Parliament opened on Friday, so we went into town for the parade. Lots of armed military personnel and lots of hot African sun, and essentially no wind (which is unheard of in Cape Town). The parade w
as interesting to see; although it was kind of like the July 4th parade in Manchester. You know the gaps between the antique cars and the fire trucks? Yeah, like that. There was every branch of the military present: the navy, what appeared to be the equivalent of our National Guard, men in kilts, women in different colored military berets, and so on. The streets were entirely barricaded off. I felt bad for the locals. One woman, unaware of the parade, had come into town to do her shopping and couldn't make her way around. Without a way to get back home, she settled for watching the procession. Another man, with springy 'lo