GOING away for work can be overrated, the staying over for a night or two, that is.
Most enjoy the comfort of their own home and expected range of TV channels.
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But going away has its benefits, like a few hours of uninterrupted (by children/work) bliss, as you snooze away a few hours from early arrival to dinner, with half an open eye on the cricket.
Well, that was how it was going until I heard a scraping noise at the door.
“House keeping? Why would they come at 5.47pm when everything was already perfectly and pristinely prepared?”
Perhaps the lodge’s security cameras had notified staff of a great mess in Room 208.
Yes, my clothing, kit and general clobber was everywhere, I’m embarrassed to admit.
“Will sort it out later,” I thought. “No one of a spousal nature is going to ‘advise’ me to pick it up off the floor.”
The scraping stopped and the door opened. Footsteps. Silence.
Then a head popped around the wall and startled eyes greeted my even more startled eyes.
This wasn’t house keeping, no, it was a guy who looked a little like Vincent Kompany from Manchester City or maybe Proteas cricketer Vernon Philander.
“Howzit,” I offered awkwardly. “Sorry I didn’t think I was sharing.”
“Neither did I,” he laughed loudly… and so a friendship had begun.
We spoke about all things newspaper related (he’s the editor of a paper in Bloemfontein), discussed the politics of the day, the future of our country. We gained different perspectives and insights.
What I learned or was reminded of was that most people are facing the same challenges.
Many truly don’t need much to be happy – they just need the basics – and would very much like to live in peace with each other.
What I didn’t tell my friend was that myself and a female colleague had nearly swapped rooms as she didn’t fancy the long walk all the way down to Room 214!
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