A stunning backdrop

There are few better settings for a cricket ground than Newlands. It doesn’t matter how many times you come here (and sorry if you've read similar entries before), the backdrop of Table Mountain and the surrounding scenery still takes the breath away. Lord’s is a special ground because of its history and grandeur and the MCG is inspiring due to its sheer size, but Newlands matches them as one of the finest grounds in the world.

The evening before the third Test the media were generously entertained by the Western Province CEO Andre Odendaal for ‘sundowner’ drinks on the boundary edge. Down at ground level you really get an idea of the impact the mountain has over the ground and as the sun began to set it created a wonderful glow across the stadium.

Other than the gathering of journalists on the boundary (I wonder what a collective noun for a group of journos should be?) the ground was almost deserted with preparations complete for the next day’s Test. However, one other person very much still there was the security guard who kept a beady eye on those who dared encroach on the playing area.

That was understandable, he was only doing his job, but it was mildly amusing when he signalled in no uncertain terms that the club’s CEO that he wasn’t allowed on his own outfield. Seniority, though, didn’t matter and anyone who put a foot over the boundary rope was given a swift ticking off.

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Perhaps it was Newlands’ stunning location that prompted a couple to get married on the opening day of the Test. Before play there was a ceremony on the outfield complete with an archway of roses, although the wedding did take place in front of the Snake Pit – one of the grass banks and popular bar areas on the ground. Perhaps that's where they’ll be having their honeymoon?

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Yesterday was carnival time in Cape Town with the annual Kaapse Klopse, a minstrel festival that packs the streets of the city centre that gets its routes from the slavery movement. More than 10,000 people parade through the city bowl area, many with darkened faces, dressed in an array of wild clothing. The musical instruments create an air similar to the Notting Hill Carnival in London and it certainly brings the city alive.

It is still known as the Coon Carnival among local Capetonians, but Cape Town authorities have renamed the event the Minstrel Carnival because of concerns by visitors of the derogatory connotations of ‘coon’. However, these are not shared by many in the city and most of the people I spoke to still use the original name.