The big event of this weekend was the demolition of the Athlone cooling towers. These huge structures, next to the N2 motorway, used to mark one of the old Apartheid dividing lines in the city. On a cool and wet morning we climbed the hill to the Rhodes Memorial to watch them implode. At 4 minutes to noon, the charge was set, and 8 seconds later it was all over - leaving a huge swirl of dust drifting over the north east of Cape Town. The most interesting bit for us perched on the hill a couple of miles away was the delayed boom. We saw them start to fall, and then a second or two later heard the blast. One minute the towers stood, the next: nothing.

We had intended to go for a proper walk round the mountainside above the memorial, but the weather this weekend has been filthy. Last night saw a veritable tempest, with gales that rattled the windows and rain that slammed into the house as if a giant had poured a bucket of water over us. Lottie's ceiling developed a leak, and all in all we were very glad for the bakkie (trailer) of firewood we had delivered on Saturday morning. So we went to the cinema to see Shrek in 3D instead. Neil and I went out for dinner last night to Jonkershuis on the Groot Constantia estate. Sat by a roaring fire and had roast squash soup and springbok casserole - perfect winter food.

The rain seems to have abated now, so let's hope the sunshine comes back tomorrow. On Friday we were lazing in the garden in shorts and T shirts, having walked back from school via the ice cream shop, so we can't complain about a bit of rain really.

Before the storm arrived on Saturday morning, we went to the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock to the weekly market. It is such a bohemian affair, packed with students and arty types, with groups of people spontaneously making music. Two big traits Capetonians display - firstly a desire to do everything outdoors, all year round. So you'll see parties of people having a braai in every park and common every weekend. And at the Biscuit Mill market people were sitting on straw bales wrapped in blankets, determined to be outside, people watching. The second trait is to accompany everything with alcohol, usually wine. This morning up at Rhodes memorial people had picnic hampers complete with bottles of wine and proper glasses. At yesterday's market, dozens of people were wandering around with champagne flutes, enjoying the local produce. I decided it was too cold and had a blow-your-head-off cup of chilli hot chocolate instead. We bought the ingredients for a picnic (smoked snoek pate, olive ciabatta, an onion tart, vegetable rotis, chocolate fudge) and sat on the bales with the locals watching the music makers.

On Wednesday I finally got up to Joburg for a series of meetings. Early start to catch the 7am flight, and then the newly opened, super fast Gautrain from the airport to Sandton, the smart northern suburb where many businesses are based. The train is expensive, at R110 (£10) for a 15 minute journey, but so lovely compared to my 15 mins for 70p journey in Cape Town. There was no suspicious liquid on the carriage floor, no hanging on to the straps for dear life as the train hurtles along. All was clean and calm - and sadly devoid of many Africans. Despite everything, I'm enjoying my train journeys in CT. I feel part of the city when I'm on the train here.

The first thing you notice about Joburg is how dry and arid it is compared to lush, green Cape Town. Although it gets cold in winter (the city is 2000m above sea level), the sun is intensely bright and it was beautifuuly warm on Wednesday. The second thing you notice is the crazy driving. There's not much lane discipline in CT either, but so far the driving hasn't been too bad and our little Polo is unscathed. But in Joburg people appear to just put their foot to the floor and point the car straight ahead. Cars, trucks, mini bus taxis and lorries weave from lane to lane, at 100 mph, entering and exiting the freeway with no warning. I was glad to get to the office and back to the station in one piece. Next week I'm in Joburg for 3 days, but fortunately don't have to do much travelling around the city. I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time there, before it's off to Kenya next Sunday.