A COOL WEEKEND IN AUGUST 2005.

A COOL WEEKEND IN AUGUST 2005.

What was so special about this weekend? Nothing really, except we took full advantage of the time and enjoyed every minute. Both the weather and the activity of the weekend were cool! The weekend started off on Friday morning I was invited to a breakfast talk by a Standard Bank Investment Manager. It was really interesting listening to his thoughts on how to maximise investment opportunity. Tim had recently been told that his contract as a consultant with Spar would end at the end of September. He was in the process of discussions regarding the purchase of a distribution business and although this was not directly related, it was nevertheless pertinent to where his life was at that time. Tim and I did not stay for the breakfast part, as time had run out and we were both due back at work.

Work was work and Friday evening I dropped Ally off at Snoops (Church Guild for children). Then Saturday morning I joined the MPRG for our normal Saturday run to Hobie Pier and back. At the run this morning was: Andy, Kobus, Adel, Neil, John, Mike, Cathy, Gerald, Adrienne, Margie, Susanne and maybe others I cannot recall right now. This morning I really struggled with the run and was quite exhausted at the end. I then had a wash and dressed for Mini-Hockey, which Ally attends and I try to assist with the coaching. There were three coaches for the under 8’s, Greg and Leslie and myself. So with about 30 children we took groups of ten each and were able to handle the groups quite well. I like to give them a bit of a warm up, then a bit of pushing and hitting to one another; then there is a bit of dribbling followed by some goal hitting practice. Some of them enjoy this but others find that by now they have become tired or bored. So the drinks break is welcomed. After drinks we play “sticks” which is really a small game of hockey. During this period we may also play some “stuck in the mud” or a similar running game. This takes us to an hour and a half, which is about all they can take.

After the Hockey I spent an hour and a half at work. Here (on a Saturday) I sometimes make a routine appearance where I will handle any problems that staff may have encountered particularly with customers or decision-making on credit granting. This morning was quiet and so at 11.30am I left to pick up Barbara and we went to Tim and Suzanne to watch SA play Australia in Perth. It turned out to be a really tense game. Our history of games against Australia at this stage was that we had won the last two games in SA but it’s a long time since we beat them in Australia. The scoreboard at this stage was we had lost 14 games, won 13 games and drawn one game. The game was to be a really tense affair with the score opening with an opportunistic try by winger Bryan Habanna. Percy Montgommery was not on form and missed a potential of 3 penalties, one drop-goal and one conversion. To his credit he slotted a well-planned drop goal just before half time. The score swung against us at one stage but a second opportunistic try by Bryan Habanna put us in the lead and we did not concede a further point. This gave us: a win against Australia and New Zealand in SA and now a win against Australia in Perth. Next weekend we play NZ (in Dunedin I think) and a win or a draw will mean that we retain the Tri-Nations cup.

After Rugby Barbara and I went to Hannes Zeelie to collect Ally who was playing with Amber but they had made plans to go to Amber’s grandparents so we went shopping for T-shirts for our September hike. We were fortunate to find suitable shirts in Mr. Price. After this we stopped off at the new Checkers in 6th avenue where we did a bit of grocery shopping as well as finding a present for Ally’s Birthday party the next day. The rest of the afternoon we spent watching SA play cricket in an Afro Vs Asia one-day series. This was the second match of the series and we had won the first almost by default in the final over. This time we were not so lucky and lost too many wickets in our chase for 268 runs that the Asians had scored. I then spoke to Barbara about the Addo 15kay trail run which I had thought about running and so when she said that she was prepared to come along I phoned Gerald and Pat who also said they were keen. Tim had planned to do the triathlon.

On Sunday morning I was up early to wash and make some toasted cheese and egg sandwiches as well as some hotdogs. I also took some coffee and juice with us. Gerald was at our house at 05.45 as arranged and I put Ally into the back seat with a pillow and blanket and before long she was fast asleep again. The run was at the recently formed part of Addo near to Colchester and was the first of these races. We had an easy half-hour drive to the start of the run and were lucky to register, as there was a 100 limit to the number of entrants. Pat and Gerald were 99 and 100. At the start I saw that Tony Boardman, Ian Ross, Mark and others who were planning to run the Amatola 100 kay trail run (two days) in October were also there. I was pleased that I could make the contacts, as I needed to train with them when they started to do some longer trail runs. Gerald Bouwer, Mof, Rodney and Leslie of Achilles were also there.

The organisers had a “cattle truck” to take us to the start which was simply 15kays up the dirt road. Today we did not see any animals but I am not certain that this part of the Addo park has any game yet or indeed if it is open to the public. Of course it was cold as we rode on the back of the truck to the start but I had wisely decided that I would not need a second top. At the start point I saw Chanelle (Vanessa’s sister) who I had met the previous weekend at Baviaans Kloof. Also Scott Rollo who had provided us with interesting information at Baviaans.

Once at the start, the run was set off and the first 1500 meters is uphill but thereafter there are few ups and mainly downhill and flats. I met up with Sharon (PEB print) and she described to me her job at Ford in the safety and security division and that she also ran her own consultancy business in the same line. Sharon told me that she had studied law and had practiced as a public prosecutor before becoming totally disillusioned with the justice system. Her husband was also running a little behind us. She has a 5-year-old called Joshua who was being looked after by the grandparents. Sharon has been running for 12 to 13 years firstly for Crusaders and more recently for PEB. Only in the last two years has she started running marathons and Ultras including two Comrades. She tells me that she now has Iron man in her sights for 2006.

The weather was cool. The sky was cloudy and there was a slight Easterly wind blowing. Ideal running conditions. Plenty of chatting and enjoying the beauty of Gods creation took us past three watering stations and before we knew it we were looking down at the finish area. I personally had a really easy run of 82 minutes. I was very happy to feel this good after the run as the previous day’s run had me worried. I had predicted 85 mins. This type of run has the added interest that the participant predicts the finishing time and is not allowed to carry a watch nor are there distance marker boards. So the winner is not the first home but the closest to their predicted time.

Back at the car Barbara was patiently waiting for me. Ally had slept solidly the whole time, not waking once since we left home. Barbara pointed out two men who had been watching the event at the finish. These two men had opened beers just after we left at about 07.00am and from then to now had been steadily drinking one after another. As they finished one they would walk back to the car and fish out another two beers and flip them open and so the process went on. What amazed us were the time of day and the volume of consumption. Their wives arrived soon afterwards and immediately lit up cigarettes. People are really interesting! Thanks to ADT running club, Brian in particular, for setting up the event. I phoned Tim to see how he had got on with the Triathlon. It seemed that the weather in PE was not suitable for a triathlon with the East wind creating too much chop in the water and the rain added to this had just dampened (excuse the pun) the whole morning. What a pleasure it is to be able to run a trail event within a half-hour drive from home.

We did not stay for the prize giving, as we had to get Ally to her birthday party. It was Niel and Vanessa’s child; Wiebke’s 9th birthday. Gerald phoned me later to say that they had won a “lucky dip” of an emergency torch, a coffee mug and a cap. Barbara & I got ourselves ready and drove out along the KraggaKamma road turning left at Welcome Ave, then right at Landman to a place called Bushwhackers. This is a party venue for children where there are all kinds of adventure events for the children. It was quite cool by now and it had been raining earlier so we dropped Ally off and planned to go home as we had a number of things to do. On the way we stopped off for tea at Stuart and Rianna. They had just put coffee on and were most kind and welcoming. Coffee led to biscuits. We were introduced by Stuart to some interesting history of the early SA tribes and settlers. He had taken out a book from the library written by a man in 1860. Interestingly the writer states that he had to make alterations to the content of the book due to the “turmoil and changes that had recently taken place”. We decided to stay for the start of the Istanbul (Turkey) Grand Prix. Stuart meanwhile had lit the Braai fire but we insisted that we were not staying for lunch. Rianna brought out tea and Chelsea buns. Once the race had started Rianna brought out the Pasta dish that she had been saving. This was delicious. We must have been looking quite hungry because we ended that coffee visit with cake and custard. We watched the Grand Prix to the end. For me it was quite an experience to watch the race with someone who knows the sport like Stuart does. I normally enjoy the start of the Grand Prix but tend to “nod off” during the middle section of the event. Kimi Raikonnen (Mercedes Benz) won the race. It was almost a one, two for McLaren but Montoya lost control on the last lap and that allowed Alonso (Renault) to sneak into second place.

By now we had told Niel that we would collect Ally at their house and so as it was about 4pm we decided that we may just have over stayed our welcome. At Niel’s house Vanessa asked us to stay for coffee. I cannot imagine that we still looked hungry but as the children looked like they were enjoying their games we stayed. Of course there was leftover party cake. So when we finally got home we were quite stuffed. I had to wash the car, as it was still dirty from the Addo dust and the Miggies from my trip to Kingwilliamstown during the week. Ally insisted that she was still hungry and I must make her a hamburger. Barbara and I finished the evening off with a glass of wine. And that was our August weekend. Full of visiting, activities and food. Really enjoyable. I feel that we are so blessed to live in this city, to have good friends and good health!