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| Contents |
Issue No. -- June 2005 |
Editor's Message
Quote/s of the Week
Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week
Bits and Bobs
The Legal Beagle
Help Desk
Where are they now?
Club and Other News
Humour
Recipes
Sports News
Credits and Contact Info
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
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Cold much better... and we got the results for Snowball.
He does have skin cancer and the vet recommends that we treat him via radiation therapy. He says it will not make him sick, his hair/fur will not fall out and it will give him many more years to live a happy life.
Have any of you had pets that have had this therapy?
1.jpg) The weather is now into typical early winter temperatures... chilly in the mornings, cloudless skies and temperatures around early 20s by mid day. We skied on Saturday at the dam in long suits... I was a bit chilly but the sun was out... totally flat water... no boats... worth being a bit chilly. It warmed up to 26 by lunchtime!
We went to our free night at Bakubung on Saturday. We had a marvellous time. The room was great...deluxe as well as non-smoking. .jpg) We had two amazing game drives and managed to see four of the big five on both occasions. We saw a female leopard crossing the road and saw her climb up an outcrop of rocks... the following morning we were watching some buck and then our guide saw a young male leopard crossing the road to where we were. We watched him hunt some guinea fowl and then he got disturbed by another truck arriving. A couple of pics are shown... mums and babies!
.jpg) All that was missing was buffalo. They were apparently in another part of the park. We also saw lions mating, were surrounded by elephants and saw some cute little birds (francolins) crossing the road oh so slowly pretending to be tortoises so that predators wouldn’t want to eat them!
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These from me...
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it! Margaret Thatcher
It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. Dale Carnegie
Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier. Mother Teresa
These from Des Cowie
Only those who dare to fail greatly can achieve greatly. - Robert F. Kennedy
If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. - Vincent Van Gogh
Love and time-those are the only two things in all the world and all of life that cannot be bought, but only spent. - Gary Jennings
This from Matthew Green
I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past. - Stephen Covey
These from Daniel Jan le Roux...
Embrace your uniqueness. Time is much too short to be living someone else's life.
There are two rules for success: 1) Never tell everything you know.
| Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week |
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Coming Home
Each week we will feature a question and answer sent in to the Company for Immigration. We hope these will help answer any questions you might have regarding any part of the coming home process. If you would like to send in your own question, please feel very free to do so.
We will also be featuring a great amount of information on the SAW Website (www.saw.co.za) under the Coming Home section. You can also find out info by visiting our newly relaunched site, South Africa Online (www.southafrica.co.za) and checking out the Coming to SA section.
Here is a bit more info...
Whenever and wherever South Africans meet, the surest way to start a lively discussion, is to ask someone for an opinion about emigration from or remigration back to South Africa. In 2002 we (i.e. the non-profit immigration service, Company for Immigration, and the trade-union, Solidarity) realized that the return of South African expats had become a fact and that their inputs are essential for the growth and development of the country. We are neither interested in a debate about the reasons why people leave or come back, nor about the merit of their decisions. We prefer to provide a practical service instead:
offering advice and assistance to prospective remigrants;
addressing the problems which cause people to emigrate; and informing people about the pros and cons of emigration, to help them make an informed decision before leaving.
Interested? Want to receive our monthly newsletter by email? Have questions or suggestions? If so, please visit our mirror sites www.comehome.co.za or www.komhuistoe.co.za and leave your details on the visitor's page, or contact us at admin@cfi.org.za. We are looking forward to hearing from you!
This week’s question...
Tertius, USA, asks: We would like to apply for permanent residence status of South Africa. We have had our medical and radiological examinations done already. For how long will the Department of Home Affairs regard them as valid?
Dear Tertius
The medical certificates have to be less than six months old at the time when you submit the permanent residence application, otherwise the Department will no longer accept them. The best idea is to make an appointment for the submission of the application first and then to schedule the medical examinations accordingly.
Kind regards
Alana & Annatjie
COME HOME CAMPAIGN
Migrasie / Migration
Solidariteit Alliansie / Solidarity Alliance
P O Box 8766, Centurion, 0046, RSA
Tel: 0027-(0)12-6438532
Fax: 0027-(0)12-6438587
admin@cfi.org.za
The Good News - World Economic Forum's Africa Economic Summit held in Cape Town
From 1-3 June the leaders of Africa's governments and biggest businesses were joined at the Cape Town International Convention Centre by key players from around the world to discuss ways to boost development on the continent through economic growth. The more than 700 leaders from 42 countries - 500 of them from business - also gave their backing to Britain's Commission for Africa Report, which aims to get the leading industrialised nations to support growth on the continent.
The Co-Chairs of the 15th annual Africa Economic Summit, Niall FitzGerald, Chairman of Reuters, Graham Mackay, CEO of SABMiller, and Lazarus Zim, CEO of Anglo American South Africa, noted that the Commission for Africa's Report makes clear the importance of economic growth as the means to drive poverty reduction.
Britain's mission is for rich nations to double the amount of aid to Africa - $25 billion a year - until 2010, at the same time as writing off poor countries' debts, stopping protectionist practices and boosting trade opportunities for the continent. The plan supports the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African plan which also aims to promote better governance and more political stability within African countries.
The Co-Chairs agreed that 2005 is the "Year of Africa", with pledges of support and plans for action from many of the heads of the G8 countries, as well as strong co-operation with the West from African leaders such as South African President Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Tanzanian President Benjamin William Mkapa. The leaders of the G8 will be meeting next month in Gleneagles, Scotland, to discuss the Commission for Africa's Report and decide whether to give it their backing. President Mbeki was also in Washington D.C. earlier in the week meeting with George Bush to lobby for his support ahead of the G8 summit.
The African leaders in Cape Town also raised the issue of Africa's "image problem", pointing out that the world's media tends to focus on Africa's problems while completely ignoring the significant improvements that have been shown over the past decade. These include the continent's average economic growth rate of 5%, the considerable decrease in the number of wars and the significant increase in democratically elected governments. Calling on the media to be more balanced and to report the good news too, Tanzanian President Mkapa said "We are not angels, but we can't all be devils all the time."
For more interesting and exciting news about developments in South Africa, subscribe to the International Marketing Council's regular BrandSA newsletter by visiting www.imc.org.za/goodstuff.htm or www.imc.org.za/subscribe.asp.
If you would like to contact Guy, visit his web site here.
What can we do?
This from Mike
I don't know what, if anything, we can do about this, other than pass it on to increase awareness of what that vile and obscene monster is doing in Zimbabwe whilst the rest of the world looks the other way.
Best wishes
MIKE
A letter from Zim......
Sent in by John Winter:
I reckon that these are the last days of TKM and ZPF.
The darkest hour is always before dawn.
One of the most upsetting emails I have received - sent by a friend in Harare:
My Dearest Children
We are all terrified at what they are going to destroy next........I mean they are actually plowing down brick and mortar houses and one white family with twin boys of 10 had no chance of salvaging anything when 100 riot police came in with AK's and bulldozers and demolished their beautiful house - 5 bedrooms and pine ceilings - because it was "too close to the airport"...so we are feeling extremely insecure right now. You know - I am aware that this does not help you sleep at night, but if you do not know - how can you help?
Even if you put us in your own mental ring of light and send your guardian angels to be with us - that is a help - but I feel so cut off from you all knowing I cannot tell you what's going on here simply because you will feel uncomfortable. There is no ways we can leave so that is not an option. I just ask that you all pray for us in the way that you know how, and let me know that you are thinking of us and sending out positive vibes... that's all.
You can't just be in denial and pretend its not going on. To be frank with you, its genocide in the making and if you do not believe me, read the Genocide Report by Amnesty International which says we are IN level seven (level 8 is after its happened and everyone is in denial). If you don't want me to tell you these things then it means you have not dealt with your own fear, but it does not help me to think you are turning your back on our situation.
We need you to get the news OUT that we are all in a fearfully dangerous situation here. Too many people turn their backs and say - oh well, that's what happens in Africa. This government has GONE MAD and you need to publicize our plight or how can we be rescued?
You can't just say "oh you attract your own reality". The petrol queues are a reality, the pall of smoke all around our city is a reality, the thousands of homeless people sleeping outside in 0 Celsius with no food water, shelter and bedding are a reality. Today a family approached me, brother of the gardener's wife with two small children.
Their home was trashed and they will have to sleep outside. We already support 8 people and a child on this property and electricity is going up next month by 250% as is water. How can I take another family of 4 - and yet how can I turn them away to sleep out in the open?
I am not asking you for money, or a ticket out of here - I am asking you to FACE the fact that we are in deep and terrible danger and I want you to pass on our news and pictures and don't just press the delete button for God's sake. Help in the way that you know how. Face the reality of what is going on here and SEND OUT THE WORD. The more people that know about it, the more chance we have of United Nations coming to our aid.
Please stop ignoring and denying what's happening. Would you like to be protected from the truth and then if we are eliminated how would you feel? Surely you would say "if only we knew how bad it really was we could have helped in some way". I know we chose to stay here and so we "deserve" what's coming to us. For now we ourselves, have food, shelter, a little fuel and a bit of money for the next meal - but what is going to happen next? Will they start on our houses? All property is going to belong to the State now. I want to send out my Title Deeds to one of you because if they get a hold of those I can't fight for my rights.
We no longer have SW radio which told us everything that was happening because the government jammed it out of existence - we don't have any reporters, and no one is allowed to photograph. If we had reporters here they would have an absolute field day. Even the pro government Herald has written that people are shocked, stunned, bewildered and blown mindless by the wanton destruction of everyone's homes which are supposed to be "illegal" but which a huge percentage of them actually do have licenses for. Please my children - have some compassion and HELP by sending out the articles and personal reports so that something can be DONE.
Love Mom
To all the kids who survived the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
This from Daniel
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a ute on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drink with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!
The Junior Football teams had practice games and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.... and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
Mind Massage
Mindfulness and Music: Things That Go "Hmmm" Shhh….can you hear it?
One of the most powerful forms of mindfulness is awareness of sound. We tend to tune out the noise of our lives in order to concentrate on the tasks at hand. In fact, we may get so used to a particular sound that we don’t notice it until it’s gone—like a television that is turned off, or traffic that stops outside your home, or your neighbor’s lawn mower or stereo that is suddenly silent.
We notice when it starts, we intentionally shut it out, and then notice it once again when it stops.
Everyone who hears has a healthy serving of what is called musical intelligence. It isn’t limited to actual music, however—it is our recognition and understanding of the pitch, tone, quality, length, volume and source of the sounds around us.
Now, some of us might have perfect pitch, knowing instantly that the note we hear is a middle C. Others might have a very well-developed sense of tone quality — noting the difference between a middle C played on a piano or a flute, or even the same note sung by two different people.
And some of us might consider ourselves completely hopeless as musicians while having an encyclopedic memory for song lyrics, guitar riffs, or even the songs of birds.
The great news is that, no matter where we stand on the music smarts scale, we each have the capacity to increase our musical intelligence. Better yet, by focusing on selected sounds as triggers for mindfulness, we can sharpen our awareness and increase our enjoyment of the world around us at the same time.
Here’s a little mindfulness game to help you zero in on sound as a trigger for greater awareness: Notice “Hmmm.”
You might hear someone say “Hmmm” when they are trying to remember something or trying to make a decision. They might use it to show skepticism or wonder, inspiration or frustration. It might be low and long, or high and short. It could be very soft or quite loud. Is it ascending or descending? Is it aspirated? Is it musical?
Using “Hmmm” as a mindfulness cue allows you to:
1) Develop your ability to notice a selected trigger
2) Take a moment to note the intention, emotion, and sound quality of that particular “Hmmm”
3) Notice that you noticed
You are catching yourself in the act of being mindful while you are right smack in the middle of the Real World. This is the essence of playing with mindfulness!
By paying attention to this soft exclamation, you can heighten your awareness of sound while also picking up on the subtleties of emotion and expression. It’s a great way to use your ears to learn more about interpersonal communication. You will be amazed at what you can learn about others—and their state of mind—by becoming more aware of the way they use this sound.
Start noticing “Hmmm” in conversations around you as well as your own. Then, branch out and notice “Hmmm” in movies, television shows, or theater presentations.
Finally, tap into your musical intelligence even further by recognizing the sounds that resemble “Hmmm” in machinery or nature. Does the copier sound like “Hmmm”? Does your printer make that sound? How about your dog when you scratch its ears, or your partner sleeping beside you?
Start hearing “Hmmm” all around you. It’s a fun way to create a few “Hmmm” moments of your own!
Looking For More Mindfulness Cues? You’ll find over 100 tricky triggers in my ebook,
Real-World Mindfulness Secrets: 101 Eyes-Wide-Open Ways to Get Calm, Clear and Creative. With fun little secret missions and quirky tips covering all eight multiple intelligences, you’ll be playing with mindfulness while developing your abilities and tickling your brain.
Now, really, when is the last time you did that?
There’s not a single sit-and-breathe idea in the bunch.
These are active, right-where-you-are, anyone-can-play games and suggestions that you can try right away to gain immediate awareness about the world around you in a whole new way.
Find out more about how YOU can enhance your intelligence while sleuthing around like a kid playing spy games. Visit:
Real-WorldMindfulness.com/products.htm
Are You A Frustrated Musician?
Is there a musical instrument you’ve been longing to learn, or one you set aside years ago and hope to pick up again? Here’s a great book that will get you inspired to play for the sheer joy of it!
It's called The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning To Trust Your Musical Self and it's written by William Westney. What I love about Westney’s book is the way he views mistakes as opportunities for greater mindfulness. Every “wrong” note is a beautiful thing in that it teaches us more about our instrument, the way we are playing it, and the way it can be played.
Westney is known for his “Un-Master Class” concept, and offers workshops and tips at his
website at: http://www.williamwestney.com
For more book recommendations, visit:
Real-WorldMindfulness.com/resources.htm
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Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training to individuals and groups in Portland, Oregon. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 100 countries. To subscribe to her free ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.massageyourmind.com.
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©Copyright 2004, Maya Talisman Frost
52 Best Stories – How Much Does Stress Weigh?
A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked,
"How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied,
"The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance."
"In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." He continued,
"And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow."
"Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested."
~ Author Unknown ~
http://www.52best.com/stress.asp
One Man’s Australia – Blast from the past
On Wednesday June 1st the BBC published an item on an article written for Physics World magazine by Rainer Karlsch and Mark Walker, professor of history at Union College in Schenectady, US.
Both are historians, working in Germany and the US, who claim to have found a 60-year-old diagram showing a Nazi nuclear bomb. It is the only known drawing of a "nuke" made by Nazi experts and appears in a report held by a private archive.
The researchers who brought it to light say the drawing is a rough schematic and does not imply the Nazis built, or were close to building, an atomic bomb.
(Insert picture aus0518-1)
But a detail in the report hints some Nazi scientists may have been closer to that goal than was previously believed.
The report containing the diagram is undated, but the researchers claim the evidence points to it being produced immediately after the end of the war in Europe. It deals with the work of German nuclear scientists during the war and lacks a title page, so there is no evidence of who composed it.
An annotation notes that a critical mass of around 5kg of plutonium is required - which is pretty accurate.
But it fair to say that Hitler had access to some of the best physicists in the world at the time - some of whom were well aware that a bomb was possible..jpg)
The sketch resembles the Hiroshima bomb design - and it is comforting to realise that it could not have worked as the fissile material specified was plutonium - Pu239. The Hiroshima design worked only with uranium in the form of U235 as the fissile material.
No evidence has come to light that indicates that the Germans were working on an enrichment programme for uranium during WW2. There is ample evidence that they were working on a heavy water moderated reactor programme - which produces Pu239.
It has brought back vivid memories of the decade I spent with the South African Atomic Energy Board - at Pelindaba and overseas.
Although we did not know it at the time that my classmates and I were recruited straight out of Wits at the beginning of 1959, we realised later, as we began be able to see the pattern of our training, that the South African Government had its sights set on the acquisition of a nuclear weapon at that time.
We were not told. We were assigned to different overseas universities to get PhDs in different areas. The overseas PhDs on salary and with all expenses paid were irresistible bait.
I was assigned to Birmingham University, Edgbaston. One of the first things that I noticed was a bell jar near the entrance of the Great Hall that contained a greenish mass like fused glass. This was Trinitite - molten material from the ground directly under the shot tower at Alamogordo, NM, when the world's first atomic explosion took place in July 1945.
Its significance did not dawn on me at first.
I then discovered that my graduate physics course was to be taught by the then Professor of Physics - Rudolf Peierls. He was a legend.
In 1939 the Professor of Physics was the Australian Marcus Oliphant. The Physics and Electrical Engineering Departments were fully committed to developing radar through a secret and specialised facility at Malvern in Worcestershire.
Marcus Oliphant had the ear of the British Government.
During 1939 a lecturer in the Physics Department who was a refugee from the Nazis, Rudolf Peierls, read the publication of the German physicist Otto Hahn on his experiments with firing neutrons at uranium during that year. While he had achieved nuclear fission he did not realise it. This was pointed out by the Italian Enrico Fermi in a publication the same year.
Rudolph Peierls realised that if a critical mass of uranium could be assembled a chain reaction could be achieved that would liberate enormous amounts of energy. He calculated the critical mass and the energy yield. The results were awesome.
He asked the junior Reader in the Department, another German refugee from the Nazis, Klaus Fuchs, to check his work. Klaus Fuchs responded that he could not find a flaw.
Marcus Oliphant took the bomb design to the British Government who set up the MAUD (Military Application of Uranium Detonation) Committee and work on the atomic bomb began before the end of 1939.
It was realised early in the work that, from the engineering point of view, it appeared to be simpler to make a working weapon that used U235 rather than Pu239. The problem was how to separate the U235 from the overwhelming mass of U238 in natural uranium.
It so happened that during the 1930s the Chemical Engineering Department of the University had done a great deal of research into separating oxygen and nitrogen by passing air over diffusion barriers. As the molecules of the gases were different in size and mass, one gas diffused through the barrier faster than the other.
The chemical engineers realised that uranium could be made to form a compound with fluorine, uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, that was a gas at normal temperatures and pressures. The molecules made with U235 and with U238 were different in size and mass, so……..?
The Chemical Engineering Department were added to the MAUD Committee and work on the atomic bomb went on.
By 1941 the project had reached the stage where it was becoming evident that it was beyond the resources of war-stressed British industry to carry through.
In December 1941 the attack on Pearl Harbor persuaded America to join WW2. During 1942 the MAUD Committee became the Manhattan Project and the rest, as they say, is history.
After completing my PhD I was moved to the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique in France and was assigned to the research facility at Fontenay-aux-Roses in the southern outskirts of Paris to work on the RAPSODIE fast breeder reactor.
I was switched to learning the details of how to make components that would work with liquid sodium metal at around 550 degrees Celsius. I spent a lot of time with industrial groups such as GAAA (hermetically sealed, double contained flow and isolation valves) and Hispano Suiza (hermetically sealed, double contained centrifugal pumps).
This showed forethought by the Pelindaba bosses. The technology was generic and dual-use. By changing the material of construction from stainless steel to appropriate alloys the designs would also work with UF6.
I learned explosive metalworking, both for forming and for welding dissimilar materials. I learned electron beam welding.
In 1957 a Swedish team published in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer a method for separating molecules of different size and mass in a centrifuge that had no moving parts. That paper was the genesis of the South African uranium enrichment process.
At Pelindaba I was appointed successively Head, Design and Head, Manufacture.
In 1970 the success of the South African uranium enrichment process was announced to the public. It was by then too big and complex to conceal its ongoing development.
I looked towards the future and we became Australians.
Ramblings Of A Francophobe
Two from Mike this week... I didn't receive the first one in time for last week's edition.
I received an email earlier this week, via Maureen, from a French reader of this column who objects to its title, in fact, I think he objects to its existence. He wrote:
" ..... this is really politically incorrect and rude to give a nickname as "Francophobia".
He then went on to say: "What would you think if I would create a French newsletter about "Ramblings of a Afrikanerphobia" or "Ramblings of a Sethafricanphobia" ?
'Rude' and 'politically incorrect' I can happily live with. Here is my 'rude and politically incorrect' reply to the person. (I've removed his or her name).
Mr or Mrs. or Miss xxxxxxxx (henceforth referred to as 'the reader') finds it 'rude' and 'politically incorrect' to call the column Ramblings of a Francophobe. Why? I am entitled to refer to myself as a Francophobe if I wish. I am even entitled to refer to myself as a racist if I wish (as it happens I am not a racist but that is beside the point). It may be illegal and/or politically incorrect to perform racist actions or to indulge in racist or hate speech, but it is not illegal to profess to disliking a certain nationality, or certain aspects of life in a particular country. As you may have realised by now, I don't give a stuff about political correctness, in fact, I despise political correctness and those who espouse it, as they are often hypocrites.
I therefore unashamedly, even proudly, call my column Ramblings of A Francophobe. Those who don't like it are not obliged to read it. Those who do read it and don't like it have the right to voice their objections, as this reader has done. Personally, I keep away from that which I dislike, so I would not, for example, eat French beef and then complain about it, because I know before eating it that it will be tough and tasteless.
Regarding issue 329, it may be that there was nothing in that particular column which related to Francophobia. If the reader prefers that in all future columns I make an anti-French remark, I will be happy to do so, but this does seem a little extreme. Or he could read through previous columns where he will find that I do live up to the title of the column.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, one of the failings of the French is that they are not known for their ability to laugh at themselves or to understand subtlety in humour. Maybe the title of the column is tongue in cheek. Or maybe it's not ......! That is up to the readers to decide.
If xxxxxxxx would like to write "a French newsletter about "Ramblings of a Afrikanerphobia" or "Ramblings of a Sethafricanphobia" (sic), I would greatly look forward to reading it as I am sure he has plenty to say on the subject.
In the time I have been writing this column, this is, to my knowledge, only the second complaint that has been received.
You are most welcome to publish this along with my next column.
Best regards
MIKE
Feedback from the reader...
Thank you very much for your comments regarding the above. Which proves that I have a great sense of humor and the ability to laugh at myself !
Best regards
A. Le Joncour
-------------------
It was an interesting coincidence that this happened during the same week that I was preparing a short piece for another purpose, about why people find it impossible or difficult to 'integrate' into the French way of life. In my case, it's easy to see why. I have no interest in doing so, and have never tried. I feel awfully sorry for the sad 'wannabee Frenchies' who walk around with a baguette and a beret, playing boules, and trying to speak colloquial French. They will always be 'Le Rosbif' and they may as well just accept it.
So here's what I had written:
Speaking French is a red herring frequently brought up in discussions about 'integration', whatever that may mean. As it happens I can speak French perfectly well but do so only when it suits me. I can certainly communicate in it better than many French people, despite some weakness in grammar. I do however have a major problem in understanding French people, but this results from different thought processes and a different mentality rather than an inability to comprehend the language, whether written or spoken, and this I believe to be the greatest barrier to ‘integration’. (As a matter of interest I am often shocked at the low level of literacy of many French people, in their own language, whose written communications I have seen, including someone I know who is a teacher.)
Other than when it suits me to speak French, I tend to avoid dialogue by pretending, in a pleasant way, that I can’t speak it at anything more than pidgin level, which saves me stress and irritation. I have made no effort to integrate and I have always been perfectly open about this. I have neither reason nor desire to do so. This does not preclude me from observing and commenting upon what goes on around me. I know plenty of people who have made serious efforts to integrate, marrying French partners, putting their kids into French schools, joining French social groups, churches, sports clubs, and so on. The majority of them do not feel that they have integrated. Then there are those who pretend they have integrated, but they know deep down that they haven’t and never will, even one who goes around saying ‘I am French’, simply because he has a French passport through marriage. Sorry pal, but a bit of paper doesn't make you French other than on paper.
The French people here, and I believe this to be largely a characteristic of this part of France rather than of the French in general, seem to fall into a couple of categories.
There are many who are particularly materialistic, avaricious and mercenary, a characteristic of an area endowed with large numbers of wealthy people. If you are English speaking, German, Dutch, or Scandinavian, you are deemed to be wealthy and a target for blatant ripoffs or simply higher prices, or being unsubtly pointed towards the more expensive end of the market for whatever it is you are buying.
The grasping hand of friendship and the forced smile are extended to you only for as long as the extender of the hand feels he, or more often, she, can milk you. Once they have got what they want, or realise that you are not wealthy or not going to succumb, the hand of friendship is retracted and the smile disappears, often to be replaced by the stabbing knife in the back.
Then there is the other category of people, the ‘nouveaux riches’ (frequently not French) who think they’ve made it because they live on the Cote D’Azur. If they think they can use you to help them to climb their social ladder, they will. Alternatively, they’ll ‘befriend’ you in order to show you how ‘superior’ they are because they have the latest and most expensive of everything. Once you’ve served your purpose, the invitations dry up.
I have so often heard ‘you foreigners come here and make it so expensive for us’, whereas the reality is that the locals became the victims of their own greed, and now resent paying for it, as they milked the situation for all they could. This is not a situation unique to the South of France, but one typical of it, and illustrated by the experience of a colleague. The vendor of his house, who tried cheat him out of a lot of money, wanted to move away to a part of France with less foreigners. He chose to ignore the fact that the brand new Mercedes he was sitting in at the time, and which would take him to this utopian paradise of racial purity, was paid for my one of those foreigners.
These are some of the reasons I do not see ‘integration’ as feasible, even assuming it is desirable.
I do have French friends, and I do know some French people whom, even if I do not consider them friends, I admire and respect. Unfortunately, the majority of the French people I’ve met here are not worthy of friendship, admiration, or respect, and I don’t believe I am alone in feeling like this, although I am probably more outspoken than others.
So there we, are, or as the French would say, eh ..... voila !
Tot siens
MIKE
No queries received this week.
Hello Maureen,
One of my friends, might be crazy but he sure achieves all he sets out to do. Please could you put this in your next newsletter.
Thanks Elaine
ARCH TO ARC challenge
Julian Crabtree, is a serious young man and once he sets himself a challenge he generally achieves it with flying colours!
In 2003 he did the Iditarod a1100 mile (1769 km) run/walk across Alaska in 27 days. He is the first person to have accomplished this on his first attempt!
Here are a couple of articles written on his achievements:
http://www.extremesports365.com/features/story_59790.shtml
http://www.nomenugget.com/20030327/features.html
This year he is attempting a world record in August 2005, and would appreciate any help and support you can give me.
The record he will be attempting is in a solo crossing from London's Marble Arch to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
To do this he will need to run 87 miles from the centre of London to the Dover coast, swim the English Channel (22 miles) and then cycle 180 miles from Calais to the centre of Paris in under 80 hours.
Through this he aims to raise £30,000 for Starfish, a charity that aims to secure the future of many of the children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.
Without your help and support he will not be able to achieve his goal.
If you would like to sponsor him, please visit the sponsorship page at
http://www.justgiving.com/Arch2Arc
If you would like to get involved more, please do not hesitate to contact
Julian at A2A@starfishcharity.org
Please you could send this to as many people as you can. The more people who know, the more money we can raise.
Thank you for your time and support.
If you are looking for a lost friend... if you would like old friends to contact you... If you want to find old school friends... if you just want people who used to know you to find you again for a chat...
Send in your info, the info of anyone you are looking for and let’s see if we can find them for you!
USA – New York
Greetings One & All in Yeboland!!!
Eish! this month was truly jam packed with events. Like usual...we are not going to cut and paste all the graphics and goodies in the e-mail... although we know it makes thing fancy wancy we are just going to give the text format for events happening in New York.
Hope you all are gearing up for the summer.....don’t worry about the six-pack guys... a cooler box does the trick as well.
SA Culture in NY Team
South African Culture in New York Social Group
Promoting the Cultural Diversity of SA
www.sacultureinny.org
Contact: 347-531-9557
Link to Events in YeboLand!!! - http://www.sacultureinny.org/events.html
Print out the Below Events and Plan your Calendar!!!
DRUMSTRUCK, the world's first interactive drum-theatre experience, direct from sold-out engagements in Johannesburg, South Africa and Sydney, Australia, makes its American debut off-Broadway at Dodger Stages Stage 2 (340 West 50th Street, NYC) directed by David Warren. DRUMSTRUCK began preview performances on May 12, 2005 and the official opening date will be announced soon.
"This show is a must-see, a not-to-be-missed experience." Sunday Independent (Australia)
"A joyous bout of cultural bonding that will go a very long way to building theatre audiences of all ages." The Star (Australia)
"Living embodiment of tradition.." Business Day (Australia)
Tickets to DRUMSTRUCK are available at the Dodger Stages box office (340 West 50th Street) and by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, or online at telecharge.com.
Ticket prices are $61.00 (Tuesday-Friday and Sunday Evening) and $66.00 (Saturday Matinee and Evening and Sunday Matinee). Performance times are Tuesday – Saturday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm & 7:00pm. A limited number of $25 student tickets will be available, day of show only at the Dodger Stages box office, with valid student I.D. For more information, check out the web site for DRUMSTRUCK.
www.DrumstruckNY.com
DOZI – SA Performer
6/7 London UK Zulu Bar - Leytonstone, London East Rene Gauche jeanche@yahoo.co.uk
6/9 North Carolina / Charlotte RiRa Irish Pub and Restaurant - Charlotte Christo Visagie Christo.Visagie@springs.com
6/10 North Carolina / Raleigh Mac's Tavern - Cary Deborah Blackman satarheels@nc.rr.com
6/11 Georgia / Atlanta The Calvany Assembly of God - Atlanta Hansie en Hilda Dirksen dirksens5@hotmail.com
6/12 Texas / Dallas Holiday Inn Select - Dallas Justin Luyt en Monja Smith jluyt@usa.net en monja.smith@verizon.net
6/15 Texas / Houston Westfield by the Railroad - Houston Jaco Steynberg steynbergj@yahoo.com
6/16 Florida / Key West - e-mail vossersusa@yahoo.com for details;
6/18 Florida / Ft Lauderdale Kalahari bar - Ft Lauderdale Dee Hofmeyr kalahari@kalaharibar.com
6/19 New York i-Shebeen Madiba - Brooklyn Mark Henegan madiba@i-shebeen.com
Time: 7:00pm onward Cost: $20.00 a ticket
In 1999, he recorded and released his first album "Mercy", a Zulu gospel album, which received a SAMA nomination for best newcomer. This album was followed by "Op Aanvraag", Dozi's first Afrikaans CD, in 2001. which reached double platinum status, selling in excess of 100 000 copies. Next in line, released in December of 2001,was the second Afrikaans album,"Storm op die Horison" which gained platinum status within the first year of release. In February 2003, "Siyaya ….. Ons gaan", was released and moved up to gain platinum status in September 2003. Very soon, people were singing along with songs like, "Ma se song" , " Staan net 'n bietjie stil" and "Maybe my Baby". The album " Siyaya …Ons Gaan " was nominated for a SAMA award in 2004, in the category for best Afrikaans album.
At the end of 2003, Dozi released the album " Rockin' the world". This album was released, due to the massive demand from his fans for the songs that he played for years in pubs and restaurants, when he was just starting out as a musician. Dozi has always had a very wide following, and due to the fact that he was already well known, even before the release of his first album, it was decided to record the " Rockin the world " album. The album consists of "cover" songs of other artists, done as only Dozi can. The album has been received very well and has sold in excess of 25 000 copy's in seventeen days since it's release and thus reached gold status. It is still on the bestsellers list of most of the major record and CD shops in the country.
He performs with his own band and the band members are Stef Kruger on drums and percussion, Theo Klassen on bass guitar, Henning Joubert on guitar and Ricus Nel on keyboard , banjo and concertina. Stef Kruger is also the writer and composer of Dozi's Afrikaans songs. Dozi writes and composes the Zulu songs, himself.
To purchase tickets please contact SATARHEELS@NC.RR.COM
Hugh Masekela and William Kentridge
Thursday, 23 June 2005
Prospect Park Bandshell
9th Street & Prospect Park West
Park Slope Brooklyn
Brooklyn celebrates South Africa with a once in a lifetime event featuring two of the country? greatest artists. This remarkable double bill includes a concert by jazz/world fusion icon HUGH MASEKELA, and a presentation of visual artist WILLIAM KENTRIDGE? astonishing animations 9 Drawings for Projection, projected on a giant screen and set to live music composed by his South African countryman Philip Miller. Presented in collaboration with the Public Art Fund with major support provided South African Consulate General in New York and South African Tourism.
For Additional Info: www.celebratebrooklyn.org or 718-855-7882
Italy - Milano
Dear Friend/s,
Temperatures are changing and thus it's time to BRAAI!
The date is Sunday 12 June 2005.
Bring and BRAAI! We'll light the fire around 10:30. Don't forget cutlery, plastic plates and glasses. Please if you have some chairs, bring them along. We'll have our usual sweets table, if you wish bring whatever you like and we'll enjoy it together.
Weather wise we have always been lucky. If on this day it should be cloudy at your place, please do not hesitate to call. Once it rained in many other parts except here.
If you don't remember how to get there, we attach a map.
Please confirm your presence via e-mail saclubmilanvodafone.it, a quick call to Winet (02-98170469) or Louise at 0373 204093. Please rsvp by Friday 03 June 2005
If you do have transport problems drop us a note and we'll see what can be arranged.
If you do change E-Mail please drop us a note.
Regards to all.
Winet and Louise
Three men are sitting at a bar...
This from Matthew Green
The first says: "I bought something which goes from 0 to 100 in 6 seconds"
The other 2 guys don't know what he's talking about so he reveals: "I bought her a nice Porsche"
The second guy says: "I bought something which goes from 0 to 100 in 4 seconds"
"That has to be a Ferrari - right?"
"Yeah that's right! I bought my wife a nice red Ferrari"
The third one says: " I bought my wife something which goes from 0 to 100 in just 2 seconds"
"That can't be - the Ferrari's one of the fastest cars in the world?!"
"Well - it's not a car, but ..." .jpg)
Here's a quick recipe for a great smoothie... perhaps make it for Dad on Father's Day?
Bryanna's peanut butter chocolate banana smoothie
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/1964635.htm
serves 1
1 c. non-dairy milk
1/2 T. peanut butter
1/2 a frozen peeled banana, chunked
1 T. dairy-free chocolate syrup
optional: 1 T. soy protein powder
Blend until very smooth (can add a few ice cubes to make it frothier, if you like).
Stars line up for Radebe's benefit [iafrica.com]
It will be a veritable who's who of South African soccer when a South African Invitation XI take on the Lucas Radebe All-Stars in a benefit game for the former Bafana Bafana captain and Leeds United stalwart at the King's Park Stadium in Durban on Saturday night.
http://sport.iafrica.com/news/448061.htm
Hungry Boks ready for the kill [IOL]
The under-strength Uruguayans are likely to be reduced to little more than tackle bags when a highly motivated Springbok team gives its enhanced gameplan a dress rehearsal in East London on Saturday.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=18&art_id=vn20050607114331243C201241
Els strolls down memory lane [News 24]
Ernie Els returns to the site of his most emotional major triumph here at Maryland this week, hoping the competition will spark his game before next week's US Open.
http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/More_Sport/0,,2-9-32_1717928,00.html
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