Mid-week memories

What can one do if the sky opens up and decides to shower you with nothing but rain for weeks together? This was our situation going into the semi-finals of the Champions trophy in Cardiff. Having booked the tickets 3 months in advance without an inkling of who would play and having driven to Cardiff for 4 hours after work, we had everything to lose due to the famous English weather (definitely pun intended). We slept really well and woke up fresh to be welcomed by bleak weather as usual on the day of the cricket match. By the time we got through a really heavy breakfast, it had stopped raining. Hmm, do we feel happy? Naah , not yet. After all this the English weather  we are talking about.  Well, armed with a good old traditional paper map, we trudged all the way to the stadium which I must agree was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Walking through the myriad streets of Cardiff, we were not even bothered that we walked more than we should have had to reach the stadium. As we approached the banks of River Taff, we were greeted by a sea of saffron, white and green. The locale is just ideal for the gentleman's game. But, as you will see soon, we had anything but a gentleman's game.

Getting through the security was a breeze as we had not carried anything with us which came as a surprise to the security members. We were really amazed at how close to the boundary line we were seated. We were in touching distance of any  player who ventured close to the boundary line. Even as we were about to enter the stadium, we were able to hear the fans cheering as the playing eleven for both teams were being announced and definitely it goes unsaid that the loudest cheer by far was for the Indian captain M.S.Dhoni. He is an enigma who seems to have stolen every Indian cricket fan's heart.

As we entered the stadium and found our seats, we were greeted by fireworks as the players walked into the stadium. As usual, there were many moist eyed people including me as the Indian National Anthem was performed. It was exhilarating to see so many cricket forms. Right from the raucous bunch of teenagers loaded with enthusiasm and food to seasoned English cricket fans armed with comfortable cushions and tea making kit, it was definitely a spectacle. If this was not enough to lift your spirits, there were the Reliance drummers creating a storm dressed as Buckingham palace guards. Thus started the cricket match with Sri Lanka deciding to bat first. Keep in mind, the sky was overcast with heavily laden rain clouds just like a cranky baby about to burst out crying any minute.

Right from the first ball, it was very clear that the ball was swinging heavily and the Sri Lankan batsman could do nothing but helplessly watch the ball fly past them. It was  only Dilshan who was trying to dispatch the ball to the boundary. But every time he tried to do so, the ball miraculously found Shikhar Dhawan and decided to stay with him rather than kiss the boundary line. By this time, which was as early as the third over, the fans started chanting slogans such as "Wheeerreee are you Sri Lanka?" and "Are you watching..... Pakistan?". The Sri Lankans tamely surrendered the first three wickets to the fast bowlers as Suresh Raina expertly took all the three catches. Now came Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli near the boundary where we were seated. We burst out laughing when the youngsters sitting beside me starting singing "Kohli ke peeche kya hai?" on the lines of a famous bollywood song. Well, you had give all credits to their creativity.

By this time, the match was becoming a bit boring owing to the slow run rate when everybody was jolted to their senses by Captain Cool taking the ball. He almost picked up a wicket on his second ball which was later over turned by DRS and this mysteriously happened just when Ravichandran Ashwin was dispatched to deep mid wicket after having spent all his time in the slips beside the captain. I am mentioning this specially as Adarsh kept pointing to the fact that it appeared as though Ashwin drew every breath from Dhoni and acted as though he was lost without his captain begging him to carry him around like a baby!!! The next big excitement occurred when a LTTE supported invaded the pitch and almost single-handedly succeeded in pulling down three burly security guards to the ground. The pathetic Sri Lankan innings was brought to a close by very quick wickets taken by Jadeja and Ashwin. Again the fans rose as a single entity chanting "Ooooohhh Ravi Jadeja".

The Indian innings started a bit sluggish but was later expedited by Dhawan and Kohli. There were some lofty shots that sent the fans into a tizzy. By this time most of the spectators had a beer too many and were either too tired to continue cheering or were out of their senses and muttering mindless things. But nothing big happened until half a dozen LTTE supporters descended on the field and almost scared all the Sri Lankan players. Well, their issue was with the their players playing international matches when back home the Government is torturing so called innocents. Again a whole hoard of security guards took to the field and managed to overpower the invaders. From there on there was no peace for the guards as they enveloped the field. Adarsh did point out that it was so easy for the fans to get into the playing area as were literally nothing to stop them whereas in India, barricades were erected everywhere that at times prevented a good view of the field.

Thus we returned back to the inn happy with our day's experience. Not a single over was washed out and we actually witnessed the entire match with all the chutzpah. Buoyed by the victory we went in search of an Indian restaurant and had a hearty dinner. Yaaay Cardiff!!! The 'icing on the cake' moment occurred the next day when we were returning to the parking lot after visiting the Cardiff Bay. As we exited the car park, Ad suddenly jerked the car to a halt and wound down his window. Guess what? As I looked around confused, Ad yelled out "Hey Dhoni" at the top of his voice. To my surprise it was indeed Captain Cool waling alone on the deserted pavement with his body guard carrying a box of pizza lost deep in his thoughts. I guess even he was surprised to hear his name being called out from a practically empty street but was gracious enough to wave at us. Whoa, wasn't that exciting or what?

In search of the elusive waterfall.....

Our holiday continued with the journey to the Elan Valley. I must say it rivals any place on earth when it comes to natural beauty. Freshly washed greenery everywhere welcomes you with both arms. You feel enveloped by the deep embrace of mother Nature. It has been Ad's long lasting wish to visit a waterfall in the UK and he was hoping to find one here. As we drove up the Elan Valley, we were overwhelmed by  5 huge  reservoirs brimming with water. It's beauty can just not be described by simple words. You definitely need a Wordsworth or a Louis Stevenson to do complete justice. Anyway, we were informed at the information centre that the highest Welsh waterfall was indeed just a 2 hour drive from Elan Valley. This did not deter Ad. He was determined to visit the waterfall. Who knew there were two places in Wales named exactly the same? As luck would have it, we ended up at the wrong Llanrheadr. A lesson well learnt - always feed in the post code into your SatNav and not the name of your destination. This was a place without even a sizable river leave alone a waterfall. But again as luck would have it, as we were turning around to get back to Petey town, Ad's phone momentarily had its network signal and I could quickly find the actual post code on Google. With renewed vigour Ad chugged on to find this elusive waterfall and we were not disappointed. Pistyll Rhaeadr- this silent slim waterfall is nestled in the greens. The trek up to the mid level of the waterfall was really refreshing. So finally Ad's waterfall wish came true.

Just hours before we had visited the 'Big Pit'-a large decommissioned coal mine. We were taken down 50 feet into the ground where we witnessed how life was for the miners decades ago. It was a unique experience walking around with head lamps along with a bunch of excited school girls from Exeter. Alan, our guide, was a delightful orator with a great gift of gab. 

Thus came to an end our memorable trip to Cardiff and Mid-Wales.