For some insane reason we have the second longest school
holiday right in the middle of winter. My two youngest kids have
birthdays a week apart then. Those who can afford it go away
and the town becomes even smaller. So basically there are no
friends about for a birthday party. Thank goodness - saves a few
dollars. It’s enough that you have kids at home in the wet and
cold. They eat more in the cold and you’re always skint, because
you’re part of the microcosmic A owes B owes C owes D owes A
in what is essentially still a fishing village.
Even though the town has boomed, it’s still economically
seasonal and can be cold and hard in the winter for the locals.
There is a local who was born and bred here who says that you
must have survived 20 winters before you can truly consider
yourself a local. Not many achieve this. People come here on
holiday, love the lifestyle, sell up and come and open ANOTHER
restaurant or guesthouse. Not many last longer than five years.
I am in my fourteenth year. I am luckier than most in that my
services aren’t directly tourist or weather dependent, but it still
has an impact on me because I have clients whose businesses
are. Winter in a small town has an impact on everyone - even
those that aren’t affected financially – because we are all
interconnected.
Having grown up in the city of Gold, it has always fascinated me
how microcosmic a small town is. I never thought I would survive
here but I think that the microcosmic nature of small town living
is part of what has got me through. When you get involved in the
community you can see the results of your input directly. When
you go to a school concert you’ll bump into the postmaster,
your bank manager and the curator of the local museum. You
experience the interconnectedness of it all first hand.
The other thing that I think has made me not long for the city
too much is being surrounded by nature on such a grand scale.
I am far more aware of seasonality and nature since I have
lived here. Our lives are directly affected by the weather and by
natural forces. We live between a nature reserve and a marine
reserve. I love that. You’re constantly reminded that you are not
a hamster on a wheel but a part of something so much greater
– planet Earth.
The joy of the winter months is that we locals have the place all
to ourselves. You can go to the beach and be the only person on
it. You’ll get the table next to the fire at your favourite Bistro and
be able to find parking just about anywhere. Even when you’re
as broke as hell, you’ll still find yourself eating fresh fish and able
to do things that don’t cost anything. The winters are also milder
than in Cape Town. We don’t get that incessant rain that sets
in for days on end. We may get one or two, but they’re always
peppered with days filled with sunshine that are not too hot to go
hiking in or to spend on the beach.