Feb

8

A Cape Odyssey - Summer 2010 [1]

Filed Under Live 

Back in the Fairest Cape of them all.

It’s mid-summer and the joint is hopping. World Cup fever is everywhere, finishing touches made to a multitude of projects both large and small.

However, the major topic is the South African President Jacob Zuma and his fathering of 20 children from 10 different partners - and this, in a country racked by HIV/AIDS. Even though the most positive of people pass it off as ‘at least we’re not debating the harbouring of Al-Quaeda’, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that this is not a very good example.

The moral issues are being debated thick and fast.

We’ve had a week of ticking off the list - buying this, buying that, making sure that we return to France with the correct salt, cooks spices, curry, vitamins, artifacts etc (great ex-pats behaviour.)

Saturday saw us decide to breakfast in Kloof Street (Mannas). Technical hitch - no driving, only walking. For those unfamiliar with the terrain, its a steep hill up to Kloof Nek and then down, down, down.

Problem is: the return leg. It’s up, up, up, and then a little down and then up, up again. Murder.

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[Leave it all behind you as you go up to Kloof Nek]

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[Look up and Table Mountain towers above you]

Saturday afternoon was a great occasion. The first rugby match to be held at the spanking new Cape Town stadium - Stormers versus Boland XV.

We arrived in time for the curtain-raiser Overseas Legends vs Springbok legends held as part of the Cape Town 10’s rugby festival.

What a stadium! All the hype, all the build up - it’s true. Magnificent. World Class - the best of the MCG and Telstra Dome with a bit of Wembley thrown in for good measure.

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[Curtain-raiser in progress]

Access was too easy. Well handled, security polite but firm. Easy to find the seat - row 13, seat 27 (both our lucky numbers!). Settle in to comfortable seats and drink it all in. Everyone is seated, no -one will get wet, limited sun issues.

Small TV screens, though - hopefully they’re still temporary. But that’s really nit-picking.

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[player warm up]

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[seats 24,25 and 26 : the glamour section]

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[the stadium seen lengthways - note the small moat encircling the field; high tech billboards and high security presence. This was the second test event and the capacity was pegged at 40,000 (ultimately, 65,000). The grass was sown inside the stadium and an innovative computer programme used to determined the colour scheme and patterning of the seats to ensure that the stadium always looks full on TV. The stadium is a joint management between SAIL and Stade de France].

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[We had to leave early due to another commitment and worry that the traffic may be bad so the above two pics show the 'helicopter park' outside the stadium and mounted police patrols on the massive piazza outside the main gate]

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[Rugby can be a serious business]

Tot later - Lovonne and Simon xx

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