So many common places for the shortest race of the circuit!
‘The seasons are no longer the way they once were’, the rain season is late this year and the torrid heat made the shortest race of the circuit more demanding. ‘Nothing drenches your thirst more than a glass of water’, at the arrival the manual water pump of the Mungu School is assaulted by the young thirsty athletes. ‘Nothing is more refreshing than the shade of a tree’, at the end the 250 participants fought for a place under one of the huge secular mangoes in the schoolyard. Continue reading
bread, Egyptian spiced bread sticks, jam and many pawpaw from Chikupi. The children eat a lot foreseeing the first race, then Winnie the eldest, who will race for the first time in the over 12, says ‘before the start, I am always a bit tense and worried, it seems to me that at the departure I will not be able to start, to run for the all race, then after the start and the elbowing, everything goes and I only think about reaching the arrival’. Still she did not know, that despite the TB of the bones, which crippled her stride, she would arrive fifth … for the first time … 
focused … that I went three stops ahead over Oxford Ciecus where I was supposed to change the first time to reach Brands Hatch for the cycling races … the photo of Legnante with the cartoons’ super hero mask and the big light blue eyes and Zanardi lifting the bike with the arm I will not forget easily …
which had stubbornly resisted to a week of showers!
when I bought the tickets … I arrived in time for the final between a Chinese, Wu Baili, e Yu Chui Yee from Hong Kong … I was expecting it to be static … I was wrong .. the chairs are tied to a platform to avoid that the repeated movements on the torso to avoid the hits of the rival would cause it to tip over … the dodging is spectacular, the lightening movements of the arms, the back goes backwards in defense and then immediately it bends forward to hit the rival until the chest touches the knees … the mutual study, the looks and the foils still in the air, for a few seconds, before the duel starts, shut the spectators up and give suspense, which melts away in joy or disappointment when the light indicates who scored the winning hit … by now it is clear to me that on a wheelchair if you want to you can do anything! 
very convenient ticket, 10 pounds for various sports and free access to the most expensive underground of the world.
luckily I borrowed a pair of jeans, jersey and jacket I last used in Ethiopia complete my spectator’s look!