Day Fourteen – final goodbyes from South Africa

Well done England! Another fine, professional, winning, performance. A star turn at the beginning and some dogged efficiency at the end to see the job through. It is wonderful to follow an England team that can win. A team that can take on the old, old enemy – where there is so much history, so much pressure, so much at stake – and finish the job off successfully – almost ruthlessly. Another great England victory. Well done the Barmy Army. Well done Andy Strauss.
It’s a real shame that the England football team couldn’t learn something from the England cricket team and beat Germany in the way that the cricketers beat Australia.
So, the Lionsraw team leaves South Africa tomorrow with an unbeaten record on the football pitch and having made new friends and improved the lives of many, many people. It’s possible we’ll be on the same flight as the footballers, but I know which end of the plane I’m prouder of.
Len, Steve and I would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who helped to raise funds to send us on this trip. We feel hugely privileged to have been able to work in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, with some wonderful, wonderful people. Thank you to Ryde Elim Church, to Ryde Methodist Church and to AJ Wells, in particular for your fantastic support.
This is our last blog from South Africa. There will probably be just one more addition to this blog when we get back to the UK, to upload some great video clips which we weren’t able to upload from South Africa. Don’t forget to watch Match of the Day on July 7th when you’ll see a report about Lionsraw, including interviews with Jon Burns and Russell and Precious.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our exploits and if you feel inspired to get involved with Lionsraw, then please make contact via the official website at www.Lionsraw.org where you can sign up for Brazil in 2014 or make a donation.

“We’re moving on to Brazil, but not leaving South Africa.” Jon Burns, founder of Lionsraw