Dear All,
What a week! I'm absolutely shattered after a stonking time with Chris Ellaby out here in South Africa.
A quick round up of the week before his arrival:
Monday: 13 hours in the office (Wimbledon late pm)
Tuesday: Tennis in the evening, sadly my partner was forced to cancel but great to practise my serve (Wimbledon pm)
Wednesday: Bible study followed by 24 on the box (Wimbledon pm)
Thursday: Prep for Chris' arrival (Wimbledon pm)
On Friday I left the office early and shot off to the airport to collect Chris. I could barely hold my excitement as he arrived...."You're my boy blue!", I shouted as he came through the gate. Let the games begin!
On Friday night we headed back to the flat for a glass of wine and the Roddick vs Murray match. After seeing Murray fall we picked up my neighbour Desiree and headed to 'The Butchers Shop', one of Jo'burg's finest meat restaurants. There were Lions fans everywhere, and we were happy to sing along to "I'd rather be a Lion than a Bok!". The meal was crowned with a bottle of Warwick Trilogy, one of SA's finest blends!
On Saturday we met up with our fellow rugby fans and shot off to Ellis Park. After nearly murdering my car on a curb and paying a man to guard it we went into the stadium. The rest is history. My voice box is still feeling the strain of an epic clash. We sang our way back to the apartment and spent the evening with a group of colleagues at a restaurant in one of Jo'burg's nicer suburbs.
Sunday morning was started by my alarm at 5am and we set off immediately in the direction of the Kruger for a night at a game reserve. We arrived safely and within 6 hours. After settling in and grabbing some lunch we sat down for the Wimbledon final.....Fed looked to take the first set easily so we shot off to go on our first game drive, my brother Tom supplying us with the dreadful news that Fed had somehow been broken by the powerful A-Rod. After a great night drive we shot back into the lodge where we were able to catch nearly the full final set of the tennis and cheered our way over to supper after the Fed-Express took his tally to 15. After our grub we lit our victory cigar and cracked open a couple of Castles. The genius idea of breaking into the swimming pool for a midnight dip was met with applause from us both and we tottered down the moonlit path for a pretty chilly dip.
My alarm, now getting pretty irritating, decided that 5am was its favourite time of day and said 'hello' as loudly as possible on Monday morning. Shattered and dishevelled we made our way over to the the main lodge ready to leave on our second game drive. This one was awesome.....first stop was the rhinos and then came the king of the jungle. Our guides tracked the lion and we managed to follow it for quite some time. Awesome!
After a quick breakfast we hopped in the car and started the long journey back to Jo'burg. Chris took to the wheel for the first half, through the mountain pass, and at the payage I took over. We were making good time and I was surprised at times to look at my speedometer and see how fast I was going. This surprise turned to shock when I heard sirens behind me. Less than an hour outside of Jo'burg I was pulled over by the police. I'd been caught by a speed gun some miles back and the policeman had clearly been chasing to catch up with me for some time. My speed?.....I'll leave that for rumour, but had I been caught in the UK I would have lost my license for 12 months, no questions asked. Knowing that I was guilty as sin I handed my car key to Chris and got into the police car, ready to face my punishment. We explained to the copper that we were low on petrol, perhaps infuriating him further. Chris followed me and my new friend in blue as we made our way to prison. The policeman explained what would happen; I would be arrested upon arrival, Chris would have to bail me out (circa £150) then I would have to wait to see a magistrate before being charged (unlimited fine). There was a chance that I would spend a night in prison and this was my greatest fear as there is no separation based on crime in Jo'burg. I could well be landed with a rapest of murderer as a room mate for the night. I had a good chat with the policeman and was honest at my embarrassment of being caught speeding as well as my frustration at having to pay such a large fine. He enquired as to how much money I had on me. Worried that our conversation was going down the bribery route I told him, honestly, that I had less that R100 on me (£8). We kept going and our conversation turned from the rugby, to the weather, to England and to the fastest guy he'd ever caught speeding (150 mph - faster than I was going I might add)! I was fairly relaxed and ready to accept whatever was thrown at me; I had broken the law and knew I had to pay the price. Suddenly the cop pulled the car over and to a halt. We got out and he wrote my charge notice. I didn't understand what was going on. He looked at me in the eyes and said "Don't speed again. I'm letting you off. Go home". I could not believe it. I deserved to be in prison, I had resigned to this fact and told him as much. I walked back to where Chris had pulled over my car, got in the passenger seat and off we went....scott free - no fine, no bribe! Ironically we passed the prison that I was on my way to as we went to the petrol station.
Back home (in good time despite our short delay with the rozzers), we had a pasta supper and Chris packed ready to head home. That blasted alarm of mine was just as rude on Tuesday morning and we were out of the flat by 6am and on our way to the airport. A short, sweet and sad goodbye and I was back on my own and on the way to the office. It certainly has been an epic time and one I will remember for the rest of my life.
If you're interested in seeing the photos then I hope they can be viewed here.....
I've just had a call from my brother who has arrived in SA. More adventures to come when I head to Durban in a couple of weeks....
Enjoy your weeks, enjoy the Ashes starting today!
With love,
Mikey
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