A couple of weeks back I referred to ‘the end of the world is nigh; but not this week’.
I guess I was putting off the inevitable.
Thursday, June 25 will be forever remembered as ‘The Day of Infamy’.
Text messages, e-mails and phone calls poured in, expressing delight, derision, dismay and despair. What happened?
Please excuse the wobbly writing, but arch-rivals Liverpool won the English Premiership title at the expense of my own beloved Manchester City.
ALSO READ: Rob in the ‘Hood: If you haven’t been to Manchester you haven’t lived
The end of the world had definitely arrived. Life, as I knew it, was over. Was there anything to live for?
OVER THE MOON
Wally Williams, of St Mike’s, a lifelong Liverpool fan was over the moon. He’s also the grandfather of MotoGP star Brad Binder.
I phoned Wally to congratulate him, muttering something like ‘the best team won’, fighting back my tears.
“Wally, no hard feelings, but can I pop round and take a picture of you, celebrating, please?”
I really shouldn’t have said ‘please’. I went round to Wally and Hazel’s place to take a quick pic.
There was our man, resplendent in his Liverpool colours, greeting me with a chorus of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
I thought: if he dances yet another jig he will do himself an injury. Still, it was great to see Wally so very, very happy, delighted that, after 30 years, his team had at last won the big one. Well done, young man!
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
All is not lost, however. A chance encounter in Ramsgate with a woman sporting a Manchester City track suit top, made the day.
Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity for a story, I introduced myself, and pointed out that the City gear she was wearing made her ‘one of us’.
Introductions over, Austrian visitor Barbara Lukawinsky suggested we should meet later in the week, together with her husband Ernst, who was ‘futbol crazy’.
Armed with my trusty pen and pad, I went to the Lukawinsky’s holiday apartment overlooking the beautiful Ramsgate lagoon and river.
I was warmly welcomed by Ernst and Barbara, whom I discovered, are frequent visitors to South Africa from their ‘City of Dreams home town’ of Vienna, Austria.
This was their fourteenth visit to South Africa, and to the South Coast.
“Why here? Why not the Cape, or near the game parks?” I asked. “This is paradise, it really is,” Ernst emphasised.
The Lukawinskys have made this their ‘permanent temporary’ home, and just love our way of life here.
In Vienna in winter and early spring, it is cold and wet, with snow and ice. You cannot go out and have to stay inside for months on end. (So, what’s new?).
Besides water sport, kayaking, cycling, Ernst and Barbara have fully taken to being involved in everyday life here.
They have donated food to the hungry, homeless, jobless people and helped out by supporting various businesses in this time.
ERNEST’S TRUE COLOURS: A CLOSET RED
There’s always a ‘but’ in the tale, unfortunately. I complimented Czechoslovakia-born Ernst for wearing his Manchester City outfit and colours.
“Rob, I do have a confession. Actually, I am a LIVERPOOL supporter! I just liked this City outfit because of the design and colour. But, really I am a Liverpoool fan. Sorry.”
I suddenly felt faint, my legs giving way. They’d got me here under false pretenses. I threatened Ernst with six verses of ‘The Sound of Music’, but then tempered my thoughts.
They were visitors here; they were lovely Austrians and could do a nifty Viennese waltz to Johann Strauss and his ragtime band. And, of course, they are honourary South Coasters.
Plus, they had another problem: how to get home to Vienna, Austria.
CAN WE GO HOME, PLEASE?
A while ago I reported on German visitor Horst Mohr and his difficulties trying to get back home to Germany.
After many a tribulation, Horst finally made it back to Bavaria, after what seemed like every obstacle possible had been placed in his path.
Listening to Ernst and Barbara on their being stranded here, it appeared they really are ‘having a bad time of it’.
The Lukawinskys arrived in South Africa in January (to avoid the central European cold winter).
They were due to fly home in early May, but the shutters had been put up. No escape. Stranded here (no mean hardship), it appears that there has been little support through diplomatic channels, or airlines, etc.
There is a slight chance that the Lukawinskys may be able to fly out in a couple of weeks’ time.
But they have to have Corona-19 health-free clearance certificates, valid only for four days before they can leave South Africa.
Although it was mid-day Saturday, we contacted Port Shepstone Regional Hospital to find out what was needed.
Britney Venter, hospital help-line receptionist, gave us all the info we needed.
We were put onto Netcare Margate Hospital, who promptly advised the Lukawinskys what was needed, and the validity of the tests.
With luck, Ernst and Barbara will be winging their way home to Vienna ‘anytime soon’.
Now, if only Ernst had worn his true colours. Come back soon.
See you, Rob.
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