The temperature is hovering around 35 degrees Celsius. Bottled water energy drinks are becoming a familiar sight, in fact anything to prevent dehydration, but then there’s the South-Easter better known as the ‘Kaapse Dokter’. The healing properties are a bone of contention and the cause of many disputes around the all familiar beer, braai and sunshine culture…

As we approach the Foreshore station crossing, “Die Kaapse Dokter” is at its mischievous best tucking and teasing at the ladies’ skirts.
It seems like “Die Dokter” takes a deep breath for a moment, takes a look at who’s skirts are above their knees, and blows just hard and long enough not to embarrasses the ladies as they manage to grab at their skirts and get hold of them just in time. Sometimes it blows a bit harder but not too aggressively.

All of a sudden its character changes as we cross Hertzog Boulevard. It howls and hisses like a hurricane from hell. In one mighty gust a lady walking in front of me in semi-high heels and a knee-length skirt finds her skirt out of control. It balloons and gets blown almost over her head. She grabs yells and turn at the same time trying to cover her exposed well-shaped legs. For a moment my mind gets directed to Clifton Beach…

With her hair all over her face and both hands trying to control the skirt, she spins around with the skirt flapping like the wings of a bird. She blushes, yells and turns like a wild ballerina girl as she starts losing her balance. ..

In one swift moment I get hold of her, assisting her to regain her balance and her composure while turning my back towards the hurricane from hell.
She giggles and manages to utter, while sheepishly looking at me: “Oh my word. I’m so embarrassed. I almost got blown away.”

With soft confidence I reply: “I’m just glad I could come to your rescue my dear.”

The Cape Doctor is still tossing her hair around while we hold on to each other for dear life. “What train are you taking?” I ask her in a by-the-way manner.

“I get off at Goodwood,” she manages to say over the howling of the wind.

“I’m two stations after that and it would be a pleasure to protect you from any further harm,” I say whilst her hair is blowing in my face.

“I would like that,” she almost whispers.

We keep walking holding on to each other in an effort not to get tossed around by the wind and for a moment we are cheek to cheek as the wind blow her gentle words away… We are definitely not gone with the wind …

The Cape Doctor once again proved that it can bring healing even to some of those awkward situations which it creates and so it can now keep blowing with its reputation still perfectly intact.

More often than not the forces of nature are our friends and for us to start gaining any joy from it, we should stop perceiving those forces of nature as our foes.