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| Contents |
Issue No. 345 -- 17 October 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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TOP |
We have had rain!!! The first good rain of the summer arrived late last week. The usual wonderful to look at highveld thunder and lightening storm... but also lots of rain!
As I write it is raining again in the Pretoria area... not sure if that means it is raining out at the dam...
Our friend Dennis, with who we ski several days a week, is a three event skier... he does the slalom course, does tricks and also jumps. Last week Captain Ken helped get the jump ramp back in position after the winter and on Saturday we had two boats full of people to watch as Dennis donned his heavily-padded suit and his helmet and jumped off the end of the ramp. He made several successful jumps and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
Once I have mastered the slalom course, jumping is the next thing I want to try. SAW Advertisement
VisitBritain SA and the UK Post Office are giving away a 7 day rendezvous  for you with your friends and family living in the UK. 4 Flight tickets to the UK, accommodation and a whole bag of goodies included. Click here to get your name in the draw!
SAW Advertisement |
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These from me...
Whatever you are, be a good one. - Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), 16th US President
Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace. - Albert Schweitzer
Make no judgements where you have no compassion. - Anne McCaffrey
Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations. - George Bernard Shaw
These from Des Cowie...
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for? - Unknown
Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself. - William Faulkner
It is a mistake to regard age as a downhill grade toward dissolution. The reverse is true. As one grows older one climbs with surprising strides. - George Sand
I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. - Mother Teresa
As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along. - Eleanor Roosevelt
The distance isn’t important, it is only taking the first step that is difficult. - Marquise du Deffand
These from Daniel Jan le Roux...
Show me a sane man, and I will cure him for you. – Carl Jung
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. - Carl Jung.
Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. - Carl Jung
The word 'happiness' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. - Carl Jung
There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it. - George Bernard Shaw
Send in any quotes you love... that have some special meaning for you... and I will use at least one every week. Usual address! editor@saw.co.za
| Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week |
TOP |
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 Q&A:
Theresa, UK: We will bring back our home videos with us to SA. Do we need to declare them to Customs and Excise? The import application form states that videos and DVDs have to be declared.
Dear Theresa, according to Patricia of Customs and Excise (Tel: 0027-12-3943614) second-hand, privately owned videos and DVDs not intended for resale, do not have to be declared individually. You still have to mention them in the manifest though.
Kind regards
Alana
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
SA's 1st farm expropriation
This from Theo Truter truter@mweb.co.za
Johannesburg - South Africa has served its first official notice of expropriation on a livestock farmer who has rejected the government's purchase offer, said the land ministry on Friday.
Hannes Visser, of Lichtenburg in North West province, about 250km west of Johannesburg, was served with a notice of intent on Thursday, said Eddie Mohoebi of the land affairs ministry.
"The notice was served yesterday. Once we have served a notice of expropriation, the farmer has 21 days to respond or to appeal directly to the (lands) minister.
"If he appeals, the minister has the discretion to hold a hearing and the minister has got discretionary powers to summon anyone, including the farmer and including the commission itself to hear both sides of the story," said Moheobi.
But if the minister decided after the hearing that the farmer should vacate the property, he would have to do so under a deadline specified by the minister, failing which he would be in breach of the law, he said.
Government offered R1.75m
"The minister then has the right to summon enforcement agencies to affect the move forcibly."
The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights last month announced that a notice would be served on Visser after 2½ years of negotiations failed to produce a settlement.
The government offered to buy the 500ha cattle and crop farm for R1.75m, but Visser rejected the offer, saying his farm was worth R3m.
Visser, 47, has said he might turn to the courts to try and get more money from the government for his property.
According to the land claims commission, which confirmed that this was the first commercial farm to be expropriated in South Africa, the property originally belonged to Abram Molamu.
The commission said "the original owners of the property were dispossessed through forced-sale transactions" by the apartheid government.
'Farmers want high prices'
That land was bought by Visser's father in 1968, and his son took over the farm 11 years ago, just as South Africa elected Nelson Mandela as its first black president.
Only 4% of farmland is owned by blacks in South Africa, where the government has vowed to have 30% black ownership by 2015, a target officials have said will require a more-aggressive approach.
The government has complained that white farmers are setting high prices for their land under the willing-seller, willing-buyer principle that has underpinned land reform since 1994.
News24/AFP
UN invites Mugabe!
More from Theo
US 'amazed' over Mugabe's invite to Rome
Denis Barnett | Rome, Italy
15 October 2005 08:41
The United States has expressed "amazement" at a United Nations invitation to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to address a hunger conference in Rome on Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
"I find it amazing they've invited Mr Mugabe to speak at the 60th anniversary, who in a way has done so much to hurt the hungry, and who has absolutely turned his back on the poor," said Tony Hall, US ambassador to the UN food agencies in Rome.
"I find it amazing. What can he possibly say to us at the conference, when he has done so much to hurt his own people? Food has been used as a weapon against his own people," Hall said late on Friday.
Mugabe, despite a travel ban imposed by the European Union, confirmed his attendance with the organisers on Friday afternoon, an FAO spokesperson said. He is expected to travel to Rome on Sunday.
Nine heads of state, including those from Italy, Brazil, Venezuela, Botswana and Ecuador, will take part in Monday's ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the Rome-based UN food agency.
The FAO will use the occasion to draw attention to the plight of the world's hungry.
Hall, a former Democrat Congressman from Ohio, said he will attend the conference on Monday and listen to Mugabe's speech.
"He will speak. We will listen. I'm not going to applaud. Nor do I think we should welcome him here. The last thing I want to do as a representative of my country is give him credibility."
The ambassador said he visited Zimbabwe recently "and I witnessed so many people who were thrown out in the cold".
"The country used to be a net exporter of food and now a good portion of the people have to be fed," said Hall, who was on a tour of World Food Programme aid stations in the stricken Southern African country.
Mugabe (81) has been banned from travelling to the European Union since targeted sanctions were imposed on Zimbabwe by Brussels and the US after he won a disputed presidential election in 2002.
He has managed to evade the ban on several occasions, such as the Vatican invitation to attend Pope John Paul II's funeral last April and for UN conferences.
The US labelled Zimbabwe one of the world's six "outposts of tyranny" in January and along with the EU maintains a freeze on Mugabe's financial assets and those of his associates.
Mugabe, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, says the US and EU are punishing him for his controversial seizures of 5 000 white-owned farms and their redistribution to blacks.
Hosting a UN conference on food safety in Africa in Harare earlier this month, he defended his policy of land seizure, which many blame for the collapse of his country's agricultural sector.
"Zimbabwe’s much-vilified land-reform programme is our response to the challenge of empowering more of our people, and therefore creating a wider base of farmers in the country," he said.
As dignitaries gather for the 60th anniversary in Rome, Hall's comments on Mugabe's attendance are likely to further stoke a diplomatic spat over the arrest in Harare of US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell.
The US State Department said Dell had "inadvertently wandered into a poorly marked military area" near Mugabe's house, adding that it had accepted Zimbabwe's apologies. -- Sapa-AFP
What does love mean?
This from Melissa Cram 9yes... she is related!
Slow down for three minutes to read this.
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?"
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love." - Rebecca age 8
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth." - Billy age 4
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other." - Karl age 5
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." - Chrissy age 6
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired." - Terri age 4
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK." - Danny age 7
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." - Emily age 8
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen." - Bobby age 7 (Wow!)
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate," – Nikka age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday." – Noelle age 7
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." - Tommy age 6
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore." - Cindy age 8
"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night." – Clare age 6
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken." – Elaine age 5
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt." - Chris age 7
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." - Mary Ann - age 4
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." - Lauren age 4
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." - Karen age 7 (what an image)
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget." - Jessica age 8
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
"Nothing, I just helped him cry"
Mind Massage
Mindfulness and Rain: Pondering Precipitation
It's cyclone season here in Mazatlan, and the rains, they have been a comin' down. I am grateful that we have not had torrential rains and flooding as in other areas of Mexico. I welcome these showers with open arms. It feels like home--except that it is warm enough to wear a sleeveless dress and sandals while dancing in the puddles.
My grandmother used to use the expression 'right as rain' to refer to someone who was feeling fine, so I grew up believing that rain was a good thing. I never let it stop me from doing the things I wanted to do. After all, I lived in Oregon, a place quite proud of its rainy reputation--you could even buy t-shirts that said things like 'People in Oregon don't tan--they rust.' Sure, we had a lot of rain, but that's why things were so gorgeously green.
Last week, Talya's classmates at Colegio 'El Pacifico' were an hour late for school. This is highly unusual, as they lock the gates at 7:30 a.m. and don't let in any students after that. But it seems that an exception is made when it rains.
You see, when it rains here, it pours, and the streets fill quickly. One morning, Tom actually carried Talya on his back across a couple of streets so as not to have her wading through the swirling brown water in her white knee socks and black Mary Janes. They were soaked and laughing, and this little exercise had more to do with being silly than actually helping. Rain does that to us.
Or, at least, it CAN. But as in most things, we tend to dwell on the negatives. We get used to thinking of rain as a nuisance, for example, instead of enjoying it and appreciating its value.
When Taeko (our oldest daughter) went off on her Rotary Exchange during her junior year in high school, she told us she wanted to go to a place that was the opposite of Oregon.
She ended up in Chile--but not the verdant wine-growing part. Not the gorgeous Patagonia-ish part. She was sent to Antofagasta, a city that is, curiously, on the beach but surrounded by desert. It is exceedingly dry, even breaking world records--they once went 14 years without any measurable rain.
One day, there was a mist. Literally, just an overcast day with a heavy bit of moisture that showed up on windshields. Everyone stayed inside with their sweaters on, excitedly talking about the mist. Kids stayed home from school. Taeko could barely believe it, remembering all those mornings she traipsed to school in the pouring rain or stood outside to watch a football game during a downpour.
It's all in our perspective, you see.
We can be 'right as rain', we can be thrilled about rain, or we can mutter about what a pain it all is.
I can't imagine that bars and restaurants alter their playlists according to the weather, but three times in the last three days I have walked past an outdoor eating area and heard Creedence Clearwater Revival's song, 'Who'll Stop The Rain'....
'Long as I remember the rain been comin’ down.
Clouds of myst’ry pourin’ confusion on the ground.
Good men through the ages, tryin’ to find the sun;
And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain.'
Do they always play it, or am I just noticing it now that I am walking through the rain and feeling its warmth on my face and shoulders?
Tune in to rain--whether it's falling on your head, being described in a novel you're reading, or being lamented in a song.
Take a look at your ideas about rain, and recall the memories you've had of happy rainy days or notable moments of rain-talk.
I looked up the phrase 'right as rain' and it seems that 'rain' is used because of the pleasing alliteration rather than any particularly powerful 'rightness' of precipitation. How disappointing. I like thinking that rain is right, or as it should be.
I am not talking about the horrendous storms that result in catastrophic flooding--I'm referring to regular rain that makes our shoes squeaky, our gardens lush. We can feel terribly fortunate to avoid the former, and quite lucky to receive the latter.
Look for the lucky, and you'll feel right as rain.
Your Secret Assignment: Singin' In The Rain
No, you don't have to do any energetic splashing for this week's assignment.
Instead, you're going to watch the rain--even if you live in a desert.
Be mindful of puddles, gutters, downspouts.
Listen to lyrics about rain.
Watch for written descriptions of precipitation--showers, sprinkles, mist.
Hear rainfall on your own rooftop.
Watch the weather report or updates on storms around the world.
Watch, listen, read, feel--and if you are fortunate to be spared from damaging torrential downpours, take a moment to feel 'right as rain'....
Want to share your ideas about rain? Send me a message at:
Maya@MassageYourMind.com
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Maya Talisman Frost has taught thousands of people how to pay attention. Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, she offers playful and powerful eyes-wide-open ways to get calm, clear and creative. To receive her free special report, 'The Dirty Little Secret About Meditation,' visit her website at MassageYourMind.com
(C) Copyright 2005, Maya Talisman Frost
**********************************
52 Best Stories – Father Forgets
The father wrote this story about his son over 50 years ago thus the reference to playing marbles and the "early American" language. However, the message is as strong today as it was then.
With Kind Regards, Sandy
Listen, son: I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the red curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few minutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily I came to your bedside.
These are the things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were dressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for not cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.
At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and I made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called,
"Goodbye, Daddy!" and I frowned, and said in reply,
"Hold your shoulders back!"
Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road I spied you, down on your knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before your friends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive - and if you had to buy them you would be more careful!
Imagine that, son, from a father!
Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort of hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you hesitated at the door.
"What is it you want?" I snapped.
You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, and threw your arms around my neck and kissed me. Your small arms tightened with affection that God had set blooming in your heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs.
Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slipped from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came over me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding - this was my reward to you for being a boy. I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.
And there is so much that is good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of yours is as big as dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in the darkness, and I have knelt there ashamed!
It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer when you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I will keep saying as if it were a ritual:
"He is but a boy - a little boy!"
~ The Author is W. Livingston Larned ~
http://www.52best.com/forget.asp
Northern Lighties
It is coming up for three years since we last had an election in Ontario and this means that we should be gearing up for another election next year.
In addition I haven't had my rant and rave about the Lieberals for a while, what with travel and work related articles recently.
So as a political animal who likes to stir and tilt at windmills I felt it was time to have a look at the Lieberals record in Ontario over those last few years when the sheeple voted Pinocchio McGuinty and the forty thieves into power.
What better way to do it then than by looking at the record of all those promises that the Lieberals gave to the electorate as reasons for giving them the mandate to treat us like imbeciles.
During the election the Lieberals made many grandiose promises about how they would run the Province. About 200 or more if I remember correctly. Politicians do that sort of thing and then conveniently forget that they have done so. Normally we are talking in the region of one or two.
The best being the Federal Liberals who promised to do away with the hated GST. That was roughly 15 years ago and it is still on the books.
In fact speaking of taxes, that was precisely what McGuinty promised here in Ontario. He signed a pledge to the effect that he would not raise taxes if elected. Which given the level of taxes in Ontario was a relief. Too me as well as many others.
Unfortunately at the first budget the Finance Minister delivered what has been the biggest tax hike in Ontario's history. A $2.4 Billion so called "health levy".
Call it what you like it is still a tax. A cynical manipulation of words but a tax nevertheless.
What is even more astonishing is that while raising this tax they then went ahead and delisted eye exams, physiotherapy and chiropractic as essential health care. This of course then means they lied about "funding medically necessary healthcare services".
In fact when it comes to healthcare virtually every promise made has been broken.
Cancel private hospitals in Ottawa and Brampton? No. They changed the deals from mortgages to leases. And have since made an announcement that further private deals are on the way.
Better mental health care? No. Three regional centres for the developmentally handicapped have been closed instead.
Close private MRI and CT clinics? No. Most have been changed to not-for-profit.
Provide adequate multi-year funding for hospitals? No. The fiscal year was over before hospitals even knew what the funding for that year would be.
Hire 6000 nurses by 2007? No. Earlier this year they in fact cut 757 nursing positions.
Which is interesting when you look at another glib promise that was made.
"Spend every penny of the new health tax on healthcare"
Look at the 2004 budget very carefully and you will discover that some of that money raised for healthcare is actually going to sewers, water treatment, plants and tourism. I can stretch my imagination and pretend that the first may have a causal link to healthcare but tourism? Visit Ontario's hospitals and clinics for the holiday experience of a lifetime. Which given the waiting lists is a lot closer to the truth than is comfortable.
How wisely is the rest of the money being spent?
Well $170milion is being spent to close the already established district health councils and replace them with a new Liberal bureaucratic version. The Local Health Network.
Change for changes sake apparently.
While on budgets another promise that was made was to abide by the balanced budget law, which was broken in the first budget that was tabled.
The original promise on budgets was to balance the budget every year. The revised promise was to balance it by 2007. So far the talk is that it will be balanced by 2009. If the contingency fund provides enough. Always an if when it comes to political doublespeak.
At the moment Ontario's debt increases by $75 a second. Which means that by 2007 they will have added $15 billion to the debt.
Unless they make more promises.
So let’s look at some of the promises that were made which had mass appeal to the average man in the street.
The stupidest being to roll back tolls on the 407. They are still in court trying to renegotiate the deal while the tolls have gone up again.
The most appealing being to cap hydro rates at 4.3 cents a kilowatt-hour until 2006. Actually the second piece of legislation introduced into being shortly after they came to power was to hike hydro rates. Any homeowner has first hand evidence of how much more they are paying.
How about hiring 1000 new police officers? Given the level of gun violence that is occurring in Toronto at the moment you would think this would be a priority. It has taken two years for an announcement to be made that funding will be provided for new officers. Unfortunately the local municipalities must provide half of the costs though. So in essence they have only provided funding for 500 officers. Not to mention the promise to hire 100 new parole and probation officers which has gone by the wayside.
Being an immigrant myself I have watched with interest two promises that were made.
The one was to eliminate barriers to foreign trained professionals within a year. Well it is a lot longer and we are still waiting for that one.
The other was to require trades professionals to accept qualified immigrants within one year. Which given the lack of trades people in this country you would think would be a priority. Apparently not as this is still hanging around on the back burner as well. Immigrants are great as cannon fodder when it comes to voting but not worthy of any other attempt when it comes to using their skills.
Unfortunately I could go on and on. I have a list of more than 50 promises broken by the Lieberals and it just seems that there is no end to them.
The really sad part of this whole scene though is that come the next election expect the Lieberals to be back in power and once again on the back of broken promises and the immigrant vote.
Nobody needing help this week.
No help needed this week.
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!
Luxembourg
This from SA Club Luxembourg sa_club_lux@hotmail.com
Please check out our new web site!
www.saclubluxembourg.com
UK
Starfish UK invites you to its Annual Gala Function: 'A Celebration of Africa'
It's that time of year again when we encourage Starfish party-goers across the UK to join us to celebrate a fantastic year of achievement. This year's party aims to unite nations and make a real impact on the lives of the thousands of children supported by the Starfish Greathearts Foundation across Southern Africa.
When: Saturday 29th October 2005, 19h30 til 1am
Where: The Brewery, Chiswell Street, London EC1Y 4SD
What: Drinks reception, three course South African themed dinner followed by music and dancing from Jazzbomb.
Auction prizes include:
authentic African experience for two at Mosetlha Bushcamp, Madikwe;
annual polo membership for two at the Guards Polo, Windsor.
Tickets: £80 per head / £800 per table
To reserve your tickets email celebrate@starfishcharity.org.
Payment: Bank transfer to Starfish Greathearts Foundation (Barclays)
Account No: 50446564, Sort code: 20-41-41
or
cheque made payable to 'Starfish' and marked Gala Function,
c/o Exchange House, Primrose Street, London EC2A 2HS.
At Starfish, we believe that all individuals in their various spheres of influence can help to bring life, hope and opportunity to children orphaned or made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Working with established NGOs in over 50 communities in South Africa, Starfish currently supports over 9,000 children and with your help could reach out to so many more… Each and every one of us can make a difference!
Spread the Starfish story and invite your friends... www.starfishcharity.org
Cat Jokes
These from our virtual office cat, Webster21.jpg)
It is reported that the following edition of the Book of Genesis was discovered in the Dead Seal Scrolls.
And Adam said, "Lord, when I was in the garden, you walked with me everyday. Now I do not see you anymore. I am lonesome here and it is difficult for me to remember how much you love me."
And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will know I love you, even when you cannot see me.
Regardless of how selfish and childish and unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourself."
And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased.
And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and he wagged his tail. And Adam said, "But Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and all the good names are taken and I cannot think of a name for this new animal."
And God said, "No problem! Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."
And Dog lived with Adam and was a companion to him and loved him. And Adam was comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that Adam's guardian angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam has become filled with pride. He struts and preens like a peacock and he believes he is worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught him that he is loved, but no one has taught him humility."
And the Lord said, "No problem! I will create for him a companion who will be with him forever and who will see him as he is. The companion will remind him of his limitations, so he will know that he is not worthy of adoration."
And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam. And Cat would not obey Adam. And when Adam gazed into Cat's eyes, he was reminded that he was not the supreme being. And Adam learned humility.
And God was pleased. And Adam was greatly improved.
And Cat did not care one way or the other.
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One day, a cat dies of natural causes and goes to heaven, where he meets Saint Peter himself. Saint Peter says to the cat, "You lived a good life, and if there is any way I can make your stay in heaven more comfortable, please let me know." The cat thinks for a moment and says, "Peter, all my life I have lived with a poor family and had to sleep on a hard wooden floor." Saint Peter stops the cat and says, "Say no more," and a wonderful, fluffy pillow appears.
A few days later, six mice are killed in a tragic farming accident, and all of them go to heaven. Again, Saint Peter is there to greet them with the same offer. The mice answer, "All our lives we have been chased. We have had to run from cats, dogs, and even women with brooms. Running, running, running; we're tired of running. Do you think we could have roller skates so that we don't have to run anymore?" Saint Peter says, "Say no more" and fits each mouse with beautiful new roller skates.
About a week later, Saint Peter stops by to see the cat and finds him snoozing on the pillow. Saint Peter gently wakes the cat and asks him, "How are things since you got here?" The cat stretches and yawns, then replies, "It is wonderful here. Better than I could have ever expected. And those 'Meals On Wheels' you've been sending by are the best!"
I really like these cookies and I made them yesterday for Captain Ken. I tasted one (actually I ate about four of them they were so delicious!) and they definitely pass the chewy cookie test. Yummy!
Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes about 36 cookies
1 1/2 cups finely ground oats or oat flour (just grind up your Jungle Oats in a coffee grinder kept for grinding nuts and flour)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup natural unsalted peanut butter
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup granulated cane juice (Sucanat) - sugar
2/3 cup Spectrum Spread - margarine
Preheat oven to 350°. In small bowl, stir together ground oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Use electric mixer to beat peanut butter and water together in large bowl until smooth. Add maple syrup and vanilla and beat until well blended. Add granulated cane juice and Spectrum and beat until incorporated.
Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until completely blended.
Drop dough by tablespoonfuls (or use a 1 1/4-inch diameter scoop) onto baking sheets lined with parchment (I just sprayed the sheets with Spray and Cook). Press a crisscross pattern onto the tops of cookies with the tines of a dinner fork (or not! I was in a rush so I just made scoops and then put them in the oven).
Bake until tops are lightly browned but cookies are still slightly soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on racks. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for several days. They also freeze well in bags.
Cheetahs bullish over chances
The Blue Bulls are good, even brilliant, but not invincible. This is the view from the Cheetahs camp, who will meet the Bulls in the Currie Cup final for a second successive year — at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.
Germans love Bafana's Zuma
South Africa striker Sibusiso Zuma has only been at German club Arminia Bielefeld for five months but he has become a home crowd favourite after scoring a wonder goal in Saturday's 3-0 win over Hertha Berlin.
SA's Koertzen not too keen on technology
Experienced South African umpire Rudi Koertzen voiced his opposition on Monday to expanding the use of video technology in cricket.
MTN unveils "Africa's biggest Football website"
MTN, a leading pan-African communications company has been heralding the development of sports, education in all the countries where it operates in Africa and has done it again. It has now unveiled a web site that covers African football, and aims to be the biggest of its kind for the African continent.
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