Two weeks ago HeHoo (short for He Who Must Be Obeyed) very kindly
invited me to watch the finals of the Tri - Nations Rugby between the
Boks and the Wallabys in Durban .
I was overwhelmed at his kindness ..... but..... there were strings
attached !!
His part of the bargain was to get me to the ABSA Stadium in Durban. My
part was to agree to go for the beers !!
Now a girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do but I was just not prepared for
the rigours of rugby that awaited me !!
Apart from the fact that the entire happiness of two nations rested on
this encounter, I knew that Hehoo's life would not be the same ever
again, if his team lost.
I mean it was so serious that the result of this game meant even more
to him that the weekly Zimbabwe Auction Rates Results !!
That shows how bad it had all become especially after the euphoria of
the previous Saturday when the All Blacks lost face at Ellis Park.
Now, I am but a meek little Bulawayo girl and know very little about
rugby, but I would like to make a small comment that, no wonder these
lads have had a problem with their game over the past few years since
that legendary World Cup win a few years ago !!
I mean how on earth can a team with names like those, even talk to each
other let alone work solidly, as one, in a maul ?
"Os" ? I ask you with tears in my eyes..... Yes, I kid you not, the
props name is actually Os Du Rand....
What sane mother would inflict a name like that on her sweet new baby
boy ?
Mind you I suppose she was not to know that he would grow up and be the
size of an orse....
The crowd loves him, "Os, Os, Os, Os, they chant in delight when sweet
little Os (all 275 lbs of mountainous flesh ) thunders onto the
field...
"Schalk "? what sort of name is that for goodness sake ? Yes that is
the poor man's name - and he has a schalk of blond hair to go with it.
Mind you he's not a bad player so maybe he was so upset with his name
that he decided to show his mum exactly what he was made of !!
And then there is Bakkies, Bolla, Gaffie and Arthob !!!! No wonder they
cannot get it together, can you imagine the mish mash of names being
shouted at each other on the field.
"Bakkies, jo lekker blixem ou, jol that bol hier lekker jong !!!"
The only one on the programme who had a name with any sort of genteel
ring was Percy.... and that poor fellow was , as usual, under a severe
onslaught from the raucous crowd for the entire match, as I gather he
is every match. I suppose that's what comes of having a nice name like
Percy.....
"Percy Bashing" was the order of the day, even though the pretty fellow
(aka Princess) as far as I was concerned, saved the day for the Nation
!!!
But I digress, there we were safely ensconced in the ABSA stadium in
Row M.
Now, I am no mathematical genius but row M had to be pretty high up...
and I was right...
When at last I summoned the courage to open my eyes and look around
me, I realised at once that I needed an oxygen mask if I was to spend
the next few hours in this particular place. There we were, supposedly
at sea level ( I could actually see the sea over the roof we were so
jolly high up !! )
67 rows up from the men in green on the field in fact, and that was
when vertigo set in.....
The noise was deafening, their PA system was amazing, I felt every beat
of every drum reverberating through my entire body. Johnny Clegg was
doing something musical on the field, and virtually everyone in the
stadium had his own Vodacom drum and believe me, they were beating them
ebulliantly and with more than patriotic fervour !!
It was at that moment that Hehoo's hopes of a happy match faded away.
There was no way that Shehoo (short for She Who Must Obey
Instantaneously) could possibly go and get the beer, out of the
question, 67 rows up, hundreds of feet above sea level, (vertigo is a
very convenient malady you must admit)
There they were, the country's finest, (HeeHoo's name is Kriel after
all) and those boykies gave those Wallabys a severe whipping much to
the delight of the home crowd.
But me, well I guess I just cooked my goose, I am sure I will never be
invited to another game unless we get seats on the ground floor......
CLARKSON: GEORGE (SNR)
PASSED AWAY IN JOHANNESBURG ON FRIDAY 13 AUGUST.
DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO LANA, (WEE) GEORGE, LISA AND GRANDCHILDREN.
ELAINE. BARRY, MEL, DAVID & TRACEY PAINTING
BERYL SMITH
Our sincere condolences to the Johnson Family in the UK on the sad
passing of their much loved Mom and Grandmother. I know she was truly
loved and will be sadly missed by all. She was a special woman and gave
us many a laugh. Rest in peace Gran.
All our love
Sharon, Ant, Noreen and Pete
James Edward (Ted) Robinson, peacefully on 24 August 2004, aged 79. A
lifetime of friendship. Will be fondly remembered.
Steve and Jayne, Jackie, Bryan and Craig, Jock and Gill, Dave, Sheena,
Douglas and Laura
Memorial notice - we don't know if this might make it on time for
notice of
the memorial service - this week, we are having it at St Andrews
Presbyterian Church, Hillside, Bulawayo - 10am on Wednesday 1st of
September
2004, friends welcome.
CONDOLENCES
Craigie, Alexander. Passed away at Edith Duly on Monday 23/08/04.
Will be
sadly missed by his children Stephen, Suzanne and their Spouse's
Michelle
and Andre' and his grandchildren Taryn-Maie, Tristan, Caitlin and Sean,
all
of Grahamstown, South Africa.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MIRROR CAN ONLY DEAL WITH E MAIL QUERIES, PLEASE DO NOT PHONE IN YOUR ADVERTS AND QUERIES... ONLY E-MAILS WILL BE CONSIDERED
ADVERTISERS !!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION FOR YOUR ADVERT PLEASE MAKE A CHEQUE TO "EDITH DULY NURSING HOME" AND LET ME KNOW AT "magskriel@mac.com"
