NATAL and UMTENTWENI November 2012

Monday 26 November

Everything went very smoothly until we reached Durban and had problems with hiring the car from Hertz. It wasn't their fault but our credit card was blocked by Santander, and you cannot hire a car with out a credit card. Hertz were very good and allowed us to use their phone to contact the bank in Scotland. We were on the line for over half an hour and they didn't bother about the cost. The problem was that we should have told the bank that we were going overseas and after we used the credit card last week for the rental in Cape Town they immediately blocked any further transactions. This was why we had difficulties when trying to book the flights online. The main difficulty was proving who I was to the bank's security. When they asked me when we had made the last payment to the card and for how much I started to ask Moira. I was told in no uncertain terms that it was a breach of security to ask my wife. These people are from another planet and are completely divorced from reality. Eventually we satisfied them on my identity and they reinstated the card after giving us a dressing down for not abiding by the rules and not informing them when we were leaving the UK. The Hertz girl waited patiently while we got it all sorted out and I think she found it quite amusing. At the end of it all we were given an upgrade of car and it was a brand new Toyota Etios.

We left the flat in Cape Town at 8:00 and the drive to the airport was quiet with very little traffic on the roads. It turned out to be a fair distance and took over half an hour to get there. We then had to drive through the drop off zone and out again to get petrol to top up the car before returning it to Hertz. We had two hours to wait for take off and we had a flask of coffee with us for refreshment. The airline was Mango, a budget outfit but they didn't have all the baggage restrictions like Ryan Air and we put most of our gear in the hold at no extra cost. It took ninety minutes to get to Durban, the new King Shaka airport a good distance north of the city. The flight was uneventful all the excitement was after we landed.

Once on our way south the drive was easy, straight on to the N2 motorway all the way to Hbberdene. We stopped there to stock up with some food before continuing to Umtentweni and home. We got the keys from Alison and were soon in the house. The garage door was broken and wouldn't move meaning we had to leave the car in the communal parking area. The house itself was all right, needs some painting and some tiles are cracked but not much to do. I got bedding from the loft along with cooking and eating utensils. Moira made a nice chicken curry and we got to bed early after going through a mountain of mail that was waiting for us.

Tuesday 27 November

What a difference the service is here than in the UK. First thing this morning we phoned a company that installed and repaired automated garage doors. They said somebody would be out late in the afternoon but if it had been an emergency and we couldn't get the car out they would have had a mechanic out immediately. They arrived, a little bit late, and repaired the door. I expected the story that such and such was broken and we would need a new part, delivery sometime. But no, although he said the size of door should have a bigger spring he did the job and the automation is working perfectly. He said they would send a bill, it was just a call out according to him and a few rivets as parts, a couple of hundred Rand, a bargain.

Another pleasure was purchasing a fridge freezer. Our old one we knew was kaput. We went to the furnishers in Port Shepstone and selected the one we wanted, delivery that day. Only an hour after we returned home it arrived, great service. 

The bank wasn't so successful an experience. We were to collect the credit and garage card I order last week from Cape Town. As usual there was a long queue at the enquires counter. Why have banks not realise that most everyday banking is now done on the Internet and they don't need so many tellers. People only now go to banks when they have a problem or something that can't be dealt with on the web, more bank employees are needed at the enquiries desk. It's not just a SA problem but also happens in the UK. We got our garage card for petrol purchases but no credit card, because the old one had expired so long ago we have to re-apply. I don't know why they couldn't have told me this when I phoned them last week.

The weather wasn't very good today, there was rain when we got up this morning and it was cloudy and dull all day. It didn't really matter as most of the day was spent getting more of our stuff down from the loft and getting settled with all our bits and pieces around us. We got the TV down and found a video recorder. We were able to play an old video after dinner, it was from the BBC 'Waking the Dead' series. Unfortunately it was a two part episode and we don't seem to have recorded the second part.

Wednesday 28 November 

We were up early and after a cup of tea got a few more boxes and bags of our stuff down from the loft. After breakfast we drove into Port Shepstone where Moira dropped me off at the gym before doing more shopping. I had rejoined the gym here yesterday, it only cost R720 for three months, very reasonable. I spent an hour working out and was pleasantly surprised at all the equipment available, a lot more than when I trained here previously. Moira picked me up after I had tired out my upper body with lots of heavy weights and we headed for the Spar supermarket for more shopping.

When we arrived home it was a quick cup of coffee then out for a walk. It was a nice day today and very warm. We headed down to the bowling green but there was nobody there, the weekly social games were this afternoon. From the club we made for the beach, only a few fishermen about and the wind coming from the sea was quite chilly. On the way home we stopped off at the library, renewed our membership and picked up a couple of books and magazines. 

The afternoon I spent relaxing and reading, even nodding off to sleep on occasions. Moira went to the TV company in town and renewed our satellite TV account. When she got back and set up the box it wouldn't work, probably a problem with the dish or LNB receiver, more expense tomorrow. 

Another expensive job is painting the outside of the house. Moira phoned a guy who advertised in the local paper and he turned up late afternoon. He will email his quote to us this evening. We asked him about repairing some cracked floor tiles and others that are sounding hollow underneath. He said we had a big problem there and that the tiles had probably been laid before the concrete below had matured and settled properly. He told us that he had to redo all Pat's, the old dear in the house at the bottom, when her tiles started popping up one after the other. It would be a big job and a huge inconvenience to us while the work was in progress. He said that trying to lift one or two tiles that were damaged or hollow below might create more trouble when it disturbed the adjacent ones.

When he left we went down to see Pat. She confirmed whet we said; all of a sudden her tiles just began lift and popping up with a bang. She said the same thing happened with Kubus next door to her. They tried to claim from the builders insurance and guarantee but were told the tiling wasn't covered. The guy had told us that the cost was in the region of R5500 not including the tiles. We decided to just leave it as it is, and completely retile if it becomes necessary.

After dinner and the washing up completed I sat down to read one of the books from the library. I couldn't keep my eyes open and was dropping off to sleep. I went to bed where it is more comfortable and was soon asleep, it was only 8:00. Either getting up early in the morning or the tropical air is making us tired as Moira was exhausted as well. 

Thursday 29 November 

I'm quickly getting back into the South African time routine of up early and to bed early. I was at the gym this morning at 6:15 am exercising my legs while Moira, not quite in the same time frame, was still in bed. She was up when I returned and had the breakfast ready for me when I finished showering.

The TV is now working, the dish and LNB were all right it was the DSTV box that was faulty. A new one cost R600, our costs keep mounting up. Another expense was getting the front door repaired where it had swollen and was catching on the floor and jamming. I managed to get the telephone number of a guy who did work for us before, and he did the job in the afternoon. The door is opening and closing now without jamming but the door is in bad shape along the bottom and we may need a new one eventually.

We went for a walk around the block before lunch. Nothing much has changed since we were last here, it all looks the same. The weather wasn't very good, it had been raining earlier in the morning and now it was arm humid and clammy, typical for this time of year.

The boxes and bags from the loft are getting emptied and stored on the wardrobes. The place is beginning to look respectable and tidy again. We were able to relax and listen to the audio and watch some TV. On satellite there is the BBC Entertainment channel but they seem to put the rubbish on it. Plus rubbish for other UK channels, like 'Deal or No Deal' and 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and you have to suffer adverts.

The good news today from the bank was that they are issuing me with a new credit card. I had expected to have hassles and an argument there.

Friday 30 November

I was out early again this morning to the gym. The weather wasn't looking too good and it began to rain as I headed along road into Port Shepstone. I had an hour's session working on my arms and shoulders before heading back for a showers and breakfast. It was now raining quite heavily.

Moira went into town mid-morning to pay the rates at the Municipality office and arrange further payments to be taken by standing order from the bank. I stayed in and watched the end of the Australia v SA cricket test match from Perth. SA didn't do very well and were all out for 225, but the Aussies were worse and at close were just over 100 for 6 wickets. 

The rain continued for most of the day, we had planned to go for a walk after lunch but it was too wet. I repaired the cupboard doors on two of the kitchen units where the hinges had come adrift. It looks much better now.

After dinner I spent the time reading and listening to Classic FM on the radio. I went to bed early but Moira stayed up and watched a film on the TV.