The tour progresses slowly past Nelson Mandela’s cell and we are struck by how small it is. Everybody wants their photo opportunity and our tour is slowed by the presence of TV cameras, which we later find are broadcasting our ugly mugs on Sky Sports News. A quick wizz around the island with an ex-inmate can’t remember his first name but his surname was Isaacs, who was informative and funny. We see the major sights and then jump on the ferry for the ride back to the Waterfront at Cape Town. By now it’s really hot and the trip and early start has made us hungry so we search out a restaurant by the water. We settle for fish & chips by the harbour, a choice of hake or snoek but no mushy peas! Another beer and we start our investigation of theV&A Waterfront, Table Mountain looks inviting but it’s actually quite difficult to get to from the centre of CT so we leave it for another day. The fans park and associated fane entertainment is present everywhere and feels somewhat overwhelming and without the charm that we have seen in Germany and Portugal, maybe it’s their attempts to please that is part of the problem?
The journey back to Fish Hoeck on the train is spectacular and we take in the views across False Bay. We all take the opportunity to visit the Internet Cafe, catch up with your comments on the Blog, thanks to all of you for taking the time to do so, and feel aggrieved that we are missing out on Daz’s barbecue! No not really, only joking! The pace of this trip is now taking its toll and we all feel exhausted so we settle for a night by the fire, rustle up some spaghetti Bolognese, take in a beer or two and fall asleep in front of the telly.
I’ve just been reminded that the tour guides we had on Robben Island were Lionel Davies and Cedric Isaacs, both very important people in the anti-apartheid movement in Robben Island and Nelson Mandella’s close friends.
Day 8 – Match Day
Today is a really big day so we start early again. We are starting with a trip to St Georges School in Cape Town to pass on all the posters, books and associated well wishes from Cookridge Primary School in Leeds. We hope to collect something in exchange to take home with us, and we’ll report back later.
After that we will be playing in the fans match at the school, Skip and Deano want to play whilst Dave Bev will be refereeing. Then we will make our way into the centre of town, take in the atmosphere and make our way to the stadium for tonight’s important game against Algeria. A straw poll in our group suggests a 4-0 result to England, but we will see!
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