On the Sunday morning prior to Christmas Day, my wife and I woke up early enough to catch the daily British Airways flight to Heathrow. Eleven hours later, the plane touched down at the London airport and, after a short stopover, we boarded another flight to Edinburgh.
I had left Durban in summer clothes, complete with sandals, and arrived in Edinburgh ninety minutes before midnight with the temperature hovering just above 0 degrees! As soon as we left the airport terminal, a biting wind welcomed us to winter in Scotland!
Shorts and sandals were immediately packed into the deeper recesses of my suitcase, ready for my return to Durban after my stay in Scotland! For the next few days, I was hardly a social butterfly, as I battled to stay awake and carry on conversations with my family, whom I had last seen at the beginning of 2019.
After three days, my body had returned to a reasonable state of normality, so I put my malaise down to jet lag. To seasoned travellers this might seem a bit ridiculous but to me, travelling in the cramped confines of the economy section of an aircraft for nearly twelve hours, was an exhausting experience.
How the Super Rugby players manage to play a demanding game of rugby a few days after even longer flights, is baffling. Having spent a week in Edinburgh, I have come to appreciate the standard of customer service available in a first world country.
Without exception, on every occasion that we have purchased something or asked for information, we have been met with genuine courtesy and extreme efficiency.
What has happened to the traditional hospitality that South Africans were known for in the past?
This past Sunday dawned bright and clear with hardly a cloud in the sky.
The sun started peeping over the horizon at about 8.30 am and by 3.30 pm that afternoon it had already set! Making use of the good weather conditions we set out for a cycle, but as soon as we emerged from the house, I returned to don a few more layers as the biting wind from the North cut right through one.
Thinking that a brisk cycle would soon warm me up, I was disappointed to discover that, on the contrary, the icy wind had convinced me that clothing considered as suitable winter gear for South African conditions, is hardly a match for the iciness of the North.
On the positive side, it was a delight to cycle on well-maintained roads and clearly demarcated lanes for cycling.
Cyclists are treated with courtesy and never once did a vehicle shave past me as I cycled along. It would be cycling heaven here if the South African weather could be exported to Scotland.
A happy New Year to you all. The animals in this area were oblivious of the arrival of the new year as not a single cracker or rocket disturbed the peace.
