Stormy Day

Today was a no-sail day due to bad weather. At first, the day was just overcast and cold. However, by lunchtime there was a light rain, and by half past three, a full-on thunderstorm had developed. Luckily before the downpour happened, I had managed to get home relatively dry. I noticed that the sand-fleas were going absolutely bananas on the sand, hopping all over the place! No wonder the cape wagtails are so fat and abundant, with all that food about.

The first lightning struck as I sat down for a cup of tea, so I opened the net curtains to see if I could watch out for it. As the storm grew nearer towards me, the lightning became more frequent and deafeningly loud. I love lightning, just how dramatic and colourful it is, as well as the thrill of the loud thunder that follows. I began to unplug all the appliances and turn off lights as I wasn’t sure South African electrical wiring was up to any lightning strikes, and didn’t fancy any surges blowing up my laptop or the T.V. As the storm began to pass, I decided it was probably safe to plug my laptop back in. Literally seconds after doing so, lightning struck the sea about 50m from the shoreline! It sounded like cannon fire. I ran to unplug my laptop again, just in case of another strike. 

After a few minutes, I heard voices outside the door and assumed Amy had returned, perhaps with Ed and Anna. However, it was the landlord and lady, who are absolutely lovely! They had come to check if Amy and I were ok, and also to bring round a couple of candles, a gas cooker and Anneke (the landlady, who has a really unusually spelled name, so I just wrote it how it sounds) had made some ‘mudcake’, which I have just tried a piece of, and it is gorgeous. It is basically a kind of home-made chocolate fudge. Amy will have to get back soon if she wants a piece (joking!). I hope to go over to their house (just in front of ours) at some point, as Anneke keeps inviting us over for some tea!