My evening engagement last night was a dinner at Sidedish (Rose Street, Bo-Kaap). I was already committed to taking a taxi home from it, but I wasn’t entirely certain how I was going to get there.

As it turned out, I was running late, so didn’t have time to wait for a taxi to take me there. I also didn’t want to leave my car in the street overnight (and then have the hassle of retrieving it in the morning). So, I jumped on my bicycle and raced across the City Bowl (mostly downhill, it must be said). I’m certain the journey took the same length of time as it would have by car (I even had the pleasure of overtaking a Porsche) and I could almost imagine the trees and other elements of Nature cheering my eco-friendly means of transport.

The return journey was easy, thanks to Unicabs (021-4861600). Valentino had me home in a flash, for less than R50. What I didn’t realise, until his phone call on my home number at 4.38 am, is that my mobile phone had slipped out of my pocket while I was in the taxi.

He’s just returned my phone. So, this is a huge thank you to him and to the unknown passenger who handed the phone to him later last night.

(In case you’re wondering about the bike, I need to be in the area later today (with bike rack) and will pick up the bike then.)