Last Thoughts on the Dark Continent

Greetings, gentle readers.
It's odd that despite roaming all hither and thither across the landscape of England, echoes of South Africa keep reverberating throughout the experiences.  For one, all of the friends and associates that my father and uncle have arranged to meet have some sort of South African connection.  Paul Tagg, for example, went to secondary school with my father in East London.  My uncle Melvin's friends, Marie (pronounced MAA-ree) and Gordon have connections to branches of the family tree in South Africa that I have yet to chart.
So before I carry on with my travelling tales of mystery and imagination, I'll try and put to bed the last of the anecdotes from the southern hemisphere.

He Nodded It On!

One of the things that my cousin Sean brought to my attention is that one of my few cricketing memories from my days in Malawi continues to have relevance today.  As I related my one cricket story to him, his face suddenly flashed with recognition.  Upon further discussion, it turns out that Pommie Mbangwa, the tragic hero of my Malawian anecdote has somehow parleyed his experiences to a successful career in broadcasting.  We even watched a match from the IPL T20 Cricket season that had Pommie as a colour commentator.  Somehow, I was gratified to discover that the story I've been telling for years about the hapless bowler actually has some factual basis, and not merely some form of malaria-induced hallucinatory flashback.  I'll have to check my archives and discover if I can make a link to the story, or if I'll need to rewrite the thing again.

FAQ on the V&A

The Victoria and Albert Waterfront is one of the big tourist pulls of Cape Town, and for good reason.  There are loads of fun and educational things for the kiddiewinkies to attempt to break, there's ample shopping for those interested in quasi-authentic curios and knick-knacks, and points of scientific, geographic, and historic interest.  We didn't ride the Cape Town interpretation of the London Eye, nor did we visit Two Oceans Aquarium on this particular trip.  Despite the extended car tours of Stellenbosch and the Cape Peninsula, it seemed that these tourist activities were just beyond the pale.  I did, however, manage to pick up some books from the big book clearance shop that provided much of the physical discomfort and challenge for the weeks to come.  Couldn't just buy books, me.  Had to buy the heaviest hardcover pieces of nastiness to act as ballast in my luggage, knowing full well that I was going to hump them the length and breadth of London Town and Merseyside.
I also tried to sample some of the local tipple, a theme that was to serve me well in the latter stages of the expedition.  There are some very classy microbreweries in Cape Town that produce some tasty ales and lagers.  There is also a restaurant called Quay 10 (if memory serves) that serves a special drink known as the Robben Island Iced Tea.  This toxic conglomeration of various soft drinks, fruity bits, and a powerful array of alcoholic spirits is incarcerrific. Or convictastic.  Penalicious?  Penitentially enjoyable in any event.

Not Piers Anthony's Wretched Books

Finally, there is my little cousin Xanthe.  The daughter of my cousin Warren and  his wife Kim is a precocious and energetic wee bundle of enthusiasm who has solemnly pronounced that I must return to Cape Town this November for her sixth birthday.  I'm not sure how that might work in any sort of practical economic or logistical manner, but if she demonstrates the persistence of memory required to pester her parents, I'm sure that I'll hear about an appointment for which I may not be late.
Incidentally, the classicist in me always wants to pronounce the Greek "chi" as a "ks" sound, as in "taxi" or "nexus."  However, present day usage seems to dictate that as an incipient consonant sound, it is pronounced as a "zeta."  I blame that Warrior Princess show from the '90s.  I stand open to correction from contemporary and classical Greek pronunciation experts.
Right.  Now I should just need to summarize the England part of the trip, then summarize the developments in European football during my stay, and how they should impact club and international football in this, the even of the season preceding the next World Cup.  Those of you that hate sports may want to skip that entry.
Until then, goodnight England and the colonies.
Cheers,
—mARKUS