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Published: October 24th 2007
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The Rugby
Me, me bird, Andre, Jimbo, James Home at last (well sort of)!!
It's so good to be back in the land of 'you kneeew' and 'Howzit Breew'.
My plans have changed for the 174th time, i luv what i'm doing and where i'm working at the mo so why change a winning formula??? I'm guna have to keep tuning into Animal planet to fantasise about Gorrilas until the day comes where i travel East Africa. Basically i looked at what i wanted to do and realised i needed at least three months, not three weeks.
My first week was spent with Charlie who i'd met at the Backpackers where i was staying. We plus Timmy and Jimbo (two lads who were also at the hostel) spent the first weekend i was here sampling the bars and watching England getting thumped against SA in the world cup. After a saturday night partying there was talk of a few days away and by the time i'd sobered up on the sunday i was 300kms from Joburg in Nelspruit with Charlie. "What's going on, this was never the plan"!! We planned to be away a week but i was getting bored fast so after a trip to
Sabie and Swaziland i convinced her to take us back to Joburg.
When i initially arrived in Joburg and sent about thirty emails to various hostels explaining what i was looking for and what i could offer them..................i had one reply; a Bar managers job @ Diamond Diggers in Joburg.
I altered my CV to explain that i'd had previous experience working in Bars @ home and abroad, what a loada bollox i hear you say..........Precisely!!! If Leo can do it in 'Catch me if you can' then i could too!!
I can't believe i wasted 9 years of my life electrically engineering. Being a Barman is the best job in the world. Talk shite all night and twist off a few bottle tops......LOVE IT!!! Took a while to understand all the lingo for peoples drinks though...."i'll have a bourbon and coke please"..........."sorry mate, we don't sell biscuits in here"!! (the yanks call Jack Daniels Bourbon; do me a favour, pick up a bottle and try to find the word bourbon on it). and cocktails, Frigging hell, i could write another blog on them all on it's own!!!
The bar itself in Joburg was puka,
Jaquzzi, pool table and free booze for me cos that was basically my wages. I was working 14 hour days, 7 days a week and let it slip that i come from an Electrical background. Not only was i running the bar i also spent the morning installing lights and fixing appliances..........they were starting to take the pee i thought. My boss was also the most fattest, racist Afrikaans i'd ever met and on my first day of working he introduced me to my bar security........ a baseball bat he called the 'Black Basher'!!
I was having a laff but with Jimbo and Timmy thinking of moving onto Cape town and out of the blue i recieved an email from Coffee Bay which was my preffered place to work saying they couldn't help me but they have put a good word in for me @ Ashanti lodge in Cape Town. One phone call to Ashanti and a pleasureable resignation to Diggers and i was on a road trip to CT the next morning. 16 hours of non-stop driving in a dodgy rental car and here i am.
Ashanti kicks ass, it's right at the foot of Table Mountain
Sabie
Tackling the rough terrain in me flop-flips!! and only a short walk to Long street which is where the clubs and shops are. Check out Ashanti's website to view the place.
I only have to work 4/5 shifts a week but get free accomodation which i share with my two sisters (two german lasses who are also doing the same thing as me), free food, money off booze and the social side to things here is rocking. I also get paid aswell which is a massive bonus, hang on though, i earn 13rand an hour and with it being 14.2 rand to the pound i don't think i'll be retiring this side of 30!!
Ashanti has a travel center within so think there's about 15 staff and we all get on like a big family which obviously involves spending nights in Long street till dawn and lounging around the sun deck and swimming pool recovering from the night before!!
Ok, let's talk Rugby. SA is a massive Rugby nation and the world cup was quality watching it over here. We have a 6ft screen in the bar and was totally packed out sat night (the final) for it. I was working but managed to obtain
face paint during the day and an England flag as mine seems to be hanging in the Daly Waters pub between Alice Springs and Darwin somewhere. There was more or less a 50-50 ratio in supporters so a wkd atmosphere and thanks to me 'bird' hannah for being make-up artist for the eve. Obviously gutted about the score but the banter was in full flow throughout the game; sinking deep into depression @ the final whistle it was time to pull out the shot glasses and head to Long street.......... OH MY GOD, these south Africans know how to celebrate, the place was absolutely rocking with people jumping all over cars, swinging from anything swingable and hugs and kisses all round. The face paint was all scrubbed off and a change of t-shirt by this point so we all just went with the flow of things. By the time we got to bed at 5am i thought i was South African!!!!
So not many backpacker things to report because i'm saving them for when me original Sister arrives here on 25th Nov when we'll be doing allsorts of things including a SHARK DIVE ANNA. (may take some convincing).
Hope all is kool and see you at xmas (ish)
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Manchester bitches (your words not ours)
non-member comment
No bar is the same without you pouring us free shots till the early hours. We miss you and your dodgy taste in music, see you back in the UK mmmmmmmmwwwwwwaaaahhhhhhhh xxxxx