Tuesday 10 December 2013

And on the accordion...


I've just been listening to live coverage of Nelson Mandela's memorial service from a gigantic sports stadium in Johannesburg. It is starting to sound like that record by the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band - "President De Gaulle on the accordion - nice one, Mr President".

John Humphrys has had a busy year, what with spending an entire weekend reporting from a tent at the Glastonbury festival of 2013. Having spent a few years working in South Africa, he is now back there again as a witness to the noisiest memorial service ever seen - or heard - in history.

President Castro is due to turn up, but I can only think that they mean Raoul, and not his older brother Fidel. A huge roar came from the crowd when yet another dignitary arrived to be greeted by the crowd.

Humphrys was told that His Holiness The Pope had actually walked into the stadium, as he handed back to his colleague in London, with a slightly incredulous air to his voice.

When we got back to South Africa, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. 'The Pope' turned out to be a Cardinal from Ghana.

I suppose Ghana must have a white Cardinal...  surely?


11 comments:

  1. About a white Cardinal in Ghana...mmm...
    I'm sorry Tom but a more interesting question to me is, was he Catholic? And if not, why was any Cardinal there? Good publicity? I would think so.

    I thought I could find anything with Google but apparently not. Mandela's Mother had him baptised a Methodist.

    Maybe there was a black Methodist preacher there? I guess that wouldn't be news.

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    1. I would imagine that there is about 25,000 Methodist preachers there right now.

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  2. De Gaulle; the only man to have fled his country as a Colonel, and returned (a war hero) as a General.

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    1. p.s. I once saw the BDDB at The Black Cat pub in Catford. One of the explosions was SO LOUD that the entire contents of my pint mug rose in the air, with most of it landing back in the mug again. A pure 'cartoon moment'.

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    2. I don't remember this much fuss for Churchill's funeral, even though he hated Ghandi.

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  3. The cardinal of Ghana wears a white robe and his name is Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson.

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  4. The commentator was nearly there. Paddy Power had Turkson at short odds for the pope job.

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  5. Is that the policeman from allo allo?

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    1. ' Gid moaning ' ….. ' I will go out the bock pissage ' !!!! XXXX

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