Hello there
Friday was the opening day, all went off well with my son & I doing the Cape Town Walk exercise to discover how we were doing on the ground. We arrived at the FIFA Fan Fest a little after 11.00 and walked right through. The numbers of fans there was unbelievable ! The entire area in front of the main stage was chocablock full with over ten thousand fans. This six hours before the kick off of the first match.....
We then toured the core streets within Cape Town where more fans were enjoying a sunny winter day in the Mother City. What a diverse spectrum of fans we met. French, Uraguyan, locals, a whole load of English and Danish fans and the odd assortment from the US of A. All were amazed at the energy they felt, the manner in which they could walk our streets in safety and relative peace. Ok, time to talk about the " peace " .....
There was absolutely none ! I had with me the very same vuvuzela ( three foot long plastic trumpet, the creator of the African spirit ) that I had at WTM in 2007 as a guest of the Western Cape provincial government. This very same vuvu has had me in trouble at the WTM show, in the streets of London and within the pubs and police staions within London. This very same instrument had me meet Chief Inspector Chapman from the CID, Westminster to explain why my vuvu should not be recognised as a WMD ( weapon of mass destruction ). I sat in a dim, smoke filled interigation room in the early hours of a morning trying to explain why my vuvuzela was a manifestation of the Spirit of Africa and all this lot could see was a noisy South African out to wake the dead. I was saved by the MEC at the time and vividly recall walking out into the ashen light of a cold, grey morning in Westminster with a comrade of our struggle, turning around and raising my vuvu to my mouth released a fearful issuance at the building we had just emerged from.
Back at the South African Embassy, they asked me to explain why I continued to fill the London air with the delicate sound of the vuvuzela. I thought for a moment, smilled at the assembled ambassadorial gathering and just let them hear the reason.
The African vuvuzela can be hear at every single FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup TM. If you listen closely to it's sound, you may well hear the Spirit talk to you. It is filled with energy, singular of word and very much in your ears, very much like Our Africa.....
Slovenia have just put one past Algeria, time for me to take my vuvu in hand......
Ciao
Colin J. FRYER.
Centre Stage Travel - Close your eyes and imagine.....
Email: info@cstravel.co.za
