The Old Dear missed her flight connection in Luxemburg (I think she did it deliberately in order to have a bit of a gallivant) so didn't arrive until a week later than scheduled - James Cargo knocked 10% off the bill for the hassle, bless them. Roddy's a good chap (and a biker).

The agent in Jo'burg, Junaid dealt with Customs and even stayed late on Friday night so I could uncrate and ride away.

Then yesterday morning I beetled round to the BMW dealer to see if my tyres had arrived. Not only had they, but they fitted them straight away (that's the 13th pair). I couldn't believe the bill - 70 quid for a pair of Trailwings, fitted, including new inner tubes, and at a BeeEm dealer. Blimey.

The driving here is of the Italian persuasion, so riding back from the airport in the dark in a distinct dearth of streetlighting and on the wrong side of the road was quite stimulating.

So I'm off to Lesotho tomorrow, and my first 'proper' border crossing since last October (Mexico/US). Last I heard Ewan and Charlie were in Uganda, so I reckon I've a good chance of avoiding them.

I hope none of you have floated away. The flooding is the major item on the domestic news broadcasts here.

And for your delectation and delight, and for a giggle:

The Cape Times (Cape Town)
"I have promised to keep his identity confidential,' said Jack Maxim, a spokeswoman for the Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg , "but I can confirm that he is no longer in our employment". "We asked him to clean the lifts and he spent four days on the job. When I asked him why, he replied; ' Well, there are forty of them, two on each floor, and sometimes some of them aren't there.' Eventually, we realised that he thought each floor had a different lift, and he'd cleaned the same two twelve times. "We had to let him go. It seemed best all round. I
understand he is now working for Woolworths."

The Star (Johannesburg)
"The situation is absolutely under control," Transport Minister Ephraim Magagula told the Swaziland parliament in Mbabane . "Our nation's merchant navy is perfectly safe. We just don't know where it is, that's all." Replying to an MP's question, Minister Magagula admitted that the landlocked country had completely lost track of its only ship, the Swazimar: "We believe it is in a sea somewhere. At one time, we sent a team of men to look for it, but there was a problem with drink and they failed to find it, and so, technically, yes, we've lost it a bit. But I categorically reject all suggestions of incompetence on the part of this government. The Swazimar is a big ship painted in the sort of nice bright colours you can see at night. Mark my words, it will turn up. The right honourable gentleman opposite is a very naughty man, and he will laugh on the other side of his face when my ship comes in."