I haven’t worn a beanie for years and the last time I did I nearly got beaten up for doing so. The Bulls aren’t as popular in Cape Town as they are in Pretoria, I can assure you. Anyway, before climbing on board the flight up the coast to Walvis Bay, a man who has travelled to virtually every corner of the reath, the SASCOC/Team SA legend Leon Fleiser, put on the WhatsApp group. “Bring a beanie, it gets cold here.” Leon was at Walvis Bay International – that’s what it’s called – when we arrived. It’s basically in the desert, where the desert meets the sea, the locals say.
It was 2pm and the sun was out, the glare making me squint my eyes. “Did you bring a beanie,” he said, even before he said hello. I laughed, after all, who needs a beanie up here in Namibia. We made our way past miles and miles of nothing but sand and got to Swakopmund. Mid-afternoon in winter, still 20-something, There’s a media crew here and we’re in a guest house and I chose room number 20. Numbers this week are a big thing because on Saturday it’s the Hollywoodbets Durban July. I have often backed the winner of this race, and it’s been good to me over the years. But still, we all look for signs, though No20 isn’t one of them, given there’s only 18 horses and No20 is scratched.
There’s a picture above my bed which shows a line of horses. I counted them. 15. No15 in the July is See It Again. But, he is scratched, had a temperature. Probably wasn’t wearing a beanie. I wasn’t having much luck finding a July winner. We unpacked and took a drive, all 2km of it down into Swakopmund city centre, in the search of a place that we could buy data for the mobi wifi and phone. Pick ’n Pay don’t sell data sim cards – in fact if you want to buy data here you need to go to MTC (Mobile Telecommunications Limited) and take your passport with and make sure you’ve increased your card monthly payment limit – but I did manage to get room essentials. Stuff for the microwave, for the fridge and other fruit and nibbles.
The rand is the same as the Namibian dollar, so shopping is easy. Anyway, I’m loaded, so no need to look at the price. The cashier wore the nametag “Lotto” and I obviously asked if that was because he’s lucky. To which he said yes, it was genuinely a name he was given because of that. I was/am still in “July” mode so I said, “Pick a number from 1-20, it can even be 1 or 20.” He hardly hesitated. “My lucky number is 11. Look at the till number. That number which lights up when the auto voice says ‘till number’ was … indeed 11. That was it, the sign of the July winner. It happens to be Eight On Eighteen, the favourite. Lotto from Swakopmund had spoken, without even knowing it.
Back at the room and settled in after a microwave room dinner, I switched on Netflix, probably disconnected, but teasing the guest. Actually, not! Squid Games, season 3, was there to binge watch. There isn’t that much else to do here until the Region 5 Games start. They’re really among my favourites Games to cover because these are Youth (Under-20) Games. TAs Whitney told us, teach them well and let them lead the way. I’m enjoying this phase of my career and finding joy in mentoring and guiding. I didn’t watch Netflix because I thought an early(ish) night would be good. No one can call me dull. I should have listened to Leon. It was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g. No beanie, but pulled out my fleece and hoody and put that on. I still froze. Imagine my disgust (at myself) when I got up this morning at 5.30 and found 2 extra blankets and a hot water bottle (there’s a kettle in the room). How did I not notice, after all, I’d dumped the Pick ’n Pay shopping packet right next to the blankets!
The sea is about a hundred metres from the guest house and it really is a lovely spot. I went for a walk alongside it earlier today before going along to watch the swimmers train and do an interview or two, while saying hello to Team SA coaches and physios I last saw on a previous Games trip. And that’s basically it. It’s night time here again and while I might not have a beanie, I have the three blankets and a hot water bottle. That pillow is going to feel good tonight and I’m going to dream. Lotto has already given me the July winner (No11). Now I need to dream up three more numbers to get the quartet