Sport

Three years passed quickly and with the unit up and running it was time to leave. I decided to have a bit of a do to include everyone, friends, farm staff, site workers, piggery staff, neighbours. A sports day seemed to fit the bill.

At the start of the contract when I had a bulldozer in to clear bush and prepare the site, I had also had an area cleared to accommodate a football pitch. This had proved popular and my barefoot team had considerable success both home and away. The pitch was not grassed so it was easy to create a running track round the perimeter using the tractor and scraper blade we used for road making.

A grass-thatched bar was constructed on the touchline, wood was collected and a huge bonfire prepared, the local brew 'chibuku' was being manufactured in the compound and the word had gone out in that mysterious way news travels in the bush.

On the morning of the event local people started to arrive at first light; from where, I couldn't fathom; but there they were squatting patiently round the touchline. I hoped the chibuku would last out.