Archive for January, 2009
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Can a person mention bidding on auctions as a hobby?
Well, a day without checking out the latest bargains on Bidorbuy is a rare one.
I’m always on the look out for that one auction where you get a good price for a quality product that you really want.
Most times I eventually get outbid. For instance, last week I had a R50 bid on 10 drilled sapphires in different colours.
I so wanted it, but was not going to bid any more than I already had. The item sold for R60…so disappointing!
Wednesday my luck turned when I bid on a sterling silver ring with an opal stone. My bid was for R51.00. I was happy to pay that plus postage of R30, because the ring is pretty much my style.
I felt bad for the seller because I’m sure she’s losing out on her profit margins, but as a past seller, I know that’s how the auction world works.
Here is my ring….
Posted in auctions | No Comments »
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
The Time Traveller’s Wife tells the story of Henry a time traveller and his wife Clare.
Clare first meets Henry when she is 6 and he is 36. He meets her for the first time (in real time) when Clare is 20 and Henry 28 and they get married when she is 22 and he 30.
Henry has a genetic disorder that periodically resets his genetic clock, causing him to time travel backward and forward in time.
His situation is dangerous, as he leaves everything behind when he travels, even his clothes. This causes him to have to steal clothes and money – leading to some hair raising moments for Henry. He gets beat up often, when he falls naked into wherever he lands up. Something he has no control over.
He sometimes meets up with his older or younger self.
One of the downsides to time travelling for Henry is that he can’t change the sequence of events.
Clare has the unenviable position of watching Henry disappear all the time and she has no idea the condition he will be in when he returns.
A very different kind of story, suspenseful in parts, but overall a love story.
Many people have read and enjoyed this book. The Time Traveller’s Wife was for weeks on many best seller lists for weeks.
Halfway through the book, my interest waned though – I took 2 weeks to finish it, not something that happens when I’m into a book.
I enjoyed it in parts and the story itself was satisfying. You can almost believe time travel is possible.
Posted in books | No Comments »
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
I must confess, Friday I briefly felt an emotion I never thought I would ever feel.
The match – Australia vs South Africa at the WACA in Perth Australia drove another stake through Aussie hearts.
It was with shock that I realised that I actually felt sorry for the Australian cricket team and Ricky Ponting for the first time ever.
What has the cricket world come to when the Aussies emit pity from opposing supporters?
Anyway, there they were on 65/4, looking slightly like a beaten side with over 20 overs to go.
The swagger gone! Toughness – gone! Sledging – gone!
All that was left were the Hussey brothers fighting for respectability. Imagine that! The Aussies trying to save face.
Defeat by 39 runs in a one day match is as bad as defeat by 139 runs which not even the once mighty Aussie commentators could spin.
I steeled my heart right then and there with mental images of past defeats to the then all swaggering, tough, ruthless, sledging Aussies – the Waugh twins, Ponting himself, Matthew Hayden and a whole host of others dating back to Alan Border’s days as captain.
And that was only the team.
Then there were those most biased of cricket commentators on Channel Nine – Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell, etc. who were broadcast to the entire cricketing world – with only Richie Benaud left to add a dose of respectability and fairness.
Worst of all were a few Australian supporters, who before and after a day’s play gathered at the nets to further deride the opposing team – something I saw first hand.
So I only felt a tiny pang of pity for the state of Australian cricket, because no doubt they will come back in a year or two and be as annoying as ever.
Meanwhile I hope our South African team keep playing well and continue having a good team team spirit and carry a bit of humility with their new found confidence.
We know as much as everyone is lauding them now, by tomorrow the rest of the cricketing world will be trying to take them down.
Posted in sport | No Comments »
Friday, January 30th, 2009
Just about 24 hours to go before the 32nd running of the J&B Met in Kenilworth.
The theme is ‘glitz and glamour’ and the celebs and beautiful people from all over the show will be descending on my suburb, Kenilworth.
Yesterday we received a pamphlet in the post, from the organisers Gold Circle and the City of Cape Town informing residents of expected noise and traffic jams.
A normal Saturday brings a wild array of traffic anyway, so we are used to traffic jams and impatient drivers.
Festivities start from 12.30 pm (gates open at 10.00 am) and continue with parties until midnight and possibly beyond! The police will likely be called in the early hours (as usual) by some of the less than impressed older residents.
SABC3 will be screening live, including the main race, between 3 -5 pm.
Roger Goode and DJ Fresh of 5fm are hosting the After Party broadcast live from behind the J&B Met hospitality Village .
In case you were wondering if the Met is only about the ‘glitz and glamour’, it is also about the horse race.
Tickets cost R150.00
For the main race, starting at 16.20, the horses are:
J&B Met 2009 final field:
1. POCKET POWER
2. BUY AND SELL
3. AFRICAN APPEAL
4. KAPIL
5. CATMANDU
6. SURFIN’ USA
7. VISION OF GRANDEUR
8. GREAT RHYTHM
9. FLOATYOURBOAT
10. GOLDEN DICE
11. PRINCE ASAD
12. QUICK MILLIONS
13. DANCER’S DAUGHTER
14. IVORY TRAIL
15. CASEY’S SON
16. RIVER JETEZ
Posted in community | No Comments »
Thursday, January 29th, 2009
Yesterday, 28 January’s, bi-election results have once again proven that the ANC still have wide and loyal support.
The ANC won 15 of 17 Wards in the Northern Cape alone and won most of the Wards it contested across the country, according to an article on iol.co.za.
When you read comments on a national newspaper group’s website like these:
“Just a shame that the majority of the electorate are too ignorant… ”
and
“…it is time for all coloureds to stand up and take a stance vote DA or ID or UDM or IFP”
then you know why ANC supporters dig their heals in.
ANC supporters don’t see the world the same way as opposition parties supporters see it. We recognise that despite the mistakes, very bad errors in judgement and just bad government in some cases, there is more to the ANC.
They were the leading fighters against apartheid – which was still legislated not even 20 years ago!!!
Ride around the townships of South Africa and see who are still living with the conditions created by the apartheid government of South Africa!
Compare that with over 2.7 million houses built, housing around 13 million people and countless people given access to running water and electricity since 1994.
That’s only part of the story!
What about the dignity of people to travel wherever they want, live wherever they can afford, marry whoever they fall in love with, send their children to whichever schools they can afford, vote for whomever they choose?
Ridiculing people’s choices won’t dissuade them from their opinion.
And it’s not about living in the past. 1994 wasn’t a century ago -it is still fresh in many minds who viewed the workings of apartheid.
Instead of using insults, give people an alternative that is better than the ANC. A party that can build more houses faster, drive the economy more successfully, create a better philosophy.
Posted in election 2009, politics | No Comments »
