The Czech Republic is of course, Mirka’s former home. Since arriving in the UK eight years ago her and subsequently our visits there to see her family have been maybe three times a year. One of these three though has been for me to take part in the ‘DD Cup’ which is a yearly tennis competition hosted by her sister and brother in law Daja and Petr to celebrate the birth of their two girls Didi and Deni. Tennis is pretty big in Mirka’s family with Petr playing professionally and several other relatives being of a much higher standard than the “Have you seen my tennis racket?” types back at home after Wimbledon has been on the telly. Thankfully though the younger and better players haven’t taken part yet and it’s up to the older and non tennis playing types like me to try to win the trophy. I’ve faired from bad to average over the years as it takes me a good set and a half to get things together and by then it’s all over. When asked if I’ve been in ‘training’ my answer is always the same...”yeah, last year.” This years effort turned out just like the rest with me finishing third (of five) but at least troubling the overall winner Pavel 4-6 in our last game.
So along with the big family turn out, tennis and food so to comes the drinking. My first visit to meet the family was to attend Daja and Petr’s wedding in 2004 and my evening was cut somewhat short after getting involved in something of a drinking contest among the non English speaking friends and relatives. I was holding my own and chatting away with such internationally recognised words as “David Beckham,” “Rooney” and “Premier League” until the Czech’s Ray Mears turned up, ‘Mira’ and ordered two of the countries national drink ‘Sliovovice.’ At some unknown time shortly after it was ‘good night Vienna’ or in this case 'good night Zámek Kačina' And it’s been downhill from there really as each visit presents a yearly challenge to my liver not to disintegrate. Usually though the hard work is on the evening of the tournament however this time it was the night before as just at the point of being ready for bed Petr and Mira headed off to a fellow hunting friend’s house for a night cap and dragged me along. A display of various guns and ammunitions then followed which was welcome respite from the drinking.
These people will drink absolutely anything including the sort of stuff that does the rounds and always ends up being found the morning after hosting a BBQ. Our host on this case, another Petr, had a big grey bushy moustache which I’ve learnt is always a bad sign, the mark of a professional if you will. A new landmark was achieved when after ploughing through the previous drinks he disappeared to come back with some home brew. Now I should state that this is nothing new and is common place all around here and afar (as Steve will I’m sure, concur on the entry ‘The Trans Siberian Highway – Day 2') but this took things to a new level. Coming to think of it the first bottle of Slivovice was home brew too as it had no label, just Slivovice written on the bottle in marker pen but this new number one evil drink (I’ll discount Ayauska as even the Amazonians don’t touch it) was in a big bottle that looked like it had come straight of a laboratory and was filled little yellow berries. My god...mercifully though I was left to take on a bottle of still disgusting strawberry something by myself until I finally got into bed just before 4am. It got me thinking though...If only Amy Winehouse and George Best had come here for a holiday years earlier, think of the time that that would have saved?
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