Ahh one thing I failed to mention (could it have slipped my mind?) in the last post is that little Davey Boy made it back to Cape Town safely. We said our adieus and parted ways in Zambia at the end of our overland in July, but he didn’t go straight back to the UK. He decided that uni started long enough away to squeeze in a 6 week GAP placement in the African wilderness, but didn’t bank on the placement being run by bible bashing hippies intent on converting him, so he escaped and traveled for 2 weeks. Then, on Tuesday last week as I was coming home from a hard day of work, he jumped on me and almost broke my back, and has been living on our floor ever since.

However today he jumped onto a plane to Joburg, before catching an international flight about now to Heathrow, where no doubt he’ll slowly blend back into boring, English life.

Pete

Good news and bad news. The good news is that you may have noticed I’ve been using this blog more often recently. The bad news is that the newfound vigour may not continue – after all, all I seem to be using it for is to whinge and carp about how stupid everything is – something has to turn good for once soon. Well I’m continuing on in that vain for now anyway, so shut your mouth if you have a problem with it.

The person I’m whinging about today doesn’t like me doing so, so instead I’ll make up a FICTIONAL story that has NOTHING to do with my whinge. Actually that’s a good idea – who said anything about whinging? Not me – I’m definately not whinging. That’s right – this isn’t a story about anyone I or you know – it’s actually going to be about ants. Ants that like honey. Yeah that’s a good one Pete.

Anyway there was this ant, lets call him Antony. Antony was an Antstralian ant that liked the way things were turning out in life. He had good friends, was living comfortably and was in his final year of Antschool. That was when the idea of a trip came to him. He decided to save money and volunteer at a camp for underprivileged ants a long way away. He figured that he had lived in his nest with the rest of his family for too long, and that an adventure was on the cards – to kick-start his instincts to go and build a colony later in life. Anyway the land that the Antschool was in was unlike anything he had seen before. It had aspects of his home in the landscape, but was totally upside down on other fronts. He loved the place instantly, and got immense satisfaction from helping these ants that had never had a real chance in life before to fulfill their own dreams. During the year, Antony shared an abandoned old (but quite comfortable) anthill with another volunteer, Bob (you can see I’m running short of ant names). Bob was an ant from the northern parts, where it always rained. He had a funny way of doing things, but they worked well together and became great friends.

After some time Bob started to get disillusioned with the work he was doing. In his mind he hadn’t landed as sweet a job as Antony had, so he decided to travel down the street a bit more, before he was to go back home and to Antversity himself. Antony soon found himself sharing his newly vacated bachelor pad with a female ant, a self-professed queen of the hive. Antony tore his hair out every day, because although they were great friends, living with her was difficult to say the least. They kept arguing, admittedly somewhat to do with Antony’s own personality, but the female ant, Antoinette, kept seemingly trying to screw up their friendship more and more. She’d have hissy fits for no particular reason; she’d abandon the mound for hours at a time because she ‘had to’ work a job down the way (she wasn’t even a worker ant!); and the small amount of time she did spend at home would always be on the phone to her boyantfriend who apparently lived where Bob came from, wherever that was. Antony wasn’t at all bitter about this connection that Antoinette had with another Ant, after all he himself was attached to another ant somewhere out there but he did get upset and lonely by himself, with no one to talk to. It was also a matter of Antoinette abusing the privileges that weren’t hers in the first place – for example the state of the art Antphone technology that Antony installed, he had paid for all by himself, with no help from Antoinette. Bob had chipped in much more to the workings of the house, and paid phone rental now and again, plus he was actually around most of the time.

At the end of one particular day, when Antony had basically fallen asleep at work due to lack of aforementioned sleep the night before (due in no part to Antoinette noisily talking to her boyantfriend well into the wee hours), Antony sat down to write out a letter to the local magazine counselor. He wrote out the whole story so as to get some advice as to what to do – but it was then, when he had explained the situation that he realized the problem was simply that Antoinette didn’t realize when she went too far. She had inadvertently done the exact same thing before she moved in with Antony, unknowingly ditching her friends for what she saw as a once in a lifetime opportunity. She didn’t realize that this hurt everyone around her. She didn’t realize she was still doing the same thing. As Antony sat down and wrote this all out to the counselor, it suddenly all made sense to him. She didn’t mean to constantly strain the friendship, or not piss him off. She just didn’t think before she acted often.

One could say she lacked the capacity to put herself in another’s shoes, but in reality Antoinette was simply a selfish ant.

Pete

I never thought being an Australian in South Africa could be difficult. I was wrong, almost completely due to the fact that we lost. Granted, this wasn’t a huge surprise. In the 30 or so matches against the Springboks that we’ve played since the South Africans have been re-admitted to international sport, 5 have been in Durban, with South Africa winning all but one of the ABSA stadium clashes. Another statistic favoring a Springbok victory were the fact that all throughout this year’s Tri Nations, not a single match had been won away, a trend that continued on Saturday.

To their credit, the ‘boks played consistently (which is a bit of a surprise) and the Wallabies had a 20 minute period in the 2nd half that nothing we did worked. This was partly to do with excellent pressure by the bok offence, and partly to do with the Wallabies suffering from good old fashioned crapness. At the end of the day, those 20 minutes proved fatal, the Springboks walking away with a 23-19 victory, as well as the Tri Nations cup, even after being bottom of the log only 2 weeks previously.

As to be expected, South Africans have been ripping into me in the past couple of days much the same as many poms would have had I been in England last November. I can understand the elation – the boks have had a shit run lasting over five years, with some of the most inconsistent rugby I’ve ever seen, matched with crappy coaches and bad administration. They haven’t won this competition for 6 years, even though there are only 3 sides in it (explaining the whole TRI-nations bit ), so some celebration is in order, but the country can’t see that what they are doing isn’t celebrating, but setting themselves up for more heartache and losses in the future.

The facts: The ‘boks only walked away tournament victors due to having 3 bonus points – one more than the Wallabies and two more than the All Blacks. In many rugby tournaments, including the Tri Nations, a winning team earns a bonus point if it scores 4 tries or more, and a losing team if it loses by less than 7 points. In the first match, against New Zealand in Wellington, they managed to scrape over the line due to obvious offside play during most of the match. The referee was Australian, and I am ashamed to admit I am anything to do with him – Stevie Wonder could have caught those offsides. During the Australian match played three weeks ago, the Springboks similarly lost by a tight margin, but once again only by cheating, as their first try was due to a blatant forward pass, and once again much of the game was played offside. The game against New Zealand in Johannesburg last week at least was a bonus point that was deserved, with the South Africans beating the All Blacks 40-24. However, with this taken into account, the boks shouldn’t have won at all. Although I admit and agree that the referee’s decision is final, and am not challenging that particular rule, I must point out that although many bok supporters will see the win as a fantastic revival of past glory, they didn’t really deserve what they got, and really if England can be World champions at any particular sport, then nothing about it can be taken seriously.

Even though this is all just whinging of mine that carries no real weight, South Africa is a long way off being able to celebrate just yet. The Sunday paper’s reported “Springbok’s on top of the World!” and “Champion ‘Boks are ready for World Cup 2007″. Both are entirely bullshit. Beating New Zealand and Australia is no mean feat, but when the matches are home ones and both teams are in re-development, bragging rights have to be restricted, after all they did only win 2 of 4 matches, and at World Cup level, 50% ain’t gonna cut it.

Similarly the ‘real test’, the papers report will be the away test against England later this year, even though the English team of now and that which beat the Wallabies to win the world cup last November are two very different teams. The English side that was beaten by Australia in June 50-15 had 5 World Cup winning players in it, only 6 months after the WC. The numbers are similar now, so if (or more probably when) the Springboks beat the English, it won’t be any more of a victory than if they were to beat a mediocre High School 2nd team. What the South African public are building themselves up to is a massive let down, again. Complacency, un-warranted or otherwise has been the undoing of many teams in the past – why can’t this country see that that is EXACTLY what is happening here.

Pete

The other day I was looking around on the internet for photos of footy action for a PowerPoint presentation on the wonderful sport that is Aussie Rules. I came across an encyclopedic entry on the sport, and thought it would be nice to see just how foreigners describe the game. What I found shocked me. Now I’m no stranger to finding supposedly researched documents on the internet that are nothing but garbage, but this was even worse than something I had read couple of years ago about the Battle of Britain being fought over the Dardenelles in Turkey. Well alright, maybe not that bad, but still this just goes to show that if you are ever stuck with a research task, NEVER rely on the internet – it’s full of shit AND you’ll never get to hang out at the State Library, and that’s the height of
coolness (just ask Samo).

1) Medieval? The Australian country is less that 250 years old (according to European history), and the sport is only 120. Medieval, by definition refers to the middle ages, between about the 5th and 15th centuries AD.

2) Although the aboriginal communities around the country embrace the sport and love it as much as whites, the game was invented by Melbourne schools as a way of keeping cricketers fit during the winter, when beer and sausage rolls often took their toll . Aboriginials, before europeans killed them off or introduced disease, alcohol and social services were primitive hunter-gatherers. They didn’t have the resources or the need to play footy.

3) The teams have 18, not 19 players, ’nuff said.

4) Finally, the descriptions of the field and rules could do with a bit of explanation (egg shaped ball?).

I think I should become an editor for what really, by the look of it, should be a respected and truthful website. The website, for any who are interested, or don’t believe me is encyclopedia.com. Click on the link to follow through to the entry itself. Tragic that such a potentially well referred to source could be so wrong.

Pete

Umm there was supposed to be a post for yesterday afternoon about footy. Stupid joey at stupid school hasn’t connected and sent email for 2 days now. So yeah – when it does eventually post itself ignore the date – I wrote it on Wednesday.

I also finally updated that little weather thingy on the right. I kept seeing Melbourne was 4 degrees – far too cold for my liking, although the only time I see it is in the dead of the Melbourne night, and Cape Town has been much colder in the mornings recently. Anyway now it truly reflects my posi.

Pete

Heheh I have just done the finishing touches for my brilliant assault on Cape Town sensitivities. As all (or at least most) South Africans, New Zealanders and Australians will know, the Tri Nations rugby tournament is on at the moment, with the final match between South Africa and Australia to play. New Zealand won both thier home matches, we won both of ours, and now South Africa beat the All Blacks on Saturday in Johannesburg. Saturday is Australia Vs South Africa in Durban, and whoever wins, wins the tournament due to bonus points. Whoopee!

Anyway originally I was going to buy tickets and flights to durbs ($350 all up) and see the match for myself, but money got the better of me. Instead, I’m going down to the local pub where I watched the other leg, but this time with a difference. For the Australian match I went incognito, and although everyone there could assert I was Australian from my loudness and obnoxiousness, I could blend back into regular life at the end. This time however, I have my Wallabies geurnsey, a brilliant yellow clown wig and green face paint. I am going in with the aim of being the loudest, most awesomest supporter in the city. That, and staying out of hospital.

Pete

Alright this one is also about the Olympics, but far less jovial. The last post was in my brief moment of elation between the Opening ceremony (which was spectacular) and the thing that South Africans call a day’s telecast.

I know I can hardly compare the two countries, South Africa being a far cry economically and socially from Australia, but the difference in attitudes to the Olympics is staggering, and the broadcasters here are just downright pathetic.

In Australia four years ago the country was mad. Granted, the games were ‘at home’ for us, but from the basis of my phonecall home this morning, the whole things is repeating itself and even though the Games are being hosted on the otherside of the world, with the action actually happening between the hours of about 7pm and 7am, the general excitement towards the Olympics is phenomenal. The main broadcaster, Channel 7, is covering the games 24 hours a day, with live telecasts at night and then a full replay during the Australian day. SBS is also broadcasting the lesser known sports for the minority, and the other commercial channels are once again hardly putting up a ratings fight.

On the other hand, South Africans have far shittier viewing. Unless they are lucky (or rich) enough to have satellite TV, which provides the elite few with over 2000 hours of live broadcast on 8 dedicated channels, one must make do with sub-standard telecasts of 4 hours a day, mostly replays of South Africas pitiful showings in the rowing or archery. They hardly looked at the pool, where everyone knows the action lies in the first week. This was ultimately SABC2′s fault, and they paid for it when the South African men’s 4x100m relay team qualified first for the finals, 3 SECONDS clear of anyone else and only just outside World Record time. Thankfully, and to thier credit, SABC2 have announced the final (which is in a couple of hours) will be broadcast live. Thank fucking god.

I have to put up with this, all the while watching with a girl who would much rather be watching a second rate amateur singalong show (Project Fame), rather than one of the two history defining moments on the other channels (the Olympics or Goldeneye). Thankfully I am able to put up a good tantrum when I need to, so I should get my way tonight. Try harder next time Becky!

Pete

Well we ended up piking and not going into town. Matt, Milne and Mark (M&M&M) came over at abuot 7 and we watched the Opening Ceremony over some drinks before heading out to Springbok pub.

It’s odd. Here, although the Games have dominated papers and news for a week or so now, with doping scandals, lack of preparation and the like, most South Africans don’t seem to give a toss about the event. I remember 4 years ago in Australia, there was nothing else spoken about or thought about for months before hand, and when the cauldron was lit and the Olympics begun, the whole country was abuzz. Granted, the Games being in our own backyard surely made a difference, but I’ve asked locals, and the lack of interest this year is actually similar to that of 4 years ago. Maybe it’s because of the small team, low chance of success or just distance from Athens that no-one seems to care. The South African Tri-Nations matches today and next week against New Zealand and Australia are much more interesting for most Capetonians. Nonetheless, personally I’m pumped, with the Aussies having the 2nd biggest Olympic squad after the Yanks, and our own prospects looking pretty friggin good.

The flame has been lit, the flag raised – let the Games begin.

Pete

Interesting game for tomorrow night. It’s Friday, we have nothing to do (why is it that the Olympics hold so little interest this time round? Bloody Athens screwing up a fucking cool sporting event) so Mark, Matt and I decided over beers this evening that Pub Golf in Cape Town proper was a good idea. 18 pubs, 18 beers…. golf the way it should be. It’s basically a way of glorifying a pub crawl. Still, it’s about time we did something different to bloody Springboks.

Pete

By the way, there are just over 200 new photos up on photogenic, from the last 3 months. On gallery is of the Overland I (should have) told you so much about, the other is from my parent’s visit in June.

So check it out

Pete