Day 8 - Gaborone Schools

---

Cricket Without Baggage…………still!!

The blog today(Monday 26th October) is going to resemble a sugar coated dwarf……short and sweet! Ravi’s hospitality on Friday night into the early hours of Saturday morning has done me irreversible damage!

Rested and hangover free after our leisurely Sunday off, the team began Week 2 in high spirits and eager to greet out next intake of trainee coaches. Based now in Gaborone, we assumed that our traveling time to and from venues would be shortened dramatically. However, we hadn’t considered the G-Factor - never has so many longcuts be taken by one driver! Godfrey, you’re a legend.

Turn out was good at Notwane Primary School and once again we were greeted with the customary Botswanan enthusiasm & sincerity; the generosity of everyone we meet here continues to stagger us. Fortunately for the packed staff room, Tony refrained from replying to the beautiful rendition of the school anthem with Swing Low Sweet Chariot, there’s a time and a place, it was decided that this was neither!! Bleeding ears are never a good look.

Once more, high heels, suits and long skirts were order of the day for the trainee coaches, but they all performed admirably in the excruciatingly hot, windy and dusty conditions. By the end of our first session 18 teachers were already growing in confidence and, due to our tutor’s looped jokes, they all knew exactly why the elephant was in the fridge and what the most expensive cake in the bakery is…..enough now please Mike!

Our afternoon session was a mere 144 children from Notwane, Tsholofelo and Ledumang Primary Schools and our team took it in their stride as usual, with the running total for the trip now just 705 in 7 days- not that we’re counting! There is no doubt that the heat and the furious itinerary is beginning to take its toll on our group, but bar the third degree burns on the back of Mark’s legs we are yet to have any injuries…..a few more of Mike’s jokes though and the first fatality of the tour might occur between now and the flight home!!

Thanks for all the support from everyone back home its really appreciated and apologies in advance for the amount of photos and video footage you will have to endure on our return!

See you all soon,

Will

p.s. if anyone of our subscribers is one of the kind, lovely baggage handlers at Jo’berg airport, could we please have our missing luggage back now please? The children at the orphanage would really like the equipment we’d promised them!

---

Photos

Teachers
Gaborone's teachers came prepared for a morning in the classroom.......needless to say we had other ideas !

Fielding at Midwicket.....
can be tricky in heels......

.....and long skirts....
don't make one handed intercepts easy but everyone coped very well!

Winners!
T-shirts reward effort and improvement