Britain is in the grip of ice at the moment, suffering the longest cold spell in 30 years. Even sub-tropical Falmouth has a thin blanket of snow today.
So it’s nice to think that in 3 months’ time we will be back in sunny Cape Town and the beautiful Vineyard Hotel.
The Vineyard is a short walking distance from Newlands Cricket Ground, one of the world’s most impressive Test Match grounds. This week Jon and I have spent a great deal of time in front of the TV, avidly watching the gripping 3rd Test at Newlands between South Africa and England, and wishing that we were in the crowd enjoying the perfect weather. It is not easy to explain to our friends from non-cricketing nations how a test match such as this one, played over 5 full days, and ending in a draw, can be so nail-bitingly exciting, but it had everything needed to keep us on the edges of our seats.
Cricket fans who will be attending any of this year’s 4 MEI Conferences in Cape Town would be advised to take the short walk down to the cricket ground. Jon and I did this last year and found the staff very friendly, showing us the members’ enclosure and the Honours boards and then allowing us out onto the ground itself. It’s a pilgrimage second only to a visit to Lord’s!!
So it’s nice to think that in 3 months’ time we will be back in sunny Cape Town and the beautiful Vineyard Hotel.
The Vineyard is a short walking distance from Newlands Cricket Ground, one of the world’s most impressive Test Match grounds. This week Jon and I have spent a great deal of time in front of the TV, avidly watching the gripping 3rd Test at Newlands between South Africa and England, and wishing that we were in the crowd enjoying the perfect weather. It is not easy to explain to our friends from non-cricketing nations how a test match such as this one, played over 5 full days, and ending in a draw, can be so nail-bitingly exciting, but it had everything needed to keep us on the edges of our seats.
Cricket fans who will be attending any of this year’s 4 MEI Conferences in Cape Town would be advised to take the short walk down to the cricket ground. Jon and I did this last year and found the staff very friendly, showing us the members’ enclosure and the Honours boards and then allowing us out onto the ground itself. It’s a pilgrimage second only to a visit to Lord’s!!
Jon at Newlands Cricket Ground
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Ice and cricket brings this to mind:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.icecricket.co.uk/Ice_Cricket_2011.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJeyt2c3SM
A longstanding tradition in Talinn, Estonia. Harden up, people!
Ross - who grew up in Newlands, Wellington, New Zealand, but feels that the cricket venues in Narvik, Northern Norway deserve to be on that list of impressive cricket grounds (albeit not Test standard)