Bafana out of their socks
I WATCHED Bafana as they played out of their socks last Friday in the opening match of the World Cup, in a hostelry that was packed with people who, I suspect, are most of them followers of rugby rather than football.
They cheered Bafana Bafana to the rafters (and the rafters are high in that particular hostelry) as, against all the odds, they forced the draw and came within a whisker of winning. Sensational stuff! There was also a feeling of huge relief that the Fifa ratings and the bookmakers' odds were turned on their head and Bafana were not blown out in this first match as so many predicted. That would have been simply too sad.
There was a generosity about it all that is surely to be valued. If the Rugby World Cup in 1995 played a vital role in bringing together a fractured society, this Football World Cup 15 years later confirms that we have achieved something close to normality. Everyone supports the national side.
Now Uruguay. Things can only improve from here. One game at a time. 'Erewego, 'erewego, 'erewego!
Shirty sheriff
A MEMBER of the legal fraternity tells me the sheriff was conducting a sale in execution on the steps of the Durban High Court last Friday. What made it unusual was that he was togged out in a South African football shirt and a giant hat shaped like a football.
Hip hip hooray!
SARITA Marthur, of Morningside, conveys her excitement at the start of the World Cup.
I am full of happiness,
I am full of cheer,
It makes me very happy
That the World Cup is here.
Everywhere I go I see flags
Fluttering in the breeze,
People smiling and happy,
Everyone relaxed and at ease.
Proudly South African
And wearing green and yellow,
United are the South Africans,
Child , dame and fellow.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium
Is an impressive sight to see;
We are at the right place at the right time,
Yes, Durban is the place to be.
The system is all
LAST week's piece on National Cash, the mathematical genius who was a barman in Lusikisiki and would use pencil and paper to arrive at the total of three 15-cent drinks, reminds reader Gregor Woods of an experience in an ice cream parlour in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
"It was a small shop which sold only ice cream, and a single staffer was at the counter. At the time, I was the only customer in the shop.
"The counter assistant was somewhat taciturn. When I asked for a soft serve ice cream cone, he silently pointed to a handwritten sign which gave the price. He took my money then wrote down the number 22 on the top half of a small pad of paper, repeating the same number on the lower half of the sheet. Then he tore the paper in half, separating the two numbers, and handed me the bottom half.
"Turning to a machine, he proceeded to twirl soft serve ice cream into a cone. This completed, he approached me holding the cone slightly outstretched in front of him. I held out my hand to take it, but with an indignant look he quickly withdrew it. Holding it back almost at his shoulder, he thrust his other hand toward me, palm open, and I realised he wanted my half of the slip of paper.
"I handed him that; he checked to see that the two numbers agreed, then he gave me my ice cream. I swear there wasn't another customer in the place.
"I went away impressed by his diligence in adhering to the system he had been taught. No doubt my half of the slip was carefully spiked for later reconciliation. And, to his credit, he had not shouted: "Number 22!" to summon me to receive my order."
Tailpiece
THIS fellow always buys his wife anemones for her birthday. On the day he gets to the florist's late. They've run out of anemones and it's too late to look elsewhere. So he buys her a large fern instead.
However, his wife is delighted. "With fronds like these," she says, "Who needs anemones?"
Last word
That is the saving grace of humour, if you fail no one is laughing at you.
GRAHAM LINSCOTT
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