The greatest of all time - part 2

Just a quick one.

Neal Manthorp is one of my favourite cricket writers. This is an excerpt from his latest article on Supersport and is not about cricket but about, you guessed it, Roger Federer.

"Then, after Devon, we stayed with friends and watched the Wimbledon final - the real one, on Sunday. What a game. What a champion. Not just the greatest player of all time, but one of the greatest sportsmen and one of the finest human beings.

At 7:20 am on Monday, the day after winning his record-breaking 15th 'major' by defeating Andy Roddick 16-14 in the fifth set, when Roger Federer should have been tucked up in bed or, at the very least making his heavily pregnant wife a cup of herbal tea, he was chatting to a reporter on BBC Radio Four's current affairs programme.

After a couple of minutes the interviewer, too, was struck by the anomaly and could no longer contain himself: "Why did you agree to do this interview?" he asked with a genuine sense of awe.
"Because," replied Federer, "many years ago I learned that journalists and reporters are merely a link between me and the people who support me and I am grateful for the chance you give me to speak to them." Bloody hell."

I rest my case, not just a great champion on the tennis courts but a true champion of a human being too.

South African Tourism - Questions from would be Tourists

These are questions asked from a local Tourism Website and the replies were made by the webmaster. Very funny!

Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it rain on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only two thousand kilometres take lots of water...

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa ? (Sweden)
A: So it's true what they say about Swedes...

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town , Knysna and Jeffrey's Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA)
A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not...oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is...oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France)
A: No, WE don 't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA)
A: Anywhere where a significant number of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany)
A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round?
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? ( USA ) >
A: Yes, but you will probably still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

The greatest of all time

We can now officially call Roger Federer the greatest tennis player of all time. Yesterday he passed Pete Sampras as the winner of the most Grand Slam titles. Incredible what a year can do? A year ago a lot of people were writing him off. He proved them wrong in a big way!

Well done Roger, you are a credit to the world of sport, a true legend and now officially the greatest player ever to grace the courts.

Chris Daughtry - Poker Face

First heard about this on Twitter, from the man himself. I obviously had to go check it out.

This is absolutely brilliant stuff! Just shows what a great musician Chris Daughtry really is.

By the way, things are still good. Been back in Joburg for almost 5 months. Can you believe it`s been that long? Somerset West and the Cape are just happy memories. Sometimes it feels like it never happened and that is was all just a dream. Albeit a dream swinging from the nightmarish to the absolutely sublime.

We will be back in Somerset West for a 5 day holiday at the beginning of August and I am so excited. Cannot believe how quickly the last almost 5 months have flown by. It will be awesome sleeping in our old house again. It is now a holiday home for the whole family. We are really fortunate that my Father-in-Law saw the potential in the place and decided to buy it from us. Now we`ll still get to spend time there every now and again.

I haven`t had a run in quite a while. Too busy working. I have picked up a lot of the weight I lost last year and feel horrible for it. Hayley reckons I look GOOOOOOD but I think she`s just making me feel better!

Anyways, I`m sitting at work at the moment and need to get a few things done. I hope you enjoy this song as much as I do cos he really made it awesome!

I hate to say it but I told you so

On 6 July 2008 I wrote this post read it here. I wrote it literally 15 minutes after the epic Wimbledon Final in which Roger Federer lost to Rafael Nadal. I was devastated at the time. I`m like that, I would rather have my favourite sportsman or team, lose by a big margin than lose a very close game. I was ok after Man Utd lost the Champions League final to Barcelona, simply because they were completely outplayed. It was never a case of "if only this" or "if only that". We were beaten fair and square.

Roger though lost that final to Rafa in what has since become known as the greatest Wimbledon final of all time. I don`t think so, simply because Roger lost. If he had won THEN it would be the greatest Wimbledon final of all time. But he didn`t and it isn`t.

But during all the sadness after that match I wrote the above post and I proclaimed that Roger would not only equal Pete Sampras`s record of majors but would even do so by winning the French Open. Something Pistol Pete could never do. Well, as you all know by now, Roger did just that.

Hayley and I were in tears on Sunday. Watching Roger trying to hold back the tears during the Swiss National Anthem was enough to move anybody, I don`t care who you are (Robin Soderlingh, the losing finalist excluded of course).

So, my prophetic words from the 6th July 2008 came true. I am so grateful because nobody deserves it more than the gentleman of the courts, Roger Federer (who is half South African by the way). Well done Boet.....

African Wildlife

So as you guys know, Africa is blessed with the most amazing wildlife. Lions, Elephants, Cheetahs and my own personal favourite the Leopard.

What exactly does that have to do with the video below. Nothing, absolutely nothing. If you haven`t been to an African game park before, you have to see this. The wild is truly amazing.

Adam Lambert

I`m gonna use my bi-monthly blog post to bemoan the fact that Adam Lambert did not win American Idol. Why America why?

I started off as a Danny Gokey fan. Danny could do no wrong as far as I was concerned. I loved his voice and I loved his story. I suppose his story was what got me liking him in the first place.

But as the show progressed it became blatantly obvious that AI had uncovered probably the most talented male artist in the world. It started when he sang "Mad World". He came out in a suit, with his hair gelled back and I thought my wife was gonna have a seizure. The sensitivity in his voice made me sit up and take notice.

He followed that up with my favourite performance when he did "Tracks of my tears". I became a fan. Adam was consistently the best performer on the show. He took chances. I mean he did Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, U2, Tears for fears. There is nothing this man cannot do.

I am a huge AI fan. I watched the first season while holidaying in New Zealand and have watched every season since. I am a big fan of Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry and David Cook. All of them were amazing but none of them even comes close to Adam Lambert.

He is unique, brilliant and more talented than any Idol before and probably after.

If you get a chance go to MP3boo and download his AI album. Listen to "One", the studio version. I tell you, amazing doesn`t even begin to describe it.

This is a studio recording of "Tracks of my tears". Sit back and enjoy.

Audi Billboard Fail

I love this! The ad campaigns between BMW, Mercedes Benz and Audi have always been awesome.

This one, takes the cake though!

Breathalyser Fail

I`m sure most of you guys have seen this but it`s worth another look!