THE MAKARAPA AND A CRESCENDO OF EXCITEMENT

GREETINGS FROM BLISSFULLY CHAOTIC SOUTH AFRICA!!!
TAMMY GIRL here...

It is Soccer World cup fever here in South Africa at the moment!
 The vibe in our city is incredible and the dress code in our city suggests that whoever you are, you should be dressed in Soccer gear! Foreign guests are swirling amongst our ranks and the spirit is a mixture of excitement, jubilation and glorious chaos! Amidst the celebrations is a firm atmosphere of unity!!!..
WE WELCOME OUR VISITORS!!!

Here at home, we are not immune to all these happenings.  We admit, we are extremely excited !
(It's hard to write this blogpost whilst the radios and TV's are streaming the sounds of Vuvuzelas)
On Friday our family will be congregating with others to watch the opening ceremony and first match between 

SOUTH AFRICA and MEXICO
on a big screen TV. 

But right now....We are ready!
We have our supporters gear, our Vuvuzelas and our soccer balls. 
Are you ready?

If you would like to join in the fun, then grab a 'UNITY IN DIVERSITY' button on our sidebar.
(Thank you, Mimi from 'Loving for a living' for your creativity with this button!)
Also, if you would like to participate in showcasing a particular country involved in this event, please see yesterday's post. 
Click HERE

Roll on Friday! 
---xXx---

Today, the citizens of Johannesburg congregated around Sandton City in a long human chain, parade and street party in support of our national team:
BAFANA BAFANA. 
The parade has been called the....
"UNITED WE SHALL STAND!" parade...

At 12 o'clock midday over 50 000 jubilant supporters turned up to line the streets around Sandton to wish our team well. We wanted to get there, but the roads were gridlocked and we were late. As expected thousands of people took the opportunity to show their support.
What an amazing site!!!....I am sure you will be seeing it on TV sets around the world...

One can't help being driven along by the prevailing excitement.

One of the interesting features of this world cup series here in South Africa is the
"MAKARAPA"

Along with the 'Vuvuzela' (The big noisy trumpet which is receiving mixed reaction from across the world) the Makarapa is one of the items which epitomises the spirit of Soccer fever here in our country.

These hats are basically 'reconstructed hard hats' which are worn in support of the various Soccer teams.  There are many varieties on offer for purchase at the moment, especially with the millions of doting Soccer World cup fans in our land.

Here is a short history of the

"MAKARAPA"

The Makarapa as we now know them was originally created by Alfred Baloyi, who, in 1979, attended a Kaizer Chiefs match against Moroka Swallows at Orlando Stadium. As anyone who has attended a football match and has sat in the cheap seats will know, this is no casual business - in fact, it can be downright dangerous, as missiles are hurled from the upper seats. Baloyi's friend Hendrik Langa worked on a construction site, and supplied him with a hard hat to protect himself during the match. Alfred, an artistic type from childhood, felt his hard hat could do with some colour - once (safely) home, he set about transforming it into a celebration of his team colours and logo. It didn't take very long for Alfred's creations to be noticed: wearing his makarapa to matches, fans would offer to buy the makarapa right off his head. As time passed, Alfred recognised that his artistic inspiration was hot property, and that he could give up his job at that time - washing busses - and make a living from his passion. He established a small workshop in his shack in Germiston, and supplied a steady stream of customers with his unique creations.

The rest is history! You can read his story

HERE

One other thing...
Please forgive me if I am not visiting your blogs at the moment. 
Over the next few weeks, I will be concentrating on bringing the news of the festivities in our country (as we see it).  Our goal is to make our blogposts both informative and enjoyable for you, our readers.  So please bare with us during this time...

Here are a few pictures to show you that despite all the celebrations in our country, we still focus on our beloved canine companions...

So....are you excited?
Are you ready?
Are you participating?
Either way, we are sending lots of love to you all at this jubilant time...