I left work on Wednesday and it was raining. Not stupid rain but definitely raining. As I muscled past the gang of wimps standing, staring out of the door, I dimly heard a cry. "Carl! You'll get wet!" Of course, I thought, I mean it's all of five metres to the car. Well believe it or not, I couldn't have been wetter standing under a waterfall. The combination of large, slow-falling raindrops and a certain amount of rain-blindness, as bestowed upon my mind by years of living in temperate Britain (where rain is an annoyance but rarely worth paying any attention to), left me cursing my bravado and shivering over the heater fan. Outside the car park (I drove slowly, dabbing at the condensation with a sopping sleeve) the slope of Gilfillan Street was a river; rocks the size of shoeboxes were being scooted downhill by a brown, surging ribbon flowing so fast that where it hit the edges of pavements it sent up a bow wave fully eighteen inches into the air. It was an awesome sight and not one that made me anxious to drive home. I parked the car and dashed for shelter. When it finally let up I made my way to Sipho's house, borrowed a shirt and walked back to George's Chinese bar for a swift beer to calm the old nerves. I thought it prudent to invest in some biltong as well. These things can be highly traumatic.
Since then of course it's been raining almost non-stop, which means going to pick up the camera was a no-no, and the seats in the car are still wet. As I look out of the window now it looks like the sun is coming out which is a blessing; I'm not entirely sure how to deal with a wet car in incessant rain (short of driving around with the heater on for an hour or two). Mine is the only car in the car park with condensation so dense that it dribbles.
The puppy is settling down. Bob is still a bit irritated by him but has reduced his hostility to gruff warnings whenever his personal space is invaded. One can measure the activity level of the puppy by the frequency of Bob's growling. Poor old boy. At any rate, they appear to tolerate each other, even if the newcomer has fits of depression; after one too many rebuffs he was found last night napping outside, in the outhouse, his nose in an old boot of Ronnie's.
Ronnie has, additionally, spotted a "black shiny snake with white spots. A BIG one" in the tree in the garden. It is possible that the puppy issue may be on the brink of a swift resolution. I'm sure Bob can't wait.
Other than that.. not a lot going on really. Oh, except last night I fired up the anagram machine and found that MERCEDES TWO EIGHTY S.E. is an anagram of EYED WORTHIEST S.E.C. GEM which surely means that I should sell old faithful for that SEC.
Mmm.. 4.5 litre..
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