Cavaliers caught in Adelaide Monsoon storm.
The Cavaliers in Adelaide to represent Havant Hockey club in the international Golden Oldies Hockey Festival, were caught up in the worst weather conditions seen in South Australia in 50 years.
In the past two years Adelaide has been gripped by draught conditions and the nearby Borassa Valley, home to the famous vineyards of Jacobs Creek, Penfolds and Wolf Blass, have been desperately short of water, but all of that changed on the first day of play, with unfortunate timing the skies darkened, the gale force winds increased, and the thunder and lightening signalled the onset of rain and hailstones the size of golf balls.
The Cavaliers, along with around 850 other competitors, ran for the cover of a giant marquee which the tournament organiser had the forethough to arrange. They had also booked a brash Aussie girl singer, who naturally gave a near perfect impression of Australian ambassador Les Pattison, but she worked hard and the rather damp Hockey players were beguiled into taking on vast quantities of the Amber Nectar.
On day two of the competition the weather improved and the Cavaliers picked up where they left off, playing some of the best Hockey for some years. To date, they have played 6 won 4 and lost and drawn 1 game.
Away from the hockey field, the 28 members of the Havant party have indulged in some of the finest foods from the Australiasian sub-continent including kangaroo, crocadile and emu, without any of the apparent ill effects that you might expect from such a rich diet, washed down with some of the finest wines and the famouus XXXX.
In the spirit of a a truly international festival the three Havant ladies joined forces with a team from Munich to represent the northern hemisphere.
The team - less Gwynned Davies who was playing for Germany at the time.
Some deported criminals undergoing the initiation ceremony
