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Melanie Verwoerd
On Saturday morning I woke up to the news that the great Muhammad Ali had died. Listening to all the tributes to this remarkable and inspiring man, I was reminded of a few extraordinary days in Dublin, where I was privileged to meet him together with a few other celebrities.
When Nelson Mandela visited Ireland in 2003 to attend the Special Olympics, it was my job as South African Ambassador at the time to handle the hundreds of requests to meet him. Madiba was particularly looking forward to a meeting with Muhammad Ali, who was also there to attend the event. On the day of the meeting, I accompanied Muhammad and his entourage up to Madiba’s suite, where they warmly hugged.
It was sad to see the man who was known as much for his gift of the gab (as the Irish would say) as for his lightning fast punches, silent and shaking uncontrollably from Parkinson’s disease. However, when he saw Madiba, his eyes lit up and he smiled faintly. Even though he struggled to utter a few words, he lifted his fists in a boxing pose. Madiba immediately responded and there were the most famous men in the world, laughingly sparing with one another.
After the meeting, I bumped into another action hero, Pierce Brosnan, who was having tea in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel, where Mandela was staying. He asked if it was possible to be introduced to Mandela. Naturally, I said yes. Actually I think I might have whispered something pathetic like: “Anything Mr Bond, I mean Mr Brosnan.” In my defence, show me a woman that ever said no to 007? Regaining my composure, I asked him to wait close to the lifts, since I knew Madiba was on his way down. I rushed over to warn Zelda Le Grange that Pierce was there and wanted to meet Madiba.
'Who is Pierce Brosnan?'
