Stormers 0 Snow 1

As strange as this score may sound, it’s kind of what happened yesterday. Last week sometime I found out that the Stormers were coming to London; yes that’s the investec Stormers from South Africa. They were coming to play the London Wasps, probably the equivalent of a super 12 team. How often is this going to happen? Maybe once every couple of years, now this is what adds salt to my wounds.

Having tried to organise some fellow country men to join me on this trip to see our hometown boys smack the snot out of London’s excuse for a rugby team (unexplainable patriotism talking there), I realised that it wasn’t going to be an easy task. Some didn’t have money, some were sick, others couldn’t care less about rugby, and others just weren’t interested enough. So this left me and Abu, a fellow Durbanite, yes all stereotypes apply, on our way to see the game.

I think it is probably quite common for people to feel a lot more patriotic about their country once they leave it, now this makes no sense at all, as why couldn’t you feel the same while living in your beautiful country? Probably because you take a lot for granted and don’t have time to feel patriotic. Some people come to London and don’t feel a smidgen of patriotism, trying only to forget ‘that horrible country’, I feel sorry for these people.

Back to the journey, the game being played against the London wasps, was not in fact taking place in London, how stupid I thought, but once again you remember that the English have their own way of doing things (no offence to the brits, you guys just have an odd way of doing things). So on to High Wycombe we go, luckily it isn’t too far out of London. On the train we happen to meet Joe, not as in Joseph, but Johaness, he says people can’t pronounce his name. Joe was friendly enough, and after a long conversation about nothingness and things you hear every time you bump into other saffers, we disembark and Joe offers to show us where the bus stop is that is going to take us see the much anticipated game.

A bit of confusion and a bus trip later and we’re almost there, but upon leaving the bus I notice a little white ball of cotton looking stuf fall next to me, about the size of a pinhead but noticeable. Snow? I ask Abu, nah, can’t be, but a few steps later and there’s more of this cotton looking stuff falling to the ground, not enough to cover the ground but enough to realise that it is snow. Most people would laugh at us calling it snow and actually getting excited about it, but we did, it was the first time I’ve been in snow. A few minutes later and it stops, almost before even started. Disappointing!

We carry on walking towards the stadium, only a few hundred metres from the entrance and we notice people leaving the stadium, no… this can’t be happening. But when you get that sickening sinking felling, there’s no denying what is happening. Still choosing not to accept what looks to be the inevitable, I ask some old man and his son, already knowing the answer, but unable to stop myself from asking: ‘excuse me, what time is the Stormers game?’ ‘Stormers game? Just finished, kick off at 12, they won 63-22’. Rewind time please!? This cant be, I’ve missed it, probably the only chance I would have got to see the stormers play in England, 3PM and the game is over, what an ass I feel like!

I blame it on the internet, I downloaded a form with travel times and game times etc, I probably read it wrong. I’m too upset to make this entry funny, but thought I’d tell you all so you can laugh without me having to hear it.

Before I forget… this entry’s title and the upside of our day? Just after getting the wonderful news, it was like the clouds literally burst, and the cotton masses suddenly surrounded us, a mini snow storm, yay!