Unhinged moments in the neighbourhood.
Just like that, the streets are quieter. Fewer cyclists are taking over the roads early in the morning, and everything has a much more mellow feel around the streets and beaches of St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis.
It has been a helluva season.
New Year’s Eve – it seems like a month ago – was a big night. There was noise until the early hours and hordes of grubby revellers hanging around waiting for the SPAR to open to get their early morning fix of vapes, Monsters and pies from the hot food section.
Raucous Vibe
The beach was packed, with no parking and queues of people at the food trucks at Cape St Francis. The vibe was raucous, the waves were crowded, and plenty of people hustled for a few sets on the point, at the beachbreak, and further down towards Lookout.
With the incredibly warm water, the lifeguards were busy directing a few people who arrived with their dogs. This is not allowed on our Blue Flag Beach. Still, as mentioned, there was a general feeling of pleasantness in the air.
The worst thing that happened to me over the season was getting sworn at and continuously hooted at by visitors when my car broke down. This happened in evening ‘traffic’ in Cape St Francis. One dear old lady hooted at me. When I got out of the vehicle, car engine off and with my hazards flashing, and gave her hand signals to go around me, she looked me straight in the eyes and hooted again. I pointed around again, and she hooted again. She was clearly lacking of thought or intelligence.
Vacant Stare
When she eventually comprehended that my car wasn’t going anywhere, she turned around my vehicle, fuming, pulled up alongside me standing by my car, looked me straight in the eyes again from point-blank range, and hooted again. Dull eyes, vacant stare, mouth slightly open, vacuous. Most likely awash with gin and Vicodin, or lack thereof. We stared at each other for the longest time, and our souls might have touched. Did she need help, or did I? Somewhere, off in the distance, a dog barked.
The following day, I was sworn at by a visitor as I was trying half-heartedly to hold a car park for a friend at the beach. A big guy in a large Sports Utility Vehicle saw me holding it, drove in as aggressively as he could, and said to me, self-satisfied, “I’m here for the f&cking day, pal.”
Clearly Round The Bend
He was clearly round the bend and not a local, as we don’t use the word ‘pal’ much around here or anywhere in the EC, actually. I started giggling at this nonsense. “You win,” I said and gave him a thumbs up.
Apart from that, it has been a cakewalk. Local retailers and friends have enjoyed the best season ever. The weather has been phenomenal, and the water has been warm. There has been a nice vibe for most of the time. There were a few entitled people and a couple of out-of-control drunks at some of the jols. Still, that’s standard fare for a coastal town during New Year’s celebrations. Well done to everyone who survived, and high fives to those who conquered the season.
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