The purpose of the weekend was to build up some team spirit and for the Housemaster to get to know his matrics better outside of the the White House walls and the Bishops environment.
We departed just after two on Saturday the 16th, after the tough Paarl Gym fixture, where only a handful of sides managed victory, but this was not of any concern as the 1st XV won so nothing else really mattered. The boys were hardly out of the gate and the housemaster found himself driving alone in spirit not in body with his bus heaving to the rythm of sleep, some other gutteral noises post the House lunch and the blast of the South Easter which seemed intent on shoulder charging us off the road at times. The Siyaya bus is not designed for heavy weather! It was to be a very long trip as we were held up for an hour on the N1 just past Century City - an ideal place to have an impromptu Geography lesson on land use zones and outlying business centres, I thought, but like my usual classroom attempts to smarten them up, the boys were fast asleep. In fact, Brandon Wheeler was seldom awake on the whole trip except to eat and this he did with exuberance. Before we reached the tunnel, Foxcroft phoned me, "Sir, is Earl in your bus?" he asked timidly. NOT. So much for team work! He had fallen asleep after lunch and never woke until after three. Earl would not be joining us, sadly. Through Paarl, Worcester, and Robertson on our way to our first stop for wine tasting at the very invite of a past head of White House, Jamie deWet, who now assists in the running of the family farm, Arabella. While taking the boys through some of their range, he explained certain important nuances of the various wines which for some of the boys was a first. There is not a lot of wine up in Namibia for the likes of Shiraz, ironic I know, and Kevin. Jordan, also Namibia, who does not drink, showed some serious interest in the aroma of the various vintages. I am sure in an attempt to cleanse his nasal passages after having to share the back seat of the bus with blustery Brandon.
We were also treated to an intriguing tour of the wine cellars and distilleries. The magnitude and intricacy of the farm's wine operation was fascinating. An interesting tit-bit was the reason they produce mainly screw tops. Not as you would imagine for the freshness, or the cost as it is more expensive but for convenience. They also export 40% of their wine. Luckily the boys have not acquired the taste for wine yet so the experience was a good and wholesome one.
We then arrived, famished again, at our destination, Nerina Guest Farm, right on the bank of the river and had an amazing braai where adding brown onion soup as a sprinkle to the chops before braaing was discovered to be delicious! I will certainly try it again. Everyone was exhausted after the trip and the rugby so bed was called for much earlier than expected after some intriguing banter around the fire in the boma.
We awoke to a huge farm breakfast after a good nights sleep and soon afterwards departed for Bonnievale Golf course. Teams were drawn and the game was for the team to only share three clubs and a putter. The best shot was where all the others then played from. It was soon evident that the golfing ability of the group was abysmal so I knew it unlikely that we would all finish the round. Jordan missed his first three attempts but eventually got the ball to launch. Carl the stooge also struggled admirably but toiled on into the steadily growing heat. Ultimately, only two lads finished the round, Tshepo and Kris, who had obviously played before. By the end of the golf it was early afternoon and the heat had become stifling. We ambled aboard the busses and tragedy struck. KB on entering a bus bumped his head on the door arch which had lost its rubber protection and literally sliced his head open. Blood poured from his head like a leaking tap and most boys recoiled back into the bus, but for Mike Foxcroft and Mike Korniew showed no signs of squimishness and assisted me in trying to stop the flow. Getting the doctor out on a Sunday afternoon in Bonnies is not easy, but she arrived and then embarked the cleaning, stitiching and injecting. It was a long and horrible affair which left us only to return to base, pick up our goods and depart. Again, the boys were famished as we had missed out on our promise of braaied toasties due to the KB affair, not that the boys were at all hungry at that stage so we stopped in Worcester, mainly due to Cameron's menacing grimmace which was becoming more and more threatening so it was thought wise to stop. Apparently he becomes quiet violent when not fed. KB looked ridiculous with wads of head bandage rapped around him as he strutted to collect a Steer's Burger, but obviously he was obviously feeling better.
My summary: Too far, too short a time, but spending time with these boys is always going to be worth it. Characters they all are; weird and wonderful without doubt. It was memorable.
So much for etiquette - no shirts, slops and Alex McGregor's textbook-perfect bad swing. At least he was dressed properly. KB looks more like swotting flies.
Some serious tasters.
Our friendly and accomadating host, Jamie deWet
The hero of the trip- still smiling!
