For those of you who are new to this blog: The Melville Cat is an occasional guest contributor. Tonight he has written his third lockdown journal post.
Read all of the Melville Cat’s posts here. Read all of the 2Summers lockdown journal posts here.
Good evening. It’s Day 21 of the human lockdown and time for my weekly check-in.
Nothing has changed.
Heather tells me the lockdown was originally supposed to end today, but last week South Africa’s human president decided to extend it for an additional two weeks. Heather is glad I’m doing my weekly check-in today because she is feeling – in her own words – “a bit crazy”.
This comes as no surprise. Humans, unlike cats, are not accustomed to doing the same thing every day for weeks on end. I personally find great comfort in such redundancy. Now is my time to shine.
I have some exciting news to report. Today, there was a tribute to me published in the Johannesburg In Your Pocket Guide, a prominent local magazine. The story was titled: Dear Melville Cat and 2Summers, with love from Johannesburg In Your Pocket.
The tribute was written in response to my Day 14 update, in which Heather and I recognized the Johannesburg In Your Pocket Guide for its fine contribution to the city during this difficult time.
Apparently the editors of the guide are also great fans of mine, although they wrote: “To be honest, until now we have mostly been dog people here at Johannesburg In Your Pocket.”
Dog people?! Hmph. Nonetheless, I am pleased with the exposure.
I would also like to share an old photo of me from 2011, which Heather discovered today while sorting through an old external hard drive.
The photo above was taken by Jon, who passed away later that same year. Jon was a very dear chap. Like the Johannesburg In Your Pocket people, he never cared for cats until he met me. I seem to have that effect on humans.
Heather asked me to let you know that tomorrow, she is taking a break from technology. She will not look at her phone or computer until the evening, when she writes her lockdown journal post.
My response to this pronouncement is: So what? But apparently Heather needs a break. She will speak to you all again in about 24 hours.
I will speak to you again next week, should the mood strike me.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
In 2020, I published a blog post with tips for Americans living in South Africa who wanted to vote in the U.S. presidential election. I thought about simply resharing that post this year. But then I realized: 1) I want to write a U.S. election post that will be fun and informative for everyone, not just other Americans; and 2) Believe it or not, the U.S. presidential election stakes are even higher in 2024 than they were in 2020. So I’m introducing you to some really cool Americans in Joburg – one who I’ve known forever and two who I just met – and tell you a bit about who they are, why they live here, and why they vote.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.