TWO OCEANS HALF MARATHON 2009
Stefan (my son in Law) and I decided that this would be a good goal for his first official run that he would do. He had been doing a bit of training and felt that he would be fit in time. So in February, when we were in Cape Town for Cathy’s wedding, I entered us both. Now I was committed and could leave any hopes of completing another 56 alone. We did a short run together but then I left for home in PE and he had to get on with training on his own. I fitted whatever training I could into my life and also did a few races in PE. Stefan was up to running 15kay a couple of times a week.
Thursday 9th April 2009, Barbara, Ally & I left just before 05.00am from PE. We had arranged to meet Ian (my brother) and his wife Jenny in Heidelberg as they had landed in Cape Town and would borrow Stefan’s car and then I would drive it back to CT. As he left CT on the N1 he picked up a huge traffic jam due to road construction. He phoned in to say he would be late. We continued our drive, listening to the radio for road traffic updates. Today the toll at the Tsitsikamma had increased from R11.50 to R13.00. When this road first opened, probably about 25 years ago, the toll was R2.50. As we crossed the river at Knysna we encountered an overturned truck. It had been transporting animal feed and there were bags scattered across the road.
We stopped near to George for some toasted sandwiches and coffee and then again in Albertina for some biltong. The drive to Heidelberg was easy and we arrived about an hour before Ian and Jenny. Ian had bought a rondavel in Heidelberg that he would be using as an office. The Internet connection at Wildcliff was not suitable and this would mean that he could spend long periods at WC without being totally out of the business world.
We met Keith (WC manager) and Tory (Roger Gush is Jenny’s brother and he married Tory) at the cottage. Then went for a walk around the village stopping for tea at a café. After Ian had arrived we off loaded his suitcases and I drove Stefan’s car to CT. We had decided to drive across the Tradouw Pass. The first section out of Heidelberg is tarred and thereafter there is a section of about 8kays of good dirt road. Then we took a Right turn up to the pass. The Tradouw Pass is quite spectacular and well worth taking time off to explore. Unfortunately Barbara and I were in separate cars as we enjoy sightseeing together. We stopped off once to enjoy the view of the deep valley below and the river flowing over the rocks and falls.
The Tradouw Pass is about 14kays and the distance between Heidelberg and where the T junction that meets the R62 is in total about 25kays. I think that this would make an excellent road run. I later established that there is a run from Barrydale and along the R324 Tradouw Pass. I think that it is about 8kays of downhill and then 8kays back up and the other 5kays are slotted in somewhere along the route. See: http://www.runnersguide.co.za/Calendar/View2.aspx?ProvinceNo=15 See October for the link to this 21kay event. At the R62 we turned left and headed towards Montague. Montague is a lovely little village situated at the base of some huge mountain cliffs. As you exit the town on the CT side you drive through a short rock tunnel and then along the river side to Ashton.
As we approached Ashton a police vehicle passed us at speed. We found out why; on the CT side of Ashton we encountered an accident where there were a number of emergency vehicles. A vehicle had driven over the side of a weir and the grass had caught alight. We were lucky as we passed the scene of this accident quite quickly. Cars coming from the CT side of the R62 were backed up for about 3 to 5kays.
We drove through Robertson and Worster and then along the N1 to the Du Toits Kloof Tunnel. The toll fee is R21.00. And then on to Stellenberg where Nicci and Stefan live. Thursday afternoon Ally had an appointment with a hairdresser, in the Tyger Valley shopping complex, that Barbara had discovered the last time we were in CT. While Ally was having her hair done, Barbara did some shopping for colouring-in books for her school and I did some university work. The NMMU gives me papers to moderate. Sandy Walker is an accounting lecturer and I enjoy working through her papers for the MBA students and am able to make a contribution to the authenticity of the exams.
Friday morning: I took my computer box to Cape Town for Stefan to help me with installing Microsoft Office. I had lost all my stuff and programs when my Hard Drive crashed. Stefan showed me how to download a free program from the internet that does what is required from both Microsoft word and excel. I had Microsoft Works on my computer and it was really useless. I changed from Outlook to Mozzila Firefox for internet as Stefan advises me that this is a better way to look up on the Internet with less spam and less virus’.
Nicci had arranged for a boat trip to Seal Island from Hout bay. The charge is R38pp. I am not particularly strong on boats. I tend to feed the fishes on my last nights supper. With the run the following day, I decided to give this trip a miss. I dropped the family off in Hout Bay and drove through the Constantia Neck to the Good Hope Centre where I found a long queue for registration. I kind of walked past the queue and joined the front. Where I still had to wait for ages to be allowed into the Expo Area for registration.
When I finally reached the counter I was able to collect Stefan’s numbers but found that I had to go to the Blue Number Club for mine. I was surprised that I received special privileges even though this was my first 21Kay. At the Blue Number Club I registered and then met up with Bruce, Robin (& wife) and Graham N. Graham wanted to know where I had passed him on the Kouga Kus 21kay. I knew that I had never passed him. But the results apparently showed me in front of him. Bruce informed me that the results were wrong and that my time and Tim’s time had become mixed up. My time should have been 1.53 and not 1.44. Ooops! As the kids nowadays say: “My Bad!”
I drove back to Hout Bay to collect the family from their boat ride which I hear was great fun and then we all met up with Cathy and Saul for lunch at the Mariners Warf. After lunch we drove to Tyger Valley where there is a Tobogganing set up. I rode with Cathy and Saul. They stopped off at their new home. They have been staying in a funny house in Woodstock for the past number of years. This house has now been sold and they have decided to rent a more modern house just above the Groote Schuur Hospital. Their home is a two bedroom and two bathroom flat with a security gate and Cathy is going to feel a lot safer here. At the Woodstock house she constantly had a feeling of being under threat of some kind of attack.
The tobogganing place is called Cool Runnings. There is an aluminum track or sloot where the toboggans are pulled up on a pulley and then when you reach the summit, you release the brake and hurtle down a series of twists and turns. This is something like the water slides or the snow equivalent but without the snow or the water. We had the children, Christian, Aaron and Zara on the seats in front of us and they really enjoyed the sensation of speed and danger. Each of us did this about 4 or five times, becoming increasingly bolder at each occasion.
That evening Stefan and I prepared ourselves with the race numbers and Champion Chips and set our alarms for 3.30am. I have accumulated four Champion Chips due to being slack with preparation and having to buy a Chip at the start of the event. Easter Saturday morning; We left at just after 4.00am and found an excellent parking area at UCT at about 4.45am. As we sat in the car we saw a young woman walk past. She was clearly going home after the party. She had one boot and one sandal on her feet. She looked bedraggled and we presumed that she was probably a drug addict and a prostitute. This upset me. Here we were amoung a huge group of some of the most positive people you can think of and this woman was at the bottom of the rung when it comes to self. For a long time afterwards I thought about this person and how she no longer has choices; her life is dictated to her by her condition.
We sat chatting until just after 05.30 and then took an easy stroll to the start in Main Road. The 21kay started at 6.00am. We were in an unseeded area with the masses of runners. There were runners of all sizes. There is no qualifying event and there were some people who looked completely out of shape. There were something like 13 000 runners at the start and we were nearly at the back. Moving through the pack was extremely difficult and we were compelled to walk on a number of occasions.
There were two U turn areas and we simply could not move any faster than we were going. The road is not wide enough to accommodate the free flow of such huge numbers of runners. The uphill of Southern Cross Drive starts at about 9kays. We had seen the runners carrying sub 2.30h flags on one of these U turns and they were way ahead of us.
We enquired of our time at about 10kays to find out that we had been on the road for 1H15minutes. This averaged us out at 7.5minutes a Kay and there was now no way that we would finish under 2 hours which had been our original thoughts. But we continued up Southern Cross Drive and managed to run the whole hill. By now we were passing people all the time.
It was still difficult to pass runners but not as impossible as it had been earlier. Passing people simply takes up additional time and energy. We struggled to set a rhythm. Southern Cross Drive is a hill of about 4kays. Groups of people seem to stop and walk in mid stride. The hill is a bit deceptive as there are a number of twists and turns. At one point there was a lot of noise; Whistles and Vuvuzellas where I thought we were at the top. But for future; you are only nearing the top of this hill when you can see the stop sign. Finally at the top we met up with the Two Oceans route. From here it is 8kays to go.
We were in good spirits and ran at a good pace. This is an area where I am used to feeling quite shattered but today was I having fun as we were now able to run a steady pace without too many interruptions. Throughout the run we had to dodge people but now the crowd had thinned out considerably. We ran the whole way to the finish including where many people around us were walking up hills. Our finishing time on the clock overhead was just about 2H21minutes.
We had run the second 11kays in about 1h06min. An average of 6minutes a Kay. Much faster than our first 10kays. This is not a race where a good time can be recorded. That is, unless you are prepared to stand at the start for at least an hour, to be in the front of your seeding. Stefan is a professional photographer and had to be at a wedding in Hermanus so we collected our medals and cooldrink and walked to the car.
Back home I was reminded that one of the very best parts of running is being able to wash away all the dirt of the day’s activity. I must have used up nearly half a bar of soap and felt great after a shower and cup of tea. Did I miss running the 56kay? Yes and no. Along the route of the 21kay I did not see a single Achillean. We saw a couple of Walmer, Crusaders, PE club and Bluewaterbay runners. I missed the camaraderie that Achilleans have. I missed the sense of satisfaction of completing a 56kay. But realistically I know that I was where I should be. Stefan & I had a great run together. He is now committed for the next event that we can do together.
Later that afternoon we all went to play put put near to Tyger Valley. There is a complete golfers set up for people wanting driving, sand trap and putting practice. We had the three little ones with us and soon the game was total chaos. Children running around; Zara putting the ball within an inch of the hole and then declaring a hole in one, Helpful children stopping the ball when they felt it necessary and placing it either in a more advantageous position or else declaring the ball to be theirs.
Sunday morning; Ally had a terrible headache and only after a long sleep did she recover. Stefan had slept over in Hermanus. We were both feeling fine with little effect from the 21kay of the previous day. Nicci had booked us for lunch at the Fairview restaurant at a wine farm. They have wine and cheese tasting. Saul and Cathy were there as well. And we had a kind of little competition to see who could identify the various wines that we were tasting. It was a lot of fun. I took the little children to taste some of the cheeses. Zara was keen to taste and I passed her one of the Goats cheeses. She popped it into her mouth, chewed for a bit and then puked it out onto the floor. For me it was hilarious to see this whole thing. I had to suppress my laughter until I was out of sight of the Cheese people.
Later on I bought some of their cheeses to compensate for our bad behaviour. We sat down for our meal after 15.30 that afternoon. The meal was served outdoors in a courtyard. We had a variety of dishes; Springbok Stir fry; Chicken Pie; Rack of Lamb and Salmon. All very tasty but I would not recommend the Lamb for next time. Saul had the Trout. Looked tasty but for a starter as this was hardly a man sized meal.
Back home we all passed out after the wine tasting and the long day. Monday morning Barbara, Ally and I were up early and packed for the drive home. Our route took us back to Barrydale and over the Tradouws Pass. We met Ian in Heidelberg where he left the Bushpig. We had a brief visit to WC and left after Jenny had given us some thing to eat. The rest of the drive home was supported by the Cricket match being played at St Georges park. The SA team batted first and scored 317 runs in 50 overs. The Australians opened well and looked set to make this a real game. However after the openers were out that was it for the Australians. This meant that we won the series and remained number one in the world rankings of the 50 overs match format.
INFORMATION ON THE TRADOUW PASS
The Khoisan originally discovered this ancient route. The unusual word “tradau” means “the way of the women” and is believed to be derived from the Khoi words tra, signifying “women” and dau, denoting “way through”. Magnificent galleries of rock paintings in the numerous caves are all that are left from the Khoisan era. The Tradouw Pass is but one of thirteen passes that master road engineer Sir Thomas Bain built in the Southern Cape during the 1800’s and to fully appreciate the character of the Tradouw Pass you have to delve into its vibrant days of yesteryear.
The suggestion of a pass was first raised in 1858. The farmers wanted Port Beaufort (Witsand) at the mouth of the Breede River made more accessible for their produce. In 1867 the Colonial Secretary, Robert Southey, proposed in Parliament that the pass be built, using convict labour, “as soon as such was available”. (The Pass was first named after him, but the name did not achieve popularity and after a few years it reverted to the traditional “Tradouw Pass”.)
Thomas Bain was instructed to do the planning and estimating. The Bain family moved into a lovely old farmhouse, Lismore that belonged to the Barry family. Today the house still stands at the foot of the 14km 315m high Tradouw Pass and still belongs to the Barrys.
In 1869 a work force of many convicts was transferred from the completed Robinson Pass between Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay. In the end of that year, four kilometers of difficult road, entailing a good deal of blasting, had been completed. The next year the number of convicts was drastically reduced and work slowed down accordingly. In 1873 Bain was transferred to plan and build the railway through Tulbagh Kloof. The qualified foreman, Mr Stephens, was left in charge.
The Pass was declared open on 27th October 1873 by the Governor’s wife, Lady Barkley. Soon after its completion the farming community built a church at the northern end of the Pass and the town that grew around it was named in honour of the Barry family. Barrydale developed into a productive fruit farming area.
In 1974, after years of planning, the Pass was rebuilt, widened in places, hairpin bends removed and completely tarred. 4000 aloes and 2500 indigenous trees and shrubs were planted. In 1980 the Tradouw Pass was re-opened. Look out for places with names like Drupkelder, Piekniekbos and Suurplaat where you can stop and try and spot the ruins of Anglo Boer War blockhouses.
The Tradouw Pass is renowned for its wild flowers in spring, clusters of blazing red aloes in late autumn, breathtaking waterfalls in winter and magnificent swimming pools in summer. As you drive along, enjoy this beautiful Pass and admire Sir Thomas Bain’s genius for carving a pass through such rugged terrain without the help of modern technology.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
NIPPERS NATIONALS DURBAN APRIL 2009 AND MOOI RIVER
NIPPERS NATIONALS 2009.
ADDINGTON BEACH FRIDAY 3RD TO SUNDAY 5TH APRIL 2009.
Nippers nationals was due to be held in PE at Kings Beach this year. However as Ironman was going to be held on the same weekend. And the rest of lifesaving SA competitions are held over the previous weekend, it was decided to move both competitions to Durban.
Nippers season starts in September or October each year. We had a good start to the season in 2008 with a number of new Nippers joining us. The U12 group had as a base the Nippers U10 who had won Nationals in PE in 2007. The U14 group retained a number of Nippers with 6 years experience. The U10 group would be the weak link as we had failed to attract swimmers and had not developed those that we had into a really competent team.
Clint arranged a sponsored combi that Charles, Terry and Karin H drove. David Coffey took his combi, Shareen, some of the U10’s and the trailer carrying the boards. Hannes took his combi with Debbie and families. Patrick and Dion left a day earlier than the rest of those driving. Barbara, Ally and I left at just before 4am on Thursday morning.
We were well into the Transkei when Debbie phoned to say that they had damaged rims and two flat tyres. Debbie asked if I knew anyone who could assist them. I tried my business contacts but no one pitched up. However Clint was able to arrange people that he knows to drive out to them and after four hours on the side of the road just before King Williams Town they finally were able to do a temporary repair. In King they found a tyre dealer who sold Hannes two new tyres at a reasonable price. By the time that they finally restarted their trip, over five hours had passed.
Donald also had some bad luck. The previous day a stone had hit a side window of his combi and he had to spend the whole morning getting this fixed. Their family left PE at about 14.00 Thursday afternoon and reached Durban at Midnight.
When we reached Mthatha we turned right to Port St Johns. I do this route for business and thought that Barbara & Ally would like to see some of SA that many people miss. Barbara & I last did this as a fishing trip in our first year of marriage when we drove up to St Lucia stopping along the route at various places. We had stopped at a Mission Station where a school friend of mine, Keith Finnemore, had taken refuge after marrying a black woman. He studied Agriculture and played a part in educating local people in farm management. Keith subsequently moved to Addo where he is currently farming organic citrus much to the dismay of local farmers who think that Organic is crazy. They maintain that the use of insecticides is the only way to produce any commercial results.
At Port St Johns we stopped at a B & B that I had used many years ago called Outspan. Christine was running the place at that time and when I enquired about her, her brother in Law, John told me that she was now living in the UK, taking care of frail people. We drove though Lusikisiki, Flagstaff and Bizana. We then took the road down to Port Edward. This is really a hilly part of SA. There are huge numbers of Xhosa people who live subsistence existences in these deep valleys far from what we understand to be comfortable living. However there are also many ‘normal’ houses with smart vehicles parked in front of the house.
The villages we visited are hives of activity. People have stalls in the streets, bakkies and taxis are everywhere, people push barrows and trolleys with wares and goods, food is for sale. The main street is busy and maintenance is non existent. People are in high spirits. Generally people may not have a great deal of wealth but they appear to be active economically. It must have been pension payout as we saw people in the fields lined up in front of vehicles and at these places we also saw what we would call farmers markets.
I remembered driving the Port Edward road as a young student with Keith Braatvedt in about 1980. Keith is now a lawyer in Jhb. It was dark and raining, the road was muddy and I think that we had had a couple of beers and were driving recklessly and too fast. We took a corner, skidded in the mud and ended up broadside in the middle of the road. Now we were stuck in the middle of the Transkei, at night and in the rain.
We tried pushing but could not free ourselves and ended up covered in mud and drenched. As set of lights approached us we were quite apprehensive. A bakkie load of men stopped just before they rode into us. They all clambered out, speaking Xhosa and gesturing at these two mud caked students. They correctly decided we were a pair of idiots and pushed us back on track and we were able to continue on to Port Edward. Wiser and sober.
Back to 2009; the road from Bizana to Port Edward is now tarred and we had a wonderful trip through some of the most colourful and interesting parts of SA. We crossed the River at the casino and drove along the coast road to Port Shepstone where we found the same restaurant that we had visited two years ago when we did SA Biathle in Durban. Here we had a late lunch before competing the last hour of the drive.
During the drive we had remained in contact with Andrew who had started their trip about an hour after us, Donald, David, Charles and Hannes. Charles and David had a smooth drive but ended up taking a slightly longer route through Pietermaritzburg. In Durban we found the Parade hotel where we were staying. After booking in we went for a walk along the pier in front of the hotel.
The pier was quite an eye opener for us. There was a congestion of fisher men all casting and fishing in close proximity. I am not sure how they operate without entangling their lines. There were people sleeping on the pier and generally there appeared to be a community of people who used this as their base. Durban has made the mistake of allowing development on the beach side of the main beach road. This developed area requires constant maintenance and repairs as it decays and looks shoddy far quicker than the PE beach front which is grassed.
Back on the promenade we met up with Mike and Vanessa, Deon and Gail, Alex and Lynne, Charles, Warren and Lee and finally David and Shareen with the trailer. We off loaded the trailer at the beach. We all met at the Mac Rib where we had a refreshing drink and our supper. It was a warm evening in Durban and we were happy to be in our bedroom early.
Friday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and made our way, in Charles’ combi, to the beach. We located our tent at the end of the row of tents. And at 08.00am attended a briefing of managers. There was to be no swimming during events and only accredited managers would be allowed in to the arenas. Clint had organised long sleeved T shirts and matching caps. The East Cape Nipper team looked stunning.
We started the morning off with the Inter Provincial team events. This is for the U14 and U12 Nippers and consists of a selected team. There are no preliminary events, only finals. The Nippers go though a series of really tough events and it is non stop, relentless swimming boarding and running. The wind was from the East and while it was not a strong wind it was enough to create a chop in the water. Our East Cape team came third out of four. Western Cape, Natal South and Central Natal were the other three teams. The East Cape team acquitted themselves well and we were proud of their efforts.
After lunch it was time for the “March Past”. Our team wore their Yellow Shirts, Tara led the team in a cheerleaders outfit with the Summies flag. We looked exceptionally good as a team. Clair had organised fleecy, hooded tops and the U14’s received shorts as well. Our children were quite spoilt with all the kit and outfits that they had. Then it was time for the events to start.
The sea had become increasingly wild and Nippers were battling to get past the waves. Friday afternoon started off with team events heats and then finals. It was dark by the time we packed the boards away. We stayed for the awards and were pleased to learn that the U12 summer strand team was first overall. The U10’s had accumulated just two points while the U14’s were in the top five. We went off as a group to the Pannarotti’s at Ushaka for a supper.
The hotel we were staying in (the Parade) was not the best on the beach front. It was probably a top hotel in it’s day but now the lift was slow, the rooms small with basins in the room but adequate for us. This hotel would have had shared bathrooms in years gone by and had been converted to individual bathrooms at a later stage. And for just R15 we were supplied with a healthy breakfast of cereal, eggs and all the trimmings.
Saturday morning the wind was still coming from the East and the size of the waves was bigger if anything. As the day progressed we had ongoing cases of blue bottle stings and feet being cut on broken glass. The beach front of Durban is home to hundreds of men who are either lazing on the grass or car guards. They wash them selves and their clothing in the storm water drains and we saw a car pull up in the parking lot with huge vats of a curry rice supper. The men line up with paper plates for a welcome meal.
The beach had been raked by the Municipality but this did little to clean up the broken beer bottles that were just under the surface of the sand. Barbara found bottles that appeared to have been deliberately placed with the sharp edges upwards in the sprint arena. There was a team of first aid people who were kept busy with patching cuts and treating stings.
The sea events were taking their toll and groups of Nippers were unable to power their way through the pounding waves. I went for a swim and realised that I was unable to see where the buoys were located until I was well past the last of the white water. At times the waves were breaking past the Buoys making conditions even more difficult for the swimmers and boarders.
Nippers Nationals was testing not only the skill of the Nippers but also their mental capability to handle extreme surf. Running into the sea was made even more difficult as the beach was uneven and the Nippers were continually tripping and falling as they entered the water or as they tried to run out of the surf. At one time I decided to give one of the U10’s a bit of encouragement by swimming next to him in his event. This did not earn me popularity with the officials and I was severely reprimanded.
At the end of the second day the U10’s had a gold medal as Jonathan Coffey had won the flags and I think that we had somehow managed to scratch together some more points. We were no longer last. The U12s maintained their position as leaders in their age category while the U14’s were also doing well with a solid team effort.
That evening Barbara, Ally & I went to visit my brother Patrick (Marianne & baby Thomas) for supper. Patrick’s son, St John, joined us later. Patrick had remarried and moved to a new home since I was last in Durban. We entered his address into the GPS but ended up at a garage way out of any suburb. I had spelt the name of his street as Nicholson instead of Nicolson. Second time around we got it right and the GPS took us to his front door. My mother had baked biscuits for them and I had to deliver them.
We were in time to watch the second half of the Sharks playing the Hurricanes. Charles and Ian had left Nippers early to be able to be at the “Shark Tank” for the game. After the rugby and drinks we had a most pleasant braai and then left early. We were down at the beach front when Barbara reminded me about the biscuits. So rather than face my mother’s disappointment we drove back up to his home and handed over the bounty of rusks and ginger biscuits.
Sunday morning we packed the car and booked out of the hotel. The car guards pestered us for payment. The U10 group would have a short day as we had completed our Taplin relay and do not do the Iron Nipper event. The U12 and U14’s had a really tough day as they had to do heats and finals of the Iron Nipper. There were large numbers of Nippers taking part in each event and just making the cut was difficult.
The surf was at it’s roughest today. The waves were huge and relentless. Fortunately no Blue Bottles today. Boards were being tossed around both as the Nippers tried to paddle out to the buoys as well as when they were attempting to surf back in. Even youngsters who I consider to be adept at Malibu boards such as Matthew, Ian and Christian, struggled to master the waves. The ocean, sun, wind and activity had exhausted parents and Nippers. As the day drew to a close a group of Dads (Deon, Roger, Hannes, Charles) went for a swim. Charles remarked how impossible the waves were. He pointed out that Nippers was one of the toughest, character building activities that he knew of. Way tougher than rugby! Just taking part in an Iron Nipper event was a test of the courage and skill of any person.
Iron Nipper consists of a swim, body board and then the Malibu / Hurricane board around buoys anchored 100 to 120m out to sea in the huge surf. One of these disciplines alone is totally exhausting, while completing all three defies my understanding. Normally one such event would be all that is required of a child. Today the Nippers had to do this once to qualify for finals, again in the finals and also do a variety of other events such as swim, body board and Malibu board individual.
The day ended with a long run with most of the Nippers taking part. We packed away and tied down the boards. Donald and Alex had whisked a group of Nippers off to the U Shaka wave and water slides playground. Hannes managed to magic out a couple of cold beers and we waited for the prize giving. As usual the children were in high spirits and there was a great deal of singing and cheering going on. We learned that our cricket team had performed well in beating the Australians at the second of the limited over’s matches to even the tally.
We had not come to Durban with expectations of winning and were delighted to hear that Summerstrand were third overall with Kings Beach coming fourth and Plett just behind them at fifth place. Durban surf had won the competition and last year’s winners, Fish Hoek were at second place. The U12’s had won their age category. Lauren Billson was Girl “Competitor of the Competition” for the U14’s. She had earned this award with some extraordinary effort on the day but talking to Patrick (her dad) it is clear to me that Lauren is a disciplined and dedicated athlete.
More cheering and photo’s and we were able to leave for Mooi River. I have cousins; Lloyd and Judy who farm on the Hlatinkulu road about 25kays from Mooi River. Lloyd had once explained to me that Hlatinkulu means ‘huge forest’. However as one drives up to Giants Castle all the huge indigenous trees have been cut and there is no longer any huge forest along this road. One is greeted by vast plains rather than forest. My father’s (Allan; 1920-1995) sister, Puck (and Martin who died after battling with arthritis) lived and farmed there for many years at “the Meadows”.
Puck had two children: Tim who is a vice principal at a school for cerebral palsy children in Durban and Judy who still farms in Mooi River. Judy married Lloyd and they established a farm (Little Falls) nearby. Judy and Lloyd have three children. Shaughna married Trevor and is a GP in Cape Town. Colin married Catherine and they live in Johannesburg where Colin heads up a shipping company. Colin also has a house on Little Falls next to the dam. Colin is also a cattle rancher on the farm with Judy running this operation. Their third child is Megan who lives in Pietermaritzburg with her husband and children. Megan is a Comrades and Two Oceans runner. Megan’s husband works for Colin and is battling to sell Tractors in a depressed market.
The road between Durban and Mooi River is really busy with trucks and cars driving at high speeds. Nicci phoned from the Johannesburg airport. She had been there to negotiate advertising for the Gauteng issue of the Little Pink Book. This is a diary for people who are planning a wedding. It provides information and contact details for service providers in the wedding industry. During this trip she managed to sell a one third of the Gauteng business to a Johannesburg based photographer.
We arrived at Little Falls at about 8pm and chatted to Lloyd and Judy over a drink and late supper. Monday morning after coffee Judy & I went to the neighbours farm where Judy tapped milk from a huge tank. A little later Lloyd took me down to the house that he had built for Colin. We drove down on the two quad bikes that Lloyd bought for getting around the farm. It appears that all the local farmers have quad bikes. Judy works for Colin and tends to the magnificent bulls that they are feeding up and breeding for show purposes. Lloyd showed me what to look for in a really prize bull. They hope to be able to show their animals at various shows around the coast.
Colin’s house has four bedrooms with bathrooms and a huge main sitting / dining room in the centre that overlooks the dam. The dam is stocked with trout. Colin is a keen fisherman. Monday morning Lloyd took us for a drive to see the Game Farm (Zulu Falls) that he had established over the past 18 years. The farm is located about 40kays along the Greytown road. This farm has been Lloyds project and he has about 1000 head of game including Wildebeest, Eland, Kudu, Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Reebok, Springbok.
He would have a variety of international visitors wanting to hunt. They would stay at the lodges that he built on the farm at a site overlooking an amphitheatre of the most spectacular waterfall imaginable. Lloyd and Judy built themselves a little cottage away from the main buildings for their own use when they had visitors. The cottage is absolutely basic with an outside toilet and a shower nozzle offering little or no concealment from passing game. From the cottage you are able to walk a short distance to a viewpoint overlooking the waterfalls and amphitheatre.
Today there was a film crew there setting up the filming of a Jeep Advertisement. They hoped to show a Jeep crossing the river just above the falls. They were planning and organising the safety aspects. If their project is successful it will be a most spectacular scene with the waterfall cascading into a pool below. I would have loved to be able to swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls and into the caves behind the falls but there was simply not enough time.
While we driving through the farm we saw buck, Zebra and Giraffe. We met up with a group of professional game capture men who Lloyd had contracted to trap as many of the animals possible. They would set up Hessian netting in a large V shape leading to a more solid boma where they would load the game into trucks for shipping and sale to other reserves. They use a helicopter to herd the animals.
I heard the word Impofu or Mpofu being said a few times and thought of the Mountain Zebra park trail that we would be doing in June. I assumed that Mpofu meant Zebra but later established that Mpofu means Eland or Taurotragus Oryx. The reason that the Zebra Trail is named Mpofu is that there are bushman paintings in caves and these are paintings of Eland. The Zulu word for Zebra is Idube. The Little Mooi River used to be the migratory trail for Eland and is also known as Mpofana which means just that.
The reason that Lloyd was selling the game is that the Department of Land Affairs has bought the farm as part of a one third land acquisition that the ANC government has embarked upon. It does not appear that they will operate the game farm as a going concern. The Department of Land Affairs has no clear plans for the farm. They offered Lloyd to lease the farm back or to operate as a kind of partner but Lloyd does not see his way clear to work under these conditions. It is unfortunate as 8 people will become unemployed at the end of April and a source of foreign revenue is being lost.
Back at Little Falls I took Ally for a ride on the Quad Bikes. After a short while she became familiar with the bike and was able to operate it on her own. These bikes don’t have a clutch and the accelerator is operated by a thumb lever on the right handle. We did some dirt road biking before riding into the bushes and on some really rough terrain. Barbara joined us and we had a great time with Ally on her own on the bike.
Colin’s wife, Catherine arrived from Jhb with her two children, Amy and Reece. This was the first time that I had met this family. Barbara and I had last been at Little Falls when I attempted my first Down Comrades about 18 years ago. That time we had driven up to Giants Castle and had done some walking and exploring the caves. I had not completed that run as I had a bit of a cold and developed severe cramps about 10 or 15kays from the finish. Maybe one Brandy & Coke too many the previous evening?
Tuesday morning we had breakfast and packed the car. I must have left something on as the battery was flat. Catherine pulled me with her Pajero and we soon had the car running again. We left Little Falls at 08.30. First on the N3 toll road past Howick and then right at Merrivale we drove along the road past Boston where Megan has a farm, Bulwer and Underberg to Kokstad. This route is just south of the Southern Drakensberg and has plenty of resorts and guest houses to visit. A right turn takes you to the Drakensberg Gardens.
My Tom Tom shows this route as 958 kays to Mooi River as opposed to 922 via PMB. However it was really interesting to drive a road I have never travelled before. We filled up in Kokstad and drove the 330kays through the Transkei. We then took the road past Komga and headed for home. Our last stop was King where we bought more toasted sandwiches. We seemed to have eaten more fast (junk) food over the past few days than in the previous 6 months. Hamburgers, chips and take away coffee was what we were living on. We arrived in PE at about 19.30 just in time for Survivor only to find out that the program has been moved to Monday nights.
ADDINGTON BEACH FRIDAY 3RD TO SUNDAY 5TH APRIL 2009.
Nippers nationals was due to be held in PE at Kings Beach this year. However as Ironman was going to be held on the same weekend. And the rest of lifesaving SA competitions are held over the previous weekend, it was decided to move both competitions to Durban.
Nippers season starts in September or October each year. We had a good start to the season in 2008 with a number of new Nippers joining us. The U12 group had as a base the Nippers U10 who had won Nationals in PE in 2007. The U14 group retained a number of Nippers with 6 years experience. The U10 group would be the weak link as we had failed to attract swimmers and had not developed those that we had into a really competent team.
Clint arranged a sponsored combi that Charles, Terry and Karin H drove. David Coffey took his combi, Shareen, some of the U10’s and the trailer carrying the boards. Hannes took his combi with Debbie and families. Patrick and Dion left a day earlier than the rest of those driving. Barbara, Ally and I left at just before 4am on Thursday morning.
We were well into the Transkei when Debbie phoned to say that they had damaged rims and two flat tyres. Debbie asked if I knew anyone who could assist them. I tried my business contacts but no one pitched up. However Clint was able to arrange people that he knows to drive out to them and after four hours on the side of the road just before King Williams Town they finally were able to do a temporary repair. In King they found a tyre dealer who sold Hannes two new tyres at a reasonable price. By the time that they finally restarted their trip, over five hours had passed.
Donald also had some bad luck. The previous day a stone had hit a side window of his combi and he had to spend the whole morning getting this fixed. Their family left PE at about 14.00 Thursday afternoon and reached Durban at Midnight.
When we reached Mthatha we turned right to Port St Johns. I do this route for business and thought that Barbara & Ally would like to see some of SA that many people miss. Barbara & I last did this as a fishing trip in our first year of marriage when we drove up to St Lucia stopping along the route at various places. We had stopped at a Mission Station where a school friend of mine, Keith Finnemore, had taken refuge after marrying a black woman. He studied Agriculture and played a part in educating local people in farm management. Keith subsequently moved to Addo where he is currently farming organic citrus much to the dismay of local farmers who think that Organic is crazy. They maintain that the use of insecticides is the only way to produce any commercial results.
At Port St Johns we stopped at a B & B that I had used many years ago called Outspan. Christine was running the place at that time and when I enquired about her, her brother in Law, John told me that she was now living in the UK, taking care of frail people. We drove though Lusikisiki, Flagstaff and Bizana. We then took the road down to Port Edward. This is really a hilly part of SA. There are huge numbers of Xhosa people who live subsistence existences in these deep valleys far from what we understand to be comfortable living. However there are also many ‘normal’ houses with smart vehicles parked in front of the house.
The villages we visited are hives of activity. People have stalls in the streets, bakkies and taxis are everywhere, people push barrows and trolleys with wares and goods, food is for sale. The main street is busy and maintenance is non existent. People are in high spirits. Generally people may not have a great deal of wealth but they appear to be active economically. It must have been pension payout as we saw people in the fields lined up in front of vehicles and at these places we also saw what we would call farmers markets.
I remembered driving the Port Edward road as a young student with Keith Braatvedt in about 1980. Keith is now a lawyer in Jhb. It was dark and raining, the road was muddy and I think that we had had a couple of beers and were driving recklessly and too fast. We took a corner, skidded in the mud and ended up broadside in the middle of the road. Now we were stuck in the middle of the Transkei, at night and in the rain.
We tried pushing but could not free ourselves and ended up covered in mud and drenched. As set of lights approached us we were quite apprehensive. A bakkie load of men stopped just before they rode into us. They all clambered out, speaking Xhosa and gesturing at these two mud caked students. They correctly decided we were a pair of idiots and pushed us back on track and we were able to continue on to Port Edward. Wiser and sober.
Back to 2009; the road from Bizana to Port Edward is now tarred and we had a wonderful trip through some of the most colourful and interesting parts of SA. We crossed the River at the casino and drove along the coast road to Port Shepstone where we found the same restaurant that we had visited two years ago when we did SA Biathle in Durban. Here we had a late lunch before competing the last hour of the drive.
During the drive we had remained in contact with Andrew who had started their trip about an hour after us, Donald, David, Charles and Hannes. Charles and David had a smooth drive but ended up taking a slightly longer route through Pietermaritzburg. In Durban we found the Parade hotel where we were staying. After booking in we went for a walk along the pier in front of the hotel.
The pier was quite an eye opener for us. There was a congestion of fisher men all casting and fishing in close proximity. I am not sure how they operate without entangling their lines. There were people sleeping on the pier and generally there appeared to be a community of people who used this as their base. Durban has made the mistake of allowing development on the beach side of the main beach road. This developed area requires constant maintenance and repairs as it decays and looks shoddy far quicker than the PE beach front which is grassed.
Back on the promenade we met up with Mike and Vanessa, Deon and Gail, Alex and Lynne, Charles, Warren and Lee and finally David and Shareen with the trailer. We off loaded the trailer at the beach. We all met at the Mac Rib where we had a refreshing drink and our supper. It was a warm evening in Durban and we were happy to be in our bedroom early.
Friday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and made our way, in Charles’ combi, to the beach. We located our tent at the end of the row of tents. And at 08.00am attended a briefing of managers. There was to be no swimming during events and only accredited managers would be allowed in to the arenas. Clint had organised long sleeved T shirts and matching caps. The East Cape Nipper team looked stunning.
We started the morning off with the Inter Provincial team events. This is for the U14 and U12 Nippers and consists of a selected team. There are no preliminary events, only finals. The Nippers go though a series of really tough events and it is non stop, relentless swimming boarding and running. The wind was from the East and while it was not a strong wind it was enough to create a chop in the water. Our East Cape team came third out of four. Western Cape, Natal South and Central Natal were the other three teams. The East Cape team acquitted themselves well and we were proud of their efforts.
After lunch it was time for the “March Past”. Our team wore their Yellow Shirts, Tara led the team in a cheerleaders outfit with the Summies flag. We looked exceptionally good as a team. Clair had organised fleecy, hooded tops and the U14’s received shorts as well. Our children were quite spoilt with all the kit and outfits that they had. Then it was time for the events to start.
The sea had become increasingly wild and Nippers were battling to get past the waves. Friday afternoon started off with team events heats and then finals. It was dark by the time we packed the boards away. We stayed for the awards and were pleased to learn that the U12 summer strand team was first overall. The U10’s had accumulated just two points while the U14’s were in the top five. We went off as a group to the Pannarotti’s at Ushaka for a supper.
The hotel we were staying in (the Parade) was not the best on the beach front. It was probably a top hotel in it’s day but now the lift was slow, the rooms small with basins in the room but adequate for us. This hotel would have had shared bathrooms in years gone by and had been converted to individual bathrooms at a later stage. And for just R15 we were supplied with a healthy breakfast of cereal, eggs and all the trimmings.
Saturday morning the wind was still coming from the East and the size of the waves was bigger if anything. As the day progressed we had ongoing cases of blue bottle stings and feet being cut on broken glass. The beach front of Durban is home to hundreds of men who are either lazing on the grass or car guards. They wash them selves and their clothing in the storm water drains and we saw a car pull up in the parking lot with huge vats of a curry rice supper. The men line up with paper plates for a welcome meal.
The beach had been raked by the Municipality but this did little to clean up the broken beer bottles that were just under the surface of the sand. Barbara found bottles that appeared to have been deliberately placed with the sharp edges upwards in the sprint arena. There was a team of first aid people who were kept busy with patching cuts and treating stings.
The sea events were taking their toll and groups of Nippers were unable to power their way through the pounding waves. I went for a swim and realised that I was unable to see where the buoys were located until I was well past the last of the white water. At times the waves were breaking past the Buoys making conditions even more difficult for the swimmers and boarders.
Nippers Nationals was testing not only the skill of the Nippers but also their mental capability to handle extreme surf. Running into the sea was made even more difficult as the beach was uneven and the Nippers were continually tripping and falling as they entered the water or as they tried to run out of the surf. At one time I decided to give one of the U10’s a bit of encouragement by swimming next to him in his event. This did not earn me popularity with the officials and I was severely reprimanded.
At the end of the second day the U10’s had a gold medal as Jonathan Coffey had won the flags and I think that we had somehow managed to scratch together some more points. We were no longer last. The U12s maintained their position as leaders in their age category while the U14’s were also doing well with a solid team effort.
That evening Barbara, Ally & I went to visit my brother Patrick (Marianne & baby Thomas) for supper. Patrick’s son, St John, joined us later. Patrick had remarried and moved to a new home since I was last in Durban. We entered his address into the GPS but ended up at a garage way out of any suburb. I had spelt the name of his street as Nicholson instead of Nicolson. Second time around we got it right and the GPS took us to his front door. My mother had baked biscuits for them and I had to deliver them.
We were in time to watch the second half of the Sharks playing the Hurricanes. Charles and Ian had left Nippers early to be able to be at the “Shark Tank” for the game. After the rugby and drinks we had a most pleasant braai and then left early. We were down at the beach front when Barbara reminded me about the biscuits. So rather than face my mother’s disappointment we drove back up to his home and handed over the bounty of rusks and ginger biscuits.
Sunday morning we packed the car and booked out of the hotel. The car guards pestered us for payment. The U10 group would have a short day as we had completed our Taplin relay and do not do the Iron Nipper event. The U12 and U14’s had a really tough day as they had to do heats and finals of the Iron Nipper. There were large numbers of Nippers taking part in each event and just making the cut was difficult.
The surf was at it’s roughest today. The waves were huge and relentless. Fortunately no Blue Bottles today. Boards were being tossed around both as the Nippers tried to paddle out to the buoys as well as when they were attempting to surf back in. Even youngsters who I consider to be adept at Malibu boards such as Matthew, Ian and Christian, struggled to master the waves. The ocean, sun, wind and activity had exhausted parents and Nippers. As the day drew to a close a group of Dads (Deon, Roger, Hannes, Charles) went for a swim. Charles remarked how impossible the waves were. He pointed out that Nippers was one of the toughest, character building activities that he knew of. Way tougher than rugby! Just taking part in an Iron Nipper event was a test of the courage and skill of any person.
Iron Nipper consists of a swim, body board and then the Malibu / Hurricane board around buoys anchored 100 to 120m out to sea in the huge surf. One of these disciplines alone is totally exhausting, while completing all three defies my understanding. Normally one such event would be all that is required of a child. Today the Nippers had to do this once to qualify for finals, again in the finals and also do a variety of other events such as swim, body board and Malibu board individual.
The day ended with a long run with most of the Nippers taking part. We packed away and tied down the boards. Donald and Alex had whisked a group of Nippers off to the U Shaka wave and water slides playground. Hannes managed to magic out a couple of cold beers and we waited for the prize giving. As usual the children were in high spirits and there was a great deal of singing and cheering going on. We learned that our cricket team had performed well in beating the Australians at the second of the limited over’s matches to even the tally.
We had not come to Durban with expectations of winning and were delighted to hear that Summerstrand were third overall with Kings Beach coming fourth and Plett just behind them at fifth place. Durban surf had won the competition and last year’s winners, Fish Hoek were at second place. The U12’s had won their age category. Lauren Billson was Girl “Competitor of the Competition” for the U14’s. She had earned this award with some extraordinary effort on the day but talking to Patrick (her dad) it is clear to me that Lauren is a disciplined and dedicated athlete.
More cheering and photo’s and we were able to leave for Mooi River. I have cousins; Lloyd and Judy who farm on the Hlatinkulu road about 25kays from Mooi River. Lloyd had once explained to me that Hlatinkulu means ‘huge forest’. However as one drives up to Giants Castle all the huge indigenous trees have been cut and there is no longer any huge forest along this road. One is greeted by vast plains rather than forest. My father’s (Allan; 1920-1995) sister, Puck (and Martin who died after battling with arthritis) lived and farmed there for many years at “the Meadows”.
Puck had two children: Tim who is a vice principal at a school for cerebral palsy children in Durban and Judy who still farms in Mooi River. Judy married Lloyd and they established a farm (Little Falls) nearby. Judy and Lloyd have three children. Shaughna married Trevor and is a GP in Cape Town. Colin married Catherine and they live in Johannesburg where Colin heads up a shipping company. Colin also has a house on Little Falls next to the dam. Colin is also a cattle rancher on the farm with Judy running this operation. Their third child is Megan who lives in Pietermaritzburg with her husband and children. Megan is a Comrades and Two Oceans runner. Megan’s husband works for Colin and is battling to sell Tractors in a depressed market.
The road between Durban and Mooi River is really busy with trucks and cars driving at high speeds. Nicci phoned from the Johannesburg airport. She had been there to negotiate advertising for the Gauteng issue of the Little Pink Book. This is a diary for people who are planning a wedding. It provides information and contact details for service providers in the wedding industry. During this trip she managed to sell a one third of the Gauteng business to a Johannesburg based photographer.
We arrived at Little Falls at about 8pm and chatted to Lloyd and Judy over a drink and late supper. Monday morning after coffee Judy & I went to the neighbours farm where Judy tapped milk from a huge tank. A little later Lloyd took me down to the house that he had built for Colin. We drove down on the two quad bikes that Lloyd bought for getting around the farm. It appears that all the local farmers have quad bikes. Judy works for Colin and tends to the magnificent bulls that they are feeding up and breeding for show purposes. Lloyd showed me what to look for in a really prize bull. They hope to be able to show their animals at various shows around the coast.
Colin’s house has four bedrooms with bathrooms and a huge main sitting / dining room in the centre that overlooks the dam. The dam is stocked with trout. Colin is a keen fisherman. Monday morning Lloyd took us for a drive to see the Game Farm (Zulu Falls) that he had established over the past 18 years. The farm is located about 40kays along the Greytown road. This farm has been Lloyds project and he has about 1000 head of game including Wildebeest, Eland, Kudu, Giraffe, Zebra, Impala, Reebok, Springbok.
He would have a variety of international visitors wanting to hunt. They would stay at the lodges that he built on the farm at a site overlooking an amphitheatre of the most spectacular waterfall imaginable. Lloyd and Judy built themselves a little cottage away from the main buildings for their own use when they had visitors. The cottage is absolutely basic with an outside toilet and a shower nozzle offering little or no concealment from passing game. From the cottage you are able to walk a short distance to a viewpoint overlooking the waterfalls and amphitheatre.
Today there was a film crew there setting up the filming of a Jeep Advertisement. They hoped to show a Jeep crossing the river just above the falls. They were planning and organising the safety aspects. If their project is successful it will be a most spectacular scene with the waterfall cascading into a pool below. I would have loved to be able to swim in the pool at the bottom of the falls and into the caves behind the falls but there was simply not enough time.
While we driving through the farm we saw buck, Zebra and Giraffe. We met up with a group of professional game capture men who Lloyd had contracted to trap as many of the animals possible. They would set up Hessian netting in a large V shape leading to a more solid boma where they would load the game into trucks for shipping and sale to other reserves. They use a helicopter to herd the animals.
I heard the word Impofu or Mpofu being said a few times and thought of the Mountain Zebra park trail that we would be doing in June. I assumed that Mpofu meant Zebra but later established that Mpofu means Eland or Taurotragus Oryx. The reason that the Zebra Trail is named Mpofu is that there are bushman paintings in caves and these are paintings of Eland. The Zulu word for Zebra is Idube. The Little Mooi River used to be the migratory trail for Eland and is also known as Mpofana which means just that.
The reason that Lloyd was selling the game is that the Department of Land Affairs has bought the farm as part of a one third land acquisition that the ANC government has embarked upon. It does not appear that they will operate the game farm as a going concern. The Department of Land Affairs has no clear plans for the farm. They offered Lloyd to lease the farm back or to operate as a kind of partner but Lloyd does not see his way clear to work under these conditions. It is unfortunate as 8 people will become unemployed at the end of April and a source of foreign revenue is being lost.
Back at Little Falls I took Ally for a ride on the Quad Bikes. After a short while she became familiar with the bike and was able to operate it on her own. These bikes don’t have a clutch and the accelerator is operated by a thumb lever on the right handle. We did some dirt road biking before riding into the bushes and on some really rough terrain. Barbara joined us and we had a great time with Ally on her own on the bike.
Colin’s wife, Catherine arrived from Jhb with her two children, Amy and Reece. This was the first time that I had met this family. Barbara and I had last been at Little Falls when I attempted my first Down Comrades about 18 years ago. That time we had driven up to Giants Castle and had done some walking and exploring the caves. I had not completed that run as I had a bit of a cold and developed severe cramps about 10 or 15kays from the finish. Maybe one Brandy & Coke too many the previous evening?
Tuesday morning we had breakfast and packed the car. I must have left something on as the battery was flat. Catherine pulled me with her Pajero and we soon had the car running again. We left Little Falls at 08.30. First on the N3 toll road past Howick and then right at Merrivale we drove along the road past Boston where Megan has a farm, Bulwer and Underberg to Kokstad. This route is just south of the Southern Drakensberg and has plenty of resorts and guest houses to visit. A right turn takes you to the Drakensberg Gardens.
My Tom Tom shows this route as 958 kays to Mooi River as opposed to 922 via PMB. However it was really interesting to drive a road I have never travelled before. We filled up in Kokstad and drove the 330kays through the Transkei. We then took the road past Komga and headed for home. Our last stop was King where we bought more toasted sandwiches. We seemed to have eaten more fast (junk) food over the past few days than in the previous 6 months. Hamburgers, chips and take away coffee was what we were living on. We arrived in PE at about 19.30 just in time for Survivor only to find out that the program has been moved to Monday nights.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
WEEKEND 28TH MARCH 2009 AND KOUGA KUS 21KAY.
WEEKEND 28TH MARCH 2009
I had a rough week with travel to Mthatha. Monday I had been doing some catching up in the office and then Tuesday morning I left for Mthatha. It is a tough drive of just under 500kays. Feeling tired I had stopped in Komga, a little village the other side of King Williams Town. I had myself a sleep of well over 30 minutes and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the second leg of the drive. I met Julia in Bradlows and we prepared for the meeting the following day.
Wednesday morning we had all of the Financial Managers at the Green Park Lodge for a meeting and some training. This went down well with them and it was a really successful day. I had planned to be back in PE on Thursday but Julia wanted me to accompany her to Flagstaff. We left early on Thursday morning and drove to Port St Johns and then Lusikisiki and left to Flagstaff. This is a small town near to Kwa Zulu Natal.
We spent the morning there and had quite a productive morning. The problem with visiting a shop that is as remote as this one is, is that one should spend a lot more time in the shop. A remote shop will receive far less attention than one in the city but often is the shop that needs most of our time. We left the shop after 12.30pm and retraced our way back to Mthatha. The road is very hilly and cell phone reception is virtually non existent.
As we drove we received intermittent calls but in particular we received a call from Maria telling us that Alfred had an accident in Peet Booysen’s car in East London. He had been using the car to fetch his own car when he collided with another car and Peet’s car was a write off. He had a passenger and they were both hurt but recovered within a few days. Peet then asked if I would come to East London to fetch him and take him home to PE. I agreed to do this and arrived in EL after 17.30 and then we drove through King where we picked up a hamburger and then home. I dropped Peet off at around 21.30 and arrived home at close to 22.00. It had been a really long day with over 10 hours of driving about 850 kays.
Friday morning I was up early for a short run and then Ally had a sports day. I waited in the car, reading until 08.30 and then watched most of the mornings activities. I watched Ally as she took part in High Jump and was amazed to see her reach a third position on the podium. As far as I know she has not been practicing for high jump but did well anyway. Then she was in a 100m sprint event and came fourth against strong competition. Barbara took over the afternoon session and I went to work. Ally had a 1.2kay run where she came third with Kristie Vaughn second. Both of them benefiting from the endurance swim training. That afternoon Ally attended a birthday party of Matthew Mc Gillivray and Kristie Vaughn. From what I heard later they had a great time including a treasure hunt which went from one home to the next.
Donald brought them down to the beach later that afternoon. Meanwhile I had a busy afternoon collecting Ally’s swimming and her Nippers trophies that had been engraved. Then I took Barbara’s lap top to have anti virus installed, collected my new Office lap top from Nicky and then went to the computer repair place and paid R1500 for the repairs to my own desk top, for the installation of the anti virus and for them to install Windows. They did not install any programs so I had this done by Greg at the office and he installed Office Works.
We had to meet Clint at the beach for Nippers Interprovincial Training and Capping. We met Ally there and had a good session with the team including some sprints and a couple of swims. After this we all met at the clubhouse for a talk by Alec Riddle on Motivation for the Interprovincial Team in Durban. His wife had prepared the venue and it really looked good. Ally was presented with her Cap and T shirt. The shirt is long sleeved and has the insignia of Eastern Province Life Saving as well as the individual names of the competitors. It looks really good and will stand out at Nationals. We braaied and then headed off home.
Saturday Morning I had arranged to pick Tim up at his home at 05.15 and we drove through to Jeffries bay where we met up with Bruce. A group of us climbed onto the back of his truck. Tim, Moff, Graham Nel, Shafiek, Keith Bayliss, Colin from Crusaders and tom Boardman. Some of the ladies, Sue B, Grizelda and Paulette, accompanied Bruce in the front cab. Bruce drove us up to Humansdorp where we paid the R30.00 to register for the 21kay that would take us back to Jeffries Bay. Seems crazy and Colin asked the question: “and so why do we do this?” I suppose it is the challenge and I remember Graham Botha asking the same question of the same race many years ago and his answer was: “Because we can!”
We were soon lined up at the start. Met up with Rob from Selbournians. Rob is a really keen runner and he has a plan to run 40 two Oceans 56kay events. He did the Ironman last year and says that he wants to do the paddle from PE to EL this year. He has never paddled before but has faith in his ability to meet challenges. The Kouga Kus race starts with a short up hill through the town of Humansdorp and into the main street. Then we turn right onto the old main PE - Cape Town road. This race should be a down hill event but once we were out of town we appeared to be doing more up hills than down’s.
Tim & I had started at the back of the field and had slowly passed a number of people including Bob and Ken. We saw Paulette and Shafiek along the road. Shafiek was not feeling well with Flu and had to miss his first league race in many years. I was aware that I was running too fast. But I was enjoying chatting to Tim and knew that I would be slowing down when we reached the half way point. The first 7kays was easy going. I may have been puffing and panting but I was having fun.
We saw Leslie M and Graham N ahead and agreed that we would run together until we passed them. This was at the 10kay mark. Graham took the time at 53 minutes. This was Tim’s cue to move on and mine to slow down. The next two or more kays is uphill to the big circle where the new shopping centre has been built. I walked and jogged this and confirmed to myself that I had been going far to fast for the first half of the race. After 12kays there is a bit of downhill and I was able to pick the pace up a bit. I was very aware, however, that I was being caught and passed by many people and was just waiting for Bob and Ken to make some cutting remark as they caught up to me.
It was at the 15kay watering station that I heard Kenny’s voice asking, most condescendingly, if I was all right. The three of us ran on and down to the main road that comes from PE and then made a right turn back to the finish. There had been a tail wind from the west and now we had a bit of a cool head wind. As we turned in a westerly direction we seemed to be running slightly up hill. There is a gradual slope going up to the village.
We passed the 18kay watering point. I have run many races with both Bob and Ken and know that they have this tactic of not slowing down at watering stations. They grab and go and then after about 100m they may slow down slightly. So I did the same. But in doing so must have overdone it a bit as I left them behind me and they had a bit of running to do to catch me. We passed the 19kay mark and it looked like a long uphill ahead, but to my surprise and delight there was a marshal showing us to turn left and down to the beach front road.
I never saw the 20kay marker board but it must have been about here that Tim came back to fetch me. Ken had run ahead & I could see that I had no chance of catching him. Bob was a few meters behind me and I knew that if I gave an inch he was come charging past me. So Tim and I ran as fast as I could over the final kay and I finished in well under two hours. Tim had run the 21 in a bit over 100 minutes. We were both very happy with our times.
Back at Paulette’s truck we found our track suites. I had to be at work this morning and Tim & packed up to leave. Sizinso (85 Minute 21kay) came with us as he also had to be back at work. He works at Pick & Pay in William Moffet where he is a merchandiser. He has been employed here for 9 years. He used to work at a grocery wholesaler called Beecham. In his words: “When Mandela came to power they became scared and packed up and left”
When Sizinso had to apply for a new job he decided that being born in 1951 made him appear too old so he lied about his age saying that he was 10 years younger. It appears that Pick & Pay retire their employees at age 60 so he has two years to retirement. And is looking forward to being able to train seriously. This is from a man who runs the two hours from Motherwell to work each day. He has a small kit bag on his back or else leaves work clothing at his place of work. He showers and then after work takes a taxi home. That is if he is satisfied with the morning session. If not then he runs back home again. We dropped him off at P & P where he would spend the next 8 hours, on his feet, at work. I dropped Tim off and after a shower also spent a few hours at work. But this was sitting at a desk.
I received this really complementary email from Graham Channon:
"Hi Peter,
Well done on your performance at Kouga Kus 1hr 44s, that really made me sit up, you must be fit and on the comeback trail? Putting it into perspective that is a 4hr 40m Two Oceans and a silver at Comrades.
Regards,
Graham."
However this is what I heard at the registration of the Two Oceans Half:
I registered and then met up with Bruce, Robin and Graham N. Graham wanted to know where I had passed him on the Kouga Kus 21kay. I knew that I had never passed him. But the results apparently showed me in front of him. Bruce informed me that the results were wrong and that my time and Tim’s time had become mixed up. My time should have been 1.53 and not 1.44.Ooops! As the kids nowadays say: “My Bad!”
Saturday evening Ally made arrangements to meet her cousin, Jasmin, at the movies. Barbara dropped her off while I watched the Sharks beat the Brumbies in Durban. It was great rugby with plenty of tries being scored. I was surprised to learn that Andre v d Berg was one of the older members of the team. At 35 he is the oldest however it seems like just the other day that he started his rugby career in PE. We collected Ally and Jasmine from the Movies and dropped her off at her home. This evening was to be a Power Out evening as everyone who cared was supposed to switch off their lights for an hour. We did so and promptly fell asleep.
Sunday morning I was up early and fetched Riana Green to meet Andrew Jonas for a Beach Front run. We started off at 05.30 and ran up Walmer Boulevard, along Strandfontein and down Admiralty way. As we were running we saw adverts for the political party COPE. Mvumi Dandala is one of the leaders of this party. Mvumi opened the church buildings about 10 years ago when he was Bishop of the Methodist church of SA.
I remember him telling the story of his Grandfather who worked in the mines. He would have to go down deep into a mine shaft under really horrible conditions. Somehow he had learned to write his name when asked to complete a form for Identification Purposes. As a result one morning when one of the boss boys was off ill and the mine boss asked who could write down the names of people going down the shaft, Mvumi’s grandfather said that he could write. The shift boss then allocated the job of recording names to him. This meant that the Grandfather never had to go down the mine shaft again. Mvumi remembers his grandfather telling the children that it was critical that they learned how to read and write to avoid having to go down the mine shafts. And so began Mvumi’s studying and his career as a Minister in the Methodist church and now more recently his political career.
We had a stunning run this morning. We ran at an easy pace which was kind to me. I had tired legs from the Saturday run. As we were nearly finished we came across Tim, Earl and Theresa. They had started at 06.30 and were just starting their run. After the run I showered and was ready for church. Jonathan spoke in church and one thing that he mentioned that caught my attention was the fact that the Greeks were philosophers, known for their deep thinking, ethics and values while the Jews were considered to be people led by a set of rules and a code of conduct. In our own business we can easily be misled to think that either way is the right way. However there is probably an answer somewhere in-between.
Nippers this morning was an excellent way to end the season. I was able to do some training with our small group of U10’s going to Durban. We have 6 in our age group and there were only four there this morning. I took the four out on Malibu’s for a paddle to the Pollock rocks. Marion is still very nervous and wants to clutch onto me for support. John and Lynn assisted me. After this we did some sprint and some flags and body boarding. We now felt we were ready for the Durban Challenge and allowed the Nippers some free boarding time.
I had a rough week with travel to Mthatha. Monday I had been doing some catching up in the office and then Tuesday morning I left for Mthatha. It is a tough drive of just under 500kays. Feeling tired I had stopped in Komga, a little village the other side of King Williams Town. I had myself a sleep of well over 30 minutes and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the second leg of the drive. I met Julia in Bradlows and we prepared for the meeting the following day.
Wednesday morning we had all of the Financial Managers at the Green Park Lodge for a meeting and some training. This went down well with them and it was a really successful day. I had planned to be back in PE on Thursday but Julia wanted me to accompany her to Flagstaff. We left early on Thursday morning and drove to Port St Johns and then Lusikisiki and left to Flagstaff. This is a small town near to Kwa Zulu Natal.
We spent the morning there and had quite a productive morning. The problem with visiting a shop that is as remote as this one is, is that one should spend a lot more time in the shop. A remote shop will receive far less attention than one in the city but often is the shop that needs most of our time. We left the shop after 12.30pm and retraced our way back to Mthatha. The road is very hilly and cell phone reception is virtually non existent.
As we drove we received intermittent calls but in particular we received a call from Maria telling us that Alfred had an accident in Peet Booysen’s car in East London. He had been using the car to fetch his own car when he collided with another car and Peet’s car was a write off. He had a passenger and they were both hurt but recovered within a few days. Peet then asked if I would come to East London to fetch him and take him home to PE. I agreed to do this and arrived in EL after 17.30 and then we drove through King where we picked up a hamburger and then home. I dropped Peet off at around 21.30 and arrived home at close to 22.00. It had been a really long day with over 10 hours of driving about 850 kays.
Friday morning I was up early for a short run and then Ally had a sports day. I waited in the car, reading until 08.30 and then watched most of the mornings activities. I watched Ally as she took part in High Jump and was amazed to see her reach a third position on the podium. As far as I know she has not been practicing for high jump but did well anyway. Then she was in a 100m sprint event and came fourth against strong competition. Barbara took over the afternoon session and I went to work. Ally had a 1.2kay run where she came third with Kristie Vaughn second. Both of them benefiting from the endurance swim training. That afternoon Ally attended a birthday party of Matthew Mc Gillivray and Kristie Vaughn. From what I heard later they had a great time including a treasure hunt which went from one home to the next.
Donald brought them down to the beach later that afternoon. Meanwhile I had a busy afternoon collecting Ally’s swimming and her Nippers trophies that had been engraved. Then I took Barbara’s lap top to have anti virus installed, collected my new Office lap top from Nicky and then went to the computer repair place and paid R1500 for the repairs to my own desk top, for the installation of the anti virus and for them to install Windows. They did not install any programs so I had this done by Greg at the office and he installed Office Works.
We had to meet Clint at the beach for Nippers Interprovincial Training and Capping. We met Ally there and had a good session with the team including some sprints and a couple of swims. After this we all met at the clubhouse for a talk by Alec Riddle on Motivation for the Interprovincial Team in Durban. His wife had prepared the venue and it really looked good. Ally was presented with her Cap and T shirt. The shirt is long sleeved and has the insignia of Eastern Province Life Saving as well as the individual names of the competitors. It looks really good and will stand out at Nationals. We braaied and then headed off home.
Saturday Morning I had arranged to pick Tim up at his home at 05.15 and we drove through to Jeffries bay where we met up with Bruce. A group of us climbed onto the back of his truck. Tim, Moff, Graham Nel, Shafiek, Keith Bayliss, Colin from Crusaders and tom Boardman. Some of the ladies, Sue B, Grizelda and Paulette, accompanied Bruce in the front cab. Bruce drove us up to Humansdorp where we paid the R30.00 to register for the 21kay that would take us back to Jeffries Bay. Seems crazy and Colin asked the question: “and so why do we do this?” I suppose it is the challenge and I remember Graham Botha asking the same question of the same race many years ago and his answer was: “Because we can!”
We were soon lined up at the start. Met up with Rob from Selbournians. Rob is a really keen runner and he has a plan to run 40 two Oceans 56kay events. He did the Ironman last year and says that he wants to do the paddle from PE to EL this year. He has never paddled before but has faith in his ability to meet challenges. The Kouga Kus race starts with a short up hill through the town of Humansdorp and into the main street. Then we turn right onto the old main PE - Cape Town road. This race should be a down hill event but once we were out of town we appeared to be doing more up hills than down’s.
Tim & I had started at the back of the field and had slowly passed a number of people including Bob and Ken. We saw Paulette and Shafiek along the road. Shafiek was not feeling well with Flu and had to miss his first league race in many years. I was aware that I was running too fast. But I was enjoying chatting to Tim and knew that I would be slowing down when we reached the half way point. The first 7kays was easy going. I may have been puffing and panting but I was having fun.
We saw Leslie M and Graham N ahead and agreed that we would run together until we passed them. This was at the 10kay mark. Graham took the time at 53 minutes. This was Tim’s cue to move on and mine to slow down. The next two or more kays is uphill to the big circle where the new shopping centre has been built. I walked and jogged this and confirmed to myself that I had been going far to fast for the first half of the race. After 12kays there is a bit of downhill and I was able to pick the pace up a bit. I was very aware, however, that I was being caught and passed by many people and was just waiting for Bob and Ken to make some cutting remark as they caught up to me.
It was at the 15kay watering station that I heard Kenny’s voice asking, most condescendingly, if I was all right. The three of us ran on and down to the main road that comes from PE and then made a right turn back to the finish. There had been a tail wind from the west and now we had a bit of a cool head wind. As we turned in a westerly direction we seemed to be running slightly up hill. There is a gradual slope going up to the village.
We passed the 18kay watering point. I have run many races with both Bob and Ken and know that they have this tactic of not slowing down at watering stations. They grab and go and then after about 100m they may slow down slightly. So I did the same. But in doing so must have overdone it a bit as I left them behind me and they had a bit of running to do to catch me. We passed the 19kay mark and it looked like a long uphill ahead, but to my surprise and delight there was a marshal showing us to turn left and down to the beach front road.
I never saw the 20kay marker board but it must have been about here that Tim came back to fetch me. Ken had run ahead & I could see that I had no chance of catching him. Bob was a few meters behind me and I knew that if I gave an inch he was come charging past me. So Tim and I ran as fast as I could over the final kay and I finished in well under two hours. Tim had run the 21 in a bit over 100 minutes. We were both very happy with our times.
Back at Paulette’s truck we found our track suites. I had to be at work this morning and Tim & packed up to leave. Sizinso (85 Minute 21kay) came with us as he also had to be back at work. He works at Pick & Pay in William Moffet where he is a merchandiser. He has been employed here for 9 years. He used to work at a grocery wholesaler called Beecham. In his words: “When Mandela came to power they became scared and packed up and left”
When Sizinso had to apply for a new job he decided that being born in 1951 made him appear too old so he lied about his age saying that he was 10 years younger. It appears that Pick & Pay retire their employees at age 60 so he has two years to retirement. And is looking forward to being able to train seriously. This is from a man who runs the two hours from Motherwell to work each day. He has a small kit bag on his back or else leaves work clothing at his place of work. He showers and then after work takes a taxi home. That is if he is satisfied with the morning session. If not then he runs back home again. We dropped him off at P & P where he would spend the next 8 hours, on his feet, at work. I dropped Tim off and after a shower also spent a few hours at work. But this was sitting at a desk.
I received this really complementary email from Graham Channon:
"Hi Peter,
Well done on your performance at Kouga Kus 1hr 44s, that really made me sit up, you must be fit and on the comeback trail? Putting it into perspective that is a 4hr 40m Two Oceans and a silver at Comrades.
Regards,
Graham."
However this is what I heard at the registration of the Two Oceans Half:
I registered and then met up with Bruce, Robin and Graham N. Graham wanted to know where I had passed him on the Kouga Kus 21kay. I knew that I had never passed him. But the results apparently showed me in front of him. Bruce informed me that the results were wrong and that my time and Tim’s time had become mixed up. My time should have been 1.53 and not 1.44.Ooops! As the kids nowadays say: “My Bad!”
Saturday evening Ally made arrangements to meet her cousin, Jasmin, at the movies. Barbara dropped her off while I watched the Sharks beat the Brumbies in Durban. It was great rugby with plenty of tries being scored. I was surprised to learn that Andre v d Berg was one of the older members of the team. At 35 he is the oldest however it seems like just the other day that he started his rugby career in PE. We collected Ally and Jasmine from the Movies and dropped her off at her home. This evening was to be a Power Out evening as everyone who cared was supposed to switch off their lights for an hour. We did so and promptly fell asleep.
Sunday morning I was up early and fetched Riana Green to meet Andrew Jonas for a Beach Front run. We started off at 05.30 and ran up Walmer Boulevard, along Strandfontein and down Admiralty way. As we were running we saw adverts for the political party COPE. Mvumi Dandala is one of the leaders of this party. Mvumi opened the church buildings about 10 years ago when he was Bishop of the Methodist church of SA.
I remember him telling the story of his Grandfather who worked in the mines. He would have to go down deep into a mine shaft under really horrible conditions. Somehow he had learned to write his name when asked to complete a form for Identification Purposes. As a result one morning when one of the boss boys was off ill and the mine boss asked who could write down the names of people going down the shaft, Mvumi’s grandfather said that he could write. The shift boss then allocated the job of recording names to him. This meant that the Grandfather never had to go down the mine shaft again. Mvumi remembers his grandfather telling the children that it was critical that they learned how to read and write to avoid having to go down the mine shafts. And so began Mvumi’s studying and his career as a Minister in the Methodist church and now more recently his political career.
We had a stunning run this morning. We ran at an easy pace which was kind to me. I had tired legs from the Saturday run. As we were nearly finished we came across Tim, Earl and Theresa. They had started at 06.30 and were just starting their run. After the run I showered and was ready for church. Jonathan spoke in church and one thing that he mentioned that caught my attention was the fact that the Greeks were philosophers, known for their deep thinking, ethics and values while the Jews were considered to be people led by a set of rules and a code of conduct. In our own business we can easily be misled to think that either way is the right way. However there is probably an answer somewhere in-between.
Nippers this morning was an excellent way to end the season. I was able to do some training with our small group of U10’s going to Durban. We have 6 in our age group and there were only four there this morning. I took the four out on Malibu’s for a paddle to the Pollock rocks. Marion is still very nervous and wants to clutch onto me for support. John and Lynn assisted me. After this we did some sprint and some flags and body boarding. We now felt we were ready for the Durban Challenge and allowed the Nippers some free boarding time.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS MARCH 2009.
ALLY IS CHOSEN TO REPRESENT EASTERN PROVINCE FOR NIPPERS
MARCH 2009.
Friday 13th March 2009.
Barbara & I had been planning for some time that we would spend the weekend at Bushman’s River Mouth with Charles and Ingrid. On Friday afternoon we heard that Ally had been selected to represent Eastern Province at the interprovincial competition that is held on the morning that the Nationals start in Durban.
We had planned to be at Bushman’s for the weekend but as Ally would be having a Team Practice at Kings Beach on Saturday afternoon we decided to cut our weekend short. I had left work at about 14.00 to watch Ally’s athletics. She had two events. I missed the first in which she came fourth. It was a sprint whereas Ally’s real strength is in the longer endurance events. Then she was in the relay where their team came first with a good margin. The event had been an inter school athletics meeting between St Dominic’s, Victoria Park and Clarendon. Ally’s friends; Amber and Meghan did well in their events.
We left for Bushman’s on Friday afternoon. During the drive I was able to make a number of arrangements for the following week. Cell Phones can really bring your office to the car. As we arrived at Charles & Ingrid’s caravan cottage we immediately opened a couple of Grolsch beers that I had bought especially for this occasion. We lit the fire. The fireplace was the one that Charles & I had repaired the last time that we were here together. The bottle of the Grolsch beer is the best part as it has a “Swing Top” seal top that can be reused. Ingrid promised to give me her Ginger Beer recipe. The Grolsch bottle is ideal for sealing Ginger Beer.
We had ourselves a wonderfully relaxed evening chatting about old music and the “good old days”. Charles told us of when he went to Germany as a 25 year old man. He arrived at a train station almost penniless. As he arrived there seemed to be some kind of political rally on the go with a lot of people shouting and loudspeakers blaring out slogans. He thought that he has arrived at a re-gathering of a Hitler rally when a man came up to him and told him to hurry up and get to the supermarket before it closed for the weekend.
It seems that at that time there would be absolutely nothing open for the rest of the weekend. Charles walked through the supermarket, horrified at the high prices of the food and eventually bought himself a huge loaf of bread that lasted him for a month. Amazing what you do when you are forced to make a plan.
He was with Volkswagen at the time. He was earning 700 D Mark at the time of which 500 was taken up in rent. They were given lunch vouchers and he gathered up the left over pudding vouchers and stashed squashy puddings in his pocket for the evening meals. While he was in Germany he had met a Yugoslav woman who did not speak any English. He spoke only the bit of German that he had picked up while he was there.
The two of them were offered a weekend away and ended up travelling on train over the Easter weekend to some posh hotel. They had the equivalent of R30 for the weekend and so had to be extremely careful as to what they bought to eat. They ended up going to a fish market where the fish was being auctioned. The sellers would offer samples to prospective buyers and Charles and his friend went from auction to auction trying to scrounge samples which they put in their pockets for a meal later. It was stories like this that kept us up till late that night.
After two of these Grolsch beers and two glasses of wine, I was talking nonsense and ready for bed. Barbara woke up first and I heard her taking Digby for a walk. She sat outside reading and then it was my turn to wake up. After a wash and shave I felt a whole lot less groggy and went for a short run to get my circulation going.
Back from the run I had a shower in their outside shower. It is a little shower cubicle that is situated behind the caravan. The passage to the shower is open air and has a tree growing in it. You share the shower with the local spider population and have to clear the leaves from the floor to stop the flow of water from damming up. This gives one a lovely sense of freedom as you are almost showering in the open. They have hot water in the shower. The run, hot water and soap was just what I needed to make me feel a whole lot better after the two glasses of wine which I should never have drunk.
We sat talking and enjoying the morning. Charles mentioned how long it had been since we were able to just sit and not have to do anything. We went for a walk on the beach. As we returned from our walk, Ingrid met up with two of her friends who were swimming. This looked so good that Charles and I decided to jump in the river.
We had seem some canoeists paddling in the river but the tide was going out and it appeared quite dangerous to be in a river that was flowing as fast as this was this morning. I swam out to the middle of the river where the pull outwards was the strongest. Here I was able to float being pulled towards the sea. I then swam towards the side of the river and experienced something quite extraordinary. The pull of the water reversed and I was now able to float upstream.
I tried this a few times to make sure that I was not imagining the phenomenon. But each time I was in the middle of the river I would be pulled down stream but when I swam towards the side of the river I would be pulled back up stream. The friends of Ingrid who had been swimming confirmed this. They said that people would float down with the outgoing tide and then float back upstream in a kind of reverse rip.
After our swim we made a breakfast of eggs on some of this delicious bread that Ingrid had bought. But as we had to be back in PE by just before 14.00 we packed up and left just after 12.00pm. Ally had stayed overnight with Amber. We collected Ally, Amber and Meghan. We met at Kings Beach. Here Paul Lynch and Clint chatted to the Nippers and read out the various teams for the events. They had given each child a fair number of events so that there would be an even spread.
This afternoon we spent 90 minutes of hard training. Some of the youngsters had either been in Gala’s or training that morning. Amber had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the gala in which she participated. I went out on a Malibu a couple of times and was pretty exhausted after that.
The Nippers started off with an Iron Man individual and then Clint sent them into the water over and over again; swimming and boarding combined with running. They should have been totally exhausted. But when Clint said training was over and they could now have free time the Nippers then went back into the water and continued with boarding and swimming.
Later that afternoon we watched the Stormers at Newlands score 8 tries in a match that they won against the Lions. Percy Montgommery never ceases to amaze me as he continues to make a really meaningful contribution to the Stormers back line. Schalk Burger scored one of his few tries. Jean De Villiers, the Stormers captain, is a joy to watch as he has this permanent grin on his face and appears to really enjoy the game.
Sunday morning I met Andrew Jonas at Hobie Beach and we ran the beach front and Strandfontein road. About 12kays of fun running. Andrew & I spoke about church and it turned out that he was attending the Anglican church in 9th avenue where there was no Sunday School or youth group. I invited him to join us and I saw him at Walmer Methodist later. After church we rushed down to Nippers.
An easterly had been blowing and the surf was quite rough with big, uncontrolled waves. We took the U10’s for some body Boarding and swimming. A few of the younger group did not want to venture into this wild looking surf but after a little encouragement they enjoyed catching some really stunning waves. Fortunately we had Roger, Andrew, Marius, Lynne and John assisting.
The U14’s went out on Malibu boards. I saw Ian charging out in front but he must have become involved in a battle for strength with one of the biggest breakers of the day. He managed to snap one of the unbreakable soft Malibu board in half. The U12’s also had some hard swimming and boarding under the coaching of Deon, Hannes and Roger.
It is not safe for the U10’s to be in conditions like this unless there is a lot of individual attention. As it was we had a number of these youngsters disappearing under foamy water with us completely losing them for a few seconds. The U10’s did a few beach sprint relay races and then I had to call Ally away from their practice as we had planned to take part in the Biathle at Happy Valley. At that time Ally, Amber and a few other U12’s were running heats to determine who would be in the beach sprint relay team at Durban. They had to run three or four times and each time it would be Amber and Ally coming in first together. I would not like to have to make the selection between the two of them.
We arrived at Happy Valley as the first event was underway. There was a small group of participants. Thomas and his wife Liesel were the only adults joining me. I came third in the adult group. Ally was in the last event of the day and I told her to not push herself as she had just come off a hard Nippers workout. Ally started off the first run slowly but when they came to the sea leg she rushed in while the others were a little hesitant. This gave her a solid lead for the second run and she was able to win her event.
MARCH 2009.
Friday 13th March 2009.
Barbara & I had been planning for some time that we would spend the weekend at Bushman’s River Mouth with Charles and Ingrid. On Friday afternoon we heard that Ally had been selected to represent Eastern Province at the interprovincial competition that is held on the morning that the Nationals start in Durban.
We had planned to be at Bushman’s for the weekend but as Ally would be having a Team Practice at Kings Beach on Saturday afternoon we decided to cut our weekend short. I had left work at about 14.00 to watch Ally’s athletics. She had two events. I missed the first in which she came fourth. It was a sprint whereas Ally’s real strength is in the longer endurance events. Then she was in the relay where their team came first with a good margin. The event had been an inter school athletics meeting between St Dominic’s, Victoria Park and Clarendon. Ally’s friends; Amber and Meghan did well in their events.
We left for Bushman’s on Friday afternoon. During the drive I was able to make a number of arrangements for the following week. Cell Phones can really bring your office to the car. As we arrived at Charles & Ingrid’s caravan cottage we immediately opened a couple of Grolsch beers that I had bought especially for this occasion. We lit the fire. The fireplace was the one that Charles & I had repaired the last time that we were here together. The bottle of the Grolsch beer is the best part as it has a “Swing Top” seal top that can be reused. Ingrid promised to give me her Ginger Beer recipe. The Grolsch bottle is ideal for sealing Ginger Beer.
We had ourselves a wonderfully relaxed evening chatting about old music and the “good old days”. Charles told us of when he went to Germany as a 25 year old man. He arrived at a train station almost penniless. As he arrived there seemed to be some kind of political rally on the go with a lot of people shouting and loudspeakers blaring out slogans. He thought that he has arrived at a re-gathering of a Hitler rally when a man came up to him and told him to hurry up and get to the supermarket before it closed for the weekend.
It seems that at that time there would be absolutely nothing open for the rest of the weekend. Charles walked through the supermarket, horrified at the high prices of the food and eventually bought himself a huge loaf of bread that lasted him for a month. Amazing what you do when you are forced to make a plan.
He was with Volkswagen at the time. He was earning 700 D Mark at the time of which 500 was taken up in rent. They were given lunch vouchers and he gathered up the left over pudding vouchers and stashed squashy puddings in his pocket for the evening meals. While he was in Germany he had met a Yugoslav woman who did not speak any English. He spoke only the bit of German that he had picked up while he was there.
The two of them were offered a weekend away and ended up travelling on train over the Easter weekend to some posh hotel. They had the equivalent of R30 for the weekend and so had to be extremely careful as to what they bought to eat. They ended up going to a fish market where the fish was being auctioned. The sellers would offer samples to prospective buyers and Charles and his friend went from auction to auction trying to scrounge samples which they put in their pockets for a meal later. It was stories like this that kept us up till late that night.
After two of these Grolsch beers and two glasses of wine, I was talking nonsense and ready for bed. Barbara woke up first and I heard her taking Digby for a walk. She sat outside reading and then it was my turn to wake up. After a wash and shave I felt a whole lot less groggy and went for a short run to get my circulation going.
Back from the run I had a shower in their outside shower. It is a little shower cubicle that is situated behind the caravan. The passage to the shower is open air and has a tree growing in it. You share the shower with the local spider population and have to clear the leaves from the floor to stop the flow of water from damming up. This gives one a lovely sense of freedom as you are almost showering in the open. They have hot water in the shower. The run, hot water and soap was just what I needed to make me feel a whole lot better after the two glasses of wine which I should never have drunk.
We sat talking and enjoying the morning. Charles mentioned how long it had been since we were able to just sit and not have to do anything. We went for a walk on the beach. As we returned from our walk, Ingrid met up with two of her friends who were swimming. This looked so good that Charles and I decided to jump in the river.
We had seem some canoeists paddling in the river but the tide was going out and it appeared quite dangerous to be in a river that was flowing as fast as this was this morning. I swam out to the middle of the river where the pull outwards was the strongest. Here I was able to float being pulled towards the sea. I then swam towards the side of the river and experienced something quite extraordinary. The pull of the water reversed and I was now able to float upstream.
I tried this a few times to make sure that I was not imagining the phenomenon. But each time I was in the middle of the river I would be pulled down stream but when I swam towards the side of the river I would be pulled back up stream. The friends of Ingrid who had been swimming confirmed this. They said that people would float down with the outgoing tide and then float back upstream in a kind of reverse rip.
After our swim we made a breakfast of eggs on some of this delicious bread that Ingrid had bought. But as we had to be back in PE by just before 14.00 we packed up and left just after 12.00pm. Ally had stayed overnight with Amber. We collected Ally, Amber and Meghan. We met at Kings Beach. Here Paul Lynch and Clint chatted to the Nippers and read out the various teams for the events. They had given each child a fair number of events so that there would be an even spread.
This afternoon we spent 90 minutes of hard training. Some of the youngsters had either been in Gala’s or training that morning. Amber had won two gold medals and one silver medal at the gala in which she participated. I went out on a Malibu a couple of times and was pretty exhausted after that.
The Nippers started off with an Iron Man individual and then Clint sent them into the water over and over again; swimming and boarding combined with running. They should have been totally exhausted. But when Clint said training was over and they could now have free time the Nippers then went back into the water and continued with boarding and swimming.
Later that afternoon we watched the Stormers at Newlands score 8 tries in a match that they won against the Lions. Percy Montgommery never ceases to amaze me as he continues to make a really meaningful contribution to the Stormers back line. Schalk Burger scored one of his few tries. Jean De Villiers, the Stormers captain, is a joy to watch as he has this permanent grin on his face and appears to really enjoy the game.
Sunday morning I met Andrew Jonas at Hobie Beach and we ran the beach front and Strandfontein road. About 12kays of fun running. Andrew & I spoke about church and it turned out that he was attending the Anglican church in 9th avenue where there was no Sunday School or youth group. I invited him to join us and I saw him at Walmer Methodist later. After church we rushed down to Nippers.
An easterly had been blowing and the surf was quite rough with big, uncontrolled waves. We took the U10’s for some body Boarding and swimming. A few of the younger group did not want to venture into this wild looking surf but after a little encouragement they enjoyed catching some really stunning waves. Fortunately we had Roger, Andrew, Marius, Lynne and John assisting.
The U14’s went out on Malibu boards. I saw Ian charging out in front but he must have become involved in a battle for strength with one of the biggest breakers of the day. He managed to snap one of the unbreakable soft Malibu board in half. The U12’s also had some hard swimming and boarding under the coaching of Deon, Hannes and Roger.
It is not safe for the U10’s to be in conditions like this unless there is a lot of individual attention. As it was we had a number of these youngsters disappearing under foamy water with us completely losing them for a few seconds. The U10’s did a few beach sprint relay races and then I had to call Ally away from their practice as we had planned to take part in the Biathle at Happy Valley. At that time Ally, Amber and a few other U12’s were running heats to determine who would be in the beach sprint relay team at Durban. They had to run three or four times and each time it would be Amber and Ally coming in first together. I would not like to have to make the selection between the two of them.
We arrived at Happy Valley as the first event was underway. There was a small group of participants. Thomas and his wife Liesel were the only adults joining me. I came third in the adult group. Ally was in the last event of the day and I told her to not push herself as she had just come off a hard Nippers workout. Ally started off the first run slowly but when they came to the sea leg she rushed in while the others were a little hesitant. This gave her a solid lead for the second run and she was able to win her event.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE 15KAY 7TH MARCH 2009.
SPORTSMANS WAREHOUSE 15KAY
7 MARCH 2009.
Thursday morning 5th March 2009. I had been away for the week and happy to be able to run in the morning. Gerald was off to Cape Town to support Pat as she cycled her 10th Argus Cycle tour. I heard that Mat Damon, the famous ‘Bourne Identity’ actor, would be cycling the race this year. Adrienne would be in Johannesburg for a Diving Competition and so I asked who would be coming to run at the beach on Saturday morning. There were a few takers but no real enthusiasm for the run.
That morning I ran with Earl, Susan and Adrienne up Church road to 12th avenue and back down Water road to 6th avenue where we collected water at the filling station. Theresa ran past. She enquired if I would be doing the Sportsmans Warehouse 15kay on Saturday and informed me that if I was, then I would not be passing her as I had done at the last 15Kay. I had not known about this event. Earl & I chatted and decided to take part in the race rather than going to the beach.
Later that morning I called Tim and asked him if he would join us. He seemed quite keen and I arranged to pick him up on the way there. Friday evening; Ally had a ‘sleep out’ at the church and she also had a party with a friend (Meghan) on Saturday morning. I dropped her off at the church with a little goodie bag, her mattress and sleeping bag. Earl called to say that he was working late and would probably not be keen to run. I am almost always in bed early as I become so tired in the evenings that I really cannot stay awake. Friday evening was no exception so I awoke on Saturday morning early, feeling fresh and ready for a good run.
I have this new GPS gadget and set it for Tim’s house. I passed Earl’s house but when he emerged in scants I knew that he would not be coming for the run. I drove on to where Tim was staying in Mangold Street and he was waiting on the corner. Tim and I have run many races together and yet have drifted apart over the past three years. It was really good to be going to a race together again. In fact we were able to catch up from where we left off as if there had not been the break. At Sportsmans Warehouse we paid our R25 and entered the race. At the car we chatted to Malcolm Figg and Tony Boardman. Tony had taken a year’s break from Running and was also pleased to be back into the sport. Malcolm is also back into running races after a long break.
We lined up at the back and started really slowly. We ran the first kay in 7.5 minutes. We had seen a number of Achilleans (Moff, Tom, Gareth, Peter P) at the start. Erna, Sonja and Willie (MPRG) were there. Tim soon complained that the pace was too slow and we started to move through the field. We chatted to whoever we came across. This is one part of running that I really enjoy. Chatting to people for just a few seconds and receiving a bright and positive response, makes running such a great experience. One particular runner had a bright blue pair of Saucony’s on that he had bought the previous day at the Brian Bands shoe sale. This reminded me that I should go there after the run as my shoes were approaching the end of their running life.
We passed Theresa. “Oh No” she exclaimed. “Its you!” As we passed her she realised that it was Tim who was pulling me and urged him to: “Run me to the ground”. The 7kay mark seemed to come quite quickly and Tim started to look agitated as the pace was too slow for him. For me, we were running at 5.30min a Kay, and this was a good steady pace. By the ten kay mark he realised that he still had plenty of energy and surged ahead.
We had run the first half of this race with the easterly breeze behind us and uphill. The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. The weather was overcast but still very hot as we ran out bound. During the inbound half the sun pushed the cloud cover aside and we began to really overheat. The watering tables were wells stocked and regular.
The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. I was pleased that Tim had gone off as he was running just that half a stride faster than I would have liked. I saw him disappear into the horizon and tried to maintain the pace that we had set. I saw Leslie ahead of me and tried to catch her. She was really running well and I realised that I would not be able to reel her in. But, just then, we came to a water point and she took a quick break to drink her coke and this enabled me to pass her.
I then carried on as fast as I could. I now saw Erna ahead of me. Erna runs with the MPRG in the mornings. I ran as hard as I could even into the finish area but could just not catch her. She finished just ahead of me. A number of Achilleans were running in the opposite direction. I had run as hard as I could and there was no way that I would have been able to continue. Bob and Tim had already collected their cool drink. Tim had run the race in about 78 minutes and I was something like five minutes behind him. In the last five kays he had run a minute a kay faster than me.
Erna and Sonja had earned themselves Silver Medals. Tim and I had decided to leave straight after the run. I dropped Tim off and went home for a shower before heading down to Brian Bands to purchase a new pair of Aisics. I am a reluctant shopper and it is seldom that I am prepared to spend time trying our shoes or clothing. This morning I had brought my old Aisics and the sales assistant brought me exactly the right size and fit. I was very happy with the pair that they sold me and so bought two pairs.
Tim called to say that he had left his wallet in my car so I dropped it off and then collected Barbara, went back to Brian Bands and bought her two pairs of Adidas running shoes as well. Barbara is in the process of becoming fitter and we plan to start an evening walk run according to a program that she has. I had to spend some time in the office to prepare for the week ahead. Later that morning, I collected Ally from her party from Debbie Derry’s home and we went back to Brian Bands for the third time and now bought her a pair of Tennis and a pair of Running shoes exactly like the Adidas that I had bought for Barbara but just one size bigger.
I had to prepare for a hiking meeting with Nigel, Colleen, Mike & Barbie Perks f or our planned Fish River Canyon hike later this year. At the meeting we had a general chat about preparations. We will have to know our travel plans as we need to book in advance. Barbara & I spent most of the afternoon watching Stormers and Bulls Rugby.
Sunday morning.
We started off early. Barbara reading her book and me doing my writing. Mike Perks was giving the message, talking from Matthew he spoke about being greedy and taking from life rather than giving of yourself. He told us of a friend who gave him a quote: “I climbed the ladder of success only to find out that when I reached the top, the ladder was leaning against the wrong building”. The person who said this had been the joint MD of OK Bazaars at its height of success.
So the question that Mike was asking is “What is success?” Is it Power, Money, Material goods, Popularity etc? Or is Success a product of your soul and the activity that makes up your soul? Mike tells the story: The man runs up to the funeral as he is a little late for the service and asks of the person standing next to him: “So how much did he leave”? And the answer he receives is: “Everything!”
After Church we went to Nippers at Summerstrand. The West wind was blowing after a week of Easterly. The east wind had brought up big swells and being in the water meant that we were fighting cross currents and a strong pull as the waves formed. The surf was not uncontrollable and the U10’s had a great time with body boards. We had nearly 20 U10’s with Lynne, Marius and I as coaches.
Clint took the handful of U14’s. I saw him having quite a hard workout himself. Deon & Andrew coached the U12’s. Serrano was there with Matthew Derry and Mundy practicing Flags. They gave us a few tips and we watched them going through their paces.
The U10’s had a really good workout both on the beach and in the sea. By 12.30 looked like they had had enough for the day. A Nippers practice like this is excellent exercise for young children. They run, swim and board, using all their muscle groups and never over heating. They take part with their peers in a fun environment and seem to be keen even when stretched over their limit. Taking board rides in white water, that has the strength that we experienced today, enhances their confidence and ability in the sea. For the coaches it is sometimes quite scary, as we see children being swamped by huge waves, only to emerge gasping and spluttering with a wide grin of achievement.
At East Cape last week I mislaid a pair of Summies Shorts and found Luke Hepburn’s cap in my bag. The club has also mislaid the Black Plastic box containing the First Aid Kit.
After Nippers we stopped off to visit Ron & Lynne. Ron has been fixing up the Sanyong Musso and we hope that it works out that we can purchase this vehicle for Wildcliff. He has had a number of things fixed. After an AA test he has found that the Electric Four Wheel Drive does not work. It is possible to change to FWD manually by adjusting nuts, but the defeats the luxury of electronic assistance. Once this is fixed we should be able to obtain an AA clearance and the vehicle will be ready for sale. We stopped off at P & P for Pizza Bases and made ourselves delicious Pizzas and a vegetable bake for lunch.
7 MARCH 2009.
Thursday morning 5th March 2009. I had been away for the week and happy to be able to run in the morning. Gerald was off to Cape Town to support Pat as she cycled her 10th Argus Cycle tour. I heard that Mat Damon, the famous ‘Bourne Identity’ actor, would be cycling the race this year. Adrienne would be in Johannesburg for a Diving Competition and so I asked who would be coming to run at the beach on Saturday morning. There were a few takers but no real enthusiasm for the run.
That morning I ran with Earl, Susan and Adrienne up Church road to 12th avenue and back down Water road to 6th avenue where we collected water at the filling station. Theresa ran past. She enquired if I would be doing the Sportsmans Warehouse 15kay on Saturday and informed me that if I was, then I would not be passing her as I had done at the last 15Kay. I had not known about this event. Earl & I chatted and decided to take part in the race rather than going to the beach.
Later that morning I called Tim and asked him if he would join us. He seemed quite keen and I arranged to pick him up on the way there. Friday evening; Ally had a ‘sleep out’ at the church and she also had a party with a friend (Meghan) on Saturday morning. I dropped her off at the church with a little goodie bag, her mattress and sleeping bag. Earl called to say that he was working late and would probably not be keen to run. I am almost always in bed early as I become so tired in the evenings that I really cannot stay awake. Friday evening was no exception so I awoke on Saturday morning early, feeling fresh and ready for a good run.
I have this new GPS gadget and set it for Tim’s house. I passed Earl’s house but when he emerged in scants I knew that he would not be coming for the run. I drove on to where Tim was staying in Mangold Street and he was waiting on the corner. Tim and I have run many races together and yet have drifted apart over the past three years. It was really good to be going to a race together again. In fact we were able to catch up from where we left off as if there had not been the break. At Sportsmans Warehouse we paid our R25 and entered the race. At the car we chatted to Malcolm Figg and Tony Boardman. Tony had taken a year’s break from Running and was also pleased to be back into the sport. Malcolm is also back into running races after a long break.
We lined up at the back and started really slowly. We ran the first kay in 7.5 minutes. We had seen a number of Achilleans (Moff, Tom, Gareth, Peter P) at the start. Erna, Sonja and Willie (MPRG) were there. Tim soon complained that the pace was too slow and we started to move through the field. We chatted to whoever we came across. This is one part of running that I really enjoy. Chatting to people for just a few seconds and receiving a bright and positive response, makes running such a great experience. One particular runner had a bright blue pair of Saucony’s on that he had bought the previous day at the Brian Bands shoe sale. This reminded me that I should go there after the run as my shoes were approaching the end of their running life.
We passed Theresa. “Oh No” she exclaimed. “Its you!” As we passed her she realised that it was Tim who was pulling me and urged him to: “Run me to the ground”. The 7kay mark seemed to come quite quickly and Tim started to look agitated as the pace was too slow for him. For me, we were running at 5.30min a Kay, and this was a good steady pace. By the ten kay mark he realised that he still had plenty of energy and surged ahead.
We had run the first half of this race with the easterly breeze behind us and uphill. The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. The weather was overcast but still very hot as we ran out bound. During the inbound half the sun pushed the cloud cover aside and we began to really overheat. The watering tables were wells stocked and regular.
The second half would be into the cooling breeze and slightly downhill. I was pleased that Tim had gone off as he was running just that half a stride faster than I would have liked. I saw him disappear into the horizon and tried to maintain the pace that we had set. I saw Leslie ahead of me and tried to catch her. She was really running well and I realised that I would not be able to reel her in. But, just then, we came to a water point and she took a quick break to drink her coke and this enabled me to pass her.
I then carried on as fast as I could. I now saw Erna ahead of me. Erna runs with the MPRG in the mornings. I ran as hard as I could even into the finish area but could just not catch her. She finished just ahead of me. A number of Achilleans were running in the opposite direction. I had run as hard as I could and there was no way that I would have been able to continue. Bob and Tim had already collected their cool drink. Tim had run the race in about 78 minutes and I was something like five minutes behind him. In the last five kays he had run a minute a kay faster than me.
Erna and Sonja had earned themselves Silver Medals. Tim and I had decided to leave straight after the run. I dropped Tim off and went home for a shower before heading down to Brian Bands to purchase a new pair of Aisics. I am a reluctant shopper and it is seldom that I am prepared to spend time trying our shoes or clothing. This morning I had brought my old Aisics and the sales assistant brought me exactly the right size and fit. I was very happy with the pair that they sold me and so bought two pairs.
Tim called to say that he had left his wallet in my car so I dropped it off and then collected Barbara, went back to Brian Bands and bought her two pairs of Adidas running shoes as well. Barbara is in the process of becoming fitter and we plan to start an evening walk run according to a program that she has. I had to spend some time in the office to prepare for the week ahead. Later that morning, I collected Ally from her party from Debbie Derry’s home and we went back to Brian Bands for the third time and now bought her a pair of Tennis and a pair of Running shoes exactly like the Adidas that I had bought for Barbara but just one size bigger.
I had to prepare for a hiking meeting with Nigel, Colleen, Mike & Barbie Perks f or our planned Fish River Canyon hike later this year. At the meeting we had a general chat about preparations. We will have to know our travel plans as we need to book in advance. Barbara & I spent most of the afternoon watching Stormers and Bulls Rugby.
Sunday morning.
We started off early. Barbara reading her book and me doing my writing. Mike Perks was giving the message, talking from Matthew he spoke about being greedy and taking from life rather than giving of yourself. He told us of a friend who gave him a quote: “I climbed the ladder of success only to find out that when I reached the top, the ladder was leaning against the wrong building”. The person who said this had been the joint MD of OK Bazaars at its height of success.
So the question that Mike was asking is “What is success?” Is it Power, Money, Material goods, Popularity etc? Or is Success a product of your soul and the activity that makes up your soul? Mike tells the story: The man runs up to the funeral as he is a little late for the service and asks of the person standing next to him: “So how much did he leave”? And the answer he receives is: “Everything!”
After Church we went to Nippers at Summerstrand. The West wind was blowing after a week of Easterly. The east wind had brought up big swells and being in the water meant that we were fighting cross currents and a strong pull as the waves formed. The surf was not uncontrollable and the U10’s had a great time with body boards. We had nearly 20 U10’s with Lynne, Marius and I as coaches.
Clint took the handful of U14’s. I saw him having quite a hard workout himself. Deon & Andrew coached the U12’s. Serrano was there with Matthew Derry and Mundy practicing Flags. They gave us a few tips and we watched them going through their paces.
The U10’s had a really good workout both on the beach and in the sea. By 12.30 looked like they had had enough for the day. A Nippers practice like this is excellent exercise for young children. They run, swim and board, using all their muscle groups and never over heating. They take part with their peers in a fun environment and seem to be keen even when stretched over their limit. Taking board rides in white water, that has the strength that we experienced today, enhances their confidence and ability in the sea. For the coaches it is sometimes quite scary, as we see children being swamped by huge waves, only to emerge gasping and spluttering with a wide grin of achievement.
At East Cape last week I mislaid a pair of Summies Shorts and found Luke Hepburn’s cap in my bag. The club has also mislaid the Black Plastic box containing the First Aid Kit.
After Nippers we stopped off to visit Ron & Lynne. Ron has been fixing up the Sanyong Musso and we hope that it works out that we can purchase this vehicle for Wildcliff. He has had a number of things fixed. After an AA test he has found that the Electric Four Wheel Drive does not work. It is possible to change to FWD manually by adjusting nuts, but the defeats the luxury of electronic assistance. Once this is fixed we should be able to obtain an AA clearance and the vehicle will be ready for sale. We stopped off at P & P for Pizza Bases and made ourselves delicious Pizzas and a vegetable bake for lunch.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
NIPPERS EAST CAPE CHAMPS FEBRUARY 2009
NIPPERS EAST CAPE CHAMPS
28TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Thursday afternoon I had been in Kingwilliamstown for the day. On my way home I was so tired that I had to stop at Nanaga for a short sleep. I phoned Warren to ask if he needed my help for loading the trailer as I really did not feel like going out again. But once I had a wash and changed to shorts and T shirt, I was in a better frame of mind and joined the others at Summies. It was Warren, Clint, Johan, Roger, Shareen and I who loaded the Penny Pinchers trailer. Once Terry had arrived we completed the task of loading the Summies trailer.
Friday afternoon I attended a level test with three young Nippers from Summerstrand. Matthew and Jordan were U10’s and there was an U12 as well. Liesel is doing a great job for Summies. It is great to see how someone like her who is new to Nippers is prepared to take on an administrative job like this.
Level tests is a huge responsibility with lots of personal time required and very little thanks given. The parking at Hobie was almost full due to all of the Ironmen doing their evening swim training. The water was really warm and I loved the swim. All of the Nippers did well and passed their tests. There were also a number of Nippers from newly formed Hobie Beach, some ex Seagulls and there were also some Kings Beach Nippers as well.
At this time there was a group who were busy setting out the Arena’s for the next day’s activities. Today was Barbara’s birthday and while we had nothing special on for the evening I returned home as early as I could. Ally stayed over at Jessica as it was her birthday party and she was having a number of her school friends stay for the night.
Saturday morning I was up early for my morning run. I collected Adrienne and we drove down to Hobie beach. We met up with Andrew Barton and Margie Saunders. Our route was up Walmer Boulevard, Strandfortein and Admiralty. I really enjoy these Saturday runs which end up with a swim. The temperature of the water had dropped a bit from the previous evening but still quite acceptable.
After our swim I collected Ally from Jessica’s house and we prepared for the day at the beach. It had been raining but the air was warm. On Kings beach Clint, Varrin, John, Marius, Andrew, Dion, Warren and some other chaps were already hard at work setting up arena’s. Claire had a team prepared to feed the multitudes in the Tuck Shop. Claire was doing this at short notice as Kings Beach club had pulled out of this duty. She had spent the day doing shopping and in preparation. In addition she had collected the Chafe Vests for the Coaches. Varrin was looking quite dapper in his new Chafe Vest and I was keen to put mine on. I was thrilled with the fit. Not only did the Summies coaches stand out but the vests are really functional. Perhaps a little too warm in the sun but fantastic to swim in and they dry off quickly.
It was raining as we were erecting the tents but early in the morning the sun began to shine and it became quite hot. There was a cloud cover for most of the day but I kept my hat on all day as I have experienced the strength of the sun on a day at the beach like this.
We started the day with numbering the Nippers, Barbara did the U10’s, Liesle the U12’s and Mimi did the U14’s. After the Manager’s meeting, Clint explained some of the rules and we did our normal pre-carnival war cry. Rules that would apply today were: one false start and you would be eliminated, failure to be present during marshalling would mean that you would be excluded from the event, no assistance allowed from coaches in the water, Appeals would be directed to Grant who was the referee for the day. Nippers is a stunning sport for both parents and for the youngsters. Tim is a two time Ironman who tells me that, as a coach, Nippers now takes up as much energy and he is happy to have moved from Ironman training to Nippers.
There were not enough officials to run two arena’s at one time so we started with Flags. At East Cape champs we are only allowed 8 Nippers from each age group and gender. This means that we have to choose and that there are many who may be left out. In the U10’s we had 5 girls: Marion who is the longest standing U10 girl, Erica, Tammy, Alexia and Mieka. U 10 Boys we had 14 of which Luke is the boy who has been a Nipper for the longest. We made Marion and Luke, U10 captains for the day. U14’s started off with flags and the process of elimination slowly worked its way through.
Tara surprised herself a couple of times when she found a free baton. Ally was equally lucky a few times. Our U10’s were mostly eliminated early but we had a couple moving through to the next round. Jonathan and Bailey did well with Jonathan winning the event in the final round. Meika and Marion did well in the Girls section.
The U12 girls was really interesting to watch and there was a wonderful spirit even on elimination. It is good to see how these young girls are now able to accept elimination with a smile. Being eliminated is no disgrace but more it shows the character of being willing to participate knowing that elimination is going to happen to every one of about 64 Nippers except one. The U14 boys turned into a final between Luke and Jason with Luke taking the winning spot.
I joined Thomas as he watched Anka and Mieka. Anka has a great way of taking a baton from under her opponent. On a couple of occasions she seemed to have no chance but came up with the baton in her hand. Even when she was eliminated there was certainly some doubt as it appeared that there should have been a run off but Grant said that she had taken the baton after her opponent. Mieka also did well in the later elimination phases. Thomas made the comment that it was just as well that he was wearing a loose fitting t shirt as he was just bursting with pride.
We then all moved over to the sea where the Iron Nipper competition took place. This is a really tough event and a good swim can make all the difference. Entering and completing this event is not for the fainthearted and we should be proud of every Nipper who participates.
The next event was the Malibu board relay. Shareen had spent the whole morning with the team lists. This is after she had battled to select teams in the first place and now had one Nipper who would not be there and this meant adjusting teams. Also there were a number of U10’s who had to take part in a Gala and were trying to fit both activities into the day. Johan was running between Gelvandale swim pool and Kings Beach. We had four teams in the U10’s and while we did not do well, our teams completed the course and had a great spirit. The Kings beach and Plett U10’s have wonderful teams and may well go on to win Nationals. We have a huge amount of work to be done with our U10 team. We may have to move our practice area in the new season if we are to provide the U10’s with the same quality of training that KB and Plett are giving their U10 squad.
Then came the individual Beach sprint. The event started with U10’s and through a process of elimination which is quite tough, three competitors went through to the Semi finals and then the finals. Jonathan again took honours for the U10 team. Ally did well to make the first round cut. Ally has a great spirit and takes part in every possible event and does not “save herself” for her strongest disciplines.
Finally the day ended off with body board individual and all of the Summies age groups had an excellent participation in this event. As the day ended the rain started to fall. There had been some unpleasant incidents of theft during the day and we heard that a vehicle had been stolen as well as some equipment off the beach. We packed our craft into the KB tent and Clint organised guards for the evening.
The sand, sea and sun has a way of battering the body and after a busy Carnival day we were all pretty shattered. I enjoyed a drink after the event and then was happy to be home for a shower. Our TV at home is giving trouble and so I have been doing more reading than normal. Barbara enjoys these elimination talent shows on TV and Ally was content to find some Internet games to entertain her. That night it rained through the night and we were worried how Sunday would turn out.
Sunday Morning. I was up early and getting ready to leave when it started to rain heavily again. It was only 6am & I called Warren to see if he would be there and we agreed to meet at 6.30. Debbie Derry Sms’d asking” Surely no Nippers?” and my response was: Nippers is for Tough people like Meghan and for even tougher mom’s like you”: Debbie’s response: “So a lie in is out of the question”. I did not respond.
As Warren and I arrived at Kings beach it continued to pour with rain. The walk way to the clubhouse was so deep that I decided to not even try to drive up as I was worried that I may become stuck. We waded up to the clubhouse and found Claire and Clint setting up a tuck shop for the day. Claire was understandably worried as she had catered for 200 Egg and Bacon rolls and 400 Hamburgers plus all the coldrinks and sweets.
Grant arrives and we walked to the beach. Our poor tent looked dirty and bedraggled and was flapping its arms around. The scorers tent was being blown from side to side. I could not imagine the Scorers enjoying being in conditions like that. But the worst of all was the easterly blowing the waves into white water that looked most uninviting. We saw a few blue bottles but that did not seem to be the worst of our troubles. I took off my shorts and shirt and waded into the sea to collect our buoys that had been dislodged and blown to shore.
As more people arrived there seemed to be more and more debate about the options of continuing with the competition. I could not see the U10’s swimming in sea like that as we could not ensure their safety. Surely in all of this; Safety of the children is paramount? However we continued with a managers meeting where Grant explained that if the U10’s could not take part then we could not have a result. This is completely understandable as for example Kings beach is strong in U10’s while Summies is weak in this age group. To leave U10’s out of the equasion gives Summies a huge unfair advantage.
We agreed to talk to the clubs and return at 08.30 for a second round of talks where a vote would be taken. It was decided to go ahead starting with the U14’s in a Run swim Run. The boys went out and it soon became clear that even at this level, safety would be a concern. And at this stage the officials decided that the competition could not carry on.
There were two important Beach events that could be held: the Long Run and the Beach relays. These would be held as fun events. All age groups took part in the long run and this seemed to up spirits of everyone. I saw that a number of people needed to feed their tummies as well and the Egg and Bacon rolls must have been selling well.
Then we held the beach relays. The original sprint arena had to be scrapped as it was full of water and a potential hazard to the runners. We then ran on dryer sand without all the lanes being marked off. At this stage a number of people looked out to the ocean and commented that we could have continued. But what they saw was a easing in a set of waves and swells. However as soon as the sets rolled in we would be back to swimming in conditions where the safety of a Nipper in trouble could not be guaranteed.
The sun began to shine and we all warmed up and I think that it was in a moment of heat exhaustion that someone suggested a coaches beach relay event. Surprisingly this was well received and in no time the clubs had organised teams and they lined up to start the race. Grant was heard to say: “If you adults can’t get yourselves organised then it is no wonder that the Nippers are in disarray when being Marshalled.”
I was hoping that if there was a false start they may disqualify us but no sooner had this thought crossed my mind and some of the teams started running. Then the start whistle was blown. Our team started 20 meters late. And had no chance. But boy did we run. Or so we thought! As the relay ended I saw the group of Summies Moms (Barbara, Debbie, Jacqui and Ingrid) walking towards us with contorted faces. They had laughed so hard at our attempts to look athletic that their sides and faces were aching.
The only person who really was delighted at the East wind was Matthew Mc Gillivray. He was out Kite Surfing and having a ball. The rest of us packed up and loaded trailers. There were many willing hands and we soon had all the kit loaded and ready to be taken home.
A prize giving was held in the Quad of the KB clubhouse and Summies received a number of awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Claire discounted some burgers and we purchased a pack for the afternoon snack. Hopefully Summies did not lose too much. Claire had spent over R7000 on food and provisions. Either we are going to have a great braai one afternoon after Nippers or we are down the tubes in terms of cash.
That afternoon Barbara & I took our some DVD’s that Michael had given us to watch and we watched TV for a good part of the afternoon. I am pretty useless when it comes to handy man stuff around the house. For example our DSTV has not worked properly for ages and I have been trying to fix it but have had miserable results. But this afternoon I was able to fix a leaky tap. May not sound much to you but to me this was a major triumph. Usually when I try to fix water leaks it ends up worse than when I started, water sprays everywhere and I have to call the Plumber and pay double.
The East Wind continued to blow all of Sunday. Ultimately the Competition was called off for safety reasons. Not everyone agreed but Officials have to make a decision based on experience and a sound knowledge of the ocean and its dangers.
The coaches and Committee will hold a meeting to discuss the upcoming Nationals: Warren’s house in Cathcart Road: Monday 9th at 18.30pm. We would like as many parents to attend as possible.
Peter
4.3.2009.
28TH FEBRUARY 2009.
Thursday afternoon I had been in Kingwilliamstown for the day. On my way home I was so tired that I had to stop at Nanaga for a short sleep. I phoned Warren to ask if he needed my help for loading the trailer as I really did not feel like going out again. But once I had a wash and changed to shorts and T shirt, I was in a better frame of mind and joined the others at Summies. It was Warren, Clint, Johan, Roger, Shareen and I who loaded the Penny Pinchers trailer. Once Terry had arrived we completed the task of loading the Summies trailer.
Friday afternoon I attended a level test with three young Nippers from Summerstrand. Matthew and Jordan were U10’s and there was an U12 as well. Liesel is doing a great job for Summies. It is great to see how someone like her who is new to Nippers is prepared to take on an administrative job like this.
Level tests is a huge responsibility with lots of personal time required and very little thanks given. The parking at Hobie was almost full due to all of the Ironmen doing their evening swim training. The water was really warm and I loved the swim. All of the Nippers did well and passed their tests. There were also a number of Nippers from newly formed Hobie Beach, some ex Seagulls and there were also some Kings Beach Nippers as well.
At this time there was a group who were busy setting out the Arena’s for the next day’s activities. Today was Barbara’s birthday and while we had nothing special on for the evening I returned home as early as I could. Ally stayed over at Jessica as it was her birthday party and she was having a number of her school friends stay for the night.
Saturday morning I was up early for my morning run. I collected Adrienne and we drove down to Hobie beach. We met up with Andrew Barton and Margie Saunders. Our route was up Walmer Boulevard, Strandfortein and Admiralty. I really enjoy these Saturday runs which end up with a swim. The temperature of the water had dropped a bit from the previous evening but still quite acceptable.
After our swim I collected Ally from Jessica’s house and we prepared for the day at the beach. It had been raining but the air was warm. On Kings beach Clint, Varrin, John, Marius, Andrew, Dion, Warren and some other chaps were already hard at work setting up arena’s. Claire had a team prepared to feed the multitudes in the Tuck Shop. Claire was doing this at short notice as Kings Beach club had pulled out of this duty. She had spent the day doing shopping and in preparation. In addition she had collected the Chafe Vests for the Coaches. Varrin was looking quite dapper in his new Chafe Vest and I was keen to put mine on. I was thrilled with the fit. Not only did the Summies coaches stand out but the vests are really functional. Perhaps a little too warm in the sun but fantastic to swim in and they dry off quickly.
It was raining as we were erecting the tents but early in the morning the sun began to shine and it became quite hot. There was a cloud cover for most of the day but I kept my hat on all day as I have experienced the strength of the sun on a day at the beach like this.
We started the day with numbering the Nippers, Barbara did the U10’s, Liesle the U12’s and Mimi did the U14’s. After the Manager’s meeting, Clint explained some of the rules and we did our normal pre-carnival war cry. Rules that would apply today were: one false start and you would be eliminated, failure to be present during marshalling would mean that you would be excluded from the event, no assistance allowed from coaches in the water, Appeals would be directed to Grant who was the referee for the day. Nippers is a stunning sport for both parents and for the youngsters. Tim is a two time Ironman who tells me that, as a coach, Nippers now takes up as much energy and he is happy to have moved from Ironman training to Nippers.
There were not enough officials to run two arena’s at one time so we started with Flags. At East Cape champs we are only allowed 8 Nippers from each age group and gender. This means that we have to choose and that there are many who may be left out. In the U10’s we had 5 girls: Marion who is the longest standing U10 girl, Erica, Tammy, Alexia and Mieka. U 10 Boys we had 14 of which Luke is the boy who has been a Nipper for the longest. We made Marion and Luke, U10 captains for the day. U14’s started off with flags and the process of elimination slowly worked its way through.
Tara surprised herself a couple of times when she found a free baton. Ally was equally lucky a few times. Our U10’s were mostly eliminated early but we had a couple moving through to the next round. Jonathan and Bailey did well with Jonathan winning the event in the final round. Meika and Marion did well in the Girls section.
The U12 girls was really interesting to watch and there was a wonderful spirit even on elimination. It is good to see how these young girls are now able to accept elimination with a smile. Being eliminated is no disgrace but more it shows the character of being willing to participate knowing that elimination is going to happen to every one of about 64 Nippers except one. The U14 boys turned into a final between Luke and Jason with Luke taking the winning spot.
I joined Thomas as he watched Anka and Mieka. Anka has a great way of taking a baton from under her opponent. On a couple of occasions she seemed to have no chance but came up with the baton in her hand. Even when she was eliminated there was certainly some doubt as it appeared that there should have been a run off but Grant said that she had taken the baton after her opponent. Mieka also did well in the later elimination phases. Thomas made the comment that it was just as well that he was wearing a loose fitting t shirt as he was just bursting with pride.
We then all moved over to the sea where the Iron Nipper competition took place. This is a really tough event and a good swim can make all the difference. Entering and completing this event is not for the fainthearted and we should be proud of every Nipper who participates.
The next event was the Malibu board relay. Shareen had spent the whole morning with the team lists. This is after she had battled to select teams in the first place and now had one Nipper who would not be there and this meant adjusting teams. Also there were a number of U10’s who had to take part in a Gala and were trying to fit both activities into the day. Johan was running between Gelvandale swim pool and Kings Beach. We had four teams in the U10’s and while we did not do well, our teams completed the course and had a great spirit. The Kings beach and Plett U10’s have wonderful teams and may well go on to win Nationals. We have a huge amount of work to be done with our U10 team. We may have to move our practice area in the new season if we are to provide the U10’s with the same quality of training that KB and Plett are giving their U10 squad.
Then came the individual Beach sprint. The event started with U10’s and through a process of elimination which is quite tough, three competitors went through to the Semi finals and then the finals. Jonathan again took honours for the U10 team. Ally did well to make the first round cut. Ally has a great spirit and takes part in every possible event and does not “save herself” for her strongest disciplines.
Finally the day ended off with body board individual and all of the Summies age groups had an excellent participation in this event. As the day ended the rain started to fall. There had been some unpleasant incidents of theft during the day and we heard that a vehicle had been stolen as well as some equipment off the beach. We packed our craft into the KB tent and Clint organised guards for the evening.
The sand, sea and sun has a way of battering the body and after a busy Carnival day we were all pretty shattered. I enjoyed a drink after the event and then was happy to be home for a shower. Our TV at home is giving trouble and so I have been doing more reading than normal. Barbara enjoys these elimination talent shows on TV and Ally was content to find some Internet games to entertain her. That night it rained through the night and we were worried how Sunday would turn out.
Sunday Morning. I was up early and getting ready to leave when it started to rain heavily again. It was only 6am & I called Warren to see if he would be there and we agreed to meet at 6.30. Debbie Derry Sms’d asking” Surely no Nippers?” and my response was: Nippers is for Tough people like Meghan and for even tougher mom’s like you”: Debbie’s response: “So a lie in is out of the question”. I did not respond.
As Warren and I arrived at Kings beach it continued to pour with rain. The walk way to the clubhouse was so deep that I decided to not even try to drive up as I was worried that I may become stuck. We waded up to the clubhouse and found Claire and Clint setting up a tuck shop for the day. Claire was understandably worried as she had catered for 200 Egg and Bacon rolls and 400 Hamburgers plus all the coldrinks and sweets.
Grant arrives and we walked to the beach. Our poor tent looked dirty and bedraggled and was flapping its arms around. The scorers tent was being blown from side to side. I could not imagine the Scorers enjoying being in conditions like that. But the worst of all was the easterly blowing the waves into white water that looked most uninviting. We saw a few blue bottles but that did not seem to be the worst of our troubles. I took off my shorts and shirt and waded into the sea to collect our buoys that had been dislodged and blown to shore.
As more people arrived there seemed to be more and more debate about the options of continuing with the competition. I could not see the U10’s swimming in sea like that as we could not ensure their safety. Surely in all of this; Safety of the children is paramount? However we continued with a managers meeting where Grant explained that if the U10’s could not take part then we could not have a result. This is completely understandable as for example Kings beach is strong in U10’s while Summies is weak in this age group. To leave U10’s out of the equasion gives Summies a huge unfair advantage.
We agreed to talk to the clubs and return at 08.30 for a second round of talks where a vote would be taken. It was decided to go ahead starting with the U14’s in a Run swim Run. The boys went out and it soon became clear that even at this level, safety would be a concern. And at this stage the officials decided that the competition could not carry on.
There were two important Beach events that could be held: the Long Run and the Beach relays. These would be held as fun events. All age groups took part in the long run and this seemed to up spirits of everyone. I saw that a number of people needed to feed their tummies as well and the Egg and Bacon rolls must have been selling well.
Then we held the beach relays. The original sprint arena had to be scrapped as it was full of water and a potential hazard to the runners. We then ran on dryer sand without all the lanes being marked off. At this stage a number of people looked out to the ocean and commented that we could have continued. But what they saw was a easing in a set of waves and swells. However as soon as the sets rolled in we would be back to swimming in conditions where the safety of a Nipper in trouble could not be guaranteed.
The sun began to shine and we all warmed up and I think that it was in a moment of heat exhaustion that someone suggested a coaches beach relay event. Surprisingly this was well received and in no time the clubs had organised teams and they lined up to start the race. Grant was heard to say: “If you adults can’t get yourselves organised then it is no wonder that the Nippers are in disarray when being Marshalled.”
I was hoping that if there was a false start they may disqualify us but no sooner had this thought crossed my mind and some of the teams started running. Then the start whistle was blown. Our team started 20 meters late. And had no chance. But boy did we run. Or so we thought! As the relay ended I saw the group of Summies Moms (Barbara, Debbie, Jacqui and Ingrid) walking towards us with contorted faces. They had laughed so hard at our attempts to look athletic that their sides and faces were aching.
The only person who really was delighted at the East wind was Matthew Mc Gillivray. He was out Kite Surfing and having a ball. The rest of us packed up and loaded trailers. There were many willing hands and we soon had all the kit loaded and ready to be taken home.
A prize giving was held in the Quad of the KB clubhouse and Summies received a number of awards in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. Claire discounted some burgers and we purchased a pack for the afternoon snack. Hopefully Summies did not lose too much. Claire had spent over R7000 on food and provisions. Either we are going to have a great braai one afternoon after Nippers or we are down the tubes in terms of cash.
That afternoon Barbara & I took our some DVD’s that Michael had given us to watch and we watched TV for a good part of the afternoon. I am pretty useless when it comes to handy man stuff around the house. For example our DSTV has not worked properly for ages and I have been trying to fix it but have had miserable results. But this afternoon I was able to fix a leaky tap. May not sound much to you but to me this was a major triumph. Usually when I try to fix water leaks it ends up worse than when I started, water sprays everywhere and I have to call the Plumber and pay double.
The East Wind continued to blow all of Sunday. Ultimately the Competition was called off for safety reasons. Not everyone agreed but Officials have to make a decision based on experience and a sound knowledge of the ocean and its dangers.
The coaches and Committee will hold a meeting to discuss the upcoming Nationals: Warren’s house in Cathcart Road: Monday 9th at 18.30pm. We would like as many parents to attend as possible.
Peter
4.3.2009.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
REDHOUSE RIVER MILE FEBRUARY 2009
Redhouse River Mile: February 2009.
Sunday 22.02.2009; morning we had a slow start to the day. At church I heard a voice saying: "Do you still run Peter?". I had just half greeted a face that looked vaguely familiar but I had no idea who it was. We chatted for a while about running and stuff and all along I was battling to remember the woman’s name. We spoke about the Foot Of Africa, Richard van Schalkwyk, and her wine career and that she was in PE to promote something at the Boardwalk. She told me that she had recently had a Back Operation and was out of running. Charles and Ingrid were playing in the front of the church and Charles greeted me but then this person who I now realised stayed in CT greeted him back. It turned out that she was a sister in law of Charles. and I still had no idea what her name was. Finally the service was about to begin and I said: If you are going to run 2 Oceans half then I will contact you. And asked her to write down her phone number. Sneaky? I know; but this was the only was that I could discover that this was in fact Michelle Stewart who I think is also a family member of Diana Lamb or of John Harwood. After church we went down to Nippers. It had been blowing for a few days and the waves were disgustingly big and dumping. There was a small contingent of Nippers and coaches. Lynne and I took about 12 U10’s for a bit of swimming and boarding. We also did a bit of running to keep warm. After Nippers we drove (with the aid of my new GPS toy) to Redhouse. Ally’s race started at 14.00. Clint and a group of Summies people were there. Clint had been there since 08.30am and had reserved a prime spot. I was glad to see that both Andrew and Bruce had brought their families for the days festivities. Unfortunately the wind had destroyed the tent and Clint had run out of gas for his pot but he solved this with a bit of help from the Bowls Club people. The pot was put onto a stove and then later onto a fire. Ally & I had our numbers written on our arms and then we walked to the start of Ally’s race. Ally’s friends; Meghan and ANO joined her for the walk and I left her to carry on. I saw that Jenny Giddy’s friend? and Arlene Wulfson were back again this year. I walked back to the Finish area and waited to see Ally finish. The Ladies race was exciting with a number of the local youngsters that we know doing well; the two Billson girls Lauren and Carmel, Jessica Liss and Kristie Vaughn all did well. Then came Tara and Ally in a front group. I was surprised and delighted to see Ally doing so well. She finished in about 22 Minutes. I collected her cap and Goggles for myself. I don’t normally worry with Goggles but with the wind in our faces I decided to rather wear the Goggles for eye protection. It was a hot day and I should have used sunscreen as well. I walked to the start of our race with Sean (Crusaders). Debbie Derry and Jacqui Zeelie had a few encouraging words for me. I must have looked apprehensive. I passed Robbie Blaire on the pathway. Shane Norris and Peter Merrington were there. I saw David Emslie and Keith Reading (ex Achilleans) at the start. This race was well supported by local people; I saw people with the numbers in the 1000’s and so the race must have had that number of entrants. The Men’s start went off well. I was surprised to see that after a few minutes after the start there were still some chaps walking down the side of the river. But I determined to try to swim the whole way. Normally what I do is quite a bit of gasping for breath and Breast stroke. Today I managed to swim Crawl the whole way except for a few brief moments when I had to find my way and also when I collided with another swimmer. The first section of the swim is the toughest. We seem to swim forever before we reach the first house. Then it seems to go a lot quicker as we pass houses and Jetty’s. The Goggles helped immensely as I was able to keep my eyes open and felt a sense of being in control throughout the swim. There was a huge Buoy in the middle of the river and as I swam past this then I knew it was not far to go. I pressed on as hard as I could and was soon approaching the finish banner. I saw Christian Fraser and the Mc Gillivray’s ahead of me. Luke and Matthew Hepburn had a good swim as well. My time was not that good, but I had a stunning swim with no breaks and felt good afterwards. We were handed a bottle of water at the finish. I gulped half of it down as the water is very salty and I needed the hydration. People had spoken about the condition of the water. Personally I did not find it dirty. There is a lot of grass and stuff that attaches itself to you as you swim but this did not worry me at all. Back at the Summies area I realised that I had impressed Lukea and Terry with my speedy swim as they commented on my dolphin like style. I think it was probably the spray of white water that I displace as I cut through the water with graceful strokes. Clint had worked on his Sloppy Joe recipe and I immediately devoured my first one after putting on my t-shirt. As the afternoon progressed it appeared that word of Clint’s Sloppy Joe Rolls had spread like wildfire. There were queues of people from all around the venue lining up for seconds. He should go into business on a day like today. I suggest that you diarise the River Mile for 2010. Even if it is only to sample Clint’s Famous Sloppy Joe recipe! Patrick & Terry had bought a couple of batches of doughnuts. This was enough to fill me to capacity. Ally went off to buy ice creams and returned with one for me as well declaring that she knew that I would want one. Was I stuffed? Barbara had brought Digby to Redhouse. Digby always seems to attract affection and attention. Marcus & Susanne Burri were there. Marcus is a good swimmer and won his category. His son, MC, did a good time as well with a 20 minute swim. We all waited for the prize giving which started about an hour late. Unfortunately none of us won a prize nor did we win the Scooter Lucky Draw. Matthew Mc Gillivray had won it last year and we half thought that it might be one of us this year. Once home we showered and were soon ready for bed. Jacqui phoned to say that she was home in London safely. It had been an 18 hour trip for them and they were glad to be home at last.
Lise Mari: Nipper from Summerstrand:
Hi PeterLise-Mari also took part in the river mile.RegardsAnne-Marie Goosen
Sunday 22.02.2009; morning we had a slow start to the day. At church I heard a voice saying: "Do you still run Peter?". I had just half greeted a face that looked vaguely familiar but I had no idea who it was. We chatted for a while about running and stuff and all along I was battling to remember the woman’s name. We spoke about the Foot Of Africa, Richard van Schalkwyk, and her wine career and that she was in PE to promote something at the Boardwalk. She told me that she had recently had a Back Operation and was out of running. Charles and Ingrid were playing in the front of the church and Charles greeted me but then this person who I now realised stayed in CT greeted him back. It turned out that she was a sister in law of Charles. and I still had no idea what her name was. Finally the service was about to begin and I said: If you are going to run 2 Oceans half then I will contact you. And asked her to write down her phone number. Sneaky? I know; but this was the only was that I could discover that this was in fact Michelle Stewart who I think is also a family member of Diana Lamb or of John Harwood. After church we went down to Nippers. It had been blowing for a few days and the waves were disgustingly big and dumping. There was a small contingent of Nippers and coaches. Lynne and I took about 12 U10’s for a bit of swimming and boarding. We also did a bit of running to keep warm. After Nippers we drove (with the aid of my new GPS toy) to Redhouse. Ally’s race started at 14.00. Clint and a group of Summies people were there. Clint had been there since 08.30am and had reserved a prime spot. I was glad to see that both Andrew and Bruce had brought their families for the days festivities. Unfortunately the wind had destroyed the tent and Clint had run out of gas for his pot but he solved this with a bit of help from the Bowls Club people. The pot was put onto a stove and then later onto a fire. Ally & I had our numbers written on our arms and then we walked to the start of Ally’s race. Ally’s friends; Meghan and ANO joined her for the walk and I left her to carry on. I saw that Jenny Giddy’s friend? and Arlene Wulfson were back again this year. I walked back to the Finish area and waited to see Ally finish. The Ladies race was exciting with a number of the local youngsters that we know doing well; the two Billson girls Lauren and Carmel, Jessica Liss and Kristie Vaughn all did well. Then came Tara and Ally in a front group. I was surprised and delighted to see Ally doing so well. She finished in about 22 Minutes. I collected her cap and Goggles for myself. I don’t normally worry with Goggles but with the wind in our faces I decided to rather wear the Goggles for eye protection. It was a hot day and I should have used sunscreen as well. I walked to the start of our race with Sean (Crusaders). Debbie Derry and Jacqui Zeelie had a few encouraging words for me. I must have looked apprehensive. I passed Robbie Blaire on the pathway. Shane Norris and Peter Merrington were there. I saw David Emslie and Keith Reading (ex Achilleans) at the start. This race was well supported by local people; I saw people with the numbers in the 1000’s and so the race must have had that number of entrants. The Men’s start went off well. I was surprised to see that after a few minutes after the start there were still some chaps walking down the side of the river. But I determined to try to swim the whole way. Normally what I do is quite a bit of gasping for breath and Breast stroke. Today I managed to swim Crawl the whole way except for a few brief moments when I had to find my way and also when I collided with another swimmer. The first section of the swim is the toughest. We seem to swim forever before we reach the first house. Then it seems to go a lot quicker as we pass houses and Jetty’s. The Goggles helped immensely as I was able to keep my eyes open and felt a sense of being in control throughout the swim. There was a huge Buoy in the middle of the river and as I swam past this then I knew it was not far to go. I pressed on as hard as I could and was soon approaching the finish banner. I saw Christian Fraser and the Mc Gillivray’s ahead of me. Luke and Matthew Hepburn had a good swim as well. My time was not that good, but I had a stunning swim with no breaks and felt good afterwards. We were handed a bottle of water at the finish. I gulped half of it down as the water is very salty and I needed the hydration. People had spoken about the condition of the water. Personally I did not find it dirty. There is a lot of grass and stuff that attaches itself to you as you swim but this did not worry me at all. Back at the Summies area I realised that I had impressed Lukea and Terry with my speedy swim as they commented on my dolphin like style. I think it was probably the spray of white water that I displace as I cut through the water with graceful strokes. Clint had worked on his Sloppy Joe recipe and I immediately devoured my first one after putting on my t-shirt. As the afternoon progressed it appeared that word of Clint’s Sloppy Joe Rolls had spread like wildfire. There were queues of people from all around the venue lining up for seconds. He should go into business on a day like today. I suggest that you diarise the River Mile for 2010. Even if it is only to sample Clint’s Famous Sloppy Joe recipe! Patrick & Terry had bought a couple of batches of doughnuts. This was enough to fill me to capacity. Ally went off to buy ice creams and returned with one for me as well declaring that she knew that I would want one. Was I stuffed? Barbara had brought Digby to Redhouse. Digby always seems to attract affection and attention. Marcus & Susanne Burri were there. Marcus is a good swimmer and won his category. His son, MC, did a good time as well with a 20 minute swim. We all waited for the prize giving which started about an hour late. Unfortunately none of us won a prize nor did we win the Scooter Lucky Draw. Matthew Mc Gillivray had won it last year and we half thought that it might be one of us this year. Once home we showered and were soon ready for bed. Jacqui phoned to say that she was home in London safely. It had been an 18 hour trip for them and they were glad to be home at last.
Lise Mari: Nipper from Summerstrand:
Hi PeterLise-Mari also took part in the river mile.RegardsAnne-Marie Goosen
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)