When we were children the best day, the best hour of the whole year, was when BDF Day came around and the army showed off their weapons and gave young boys and girls a proper day out. I and my mates would make the pilgrimage from Old Naledi to the National Stadium without permission from our parents. You had to be in and out before the parents discovered you were not in the neighbourhood.
Every now and then someone would have to be caught and he would get a beating but it was worth the risk. The giant CN235M transport aircraft would fly low just above the National Stadium stands. It was mesmerising. The boys who had escaped Old Naledi to come to BDF Day would make the long trek to Old Naledi after the flying spectacle was over to face the wrath of their parents if their truancy was found out. Those planes caused a lot of young boys to dream of becoming soldiers, a dream I secretly harbour to this day, because for many a night I would picture myself in those green full body suits that pilots wear.
