0012 Matinee Soup 'Grand Prix'

0012 Matinee Soup 'Grand Prix', originally uploaded by royblumenthal.

I had a long, frenzied time being taken care of in five-star hotels across Southern Africa over the past while. This is thanks to the fact that I was directing a set of television inserts for Sun International.

Which means that I got to feed elephants. I also got to float in a hot air balloon 10-metres above two lionesses tearing chunks of flesh out of a dead zebra, followed by the male dragging the carcass into a clump of bushes. (That's at the Palace of the Lost City in Rustenburg.)

I got to fly over the Victoria Falls in Zambia (without our chopper being shot down by the Zimbabwean Air Force for intruding into their airspace). I got to test out the theory that a waterproof poncho isn't waterproof. It's not. When you walk across that little bridge into the spray, NOTHING is waterproof. Don't waste your money renting a poncho. Don't say I didn't tell you so. And if you can afford the US$800 per night to stay at the Royal Livingstone Hotel, do it. If I had that kinda money to blow, I'd be there all the time. It's awesome.

The Table Bay Hotel on the Waterfront in Cape Town was pretty damn impressive. I opened my window, and there was a ship filling the left hand side of my view. Wild.

The Zimbali Lodge in Kwazulu Natal was the most opulent of them all. But I kinda got the sense that the local economy was in a bad state.

I'm telling you all this for a reason. Well... other than trying to make you jealous, that is. I'm TRYING to make you see that I was SO busy that it was just impossible for me to snatch the three or so hours it takes to do MATINEE SOUP.

But now I've done it. So hopefully I'll stay on schedule for next time.

No barking at parked cars now, please.

This pic was made in ArtRage 2.2 on my Toshiba Tecra M4 tablet pc, in the Mugg & Bean at Cresta. Neil, the owner of that branch, has invented a cake that I'll kill people for. It's the Chocolate Meringue. What an astounding piece of cake! Most of the branches have it. Shot, Neil! You rock and roll, bebbe!