Day 1 & 2

After some journeys from all over the team eventually met at Heathrow terminal 2

A lot of kit was attached to all that turned up and upon weighing each bag on the scales it was realised that with over 200kgs of kit and only a 184kgs allowance a touch of sweet talking was needed.

After seeing the master at work last year (Carl Ferguson) I approached the Ethiopian Airways representative with the attitude of NO was not going to be an option.

As the representative was a 50 something gentleman I was not going to be able to offer what Fergs had offered the 20ish year old young lady a year earlier but never the less I achieved what was needed and the vast load was loaded on with the hope that it would be seen again at the other end.

After a quick bite to eat and a couple team bonding drinks it was on to the first plane for the 7 hour journey to Addis Ababa for the 3 hour stop over before the journey to Gaborone.

A less then full second flight was a warm welcome after a full plane from heathrow which gave the team a chance to grab a few hours sleep in a touch of comfort and after chicken curry for breakfast it was a safe landing in the town that was to be home for the next week

It was a great sight to walk through what Botswana call passport control to see all our baggage already safely going around the baggage carousel and it was quickly out the airport which we discovered had only been officially opened the previous day to meet our loyal driver Tefo

A short journey to the hotel and a well welcomed shower and we were of to the local cricket club BCA oval for a welcome drink and you guessed it a curry.

I think it was safe to say that a good nights sleep was had by the team and feeling refreshed we made our way to the breakfast room to see what delights was up for consumption

A breakfast of what could only be described as well done eggs, beans, toast & curried liver was not what our tutor Ali was expecting but the rest of the team went with it and after the previous couple of days the combination that can only be described as different was consumed by all (apart from Ali’s liver)

The next couple of hours were spent sorting the vast amount of kit that had been squeezed onto the plane the previous day and preparing the kit bags for the forthcoming coaching sessions.

The team then made their way into town with the assistance of our new self acclaimed taxi driver Reggie who by his own admission was the fastest taxi driver in Botswana and would never be far away

This was proved when after finishing collecting a few essentials the team rang him for a speedy response and we were off again to the cricket club for a meeting with the local cricket association and to go over the upcoming coaching programme

The expression ” well this Africa” is something I heard a lot the previous year in Kenya and upon arriving at the cricket to realise that the whole weeks programme had been changed I found myself being the one to use the saying to the rest of the team. Serval phone calls and a lot off hair pulling ( not by me or Ali ) it was all rearranged and we sat down for ……… You guessed another beautiful curry supplied by the fantastic chef at the cricket club ( although I swear each one is getting hotter )

A few drinks to rehydrate and a watch of the rugby with the Botswana national football coach and it was off to bed for some well earned sleep before the first coach education session and a first taste of teaching the African children for the rest of the team

What could tomorrow bring ?????????????????????