We were met at the airport by several of the Amy Biehl staff and even some of the girls who will be visiting Lurgan late this month.

Driving past the townships on the way from the airport was the Lurgan girls’ first glimpse of the realities of life in South Africa and the reason why we are here.

We had a couple of free hours to spend on an orientation trip to the V&A waterfront area, about ten minutes away, before travelling for a couple of miles to the offices of the Amy Biehl Foundation for a welcome buffet.  There we were delighted to meet seven of the girls benefitting from the programme with their parents and the Biehl staff.

Following a warm welcome from Kevin Chaplin, CEO of the Biehl Foundation we were also given thanks and encouragement in a message from the Mayor of Cape Town, Helen Zille, through her representative, Councillor Shiaam Simms.

Alex Jenkinson presented Kevin with a cheque for the Biehl Foundation for £5000 which will go a long way to cementing the sustainability of the Biehl programmes.  This was made possible by the generosity of one of Eric’s business clients.

Ivor Lennon then handed over clothing and equipment from the club to the Biehl staff and the Cape Town girls.  This included items from the club, from Euroconstruction and from both Ulster and the Irish Women’s Hockey Unions.

Nonetheless the highlights of the afternoon were undoubtedly how quickly the Lurgan and Cape Town girls bonded, the friendships already made with the girls, their families and the Biehl staff.

Everyone is really looking forward to the hard work ahead on the coaching front and the two matches, especially the game next Saturday following the remarks of the Central club Chairman who welcomed us to Cape Town but was then heard to remark that he fancied their chances against the Lurgan girls!

Oh yes there was the story of the lift, which I wasn’t going to mention .........then again  as the story has been phoned home to half of Lurgan anyway I don’t need to, so I won’t.