red and white one right at the bottom of Africa) - as we learned in a recent quiz.

I'd love to watch some Champion's League football this evening, but I am knackered after a poor nights sleep and a busy day. So please accept this QP of a young Fiscal Flycatcher from the weekend: More tomorrow. Right now? Bed.

Back home after a few days down at the Southern Tip, and some hard work on the cottage, including some big upgrades. We now have Fibre, so no long having to rely on the often iffy cell signal for our internet needs, and we've added a TV to the mix as well. I don't know how much we'll use it, but it's there for the football and for those rainy evenings in front of the fire.

Sometimes, you don't need to say much. Just let the images do the talking. And so - as the saying goes - here are a couple of thousand words about our late afternoon wander on the Rasperpunt Trail. Didn't take my camera, so these are straight out of the phone. And I did miss a Kittlitz's Plover chick, and some amazing views of a Black Harrier. But that's fine, because we can wander down that way again anytime, and this was just lovely.

With the football season back (which is a good thing, don't get me wrong), there's less space for rugby league on my international sports channel here in SA. Instead, we get Saudi League (ugh), Dutch League (mmm), and Scottish League (occasionally feisty) footy action. So I was delighted this morning to find that the last game of the regular NRL season was available to watch; which I did while I was in the gym.

Very late. But I'm liking what I am (now) hearing from Sheffield band Milburn. I'm sure that I have heard of them before a long while back This is a particular favourite, and I love the video too. Some lovely storytelling and a lot of views of my lovely hometown: These guys will be my playlist for the next little while, just to get a bit more of an handle on their music. Give them a go.

I mentioned some time ago that the world is doing nothing about Climate Change because there has been no one definitive moment. And we’ve done nothing about it. Because – much like antibiotic resistance – while this is an ongoing issue with clear warning signs, and while those in the know have been warning us for years and years, there has been no one single catastrophic global event to focus our collective attentions.

I made my deadline for kick-off last night. Just. And it proved to be a worthwhile effort, although the opposition scoring after 24 seconds wasn't on my bingo card. But a gutsy performance, and we prevailed, actually getting the winning goal about 24 seconds from the end of the game. And what a goal, by the way. This season is going to be a SLOG, with no money, not many players, a possible incoming points deduction thanks to our useless American owners, and the realisation that everyone else in the division is absolutely loaded.

The United v Bolton match kicks off in 10 minutes time, and I still haven't written a blog post. I've been fine tuning the quiz that I'm presenting on Friday evening, and adding bits to make it better than your average quiz. Hopefully much better. I'm wondering if it's too hard (that's that she said), so I might test it on some non-attendees ahead of the night.

I know that some people are saying that the Airlink flight over the rugby was "dangerous" and "could have ended in disaster". Armchair experts gonna armchair expert. But Airlink have come out fighting and good for them. Here's what they had to say: In a statement released on Sunday, the airline defended the flyover after footage of the manoeuvre went viral on social media, sparking public concern.

Because I'm an egg-chasing expert now. - How come? Did you go to yesterday's game? Yes, I did! Lucky enough to be treated to VIP Hospitality as well. It was a great day out, and Cape Town and the Stadium crew really made it a very special occasion. - Was the Haka respected? Mmm. Sort of. I even videoed it:

The glowering skies - and they are PROPERLY glowering today - can mean only one thing. It's a high profile rugby match, with Cape Town being shown all over the world. Look, of course we need the money from tourism, but it already gets foolishly busy in the city over the summer, so we don't need a lot more tourism.

Sheffield is the home of snooker, with the World Championships being held in the city every year since 1977, something that's set to continue until at least 2045, thanks to a £45 million revamp of the Crucible Theatre. So a local snooker club decided to get a mural painted of one of the iconic stars of the sport, recreating an iconic image of Ronnie O'Sullivan:

It feel like this should be fairly straightforward as a concept. And yet... What? Apparently (apparently), it means 7am on Monday morning until 12 midnight on Friday evening. And then 7am til 10pm Saturday and 10am til 4pm on Sundays. And apparently, that's "perfectly clear" from this graphic. While this really isn't a hill I'm willing to die on, I don't see that at all. Do you?

Remember how much fun you used to have as a child? Before the drudgery and cruel reality of adult life crashed down upon you? Well, psst... I'm here to tell you that you can still have all that fun, even as a fully fledged grown-up. And the best way to do it is to be childish again. And the best way to do that is to take the piss out of Americans.

Remember this? I did this post on it, back in March. Well, colour me shocked. We're all still here. A quick review, then? Gravity didn't stop for 7.3 seconds. It didn't stop at all. Incredible. There weren't 40-60 million casualties worldwide. (Although that estimate was only out by 40-60 million.)People, Vehicles, Animals did not rise. Objects did not float 15-20 meters into the air.

Being able to speak another language is such an amazing skill. The few languages I know a bit about (aside from my native Yorkshire, obviously), I can just about get by in. But in every case, my speaking and reading is far better than my listening. People speak fast, hey? Honestlyitsometimessoundsliketherearenospacesinbetweenthewords. Still, it's such a useful skill to have, and so I'll take any opportunity to learn wherever I can.

Inevitable: "That's what she said." No. I'm talking about winter. Was that winter? Are we done already? I've mentioned a few times on the blog over the last couple of months that the Winter in Cape Town hasn't really happened. Yet. But in the time since I wrote those posts, it still hasn't happened, and were it not for that MASSIVE storm back in May, we'd be in several different sorts of trouble regarding water for the upcoming summer.

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A place I've been through many times. A place I've been near a lot. (Wine farms...)But a place I've only ever stopped in once or twice. Until this weekend. And what a great place. Nooks, crannies, curios, galleries, wine (so much wine), atmosphere... it just has a VAAARB, bru! And so lovely to just WALK everywhere, day and night.