I had a few errands to run for Nic yesterday morning (one day soon he will be able to pay me for these secretarial services). There were documents to be collected from UCT and couriered up to him in Pretoria and physio rehab equipment to be returned to the Sports Centre at UCT. As I headed up the hill towards to law faculty on middle campus I realised that this was probably the last time I would have any reason to be here. Over the last couple of months I have done lifts up and down more times than ever before in my life, so everything is now very comfortable and familiar. I even know the ground staff. I collected Nic's testimonial from the office and took a walk around the almost deserted campus. It was only 8.45 but already hot.
Then to Upper Campus to the Sports Centre. There was much activity on the Green Mile - fields were being mowed for the start of the Varsity Cup. I took another walk in the hot sun to take a few pictures and admire the beauty of the UCT campus.
I thought of all the good times spent on the side of these fields going way back to my teenage "groupie" years, then to watching all three of my boys playing on the muddy fields, the hours spent braving the icy cold winds and winter rain, sipping Old Brown Sherry under blankets and the exciting Monday evenings, beginning in February every year, when Matthew played in the Varsity Cup competitions. Wonderful times and great memories.
The most beautiful university in the world
I drove away, a little sad and thought that although it was now the end of an era for me and my family, Cecil John Rhodes and his legacy will live on regardless. There are new chapters opening in all of our lives. Things have that way of moving on. There is no rewind button but that half hour of nostalgia, on my own, in the hot sun was good for my soul.
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