Category: world cup 2010

Any excuse

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Don’t expect too much this evening.

I’m utterly knackered. Emotionally, mentally and physically this week has been draining. Somnially, it’s been a complete disaster. And I’ve inhaled enough Icelandic volcanic ash to close a nation’s airspace.

Actually, that last bit wasn’t true. But the rest was gospel. And while today I have been completely out of it, having spent the day at home looking after two demanding, but hugely lovable little kids, when I have ventured towards any sort of information source, all I have heard about is flight chaos in the UK and over the counter World Cup ticket chaos in South Africa.

It’s difficult to blame anyone for the Icelandic volcanic ash issue. Even the neanderthals that were interviewed by Sky at Manchester Airport were understanding, using a softer “Ug!” rather than the more aggressive it’s-Willie-Walsh’s-fault “Ug!!” (note the extra exclamation mark) that they were voicing last week. 

The World Cup ticket debarcle is also difficult to pin on anyone. Or, rather on any one. It seems to me that at every stage of the process, each person or organisation involved failed in their duties in some way.
FIFA, whose computer system was overwhelmed – again. First National Bank with their irritating “How can we help you?” tagline, to which several thousand people can now respond: “By getting enough application forms to your bloody branches, you tossers!”; and lastly, though I hate to say it, the individuals buying the tickets themselves.

EyeWitness News was reporting that punters were angry that the cheapest (Category 4) tickets had sold out so quickly. Well, here’s some news for you – I have 24 of them and I have had for well over a year now. It wasn’t so tough – all I did was actually get my arse into gear a whole 15 months before you. No overnight queues, no fighting with the person behind me who thinks I should be behind him, no last-minute computer glitches, no issues with Cape Town games being completely sold out (shock). Not hard.

So, while I think the Local Organising Committee, FIFA & FNB have let people down – badly – it could all have been avoided if those people weren’t jumping on the bandwagon so very late on.

But I bet you haven’t learnt a thing…

Where to buy your World Cup tickets

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UPDATE: Ticket availability update here.

Over the counter ticket sales for the FIFA World Cup begin at 9am on Thursday 15th April.

Both ticket bookings and ticket collection (for tickets already booked elsewhere, on the FIFA website or FNB branches), will be conducted at these outlets.
Cash, credit cards and debit cards will be accepted as tender – no cheques. Ensure you take formal ID with you (drivers licence, ID book etc).
Maximum of 10 tickets per customer transaction (either 10 for one game or any combination of games to maximum of 10 tickets)

Customers who have questions about games and tickets, or problems with tickets, can contact FIFA on the hotline number 083 123 2010, or send enquiries to enquiries@2010fwctc.co.za.
More information on tickets available at www.fifa.com/2010.

You can get your tickets at the following outlets:

OFFICAL FIFA TICKETING CENTRES:

CAPE TOWN
The Spearhead (cnr Buitengragt & Strijdom)

DURBAN
Sun Coast Casino; Marine Parade; Gateway Shopping Centre; Umhlanga Ridge

JOBURG
Sandton (cnr Rivonia & Linden); Maponya Mall (Old Potchefstroom Rd in Soweto)

BLOEMFONTEIN
Loch Logan Waterfront Mall

PORT ELIZABETH
Moffet on Main Lifestyle (cnr Man & William Moffet)

NELSPRUIT
The Grove Shopping Centre (White River Road)

POLOKWANE
Lifestyle Mall (Landrosmare & Market)

RUSTENBURG – Waterfall Mall; Augrabies Mall

TSHWANE
Brooklyn Mall (Lange & Fehrsen)

Online from 6pm on Thursday 15th April: www.fifa.com/2010 

And at these selected SHOPRITE/CHECKERS stores from Monday 19th April:

GAUTENG
Checkers Hyper Sandton
Checkers Hyper Westgate
Checkers Hyper Eastgate
Checkers Hyper Menlyn Park

RUSTENBURG
Shoprite Mogwase
Shoprite Brits

POLOKWANE
Shoprite Tzaneen

NELSPRUIT
Shoprite Nelspruit
Shoprite White River

BLOEMFONTEIN
Checkers Langenhoven Park
Shoprite Heidedal

PORT ELIZABETH
Shoprite Bethelsdorp
Shoprite Greenacres

DURBAN
Checkers Pavillion
Checkers Hillcrest
Shoprite Chatsworth

CAPE TOWN
Checkers Century City
Checkers Plumstead

58 days and counting!

Call off the World Cup!

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…and evacuate the country!

Because, after much seismic activity around the globe this year, it seems that an expert has predicted the country is almost certain to be hit by a major natural disaster. 

And it could strike during this summer’s footie tournament!!!!!!

Yes, expert Dr Chris Hartnady thinks SA is about to be hit by an earthquake. And he has singled out Durban and Cape Town as the areas most likely to be hit.

As the Daily Star points out: 

That’s bad news for England’s stars, who are set to face Algeria in Cape Town June 18.

 And the 3 million people that live here as well, right? Right?

Dr Hartnady believes the tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust are active on a fault line that could pose a major threat to South Africa.
He said: “A major earthquake disaster in the region is inevitable because wide areas of southern Africa are affected by the slow, southward spread of the East African rift system.
It is not a question of if, but when. The consequences would be so expensive in terms of mortality and economic cost that the risk of being ill-prepared is unacceptably high.”

Personally, I think Dr Hartnady is talking out of the African rift system between his butt cheeks, but it is obviously a concern: an earthquake would cause untold damage to beautiful Cape Town.

Still, on the up side, it might tidy Durban up a bit.

Cape Town’s Cat’s Eye Traffic Signals

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I’m ridiculously excited about this.
An interesting development in the interesting development which is taking place at the bottom of Buitengracht ahead of the World Cup is the addition of cat’s eye traffic signals to the junction with Western Boulevard. These nifty little lights run right the way across the junction, along the painted white line of the lights. When the signal is red, they show red and when the lights change to green, the cat’s eyes switch off, effectively disappearing.

Here’s one of them in action:

cat's eyes

That’s one just in front of the white line. And on the right is a guy selling newspapers who is already bored of seeing cat’s eyes traffic signals.
This is an especially good junction to launch this new technology in Cape Town, since there are six lanes leading up to these lights, meaning that the traditional traffic signals are pretty sparse.
Which is probably why they put them there.

It’s something that I haven’t heard of anywhere else in the world, although I’m sure to have some Dutch bloke on here saying something along the lines of “Yesh, obwioushlee we have had theesh in Hamshterjam for sheveral yearsh already” or something similar. It just sounds like something that the Netherlands would have thought of first.

Probably the best view of these lights in action is from the pedestrian footbridge spanning the inbound lane of Buitengracht. You know, the bridge that wasn’t actually there last week?

It’s amazing how much positive change the World Cup has brought to Cape Town and its infrastructure already.

EDIT: OK, apparently some people just aren’t getting it. I didn’t think it was so hard, but in order to enlighten the unenlightened and in the interests of road safety, I have been to the 6000 miles… graphic design office and asked them to come up with a diagram for me.

Times are obviously tough in the graphic design department right now.

But anyway. Here are three lanes of the junction in question. You’d be in one of these if you were turning right into Western Boulevard. 
Now, imagine that you’re in a car in Lane A. Look how far you are from the traditional traffic signal on the right hand side of the road.  Blimey. You might miss that and cause a nasty accident by colliding with another motor vehicle traveling across your intended route.

Fortunately, in the road in front of all of the lanes are the new cat’s eyes. You can see them on the diagram above represented as small rectangles with red dots in. Which is pretty accurate, because that’s actually what they look like IN REAL LIFE!
They are LED cat’s eyes, which mean that they shine whether or not you have your lights on, whether or not it is day or night. And when the traffic lights are set to red, the two sets of cat’s eyes in front of each lane shine bright red too.
When the lights change to green and you are free to go, the cat’s eyes switch off and, because they then become just small discs of flat metal in the road, you don’t see them. Astounding.

Thus, it’s like having road-based traffic lights right the way across the junction, and not just on either side of this (very wide) interchange.

Get it now?

Not much longer

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Not feeling great today, so quick quota photo taken from the Elton John concert the other night.

Those are Cape Town’s Northern Suburbs in the sun, Goodwood through to Bellville. And in the foreground, in the shadow of the mountain, Newlands Stadium.
Somewhere between the two (towards the right) is the Athlone Power Station, whose two iconic cooling towers are due for demolition on 30th May this year, prompting a storm of protest from some quarters that it is happening “so close to the World Cup”. 

I don’t think they realise that it’s more likely to take 12 seconds than 12 days.