South Africans Worldwide Newsletter

On promoting arts & crafts:-

We’ve found that people respond very well to doing arts and crafts, especially when recovering from various ailments or injuries. That continues to provide my wife and I with the required impetus to continue supporting the arts and crafts movement.

In the Vaal River Basin area our "baby" has been the Vaal Meander arts and crafts route. It was amazing to discover how many artists were operating as 'unknown's' in our area and now they’re mostly being publicized on the Vaal Meander.

See it all by visiting their URL and others in the Hobbies and Interests section below.

Others have also "seen the light", and so with encouragement from the SA Government departments of tourism and development, a search on Google will reveal no less than 5680 items relating to arts & crafts routes in South Africa! It certainly has grown tremendously over the past few years.

Have a good week.

Theo

Letters to the Editor TOP

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thanks SAWmail for keeping us in touch with home and South Africans worldwide.

I have been doing a clean up recently and came across a very old share certificate belonging to my family and given to me. If anyone has any information on BANTJES DEEP LIMITED shares (purchased in 1904) I would be most grateful.

My contact address is beverley.legrand@gmail.com

With thanks,

Bev Legrand

Quote/s of the Week TOP

When you drink the water, remember the spring. - Chinese Proverb

To win without risk is to triumph without glory. - Pierre Corneille

Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes. - Confucius

Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you. - Henri-Frédéric Amiel

We are all here for a spell; get all the good laughs you can. - Will Rogers

Life Recipes TOP

We Reap what We Sow

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart:

I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is, either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

~ The Author is Ben Stein and he wrote this for a CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly. ~

Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week TOP

Coup crackdown a show of force

The arrest last week of South African and other security operatives in Kinshasa has less to do with an attempted coup — as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) officials allege — than the operatives’ remote link to veteran opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi, say Western diplomats in the Congolese capital. They put the furore down to muscle flexing by interim president Joseph Kabila ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in the DRC on July 30.

Read more here... http://www.mg.co.za

SA heading down Zim road, warns Cosatu

The government is heading towards a dictatorship and could be on an identical road to that of Zimbabwe, says the Congress of South African Trade Unions in a hard-hitting attack on its alliance partner. Cosatu said, as well, that the African National Congress government had developed an "alarming culture" that was ignoring its internal democratic processes. This is the strongest language yet used by Cosatu to take its ANC partner to task. The statement comes in the wake of a Cosatu central executive committee meeting (CEC) that ended on Wednesday.

Read more here... http://www.mweb.co.za/news

Re-think Rural Development Policies

Bill Rawson pleads for "selected" residential development in agricultural areas, which he believes could contribute greatly to the survival of intensive agriculture in the Western Cape.

Bill Rawson, Chairman of Rawson Properties, has drawn attention to what he regards as "statements of fundamental importance" made by Jan Hofmeyr, the Manager of Rawson Properties Cape Agricultural Division - and Rawson has said that it would be in the interests of every rural municipality to assimilate and act on these statements.

Read more here... http://www.property24.com

Building Plans passed - up 31.3%

The value of recorded building plans passed by larger municipalities (at current prices) during the first three months of 2006 increased by 31.3% compared with the first three months of 2005, Stats SA said on Wednesday. Large increases were reported for residential buildings (34.7%), non-residential buildings (34.1%) and additions and alterations (22,7%).

Read more here... http://www.property24.com

Commission banging wrong drum

So the Competitions Commission has come to the conclusion that SA car prices are too high. Hallelujah!

The commission has also decided the reason is because the government is charging too much in import duties. Hallelujah! Anybody who reads Wheels24 regularly will know we came to that conclusion a long, long time ago. The difference was that we didn't waste stacks of government money to find out. A little bit of on-line research and background knowledge of the workings of the motor industry in SA was all it took. What I want to know is why is the Competitions Commission involving itself in this thing at all?

Read more here... http://www.wheels24.co.za

Caravan trapped at 138km/h

Henk Barnard refuses to pay any fine until the Bronkhorstspruit traffic police can prove exactly how his caravan could - all on its own - charge through a speed trap at 138km/h.

Barnard, 40, a mining shift boss in Secunda, Mpumalanga, also refuses to "make contact with the department in any manner whatsoever" until they have apologised. Earlier this month, Barnard received, for the second time in less than a year, a traffic fine by post that he allegedly had exceeded the speed limit.

Read more here... http://www.news24.com

Chimp poop reveals Aids' origins - study

Researchers who picked up and analysed wild chimp droppings said on Thursday they had shown how the Aids virus originated in wild apes in Cameroon and then spread in humans across Africa and eventually the world.

Their study, published in the journal Science, supports other studies that suggest people somehow caught the deadly human immunodeficiency virus from chimpanzees, perhaps by killing and eating them.

© HIV-Aids 2006. All rights reserved.

Read more here... http://www.iolhivaids.co.za

Bits and Bobs TOP

Ramblings of a Francophobe

by Mike Preston.

Our house in France is a rented one (from choice - not because I can't afford to buy one). I don't want to get involved with the hassles and ripoffs and encumbrances of buying.

The plumbing, as is common in France, is inadequate. We have a septic tank and have suffered several blockages in the pipes leading to it because they were too narrow, and at one time part of the tubing went uphill, in a Gallic but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to defy the laws of physics. Eventually it all had to be replaced, a classic case of false economy whereby she'd tried to save money by having a shoddy job done cheaply rather than doing it properly in the first place.

We have also put up with woefully inadequate water pressure (less than 1 bar) and some unscheduled outages thanks to Lyonnaise des Eaux, whose staff, when you call them have been rude, arrogant, and obstructive – typically French in other words. The owner, under much pressure from me (pardon the pun) finally had us switched over to the Municipal supply, which is better, although not in terms of pressure by a great deal. She misses no opportunity to remind us how much it cost her (even though I paid part of the cost), but in fairness she tells me she had to stump up about €1400.

She is now demanding that I pay €97 for a blockage which she tells me was caused by the use of 'too much paper' in the toilets. This leads me to wonder, as our sanitary habits are normal, how, or even if, the French wipe their arses. Not a lot surprises me since learning a few years ago that it is normal for them to take a shower in a seated position. Hygiene was never a strong point amongst these folk.

In South Africa I often stayed in places with septic tanks, for which the Afrikaans word is 'rottingstenk' which sounds even less palatable than in English. We never had blockages as the diameter of the pipes and the capacity of the tanks were adequate. There were of course certain items and chemicals which we could not, and did not, put down the toilets, but toilet paper was not one of them. That's a so-called 'developing country' although in many ways it's more developed than this one.

This woman, an old peasant woman as wide as she is tall, with about three teeth, of which two are black has a voice like the QE2's foghorn and is so mean she'd sell her own cr*p if she could, has specifically blamed the blockage on 'too much paper' which is an absurd claim. The problem is the cheap shoddy work that she has had carried out. Everything is done by her cousin, who is a bricklayer, painter, mason, plumber, engineer, electrician, shutter repair expert, and probably a rocket scientist too. Or to put it more simply, Jack of all trades and master of none.

I emailed a couple of friends locally and got these replies:

"I have to agree with Mike. I live in a 'modern' villa which is a joke. I am forever replacing facilities which are laughable in their sufficiency. Pipes too small and of low quality, grout improperly placed, electrical fixtures which are dangerous and of very cheap construction - one wall plug per room. I cannot believe this is considered a 'modern' country. It's like the people who owned this place previously wanted to save every centime imaginable at the expense of having things about the house work. How could people surround themselves with such cheap and flimsy things? It’s not just at my place, I find public facilities of the same order".

"Totally have to agree... the standard of workmanship if it can be called that is second rate, our house is new, thankfully rented, and we have the landlord’s brother whom seems to be also a Jack of all trades.. It strikes me that all the materials used are of the lowest quality. The walls are so bad we have decided about putting anything on them, because of the concern to make good when we leave. Next door had similar problems after one month that their sanitary pipe got blocked, the brother then diverted them into our pipe, so we are waiting for the day when that blocks. We also have the problem with electrical sockets, seems it’s traditional for the wall to come away with the plug each time. We had a shower leak, the brother appeared, tightened the out pipe! but the shower still leaked, needless to say the ceiling downstairs has a nice stain, however eventually I took it on myself to take the whole thing apart and reseal it... it just seemed the easiest thing to do, as I'm sure to rely on anybody else would be hopeless".

I nicknamed the woman from whom I bought my 'garret' from, Mrs Polyfilla because everything from the shower to the gas rings seemed to be repaired with the stuff!

I can't tell you what we call ours because it's a word play on her real name and far too rude. When she had the gates built, they used hollow pillars with no core. I estimated that they would fall down in three months. I was wrong. It was three weeks!

Polyfilla? Ours wouldn't be so extravagant. 'Papier mache' would be more like it, or chewing gum.

Don’t forget, France is a first world country. Laugh!

Pensions: What, me worry?

While more young people are becoming increasingly concerned about making provision for their retirement, savings numbers show that they are doing very little about it.

Old Mutual commissioned a retirement fund survey using a sample of 60 local retirement funds comprising a total of 92 000 active members and 33 000 pensioners.

According to independent actuary Rob Rusconi (well known for blowing the whistle on pension fund costs), who is advising Old Mutual on retirement fund reform, the most interesting finding was that a greater number of young professionals are concerned that their pension benefits will be insufficient. Rusconi says it is encouraging that people are starting to think about retirement provision at a younger age.

Read more here... http://www.mg.co.za

Scientists weigh up tomorrow’s ‘greener’ fuel

In a scramble to find alternative energy sources as global forces put pressure on the world’s oil reserves, scientists and experts have discovered a range of possible fuels. The most widely available “green” alternative to petrol is Liquified Petroleum Gas, or LPG. Although a fossil fuel, it is a byproduct of petrol.

Others include bioethanol and biodiesel, which are green fuels made from grain, rapeseed and vegetable oils.

They produce 65 percent fewer greenhouse-gas emissions than petrol, because carbon emissions during production and consumption are almost equal to the amount removed when the crops from which they’re made are grown, says the UK government’s Central Science Laboratory.

And if those don’t satisfy, there is also organic matter, which generates methane when it rots.

Read more here... http://www.iol.co.za

Norwegians explore biodiesel options

Norwegian oil company Norsk Hydro ASA and paper maker Norske Skog ASA said Friday they are exploring ways to produce biodiesel from wood.

Biodiesel, an alternative fuel that can be blended with regular diesel fuel to reduce emissions, is currently made mainly from vegetable oil.

The two companies said wood-based biodiesel would lead to lower emissions of greenhouse gases, and launched a study to determine the feasibility of building a biodiesel plant in southeast Norway by 2012.

"By using timber we can also utilise a much greater proportion of the raw material and considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared with biodiesel produced from rapeseed or other plant oils," the companies said in a joint statement. "This means that wood-based biodiesel will be an even more environmentally friendly fuel than today's biodiesel."

However, they added that wood-based biodiesel production requires the development of new technology as well as a political will to promote biodiesel as an alternative to regular fuels.

Read more here... http://www.iol.co.za

Airport heist millions now stolen from police

One of the biggest police successes has just become their biggest embarrassment.

A brazen robbery at the Johannesburg International Airport, followed by quick investigation, netted 13 arrests and more than $16-million (R105-million) recovered.

Now $13-million (R85-million) of that money has been stolen from the police's safe in Benoni.

Police have confirmed they are investigating an embarrassing break-in at their North Rand Serious and Violent Crimes Unit.

A gang of thieves managed to drill through the door of a large walk-in safe on Wednesday night and steal evidence being kept by the unit at their second floor office.

A source told The Star this morning that the evidence stolen had been seized following a brazen heist at the airport in March.

Read more here... http://www.iol.co.za

Rape victim paid out, 50yrs on

A well-known figure in conservation circles from the Strand must pay R450 000 in damages to his cousin after he molested, raped and sodomised her more than 40 years ago.

Judge Bennie Griesel ruled in the Cape High Court on Thursday that Imker Marais Hoogenhout, 92, a former chief executive of Historical Houses in Stellenbosch, must pay this amount to Esme van Zijl, 54, of Port Elizabeth. Although this ruling closed the extensive court battle for Van Zijl, she went through her own personal hell on Thursday awaiting the ruling.

"I was taken back to when I was eight years old and was beaten by my mother. "Between the lashings, I shouted that it would be better to kill myself, and that night I took an overdose of her sleeping pills."

"Today, while waiting for the ruling, I experienced the same type of helplessness and desolation," she said.

Her biggest fear was that Hoogenhout would receive only a slap on the wrist, because that would not have put right the gross injustice done to her, she said.

Read more here... http://www.mweb.co.za

The Legal Beagle TOP

No one needs legal assistance this week !

Help Desk TOP

Hi Theo
That web site is great. [www.tribalpages.com] I have begun using it, thanks so much.

BUT...................HELP

I am trying to buy a copy of the book:
Hoge, J - Bydraes tot die Genalogie van ou Afrikaanse Families.

I believe there is a second hand classical book store that deals in these books. I was given a web site which I tried to contact them through, but have received no reply or information at all. It was ABEbooks.

see below:
To: collect@megaweb.co.za
Subject: Re: abebooks.com Confirmation of Book Inquiry:
Bydraes Tot Die Genealogie Van Ou Afrikaanse Families. Verbeterings En Aanvul...
Sent: 5/17/2006 11:30 PM

They read my request regarding if they had it, and how much it would cost, but never replied! You guys earning too much money in RSA???

I really would appreciate it or if you could put a request out to any readers who might have a copy of this one to sell, or of the other which I would also love (but don't want to mortgage my house, just yet!) De Villiers & Pama , Genealogies of Old South African Families reprinted in 1981.(3 Volumes)

Thanks a million
Patricia Koekemoer
Answer Phone/Fax: 09) 298 6434
Mobile: 027 212 4647
peknz1@xtra.co.nz

[Patricia recently contacted SAW about furthering her new interest in Geneology and now the bug has bitten her - well done! - Ed]

Where are they now? TOP

No one is looking for anyone this week.

Club and Other News TOP

No news received.

Humour TOP

Subject: Why Parents Go Mad

Submitted by Desiree Cowie.

A boss wondered why one of his most valued employees had not phoned in sick one day. Having an urgent problem with one of the main computers, he dialled the employee's home phone number and was greeted with a child's whisper.

"Hello."

"Is your daddy home?" he asked.

"Yes," whispered the small voice.

May I talk with him?"

The child whispered, "No."

Surprised and wanting to talk with an adult, the boss asked, "Is your Mommy there?"

"Yes."

"May I talk with her?"

Again the small voice whispered, "No."

Hoping there was somebody with whom he could leave a message, the boss asked, "Is anybody else there?"

"Yes," whispered the child, "a policeman"

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee's home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"

"No, he's busy", whispered the child.

"Busy doing what?"

"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman," came the whispered answer.

Growing more worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone,the boss asked, "What is that noise?"

"A helicopter" answered the whispering voice.

"What is going on there?" demanded the boss, now truly apprehensive.

Again, whispering, the child answered,"The search team just landed the helicopter."

Alarmed, concerned and a little frustrated the boss asked: "What are they searching for?"

Still whispering, the young voice replied with a muffled giggle: "ME."!

More -A few things to think about....
Submitted by Alana Wyss.

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours?
If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural?

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

Recipes TOP

Mutton and vegetable potjie

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
125 ml oil
2 kg mutton knuckles
2 onions, sliced
6 potatoes, quartered
1 red pepper, cut into cubes
1 green pepper, cut into cubes
5 large carrots, sliced
8 patty pans, quartered
8 courgettes, sliced
250 g fresh button mushrooms
500 ml mixed frozen vegetables (optional)
410 g chopped tomatoes
61 g mushroom soup mix
30 ml ground coriander
30 ml dried marjoram
30 ml allspice
15 ml garlic, crushed
15 ml sugar
60 ml white vinegar
15 ml paprika

Method:
1 Heat the oil in a large potjie and brown the meat. 2 Layer the vegetables on top of the meat in the order listed above, starting with the onions and ending with the mixed vegetables. Top with the chopped tomatoes and their juices. 3 Combine the remaining ingredients with 1 litre of boiling water and pour over the prepared pot. 4 Close the lid and allow to cook gently for an hour, without opening. 5 If necessary, thicken with some cornflour and serve with rice.
Serves: 8-10
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Sports News TOP

Surgeon wants scrums banned

A leading surgeon has called for contested scrums in rugby union to be outlawed because of the unacceptable risk of serious neck injuries.

In an article published in the British Medical Journal, James Bourke, a consultant general surgeon at the Queen's Medical Centre, said the sport should follow rugby league and adopt non-contested scrums.

"It's a question of safety," said Bourke, who was club doctor for Nottingham Rugby Club for 30 years.

"I originally subscribed to contested scrums, but having experienced the consequences of two young men needing to be in wheelchairs as a result of collapsed scrums, I have been forced to change my view."

Scrummaging, a trademark feature of rugby union, involves eight powerful forwards from each team coming together. The combined weight can be as much as two tonnes.

Read more here... http://www.news24.com

Advertising on South Africans Worldwide TOP

Readers are invited to place adverts on the website, www.saw.co.za as well as place ads in this newsletter, SAWmail.

Costs:

An article about your service or site - R 3000

Your banner - R 3000/month [on SAW home site & run of site]

Ad in SAW-mail- 4 lines of text - R 1000/issue.

[There are 27 000 subscribers to the Newsletter plus many thousands of "hits" on the web-site - Ed]

Reader's Interests or Hobbies TOP

Just to whet your appetite, here follows a sprinkling of a few Arts & Crafts Routes, and let me hasten to add that I apologize if many aren’t mentioned here due to space/time constraints:-

http://www.vaalmeander.co.za

http://www.midlandsmeander.co.za/midlands/index.html

http://www.duesouthcraftroute.co.za/default.html

http://www.gardenroute.net/mby/mbart.htm

http://www.encounter.co.za/article/30.html [ Crocodile Route ]

http://www.whattodo.co.za/indawo/

http://www.botswana.co.za/Cultural_Issues-travel/botswana-country-guide-en-route_p3.html

Credits and Contact Info TOP

South Africans Worldwide - SAWmail Copyright © 1998 - 2006 Maesti

Editor in Chief: Maureen Cram
Editor: Theo Truter
Copy Manager: Theo Truter
Contributors: Everyone!
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SAWmail - An Internet service brought to you by Maesti.

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E-mail: editor@saw.co.za
Tel: +27 11 704-5126
Fax: +27 11 704-5126

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Disclaimer TOP

The editors, publishers, directors and shareholders of Maesti Web Consulting (being the holding company that publishes SAW) place on record that opinions and comment published in this newsletter are those of the authors, contributors and correspondents.

It should not be construed that we agree or disagree with any of the material. All information about events is published in good faith as received from the correspondents.

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