I have not written for a while, so thought I would catch you all up on the month of March. March saw the Argus Cape Cycle which I already mentioned in a previous update and a few weeks later it was the runners’ turn with the 2 Oceans Marathon. I really felt sorry for the runners as the day was hot and the wind that was blowing seemed to be pushing against them. Once they reach Hout Bay they still have 17km left but a huge steep uphill run for a few kilometers. Ugh, many of them looked so exhausted I wanted to carry them for a while. Saw 1 Irish lad running and gave him the “Go on the Oirish” shout, nearly frightening the life out of the locals standing near me with my loudness!

As the seasons change here, the evenings get cooler and cooler so with that in mind, plus the fact that we are now staying longer than planned in South Africa, David’s friend Olan and his family were over on Easter holidays and kindly brought over a bundle of winter clothes for Saoirse. Their house is in a place called Knysna and is a good 5 ½ hours drive from Hout Bay, but this gave us an excuse for a short break and a chance to see more of the southern coast. It lies east along the Garden Route and the drive although long was a beautiful one. Knysna is famous for its lagoon and 2 headlands which are so narrow that Lloyds will not insure boats travelling into the lagoon! It is a beautiful area which reminded us both of New England, especially the blue/grey painted wooden houses. Olan and Karen’s house is precisely one of those quaint houses situated on an island and we spent 2 nights enjoying their hospitality and exploring the area. They have 2 young children, Ben and Emma so we felt very comfortable having Saoirse, even when she was tired and crying!

March would not be March without St. Patrick’s day. Being Irish abroad means that it is imperative to celebrate this day with as much green gusto as possible. I invited everyone I knew to meet up for drinks at a certain bar and warned the owner that here could be a couple of people extra on an otherwise quiet Monday night. I was pleasantly surprised at the turn out with about 50 people mingling at the bar, all ages and 11 nationalities. Strangely, I was the only Irish person there. The bar owner had kindly gotten a DJ in who played a lot of old time Irish songs and after we had drank our share of wine and beer; and filled our bellies with a very decent stab at Irish stew, I grabbed the microphone and warned everyone that each nationality would have to sing a song. I was sober (driving) and on a high so started the proceedings by belting out “Molly Malone”. I was in good form as the night was going really well and one of the ladies from the gym had told me that she used to tour the UK singing in a folk group and that her grandmother was a “Sullivan” and how she loved Irish songs. Perfect I thought, this will turn into what every good Paddy’s Night is supposed to be - a music session! She even brought a song book and had photocopied some of the sheets in readiness. After Molly Mallone, I asked on the microphone who wanted to sing next. After much cajoling the Dutch sang 2 songs. I was disgusted when my English ex folk singer refused to sing for us. There were over 10 English there and they refused to sing anything, although one drunken man kept wanting to sing “God save the queen” – not on my shift, thank you very much!! Eventually some South Africans sung a drunken version of their national anthem and the night was saved when I managed to persuade some of the African kitchen staff to sing that wonderful South African song “Shosholoza”, which inevitably lifts everyone’s humour. The DJ then played some groovy tunes and all in all the night was a resounding success with many people staying on very late and making a full night of the Monday evening. A good night to be Irish.