I have been on holiday back in
Cape Town since the 26th january. It took a week to adjust. For the first few days the old town seemed half-deserted. I was wondering where everyone was, and my brother's small house seemed monstrously huge. It is a bit surreal seeing Cape Town as a tourist, an outsider. It's a sleepy place that doesn’t change much.
I even miss London a bit, the bussle and action, the dirty, crowded streets, wet with rain, festooned with litter, phlem and chewing gum. Hard to believe that I only dug in there in late March 2002.
In the second week I felt at home again. I opened up the storage and realized that there was my entire former life crammed into this little concrete garage. So much of my stuff that I had been happily living without. The things that I own, but which hadn’t quite managed to own me.
I have done touristy stuff like taking the cable car up Table Mountain, going down to Cape Point, going on a wine route. And some business, credit card, bank account, etc. And some laying about, doing nothing much, reading comics and avoiding the sun. All in all, it's great.
And the nano records outdoor trance party. Much as I had a blast, and met great people I'm glad I don’t have that in my backyard every weekend. I've been good in London, and here it was so easy to go back to being bad. And such fun, after a lay-off. There's the temptation, the diminishing return.
I have 8 days to go, in which time happens a stag night, a wedding, another outdoor trance party, packing, clearing out of furniture and much goodbyes again.