And it goes on...

It is turning into a frustrating day. I'm on foot today (as opposed to on public transport). Having utterly failed to sort out the passport, I decided to walk over to Covent Garden, with its abundance of 'outdoors' shops. It's now around nine-thirty. Every shop in Covent Garden opens at
ten, I find. So, I'm now on a bench in Victoria Embankement gardens. There is a guy sitting on the next bench talking to himself (or his imaginary friends – there may be more than one) in Italian. I must confess this is one of the first time I've encountered a foreign nutter (although I suppose he might just be from Barnsley, but with a very convincing accent). He's a mass of contradictions. He's wearing a blue velvet jacket, a shirt and a tie. And a baseball cap. He also has a couple of bags, and a coffee he's obviously bought. Despite all this, he's still chatting away and has just been perusing the contents of the two bins next to him. I'm praying he doesn't decide to engage me (in conversation, rather than consultancy work – although...).

God, so many people – don't they have jobs?

So yes, preparations. Flights are sorted, overland is booked. I have four days in Cape Town to kill before I depart on tour, and I haven't decided what to do yet. I wouldn't mind having a look at the Cape itself, and perhaps climbing Table Mountain. I'm hoping, though, that provided I book a decent hostel, I can sort everything out when I get there. I have never travelled on my own before, and it's daunting. It'll do me good, though, and I shall approach it with my childhood mantra: 'What's the worst that can happen?'(sadly, as a child, it was 'the woman behind the counter will tell me to go away', whereas in Africa it's more likely to be 'hijacked or mugged at knifepoint. Or catch Malaria'.
Yay.)

Time to go. I have a nasty feeling the odd Italian guy has told himself a joke and is finding it very funny. I wouldn't be worried but for the fact that I think he may not have understood initially, and had to explain the punchline to himself a couple of times before he 'got' it.