Don't Fence me in!

On the home front, the hope of a chance to make things better politically has been keeping many of us busy. Up until now, I have felt "fenced in" by the fact that the ruling party is getting more and more entrenched, and giving itself more and more freedom to play around with the constitution and the law to suit its own agenda. Much as I believe every citizen has a duty to vote, in recent elections I have struggled to decide who to support, as it seemed so pointless. But, as I have mentioned before, the new Cope party has, for the first time, offered a realistic hope of challenging that.

Things are getting interesting..... South Africans living overseas may now get a chance to vote (in a piece of policy making madness, it was decreed that SA Citizens who were abroad at the time of elections could not vote, but convicted criminals in prisons could freely do so....this has been appealed and overturned in court.) An election date has been announced (22 April) and it is all systems go to get the fledgling Congress of the People party, with no Government funding or billionaire backing, ready for the challenge to ANC's entrenched place in Parliament.

Intimidation is becoming rife, the ANC has been attacking Cope supporters around the country, and engaging in dirty tricks like electioneering at pension payout points in the rural areas, telling people that if they want to continue getting their pensions, they must vote ANC (they must have been taking lessons from their friend Bob up North!) and Cope is working hard to get the message out that what happens in the ballot box is private, and it is safe to vote for them.

So..... interesting times ahead. By the way, if you are interested in this development, and want to know more, there is an extremely lively Discussion Board on the COPE facebook group and a link to the Cope manifesto. There is also a fascinating group called Political Discourse, where a high level of articulate debate goes on. (If you do get into the Cope DB, just bear in mind that it is a free for all, and not confined to Cope members, so don't take everything you read as Cope policy, I sometimes think there are more ANC and DA members than Cope people taking part in the debates, but that in itself indicates the broad tolerant approach of the new party, which welcomes healthy interraction and freedom of speech.)

When I am not doing my "political activist" thing, I am conscious that I have such itchy feet lately, all I want to do is travel. The reality is, both time and budget constraints don't allow too much of that right now. But there are ways around that, like blogging and visiting all those fascinating parts of the world I long to go to, portrayed through the eyes of those who live there and document these places in Fab photos. I am loving the Northern Hemisphere snow scenes right now. (To be honest, there's a lot to be said for this armchair travel, keeping warm whilst admiring the snowy scenery has its up-side.)

My other strategy is to make a point of enjoying the world in my immediate vicinity, noticing the everyday beauty around me, a new flower in the garden, a lovely sunrise over the sea, a confused Jacaranda tree that put out some beautiful purple blossoms, thinking it might still be spring :), kids playing in the park.... capuccino at Vovo Telo, the great cafe and artisan bakery around the corner, and of course, taking every opportunity that presents itself to hit the road over the weekend, even if it is just a jaunt along the coast to Schoenmakerskop or further afield to St Francis.

This sunset was taken on Friday night, on the outskirts of town, on our way to Port St Francis. (I posted more pix on facebook if you want to see them....)

Cope-ing with political change....

The reason I have been so scarce..... a new political party has emerged onto the scene in South Africa. I have checked it out on the facebook groups and discussion boards, and it looks very promising to me. I believe it is the one chance we have to seriously challenge the dominance of the ANC (which, under the leadership of the "machine gun" singing Mr Zuma, will head in the direction of Zimbabwe very fast) but it is in its infancy, and needs serious guidance if it is going to grow into a worthwhile party that doesn't just repeat past mistakes. check it out here . The Manifesto launch is in PE on Saturday, so I am off to the Wolfson Stadium along with half the country, to show solidarity with the new party. What with this new Hope on the South African horizon, and Obama in the WhiteHouse, things are looking interesting. This might end up being one of those pivitol periods in world history!

Even the keenest politician has to take a break. We are involved in our local neighbourhood watch and do weekly patrols in the wee small hours. Saturdays patrol ended around sunrise, so we popped down to the beachfront to check it out.

These fishermen also took advantage of the perfect weather to make an early start.

So excuse my absence for a while, I'm off to save the world! Rats, where did my white horse run off to?

Bonus Skywatch... Happy 90th Birthday Madiba

I just could not let the special significance of this day go by without comment, so I am giving you a second Skywatch post. (The first was posted in the wee small hours, but then I saw this sky this morning and had to add it)

It is so apt, because today is the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela, my personal hero, and icon of inspired leadership to many around the world. The sky over Nelson Mandela Bay this morning seemed to beam down rays of light, which is utterly descriptive of his effect on our country, and the world.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADIBA, thank you for being you, and for saving our nation from tyranny. I hope your example resonates with all the leaders who are honoured enough to step in your footsteps. May your selfless humility, deep integrity, steadfast conviction and humanity and strength without bitterness in the face of adversity be an everlasting beacon to all who follow.

I was feeling so inspired in the middle of the night that I did a painting to commemorate this special day.

The words written faintly in gold are a quotation from Nelson Mandela...

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

Enough is Enough

This is the slogan of a movement called the Million Man March, held in Tswane (formerly Pretoria ) yesterday. It is an anti crime initiative, led by comedian and actor Desmond Dube, who was inspired to arrange the event after a neighbour, Bashimane Mofokeng, was killed in a hijacking.

The idea is to mobilise citizens across the country to stand up and be counted, and make a statement to both the Government and the criminals (often one and the same...more about that later) that the people of South Africa have had enough!
Here is the mission statement of the MMM movement:

The Million Man March is an anti-crime initiative formed as a direct response to the unacceptable levels of crime in South Africa.
The March aims to:

• Unite all South Africans against crime, crime can only be defeated if confronted with a collective will, a combined commitment and a united plan of action.The March endeavours to empower people who feel helpless, vulnerable and alone by giving them a specific time and place to join together with others, and provide them with a voice against that which they fear the most.
• The March will call on the Government of the Republic of South Africa to act decisively on the crisis of crime in South Africa. Urgent attention needs to be given to combating crime, more resources need to be allocated to our police, with efficient mechanisms put in place to combat corruption.
• Law abiding citizens have the constitutional right to have an efficient justice system to support them. We want to call on the people of South Africa to recognise that we are part of the solution. We call on each and every individual to take responsibility of his or her actions.
• We aim to challenge the perceptions that our society have about crime and use this opportunity to engage government, business, religious groups and individuals that this is the platform to launch and extensive and aggressive MORAL REGENERATION PROGRAMME.
• Remind one another that there is a lot to celebrate about our country and need to make sure that the negativity of crime does not take away from all the good that has been accomplished.
• The integrity of the march is dependent on the peacefulness of its nature. It is scheduled and planned to take place within the boundaries of the law.
• This march is for all citizens of South Africa who feel passionate about making a positive contribution towards the country, it will not be used as a platform to advance political or financial gain.

The march took place yesterday, and although the goal of a million marchers was not reached, a large number of people did participate, and it was a peaceful event. A memorandum was handed over to Minister Balfour, who received it on behalf of Government. ..... somewhat ironical, since this is the Minister of Correctional Services (the new euphamism for Prisons) who, in response to overcrowding in prisons, resorted to a special remission of sentences, whereby all offenders irrespective of their sentences or offences got 6 months off their sentences. This trivialized the sentences of the courts and was a slap in the face of victims of crime.

Placards saying "where is Mbeki" emphasised the weak leadership this Government has suffered under. From the start of his Presidency, Thabo Mbeki has been involving himself in international diplomacy, at the expense of his own country. Many are deeply outraged that our taxes are used to fund his little jaunts around the world in the Presidential jet, so that he can angle for International glory and a crack at the top spot in the UN, while back home, the country spirals out of control on many levels.

My advice to anyone who considers offering him any leadership post after his term is over would be... DON'T do it! His so called 'quiet diplomacy' in Zimbabwe basically translates into "Mugabe is my buddy so keep your hands off him and leave him to finish the plundering of his country in peace". Every important crisis here is met with "crisis, what crisis?" His silence over the recent spate of Xenophobic killings and attacks on foreigners is nothing short of criminal, weeks went by before he issued a lame statement, and not once did he bother to show his face at any of the hot spots or personally intervene to show how unacceptable it is.

However, I digress, sorry, at the moment the word Mbeki is a bit like a red rag to a bull, I am outraged by his silence on so many critical issues in his own country, and his total lack of concern over the suffering and deaths of people here. And I assure you this is not just me ranting about the ludicrous lack of leadership, check out these cartoons...

To me the statement at yesterday's rally that really hit home hard, and for which I want to applaud Desmond Dube wildly and loudly is the one he made to the effect that "crime is not just when someone holds a knife to you and threatens you. Crime is someone taking money from an institution and failing to provide services to that institution."

Yes Desmond, you hit the nail firmly on the head. We have become so conditioned to extreme levels of violent crime in this country, that we sometimes fail to even see day to day dishonesty and lack of integrity as crime any more, and the threshhold of what is acceptable keeps sliding further and further along the continuum from petty to extreme crime.

But every civil servant or Cabinet Minister who receives a salary at the end of each month, and fails to do the job for which they are being paid, is STEALING from the tax payers who employ them.

Well Done Desmond for highlighting this fact! I salute you for this initiative, for using your celebrity status to get the attention of the nation, and for giving so freely of your time and money to organise this initiative.

(Going back to the irony that it was Minister Balfour who was sent by Government to receive the anti-crime memorandum, it is Ngconde Balfour, the Minister of Correctional Services, who said that 738 members of his department had been suspended on full pay in the 2005/6 financial year, costing the taxpayer over R34-million!!!)

I hope the MMM initiative will continue to snowball, and that ordinary citzens who are tired of being victims of crime will stand together and clearly let the criminals inside and outside of Government know that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

your one stop blog.....

Well it seems like, whether you are interested in nature, politics, art, people, family news, or all of the above you will find it all here, and often all in the same post... I'm afraid today is no exception!

I dare not get onto the subject of Zimbabwe, for your sake and that of my keyboard, I will just post this cartoon from the paper earlier this week, it pretty much says it all!

GRRRRRRRRRRR....

But I will just say that I am impressed with the stand being taken by COSATU (the trades unions), who are capable of some pretty insane and inane opinions, but in this particular case, in the continued absence of any leadership from our President and his cronies, they are standing up and taking the moral high ground. They have done a great job in ensuring that the Chinese ship full of weapons destined for Zimbabwe does not offload on our coast, and hopefully not in Angola either. So a bouquet to them!

A few overflow photos from interesting items on the PE Daily Photo:

I was so glad to have an opportunity to see the latest sculpture done by Graham Jones, who is, apart from being a brilliant artist, also the brother of a friend of mine. You know you have arrived at an eccentric artist's house when you find a giant fly made from a gas cylinder on the veranda!

He was commissioned by the Sunday Times to do the next in a series of monuments they are putting up around the country, to celebrate the achievements of prominent South Africans. In this case, it is for Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, at one time curator at East London's small museum, who is credited with discovering the fascinating coelacanth, a pre-historic fish which even pre-dates dinousaurs.

Graham made it out of cast iron, so it has a wonderful surface texture that suits the subject perfectly. He has added all sorts of fascinating bits and pieces, and the mouth is stuffed with fishing gut, a silent protest against the wicked exploitation of this hugely endangered species.

Here he explains his passion to raise awareness about these amazing fish.

This is the stainless steel cutout which will eventually surround the base when the 4 and a half ton fish has been mounted at its permanent home at the museum in East London.

A while ago I was doing a series called "now and then" in which I featured historic buildings, as they look now, and also vintage photos of how they looked in the early years of Port Elizabeth history. The first one I featured was a little cottage on the brow of Richmond Hill, which overlooks the bay. Well sadly, it burned out last week.

According to Graham, who lives in the same street, it was inhabited by Nigerian Drug dealers. Such a shame!

And finally, Max's sister popped in from Durban for an overnight visit, and took us out to dinner. Simultaneously, winter arrived with a bang!

It has been so dry lately that the question of where to go in foul weather hasn't arisen. This weekend it did ! Where do you go where you can park undercover and enter the place without walking miles to the car and drowning or freezing to death on the way? And where do you take a bunch of people ranging from 3 to 58, with an assortment of food allergies, and in particular one who has had a bypass recently and is FANATICAL about eating heart friendly food? We found the perfect solution... Carolina Spur at Greenacres. The 3 year old (you know who!) was so well cared for in the play area that we couldn't even prize him away to eat chips, and that is VERY unusual for this particular little gannet!

The gluten/dairy intolerant ones had a ball at the salad valley, and the heart patient was ecstatic to see little heart foundation logos on many of the items on the menu. We had a great evening, and will definitely be back there soon! There was even good food for the "normal" ones in the group (MOI!!! LOL)

After dropping them off at the airport the next evening, we went for a stroll on the beach and ended the weekend on a lovely note!

Cheers for now.

No way, it can't be Friday already!

.......so that means Skywatch.... I don't know where this week has gone! I intended to do all sorts of posts, (and visits) but as usual time got away from me. And the few times I did manage to sit down long enough to marshal my thoughts, the power was off. We have had some pretty brutal load shedding this month, but are learning to work around the power outages.

Speaking of brutal, I hope things in Zimbabwe don't go the way of Kenya! Oh dear, I feel a rant coming on..... so I'd better post a pretty sky pic first for those who can't handle all the politics, and then those with strong constitutions can read on................

This little wooden treehouse is on a farm on the outskirts of town that has been set up as a 'touch farm' for kids to make friends with a whole selection of farm animals. Our 3 year old grandson LOVES going there! The sun going down behind the stormy cloud really gave it a great atmosphere.

By the way, the trees are Australian blue-gums, which thrive in this country, as they lack natural enemies.

Ok, ..... ranting again......

I must confess to being HUGELY frustrated by our current State President. He has set a clear pattern of being out of the country whenever there is a crisis, and the silence from his office is deafening. He is so busy, involving himself in the affairs of the rest of the world, that he has totally abdicated his responsibilities to his own nation, and its neighbours. Of all the countries that actually need his input right now, Zimbabwe is top of the list, but as usual he is sitting on the fence, and refusing to take a stand. He has a total paralysis when it comes to dealing decisively with the misdemeanours of former "heroes of the liberation struggle." It seems he is incapable of separarting their past actions from any current law breaking, and it seems that, if anyone took a role in the struggle, he is willing to turn a blind eye to even the most extreme abuses of power or position. He has done this repeatedly on behalf of his cronies such as the Commissioner of Police and the health minister, among others, and of course old fatcat Bob Mugabe is one of his untouchable heroes too.

It is also with growing concern that I view the way the Eskom issue is being managed at Government level. As the economy teeters, the man in the street is squeezed from every side. Many are already on the brink of losing their homes due to price hikes, and the poor are battling to cope with rising food prices. Yet Eskom demands a huge 60% price increase and then has the cheek to refuse to disclose all the facts behind it. (They claim that diclosing all the figures will weaken their position in negotiating coal prices!)

If Eskom was being led by people who had established their credentials as trustworthy, pro-active managers, that might make it easier to accept. But clearly this is not the case. They have already created serious doubts about their ability and integrity, both in the mismanagement of the power supply, and more seriously, in the disturbing details which keep surfacing regarding huge bonuses being paid to the head honchos, and preferential deals with neighbouring countries, who have uniterrupted supplies guarenteed, at well below the price we are currently paying. Not to mention all the ducking and diving that has accompanied these disclosures.

The lame reasons that are being given for refusing to be transparent about the enormous price hike are not acceptable. I believe that a reluctance to disclose the true nature of the deals with the neighbours is more likely to be behind it, because the public will, quite justifiably, be outraged if the full truth emerges. And of course, any future juicy bonuses and pay packets would also be embarrassingly hard to justify. To write a blank check in these circumstances would be irresponsible in the extreme, and would be a blatant breach of taxpayers trust.

But again, Mbeki is gallivanting somewhere else in his personal presidential jet! (Although apparently, his hand having been forced by Zambia's President calling for an urgent meeting tomorrow, he will return for that....) It is time for firm leadership. We need the office of the State President to take an interest in affairs closer to home, and not to follow the usual pattern of deafening silence in the face of issues needing urgent attention. The lives of too many are being affected by the goings-on at Eskom. Transparency, efficiency and sound management must be demanded from those in charge of our power grid, and we cannot afford for our leaders to sit on their hands while Eskom steamrolls this price hike through.

You know a President is doing a lousy job when his probable successor, (a man currently on trial for corruption, after already recently facing rape charges, and whose favourite song is "bring me my machine-gun" ) is starting to look like a better proposition as our leader! He may lack any political wisdom, and probably a lot of ethics too, but at least he has the balls to take a stand and say what needs to be said, even if it means offending a former hero of the struggle. He has already taken a clear position on Zimbabwe, and called for an immediate release of the election results. (Don't worry, I am not becoming a rabid Zuma supporter.... far from it.... but at the moment he certainly appears to be the lesser of two evils!)

I was thinking the other day that I really need to think through my position on one country taking a hand in the affairs of another... on the one hand I find myself totally opposed to Bush and his war on Iraq, yet I am frustrated at the lack of intervention over Zimbabwe.... but I think it is not an opposition to interference per se, as much as being disgusted by the cynical way a revenge attack for 9-11, and opportunistic attempt to control a major oil producer, was sold to the world as a noble attempt to save the poor Iraqis from their brutal dictator.... give me a break!

On a lighter note, I must tell you that I am doing aquarobics twice a week, and loving it. This may not seem like an earth shattering statement, but anyone who knows me well will have heard my views on going to any form of gym, and any regular exercise routine is like an allegen for me, I come out in a rash at the very thought of jogging and that sort of thing... but this is amazing. After an hour in the water, doing a workout that isn't percussive to painful joints, I feel great! And it is cool because the classes are led by a physiotherapist, and all of us are overweight, on the wrong side of 50 and have ricketty joints, so we don't have to endure the gorgeous sylph-like and immaculately togged babes in the gym wailing because they are SOOO FAT because they are 300 grams overweight! Ok, I'm off to squeeze into my swimsuit....thank goodness it is a heated pool, winter is definitely on its way. Hope to catch you later, (but it might be difficult, load shedding is scheduled for another 2 and a half hours tonight....Some amazing statements were made by the deputy minister of Safety and Security this week, encouraging Police to "shoot to kill". I am dying to tell you all about it, but again time is the enemy, so it will have to wait!) Have a great weekend!

and we wait...and wait...........

is there now hope of rebuilding the ruins left by Mugabe?

Goodness, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission are certainly making a meal of releasing results, wonder if they are getting paid by the hour? Certainly any credibility they may have had is evaporating more with each hour that passes!

However, it does look promising, and it seems the political tide has turned there. It will take many years to undo the damage that has been done, but at least there is now some sort of hope for the future there. We still have to hold our breath though, (as if we are not blue already!!!) because it all hinges on Mugabe bowing out gracefully. It appears the fly in the ointment is the Chief of the Army, who refuses to let him do so, as he has claimed the armed forces will never be loyal to any other leader....... without the co-operation of the police and army the handover could be very ugly. And these guys have enjoyed absolute power for years, they have "tasted blood' so to speak, they have enjoyed getting high on brutality and controlling people with fear. It seems unlikely that they are suddenly going to put aside self interest and care about human rights and integrity overnight.

So for the MDC, winning the election is only the first step on what promises to be a very rocky road, but I really wish them all the best.............. may they be wise, honest, and strong leaders. And I really hope that the leaders of the first world, who have, to their shame, remained so passive in the affairs of this desperate country, (obviously not enough oil or gold there to make it worth their while!!!) will now come to the party, and help rebuild the shattered lives of so many Zimbabweans.

On a lighter note, it is school holidays now, and living in a house with a pocket handkerchief sized courtyard with a very active 3 year old gets somewhat stressful, so our daughter was feeling the strain. So yesterday I took K and the wee E on an outing to the Boardwalk, and he let off some steam in the funfair. Great fun!

if he could have thrown money into the wishing well all morning he would have!

HOLDING OUR BREATH........

ZIMBABWE HANGS ON A KNIFE EDGE................

.....and it is inexcusable that 60 hours after voting ended, so few results have been officially released. It is extremely worrying that so much time has passed, because it is almost impossible to imagine a scenario when a delay like this is not caused by some sort of vote rigging or other manoeuvering.

That election observers are already leaving the country before the results have been fully announced throws the whole thing under an even bigger shadow than the dark one that already looms over the integrity and fairness of this crucial election.

That the SADEC South African observers (with the exception of 2 DA members who refused to sign) have declared this election free and fair so prematurely is nothing short of immoral and criminal, given the level of suffering there and the number of lives who will be impacted by the outcome of this election. There is not a chance, given the number of reports filtering out of the country to the contrary, that this election has taken place in a free and fair way and the honesty and objectivity of many of the observers is as questionable as that of the ruling Government there.

All we can do is wait and hope that our family and friends will be safe, and that sanity will prevail, because it is going to be tense there, whichever party is finally announced as the winner. There was a miracle here, when the anticipated bloodbath did not come to pass in 1994. Let's hope the same thing happens there.............

In the meantime, we continue to hold our breath.

(The rather disturbing picture illustrating this post is a painting I did last year, and is called "Fat Bobcat". I just got up one morning and started painting and this was the result...it was obviously a result of the frustration and anger brewing inside me about what Bob Mugabe is doing at the expense of his people. When you talk to Zimbabweans and get a true picture of the suffering they are going through, and then you look at his new mansion on Google Earth.... and when the true tales of torture, brutality, intimidation and gross corruption are told, it is impossible to have any belief in the integrity or humanity of this man. The only word I can apply to him and his henchmen is EVIL, and I guess that is what poured out of me the day I did this painting, it even took me by surprise!!)

hehe, time for a rant

Well the powers that be have been spared the tongue-lashings in recent weeks, due to my attention being focussed on things closer to home. However, I can't let the latest monuments to idiocy pass by without comment!

Our occasional supplier of power, Escom is still at it..... it has become a bit like the old politician joke "how can you tell the Escom spokesman is lying?" "Because his lips are moving."

Amidst urgent applications to Government for a 60% increase in electricity tarriffs, to cover costs, we hear that the top brass have voted themselves further outrageously generous 'bonuses', which incredibly, are performance linked. (I can only assume that the link is in inverse proportion to performance!)

At the same time WHILE WE WERE IN THE MIDST OF THE BLACKOUTS, and being told to be patriotic and use less power for the sake of the nation blah blah blah, Escom had the audacity to sign yet another contract with a neighbouring country, guarenteeing them power at a substantially reduced rate. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone, the powers that be in charge of fighting crime (who seem to be under the illusion that this means fighting victims of crime while doing everything possible to make life easier for criminals) have now decided that they want to ban the carrying of 'non lethal weapons'. Included in this definition are all self defence items such as pepper spray, sticks etc.

This is one law I have every intention of breaking flagrantly. We already put our lives and security on the line by going for a simple walk around the neighbourhood, and I am certainly not going to let some fat-cat politician, who has his own army of personal body guards looking after him 24-7, deny me the most basic right of self defence, since no-one else in power is going to do anything about defending the average law abiding citizen!

Luckily, if I do get arrested, you will not need to worry about me, because, in line with their policy of making things as comfortable as possible for criminals, my rights in prison will be well cared for, and I will be having a nice break with a tv in my cell, and all my meals paid for by the law abiding suckers who remain out there.

Where's my pepper spray, I'm off for a stroll!!!!

But before I go, here are the promised photos from the gathering of the clan. Please excuse the horrible quality, too much noise and activity, not enough light, general chaos, but at least family from afar who read this can see a little of the event!

The host, Aubrey, bewildered by the men going mad with cameras on one side, and the reunited sisters trying to catch up on a year's news in 10 minutes on the other!

Even the toddlers were getting in on the act with cameras.

The guests of honour, Connie chatting to my sister Ali, and Dad chatting to nephew Pete.

The morning after..... breakfast on a cold and rainy deck at the guesthouse.

While little Jake didn't mind at all,

Ethan decided the best bet was to snuggle up and sleep off the excitement of the previous night!

After the lunch at the beachfront restaurant, we said our farewells and tackled the 3 hour drive back to PE on VERY full stomachs!

While all this was going on, little Felicity cat stayed home with the big cats, and kept an eye on Fergie to make sure he didn't miss a spot.

It just keeps getting better.........

I am referring to the comedy surrounding the latest Government crisis, as the deficiencies in our power Grid threaten to send the economy into a tailspin.

The Minister of Minerals and Energy Affairs was heckled in Parliament yesterday, as she produced her 10 point plan for alleviating the crisis, which included such high powered concepts as " the people must go to bed earlier so they can grow and be cleverer". I trust the honourable Minister will be taking her own advice and having some seroiusly early nights, if her thesis that it increases brainpower is to be accepted!

No no, REALLY, I am not making this up! I know it is hard to imagine that this is actually happening at parliamentary level, but here is the headline to prove it!

(Of course if this enlightened advice holds true, it also raises a dilemma for those who are already too large, but want to get 'cleverer', do you avoid sleep in order to prevent further growth, or do you sleep more to aid the intellect? ho hum, decisions decisions....)

Our State President, Thabo Mbeki, has also come in for some serious (and may I suggest well-deserved) flack over his legendary lack of leadership. It has been so glaringly apparent during many recent crises, when the silence from his office has become deafening while the country waited in vain for some statement of direction from the top. He has developed a bad reputation for absence of leadership here, and is mostly known for rushing around the world in his private jet, telling other leaders how to run their countries while things fall apart back home in his.

So naturally, my favourite cartoonist has been having great fun at his expense......

(That bottom one had Max and I howling with laughter this morning!)

In fact it is becoming more and more apparent that some of our comedians (like Pieter Dirk Uys for example) would make brilliant politicians, if they could just get around the problem of their inate honesty, while many of our politicians have turned out to be marvellous comedians!

Anyway, onto something completely different. Yesterday in the Port Elizabeth Daily Photo blog, I featured Zimbabwean wire workers, and thought I would show some of the items they have custom made for me to use in decor projects.

The Wall Light in one of the spare rooms was a beaded gecko, with wiring inside. Off....

and on.......

The kitchen cabinets also got the beaded treatment, with custom made chilli handles.

Also in the kitchen, we combined old and new, with wonderful antique balloon back chairs in the breakfast nook, and custom made woven grass bar stools, from the Zimbabweans, at the counter.

While I am on the subject, I might as well show more details. This was one of the best jobs I had over the years, from the point of view of freedom to create, and working with a delightful client who was as whacky as me, and encouraged lateral thinking. Much of what we did was custom made, so the result was really unique and interesting.

Still in the kitchen, I bought some old silver plated cutlery, and bent them, then tiled them into panels in front of and above the cooker, to form mosaic panels with a difference.

And in the sitting room, the end wall was remodelled to unify the fireplace, TV cabinet and bookshelves. Woven baskets were made for the shelves, to hold all the little loose bits and pieces that tend to accumulate in such places.
(As a matter of interest, here is a before pic showing the dated and unbalanced oak shelves, with huge ugly step below fireplace, and tv so far across to the right that it was impossible to view from a couch against the only long wall in the room.)

But when the furnishings were in it looked great.

I bought the carved crocodile from a street vendor, and then designed a table around it. I had a blank pine table made, and hand painted it with ethnic designs. Under the glass panel, I fitted a removable box, with the wooden crocodile in it. But if the owner gets bored and wants to change carvings, she can do so. This table ended up in the red lounge, where it looks great.

The dining room was much too pink and formal for the owner's fun personality, so we got a bit playful in there, with custom designed "jester" chairs and whacky light fitting. Apparently she has had some great dinner parties in there since the change!

The guest bath room was a boring white room , and even though it had a bay window, it has frosted glass and no view. So we built a courtyard around it, and put in clear glass, now you can lie in the bath and enjoy the view.

The theme of geckos continued into this room, with custom made ceramic hand basins painted with geckos, as well as gecko metalwork on the cabinet doors, towel rails, loo roll holder etc.





We made a delightful four poster bed for the main bedroom, with crystal ball detail on top of each post...


But by far my favourite room was the Main en suite bathroom. We again built a courtyard all around it, and put this wonderful metallic fininsh oval bath on the raised plith,

....with double shower heads next to it. The tile layout highlights the whole feature.




Both are overlooking the outdoor shower with copper pipes twisted around old railway sleepers.




The matching basins had cabinets made with sticks, for an ethnic look.


And in the loo section, a Philippe Starck basin finds itself combined in an unlikely way with a handmade wood and metal stand.


It was a lot of fun!