Wineou’s previous writings
- Anton Anreith
- Art Garfunkel
- Baboon
- Baron van Rheede
- beer
- BMW
- boats
- bonfires
- Breede River
- Bryan Adams
- Cambridge University
- Catholic
- Chapman's Peak Drive
- Charles Darwin
- Charlie Chaplin
- Christmas
- coastal road
- cottage
- cycling
- Dalai Lama
- Dave Koz
- Dolce and Banana
- Dutoitspan
- dynamite
- electricity
- Elke Sommer
- exercise
- famous
- fishing
- Franschhoek
- Frith van der Merwe
- Ganymede
- Groot Constantia
- Guy Fawkes
- healthy mind
- Hendrik Cloete
- Holism and Evolution
- Holistic
- Hout Bay
- ichthyologist
- Ivan Mitford-Barberton
- Jan Smuts
- Jan van Riebeeck
- John Milton
- Karl-Ludwig Günsche
- Kyle Eastwood
- Langebaan
- Mercedes-Benz
- mine
- Mole
- Monaco
- Obama
- Phillida Brooke Simons
- Prof JLB Smith
- Randal Keynes
- rich
- river
- rock hyrax
- rock lobster
- Ronan Keating
- Sharon Stone
- Simon van der Stel
- Strandkombuis
- Thibault
- Thompson Magawana
- Tokai
- TV Bulpin
- Water Rat
- wealthy
- whales
- Wikipedia
- Wind in the Willows
- wine
- Yau-Man Chan
- Yzerfontein
Categories
Author Archives: wineou
LIFT TECHNIQUE
I don’t often use a lift (or elevator if you are American and prefer long words to short ones). But, after some heavy grocery shopping today, I decided to use one to get the bags down to my car without … Continue reading
FIRST CAR
My first car was a 1950 Nash. I never got to drive it. In July 1960 my father was driving it through Kimberley when his Nash broke down. At the time I was working in the diamond mines, aged 17. … Continue reading
HEAD FOR HEIGHTS
Do you have a pathological fear of heights? Me neither. But I do have a healthy respect for dangerous heights. I would rather approach the edge of a vertical cliff doing the leopard crawl than a brisk jog – especially … Continue reading
THE MINES AND ME (6): DELIVERANCE
Everything seemed so routine the last night that I worked underground. Only one thing differed from the usual – my resolve to drill and blast three ends instead of the usual two: I wanted my varsity vacation job to end … Continue reading
THE MINES AND ME (5): REVENGE
I can clearly remember the time I was roped in to help re-open De Beers Mine, which had been left to moulder for many years. Everyone has seen a picture of Kimberley Mine, also known as the “Big Hole” which … Continue reading
THE MINES AND ME (4): DENNIS
One of the more unusual characters that I met in Kimberley’s diamond mines in the early sixties was a young man called Dennis Knox. Like many of the miners, he had done something else before starting to work underground. He … Continue reading
NOBODY PHONES
Now that I’m old nobody phones – except that nice man from India who thinks there’s something wrong with my computer. He always asks after my health, then tells me that Microsoft have detected something that is slowing my computer … Continue reading
NO PLASTIC BAGS
You probably know that today is International Plastic Bag-Free Day; and you probably can’t get yourself too worked up about it. I’ll tell you how you never need to buy one; but first a few facts about plastic bags: They take … Continue reading
Winter is here
Today was the first real day of winter in Cape Town. But not all trees agreed. This one nearRondebosch Common decided that it is now spring. These ones on the Franschhoek Pass feel that it is autumn. And this one … Continue reading
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THE MINES AND ME (3): SONNY
Sonny was a tall, wiry fellow with an impressive schlong. I know this because a group of miners and learners regularly faced each other in a double bank of showers after work in the Kimberley diamond mines in 1960. In … Continue reading
