Crazy Kids #1

Received an e-mail with about a dozen images of crazy things Kids get up to. Will post more as I go along

Random Friday Crap #2

-If déjà vu means I have experienced this before, does déjà poo mean I have heard your crap before sometime?
-A brottle? Is that a whorehouse that has a booze license?
-If sagging boobs suffer from Coopers Droop, what do sagging butts suffer from?
-How does Dr Phil manage to take a saying out of a fortune cookie or gum wrapper and manage to carry it across as a “gem of wisdom?”
-Why is it that people who have absolutely no experience of a panic attack are the first to tell someone “its all in the mind, pull yourself together”?
-Why is it that the world, in general, is becoming wiser and wiser, but the politicians dumber and dumber?
-The South African Minister of Health is recalling 20 million “faulty” condoms amid allegations of corruption. That’s a “rough ride”. 160 million inches of condoms, Geez.
- An ANC MP is quoted as saying that the number of muggings, rapes and assaults of foreign tourists on Table Mountain is an acceptable percentage, in relation to the number of tourists. Tell that to the victims. Tourists are targeted, as they have left the country by the time any formalities are dealt with.

Origin of the saying " A flash in the Pan"

Describes a situation where a specific expectation of performance is expected from a person or thing. This expectation does not materialize, and disappears very quickly.
Now, as with most sayings, the meaning is usually the same, it’s the origin that’s the fun part. In this case three origins were “identified”. (There may be more).
The first, and, most popular, is that the saying originated from the old flintlock rifle. A flint would strike a plate, and the spark created would ignite gunpowder in a pan. This explosion would ignite the charge in the rifle, and “bang” the bullet would be expelled. It would appear as though this exercise was not always successful. The powder in the pan would “flash”, but not ignite the powder in the rifle. The expectation was there, nothing happened, therefore “a flash in the pan”
The second refers to mining, specifically gold mining. Gold miners in days of old would have a pan would swish water and gravel around in it, trying to separate the gold from the sand. “A flash in the pan” was what appeared to be gold, but on closer investigation turned out to be nothing of value. Again, an expectation that came to nothing.
The last one I found had to do with photography, a type of combustible powder was used to create a “flash” when an image was taken. Not much support on this one.
Images from Wikipedia.
I am fiddling around with one of those "poll" thingies. Vote on which one you think is the "correct" origin.

Pissed off Customer

An e-mail recently received

Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexual Rapture

Aphrodite was the Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexual Rapture.
Anyhow, she had a strange creation. The Titan Kronos castrated his father Ouranos, (a subject for another tale), and flung his Bobbitted privates into the sea. The ocean began to toss and churn around the member and caused a lot of foam ( apros = sea foam), and from this foam Aphrodite arose. She floated around on the sea for a long time before landing at Cyprus.
Most of the fables concerning her have to do with love and desire, and the consequences thereof. She was irresistible to men, and had a vast number of lovers. Her exploits are numerous.
There is one story that is often written relating to the doubled edged sword of love.
When Adonis was born, Aphrodite wanted this beautiful boy for herself and had him placed in a box, (some say coffin), and delivered to Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld, to raise on her behalf. Persephone fell in love with Adonis, and refused to give him back. Zeus was asked to intervene, and an arrangement was made that Adonis would spend a third of the year with Aphrodite and the second third with Persephone, and the final third where he wished. (He decided to spend his free time with Aphrodite).
Aphrodite upset Artemis, and in revenge he had Adonis killed by a wild boar while hunting.
Aphrodite had no childhood as she was born an adult. Her Roman counterpart is Venus

A Different Perspective of Heaven and Hell

While meandering around I found this post at Jonny's site. An excellent read. Pop around and enjoy

A Dog with low blood pressure...

Today was a bit of a rush. Do this do that, finish this, finish that etc etc. Reminded me of a morning a number of years ago in my previous life. One of those rush mornings. The Kids were late for school, a sock had disappeared somewhere. (I always found it strange that washing machines can devour school socks without a trace.) Well, it was a mad rush that needs no explanation. On the way out to the car I gave Dempsey, our pedigree Boxer, with official names unpronounceable, his de-worming pill while finding lunch boxes and other scholastic paraphernalia. Total chaos.
When I arrived at work I could not find my security card, chaos causes chaos, and had to “clock in” at the main gate. This was a schlep, a real pain in the butt. The formalities were greater punishment than the crime committed. Specifically so, to make sure that one would not want to go through the process again.
While fumbling around in my pockets for another form of ID I came upon a tablet. On closer inspection, to the great amusement of the ladies at reception, it was identified as a dog de-worming tablet.
Until today I still don’t know whether our dog had the lowest blood pressure in the neighbourhood, and whether I had been de-wormed.

What does the saying "The Whole Nine Yards" mean

This is a saying that defies a common origin.
The meaning is clear. It means to give “all” to achieve an objective.
The origin has been related to the following, (and this is not a complete list): -
1) The length of a machine gun ammunition belt was 9 yards. To give the enemy the “whole 9 yards” was to give him everything you had.
2) Material came in “bolts” of nine yards and was sold per yard. If a lady wanted a dress to be "exclusive", she would buy the “whole nine yards”.
3) Nine yards is also the amount of cement in a cement mixer, and then one would use the entire load.
4) Nine yards is the quantity of material one needs to make a Scottish kilt.
5) American football. To go the whole 9 yards means to be just short of where you should have been (Ironic)
6) Wedding veils. A wedding veil of the “whole 9 yards” would be impressive and show your standing.
7) Things nautical. A sailing ship had horizontal “yards” to which sails were attached. A sailing ship would have three masts with three yards. Ergo, running up all the sails would be giving 9 yards and going at top speed, under full sail.
8) The amount of material required to make a burial shroud.
The list goes on and on. There is no definitive answer. All the above have “loopholes” that negate validity.
To “go the whole hog”, “whole ball of wax” etc have the same connotation.
There is no sense getting into an argument with anybody on the origin of this one. He who professes to know, does not know, it is his opinion, and arguments based on opinion rather than fact, are destined to go nowhere.
Now, the Guru’s often trace the first time a saying was committed to print, as the time period of origin. The general consensus is that the saying originated in the United States around the 1960’s.
Having said that, the earliest documented “whole 9 yards” was this one, 31 March, 1855: -

Found at Wikipedia

Story of an Auzzie Gold Digger in the South African Gold Rush

I loved this story of an Australian that took the Natal Bank for a ride during the 1870 gold rush at Pilgrims Rest in the Eastern Transvaal.
It would appear as though a certain Mr. Gardiner arrived at the Natal Bank in Pilgrims Rest, and promptly began to peg out a claim on the four corners of the banks erf. Once he had done this, and with a bunch of his buddies following his every move, he summoned the Manager. He informed the Manager that he had pegged his claim for prospecting purposes, as he was entitled to do by law. The law also stated that he had to pay the bank for any improvements, before said improvements could be removed.
So while the bank people we trying to sort this lot out, he promptly loaded a wheelbarrow full of gravel from the bank entrance area, and waltzed down to the river where he washed it. He then returned to the bank for another load. Both loads produced gold in each pan washed. The crowd became excited and the bank became very, very concerned. He had obviously found an area with gold. After removing and washing a couple more barrows full, he suddenly advised all and sundry he was no longer interested and disappeared with his cart, after pulling out his pegs.
Only afterwards did the penny drop. All nuggets contained traces of iron, and the procedure was to crush iron nuggets bought from the miners at the bank. This process was always undertaken at the same spot. Gardiner believed that dust had collected there over a period of time. He was correct. Folklore has it that he collected quite a few ounces that day.
Brilliant!!!

Big Guy, Small Guy

This is not original, I must have seen this about 1,000 times, but this is how I feel today.

Origin of the Saying " To Turn a Blind Eye"

This saying means to consciously ignore something when you know its happening. What’s nice about this saying is that there is no doubt as to its origin. Unlike other phrases that have multiple interpretations, for example “ The Whole Nine Yards”, there is consensus to the origin.
This saying was inspired by Admiral Lord Nelson at the battle of Copenhagen in 1801. Nelson was in command of a fleet that engaged a combined Danish/Norwegian fleet. During the engagement Nelson was ordered by his Commander to withdraw from the battle for some or other tactical reason. Nelson did not agree and continued doing what he was doing. This pissed the Commander off somewhat, and he began sending signals telling him to back off. Most probably by furiously waving a bunch of flags with an aggressive attitude. Nelson ignored them. His Second in Command brought this to his attention, most probably not wanting to appear before a court martial on getting back home, and gave him a telescope to look at the “signals”. Nelson put the telescope to his blind eye and said “"You know, Foley, I have only one eye - and I have a right to be blind sometimes... I really do not see the signal."
Nelson carried on, and, fortunately for him, managed to do justice to the occasion.
To turn a deaf ear has the same connotation
EDIT: 10 July 2009
I was under the impression that this saying was set in concrete, and these words were uttered by Nelson. All sources I could find at the time were unanimous as to the origin. Having said that I recently found this passage in "The habit of Victory", Story of the Royal Navy by Captain Peter Hore, Page 156.
"given this eyewitness account from someone who was close to Nelson throughout the battle, the story about Nelson putting a telescope to his blind eye appears to be a later embellishment"

Spelling and Gramma

Looking through my old posts it became obvious my spelling and grammar leaves a lot to be desired. The majority of these mistakes I will attribute to laziness and haste. Nevertheless it is not acceptable, and needs attention. Reminds me of the story of a youngster answering a phone call.
" Hello"
" Good afternoon young man, may I speak to your mother?"
" No, she was in but she is now out"
" Grammar young man, grammar, where is your grammar?
" Gramma went upstairs for a lay down"

Blogging Tips and Rankings

To increase traffic to this site has never been one of my priorities. Average “hits” per day are in the region of 30 to 40, and between 800-1000 per month. That works for me. I have no ads or anything like that. To be honest I have avoided sites that profess to increase traffic dramatically and make me a bucket full of bucks at short notice. I have stuck to MyBloglog, Blogcatalogue and Amatomu, (South African Sites).
Now and then I have “joined” other set ups, but truth be told, I get bored waiting for “approval” and often just ignore them after going through the effort of joining. The “tagging” thingy, has been more of a fun exercise than a sustained increase in traffic. To be honest, I enjoy the “topics” but tagging other people does not come easy to me.
However, one does not want to live in a vacuum, and it is nice to have a decent number of regular readers. The emphasis on regular.
Nevertheless while wandering around I tripped over makemoneywithkassper, and went through the site. There are a bunch of practical ideas and Blogging Tips, that I actually read in detail. The post on title tags is something I will use from now on. So, in summary, I did get something out of a site I usually pass by.
Kassper has the concept of linking to his site and increasing hits, and what he says makes sense. He has a 50+ Backlink initiative that I am contributing to. The good part is I don’t have to list another 5 or 10 sites.

What does " as sick as a Dog" mean?

While meandering around Trish's "blog" I saw the "sick as a dog" saying and wondered where it originated. Went hunting, and found virtually nothing. It would appear as though this "saying" was first documented in the 1700's, and no reasons given. The meaning is that one is very very sick. The limited reference is that all negative sayings are attributed to dogs, like Dogs life, dog tired, Dogs breakfast etc etc. So...no proper answer. Anyone knows more, please leave a comment.
While rambling around I found this one " “Poor Miss, she’s sick as a Cushion, she wants nothing but stuffing”(Jonathan Swift 1731). Any comments on what this is supposed to mean?

Silly Sign

This should be a very good reason to drive safely

I found my Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Most Noble Lord Graham the Reticent of Lesser Cheese Winston Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Found this link at Carol

The Rise and Fall of Man

Many a word said in jest.....

110 Year old pack of Cigarettes. Pin Head

A friend of mine owns a 17th Century hotel. Part of the building was recently broken down for a new wing. This old packet of cigarettes was found duing the exercise. Pack says Patented 1886, which was about the time the hotel was built.
Pack of 10, much smaller than the modern packs.




Notice....The manufacturer of the Cigarettes herein contained has complied with all the requirements of law. Every person is cautioned not to use either this package for cigarettes again or the stamp thereon again, nor to remove the contents of this package, without destroying said stamp under the penalties provided by law in such cases.

Mythology: Thor, The God of Thunder

Thor is known as the God of Thunder, from Scandinavian mythology, not Greek or Roman. By all accounts a very large and impressive God, with fiery red hair and beard. Thor traveled around in a chariot drawn by two goats, called Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher. What made these goats special was that when Thor was hungry, he could eat them, and just by touching their remains they would come back to life and carry on doing what they had to do. The problem was that the bones of the goats had to be intact. He had a big war hammer that was made for him by the dwarf Brock, which he could throw at anyone or anything that pissed him off. Now this hammer had a special quality, it would always return to the owner, like a boomerang.
It was he who chased away the frost and called gentle winds and warm spring weather to release the earth from rain and snow. He could cause lightning and his hammer made the sound of thunder. He was a good-natured, happy go lucky kind of guy who liked bragging with his strength.
There is one story I like. The king of the Gods challenged him. Firstly he was to drink from a drinking horn. The one who could empty the vessel in one draught would be considered worthy of being a God. Three times Thor tried, and he could not empty the vessel, it remained full. Next he was challenged to lift the Kings cat from the floor, but could only succeed in lifting one of its paws. The Giant jeered, was this the mighty God that all feared? His last challenge was to wrestle a toothless old woman. He tried but could not bring her down to the ground. In shame he left the palace.
After he left the King of the Giants came to him and said that the sea itself was at the end of the horn, and he drank so much that the level of the sea dropped. The cat was the serpent that encircled the earth, and when he lifted its paw the whole world shuddered. The fight with the old woman no man could win, as it was with Old Age that he wrestled, an no man can win that battle, so, magic had overcome him.
In his honor the 5th day of the week is named after him, “Thors Day” or Thursday

Origin of the saying " Bleeding like a stuck pig".

There are two versions, bleeding like a “stuck” pig, and bleeding like a “stuffed” pig. The stuck pig version appears to be the most common by far.
By all accounts it means to bleed profusely.
It would appear as though pigs, unlike other animals like sheep and cattle release a hormone when frightened, and this hormone “spoils” or “taints” the flavour of the meat. So, to avoid the bad taste, pigs are slaughtered as fast as possible.
There are two versions. One says a sharp knife is “stuck” into the heart of the animal, and then hung upside down to facilitate bleeding. This does not make all that much sense, as I would think if the heart is damaged the bleeding would be reduced.
The other, and more popular version is that the throat of a pig to be slaughtered is cut with a sharp knife, cutting the jugular vein. This causes profuse bleeding.
There is an abattoir close by to where I work, will pop in there and look and ask. Don’t think they still slaughter pigs in this way. Will find out.
amymeacham wanted to know where this saying came from.
Let me know if there is a phrase or saying you want to know more about, will go looking, digging and asking.

Silly Signs

Espresso for Children.

What does "Sweating like a Pig" mean?

I like scratching around and looking for the origins of sayings and phrases that one hears and uses. Two of these popped up while I was reading stuff on other sites recently.
The first one was “sweating like a pig”. This is an interesting one, as pigs don’t sweat. They have no sweat glands so it is impossible for them to sweat. Then why sweating like a pig? Exactly that, no sweat. If someone is referred to as sweating like a pig it means he is doing absolutely nothing. For example, Hubby is in the garage, supposedly doing something of substance, but he is drinking beer and playing cards with his buddies. This could be referred to as “ He is working in the garage, sweating like a pig”.


The other one was “hell for leather”. Different interpretations on this one. This saying appears to have evolved over the last 100 or so years. Originally “hell bent” meant to be totally committed to doing something at any cost. Rudyard Kipling first documented “Hell for leather” sometime in the late 1800’s while he was in India, and appears to refer to riding a horse very hard.
“Hell bent for leather” originated in 19th Century in America, and referred to an obstinate or troublesome animal such as a horse or cow. The “hell bent for leather” was meant to convey the fact that the animal so difficult to handle that it would have to be slaughtered, and the carcass turned into leather products.

Silly Sign

One Way Only

The Birkenhead : "Women and Children first"

HMS Birkenhead was a British troopship that sank off Cape L’Agulhas on February 25, 1852. This wreck was an outstanding example of discipline in the face of death. The vessel was a paddle steamer, one of the first iron frigates to be converted into a troopship.
The Captain was in all accounts in a hurry to move 600 troops to Algoa Bay as reinforcements. It would appear as though the best speed under the circumstances was as close to shore as possible.
Lt Col Alexander Seton was the Officer Commanding Troops.

At 2am the morning she struck a rock just off Cape L’Agulhas, the most southern point of Africa. Men were ordered to the pumps while others lowered the boats. At the same time the horses were dumped overboard.
The soldiers were drawn up on deck and ordered to stand fast while the women and children were transferred to the lifeboats, before they attempted to save themselves. The ship broke in half 30 minutes after impact. All women and children were saved. The men went down with the ship. Of the 600 men and officers, 454 were lost. Only 5 horses made it to the shore, the rest eaten by sharks. This is Great White Shark country. But, an interesting turn is that some maintain that is was not the Great White, or any shark for that matter, but the Red Steenbras.
The saying “ women and children first…” originated from this incident.
This story was read aloud to every regiment in the Prussian Army as an example of supreme discipline, courage and self-sacrifice.
Legend also has it that she was also carrying 3 tons of gold. A few hundred coins have been salvaged since the 1980’s, but the rest have never been found.
Standing on the shore and looking out at sea I couldn’t but wonder were the rest is, must be there somewhere, if I only knew where…..

Big Ben : The Story of an Alarm Clock

I used to have an alarm clock that I was very “attached” to. One of the old windup clocks, a Big Ben to be precise. This clock I went through a lot together and survived many a move. After getting married it still had its place on the nightstand. Bent and buggered, it never skipped a beat. Accurate to the minute.
Wanting to leave early one morning I set the alarm for 4am. This was a business trip to the Eastern Transvaal and had its problems, which kept me awake. The tossing and turning scenario. Anyhow, when Old Faithful started ringing away I was still half asleep. In my dream it was the phone ringing, so I picked up the clock, placed it next to my ear and gave an irritable “Hello”. This in itself was bad enough, but when I came to my senses I was sitting upright in the bed with the clock to my ear. My wife, also woken by the alarm, was giving me a look that I really cannot explain. I have no words to do justice to the occasion.
Before she could utter a sound, I gave her the clock and said “Its for you”, turned over, and left her holding the clock.
Another dent in the clock casing.

Ship at Sea in Stormy Weather

These pictures are of the Selkirk Settler. Received by e-mail. Awesome

The Origin and Protocol of Toasting

A while ago, while passing time at my favourite watering hole, the discussion turned to the origins and protocols surrounding the ritual of proposing a toast. It was obvious that none of my fellow counter supporters really had a clue as to what it was all about. Debates were held based on conflicting opinions, of which there were many, rather than on any sound knowledge. I had no positive contribution, rather shut your mouth and let them think you are stupid than to open it and remove all doubt. The discussion faded away, to be replaced by more important topics as discussed in such places.
Truth be told, my knowledge of the topic was limited. Up glasses, cheers, down the hatch, who is paying for the next round? To avoid any future displays of public ignorance, I went digging for a better understanding.
First things first, don’t want to get academic, but ground rules have to be established. Definitions abound, depending on what you read. The most encompassing definition is debatably the following.
“ To name a person to whose health or in whose honour or thing or sentiment to the success of which, the company is requested to drink. “ (Oxford Dictionary)
The word originates from Latin tostare, to parch, to expose to the heat of a naked flame and/or tostum , parched.
It is common knowledge that the Greeks and Romans enjoyed their wine; no Roman orgy would have been the same without it. It was also custom, and required by law, for all Romans to drink an offering to the Emperor at every meal, or suffer severe consequences. Wine was apparently the prescribed drink.
The quality of the wine in centuries past was poor in comparison with modern standards. To help neutralize the high acidity content, a piece of burnt toast was placed in the wine. There is a difference in opinion as to whether the toast also purified and/or improved the flavor of the wine or not. Nevertheless this would appear to be the first documented application of using “toast” in this way.
The Romans carried this ritual (Toasting) over to Britain, and was introduced to “the people wearing skins, painted all over in blue and with hair covering the upper lip” (Julius Caesar). The first recorded toast in Britain was round about 450AD. The British King Vortigen had a party the day before he was to be married to the daughter of a Saxon leader. During the party she raised her drinking vessel and proclaimed, “ Lord King, be of health” to which he replied “ Drink to health”. The two were duly married and lived unhappily for a short period thereafter
More to follow......

The Evolution of Man......

From Ape to Pig

My Friend the Gambler

Did this happen or not?
Truth is often stranger than fiction.
Here we go. From a friend of mine...
Arriving back home late one evening after entertaining a customer at the Carousel, he had a problem with a bunch of coins that he had won on the slots. His wife was seriously against gambling of any form, and to avoid a confrontation something had to be done, and done quickly. On impulse he placed the coins under the Welcome Mat at the front door, while waiting for his wife to unlock and open up. The modus operandi was simple. Early next morning he would collect the coins and dispose of them in an appropriate way. Next morning early he was woken up by his wife shouting in amazement from the front door.
“Honey, come and have a look here, hurry”
He had overslept, and to explain this situation, now, would be worse than bringing the coins into the house in the first place.
He gets to the front door, tensed up for a confrontation, and what does he see……
32 milk bottles, stacked in 8 x 4 rows.
Explain that one away…..

Weekend

Weekend is here again. If all goes well we are off to L'Agullas, the most Southern point in Africa. Good stuff.
I still have to do justice to the jos tag. Will do that when I get back. (Jammer jos, ek sal nog die nodige aandag gee, het nie vergeet nie.)
HMS Birkenhead sank at Danger Point, in the late 1800's. The saying " Women and Children first" originates from this wreck. Going to read up on that.
I promised an old friend to look for the grave of his Grandfather. He died here during the Anglo Boer War. See what I can find.

Two Men Fishing

Two men are out ice fishing at their favorite fishing hole, just fishing
quietly and drinking beer. Almost silently, so as not to scare the fish, Mel says, "I think I'm going to divorce my wife - she hasn't spoken to me in over 2 months."
Earl continues slowly sipping his beer, then thoughtfully says, "You better think it over - women like that are hard to find."

test

Hermanus Weekend: No Whale of a Time

Went “whale watching” over the weekend. Well, that was the intention, turned out to be more like a whale “looking for” weekend. They were there somewhere, but not to be seen. Hermanus has a “Whale Crier”. His job is to bring tourist attention to the best vantage points to whale watch. He does this by vigorously blowing on a seaweed/kelp horn. He was under-employed this weekend. The Whale festival is in a month or so, maybe the whales know that and are rehearsing somewhere private. All in all a disappointment, but a good weekend. The company was good, wine was excellent, discovered a local lager that is magic. Made mussel soup starter, prawns , mussels in shells, white line fish, lemon rice and seafood salad for supper on Saturday .
I came to the conclusion (again) that I don’t like Hermanuspietersfontein anymore. It has become a suburb of Cape Town. A “no longer” small town with serious traffic problems, inflated prices, no parking, too many restaurants and all the other “tourist trap” trademarks. Thank heaven the name was shortened to Hermanus. On some road signs the “m” has been deleted, and this gives me a vindictive grin. I wanted to take a photo for Silly Signs, but the heavy traffic would not allow that to happen.
If Hermanus is the "Whale" capital then Gansbaai is the “Great White Shark” capital. About 50 kilometers from Hermanus and it is all about Jaws. Problem is that you have to go out to sea to find the buggers, Then, if you want a good look, you climb into a cage and they drop you over the side for some underwater bonding with this awesome creature. I have an arrangement with these fish. I don’t play in their backyard and they keep away from mine. Works for me.

Gone fishing....

Be back next week.



The one that got away.......

Waiting for the Perfect Man

She should have let me know......

Caption for this picture.......?

Hermanus: Whale Festival, Southern Right Whales

This is a “crash course”, all about the Southern Right Whale.
The Hermanus Whale Festival is usually in September, but I am going through this weekend to miss the rush. The whales have been around since June and all accounts are that sightings are good.
I went rambling and found "stuff" on these mammals.
“Southern” as it is found in the Southern hemisphere.
Called a Right whale as the whalers thought this was the “right” whale to catch. These whales float when they are killed, move slowly, swim in sight of the shore and are docile enough to approach. These whales are on the endangered list and are protected.
Estimated that there are 7,000 of these whales left, and numbers are increasing at about 7% per year.
This whale can weigh up to 100 tons, and grows to about 70 ft. No dorsal fin. The testicles weigh an enormous 550 kg,s or 1,100 lbs. That’s an animal with lotsa balls. Get to be about 70 years old. Leading causes of death are listed as contact with ships, entanglement with fishing nets, Orcas and Man.
The whales are covered with growths called callosities, ie thickened skin as a result of repeated contact or friction. The growths are grey, but look white due to lice surrounding the growths. This gives each whale an individual "Fingerprint".
The whales migrate up to here from the Antartic to mate and give birth, from June to October each year.
Now for the other part. Whale watching terminology. Lobtailing, Spyhopping, Breaching and sailing.




Hermanus is known as the Whale Watching Capital, and am looking forward to the trip.