It’s been a good weekend for us in Cape Town. If fact it’s been a great weekend with some of the best waves of the year pumping through at Dunes and a great morning with the kids on Saturday as we played Fishoek in a friendly game.

Saturday started early. Thomas was away on coaching duty for Fishoek seniors so I took charge of our U9’s as we headed over to Fishoek playing fields for our first competitive match in a little while. There were a few tired bodies after Friday’s surf session at Muizenberg but lots of smiling faces and our little bakkie shook as the kids filled it with song on the quick journey from Masi to the playing fields.

We had the kits with us which always brings some excitement and the kids looked really smart as we took to the field. With Spemantza (ronaldo to those of you who know him) translating for me I gave the crew a quick briefing and then we were off. We took the lead with a stunning strike from Pumey but some overzealous celebrating lead to the kids all but vacating the playing field as they ran around with their shirts over their heads and within 20 seconds Fishoek were level. They always say you’re most vulnerable right after you score. We didn’t really help ourselves there though. With a turn out of 12 we rolled the subs giving everyone a chance to play. After 20 minutes we found ourselves 5-1 down but some excellent managerial decisions, from the kids not myself, soon had us back to 6-4 and looking good to pull it back when the final whistle blew. Shame, we was robbed. Kind of. With that we hung around for a short while, chatting away and messing around before heading back over the Masi to drop the kids off.

For the rest of the weekend I decamped down to the middle of Noorhoek beach and Dunes, one of the best beach-breaks in the world. A few of us packed up a pic-nic and set up a small shack in the lee of the Kakapo ship wreck, sheltering from the pumping offshore which was helping sculpt the perfect barrels that were heaving over the shallow sandbars. We surfed hard, all scoring several deep tube rides that will live long in the memory. Cape Town really does have some epic waves when the conditions come right.

Today the sun is shining again. Mid winter and we’re basking in 27 degree heat with glassy seas. I am off to Masi now to pick up the crew and head off for a surf session at Muizenberg. It’s hard to keep Thomas off a board these days and the kids are loving it. Tomorrow we’ll be training on the beach with some soup for afters and then we’re back into the swing of the week with the league on the Thursday...and some more swell predicted.

Happy days.

Funnetary Monding….

What a week it’s been. Full from dawn till dusk with lots going on and a lot of excitement around the place. After a week out of Cape Town attending to things in the ocean with the family, it seems that a lot that needed to get done has been done and more seems to have come along with it.

Allow me to explain myself. For I am rambling.

Monday we picked up the new TTRide mobile. It’s a Chana Bakkie, which is basically a workman’s pickup with emphasis being on haulage. That means the flat bed sits all the kids in utmost comfort whilst I sit up front, knees on the dash, trying to steer as best I can whilst moving my whole body, and thus the entire driver’s cab, from side to side as I change gear. A sight to behold, the kids love it. But it’s a wonderful gift to us from the guys at Kennings and it has opened up a range of possibilities for us here. Monday also saw us uncover our first possible surf star. Pumey (knickname for a name which I cannot spell) was up and riding and even trimming the open face after just 1 hour in the water. It does make it easier when the board weighs more then you, but despite this it was impressive to see and he’ll be coming along tomorrow with us again.

Tuesday was a wash out as we received over 20mm of rain in the day. Waking to the sound of raindrops on the windowsill the rain fell until the sunset and there was some pretty heavy local flooding. I headed over to Thomas’ with a couple of DVD’s to keep him and some of the kids occupied and also went on a quick drive to check out some grass training fields in the nearby area, now accessible to us with the Foundation mobile. Next thing is to find who owns them….

And then Wednesday. We’ve always trained at Longbeach when we can but a full high tide pretty much swallowed any vacant bit of beach across the entire Cape Peninsula. Arriving at the beach with all the kids we were a little stuck until I remembered Witsands and the huge dune backed beach that overlooks the Crayfish factory. So we took off along the Atlantic coast, past several surf spots heaving under heavy seas, and set up a pitch on the empty dunes. We had about 1 mile of empty sand to choose from. It was a very special day, for most of the kids it was their first time over that way and they went wild, running on the beach and jumping on the dunes. The football was less fun, for me at least, as we lost 10-0 to Thomas.

Again. And I thought this time I’d picked a winning team. Maybe it’s my own skills..maybe.

Today we were in the Township hooking up with the guys at Living Hope who run the league. It was great to join in with other kids from across the Masi area and we had a few fun drills before a big match on the main pitch. Luckily the seniors weren’t playing so we had the run of the municipal field. Less a filed really than an open gravel area, but it did allow the kids to cut loose and they were full of smiles for post session soup.

Soup! I nearly forgot. Today we got our first food sponsor. The kind guys at Roger’s Fruiterers (that is a word, it’s on their sign) are going to supply us with a box of veggies each week. Today it was a load of carrots, onions and turnips which I hastily grated down (along with the best part of my big thumb) into a soup. With a few spices, a little cream and some stock it made a good healthy broth and the kids ate it greadily which is always a good compliment to the chef. I managed to pick out the thumb nail before anyone got to it. Absent minded grating, always painful.

I think that’s most of what’s been going on. Again, more emails coming in regarding the volunteer placements so it looks like word is starting to spread. January could be very exciting at this rate.

Keep well and till next week,

Tim

Breaking the silence after a week on the road! Sorry about the lack of communications for those following our progress over here, it’s been a busy week.

With family over from the UK we split this week with Thomas taking charge of the kids for a few days and me leading a small surf tour up the coast and checking out a few new spots for future arrivals from the U.K….

We left Cape Town on Friday last week but not before a good game of football with Thomas and the kids in the Township at Masi. The more time we spend with them the more we are beginning to get a good idea of where and how we can invest our small funds. Kit really is the number one and I am meeting with Grant, manager of Fishoek Football club and Cape Football guru, this week to see if we can’t come to a deal on some bibs and a bag of new balls to add a little more decorum to our training sessions. Add to this the aquirement of our new Foundation Mobile this afternoon and we are starting to look more professional!

This morning I have also been on the phone badgering away at the local food outlets trying to secure some fresh fruit and veg for the soup kitchen. We certainly don’t want to rely on handouts however the more donations we receive frees up our funding to spend on kits, building projects and pitch repairs. The Cape also has a good food sponsorship scheme and, hopefully, we will fall under their umbrella. It just takes a lot of gentle persuasion. So here’s hoping.

On Thursday Thomas also got the kids to the league for the first time. All reports are that it was a success. Being the first sessions there are certainly some areas we need to sort out, like managing a bunch of unruly kids in a bustling township! It takes a lot to manage and a certain degree of patience, but again, we have time on our sides and this is the reason we are doing what we are doing. There is always a way so give it a few more sessions and I am sure we will start to see the makings of a well-managed and efficient league for the kids to partake in. I am heading over to Thomas’ this afternoon where I am sure more plans on this will be hatched.

More on the roadtrip: After finishing football myself, my two brothers and a small crew of us took off up the coast to Stillbaii, a cranking right hander off the N2 coastal highway and a beautiful, humble, fishing community on the edge of the Atlantic coast. We booked into a little cottage on the waters edge and proceeded to surf the weekend away, sharing empty waves with just the six of us in. As with all trips the level varied greatly with some first timers and some more experienced surfers, but there were waves for every one and even time for a bit of coaching in the empty waves! The one evening we headed over to the tiny harbour where the local fisherman were bringing in their catch. Stillbaii is staunch Afrikaans so we haggled as best we could in our makeshift tongue and came away with a beautiful Cobb (Cape Salmon) for next to nothing. Cooking it over coals under the stars was a true African experience for us all.

The weekend came to an end, those that had to return to Cape Town did and the rest of us continued up the coast headed to J-Bay via a few other spots. We scored waves the whole way and hooked up with several of our Ticket to Ride contacts. John Henry dialed us into an amazing wave just by Plet, a rivermouth doing Mundaka in reverse! The bank had been there a few days and I am sure is gone by now, but thanks to John and his kindness in sharing a spot with us, we were pointed in the right direction and into some gaping sand bottom barrels!

We were also welcomed in by Alison up in J-Bay. Alison runs the Supertubes Foundation, an environmentally based NGO working to rescue the endangered and indigenous plant species of J-Bay. Over dinner one night we got talking and a new plan was hatched. Thomas has a small bit of vacant land on his property and is scratching his head with ideas on how to use it, a veggie patch seems like a great idea! Fresh veg such as tomatoes and peppers actually strengthens the body and immune system against the HIV virus. A typical diet in Masi does not contain much fresh veg but mostly bread, rice and poulty if available. A veggie patch, if Thomas is willing, will go along way to improving the diets of the kids and also give them a new hobby. Watch this space.

So there we go, to bring you all up to speed on our progress here.

Many of you will have also noticed that the foundation page is now up and running and that info and booking instructions are now live for our programmes. You can find them all by following the links through to the Foundation Page and feel free to email us with any questions. We have had our first enquiries already which is really exciting so bring on 2010!

It’s going to be busy the next few weeks as we step up and aim to move forwards once more. A new logo is in production, stickers too. The website is looking good. September is also around the corner and there’s a building project to start planning!

Busy days, but happy for them.

Tim

It’s been another great few days for us here in Cape Town with a lot of interesting things going on at the foundation, which I will now recount for you all.

Friday was an afternoon on the beach. The effects of the earlier soup kitchens are now beginning to pay off as we had a good 35 kids with us all amped and eager to play. In an attempt to bring a little more order and disciple to the proceedings, Bert and I had been shopping for a prize for an afternoon 5-a-side tournament, hoping the goal of a grand prize would bring about a bit more team work and a little less mud slinging. It worked! With the increased numbers it became more of a 7-a-side match. We arrived at long beach and, with Thomas leading the kids in a song, proceeded to clear the pitch of Kelp and other debris bought in by the morning high tide. Hearing the kids singing was amazing and set the tone for a really special afternoon.

We played off against each other with the two winning teams meeting in the final. The incentive of a grand prize made for a sense of occasion with all the kids supporting and singing as they watched on from the side of the pitch. It also lead to some dodgy refereeing decisions being made; someone somewhere had bought off the Ref. But all in all it was a great afternoon as Bertie’s team came in victorious with a Penalties win over Thomas in the final. Arriving back at sunset we dropped Thomas off at his home then took off into town for the night.

The weekend we decided to go and explore. Part of the volunteer programme is a weekend’s Surfari up the coast, so with that in mind, Bertie, Myself and a few friends from Cape Town took off exploring the West Coast. Through a local contact we hired out a beautiful barn on the edge of the point at Elands Bay, complete with Ping-pong, pool, braii and an open fire. Arriving in the afternoon we surfed a little slab – all alone – before heading home for a braii and a few drinks. Around the open fire we ate and drank until we fell asleep, then woke the next morning to the most perfect of surf days.

We woke early and took off north on the dirt track that skirts the coastline. We passed numerous beaches and reefs before finding our very own isolated piece of perfection, a perfect a-frame reef somewhere up towards Lamberts Bay. We hiked across the empty dunes and surfed alone for three hours before heading back along the coast to the Muisboskerm: the famous open-air fish restaurant of the Endless Summer II. For a few bucks we ate fresh fish cooked over open fires, fresh bread from the wood ovens and crayfish caught that morning; a real experience for us all. To top it off, we pulled in at Eland’s Point on the way home to find it empty and firing. Three more hours in the water and we were all exhausted. Sunburned, salt-crusted and smelling of braii: A proper West Coast surf experience for us all.

Monday was a great day. As is now customary, Bert and I headed over to Muizenberg to teach the kids surfing. Through a random chain of events over the weekend we also recruited a new helper. Heidi is from the UK and is helping out at an orphanage in Somerset West. She pulled through to help us with the kids and fared pretty well considering she’d not surfed before. We had some of the younger kids with us this time so it was a real trust building exercise as we tried to help them build confidence in the waves. For Lethu and Tcherri is proved too daunting, however after a few waves they came in for a swim and conquered their fear. Godzi (nicknamed after Godzilla) made some amazing progress and showed some natural talent as he rode several waves from the back to the beach. Thomas is also coming along well and, riding a smaller 7,6, caught several decent waves. He’s the right build for surfing and has good natural balance so it’s exciting to see where he’ll go from here. Pretty soon i’m sure Mondays won’t be enough and he’ll be with us every time we hit the ‘Berg!

The week ahead looks fun. Thursday should see the start of the league. We are expecting quite a storm to hit so it may slow proceedings a little and we may need to come up with some sort of wet weather programme. We may also put Heidi’s skills as an art teacher to use and give Thomas’ out house a well needed coat of paint, I’ve been promising it for ages so maybe time to get it done!

There’s also been a bit of time for admin – the fun side of the foundation…. The Foundation page on the website is coming along and information about projects, fundraising and volunteer placements is now on there. Check it out and get in touch.

Thanks for tuning in.
Tim and the crew.

It’s been another good day in Cape Town as we continue to develop the Ticket to Ride Foundation. For those of you who missed the last blog (which can be viewed by seeing the Foundation Blog History page), the Ticket to Ride Foundation is the latest in a series of exciting developments for Ticket to Ride over the last few months.

Together with the help of Thomas, my brother Bertie, the May Roadtrip crew and several other local friends and volunteers, we are helping to get the kids of Kolobe street active and have been playing football, surfing, cooking soups and swimming over the last few days to name but a few activities.

Today was no different. Bertie and myself woke early and, as is the way in Cape Town, started our day with a quick surf to clear the cobwebs. We last saw Thomas and the kids on Friday when we cooked a large butternut soup for eating after a couple of hours of football in the township. After eating we’d arranged to take some of the kids surfing on what is becoming our customary Monday afternoon slot.

Last Monday we took Thomas and four of the kids for our first ever session. Word had obviously spread as when we turned up at Thomas’ small shack we were greeted by a small mob. Surfing is a reward for the kids who show regularly at training and there were four obvious candidates after Friday’s football: Aya, Tulani, Nico and Pieter.

In the past Thomas has occasionally taken the kids to the Fishoek to swim. It’s easy and local but more often than not the ocean there is flat with little in the way of excitement. As we cruised the coast through Fishoek, Kalk Bay and then Muizenberg, you could hear the kids getting more and more excited as we crossed into new terrain.

Upon arrival we found Titch Paul in Lifestyles surf shop, they are the crew that look after our riders so well when they are on tour, and kitted the kids and Thomas out with suits and boards. Being only Myself and Bert, we took charge of two kids each whilst Thomas continued to hone the skills he picked up last week. He’s standing now and fully amped on surfing.

I took Aya and Pieter whilst Bertie took Tulani and Nico. As they are only small, standing is quite a feet and they are mostly content to lie prone into the beach, bounding back out with smiles from ear to ear. However, Tulani and Pieter managed to stand by the end and celebrated by charging around the beach for a while.

With the sun setting behind the mountain it got cold so we drew close on the session. The kids and Thomas enjoyed the rare treat of a hot shower in Lifestyles whilst I went over to Knead bakery, neighboring Lifestyles, and picked up the hot chocolate and pastries they so kindly donate to our fledgling charity. The kids wolfed them down and then it was time to go, heading back along the coast and back over the mountains to Masiphumelele and then Kommetjie.

Tomorrow we’ll be back with the rest of the kids, training and setting up some food after. The next surf will be the end of the week with a swimming session on Wednesday.

For more information on the new Foundation see the recently updated Foundation Page: www.ttride.co.uk/foundation.

If you are interested in volunteering with us then more information on placements will follow very soon. If you require information now please contact the office or email me at timconibear@ttride.co.uk.

Thanks for tuning in and see you soon,
Tim