When the Paternoster is not a prayer.

I hope you have paid many visits to my website http://www.bestforreading.com for all your on line shopping needs.

Along the west coast of Cape Town is an off the beaten track route. This route follows the R27 and is known as the West Coast Route.http://www.route27sa.com/. In high summer this could be a dull wind-swept drive, but when winter arrives the whole veld turns into a joy to behold on the eye with the culmination of colours in Spring. http://www.langebaanlagoon.co.za/namaqualand-flowers.html.

About 150 km from Cape Town, you turn off the R27 towards Vredenburg. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredenburg. Another 15 minutes drive towards the coast you will find the small fisherman's village, Paternoster. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster,_Western_Cape. This is mainly a fisherman's village as I have mentioned earlier, but it is it a holiday resort for many as well. A certain West Coast "style" must be kept and all the houses must conform to that. http://www.paternoster-villas.co.za/die-opstal-apartments  

Another good site to visit is http://paternosterrentals.co.za.

A photo taken years ago. 

The original fisherman's cottages.

Sunset in Paternoster

The West Coast Style

Same

Another house built in the West Coast Style

Just about 5 km further on, you will find the Cape Columbine Nature Reserve and Lighthouse. This in itself is worth a visit. http://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/westerncape/visit-the-cape-columbine-lighthouse/

 This area is known for its shipwrecks as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Columbine 

My recipe of the week has to do with fish stock

2 kg fish bones, fish heads or any off cuts

4 onions

4 carrots diced coarsely

4 bay leaves

4 twigs of celery

4 twigs of parsley

10 ml wonder pepper (all spice) corns 

10 ml (2 tea spoons) black pepper corns

500 ml (2 cups) dry white wine

3 l boiling water

Place all the ingredients in a pan and bring slowly to boil. This is to prevent foam forming. Cook slowly for about 40 minutes. Sieve through fine strainer. Use the stock to make a seafood dish or use it in fish soup. 

Easy breezy!!!!!!!!!!!!

And visit http://www.bestforreading.com

A free trip up one of the Natural Wonders of the World

Well, here at http://www.bestforreading.com I cannot believe that another week has gone by and it is time to give you an up date of what is happening in and around Cape Town. 

Seems to me winter is approaching very gently this year and not with full force as usually. My birthday is in the middle of winter somewhere in May and it always rain on my birthday. The City of Cape Town gives every citizen of South Africa a free trip up Table Mountain with the cable car http://tablemountain.net/. What I did not know that if it rains on the day of your birthday, then your ticket is valid for another two weeks after your birthday.

On top of the mountain with the top station and Robben Island  on the  left

So, last year, after living in Cape Town my whole adult life, I decided to make use of this free over. It did not rain on that day. Here are a few photos of my trip up table Mountain.

The old cable cars. Not the same as today. 

Leaving the station below

Going up or down.

The Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean is on the right of this 

A route on top of the mountain

Vegetation

Cape Flats in the distance and the Hottentots Holland Mountains in the far distance

A "dassie"

A few facts

Robben Island - Nelson Mandela was jailed here

The Table Mountain Range

Clifton from the top of the mountain

This mountain  has been chosen as on of the official natural wonders in the world http://www.new7wonders.com/. Not only is this a natural wonder but it it a protected UNESCO heritage site as well. The Table Mountain range forms part of the Cape Floral Kingdom and is the smallest floral kingdom in the world with nearly the most species of plants http://tablemountain.net/blog/entry/the_cape_floral_region_one_of_the_worlds_richest_plant_zones/.  

It feels like God visits everywhere else but lives in Africa - Will Smith on his first visit to South Africa!

Enjoy the rest of the week and remember to visit http://www.bestforreading.com for ALL your on line shopping needs!

Recipe of the week: Corn Bread (Mieliebrood)

500 g self-raising flour
5 ml ( 1 t) salt)
500 ml buttermilk
5 ml fresh chili, chopped finely. Remove seeds
250 ml strong cheese like a cheddar
410 g tin drained corn

Sieve self-raising flour and salt together. Add buttermilk and chili and then the cheese and corn. Mix well and  place in smeared bread pan. Bake at 180 C  for about 50 minutes. If it sounds "hollow", it is done.

http://www.bestforeading.com

The tired cyclists!

Hey, if you haven't visited my on line store at http://www.bestforreading.com, do so. There are great books and great items on sale. Go to the search bar at the top right hand corner and do your shopping at http://www.bestforreading.com

Well  , I think this morning we have a few sore legs, but very satisfied people in Cape Town. Hopefully all 135000 of them. yes, you have read correctly. Yesterday was the  Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle race. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Argus_Cycle_Race. 

It is the largest of its type in the world and stretches over a distance of 109 km.  Follow the route on the link

http://www.cycletour.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ROUTE-MAP-2013-A-ver3.pdf.

This cycle tour is one along one of the most scenic routes in the world, if not the most scenic.

http://www.southafrica.info/about/sport/cycletour.htm.

Congratulations to all who have succeeded in completing the race and to those who have won the race. here are the names of the winners: http://www.news24.com/Tags/Events/cape_argus_cycle_tour.

My book choice of the week from http://www.bestforreading.com is:

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print [Paperback]Renni Browne (Author), Dave King (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 13, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0060545690 | ISBN-13: 978-0060545697 | Edition: 2 Sub

Hundreds of books have been written on the art of writing. Here at last is a book by two professional editors to teach writers the techniques of the editing trade that turn promising manuscripts into published novels and short stories.

In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated with examples, many drawn from the hundreds of books Browne and King have edited.

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• This item: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print by Renni Browne Paperback $11.18
• The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide To Character Expression by Angela Ackerman Paperback $9.77
• Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K. M. Weiland Paperback $9.79

The Cape of Storms became the Cape of Good Hope

Today is going to be a sweltering day here in Cape Town. The weatherman predicted at least 35 deg C. We are having a late summer as this is the temperature Cape Town usually experiences in February. This usually happens just before winter comes. Winter often arrives in Cape Town with gale force winds and heavy rains.  

This is why Cape Town is not only known as the Cape of Good Hope http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_of_Good_Hope, but as the Cape of Storms as well. Bartholomew Diaz, the Portuguese seafarer, named this part of southern Africa, the Cape of Storms http://www.capetown.at/heritage/history/explorers_merchants.htm. The then Portuguese king wanted more traders to come to Africa and to go to India and therefor renamed the Cape of Storms to the Cape of Good Hope.   

Have a look at this site giving you more information about shipwrecks around the Cape of Good Hope. http://www.capetown.travel/attractions/entry/cape_town_shipwrecks. Obviously there are many tales of heroism and the most famous being that of Wolraad Woltemade who risked his own life and that of his horse to save the lives of others http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolraad_Woltemade. Wagner's opera: "The Flying Dutchman" is such a folklore about a ship that went under around the Cape of Good Hope. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Dutchman    

I have added a photo of a bronze plaque taken on top of Table Mountain indicating the layout of the Cape of Good Hope. The sea is stretching around the Table Mountain National Park on the right hand side of this plaque. On the left is land and built-up area   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_Mountain_National_Park  

Well that is a lot of reading. Remember to visit my on-line store at http://www.bestforreading.com for a wide selection of books. I have updated my website with the latest books available. Have a look at this book which can be bought from http://www.bestforreading.com

Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History [Paperback]

Antonio Mendez (Author), Matt Baglio (Author) 

Book Description

Release date: February 6, 2013

The true account of a daring rescue that inspired the film ARGO, winner of the 2012 Academy Award for Best Picture

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants stormed the American embassy in Tehran and captured dozens of American hostages, sparking a 444-day ordeal and a quake in global politics still reverberating today. But there is a little-known drama connected to the crisis: six Americans escaped. And a top-level CIA officer named Antonio Mendez devised an ingenious yet incredibly risky plan to rescue them before they were detected.

Disguising himself as a Hollywood producer, and supported by a cast of expert forgers, deep cover CIA operatives, foreign agents, and Hollywood special effects artists, Mendez traveled to Tehran under the guise of scouting locations for a fake science fiction film called Argo. While pretending to find the perfect film backdrops, Mendez and a colleague succeeded in contacting the escapees, and smuggling them out of Iran.

Antonio Mendez finally details the extraordinarily complex and dangerous operation he led more than three decades ago. A riveting story of secret identities and international intrigue, Argo is the gripping account of the history-making collusion between Hollywood and high-stakes espionage. 

My recipe for this week is: Ginger Dumplings

Dough: 

15 ml (1 desert spoon) butter

250 ml (1 cup) flour

5 ml ( 1 t spoon) Bicarbonate of Soda 

125 ml (1/2 cup) cold water

30 ml (2 desert spoons) apricot jam

5 ml (1 t) ginger powder

Rub the butter into the flour. Mix the bicarbonate of soda with the water and add to apricot jam and ginger and then add to flour mixture.

Syrup 

625 ml (21/2 cup ) boiled water

250 ml (1 cup) sugar)

15 ml (1 desert spoon butter)

Place all the ingredients in a pan and boil. Pout the syrup in a oven dish (with lid). Dish up spoons of dough in warm syrup and bake with lid on at 180 deg C until ginger dumplings are golden brown and the syrup  milky. Have a look after 30 minutes. NOT EARLIER. The dumplings will not raise.