Tense moments

Last night's quarter-final rugby game was filled with moments of extreme, nerve-wracking tension for Springbok fans, and this was one of them (evidenced by the four people with hands clutched dramatically to their temples).

We watched the game at the Springbok Pub in Newlands, which is hosting Cape Town's official Absa Boktown. The atmosphere was brilliant, with all kinds of prizes (for singing the national anthem with gusto, for dancing on the tables, even for the group buying the most beer); and appropriately celebratory music was played at the end of the game. We'll be there for the semi-final and the final too, so if you're in Cape Town and are looking for a good place to watch the games, join us. (Be sure to call the pub and book a table though - the venue can hold a fair number of people, but I have a feeling it's going to fill up fast.)

Sugar and spice and all things nice

On Wednesday I took my mother off to the annual O Magazine Tea Party, which was held at the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands this year. It was a very genteel affair, complete with cucumber sandwiches (and plenty of other absolutely decadent tea-time treats), pretty outfits, hats (obligatory, and such fun), and lavish pink table-settings. We were treated to a performance by the lovely Lira (pictured at the top right), who got everyone to their feet and even made a few of us become part of the show ourselves... It was a great opportunity for women of all ages and races to bond over a cup of tea and to celebrate our common strength. I can't wait for next year.

What's on tap?

I've mentioned previously that, for the most part, South African men (and some ladies) expect to drink at least one beer at a sporting event. I ran out of time to find a new picture for the day so I've posted this shot taken at one of the recent T20 Cricket matches.

As you can see, besides for the safety aspect, it's become quite tradition to have drinks from plastic glasses - it would just not be the same to drink from a bottle at these events. I'm not sure if this is the case world-wide, so leave a comment below and let us know what people drink from at sporting events in your country.

Must be the clouds in my eyes...

Alright then, this will probably be our last cricket-related shot for a while. Today was semi-final day in the T20 World Cup, and it was New Zealand in action against Pakistan at Newlands. (South Africa sadly didn't make it to the semi-finals, after being beaten by India on Thursday evening. I'm still a little sore about that, so the less said the better...)

Paul managed to capture this unusual painting-like cloud formation while the rest of us had our eyes on the game this afternoon. (For those of you not familiar with cricket, the subject line of this post is a reference to Elton John's song "Daniel" - the New Zealand captain's name is Daniel Vettori, and he happens to be my favourite overseas cricketer to watch.)

Pakistan won today's game, and will be meeting India in the final on Monday - it promises to be an absolutely fantastic game, full of big hits and sneaky wickets.

Party people at Newlands

Another shot from the T20 World Cup... Two matches were played at Newlands Cricket Ground today - Australia beat Sri Lanka in the first, and Pakistan beat Bangladesh in the second.

This shot was taken during the second game. There was a great atmosphere in the stadium by that time, with supporters of both countries taking turns to run in front of the crowd urging us to shout for their respective teams. These students seemed to be having a really good time in the sun and were only too happy to pose for photos. Looks like fun, doesn't it?

Summer is on its way... :)

Fun under the African sun

Following on from yesterday's cricket theme, it truly has been a time for fun under the African sun. Cricket matches are synonymous with laughter, shouting, singing, and of course beer... after all, what would cricket be without beer?

Interestingly enough, even though beer flows freely at cricket matches, nobody seems to get too out of hand. Our police force remain absolutely vigilant and maintain a good amount of visibility. Spectators tend to respect each other and even though their team may lose, nobody shows anger at this. One would be more likely to see lower lips dragging along the floor as sad fans make their way home.

2007 T20 Cricket World Cup, South Africa

There's been great excitement over the start of the 20/20 Cricket World Cup. Twenty overs a side makes for a really quick-paced game - fun to watch for cricket-lovers and non-cricket-lovers all round.

We spent the day first watching Bangladesh and Australia slogging it out (with the men in yellow winning comfortably), and then seeing South Africa getting off to a slow start, but ultimately beating England.

It hasn't been a great weekend for English sport, but on the other hand it's been an absolutely wonderful weekend for us Springbok and Protea supporters.

Congratulations Albie on winning Man of the Match!