Bhoops

Port of Cape Town Explorers, workers, sailors, visitors floweth into thee, A river of life from far and wide, land and sea, Port of Cape Town, port of Good Hope, cradled in the bosom of magnificent mountain slope. Gatekeeper of Africa from the continental tip, Observer of maligned prisoners to Robben Island climb aship, Place to discharge human and commercial cargo and take on supplies, Weary folk of this town, to visit thee remains a coveted prize. Ajay Bhoopchand     

of wood, steel and fabric moulded to perfection, floating majestically on the high seas,  awaiting to catch any gentle breeze, that may fill your sails to your captain's satisfaction. of courage, determination and adventure,  rode the warriors of old, the sailors of recent times,are conveyed in style, safety and at t heir leisure. Ajay Bhoopchand  

Cape Cold T'was me who shivered to mine aged bones, Ravaged relentlessly by thine icy wintry tones, Hark what has thou this day done, ... Infused me with thy warmest sun. T'was me who discarded mine layered frock, invigorated immensely every passing minute of thine clock, Behold thy finest palette of sunset glory, Captured vividly to recall in another story.                                                 Ajay Bhoopchand

INDIA:  Our ancestoral home That our great grand forefathers forsook to make the long trek into dark and distant Africa black seas rough seas and just plain seas greeted their every look their destination was Durban and not Rome ...   Now many eons later India dear mother your flock has grown and we wonder why you aborted us from your womb we have reaped the fields of mother Earth and our seeds we have sown had we remained or returned, would our children be any greater?                                                       Ajay Bhoopchand

By Ajay Bhoopchand Cape Town, South Africa, 12th July 2010 the Jobulani team Oranje The decisive goal well into the second half of extra time A closer look at the Iniesta goal An emotional Spanish captain after the goal The vanquished Runners up the Dutch The Victors The impending presentation The 2010 FIFA World Cup champions Viva Espana The man who scored The end of an enjoyable World Cup Well done South Africa. You have confounded the critics and delivered a polished event that shall be the envy of many nations for years to come. This shall also be remembered as the World Cup for the fans. Congratulations Spain!

By Ajay Bhoopchand Cape Town South Africa 14th June , 12th July 2010. The opening ceremony images seem to fade into distant memory. The Jabulani and Jobulani balls used in the matches and the finals respectively.  Photographs of the closing ceremony at Soccer City follow: Shakira and Waka Waka the participants. Replica elephants Thank you World for participating in our World Cup, Africa's and South Africa's version of the cup.

Friday 14 th June 2010, the day that the 2010 FIFA World Cup commenced in South Africa at Soccer City seems a long way off. The first goal scored by Tshabalala of the South African Bafana Bafana team seems like a distant memory. Today we turn full circle and return to the same venue for the final match in this year’s tournament. We have watched 63 games in the interim. There are just two of the 32 nations that remain. The Netherlands and Spain. The Dutch supporters clad in their colourful orange garb have been the most visible group of supporters outside of the South Africans during this World Cup. Stories abound in the local newspapers of how some came across from the Netherlands driving through the whole of Africa on a shoestring budget to witness the World Cup and to support their team. I attended the Netherlands Denmark match during the group stage matches. I noticed large blocks of seats taken up by the Netherlands supporters. The stadia whe...

Port Elizabeth is the largest city in the Eastern Cape. It is the commercial hub of this area. The other cities in the Eastern Cape include East London, Bisho, Umtata and Grahamstown. Port Elizabeth built the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium for the Confederations Cup but delays in construction saw it being sidelined for that tournament which was held in 2009. This time round, the city fathers were ready with their beautiful stadium built alongside a lake. The third and fourth placed playoffs rarely attract the imagination of soccer followers, being likened to the experience of kissing a relative. The history of the third and fourth placed playoffs however indicates that these games are usually an abundant goal scoring fest. Germany has rested many of its first team players giving the impression that it has played out its World Cup and shall be satisfied with whatever performance its team puts up today. Uruguay on the other hand has named its strongest p...

These images are of fans on the fan walk to the Cape Town stadium for the Netherlands Uruguay game.

The Durban stadium was built in close proximity to the coastline. It is situated in close proximity to the Kings Park stadium, the well known South African rugby stadium. The Durban stadium was named the name Moses Mahbida stadium after a stalwart of the struggle against apartheid. The stadium is simply magnificent. I would join many others in considering it to be the most beautiful of the 2010 soccer stadiums in South Africa. Durban is blessed with warm weather all year round. So whilst we shiver in Johannesburg and get wet in the Cape winter, Durban’s strongest selling point is the warm weather and its warm sea. Durban has lagged behind in its ability to attract overseas visitors to the city. With this World Cup and the reliance of the City managers to highlight its pleasant warm weather during winter, Durban has undoubtedly restored some of its appeal that was lost over the past two decades. The beaches are an undoubted attraction for both surfers as well as beach going reveller...

The four teams remaining in the tournament are Uruguay, Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Gone are the mighty teams of previous World Cups. The French, Italians, Portuguese, Brazilians and English made their early exits from the 2010 episode of the World Cup. There was an unprecedented sense of paradoxical excitement and sadness in Cape Town today. This was the last World Cup match that we were to stage. The local radio stations were urging the people of Cape Town who had not attended any of the matches to at least join the throngs to do the fan walk for the last time during this World Cup, I am certain that those who took up this invitation shall have very fond memories of the World Cup as far as the Cape Town experience is concerned. Thousands of Cape Tonians turned out for their final walk of remembrance on the fan walk. The human energy that the walk exuded today was best felt by those who did the walk. The friendliness and goodwill shown towar...