Returning to normal life after time away always creates the same strange sensation. You leave for a short stretch, order one airport coffee at international prices, and suddenly the entire world appears to have accelerated without you.
Meanwhile, St Francis Bay carried on at full speed.
Floods, Storms And Sideways Rain
Firstly, there were the floods. Then came the storm. Then came the sort of sideways rain that makes experienced locals stand at windows offering weather commentary with the seriousness of international news anchors. ( Kouga Moves to Secure Disaster Funding After Devastating Floods)
Importantly, the groynes took a proper pounding but largely did exactly what they were designed to do. The spit remains protected, which is the whole point. A few battle scars appeared, naturally, but overall the system held firm during a genuinely wild stretch of weather. (Severe Weather and Flooding Across Kouga Region)
Meanwhile, the R330 somehow found new and innovative ways to deteriorate. Certain sections now feel less like a road and more like an advanced suspension test.
Schools, Stress And Sudden Change
Closer to home, the news around a local school closing created genuine sadness, confusion, frustration, and plenty of scrambling among families trying to work out the next step. (Kouga Local Municipality responds to “KM Shuts Down School” article)
Some children moved to other schools. Others shifted towards online learning again, which immediately triggered Covid-era flashbacks involving unstable WiFi, muted microphones, and parents pretending they understood Grade 6 maths.
Small towns feel these disruptions deeply because schools form part of the rhythm of community life.
Thyspunt Returns Again
Additionally, the Thyspunt nuclear debate rolled back into local conversation once again, complete with objections, reports, deadlines, and enough technical terminology to transform ordinary residents into overnight nuclear strategists by tea time.
As always, everybody suddenly had strong opinions and several graphs. (Nuclear Deadline Approaches – The Thyspunt Alliance is urging Kouga residents and interested parties to submit formal objections)
Restaurants Continue Their Expansion Program
Back in town, a new restaurant or two appears to have opened while nobody was paying attention. St Francis now seems to operate on an approximate ratio of one restaurant for every two residents, which feels ambitious even by local standards.
Still, this remains excellent news for people who spend forty minutes debating where to eat before eventually ending up at the exact same place they went to last Thursday because Happy Hour starts in twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, The World Carries On
Elsewhere, Donald Trump continued manufacturing headlines at industrial scale, petrol prices remained strangely enthusiastic, and inflation continued floating around in the background like an unpaid invoice nobody wanted to open.
Meanwhile, a rat virus and Ebola appear to be slowly making their marks on the world by boarding international flights and travelling business and economy class towards the four corners of the globe, while the people of St Francis continue debating politics, rates hikes, solar registration forms, the influx of new residents, whether avocados are secretly unhealthy, who makes the best burger in town, whether burgers themselves are healthy, the possibility of EV charging stations, rumours of a new fast-food outlet, whether the proposed mall will ever happen, and if brown shit-coloured shirts are contemporary, retro, or simply a fashion crime.
What else did I miss?
– editor
Recent Comments