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| Contents |
Issue No. 351 -- 16 January 2006 |
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?
Recipes
Sports News
SA Motoring News Items
Vaaldam level
Credits and Contact Info
Subscribing and Unsubscribing
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Welcome to 2006! As most of you know (or hopefully remember!) at the end of November I decided that I could not continue with SAWmail due to work constraints. Theo Truter has stepped into the breach and taken up the challenge of continuing with SAWmail.
I wish him well and hope that all of you will support him and encourage him with feedback and articles.
I now have the grand title of Editor in Chief... and if you would like to write to me you can use this address: chief@saw.co.za. If you wish to write to Theo, use the usual SAWmail address: editor@saw.co.za
Maureen
Facing a new challenge by taking on the post as Editor is very exciting for me !
I hope to continue the excellent example set by Maureen but inevitably there could be suble little changes, which could give the newsletter some different flavour too !
Of course I'd welcome contributions from all South Africans in every country they find themselves in and look forward to your contacts.
Wishing all readers a Happy & Prosperous New Year from our beautiful sunny South Africa!
Theo
To be educated is not hard.It is a continuous process of hard work.
Treasure every moment. Remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.
That's why it's called the present.
To be successful in life, you need to be constantly flexble in your
strategies, but must remain consistent in your core values.
| Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week |
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Plastic bag curb cuts use by 50%
by Edwin Naidu January 15 2006
The government's initiative to reduce the number of plastic bags used in the country has been a success, according to Bill Naude, the executive director of the Plastics Federation of South Africa.
"The purpose was to decrease the number of bags and that has been very successful," Naude said.
He said that the plastic bag manufacturing industry, which had taken a huge knock resulting in the closure of businesses and the loss of more than 500 jobs, was slowly starting to recover.
"Volumes of plastic bags being produced are growing but they are nowhere near the levels at which we were before the laws came into effect," he said.
Once those jobs are lost they are seldom regained, even if the market picks up, as manufacturers invest in equipment more automated, but a small minority of workers have returned to the industry," he said.
The law banning the use of thin plastic shopping bags and the importation of thicker bags came into effect early last year.
Naude said the bag production industry was churning out only 42 percent of what it had before the regulations were enforced.
"The worrying thing is there appears to be a number of illegal bags which do not comply with the required thickness and do not meet the minimum standards," he said.
The illegal bags, Naude said, led one to assume that the distributors were not paying the levy due to the government. A levy of 2c on every bag goes to the national treasury.
Rantsadi Moatshe, a director in the department of environmental affairs, said surveys conducted by the department showed a 50 percent drop in the purchase of bags by consumers. "This implies that the regulations have been successful in reducing the number of plastic bags which originally could have reached consumers," he said.
This article was originally published on page 3 of Sunday Independent on January 15, 2006
Taung: from kitty-chow to bird food
January 14 2006 by Michael Schmidt
Shakespeare may have thought humanity the "paragon of animals", and we may imagine our cave-dwelling ancestors nobly wrestling sabre-toothed cats - but the ancestors of the human species were really just bird food.
At least that's according to new evidence detected by Wits University's Dr Lee Berger - a controversial young Turk of the "bone daddies" - regarding the oldest known child murder in the world, that of the "Taung Child", a southern African toddler of three whose life was cut short almost two million years ago.
In 1924, part of the ape-child's skull and jaw was blown loose in a dynamite explosion at the Buxton Limeworks near Taung in the North West - and handed over to young Wits anatomy professor Raymond Dart.
Think long and hard about why horror movies like Jaws terrify us so much
Dart's conclusion that he held in his hands the earliest example of the "missing link" between ape and man, an apelike creature that walked upright, radically shifted the presumed continent of human origin from Asia to Africa.
But for more than 80 years after their discovery, it remained a mystery how the child had been killed.
The shattered state of many other South African apeman fossils, like those found at Makapansgat, were initially thought by Dart - brutalised by his experiences of human slaughter as a medical orderly during the World War 1 - to have been a sign that these australopithecines were murderous by nature.
But the work of Bob Brain, of the Transvaal Museum, overturned Dart's killer ape-man theory - what Burger called "the Victorian theory of man the predator", showing that our early ancestors were more often the prey of big cats, like the leopard, or of extinct sabre-toothed killing machines, and scavenged by extinct giant hyaenas.
Brain's lurid and lifelike model at the Transvaal Museum of a leopard dragging the body of an apeman, whose head is clamped in its jaws, has inspired writers like Bruce Chatwin to think long and hard about why horror movies like Jaws terrify us so much: the idea of big teeth coming at us out of the darkness was presumed to invoke an ancestral memory of the terror of an ape-man sitting in the mouth of a cave, too scared to venture into the open veld, but too close to the
leopard hidden in the shadows of the cave.
Talon marks in the eye-sockets
It was an image of vulnerability that seizes the imagination. But this week, Berger overturned the convention that early hominins were kitty-chow, by suggesting it was more likely they were fed on by birds.
The Taung site had revealed several discarded meals, ranging from monkeys and baboons to tortoises. The skulls of the primates, in particular, showed the telltale talon-marks of having been killed by "aerial bombardment", a powerful blow to the back of the head which drove the rear talon of the African crowned hawk eagle deep into the brain, killing the primate instantly.
"It would then drop the kill, and fly off and wait. Why? Because primates were so dangerous; they have hands and an eagle can't afford to have its feathers pulled out. Then it would disembowel the primate, eat a little, chop off the arms and legs and take the carcass to its nest.
"These birds have a much greater killing capacity than previously thought, being able to kill prey up to a 30kg bushbuck. There has been a documented case of a child of 10 killed by an African crowned hawk eagle," Berger said.
So given the eagle-eaten remains it was found with, the Taung child seemed a likely victim, and that's what Berger and Dr Ron Clarke told a disbelieving world 10 years ago.
In 2002, the two had a public falling out: Clarke publicly claimed Berger's work on The Official Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind was full of errors. Berger responded that Clarke's comments were libellous.
Wits Vice-Chancellor Norma Reid Birley had to step in to persuade the two fossil-hunters to bury the hatchet, although Berger was soon back in the headlines claiming a radically different age to that commonly accepted for Clarke's "Little Foot" hominin find at Sterkfontein.
In the meantime, the Taung skull appeared to lack the talon marks indicative of an eagle's kill and the murder mystery remained inconclusive: "There was a tiny depressed area of bone [on the cranium], but it was not enough to convict a bird of prey in a court of law."
Then doctors Scott McGraw, Catherine Cook and Suzanne Schultz of Ohio State University published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology "the definitive paper" on the damage African crowned hawk eagles inflicted on their prey.
Asked to review the paper, Berger excitedly scanned the Taung skull for damage similar to that shown in the paper to have been inflicted on monkey and baboon skulls.
And there they were: talon marks in the eye-sockets and signs that a beak had torn open the base of one socket to get to the brain.
Given that the Taung Child is "the most observed, the most photographed, most documented early hominin skull", it is astounding that such damage went unnoticed for more than 80 years.
Berger's discovery is due to be published in the February edition of the American Journal. It is well-timed because Wits is about to host an international conference on Taung. But what does raising all this dust among old bones mean?
Firstly, it means that perhaps Berger has finally proven that it was the life-or-death need to defend themselves from aerial attack that kickstarted the dramatic evolutionary changes in our ape-man ancestors' brain-size and social skills - finally pushing them over the threshold towards humanity.
Secondly, it means our ancestral memory of the terrors of the open veld match those of the dark cave. As Berger put it: "When the shadow of an airplane passes over you and you feel oops! and look up, that's the little Taung child in you talking."
This article was originally published on page 6 of Saturday Star on January 14, 2006
Hopes high for tax cuts this year
January 15 2006 by Edwin Naidu and Renée Bonorchis
A windfall for the government from booming corporate tax earnings and a healthy economy point to a significant payback in the form of tax cuts in next month's budget, economists predict.
Some estimates put the government's expected revenue overrun as high as R60-billion, but most predictions are in the range of a R20-billion to R30-billion surplus on last year's R369-billion, leaving room for an expansionary budget that would buoy consumption expenditure and manufacturing.
Tax cuts for individuals are considered likely and there could also be relief on the company tax front.
A significant surplus would also mean further improvements in social spending to ease the plight of the poor.
The surplus means that millions of South Africans, especially the poor and middle class, could be in for a tax bonanza when Trevor Manuel, the minister of finance, unveils what many economists predict will be another "good news" budget next month.
Azzar Jammine, the senior economist at Econometrix, said the government could afford to reduces taxes because of the buoyant economy, especially in the motor, construction, retail and service industries.
"There is enormous scope for tax relief for consumers," he said.
Jammine added that South Africans could benefit from tax cuts because the government's revenue was up 20,5 percent for the first eight months of the financial year while its expenditure was up by about 11 percent.
"Inflation would not be affected by providing tax cuts to the poor and middle-income groups. Especially pensioners, who get what is considered a household grant, could score," said Goolam Ballim, a senior economist at Standard Bank.
Ballim said President Thabo Mbeki's state-of-the-nation address on February 6 was likely to unveil details of the government's R320-billion Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative infrastructure investment plans to boost growth and bolster the economy, as well as give an indication of what is in the budget.
"Consumers' balance sheets are still strong because of the healthy economy but it could be even better with a modest decline in interest rates," he said.
Ballim said government investment in infrastructure refurbishment and new projects would provide fertile grounds for growth.
Provincial and national government departments have got the go-ahead to begin construction on specific projects in urban and rural development nodes throughout the country, a move that will give the construction industry a multibillion-rand boost and lead to the creation of thousands of jobs.
Tito Mboweni, the governor of the Reserve Bank, and his monetary policy committee are expected to make an announcement on the interest rate - the lowest in 30 years - on February 1.
Ballim warned that the fluctuation in oil price, volatility in the American housing market and events in Asia were some of the factors that could have a negative effect on the economy.
The strong rand hit an eight-month high of R 5,98 to the dollar on Thursday after an announcement that the British Vodafone Group had received approval for a R16-billion plan to raise its stake in Vodacom, the cellular operator.
Along with the R33-billion Barclays purchase of a stake in Absa, this was the second biggest foreign direct investment since 1994.
Inflation data for the past two months has been surprisingly low because the effect of a sharp rise in petrol prices earlier this year had been less than expected. The petrol price, which had been dropping over the past months, dropped by another 6c/litre recently.
Johan Rossouw, the chief economist at Vector Securities, said total government revenue would come in at R401-billion - R32-billion ahead of last year's R369-billion.
At most, said Rossouw, the fiscus might take in R15 billion to R20-billion more than his forecast, which would suggest an outside chance of the tax excess coming in at about R50-billion more than last year's figure.
Michael Keenan, a market analyst at Econometrix Treasury Management, thought the R60-billion figure might be too optimistic, but did say that revenues could be expected to overshoot targets.
"Consumers who are 'in the know' will probably be expecting an expansionary budget," Keenan said.
This article was originally published on page 1 of Sunday Independent on January 15, 2006
Game without frontiers
by Caroline Hurry January 14 2006
Botswana has waged war on poaching and taken the high quality/low tourism option thus ensuring that the country's game viewing facilities rank among the finest in the world. Caroline Hurry got up close, but not too personal, with the wildlife at Lebala and Xakanaxa lodges.
The elephant was so near we could feel a breeze as his ears flapped gently to and fro.
A cooling mechanism, explained our guide Spencer Mathambo, as four more emerged trunk to tail like scarves from a magician's waistcoat. We were tucking into coffee and rusks next to a huge termite mound overlooking an unfenced paradise of giant umbrellas thorns, 400-year-old Ilala palms, savannah and floodplains.
With their labyrinth, air-conditioned interiors, the organisation of termite mounds are far more efficient than any of our municipal councils, which should come as no surprise to anyone.
The lion's bloodringed muzzle lent him the appearance of a drag queen
More alarming, by far, was the elephant's steady approach.
"Just stay calm and don't move," warned Spencer, as the pachyderm ambled even closer.
I figured a shot of caffeine might help me out-run the others but my slurp stopped Jumbo in his tracks.
He trumpeted his disapproval and we eyeballed each other for a long minute before he lumbered off in the opposite direction.
The previous day, we'd come across a lion chewing on the head of a dead elephant. Above him lappet-faced vultures perched on trees like paparazzi at a gangster's funeral.
Lugubrious in their black-winged suits, Marabou storks resembled undertakers as dark clouds double-parked across the horizon like limousines.
The lion raised his tawny head and stared at us enquiringly. His blood-ringed muzzle lent him the appearance of a drag queen that had been too heavy-handed with the lipstick, but it would take a braver person than me to laugh in a feline predator's face.
According to Spencer, lion's only enemy in Botswana, apart from man, of course, is crocodile.
While lions go to great lengths to avoid getting wet, they occasionally chase lechwe - an aquatic buck found only in Botswana - into the swamps or have to swim across flooded pools where the prehistoric reptiles lurk in the reeds or on the muddy banks.
Further along, a journey of giraffe nibbled gracefully from the treetops. Spencer told us that before mating, each female is obliged to give the male a urine sample.
From tasting, the male can tell whether his love interest is already pregnant, in which case he lopes swiftly along to the next conquest.
If the urine is to his liking, however, he will court the female, by bumping her gently.
Near the giraffe, wildebeest babies pranced about under the watchful eye of their mums - just another day at Lebala, a Kwando Safari flagship camp set within a peninsula of land jutting into the Linyanti marshes.
The surrounding wetlands and flood plains offer sightings of elephant, hippo, lechwe, zebra, giraffe, impala, wildebeest, kudu, tsessebe, roan, sable, buffalo, wild dog, lion, cheetah and hyena.
We were welcomed to Lebala by the gracious Lebo Dikgole, who showed us to our tent.
Did I say tent? A sultan's seraglio would be a more accurate description. Built on a raised teak deck offering expansive views over the plains, it had an entrance area complete with writing desk, a bedroom, spacious bathroom with two washbasins, a Victorian claw foot bathtub and a reed-enclosed outdoor shower.
During the midday heat, I stood under the cascading water and watched a martial eagle describe leisurely figures of eight high above the plain. In the distance, scrawled lead-coloured lines of wildebeest kicked up plumes of dust.
Come late afternoon, we set off on another game drive with the smell of warm earth and wild sage in the air. Surrounded by clouds, the setting sun resembled the yolk of a fried egg.
The path was crisscrossed with animal tracks, which Spencer would examine with all the zeal of a forensic detective at a murder scene. Petalled paw prints meant lion had passed by. Elephants left corrugated egg-shaped tracks.
That night I looked up into the star-studded sky, with the Southern Cross hanging over endless airy reaches towards the distant Cape. Endlessness is one of Botswana's trademarks.
Night-time sightings of mammals are a highlight at Lebala and we saw plenty of genets, African wild cats and jackals, but most exciting of all was getting up close and personal with one ton of pure testosterone in the form of a grazing hippo.
He stared balefully at us, his jaws moving rhythmically to reveal fearsome teeth as he cropped the grasses with his leathery lips.
We were so close we could see deep scratches on his body that bore testimony to a recent skirmish. Hippo males are territorial, defending a stretch of river a few 100 metres and exerting mating rights over the females for up to eight years.
This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on January 14, 2006
Sow your wild oats in Knysna
January 14 2006
The first Gastronomica food festival was hosted by Knsyna four months ago, and a wine club is planned by Mackintosh's Country Food owners. The deli has a café and serves great lunches.
People are recognising that besides oysters, there are also excellent cheesemakers, as seen at the Wild Oats Community Farmers' market on Saturdays.
An obvious reason for the interest is the surge of new homeowners - about 500 - who have bought on Thesen Islands. Many of them understand "Slow Food". That is probably why there are queues outside Ile de Pain - a great café and bakery.
Two new restaurants on Thesen Island, Lush and Sirocco, could easily be located in Gauteng or Cape Town. Sophisticated with baroque-type décor, Lush opened a month ago and is booked out most nights.
Everyone is talking about Firefly, which occupies a portion of an antique shop overlooking the lagoon. The ingredients which make a successful restaurant are apparent - consistently good food, unusual ambience, cool music and attentive service.
Curries from all over the world are served.
An excellent sundowners spot is Cruise Café, located on the harbour. This is where one can take a trip to the Featherbed reserve. The deck serves sunset cocktails.
Zachary's is the posh restaurant at Pezula - one of the two exceptional golf estates (the other is Simola). The décor is minimalist and the food has been described as contemporary African. The views from the restaurant are breathtaking.
Phone Knysna Tourism on 044-382-6960 for more information.
This article was originally published on page 13 of Saturday Star on January 14, 2006
Back to nature on Delheim wine estate
January 13 2006 by Tony Lourens
They say that first impressions count for a lot; well, in this instance, a truer word could not have been uttered.
I was asked by the Delheim wine estate near Stellenbosch if I wished to check out what they have been doing in terms of biodiversity and opening up their land to the public in the form of hiking and mountainbike trails. My partner and I took up the offer and found a setting that is nothing short of paradise.
We entered the estate via an arched entrance which housed a quaint, well-stocked curio shop and made our way into the lush gardens where we were met by the owner, Michael "Spatz" Sperling.
We made our way into the lush gardens
We were quickly enraptured by this intriguing Pole who emigrated to South Africa from Germany in 1951 to begin a long and fruitful relationship with the wine culture. His humour is highly infectious and soon we were chatting like old friends.
At lunch we were joined by his daughter, Nora, who runs the marketing side of the business, and Murant, who runs the Dirtopia Trail Centre on the nearby Delvera Estate, which is part of the Delheim empire.
It was immediately evident that Murant was passionate about the land and told us all about the Biodiversity in Wine Initiative (BWI). In 2004, Spatz Sperling collaborated with local farmers and founded the 54-hectare Klapmutskop Conservancy in order to help protect the environment.
Together with CapeNature and the Department of Agriculture, the land-owners elected to rid the area of alien vegetation. And this was very evident when we took a drive through the land after lunch.
Later we were joined by the lady of the manor, Vera Sperling, and we were further entertained by stories of early beginnings and rich experiences.
We were joined by the lady of the manor
After a sumptuous lunch and a tad too much of the collectable Delheim wine enjoyed under cool trees among the resident ducks, it was difficult to drag ourselves away from the warm company that rounds off the character of this spectacular wine estate.
Murant took us on a brief tour of the land to show us the work that had been done to eradicate the alien vegetation.
He then invited us on a Moonlight Trail which takes place once a month at full moon (the next one is on January 18). The trail leads through a yellowwood forest to a spectacular viewing point on a rocky summit.
The eradication of the aliens is an ongoing project and as Spatz Sperling says: "We've been working on this land for many years and we know how important it is to put back what you take out. We owe it to the land and to the wine industry to cherish our environment and that is why, at Delheim, we work hard to maintain the highest standards of biodiversity management in the South African wine industry."
The Delheim Estate has a great deal to offer tourists and locals alike, from wine tastings and beautiful relaxing lunches in a garden setting to hiking trails that include the very popular Fullmoon Trail - and mountain bike trails.
For more information on the outdoor activities phone Dirtopia on 021 884 4752.
Daily wine tasting and sales on weekdays (9am-5pm) and between 10am and 4pm on Saturdays.
Cellar tours take place twice daily on weekdays (10.30am and 2.30pm) and once on Saturday (10.30am).
The Delheim Garden Restaurant is open every day (seven days a week) for lunch between September and April and every day except Sunday between May and August. Phone Delheim Garden Restaurant on 021 888 4607.
General enquiries: 021-888-4600. www.delheim.com or email: delheim@delheim.com
This article was originally published on page 16 of Cape Times on January 13, 2006
When Goodbye Is a Gift
For those left behind, the last words of loved ones can offer comfort, insight into death, and lessons about living.
By Joan Halifax Roshi
With his life ebbing, two miles beneath the earth's surface, Martin Toler, Jr. took what precious little energy he had to scribble a note to his loved ones. Toler, who died in the Sago Mine incident last week, turned his finals thoughts to those closest to him: "Tell all - I [will] see them on the other side..." "It wasn't bad, I just went to sleep." And at the bottom: "I love you." In reaching out to his family through the darkness, Mr. Toler also touched many of us.
I have often sat by the bedside of dying people with their relatives close, waiting for those "last words." The threshold between life and death imparts poignancy to the utterances of the dying. Some believe the veil between this world and the next is thinnest at this time, that we can somehow penetrate the mystery of death through their experience. Perhaps those closest to death can tell us what we long to know: What is this mystery we call death? And, knowing that death is inevitable, what do they treasure most? Mr. Toler answers with words of reassurance and compassion: His dying was as gentle as falling to sleep, and, he told his loved ones, his connection to them will transcend this world. His note is a gift to all of us. His simple message seems to honor the best in our human connectedness, suggesting that it is the relationships in our lives that are most precious and holy.
Last words can also raise profound questions for the living, and propel us on a search for our own answers. The writer Elizabeth Barrett Browning uttered the word: "Beautiful," as she was dying. We ask ourselves, Can death be beautiful? Charles Darwin exclaimed, "I am not the least afraid to die," and we wonder, Am I afraid to die? The last words Thomas Edison uttered were, "It is very beautiful over there." Where is this 'over there'? Will I get there? Who will be there? The last words of Jesus, from Luke 23:46, were "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." To what will I commend my spirit?
All of these last words are teachings--not only about death, but about how we live. Ultimately they help us understand the truth of impermanence, the fragility of all that we love, and can be a wondrous admonition to appreciate the life before us right now. Some believe we will meet each other on the "other side." Yet in this hope, we may ask ourselves: Can we meet each other now? Gautama Buddha said, "the whole of the holy life is good friends." He too seemed to believe that relationships are what give depth and meaning to our lives.
"I love you," said Mr. Toler. "Beautiful," said Elizabeth Barrett Browning. We cannot know death except by dying: This mystery lies underneath the skin of life. But we can learn something from those who are closest to death's door.
With acknowledgement to www.beliefnet.com
52 Stories - Just an Old Golden Retriever
I grew up in your average middle-class Jewish home where pets were not available. I never had a pet. There was a lot of plastic on the furniture. Basically, pets were considered dirty, unwanted things. Animals were not part of my experience, so I had not conscience about them.
I got married in 1968, and in 1970 I had a baby. When he was 18 months old, we were living in a bungalow colony in upstate New York while waiting for our home to be built. An elderly woman and her old Golden Retriever lived next door. I used to see them together when the woman was outside gardening. My son liked the dog, and she was a friendly animal, but that was all as far as I was concerned.
When the woman died, her relatives came up, and they emptied her house of her treasures, her clothing, anything they thought of value. They contacted a real estate agent who put out a " For Sale" sign on her property. Then they locked the dog out and drove away.
Because I’d grown up with no conscience about animals, it didn’t even cross my mind to say, "Wait a minute! Someone should be taking care of this dog" or "who is going to be responsible for her?" It just didn’t. I was not responsible for the dog.
Some of the neighbors mentioned that they’d feed her occasionally, but the dog mostly stayed near the house where she’d lived, where her owner had died. When the dog would come over to play with my son, Adam, he would feed her cookies; once in a while I would give her some leftovers.
One afternoon I went to get Adam, who’d been outside playing in our yard - a safe, level grassy area - and he was gone. Just gone. I was frantic. I looked for him, and then neighbors helped me look for him. We called the police. For three hours the police looked for him, then they called the state police.
The state police brought in helicopters. My husband rushed home form the city. I was hysterical. We could not find Adam. We didn’t know if he’d been abducted. We didn’t know if he were alive. We could not find him. The search had been going on for six hours when a neighbor, who’d just returned home, said,
"Where’s Brandy?"
Brandy? The dog? Why was he asking about the dog? Someone else said,
"Maybe he’s with Adam."
What did I know about animals? I said, "Why would she be with Adam? What does that mean?"
One of the troopers recalled that he’d heard a dog barking deep in the woods when they were doing the foot search. And suddenly everybody started to yell "Brandy!" including me.
We heard faint barking and followed the sound.
We found my 18-month-old son, standing up, fast asleep, pressed against the trunk of a tree. Brandy was holding him there with one shoulder. One of her legs was hanging over a 35-foot drop to a stream below.
Brandy must have followed Adam when he wandered off, just as a dog will with a child, and she saw danger. She was a better mother than I; she’d pushed him out of harm’s way – and held him there. This was an old dog. Adam was an 18-month-old child. He struggled, I’m sure, but she’d held him there for al those hours. When I picked him up, she collapsed.
As the trooper carried my son back home, I, sobbing with relief, carried Brandy. I knew in that instant that she was coming home with me, too. Brandy spent the rest of her life with us, and I loved her completely; she lived to be 17 years old.
From then on, I made it a point to learn everything I could about animals. My focus at the time was old golden retrievers. Obviously, I thought they were the smartest, the best, and there was nothing like them. I started the first golden retriever rescue and have had as many as 35 of them in the house at a time, and it mushroomed from there.
Because of Brandy, I have a calling. I have a reason to get up in the morning. Because of Brandy, thousands of unwanted animals have been given safe lives.
I can’t save them all, but I can make a difference.
We now have 300 animals. All kinds, including birds and pot-bellied pigs and are a well-recognized humane animal sanctuary. We take the animals that other shelters won’t take. The ones my mother would have said were dirty; the old ones who are incontinent, the blind, the ugly ones; they’re all beautiful to me.
So many organizations feel it’s easier to euthanize these animals. I don’t agree. How could I? If someone had put an abandoned 11-year-old golden retriever to sleep 29 years ago, I would not have a child. I wouldn’t have a son who is the light of my life.
The author is Sara Whalen © 2003 who established the animal shelter "Pets Alive" Middletown, New York. For her website, please click http://www.petsalive.com where her animal friends can be visited and donations can be made.
Nothing to hand this week
I was wondering if you know of anyone who could answer the following question, perhaps even some of the readers out there?
Does anyone know whether there is any follow up on owners of firearms who do not renew their licences? I was told that if a firearm is no longer usable, there is no need to renew or even surrender this firearm. So are there any negative and/or legal repercussions for not having notified the authorities of this situation?
Thanks in advance.
Glenda
This reply from Alana at CFI:
Dear Glenda
Happy 2006! Thank you for the question sent to Maureen. Apparently there will be a follow up on licences which are not renewed. For people born between 1 January and 31 March, this will be possible after 31 March 2006, for people with birthdays after 31 March, at a later stage. Even if a firearm has become "useless", the onus still rests on the owner to prove this to the police and have the licence retracted. You can do this at your nearest police station, or contact the National Firearms Call Centre (012-353-6111) or http://www.saps.gov.za/crime_prevention/firearms.htm for help. My father was in a similar position with his rifle and a firearm-dealer helped him to have the licence retracted.
Hope this helps!
Kind regards
Alana
Hi there,
I wonder if you could help me? I'm trying to locate my brother whom I last saw 11 years ago.
His name is Jeffrey Terrance Pitzer and he would be 45 now.
Please could you help?
Kind Regards
Debbie Jacobs
Debbie Jacobs
KZN - North
Tel: 035 7922234
Fax: 035 7922234
Cell: 0721209236
Email: debbie@dcs-sa.co.za
Ostrich Delight
1 pre-made roll of non-sweetened pastry, frozen
1 ostrich fillet and/or ostrich cubes
raw mushrooms, cut up
raw onions, sliced
salt and pepper
Garlic to taste
Method
Thaw pastry and meat completely. Pre-heat oven to 180° C[ or 350° F.] Roll out pastry & put the thawed meat and other ingredients inside. Roll it up and seal the ends with a bit of water. Oil a flat cookie sheet or baking dish. Put the roll in/on it. Cook for approximately 40 minutes. Serves 6 if divided nicely.
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New heart-healthy cookbook
Have you been diagnosed with high cholesterol?
Then, chances are that you've been wondering what you must eat to lower your cholesterol levels, and how on earth you'll ever be able to eat tasty meals again.
But a diagnosis of raised blood cholesterol levels isn't a life sentence.
The new heart-healthy cookbook 'Fresh & Healthy. Step-by-Step to Life' by the award-winning food writer, author and editor, Annette Kesler, will show you how you can continue to eat delicious, mouth-watering recipes - despite cholesterol problems.
Fresh & healthy
This cookbook, which has been published in co-operation with the Heart Foundation of South Africa, is a delight. Imagine being able to select a tempting recipe for Chicken & Sweet Potato Casserole followed by Summer Strawberries with Banana Fool for your dinner. This is a far cry from the dreary menus heart patients envisage.
Refreshing recipes
The 'Fresh & Healthy' cookbook is divided into seven menu categories covering most types of food and meals, namely:
The Essence of a Salad - featuring mouth-watering salads
Soups from the Market Garden - soups that will make you a convert for life
The Lure of Vegetables - never again will vegetables be regarded as boring
Serious Mains - meat dishes that tempt the palate
From the Sea to the Plate - ideas on how to make fish an integral part of your diet
Ample Pasta - pasta dishes to dream about
A Touch of Sweetness - delights to satisfy the sweet tooth.
Handy hints
The recipe section of 'Fresh & Healthy' features a number of excellent hints and information to help you make the most of your heart diet. Each one of the above-mentioned menu categories has an introduction describing its role in healthy eating.
Another section is devoted to 'Choice Ingredients', which will point you in the right direction when selecting salad or fish or pasta ingredients. Then there is the 'Vital Equipment' section, which explains what kitchen equipment you need to make these tempting recipes (e.g. the type of pots you need for cooking meat or pasta, equipment for preparing crisp salads etc.).
Annette Kesler also has a section on 'Vital Hints' to help you make the most of each food category. Finally, there is the 'Quick Changes' section which details how you can ring the changes and will inspire the reader to become more adventurous when making the basic recipes.
In fact, I found 'Fresh & Healthy' so intriguing that I sat down and read it like a story book.
Heart Foundation contribution
In addition to the stunning recipes enlivened by full-colour photographs and Annette's Handy Hints, this cookbook also contains contributions provided by the Heart Foundation of SA.
Highlights such as 'Notes on antioxidants' or 'Nutritional needs' are found at the start of each recipe section. These highlights are easy to identify because they feature the Heart Mark to alert you that there is some interesting and important information listed.
The Heart Foundation has also contributed particularly well-written pieces on topics every heart patient should know. These include:
Fibre & Your Health
Good Stress & Bad Stress
Exercise for a Healthy Heart
Cholesterol
Blood Pressure
Heart Attacks
Diabetes
Women & Heart Health
Facts about Fats
Healthy Habits from Young
Alcohol & Your Heart
Obesity & Heart Health
Smoking & Your Heart
Frequently Asked Questions
Thanks to these contributions, 'Fresh & Healthy' is much more than just a delightful cookbook. It is also a quick reference guide to all aspects that affect people with raised blood fats or heart disease.
All the questions you have ever wondered about in connection with heart health are explained in simple, easy-to-understand language. You need never wonder what to do about a heart attack or which fats to use to obtain the best possible nutrition for the heart.
Nutritional analysis per portion
Finally, the Heart Foundation has analysed the recipes and provided a heart-friendly nutritional analysis for each recipe.
The energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate and dietary fibre contents of a portion of each recipe are summarised in a neat box so that you can check exactly what you are eating.
This is a particularly valuable contribution because it means that you can easily calculate how much total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol you have eaten on any given day.
Get a copy of 'Fresh & Healthy. Step-by-Step to Life' by Annette Kesler from one of the leading bookstores countrywide. This cookbook is also for sale in some pharmacies and health shops. It is published by Lannice Snyman and retails at R162.50. - (Dr Ingrid van Heerden, DietDoc)
Cricket - SA humble Australia's top order
Brisbane, Australia 15 January 2006
South Africa's injury-weakened bowling attack humbled the much-vaunted Australian top order on Sunday, leaving the world champions struggling to reach a modest total of 228 in their tri-series one-day international at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.
Only a determined seventh wicket stand of 123 between Michael Hussey and Brett Lee saved the host nation from humiliation and allowed them to post a competitive score.
In a contest billed as the battle of the world's two best one-day teams, the Proteas proved the series was likely to be anything but one-sided, with veteran Shaun Pollock claiming the first three wickets to finish with 3-30 off 10 overs.
Allrounder Andrew Hall also chipped in with 3-43 off 9,5 overs while newcomers Garnett Kruger and Monde Zondeki claimed one wicket apiece. The remaining Australian wickets were run-outs, the last falling with one ball still to bowl.
Coming into the match without injured strike bowlers Andre Nel, Charl Langeveldt and Makhaya Ntini, the South Africans took it to the Australians from the first ball and didn't let up.
When Lee came to the crease to join Hussey in their rearguard action the hosts were reeling at 71-6 off 18 overs.
It was a far cry from Australia's first match in the series when they trounced Sri Lanka in Melbourne on Friday.
Pollock set the tone from the opening delivery, with Adam Gilchrist, who has been struggling to sustain the form that made him one of the world's most feared one-day batsmen, dragging the ball onto his stumps.
It signalled the start of a top-order rout for the Australians, and in the third over Pollock struck again.
This time, Gilchrist's opening partner Simon Katich edged an outswinger to South African captain Graeme Smith in the slips to leave Australia gasping at 4-2.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting and then in-form Damien Martyn came to the crease and provided a brief respite, taking their side to 29 before Martyn became Pollock's third victim of the day, bowled while trying to come down the wicket for 12.
The prized wicket of Ponting brought plenty of joy for Zondeki who took a good catch off his own bowling to dismiss Australia's best batsman for 33.
Andrew Symonds, man of the match on Friday, could offer his team little support this time, caught behind off Hall for just nine. The same fate awaited Michael Clarke, who fell just seven runs later for eight.
Hussey and Lee then came to Australia's rescue with the partnership finally ending after Hussey, who appeared to be suffering from the heat stress, bowled by Kruger for 73 off 108 balls.
Lee went on to make an impressive 57 off 69 balls but was eventually run out by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher. - Sapa-AFP
Soccer - SA overcome Egypt 2-1 in African Cup warm-up
Cairo, Egypt 15 January 2006
Benni McCarthy scored the winning goal in the 45th minute on Saturday, and South Africa beat Egypt 2-1 in an African Cup of Nations warm-up match.
The visiting South Africans took the lead in the 13th minute when Egypt's Amr Zeki scored an own-goal. Zeki equalised in the 21st by converting a penalty.
The African Cup starts Friday in Egypt. The final is scheduled for February 10.
With acknowledgement to Mail & Guardian Online
| SA Motoring News Items |
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Tata making inroads
Indian vehicle manufacturer Tata, having quickly established itself as a leading player in the South African bus and truck market, is starting to make inroads into the car market.
Tata’s distributor Accordian Investments launched its Indica and Indigo passenger vehicles in December 2004.
In January 2004 it sold 255 Indica and Indigo vehicles. This doubled to 463 vehicles by April and rose to 813 in September.
Accordian’s share of the passenger vehicle market is just short of 2%, but chief operating officer Phonie Cillier says Tata is aiming to get a 10% share of the hatchback market.
“We decided to have dealerships in all the main areas in South Africa and so we rolled out 45 dealerships this last year. We have also set up a huge spare parts warehouse here in South Africa and have sent our technicians overseas for training,” says Cillier.
He says the company aims to sell 18 000 light commercial and passenger vehicles a year by the end of 2007.
“Our value proposition is our advantage,” he says. “We have not brought in cheap cars, but rather cars that offer the consumer value for money.”
The Indica retails from R69 995 and the Indigo from R92 995, which makes them affordable compared to most models, but it is features such as power steering, electric windows, central locking, air conditioning and remote-controlled side mirrors which Tata says distinguishes it from its competitors.
Econometrix consultant Frank Beeton says Tata has done very well to establish itself and that consumers who think laterally are choosing an Indica or Indigo over older designs such as the Volkswagen Golf or Toyota Tazz as an entry-level car.
Tata will add to its range of passenger vehicles in the next few weeks with the launch of diesel versions of the Indica and Indigo Estate.
Tata has been selling its range of medium, heavy and extra-heavy vehicles in South Africa, through distributor Tata Automobile Corporation of South Africa since 1999.
Industry figures released this week for December show Tata has established itself as the number one retailer in the country in these categories.
Tata showed a 375% sales increase on 2004 in trucks with semi-forward cabins, an 84% increase in trucks with full-forward cabins and a 52% increase in bus sales. It holds 19% of the medium commercial vehicle market, a 14% share of the bus market and a 10% share in the heavy commercial vehicle market.
Beeton says Tata appears to have established itself as a senior player in the truck market without stealing sales from established manufacturers but rather creating its own market.
“They are very serious players,” says Beeton. “People laughed at them when they entered the market, which was a mistake, and now they are going to have to be taken seriously.”
Fellow Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra has also entered the market, launching its high performance bakkie the Bolero and its 4x4, the Scorpio, in October 2004.
The National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa’s figures show Mahindra sold 945 vehicles between August and December 2005. Sales information from before August was not available.
Black middle class boosts car sales in South Africa
Jerome Cartillier 15 January 2006
Sales of new cars in South Africa have reached all-time highs, boosted by an emerging black middle class, once under apartheid's thumb and now playing an increasingly important role in the economy.
The National Automobile Association of South Africa (Naamsa) -- which represents all major motor manufacturers -- announced this week that car sales figures for the first time shot past the half-a-million-mark in 2005.
The industry sold 565 018 new units last year, up 25,7% from the previous year, with a quarter more South Africans fleshing out money for new private cars last year compared to 2004.
Nico Vermeulen, Naamsa's director attributes the surge in sales to a boom in the country's economy, which grew at an estimated five percent last year, low interest rates and the emergence of the new black middle class -- or "buppies" as they are known in South Africa.
"The black middle class is playing a more and more important role in the demand [for new vehicles]," said Vermeulen.
"A third of total sales are today from consumers in the black community," he added.
Even though economists argue over the exact definition of the black middle class and therefore its exact size, they all acknowledge its growing importance.
"The picture is clearly emerging of a fairly rapidly growing black middle class," said Servaas van der Berg, professor of economics at Stellenbosch University near Cape Town.
The new black middle class, said economists, have a tendency to concentrate their incomes on buying durable consumers' goods such as cars or real estate, rather than contribute to sectors such as tourism.
"The reason for that seems to be that they still have an asset deficit which resulted from apartheid times," said Van den Berg.
Analysts warn however against drawing hasty conclusions in a country in which, 12 years after its first democratic elections, wealth still remains concentrated mainly in white hands.
In a study made public in August, the Centre for Development and Enterprises (CDE) said the African middle class "is much smaller than is popularly believed, but is growing very rapidly".
"In South Africa, there is pressure, for nation-building purposes, to be optimistic about the redistribution of wealth and opportunity, and to talk up the country's recent economic progress," the CDE said.
Roger Southall, researcher at the Pretoria-based Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), also warned that the rise of the black middle class was largley linked to high levels of debt.
"New black middle classes are often first generation at that level," he said.
"Hence, to finance houses, cars, household consumer goods and school fees they have a lot of spending to do -- in contrast the white middle classes who as a whole tend to be better established.
"Any downturn in the economy or rise in interest rates is therefore likely to render the black middle class rather more vulnerable than their white counterparts," he said.
Apart from the group of upcoming Africans, dubbed the "Blackoisie", the challenge remained to uplift the majority of blacks, still mired in poverty mainly as a legacy of apartheid.
Said Van der Berg: "The middle class is opening up and being deracialised but the poverty is not being deracialised." - AFP
I'm sure anyone would be pleased to know that South Africa's main water supply, the Vaaldam ,has increased it's water capacity from 34% on 9 th January 2006 to 69 % on 15th January 2006.
This follows the copious recent rains with daily thunderstorms continuing , so more water inflow could be expected.
At Standerton , the Grootdraai Dam is 101% full & it's overflow of course runs down the Vaal River into the Vaaldam downstream.
Vaal Dam - capacity 2603 million cubic meters. The dam has 60 crest gates and a flood storage capacity of 25% above the 100% full supply level. Highest peak inflow of 4800cumec experienced during February 1996. [ 17 Crest gates were opened then ]
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