Travel
Noordhoek Country Fair
Today is the annual Noordhoek Country fair. I had a meeting with a client of mine, and what better place to have a meeting than at the fair. The fair is a lovely place to spend a couple of hours with the family. They had plenty of great food and drinks (I bought some balsamic and habamaro vinegar which I am going to have on my fresh Tuna tonight.)
There are also horserides, live bands, presentations and crafts. The fair is held on Noordhoek common and all money from the door goes to various conservation and community causes.
A giant puppet, made by the Masiphumelele community. She was controlled by about 5 people, providing independent movement of both arms, legs the the head.
This impressed me; a trumpeter from Masiphumelele, playing two trumpets at the same time.
Yes, it did not take me long to find the coffee bar at the Noordhoek Fair.
Finally, even puppets need some time out, or maybe she just had too much to drink in the sun :-)
Royal Pavilion, Brighton
The Royal Pavilion in Brighton is the strangest place. By appearances, it looks like an exotic middle-eastern palace. The architecture is stunningly intricate, consisting of vertical columns, and ornate spires, making you feel like you are standing in the middle of Indoa. However you are in fact standing in the middle of Brighton, UK.
The pavilion was built for King George IV (regent at the time) between 1784 and 1811. Being far from London (at least before the train service), it was used by him for his dirty weekends with his “long-time companion”, Mrs Fitzherbert.
If you are in Brighton, visit the Pavilion, or at least sit for a few minutes in the wonderful gardens around the back and enjoy the architecture.
Restaurants in the lanes, Brighton
The lanes in Brighton are a wonderful set of pedestrian roads and alleys filled with little restaurants and shops. It is a complete maze, and very easy to get completely disorientated and lost in them.
However getting lost is part of the experience, you will simply another interesting little shop.
The shops used to be the fishermen’s cottages, and they still retain a lot of their character.
There is also daily ghost walk, where you learn about the murders, lovers, ghosts and haunting in and around the lanes. It is a little cheesy, but for 5 pounds it is a fun 90 minutes.
Beach houses in Brighton
These beach houses remind me very much of the Muizenberg beach houses. Well that should not really be a surprise since the Muizenberg beach houses are based on the ones in Brighton.
However while Muizenberg has about 5 houses, in Brighton there are rows are rows of them, literally hundreds of them in a long ling all the way from the Pier through Hove into the next village.
If you plan on buying a hut you had best start saving; they start at 11,000 pounds!.
By the way, the rules dictate the colours that the houses are painted, but you are free to paint the door whatever colour suits you.
One of the many daily commuters in Brighton cycling past the famous beach huts.
Till death do us part
A chocolate skull found in a remarkable shop in the lanes in Brighton. They specialise in morbid and gothic chocolates and cakes.
It is rather bizarre, but the artwork is absolutely amazing. I forget the exact figues, but the cake costs something like 200 pounds, but it feeds about 100 people.
The shop is called choccywoccydoodah, and their website is www.choccywoccydoodah.com.
I think that their other shops do regular chocolates, but not this branch.