Bonsoir les tous. Yes I know Africa is a big country but what is the mean? How do the locals survive? I spent a year in OZ - that was pretty unbearable. Is this now it. Forever? Golly. Will Brits in the Gironde look for cooler places? My son lives in Aberystwyth. 29 there. Soon to be one of the most expensive housing markets in the UK? I wonder.
And I thought only Americans thought that Africa is a âcountryâ (obviously, US members of SF are excluded from that generalisation!)
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South of the Sahara it is winter and can be cool to cold depending where.
South of the Sahara it is winter and can be cool to cold depending where.
There are very few countries, if any on the continent north of S Africa where itâs cold in winter. In most instances itâs due to altitude rather than latitude . If youâre in an airliner on the tarmac at JHBâs Oliver Tambo airport, the passengersâ altitude display will porbably show youâre 5000 feet up (c. 5750 actually)
The Western Cape around Cape Townâs the only African climatic zonethat resembles anywhere in Europe, so not surprisingly itâs virtuallythe only place on the continent where itâs cool enough for wine making (if you exclude Morocco and Tunisia, most of whose tiny wine production is undrinkable anyway).
I found the climate in Joâburg probably the best I have ever lived in. Lovely, brief, thunderstorms at teatime in the summer to break the heat of the day and nice mild winters.
Iâve noticed and OH too, who lived in JHB for 20 years, that on recent visits the spectacular afternoon thunderstorms are no longer a daily feature.
Back in the day, if I was going to the UK on an Air France overnight flight (the best!) Iâd get an afternoon feeder flight up to Josie from PE and invariably, as we were coming in the plane would be thrown all over the sky by the electrical storms, Nevertheless, locals (big men with thick necks and too small, tight shorts would try to order another drink before the bar closed.
In July 2008, I saw snow in Melville, which was crazy, but unfortunately I donât think itâs worth going there anymore,- most of the interesting shops and restos , including our old favourite, the Portuguese Fish Market (virtually any seafish you could think of fresh and grilled with chips, but 600 kms from the sea) are long gone. Now itâs just another very dangerous S African inner city suburb.
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You forgot Algeria. Iâve had a few very nice Algerian wines, courtesy of an Algerian friend.
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Iâm willing to be converted, but Iâve yet to have a wine from the Maghreb thatâs actually pleasant to drink (and I first went there in1976). On the other hand I can certainly recommend Lebanese Ch.Musar, which I started drinking about forty years ago when it used to be stocked by Peter Dominics in Durham and cost just a few pounds (unfortunatelythe 2015 is just under 50 âŹ).
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Many other good Lebanese wines now, not just Musar (which I agree is good - we still have a case waiting for the right moment.) And even better itâs easy to get here unlike other countryâs wines that we like.
I can sympathise. I frequented Burns in Clitheroe for many years. A wonderful few hours of an afternoon could be spent perusing thier many wonderful wines from around the world. When sanctions on South Africa were lifted, they almost immediately had a wonderful selection of South African wines at ridiculously low prices. My favourite then was a Beyers Treuter basket pressed pinotage, about 6 years old for about ÂŁ5. Iâd never had a pinotage before that, but was converted instantly. Not sure how much that would be now. I shudder to think.
Edit: And Burns in Clitheroe was the only place I ever saw where you could buy the real Wray & Nephew overproof rum. The 75.5% version, not the namby pamby 63% one 
True. The centre os Joâburg in now Sandton with no character. I remember one flight from Jan Smuts (as was) to Cape town when they had to abandon the cabin service after three valiant attempts because we were being thrown all over the sky by storms.
I also remember a SAA 747 SP, which were shorter than your normal 747 for added range, getting âbentâ in a storm after leaving JoâBurg. Which since I was up and down to HQ in Paris all the time alarmed me a bit. I went from zero to an SAA platinum member so quickly two air hostesses arrived at my office unannounced one day to present my card. My secretary was very impressed.
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[quote=âJohn_Scully, post:11, topic:40241â] hhad been an
he centre os Joâburg in now Sandton with no character.
[/quote],
We got married in Sandton, but in a restaurant, âLinger Longerâ, which sounds tacky but wasnât - it originally was an Afrikaaner farmstead that predated the city, but today is surrounded by Sandton City and the banking towers.
Donât worry about calling Africa a big country, just knock the ârâ out and then the rest of us can join in. 
As to heat, the nearest I got to Africa was taking a tanker through the Suex canal, without a stop to touch the ground, and I too have lived in Oz, the Northern Territory, 200 miles inland from the cooler coast, driving in the days before a/c was invented (to my knowledge anyway) and I have never experienced wind as hot as I had here around my normally coolly shaded pond on Monday.
So I think we will just have to do the best we can and assume that this is not a one off. 
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I knew the Linger Longer, we lived only ten minutes away in Benmore Gardens and we we went there regularly, a lovely place. We used it for corporate entertainment too as our offices were only a kilometre from it on Rivonia Road. If I remember correctly, I drove by it the last time we were back, 2017, and it was closed. A great pity. Another restaurant we liked at Zoo lake was also gone.
I found this blurbâŚâŚ â Linger Longerâs beautiful surroundings and international reputation belies its very humble beginnings in downtown Johannesburg. Established as a tearoom on the ground floor front rooms of a pre-war rooming house, Linger Longer served its first guests in 1961.
Toward the end of 1964, two German restaurateurs acquired the quaint tearoom and set about converting it into a restaurant. Little did they know that this little restaurant they so lovingly nurtured would become one of South Africaâs longest surviving and favourite fine dining restaurants. Regrettably, both these enthusiastic entrepreneurs were killed in a motor accident in 1968 and Linger Longerâs future hung in the balance.
Fortunately Bill Jackson, a regular, came to the rescue and once again Linger Longer had found a loving patron. Under Peg and Bill Jacksonâs supervision the restaurant flourished and grew. In 1979 the Jacksonâs retired to Natal and the restaurant was acquired by brothers John and Ben Filmalter.
No history of the Linger Longer would be complete without mention of Walter Ulz, Chief Cuisinier who has held court in the kitchen since the mid-seventies. His commitment has undoubtedly resulted in Linger Longer?s high standards and remarkable reputation.
The year 2006 signified the beginning of a new chapter in the Linger Longer history. The business was bought by the long standing management team of Carlos de Freitas, Walter Ulz and Mark Heuer. The tradition continues . . .
Linger Longer is well known for itâs high culinary standards, the highlights are these signature dishes - Walterâs Foie Gras, Porcini mushroom in olive oil and fresh basil. Try the beetroot Carpaccio or Artichoke Hearts topped with porcini/prawns, lemon lime juice or add scallops and tarragon sauce. Rock Cod and fresh Chilean Salmon, burned lemon cream or wild berries mousse Chocolate ganache. For that special occasion reserve a table in our private garden under the trees.â
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My daughter and her husband live in Perth and (Covid permitting) weâre off to visit them in mid August. As a family weâve had quite a few adventures in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia with a spot of Mosambique thrown in for good measure. Weâd rent a Toyota Hilux and just head off. She convinced me that Iâd âloveâ the drive from Broome to Darwin, so weâre renting a 4x4 and doing the Gibb river road. Should be interesting 
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Oh you will love it! Iâm jealous, never been but my sister and hubby did it in their year round Oz trip and mum flew in for that bit!!!
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mea culpa
OK re Africa I hold my hands up
However re if I was going to the UK on an Air France
[/quote]
is if not the conditional tense?
should that not be if I were going?
just saying we all have slips of the langue
Iâve even bought a drone so I can have one of those evenings where you bore your friends with holiday snaps for hours and hours and hours⌠
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Based on gut feel Iâd be a âif I was goingâ of âwhen I was goingâ or âwhen I wentâ man myself. I feel âif I were goingâ is in the future, as in âif I were going to XXX, I wouldnât go that wayâ. Not that I claim any real grasp of perfect grammar 
Inât it?
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