Much has been made of the opinion that Cape Town is not "getting into the spirit of the World Cup". According to those that (think they) know about these things, other host cities are waving more flags than we are. All I know is that when I popped into Osmons on Thursday there was a bun-fight of note going on around the flags (R25 each), mirror socks (R29 a pair!), desk flags (R2.99 each), bunting, "fleecy" blankets, jesters hats, vuvuzelas any anything else that could look soccer-ish, but not fall foul of the Fifa trademarks. This is where some of the street vendors buy their stock, and small retailers who want to dress up their premises come to get flags. There was simply no-one in the queue who did not have something with the SA flag on it, in their hand. A lady wearing a Metro Traffic Cop uniform had 5 packs of 10 car flags. I'm waiting to see if they appear on the metro-police cars! (Last week-end I started seeing the Claremont and Wynberg police patrol vans sporting flags.) I've lived in Cape Town most of my life. I think we will out-party the rest of the country, when the games actually start.
This was not an environment where my camera could come out, so the cell phone did duty.
Originally started the project to improve my photography skills. Over a 2500 photos later it's become a personal diary. I post pictures that mark my...
I noticed in a local Aldi supermarket the other day that there were flag 'capes' - national flags shaped to wear around your shoulders. Of course there were Australian ones but also the George's Cross (England) and the South African one as well. Only the three kinds which I thought was interesting. There are plenty of South African ex-pats in Brisbane but there would be many more Kiwis.
You are probably going to be just as amazed at this as I was, that I should come to tell you something, and nearly fell out of my chair when I read your caption! I think I told you we have wonderful friends here who came over from Cape Town. When John dropped in the other day, I asked him for a little background, because I'm a great believer that, if you hit on the right things, you'd be amazed how closely paths cross. He told me, "There's been a John Osmond in the family for the 10 generations that go back to the 1700s in Cape Town. He said they have heaps of family still there". So, do we have friends in common? His wife, Gill, (Gillian) is from there for several generations as well. (He's a retired orthopedic surgeon, and she was a nurse). Maybe it's no coincidence I was drawn to start following your pictures back at the beginning...
Very cool. Can't wait for things to get started! I know you all will put on a fantastic show. I'll definitely be pulling for you all; just not if you have to play the U.S. :)
May 29th, 2010
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
