I visited the busy (Hong Kong party district of) Wan Chai last Saturday after attending the braai with former South African fast bowler Fanie De Villiers and the South African Cricket Sixes team at the HK Cricket Club.

I don’t get out there much these days and I was keen to see just how the local pubs are coping without DSTV’s SuperSport, especially as far as rugby matches are concerned.

RugbyZone.com is also not showing any of the end-of-year tours and they are closing shop at the end of the year.

I took a taxi to Lockhard Road, to my old stomping ground of Delaney’s Irish Pub.

While the place was quite full and showing a live rugby match, the quality of the broadcast was not something to be excited about.  David, the duty manager explained that they were streaming the match directly from the internet hence the poor quality.  In their defense, they were showing it on their big screen which negatively influenced the picture quality.

This weekend, I stayed in and chose to watch the Springboks vs. Wales match on my iMac.  I found a website that was streaming it live and I must admit, watching it on a computer screen, even one as big as the iMac’s, is way better that a bar’s big screen.  It is naturally also way cheaper!  (I can buy a dozen Carlsberg cans at SevenEleven for the same amount charged for a pint in local pubs.)

To show you the quality of the stream I used, this is a screen-shot of Springbok skipper Victor Matfield and kicker Morne Steyn grabbed off my computer during the game:

Victor Matfield broke yet another record with last night’s game against Wales

Morne Steyn scored 19 of the Springboks’ 29 points with the boot

Read our sister-site BlitzBokke.com’s account of last night’s Springbok victory over Wales by clicking here

Today, 20 years ago, Nelson Mandela walked through the gates of the Victor Verster prison near Paarl in the Western Cape.  A free man after 27 years behind bars.

While typing this, I am listening to South African radio stations streaming live over the internet, in particular CapeTalk/702 who is broadcasting live from what used to be called the Victor Verster prison (now called the Drakenstein prison) and Mandela’s ‘home’ for about 18 months of his 27 years behind bars.

All through today, ex-political prisoners, cabinet ministers and other dignitaries have been arriving at the prison where special celebrations are being held.

A common question asked by the media on this 20th celebration is “Where were you when Nelson Mandela became a free man?”

Twenty years ago to the day, I was a student at university where I was assisting new students during the university’s orientation week.  I remember that on that particular Sunday, we were meeting at the university residences when word came that Nelson Mandela was about to be released and would speak at the Grand Parade in Cape Town. 

Needless to say, the meeting ended abruptly as we hurriedly made plans to join the throngs in the Cape Town city centre.  What a day it was.  Both chaotic and celebratory.  This was the headline of a Cape Town “struggle newspaper” called Grassroots on the historic day: