Day 61

2 blogs today. The wifi was so poor last night, my iPad that hardly fails me couldn't even connect. To anyone coming here get a sim and data package. It cost just over R150 for sim and 1GB data. That's about £8. EE offered me 25mb for something like £6. So much cheaper over here and lots of stores to get it from, I'd recommend Vodacom, Vodafone, Cell C apparently has poor signal.

After last night I went and got myself a sim today. I had put off getting 1 as the wifi has been ok, but after the frustration of last night and last week I've given in. It cost R160 for 1GB.

Anyway onto today, today we became tourists again. We had planned for a while that today we would go over and see Robben Island. It was 1 of the must do things of our trip. We woke up, got ready and headed to the bus stop. We arrived at the waterfront where we would catch the ferry. We bought our tickets which cost R280/£14 which we didn't think was too bad. We slowly made our way through security then onto the boat. 

If you haven't read Harry's blog from yesterday he didn't manage to get in the cage with the Sharks as he was seasick and was feeling too rough. I was slightly worried about getting on a boat with him after yesterday. He assured me he would be ok, but as precaution I made him sit down stairs. The last time I was on a boat I was with Tina and she spent the whole trip hiding away not feeling well and I didn't fancy that again. Luckily everything was fine and we arrived in 1 piece after and hour from the waterfront to Robben Island. As we approached we both said we didn't realise how big it was. 

We got off the ferry and walked down to a coach that would be driving us around. We drove past a church, a burial site, the homes of the wardens, a rugby pitch and a school. Our tour guide was very friendly and gave us lots of information. She explained that around 150 people still live on the island and it was only in 2011 that the school was closed. The island looks as though it hasn't been touch in 20 years which is nice because we really got a feel of what the place looked like and it hadn't just been done up and made into a tourist site. It's crazy to think what actually happened on this island and in South Africa as a whole. People being locked away for years for not carrying an ID card or for being in groups of more than 5 people. We stopped off to look at the view of Cape Town from the Island and then went around to the quarry. 

We finished our tour with a stop off at the high security prison, we were taken around by 1 of the ex prisoners here. It was a little hard to understand him but he gave a nice little tour. He had stayed here for 5 years for protesting against Afrikaans being the main language being used at his University. He took us to his cell where he shared the room with up to 60 people at 1 time. 2 showers a week and with only cold water. He told us he slept on the floor and showed us the food they were given. Apparently the black and coloured prisoners were treated differently to try and cause unrest between the 2 groups. The coloureds were given better food and extra clothing. We both said how difficult it must have been for him to come back here but he said for him it was part of the healing process.

Apparently Nelson Mandela who's cell we visited, and other leaders told the prisoners to forgive the wardens that were beating them and starving them. It really is unbelievable some of the stories you hear. Everybody speaks highly of Mr Mandela and he seemed like an inspirational man. People have different views on what has happened and what has been left. It's not for me really to give an opinion, I've been here for less than 9 weeks, I can only base opinion on what people say. It seems like people are happy with the freedom that Mr Mandela helped fight for, but maybe things haven't quite turned out the way they'd hoped or as quickly as they would have liked.

We finished up or tour and headed back to Cape Town. We had a nice day and it's definitely something I'm pleased I've done. It doesn't quite have the wow factor in the sense of wow this is a nice place, but it does make you think.

Day 60

I'm really sorry but today's blog is going to be a bit boring. But like I've said before if I miss a day people worry. I will say though that you are probably better off reading Harry's blog.

By the time I woke up this morning Harry was nowhere to be seen. He had left at around 8 to go catch his ride to Hans bay. Today was the day he was going shark cage diving. It is supposed to be amazing over here and I'll get some of his photos and show you. With his GoPro camera it'll be as though I was there anyway. I would have loved to have gone, and I'm not making excuses but the Sharks were the least of my worries. Not many people know this but I have 2 real fears, some people fear spiders and snakes or other little creatures or even heights or flying, I fear being in small enclosed spaces, I'll annoy Tina by walking up 100s of stairs instead of taking a lift. Yes you may have seen me in a lift but notice how quiet I go and how still I stand. My second fear, it's not really a fear but I'm not a big fan of water, you'll never catch me holding my breath and swimming under water. So being stuck in a cage under water for 20minutes at a time minus the shark would be enough to get my heart racing. I'm actually gutted I'd love to do it as it is supposed to be an experience. I did consider just paying for it and going and then I'd have to face it, but at over a £100 it's very expensive if I then bottled it. Apparently the road trip was a nice 1 and Hans bay is a nice area but I think you needed to be on the trip to get the transfer and it was expensive again so I left Harry to it.

I spent my day tidying up, reading my book and watching football. Can't really compete with Harry's day can I. After sleeping on the sofa the night before I was pleased to have a lay in and catch up on some sleep. I was happy to just relax anyway. 

It's the first time me and Harry have spent much time apart this past 9 weeks which was nice. Not because we don't get on but because we spend every waking moment together the conversation has become a bit repetitive. So it was nice to do our own thing and then talk about it when we were back together. 

Ended the day back in Mixas surrounded by Man U and Liverpool fans, great atmosphere and good food.

Day 59

I'll start with last night. No call from Theo just a text saying no tickets to the game, disappointing but we weren't too bothered, like I said it would have been nice but doesn't make or break our trip. Harry then went up to bed while I sat downstairs messaging Tina and some friends from back home. As I had a late start today and because of the time difference back home I headed up to bed about 2. Harry had locked the door from the inside with our only key. Great. I went to security to ask for our spare, we had been offered 2 keys but we turned 1 down just incase we lost 1, left it somewhere or someone had been locked in or out, and it meant we could quickly go to security and get it. makes sense. However she had no idea where the spare was. I spent the next half hour banging on the door and wall, texting Harry and security was phoning the room phone. He was sound asleep. I had 2 options either go wake up 1 of the residents at 3 in the morning or sleep on a very uncomfortable sofa. Sofa it was, I set an alarm for 6 as I didn't really want to be still asleep when all the staff came in and walked past and thought that Harry might be more awake as we are usually up at 7 so hopefully he's in a routine of waking up then. I came up at 6 and the door was unlocked, time to get some sleep. 

Advice to anyone coming here next year, take the spare key, the sofa is not comfortable. Last year Jeff locked Luke in the room this year Harry locked me out so it must be something about this place.

My bed for last night.

After finally getting some sleep it was time to get up. Harry had planned to make an old family dish for lunch, it sounds awful but apparently it's amazing, I'm willing to give it a go. Unfortunately the electric in the area was off so no food. 

With a really bad day/night already I was ready to call it a day. We then had a phone call from Joe, his transport for the day had let him down and Densel was at a funeral. We headed to Ruyterwacht with 45 minutes till kick off. We were going to be late but Joe had phoned ahead to let them know. We arrived at Joe's and the junior team started getting into the car. They told Joe they were senior players but they were all 14 years old. Me and Harry looked at each other, an easy game today just got made more difficult. The car journey to the Italian club didn't help boost our confidence either, all 3 boys saying they weren't really fancying playing against men and they were a bit scared, great.

We arrived 10 minutes and the team we were playing were already half way through a friendly. They are the B team and aren't that great. Hopefully they would be tired, finally a bit of luck. Final whistle went and the Woodstock coach came up to me, apparently he thought we weren't coming so our league game would now be against a mix of their better A team players and the B team players that were still fit to play. Luck definitely not with me today.

The game started. Me and Harry the only seniors alongside Eric who was a junior but played with the seniors, and then 4 juniors. We started really well and found ourselves 1-nil up early on. Route 1 football, Harry played a long ball from near enough our goal line, I knocked it down into the path of Cecil who was left with an easy finish. They equalised straight away, they ran straight past Eric and Cecil and finished past our keeper. The half went on and as the younger players carried on you could see they were nervous and weren't up for it. Leaving me and Harry to work extra hard. 6-1 down at half time, probably a fair score line. 2nd half went much the same way, I'm not going to pick anyone out specifically as nobody had a great game, but the keeper shouldn't have been playing, and with a few older players we would have stood a much better chance. I think the final score was something like 13-3. Very disappointed with that game, but more disappointed that 1 of the other coaches picked out my fitness as an issue. I ran box to box for over 3 quarters of the game, I may have looked frustrated but felt fine. Didn't have a great game but felt that was unfair criticism, pick up on a mistake I made but I think that out of the 8 guys that played I covered more distance than most.

Our boys then went on to play a junior game and if I'm honest were outplayed from the off. The other team were doing all sorts of tricks and kick ups in the second half. They lost 10-3. Just shows that they weren't ready for the senior game in my opinion.

We came back and watched Arsenal hold on to a 2-1 win. Then we headed to Mixas we managed to get them to turn the England rugby game on to watch England win by 20 points against the French. Usually a great result but today we needed to win by 26 points to win the Six Nations, oh well great result none the less and on we go to the World Cup. 

Harry is off to go shark cage diving tomorrow, hopefully he doesn't lock me in or out and I'll be able to chill out around Berghof or head out to watch the football.

Day 58

After yesterday being so busy it was nice to have a lay in this morning. We had an early knock on the door from the cleaner. Luckily Harry answered and I rolled over back to sleep, thankfully I heard him say 'no he's sleeping' so she didn't do my room. When I eventually got up we went down for lunch, fish and chips, it was one of the better meals we have had which was good, until one of the last mouthfuls of fish where there were more bones than actual fish, which was a shame but can't blame the cook for that.

We headed to the learning centre  just after one. We didn't have much to do today so we spent an hour talking to Joe, Lourens and Robocop (Robocop is an old lady that still rides a motorbike, is signed up to a modelling agency and generally has more energy and life in her than most of the Berghof residents put together even though she is their age). I don't know why they call her Robocop but she says she'll bring in a newspaper that will explain all. I then sat down to right a little paragraph for Joe on our time here, he'd asked for it to be done so it can be sent off to be put in the work newsletter. 

We then had the Ruyterwacht girls training, after driving around for 10/15 minutes we found 3 girls that wanted to train, after a short kick about we called it a day. We were hoping to go to the game tonight with Theo, we said we would go anyway but it would be nice to go with him. Harry spoke to him earlier and apparently it's being played somewhere else, we can't get there ourselves and as I'm writing this we are waiting for a phone call from Theo to let us know if he's going. With just over an hour till kick off I'm guessing not which is a shame but who knows. 

Tomorrow we are again playing for Ruyterwacht against Woodstock B this week 12:45 kick off. Hopefully get a win, with time running out they need to win before we leave, we saw Woodstock B play last week and to be honest they weren't great, they are quite a physical team so hopefully the younger players have learnt their lessons from the last few weeks where they have let the physical players from the other team put them off their game.

We have also been invited to a jazz festival by Joe in the Company Garden, it should be good, not sure if we are going yet though.

Well I told you today's would be shorter, after the longest blog ever yesterday.

Day 57 Week 9 19th March

We are now it to the home straight and the finish line is in sight. The middle section of our time out here was definitely harder than the 1st. Our sessions had become very similar and progression was difficult as there were issues with equipment or the kids generally being more difficult. The fact we were missing home also made it harder. The first few weeks we were on a high as everything was all new, as soon as we became comfortable and got into a routine the high was replaced by home sickness and we weren't enjoying our work as much.

This week Mr Joe has done well, he has freshened up our schedule and we have had the best sessions to date. I think the fact we are close to leaving has also helped as we know we will soon be back which has taken away our bit of a downer. I spoke yesterday of Silvertree crèche, by far our favourite, Mondale high I think it was called on Tuesday saw some of the most talented boys we've worked with, and then today we had Trafalgar high which was great and I'll tell you all about it in a bit and then we had All Stars which was our best session out of all 8 weeks to date, we end the coaching  week tomorrow with the Ruyterwacht girls which are always good to train. A win on Saturday and a good performance will make it even better. I'm definitely enjoying myself a lot more again.

We started today at the learning centre with our 2nd of our computer workshops, we start at 9 and at 9:05 we had 2 of the expected 8 people, not a great start and had me thinking surely last week couldn't have been that bad. Luckily 5 more turned up, you have to understand that out here people go on African time, it basically means 10minutes late is in fact early and half an hour late can still be classed as on time. Frustrating but you get used to the laid back attitude, 1 of my closest friends back home is African so I've had many years to get use to it, you tell him to get somewhere an hour before everyone else just to make sure he is there on time, and he still strolls up like he has all the time in the world. Today we were teaching them how to use Microsoft Word. We had 1 girl that flew through everything and I'm not too sure why she is on the course, and then we had an older lady that was really struggling with the basics, it's difficult to do a class like that, I understand it can be difficult if you've never been in front of a computer before but we simplified everything and it was frustrating. Not that she couldn't do it but because we were running out of ideas to make it even easier, even typing her own name was a challenge. But she stuck with it and left the class with a smile on her face because she had achieved something, it was quite rewarding actually, I'd be lying if I said she had done exactly what we had set her but she managed to do something and she was pleased with her achievements and pleased that we were pleased with her. 

After a quick stop off at the shop for a koeksisters and some lunch we were off to Joe's old school. He took us on a history tour of where he used to live, where he played with his friends, where he met Vinolia and also took us to see district six, an area that was bulldozed to the ground around 30years ago when the government made their forced evictions. Hardly anything has been built on this area since. Joe quickly showed us where we would be coaching later on and then took us to Trafalgar high, he had to get back for a meeting and left us to it. We met Theo who was a really friendly Everton fan, he helped with the running of a club down the road and it was his field we were using and he also helps with the school. I took 12 girls while Harry took a group of boys, you'll have to check Harry's blog to see how his went but mine was great. Helped by seeing a familiar face, 1 of the Drommedaris girls was at the school and training with us. These girls were really good and a few of them had some real talent, it's surprising because girls football isn't big out here at all but most of these girls are at a club in a good level league. I did a passing and moving drill to start with, I had 4 girls in a diamond shape, with the rest lined up waiting to join in,  1 girl from the line would pass to another on a cone and follow the pass, the girl on the cone would pass to another and follow her pass, same with the third and then the 4th would pass back to the front of the line and the move would start again. The better girls moved the ball really well and the less talented girls seemed to up their game in order to keep up with them. I then got them doing a end zone type game and finished with a match. Pleased with our sessions we headed into the club house where Theo gave us drinks and buffet type food with hot dogs, samosas, bahjees and some other stuff. We sat talking for a while and he has even offered to take us to an Ajax game if he can get hold of some tickets, fingers crossed.

We finished our day with a short drive down to Woodstock where we met some of the All Star coaches. We talked football, Cape Town and London, then loaded the car with balls, bibs and cones. Yes you read that right, balls, bibs and cones and lots of each. We had been asked by 1 of the coaches to put on a session for the under 15s, they had asked if we could do some sessions that their coaches could use and help improve their boys. It's quite a common request some coaches watch and take notes, some ask lots of questions and some chose to walk away and it felt quite pointless. With All Stars we had 4 or 5 coaches watching and would ask some good questions as well. Today was the first session we had loads of equipment and felt we could do a good quality session for the coaches. We had 90 minutes and were asked to do a pressing drill, both Harry and myself had a drill in mind so we decided to do 45 minutes of each. Harry is a very attack minded player and his drill was an overload drill where the focus was on winning the ball back by pressing and going on to attack. I'm a defensive player so mine was focusing on winning the ball back after losing it and just generally on winning the ball back. I did mine first and it was quite and advanced drill, the boys got stuck in and it went really well. Harry took over the coaching of mine whilst I spoke and explained it to the coaches. While we were talking they asked if we could add in a 3rd session based around transitional play which I agreed to. Harry had a simpler layout to his activity but with the same intensity and difficulty, again the boys got stuck in and it went well. The coaches were impressed and we were really enjoying our coaching. The last drill was 1 the Dean had done with us, I've never used it on a group as it is quite complicated and I've never had a group I felt would cope. It fitted with what they wanted though, so I explained that it might not work but if they worked with it then it would be really useful. After a slow and confusing start it took shape and looked somewhat like it was supposed to. I'll try and explain it but this might get confusing....working on a square, 1 team stands on each side, each team send a player to go in goal to the side on the right. Still with me, 4 teams, 4 goals, 4 keepers. Working on 1 v 1s to start with, a player comes out and attacks the goal in front of them, after he has shot he becomes a defender for his goalkeeper, the team opposite his goalkeeper send a player out as soon as the last player has made a shot, they take their shot and then become defender for their goalkeeper and so on. The coaches really liked it and agreed that given time it would do exactly what they were looking for. 1 coach said he would introduce all 3 drills to his team which was confidence boosting in itself.

I was really pleased with how today went, it's a shame we are only coaching these places now as it would have been great to get them extra sessions but we are simply running out of time. We look forward to returning though. We both walked away happy and saying this was our best session to date.

It has been a long and tiring day and I've done an extra long blog to make up for a few quiet days now. I can't see tomorrow being as busy which is fine by me, late start as well which means we can catch up on some much needed sleep.

Day 56

Last night we were both exhausted so we stayed in and watched Arsenal play Monaco in the second leg of the champions league quarter finals. We needed to win by 3 clear goals. I predicted a 2-0 win and to go out on away goals, Harry predicted a comfortable 3-0 win at least and that we would ease into the next round. We had a little R10 bet, it was a bet I'd be happy to lose as I'd rather we went through instead of winning 50p. As predicted we won 2-0 and went out. It was disappointing and Harry decided to drown his sorrows with nearly a whole bottle of Baileys. 

We both didn't go to bed till late and with an early start it was very difficult to get up. I can't wait for the weekend to catch up on some sleep. Harry woke up feeling slightly fragile, probably wasn't the best idea to go into a crèche and play games with a hangover, but credit to him he got on with it and forced out a smile to make sure the children had a good time. We were at Silvertree crèche today, we decided that as it was a new crèche and with Harry not at his best we would keep to our normal routine and then over the next 2 weeks we can work on something more advanced if it was appropriate. We had 2 classes both did the movement activity which they both really got into and enjoyed. We then did the passing of the ball around the circle and our rolling of the ball game. Again both went down well. Our 2nd group mid way through the session broke into song and we had a good 5-10 minutes of them singing various crèche songs. It was great to see and it was a shame we had to stop them and get on with what we had planned. At the end we asked if they would sing us 1 more song, they sang about 4, it was great, so much energy and big smiles from the kids, teachers and us. I caught a few on video that I need to transfer over. We ended the session with our usual high 5s but as they were leaving we were mobbed and hugged by most of them as well. It was such a nice crèche and it's moments like today that make me greatful for the opportunity I've had, to come out here and see these kids and all their happy faces. The area was quite a poor area and most of the kids travelled in from some of the even poorer areas, and to see these kids laughing, smiling and having such a great time was so nice to see. With all the troubles they face at the end of the day they are kids, and they just want to have fun and play, I hope that with the good teachers they have they are given all the opportunities possible and stay on the right track.

After the crèche we went to the learning centre where we caught up with Azille and Lourens, Azille has asked us to do another computer class along with the 1 we already have, of course we agreed but a few peach biscuits and the offer of going for a drink when we go out next weekend sweetened the deal. We then spoke to Lourens about our planned tourist trips, he has decided against taking us to a cheetah farm and instead offered to take us out to see some of the nicer areas and to take us out for lunch. We were slightly disappointed by not going to the cheetah farm as it looked quite cool but Lourens has assured us this trip will be full of nice views, some great places to visit and some good food so we are looking forward to it. We also discussed Robben Island, it's a place me and Harry have wanted to go and see, it's supposed to be an 'experience' and I dont think I could come all this way and not go over there. Lourens is hoping to make it happen and I hope it does, I think we would both be gutted if we missed out.

We then headed to Drommedaris, we were supposed to be setting up space for a library, unfortunately the books hadn't arrived but we cleared out the room anyway. Just as we were leaving Harry's little girlfriend arrived, by that I mean the 8 year old Inam, the girl that had sent him a Valentine's Day card. He hadn't seen her for a few weeks so it was an emotional reunion. 

We then headed back to Ruyterwacht where we trained with Densel and the other boys, after being disappointed with Saturday's short cameo I was out to prove a point. I really want to get involved on a Saturday and as the teams that would need us for coaching or refereeing haven't been turning up the only other thing I can do is play. I know I'm not the best but it'd be nice to get involved. Me and Harry were on different teams in training and even with a player less his team was far better, I ran and I ran, I was exhausted by the end, it was a great workout but hard work. Bring on Saturday.

Day 55

Back to work.

The last few days have been good but it was time to get back to the coaching. This week is mainly new schools, crèches and clubs. Today we started with a crèche near to Riverton where we had been the last few weeks. This area is a mostly coloured community but the teacher told us that the majority of children at this crèche are coming from mainly black areas like Khayelitsha, also a few of the children are from other countries. They are taken to this crèche just before they start school in order to learn English, the teacher said it is a struggle, the kids from other countries speak mainly French and the type of Afrikaans they speak is not spoken by any of the teachers. Good luck to us then.

We had 3 classes of 25 kids ranging from 4-6 year olds. As they were young and weren't great with English or our accents we decided to stick to our simple activities and games. Firstly the movement game followed by the passing of a ball around the circle. All groups were quite shy and it was hard work getting them involved but we did it. To add to our difficulties a few of the boys were quite disruptive. We got there in the end. Hopefully like most of the crèches given time they will get used to us.

We returned to the learning centre briefly sorted a few things, had lunch and checked emails. Then we were off again. This time to Mitchell's Plain, an area we had been through but not coached in. We were at a new school, we were given the under 14s/15s/17s/19s all mixed together with around 32 kids in total. We started off with rondos, moved onto team possession in an area then matches. All the boys had kit, had boots and were of a good standard which was nice. Probably 1 of our better sessions. Football in this area is quite big and apparently they have a good league and matches set up. 3 of the boys were Ajax academy players so that was the sort of player we were coaching today.

We then head back, Arsenal vs Monaco tonight, we need to win by 3 goals. We've never lost to a French team away, Wenger going back to his old club, and Monaco having 1 of the best defences in Europe means it should be a good game.

Day 54

Today was a day I had been looking forward to for some time. There's a few things you just have to do when you come to Africa and Cape Town, be a real tourist, you have to climb table mountain, you have to visit Robben island and you have to go on an African Safari. I know a few Capetonians reading this will be saying what about.....? And how about.....? But from a tourist point of you they are probably up there as top 3 for a lot of people.

Today was the turn of the African Safari. Unfortunately Cape Town doesn't offer a safari as such but 2 hours outside of Cape Town there is a game reserve that offers 'the next best thing'. We booked up to go to Aquila game reserve, it was quite pricey but was as close to a safari we were going to get and offered an opportunity to see the big 5 South African Animals. We were slightly nervous as we had booked online separately but after a few emails to the company were assured we would be on the same transfer to Aquila and same safari. We were supposed to get a call yesterday before 8 to tell us what time we were being picked up, dead on 8 he phoned to say we would be picked up at a hotel around the corner at 6:10am. A nice early start, alarms were set for 5 and we managed to drag ourselves out of bed, we were tired but told ourselves it would all be worth it. 

After a short walk we waited outside the hotel. 6:10 came and no pick up, he arrived at 6:20 but drove straight past us and went to the other side of the hotel. Harry greeted the driver with a "hello, are you alright?", he didn't understand and after a few confused looks and Harry repeating himself a few times Harry gave up and the driver walked into the hotel. Good start. After waiting for him to return for some time Harry went and spoke to him to check that this was our mini bus, well it was mine, I was on the list, Harry wasn't. After I had emailed and checked a few times with the company they had still managed to mess up. Morning getting better. The driver wasn't happy but agreed to let us both on as he had 2 spare seats anyway so there would be space for Harry. We then continue to pick up other people and finally started our journey at 7:10. We were off on our 2 and a half hour journey. Both of us spent most of the journey asleep. When I was awake we were driving through some really nice areas and there were some amazing views, but I told myself I'd see them on the way back and sleep was of more importance at this stage of the morning.

We arrived and was welcomed by a lady serving drinks, grape juice or a glass of wine, we both agreed it was too early for wine so settled for grape juice in a champagne flute, we looked the part. We headed for reception, more bad news for Harry, he wasn't on the list, luckily he had his booking confirmation with him. But for the 2nd time there was no real check and they just took our word for it luckily for them we were genuine. We walked through and were seated and told we could help ourselves to the buffet breakfast, fried breakfast, cereals, pastries and a European style breakfast were on offer with teas, coffees and juices all available. All included in what we had already paid. We piled up our plates and enjoyed our biggest and best breakfast for 8 weeks. 

We made our way to the waiting area, I checked in and got my truck number and again Harry's name was nowhere in sight. 'No worries just follow those people' we were told, I'm guessing he thought you're here now you must be on the Safari. After waiting around for 10ish minutes we were off. We had hardly been driving for 5minutes and we were a few metres from 5 white rhinos. It didn't matter anymore about the bad start to the day the safari had started well. Our guide was full of information and humour and managed to get us really close. We then moved on to where the hippos were, 7 hippos just lying in the water, you read reviews saying that the animals weren't doing anything but if a hippo spends the majority of the day just laying down in water what do you expect? Got some great photos. Next up were the giraffes and Springboks and a little further down were zebra and ostrich. The place was huge but our guide seemed to know exactly where to find the animals, I know they probably don't wonder too far and you have people letting him know where to go but he found them all and got us as close as possible. After an hour and a half we stopped to stretch our legs and to enjoy a refreshment. Harry stuck with the grape juice and I went for a glass of wine. I thought as we had driven past so many vineyards I'd better try the wine, not bad. Back in the truck we went and there were 2 elephants in sight, they were a bit far away and thankfully our guid decided that we would get a closer look late and instead head to where the lions were. The reserve had fenced off the lions from the other animals for obvious reasons. It was disappointing that the lions were so far away, we could make out where they were but because they were near the top of their mountain we couldn't get any closer, it was a shame but we can say we saw 5 lions. We then found the elephants again and they were near enough within touching distance playing around trying to break a tree down. We then went to see the an area where they had a tame cheetah they couldn't let into the reserve for its own safety and 2 lions that were being treated because of some type of injury. It did mean we finally saw a lion up close though. With that our time was up and we headed back, another buffet meal, this time not as great, but I managed to get some chicken and potatoes which weren't too bad. We had an hour to sit in the sun and go for a swim. Unfortunately the weather had turned slightly cloudy so we gave the swim a miss and instead just sat around enjoying the views.

We were then picked up and then spent nearly 3 hours on the road getting us back to Berghof. It was a great day and I know it wasn't quite an African Safari but to me it was the closest I'll probably ever get.

Day 53

Sunday's are always our lazy days, you need a day in the week where you do nothing.

Harry wanted to go out and get some data for his phone and I wanted to have a quick look for some souvenirs. We had decided we would go back to the waterfront as there are some very nice souvenir shops and also a Vodacom where Harry could get his data. Last night Joe had text to ask if we would like to come round to his for lunch, we thought it would be a nice idea and accepted. We quickly sorted some bits out got some souvenirs and headed to Joe's for about 1. We had 1 of the best Sunday meals we've had since we came out here so thank you to the Africa family for the invite. After lunch Yonick, Vinolia and Jodi went for a nap and left me, Joe, Harry and Jaydon to watch a film. Joe chose Schindler's list which is roughly a 3 hour film about the Second World War and how a man saved a large group of Jews by offering them work. We watched the whole film then headed home. 

Today is Mother's Day back home, so I'd like to wish my mum a happy Mother's Day. I hope she had a great day and liked her card and present. It's the 1st year I've not seen my mum on Mother's Day, whether I've been working or busy, I've always managed to get home and see her, so I feel bad that I'm not there today. But she knows that I'll make it up to her when I get home. 

With it being Mother's Day I skyped home, and then sat down for the evening. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We are up and out early but hopefully it'll be worth it. Expect lots of photos and stories tomorrow.

Day 52

Today was the 3rd round of the Communicare Action Soccer League, after going to training we were both hoping to get a game for Ruyterwacht. We were there to ref, coach or play but because some teams hadn't turned up we weren't need to ref or coach again. Harry started for Ruyterwacht and I got a disappointing 5 minutes in the 2nd half. As I left the pitch we were 3 goals up and in control but ended the match losing 6-5. A disappointing day all around, and Ruyterwacht are still without a win. We headed back and after getting ready tried to find a pub showing the Arsenal game, unfortunately the rugby was on and nowhere was showing football. Mixas had 5 TVs and we asked if the small 1 could be turned over but no all 5 must show the same rugby game. We walked out and it was a shame we was about to order food and have a few drinks. Instead we bought a few beers and headed to Berghof. A poor first half but a great goal from Giroud meant we were 1-0 up at half time.

It ended 3-0 and to celebrate we went back out to get food. We went to a Thai restaurant which had been recommended by Azille. It was so nice. I've never been to a Thai restaurant and I've never sat on the floor to eat before but I really enjoyed it. And again food out here is so reasonably priced. We can now tick that off the list of places to go. 

Tomorrow we plan to quickly go to the Waterfront to pick up souvenirs and a data package for our phones and then we've been invited around to Joe's for lunch and then we might go out to watch rugby/football in the afternoon. Quite looking forward to tomorrow now.

Day 51

Another quiet day to end a quiet week. We only had half a session today. We were supposed to coach Drommedaris girls but Joe had arranged for them to play Ruyterwacht instead. So we did a quick 20minute session and then they played 3 15minute halves. Drommedaris ended up winning 4-1.

After that we headed to Joe's to pick up Jayden and Jodi and went to GrandWest again, Harry took Jayden to the arcade while me Jodi and Yonick went to watch 'focus'. Not the best film but it was alright.

Sorry it's a short blog today, not a lot happened, hopefully the next few days will be eventful.

Day 50 Week 8 12th March

Into our 8th week and the start of our computer course. As the learning centre has been really quiet and with the computer course over subscribed Azille had asked us to do a basic computer course. 7 people turned up and we started with week 1, basic hardware and using the computer. What seems simple to us is very difficult to others that have never been in front of a computer before so it was quite difficult for us to try and simplify this particular session. But we managed well and by the end they were all typing up sentences on word, opening the internet and comfortable with using the mouse. Next week is slightly more difficult and includes using Microsoft Word again. Some of the people couldn't believe we were doing it for free and I think they were really greatful which was nice.

We finished up and headed back to Berghof as we were having our locks changed on our door and we needed to collect a key before the manager left. We stopped off at a cafe to pick up a koeksister, it's like a doughnut cooked in syrup with coconut, really nice, Harry can't get enough and has even asked for the recipe. We then got some lunch and headed to Berghof, our door hadn't been done, so we just chilled out abit as we didn't have to be back at work till 4. 

After sitting in traffic for nearly an hour we arrived in Ruyterwacht and picked up Joe. We went down to Bonteheuwel where we would be taking a session. We were given 25 kids, a few balls and a few cones. We had a decent sized pitch with goals, we were worried at first as 1 of the pitches had horses walking on it but luckily they were fenced in. We started by getting the boys into groups and just getting them passing and moving, there was little moving as the boys just wanted to stand still and pass. We then moved onto rondos which is the possession/ball retention drill we like to do. We noticed that a lot of the boys pass with their heads down and take far to long to release the ball. I decided that we would play 2 matches on 1 pitch, 1 would go vertically the other horizontally. This would mean that you have to keep looking up as there were 3 other teams on the same pitch. From the side it looks messy, and I'll happily admit that if I was sitting watching this from the side I'd think what is going on here. But it works it has a purpose and is part of what we like to call organised chaos. We finished up with a chat with 1 of the coaches, he wants to put in place a soccer development programme at the club, he said he tried but when he spoke to the chairmen his demands weren't met. He had asked for 60 footballs, I fully understand why he wants so much equipment and support the idea of helping out the kids, but realistically he went in too high with his demands. I hope he finds some support he needs. We were just leaving when 1 of the coaches mentioned they had been sponsored by Southend United, they had even been given Southend kits, Southend is a 4th division team back home that is quite local to me and I didn't expect them to be sponsoring a team in a small town in South Africa.

We quickly packed up and headed back, Harry had to rush back as he had booked onto an online FA Coaches course tonight. Apparently it was really good but I didn't stick around to watch. Late start tomorrow and an end to another week closes in.

Day 49

We started today with our third and final sessions with Ysterplaat 1 & 2. The first 2 sessions were a little bit tricky, the kids were a lot more lively but we had a few that were disruptive and a few that to put it politely were a bit slower than the rest. Both groups we did the stop start movement game as we felt that with the mood they were in continuity was better than trying to do something new. They fully understood the game and even told me the rules, but as soon as we said stop/freeze they wanted to get as close to us as possible. We then split the groups into 4 circles and did the passing the ball around the circles activity. We then went from four groups to two and then eventually had everyone involved, it worked so much better than starting with 1 big group and also meant they were constantly active and not standing around getting distracted. 

We finished up and moved to the other building for the final group. Our 1st week with them was great they were so much fun, 2nd week they were difficult so we weren't sure what we were walking into. Fortunately they were really well behaved again and we had a real laugh. We had an advanced session we wanted to try out but the kids took over, they wanted to play the movement game, we usually just get walk, run, jump, hop and skip, this lot wanted to do robot walks, animals and even created their own which is the purpose of the activity, to get them learning about ways they can move. We then were just about to start our original planned session when we had 30 kids chanting 'duck, duck, goose' at us, we gave in and gave them what they wanted. To be fair though we did do duck,duck,goose back at Arsenal with Dean so it is an Arsenal in the Community session, kind of. They really got into it and I didn't really want to end the session. But after shouts of Arsenal and high 5s they made their way inside. I've managed to get hold of a video of them chanting Arsenal and the high 5s I just need to work out how to get them from a memory stick onto my iPad so I can show you. We then went inside for a quick drink and a biscuit, as we tried to sneak out the kids saw us and we spent 5 minutes saying goodbye and giving more high 5s.

Joe had phoned and had said don't worry about coming in and to take some time off before our afternoon session. We headed back to Berghof for a bit of lunch and to get ready for the afternoon session. We were at De Waveren who have been given the unfortunate title of our worst school we visited. Last time we ended up with 80kids and 8 balls, it was difficult but we managed, our issue was the kids were uncooperative with us, they made our job a lot harder than it already was, we had put on a good session that we had organised last minute and even though they could see us struggling they went off and did their own thing. Harry and myself along with Joe were reluctant to go back to the school again, but between the 3 of us we decided we would just organise a game, we were keeping our side of the deal by being there but the teacher and kids had broken their side of the deal last time so we weren't prepared to give them a full session. We turned up and was told by the teacher that he was expecting us last week even though Joe had reorganised the session with him and he said he had turned over 100 kids away. The original plan for this school was that we would do 3 sessions each with 30 kids and it was up to the teacher to decide which kids arrived, I know this is a problem a lot of the other guys have faced but common sense says 100 kids split them into 3 groups and have 1 group per week and then they get the benefit of having a good quality session. They've missed out on an opportunity in my opinion.

After De Waveren we quickly drove to the shops, stopped off at the Africa house to say hi to Jodi and Yonick and then headed for training. We want to get some game time this Saturday so we felt we should earn it by going to training with Densel. We took part and it ended up being a couple of minutes of suicides followed by a 4 v 4 game. Me and Harry were on the same side with Eric who we had met before and another guy, we played some good football but this heat and a tiring day was catching up on us. Hopefully done enough to get a game on Saturday.

We headed back to Berghof for the evening. Tomorrow we start our computer teaching and have a new club to go to, should be an interesting day.

Day 48

Before I start today's blog property, I told you yesterday that it was Arsenal v Man U, FA cup quarter final, we won 2-1 we are heading back to Wembley, and it's the weekend after we get back so hopefully get a few tickets!!!

We've spoken a lot about going home lately, not because we have had enough of Cape Town but because home is in sight and the closer it gets the more we seem to miss it. In exactly 5 weeks 1 hour from when I sat here and wrote this we will be landing in Doha airport. As much as we miss home we want to make the most of our time here. We have now booked up or been on or at least planned and set aside a day for every touristy thing we had planned on doing. There's a few other places we would like to do but the places we couldn't leave without doing have been taken care of. 

On to today, we had 2 sessions at either end of the day, Riverton Crèche at 9 and the Wes Bank Club at 4. We started with the drive to Riverton, again we had about 12 kids, it's a very small crèche with only 2 classes, 1 is 3-4 year olds and then the class we take that our 5-6. We started off with our start-stop movement game, it generally lets us judge what mood the kids are in. The kids seemed to remember our songs from last week which was good to hear. We then moved onto relays which included dribbling the ball. I know we are football coaches but we like to get the kids moving and exploring movement and the feel of the ball rather than football drills, they seem to like the activities as well. We finished with the passing the ball around the circle game which we use as well, we then said our goodbyes, shouted Arsenal and gave high 5s and was out of there. It was our last session there and you could start to see that in 2 sessions they had started to get use to us. I really enjoy going to lots of different crèches and totally agree that we need to reach as many kids as possible, just wonder what progress we could make with an extra few sessions. 

We then went shopping with Joe for a few bits for our apartment then went to the learning centre. We sat around for about 4 hours with not much to, I know we are there to help people but if there's nobody in the centre or the people don't need help there's little to do, which is why I'm looking forward to the course we are doing on Thursday for the local people on using a computer. 

We left Ruyterwacht at around 3 to head for Wes Bank, last week we had about 40 kids and they had 1 ball. The coaches seem eager to learn so we decided we would put on a session that would be helpful to them. Even though we had balls and cones we used their equipment just so they can get an idea of some ideas of session, we decided there's no point putting on a session with 6 balls 20 cones if next week and in the future they don't have that equipment. We started with 14 boys, nice and easy, we ended up with 40+ boys, not so nice and easy. Harry took 1 group I took the other, we did a drill called change, basically you have 2 separate activities going on you shout change and the 2 groups switch. Usually it's quite a quick paced change over but we dragged it out a bit to show off some ideas. Harry worked with no football and played tag games, explaining how the movement in these games can be used in football. I had 1 football and did some passing and possession activities. We then ended with 4 teams, 1 on each side of a square, with a goal each. 2 teams opposite each other would come onto the pitch and play each other till 1 of them scored, they would then both go back to their goals and the other 2 teams played each other and so on. 40 kids 1 ball 2 matches 4 teams. It worked, slightly chaotic but in a good way, from the outside it looked a mess, from within it worked. After a few photos and questions we were off.

A quiet night planned after we both had very little sleep last night. Last sessions with Ysterplaat tomorrow and a return to De Waveren, our least favourite place since arriving here.

Day 47

Today was the day we had booked our Cape Penisula tour for. We were picked up just after 1 and headed towards the waterfront to pick up the other people on the tour. We had Maxwell our tour guide, we had a couple from Madagascar, USA, we had a couple from Nigeria and a guy from Singapore and then Harry and myself.

We were told the normal route would be slightly disrupted as some of the roads were closed because of the fire. Oh well not a lot anybody could have done about that, fortunately the 2 places I wanted to visit were still easily accessible, Simons Town and Cape Point. After just over an hour on the road we arrived in Simons Town, here you find Boulders Beach which is where you find all the African Penguins walking around the beach. I'm pleased we didn't take a whoLd day to come visit this area as it didn't look like there was much there but I'm pleased we went. We only had half an hour here but we managed to take lots of photos and look at all the penguins. We then went back in the mini bus up to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. It's the most South Western point of the whole of the African continent. We were up in the mountains and up in the clouds. Great views of the mountains, Cape Town and you can see where the two currents meet each other. We went up to the lighthouse and had a look around. We then took a drive through the nature reserve where we saw ostrich and baboons just wondering around freely. Nice little drive and lots to see. We then headed down Chapman Peak Road which has been closed all week because of the fire, it was here we watched the sun setting over Cape Town and looked over Hout Bay, there really are some amazing views along that road.

We finished up with some photos and headed back, we were supposed to finish at 5:30 but Maxwell wanted to show us some extra sights and didn't get back till gone 7. Quick food and down to watch the Arsenal v Man U FA cup Semi Final. I'm writing this before the game as if we lose I definitely won't be in the mood to write a blog. I'll leave you with some photos of today.

Day 46

Like I said yesterday today has been quite boring. In a good way. A nice lay in followed by lunch, a Skype home and football. Sunday's are definitely are recuperating day. We were going to go and watch the cycling through town but as it started at 7ish and the 1st person finished in just over an hour by the time we woke up it was near enough all over. Getting anywhere today would have been a nightmare with lots of roads closed off. We could have walked into town or the waterfront but by the time we had eaten got ready it was late afternoon and to be honest we were too lazy to do anything. Instead we decided a short walk down to Mixas to watch Liverpool in the FA cup would be the extent of our days activity.

Like I said before I do feel we should be being more touristy on a Sunday but after a week of work a day of nothingness is fine by me. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day anyway.

Day 45

Up at 10 today as we had a slightly later start. It was the 2nd round of fixtures in the Communicare Action Soccer League. We turned up and had a little kick around while we waited to be needed. We had been asked to ref or coach wherever needed. Team Bothasig hadn't turned up, apparently they had transport issues again and are now close to being kicked out the league as the attendance is so poor. We have been over there and they're a good set of boys but they need somebody to organise them a bit better. So Drommedaris seniors and juniors were to play friendly games against makeshift sides. Me and Harry were asked to join in and as we had nothing else to do we took them up on their offer. Drommedaris seniors had a very well organised side and it's no surprise we lost 6-1, we played some good football and hit the post a few times but you could tell they had played together before and we hadn't. Harry got his 4th goal in 2 games.

Ruyterwacht then arrived ready to play Sandrift, 1 of Salvons teams. Some poor refereeing led to a very physical game and I think Ruyterwacht were put off by the physicality. Some very good footballers when the balls at their feet but not too good roughing it abit, we saw the same against the coaches team last week. Today's game saw Joe and Densel go in goal both weren't helped by the defence and conceded 2 each. Harry got a run out in the 2nd half but couldn't get into the game, a few half chances but not at his best. I watched on as the score ended 4-2. I'll try and get a few minutes next week, after this mornings game I was feeling my calf a little bit.

We left and went back to Berghof had some lunch and sat about for a bit. We had planned to go out with Conan and he had phoned earlier to ask if we could possibly make an appearance at a school that were having a camp on the back field. After all the favours Conan had done us we agreed, nothing major just go along with him in our Arsenal kit and have a walk over to where the kids would be playing football and just say hello. We ended up joining in on their game which was fun, in started off as a 5v5 but as word spread it was easily 15v15 by the end. Harry wanted to make it a competitive game and count towards our scoring I agreed reluctantly, but even though my team won by 5 goals I said because of the way the teams went we'd not count it, aren't I nice. As it was a massive camp over the parents were all setting up tents or sorting out food which meant when a kid went down injured it was down to me to look after him, Harry had a bloodied toe the other week luckily I got a kick to the Achilles to sort out. The kid could barely walk but wanted to carry on playing, these boys love their football. While we were there I was told I had a nice accent and apparently sound like Niall from one direction, I'm sure he's Irish, but Anyway I could get used to these compliments after Harry has continually made fun of my accent for the last 6 weeks. 

Once the football had finished and with everyone asking who we were we decided to get them all in and tell them a bit about ourselves, we even had a little skill-off with all the kids showing us their skills. We then walked over to where the food was being made, Conans wife Shelley treated us to this curried chicken and rice dish that I've forgotten the name of but it was really nice. After sitting with the 2 of them for a while we headed back, both exhausted. I've caught the sun a bit again today so my fading red nose is now glowing again.

Tomorrow is our lazy day and with half of Cape Town being closed off because of the cycle race that's going through town it will be difficult getting anywhere so we decided to just chill out, we might go and watch the cyclists go through but who knows, some of the big names are competing and I believe even Team Sky are going to be there. Because of the fire the race has been cut from 100km to 50km because some of the roads are closed and others have become dangerous. People have complained about the reduction but I'd be greatful for not having to go 100km in the South African heat. 

So I pre warn you tomorrow's blog is likely to be on the dull side. But Monday will be 1 not to miss, we our going full tourist, visiting boulders beach, Cape of good hope and other places, followed possibly by football training with Ruyterwacht, taking part not coaching, then possibly going out to watch Arsenal v Man U in the cup with Conan. 

Day 44

Another quiet day today. With only 1 session from 5-6:30. We were asked to come down to the learning centre for 1:30 so we had a lay in got ready and drove into Ruyterwacht. Not much to do at the centre today so we just caught up with Lourens and spoke with Joe.

We headed out at 4 for our only session of the day. We were back at Atlantic club on the astro to do a session with the Drommedaris girls and some of the boys from yesterday. We mixed them all together which they were reluctant to do to start with but by the end they were all playing together. We started with a follow me activity which is where you are in pairs, 1 of you has the ball the other follows. Nice and easy. I'd be calling out instructions for them to do ike turn and excelerate. We then went onto numbers game which is where you have 2 teams every player is numbered you shout out a number and the player with that number on each team comes out and plays a 1v1. They seemed to really enjoy it, some of the girls were up against the boys and they weren't frightened of putting in a tackle which is good to see. As we left they started a girls v boys match which would have been interesting. We've now worked with Drommedaris girls 3 times and you can start to see some improvements which is a good sign.

We then went to meet Yonick and Jodi as we were going to go out to watch a film altogether. While they were getting ready we played a bit of cricket with Jayden, me and Harry outplayed the South African pair of Jayden and Jodi and won in less than 2 overs. We then went to Grand West and watched American Sniper, really good film, I won't spoil it but the whole cinema was left deadly silent in the end. 

We've now come back and are chilling out, weve got the Communicare soccer league tomorrow which should be good.

Day 43 Week 7 5th March

Today we only had 1 session planned. We were supposed to be in at 10 to help around the learning centre but Harry had a call about 8 saying don't worry come in about 2. So I woke up to see Harry had already gone back to bed and a note saying we had a few extra hours. 

We arrived just after 2 at the learning centre, lots of traffic in the road, apparently there are a lot of people being re routed through town to avoid the roads shut off for the fire, also they are setting up for the cycle race this weekend. When we arrived most of the computers were either locked or were being updated so we couldn't actually provide much help. We then headed to Drommedaris at 4 the session didn't start till 5 but we thought we would get there early and kick a ball about. As we were driving we saw Conan and he followed us to Atlantic Football club and had a quick kick around with us and his daughters. As he left a few boys turn up and we started a game.

Just after 5 Adnan turned up with the rest of the boys. We put on our 1st real football session of the week, it's been 1 of them weeks. A shooting session, firstly Harry would lay off a shot and they would have to take it 1st time, the shooting was a bit poor. Kids over here watch far too much European football and it's all pass pass pass so the shooting is a bit off. We then decided we'd move onto a slightly difficult drill, there would be a 1v1 with a keeper, the attacker had to get his shot away and then when he did he became a defender and the original defender would join the queue to be an attacker. It works on the transition between attack and defence and after a slow start the boys got the hang of it. The idea was it was fast paced and the defender would be switched on but a lot of the boys waited for the defender to get back into position just so they could try and beat him.

Session was over and I was packing away when we decided on having a game, Harry picked the teams and of course we joined in. Like I've said before they generally encourage us to get involved, it must be so they can say they played with someone from Arsenal. After having the extra player yesterday Harry gave me the extra player today. Unfortunately for Harry he gave me an 8 year old that nobody on his team wanted to tackle because he was small and they were all bigger than him. I ended up winning the game by 2goals and it takes me to 5-2 in our little competition. We are both quite similar and we both can't stand losing, anyone that knows me knows there's no such thing as a friendly when it comes to me, i take things a bit too seriously and I've found out that Harry does too. With my side winning and Harry getting more and more frustrated I decided I'd wind him up a little bit, Harry is the better footballer by far and I often was left looking at the back of his heels. So I decided to try and get a psychological upper hand, time wasting, reminding him of the score and telling him how many minutes were left as well as slowing down the game seemed to work. Some of his tackles came flying in and if they'd have connected I'd have been in trouble, and to be honest if it was the other way around I'd have been the same. But with the final whistle I'd won again.

We drove home got changed and headed out for food. Today's menu at Berghof didn't sound great so we set aside today to go out for food. We went to the Slug and Lettuce, the menu had a very pub grub feel about it, burgers, ribs and steaks. I went for my usual of stake and Harry went for his usual, ribs. The food was good, best bit of steak I've had out here, and after a few drinks we headed home. That's another restaurant to cross off the list that we've visited along Kloof street. Kloof street and Long street are know for there bars and restaurants and general nightlife, Long street has the better atmosphere but is known for being slightly dodgy.

Few films and a catch up with the loved ones. We were supposed to be in at 9 tomorrow but have been told don't worry come in at 2 instead, with only 1 session with the same boys as today and a few girls tomorrow should be straight forward. We are also planning on meeting up with Yonick tomorrow so it should be a good end to the week. 

Day 42

I've just seen that my blog has had 900 views so far which is an average of just over 21 a day. Harry has a few more than me which means we've had nearly 1900 views between the 2 of us. I didn't think we would be so popular, but thank you for reading. A few of the other guys are doing blogs around the world but I think ours is the most detailed and up to date. It's been a great way to let friends and family know we are okay and it will be a nice record for us of the things we have been up to.

Today we woke up to see it had been raining during the night and the clouds were still forming above Cape Town, after 2 very hot days and many fires in the area and on the mountains it was very much welcomed. Today we headed back to Ysterplaat 1 & 2 for their 2nd sessions. We went without our cameraman as Joe had an important meeting to attend to. The first class were very quiet and it looks like these kids don't get much opportunity to run around and be kids. We started with our simple moving game which got them going followed by the passing of the ball around the circle, Both sessions worked and they said they enjoyed them but me and Harry weren't overly happy as the group was very shy and we really need to find something for them to get stuck into next week. The second group had the same activities and were nearly identical in the way they acted which is strange. They found it a lot more difficult to follow instructions and we found ourselves repeating ourselves a lot. We then jumped in the car as the older children are at a separate building. We had a slightly advanced session for these guys as they did so well last week but that was quickly scrapped. They all tried to bundle Harry and were running around with excitement, I blew my whistle to get them to stop and they ran to a cone. They had remembered last weeks session and wanted to do that. So we thought it would be easier, lots of singing and dancing. We were just about to move on to the next activity when we felt drops of rain, to us it was a little downpour to these kids that are inexperienced when it comes to bad weather it was a flood. It did get a little heavier and the kids were getting slightly excitable as this isn't an everyday occurrence over here. The teachers decided we should end the session 5/10 minutes early and get everybody inside. They wouldn't last 2 minutes in England. 

We then headed back to the learning centre where we used the computers and had some lunch. I won't start ranting again about wifi use but after working for an hour last night it stopped and we were forced down to Mixas to use there's and of course we had to buy a few drinks or we would have been asked to leave. Any excuse. As much as we enjoy going down to Mixas watching football and enjoying the atmosphere, my bank balance and my liver couldn't keep up. So fingers crossed.

Our afternoon session was at Goodwood college, we had been there last week and were given 50 boys and 2 balls. This week Densel arrived and said there was a game tomorrow and he just wants to see them play. Me and Harry joined in as well as there wasn't much else to do. Harry had 1 extra player and we played 11v12 on a full size pitch, it soon became 10v12. Despite their extra player and early pressure we took the lead. I was playing left back for my team, I'm not and will never be a left back and I think today showed it. Harry's team were all over us and should have equalised but for some poor shooting and a lack of shots. My team didn't help themselves either, our centre back and right back were pushing up field and it left us exposed at the back and with the other teams pace it was always going to be a problem. The best chance came to their pacey forward, he knew and I knew that when the ball was played over the top he was always going to beat me to the ball, so I tried to get my body in the way slow him down and give away a foul, he had other ideas, as he used me to spring himself forward and race on towards goal, leaving me embarrassed but luckily he scuffed his shot and I got away with 1. My team now 2 players down scored against the run of play to make it 2-0, we sat back and held on, the best chance of the game came to Harry but he scuffed it and it rolled slowly out for a goal kick. Match over and I retake a 2 point lead making it 4-2 now. Densel has got his work cut out with this group, tactically not very good, but weren't too bad with the ball at their feet.

We finished up and headed to Drommedaris for a talk with the kids, this week it was all about giving compliments. They seemed to get on with it really well and were full of compliments by the end. We normally really enjoy this group but today they didn't seem as well behaved which was disappointing.

As I was saying yesterday there is a fire that has been burning in the mountain for the last 3 days. It's still going even with today's rain. We all hope it is put out soon and are thankful for the firemen battling the fire.

Here's few photos we've found.

Day 41

Today is day 41 and in 41 days we will be leaving. It's not that I'm in a hurry to get away from Cape Town it's more of a case of wanting to get home. It's gone quite quickly so far but I'm still missing my home comforts.

I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do daily blogs as our wifi has been awful the last few days. I could deal with no wifi but the fact it's there and all our devices connect to it and it comes up there's a strong connection but it doesn't work is so frustrating. If there's any computer experts out there that can explain this please feel free. We may have to start going to the pub more often just so we can use their wifi and speak to family, any old excuse.

Anyway enough of my moaning for now and on to today. We were up nice and early for our crèche. Again it was over 40 degrees outside and we knew today would be challenging. 1st challenge was to find the crèche, Harry had said that Joe pointed it out to him on Friday and he would easily be able to direct us there. So off I drove with Harry telling me where to go, 'it's definitely it Ruyterwacht he says' after driving around Ruyterwacht for 15 minutes going this way and that Harry gave in and said he didn't know where he was going. We went to the learning centre to find Joe waiting for us, apparently we were supposed to pick him up for the 20ish minute drive, outside of Ruyterwacht to Riverton crèche, well done Harry.

We made our way to Bishops Lavis, we were told this was 1 of the 'not so nice' areas in Cape Town, lots of unemployment and lots of crime. The crèche we visited had been broken into roughly 150 times in the last 14 years. Not the sort of record you want to have. We were given 11 kids and told we had half an hour, which was perfect as any longer in this heat would be very uncomfortable. After a very slow start, the kids seemed half asleep, we managed a few activities and even though we had the shade from a tree we kept the activities short and sweet and with as little running as possible. We found out that 1 of the boys names was Kolo, me and Harry started singing the Kolo Kolo chant for Kolo Toure, the kids over heard and started singing as well. Nice bunch of kids, just looked scared to let go and have fun. After our usual high fives and shouts of Arsenal we were gone. Driving down the road we went past a man that as he spotted us started shouting what sounded like some less than friendly stuff, without sounding horrible as he laid out on the street, did look a victim of drink or drugs but I wonder whether if he was sober and knew that we had come into his community to help the kids of his area whether he would have acted differently? I know the history of the country but it's sad to see that some areas are still showing the effects. 

Back to the learning centre we went. After a short cool down from the air con it was back on the road. We considered calling this afternoons session off but knew that we would be disappointing some kids that would have been looking forward to it. Instead we decided on a reduced session and a Q&A. It may have been 40+ degrees but we still had over 30 kids and 2 cows. We were in Wesbank which is a township area about half hour drive from Ruyterwacht I believe, Joe correct me if I'm wrong now that I know you're reading our blogs quite often. 1 ball between 30 kids, no cones, no bibs, 40 degree heat, 2 cows standing on your pitch, cow poo everywhere, pot holes everywhere, cans and other rubbish everywhere, this would be 1 of our biggest challenges yet. To be honest the kids were great, a simple passing activity to start with that gradually got harder, they made it look easy. We have done this with a few groups but these were the 1st to do it correct 1st time. We then decided it's match time, I took the younger kids Harry took the older group, 15 a side on a field with 2 goals. As you can imagine a very scrappy game but there were moments of skill and quality and considering the pitch and equipment etc you wonder what these kids could do if they had been dealt a better hand and been more fortunate. Our keeper had a great game and kept us in the game, which is why I felt bad I let my team down, tripped in a pothole, bottled a 50/50 challenge with a kid that had studied boots and left my keeper 3 v 1, he saved the 1st shot but could do nothing about the 2nd. We battled on but Harry's team were victorious. It leaves it 3-2 to me in games now. I did contest the result as Harry had 2 extra defenders but apparently the cows didn't count. We had a short Q&A with the kids and then the coaches, the coaches told us 1 of his boys had recently been scouted by Ajax of Cape Town the only pro team in Cape Town, which was pleasing but also disappointing the boy has a chance of the big time but the coaches gain nothing from him being scouted, even a football would have been a nice gesture. 

That was our day over with, as we drove home we saw the bad side of the heat, 3 fires within a 20 minute drive and also hearing on the radio that the mountain fire that started Sunday was still not out. You can see the smoke in the sky, and there's definitely a hazeyness to the nice blue skyline. I hope it is sorted soon but applaud all the people that have been helping to tackle it. I hope we get the rain that's forecast to help you guys out. Worst fire in nearly 10 years I heard someone say.

Day 40

Nearly at the half way point. Tomorrow we will have exactly 6 weeks to go until we leave, Wednesday is the half way point and Thursday marks 6 weeks since our arrival.

As much as I've enjoyed the coaching, the weather, the people we've met along the way and the places we've visited tomorrow the count down is on. Closer to being home than when we left. 

Again this morning I woke to find a note from Harry so I got myself ready and went down to meet him. We had planned for a lazy morning and then a touristy afternoon. We checked our to do list and everything has either been done or booked or needed advanced booking. So I went back to the tourist books of things to do I had with me, lots of beaches and museums seemed like the best bet. There are some other attractions away from town but public transport doesn't seem to go that way, I'd like to visit Stellenbosch, I think that's how you spell it, there seems to be a lot to do in that area and it's also where the uni is, unfortunately I can't see how to get there without driving. Will have to ask around about trains etc. We've also both said that we are going to avoid taxis as well, we've seen how they drive and we've heard some stories so we decided we'd give them a miss. 

Harry was told by Azille that today is the hottest day of the year, so a day frying in the sun on a beach was off the agenda. Fortunately I take after my mum and don't seem to burn too badly in the sun except for my nose for some reason, anyone that's seen me will know that after any small bit of sun I walk around looking like Rudolph. But Harry being a stereotypical ginger, not being rude it's kind of fact  that the redder the hair the easier you burn, Tina, my girlfriend also suffers from red head sunburn, wasn't to keen on sitting on a beach. He also didn't fancy a trip to a museum, and not wanting to spend money just walking around shops left us with not much to do. 

Harry went back to bed and I lazed about, catching up on my book and just chilling out. Luckily as of next week both our Sunday's and Monday's have been planned and we've booked up some things to do. Back to tourists next week instead of lazy Brits abroad that can't handle the heat. 

Would just like to say it was 41 degrees here in Cape Town today. I've spent most of the day sitting in the sun with a cool drink and my book, Harry has missed most of the day which is a shame but he has caught up on some sleep which I'm sure he is pleased with.  As much as I would have liked to have gone out and been busy today, there hasn't been many days where I've been able to just sit down in the sun and chill out. It's the small things that can make a day. I know we should probably be making more of our days off but as long as our to do list is completed, and it's quite a long list, by the time I go home I'll be happy. 

Day 39

Sunday's have become our rest days. We chill out and don't really do a lot. We work Tuesday to Saturday have Sunday off and then Monday is our tourist day. We are nearly at the half way point and have settled into our routine now. 

Not having to get up for anything meant I could have a nice lay in. I did set an alarm though this morning, anybody that frequently reads this blog knows we've both over slept and woken up minutes before lunch, so with this in mind I decided to wake up a bit earlier today. I woke to find a note from Harry saying he was downstairs using the wifi, as poor as signal is here I'd like to have seen how he would have coped in say Uganda or Mozambique where there isn't much wifi or the signal is even weaker. We have been invited to go camping next month with Azille we'll see then how he gets on for a few days with no signal and nowhere to recharge his phone. We have got on really well so far in my opinion which has helped the last 6 weeks go quite quickly, I can't imagine being stuck with someone that I didn't get on with. There does seem to be 2 sides of Harry though and he can quickly switch between the 2, the Carl Pilkinton (from An Idiot Abroad tv show) to an excitable kid at Christmas.

After getting up having a shower and getting ready I made my way down to meet Harry, I had left myself an hour before lunch which was much better than the other week when I literally woke up and it was served up. A not so bad roast gammon lunch, it wasn't amazing but it was okay. I must admit I'm starting to really miss food from home, the food here can be really good or really poor it really is a gamble every day. That's not me being rude or ungrateful, everyone has there own tastes and some of the food here just isn't for me, sorry.

After lunch we waited around and watched both the Liverpool v Man City game, which was followed by the Arsenal v Everton game. Today was also the Capital One cup final but we had to give that a miss as tonight we went to watch Jason Mraz at the Grand West Casino. I'll admit I'm not his biggest fan and only know 1 or 2 of his songs but Harry wanted to go and had nobody else to go with so I agreed to go. Tickets were R375 which works out to be £18.75 depending on the exchange rate you use, the Rand is getting weaker and weaker so everything is getting cheaper for us but also means we will be losing out if we have to exchange any money back. 

Been a good day, Arsenal won, Spurs lost and the concert went really well, although I must admit I hardly new any of the songs. But Harry said he played all the good ones and he enjoyed it so a good way to end the weekend.