Living down here has certainly given me a deeper respect for the laws of nature. When the wind is blowing gale force and the rain unceasing it can be somewhat daunting. Over the last three weeks we have had two bouts of extremely bad weather. The second coming last weekend and causing the most damage to an already water logged area. Betty's Bay hasn't actually completely dried out after the storms in June and July so it is only to be expected that we were in for a heap of trouble. It started on the Friday, and unusually for the Cape, it just kept coming down. Poppet came through on the Saturday morning - after having such a strong wind where she lives that it blew their two surfboards flat and right across the tiny balcony in the middle of the night. Fortunately knowing how vulnerable our roads are, she left early enough to get through on Clarence Drive, our coastal road. During Saturday night a really large portion of Clarence Drive literally just collapsed and washed away. Sunday morning dawned and we found out that our three villages were completely cut off from everywhere. The only other road out is via Kleinmond which includes crossing the Palmiet bridge, not something we ever give a second thought to. Well ... not anymore. Along with the roads went our electricity which remained off in our road for the entire day. Some homes were without power for much longer. Within hours all bread and milk was sold out and then following them the only petrol station sold out as well. I'm not sure why everyone stocked up on fuel when there was nowhere to go 🤷🏻♀️. Our home and property were undamaged as we are a little higher, we did however develop a couple of really prolific leaks. In typical Sharon style I put a towel under the leak, totally underestimating it and after twelve hours only thought to add two bowls (3 litre capacity each) 🤦🏻♀️. By Sunday they were both half full. The deck also sprung a couple of leaks but I have learnt that this is part for the course living down here. Eventually by Wednesday the Palmiet bridge had been partially opened to traffic with a stop/go in place. Clarence Drive remains closed indefinitely. Sadly large areas were largely without water completely due to damage to dams and infrastructure etc. The entire town of Hermanus was completely out of water as was Kleinmond. Some areas have been restored but not all to my knowledge. Yesterday the main road linking us to Hermanus and Cape Town had to be partially closed due to collapse. I will say that being totally cut off and knowing that you cannot go anywhere is quite a strange feeling. In Betty's we had a little baby born during one evening, a child was helicoptered out after being knocked off his bike. There were numerous other medical emergencies which were dealt with by our local emergency medical teams. The biggest thing was how everyone stepped up to help each other. People in Kleinmond offered help and did shopping, then met people on our side and exchanged goods by walking over the bridge. Chemist personal delivered medication to the bridge where they were met by the recipients. The manager of the Spar was taking people, four at a time, in his own vehicle, to his store to shop and then returning them to the bridge to walk across. The tough part of the walking across is that parking on our side was a kilometre from the bridge, uphill. It is a very special place to live.
Apart from the weather which was somewhat consuming, it was a busy month. Hubby has made an incredible recovery and three weeks post op was given the green light to continue normal life, and respecting his knee. He had ditched his crutches within ten days of having the surgery.
Tomorrow I am booked in for what I pray will be my last surgery, the second part of my reconstruction. It will be five days short of two years since my bilateral mastectomy and for me is a personal goal, or a full stop if you will, to say I am finished and healthy.
As for my little foray into business - Overstrand Mend and Patch, I have been more surprised than anyone else that I have actually had a fair amount of work. On Thursday I had a lady ask if I could alter/ make more comfortable three dresses for her little daughter, before Friday evening. Each 'job' I have had come in has been a challenge which I have really enjoyed conquering. I have to think out of the box some of the time, but it seems to be working and my customers appear to be happy. I also have an order with our very popular local Coffee Shop / Deli, for my Chilli Oil - Dragon Drizzle. Delivery for the middle of the month, so will fit around my recovery.
In coming to a close I want to wish Poppet and Hubby a Happy Birthday for Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Enjoy both of you and I pray each of you has a special day.
Folks that's enough for now, the weather really was the pivotal point of the entire month. Despite all the issues for our area some other places were worse off and the list of road closures remains as long as an arm. To all of you out there stay safe and stay healthy. Until next month Ciao Ciao.
Clarence Drive
R43 Hermanus to Cape Town
Franschoek mud slides
None of the above pictures are my own
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