The Springboks bring Webb Ellis home

Tens of thousands of people thronged the streets of Cape Town today to welcome the Springboks home after winning international rugby's great prize, the William Webb Ellis cup. Kerry-Anne and I took a few hours off work to experience the festive atmosphere and catch a few snaps of these South African heroes.

Well done and welcome home boys!

Thanks to Cafe Zorina on 172 Loop Street; they kindly allowed us onto their balcony to take these photos and plied us with drinks and some of the best authentic samoosas I've had.

Click here to see more of today's photos.

The celebration does go on

Celebrations will go on for weeks to come. Today motorists were still blowing their hooters in the streets of Cape Town and fans once again donned their green and gold rugby jerseys. There wasn't too much fanfair among my many colleagues, just an air of knowing (in a "we knew all along" kind of way) that our boys are the 2007 Rugby World Champions.

Two things struck me during this World Cup. Since their victory we've seen many interviews of John Smit, Bryan Habana, Percy Montgomery, etc. and what's interesting is how they - and the rest of the team - all seem like such genuinely nice guys.

The other thing that struck me was how 22 guys and two coaches have managed to unite a very diverse nation in a common goal, a common victory. It was thought-provoking to see black and white fans, who would ordinarily have been divided to a great degree, now hugging each other in the streets.

As I write this the Springbok team is flying (not only figuratively) thousands of feet above the earth, returning to South Africa and preparing to be met by thousands of screaming supporters at OR Tambo Airport tomorrow morning. Welcome back boys!

Tonight... we conquer!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won.

For anyone who may have missed the news, the Springboks became the 2007 Rugby World Cup champions last night, joining Australia as one of the only two teams to have won the trophy twice. The streets of Cape Town were filled with people celebrating into the early hours of the morning - motorists hooted, flags were flown, vuvuzelas were blasted, and pedestrians ran up and down high-fiving people as they drove past. It was an awesome ending to a month and a half of excitement, a week of nervous build-up, and two days of unbelievable Springbok fever. We're a happy nation today, despite the collective hangover. :)

Thanks to everyone who posted good luck messages here over the past week or two! For those of you outside of South Africa, today's post title is a reference to this advert.

Where are all the pretty horses?

I'm not too sure, but since this shot was taken at 7am on a Friday morning, I guess it's not surprising that they weren't on the racetrack.

This is Kenilworth Racecourse, the oldest racecourse in the country and home to the annual J&B Met - a high-fashion affair, with plenty of large hats, designer suits, and very, very short skirts. Oh, apparently there's a little bit of horse-racing too, but you'd never guess so based on the TV coverage of the event.

The J&B Met has been on my to-do list for a really long time, and maybe with a bit of planning we'll actually make it there in 2008 (I don't mind wearing a hat, but my skirt will be of a modest length).

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.

The real thing

If you like Coca-Cola and plan on visiting Cape Town, then allow me to set your mind at ease - yes, we absolutely do drink Coca-Cola in South Africa ;). In fact, for many it's the default soft drink - they've managed to make Coke curiously addictive haven't they?

The favourite drink of many South Africans (particularly while braaiing [barbecueing] and watching rugby) is fondly known as "Klippies 'n Coke". It's a mixture of Coca-Cola and Klipdrift brandy - and usually as the evening wears on you'll find that the mixture leans more and more heavily towards the Klippies...

As with yesterday's post, this photo was taken in Cape Town's buzzing Long Street.

Long Street life

If you're keen on doing something in Cape Town central at night, then Long Street is one of the places that you may want to visit. Lining the bright, buzzing street are several clubs, bars and restaurants. Even though I wouldn't recommend that members of our fairer sex wander Long Street alone after dark, it remains pretty safe for a couple looking for a good night out.

La Provence, a taste of France

Kerry-Anne and I attended a wedding on Saturday at the beautiful La Provence wine farm on the Polkadraai road, between Kuils River and Stellenbosch. Located on a hill, it's an absolutely awesome venue looking out over vineyards, the Boland mountains and False Bay. We spent the evening enjoying good wine, great food and plenty of dancing - an awesome evening it was.

Surprise!

We went to a rather unusual birthday party last night. This is our very talented friend Matthew, who plays guitar for a local band called These Three Words. For his birthday, a couple of his friends blindfolded him and drove him to a farm, where about 50 of us were waiting to surprise him. The rest of the band members were already there too, with all their equipment set up, ready to play. Matthew was led up onto the stage, his blindfold was taken off, and his guitar was handed to him. Can you imagine his surprise at finding out that not only were ALL his friends there for his birthday, but that he was the entertainment at his own party?! :)