Be jolly, make good cheer

 One on a windy beach with the wild Atlantic ocean as backdrop, the other an inland Zimbabwe village, decorated with white balloons and lush green plant life celebrating the arrival of the rains as well as the joy of the happy couple.
The Cape wedding was celebrated just outside Ysterfontein, a tiny pastel painted fishing village on the west coast about 100km from Cape Town. An open-air seafood restaurant has expanded to become a popular wedding venue with enough simple whitewashed accommodation for around 50 guests to stay overnight.  The bridal couple had booked the venue a year before and still could not get a Saturday!  In season, three weddings a weekend take place there and as our party was leaving on Saturday morning the next group was arriving bringing their décor in a bakkie and carrying the cake up through the dunes on the weathered timber stairs.
The ceremony on the beach was lovely though quite challenging with the wind and the sand. Most of us kicked off our shoes but my friend wasn’t about to abandon her Ferragamo sandals and in any case her dress was too long without them, so she remained attached to her shoes and totally stylish throughout the ceremony even managing to walk in high heels on the sand to toss bright flower petals over the newly weds.  Afterwards the party moved up to the restaurant – a large wooden deck under a canopy – for cocktails and snacks before being seated on long rustic tables around the deck.
I love the long Southern evenings away from the equator with daylight lasting till almost 9pm.  The long shadows of a late evening give such a different light and as the sun set over the ocean we enjoyed a seafood feast cooked on an outside open fire – a buffet featuring mussels, prawns, whole snoek and yellowtail and calamari all served with rice and good salads. What a treat.
Walking along the beach early the next morning was very refreshing after late night partying and the brisk breeze an ideal way to clear the head.
There is something very gracious about Cape Town with its old oak trees, suburban vineyards and Table Mountain providing a dramatic back drop wherever you are in the City.  Very useful for people like me with no in-built sense of direction. You can always look to the mountain to find your bearings. Lovely to have so many green spaces in a city and I walked each morning on Rondebosch Common a large wild public space in the shadow of Devil’s Peak and UCT and along with dog walkers, joggers, cyclists and pedestrians enjoyed a rubbish free zone under no immediate threat of development!
Mostly we ate in – except for one morning when I met a friend for breakfast at trendy French style pavement café ‘Cassis’  in oak tree shaded Claremont. Brightly coloured macaroons are their speciality and I might try to make some this Christmas, not knowing where to get them here. 
Amazingly busy on a weekday morning, capuccinos and coffees were all R16 (around US$2) – comparable to Harare café prices  as were fresh croissants, and pain au chocolat – though I have only seen that kind of quality at local Chocolate café – Veldemeers. I can’t think of a local outlet where one could get buy such lovely fruit tarts – delightful concoctions of pastry, cream and fruit for just R23. (under US$3).
With weddings and romance on my mind – wishing all readers a safe and joyful festive season enjoying friendship, family, love and peace wherever you are.
– g.jeke@yahoo.com