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Last Update: July 8, 2001 |
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Snow falls in the Cape More than just snow flakes fell in Ceres on Thursday as dozens of children dropped to the ground to frolic in the first snowfall of winter. News that the first snow had fallen travelled fast and holidaymakers from as far as Pietersburg and Edenville in the Free State rushed to the Kouebokkeveld and Bo-Swaarmoed Pass. Outside the Klondyke cherry farm, families gathered in ankle deep snow and pelted each other and passing cars with snow balls. Neither the cold nor the intermittent rain could dampen the spirits of enthusiastic children. "I come here every year and I love the snow!" said Brett Matthews of the Northern Province. Local resident Karriem Adams described the beautiful sight as a "gift from above to be enjoyed". Farmer Bassie Geldenhys said last year's snowfall was the heaviest in 15 years and in some places fell as thick as one metre. "I don't think we're going to see a repeat of that this year though," Geldenhys predicted. For the residents of Elandsfontein farm, the snow was nothing new. "We work even if it snows," said a grinning Rachel Adams, who has been living in Ceres for the past 23 years. According to the Weather Bureau no more snow is expected this weekend. But earlier on Friday the Ceres tourism office said there was still snow on the Swaarmoed Pass. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - As jy in die noordelike voorstede van kaapstad grootgeword, was daar net een ding om na jou matriek-eksamen te doen. Jy is Hermanus toe vir die mees independent vakansie van jou lewe. Daar is al in 'n hele paar Afrikaanse boeke na daai berugte Hermanus vakansies verwys: onder andere in die voormalige De Kat redakteur Irma van Zyl se "Grootmensspeletjies" - ek hoop dit is die regte titel. Meeste van ons rockspiders uit die noordelike voorstede het mos in isolasie en baie beskermd grootgeword. Hermanus is dus vir baie van ons, daai eerste proetjie van vryheid. Onder die studente uit Stellenbosch, was matrieknaweek net so 'n moviese party. Alle eerstejaars uit Stellenbosch het gewoonlik onskuldige Afrikaanse matriekgirltjies probeer score. Dis dan waar my verhouding met die Springbok Nude Girls se musiek begin het, in daai matriek vakansie toe ek 'n baie naiwe 17 jaar oud was. Ons kry toe hoeka 'n huis op 'n hotspot, en daar trek die hele De Kuilen hoerskool se oud-matrieks en HTS Belville se rokers en mechanics en die soet girls en die stouter girls en 'n hele klomp nat -agter-die-ore matriekouens sommer almal by ons in die huis in, kompleet met kratte bier en brandy en coke. (Dis mos die noordelike voorstede se drienk.) Binne die eerste paar dae het 'n paar geskokte meisies uit ons huis uitgetrek en al die dreine was verstop en ek het skottelgoed in die bad gewas en geweier om die sigarettestompies uit die wasbak in die kombuis te krap. . Iemand het dit ook reggekry om die telefoon wat gesluit was, met die een of ander code/triek te crack. Die eerste stories van Kuilsrivier se bekommerde ouers het ons al teen die tweede dag op Hermanus bereik. Dit kon my min skeel. Ek het geweet, dit was my naweek, 'n simboliese naweek. Ons is Smileys toe, die beach pub waar daar letterlik duisende jongmense was. Dis actually 'n scary soort naweek: orals op die duine kan jy paartjies sien wat mekaar daardie aand opgetel het, die eerstejaar dudes met 'n matriek girl. Jy noem dit duin-statistieke. Die Saterdag-aand was groot party-aand. Die Springbok Nude Girls het gespeel en vir die eerste keer het ek die song gehoor wat later my anthem sou word: "Bubblegum on my boots today." Waarom ek hierdie week die hele relaas van daai matriek naweek in kytie skryf? Van 1995 tot 2000, het ek seker 100 keer die Springbok Nude Girls sien speel oraloor Suid-Afrika, in klein plekkies en stofdorpies, in klein klubs en in moerse grote sold-out klubs en by musiekfeeste op groot stages met baie ligte. Dis hoe jy die land leer ken het, deur agter die music aan te travel. Langs die Breede Rivier by die Up the Creek fest; in Mosselbaai, Wellington, Franshoek; Oppikoppi in Northam in die middel van nerens, in Port Elizabeth se dodgy clubs; Oudtshoorn by die KKNK, honderde kere by die River Klub in Obs, in die Shack in die Kaap; by die Brass Bell in die mooiste Kalkbaai, Synergy oor nuwe jaar, in die kleinste sweterigste dodgy klub op Somerset-Wes - La Luna - en natuurlik elke liewe jaar by die Grahamstad Nasionale Kunstefees se Martell Blues Rock Festival. Die Springbok Nude Girls en daai hele SA music festival scene het deel geword van Kytie Koekblik se identity, ons het agter die tunes aan getravel. Laasjaar het ek selfs vir 'n naweek London gefoeter vanaf Washington DC vir 'n SA music fees waar die band gespeel het. Hierdie week het ek gehoor die Nude Girls het besluit om op te breek. Glo moeg gesukkel in Suid-Afrika, waar 'n rock band dit nou net nie kan maak nie. Die skok kom soos moerse harde skrill feedback op 'n amplifier wat jou hart laat breek. Daai band het waaragtig die hardste probeer, die meeste oorsee getoer en die grootse crowds getrek in SA. Kevin Shirley van Aerosmith faam het selfs hulle CD produce. Hulle het hard gewerk, en op talle covers verskyn en dit selfs tot in die German Rolling Stone gemaak. Laasjaar het die Nude Girls vir my simbolies geword, nie net van my eie storm en drang jare nie, maar ook van my nuwe lewe in die VSA. Die band het my twee werelde, Suid-Afrika en die VSA, laat collide, en my laat onthou dat ek altyd daai girl was wat met die gloeiende oe wat reg voor die stage staan en saam met hulle groovy tunes rock. Hulle het van my 'n rocker gemaak. Ek het gevoel asof my hele lewe verdwyn het toe ek hier aankom en niemand ken nie. Ek was baie excited toe die een band member vir 'n pakkie met Disprins en Voltaren van my ma af bring. Die heel eerste bekendes wat my VISA kaart se dollarvreugdes en New York Thai cuisine en die jazz bars van Greenwich village met my kon deel, was die Nudies. Ek het in die Hit Factory in Manhattan saam met die band gesit en toe hulle hulle latest CD se musiek vir my speel, toe bring dit 'n hele land na my toe...Daai drie nagte saam met die band in New York, kon ek weer onthou waarom ek Suid-Afrikaans is..en ook Afrikaans is. Lead vocalist Arno het een liedjie geskryf, "Pappa ek wil 'n popster word" en daai liedjie het sommer al ons drome opgesom. Dis moeilik om te dink hulle moet opbreek, vir hulle is dit obviously harder as vir my. Ek weet sommige van hulle het sacrifices gemaak en selfs opgebreek met hulle trou-vroue vir die band. Dit is vir my ook moeilik. Ek is dan die een wat vir al my Amerikaanse vriende die Nude GIrls se konkoksie van rock en reggae en jazz en reggae en harde rock speel, en dan se ek altyd met trots: Hulle is ons top SA band. Nou was hulle ons top SA band. Dit voel vir my asof my adollescence ook nou finally oor en verby is.. Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Killer storm in Cape Town The weather wreaked havoc in Cape Town on Sunday, killing one person, destroying homes and leaving many in the Western Cape without electricity. Dina Prins, 27, of Wallacedene in Kraaifontein, was killed when the top part of a tree broke off and fell on her, breaking her neck. The incident occurred at 9am yesterday. In Mitchells Plain, two children were nearly killed when a carport from a neighbour's house in Lentegeur was blown on to them. They sustained minor injuries. Vuyiseka Mkonto and her daughter Zikona, residents of the Red Hill informal settlement outside Scarborough, were rudely awakened early on Sunday when a pine tree fell on to their shack. More than 700 wedding guests made a desperate dash for safety on Sunday when the wind flattened the marquee under which they were sitting. Several ships and an oil rig were unable to dock in Table Bay harbour because of winds blowing at up to 80km/h. Port control said the weather had caused several delays in the shipping schedule. Steve Medcalf of the weather office at Cape Town International Airport, said the weekend's rain had been widespread over the south-western Cape, including the Boland and Swartland, but the Overberg, which has been experiencing drought for several seasons, had received only a little. Slippery roads caused a number of accidents on Cape Town's roads, including a Golden Arrow bus that overturned on Modderdam and Kasselsvlei Road on Sunday afternoon. Police reported that one passenger was trapped inside the vehicle. An accident involving a taxi, a car and a minibus was reported. A police spokesperson said the minibus was transporting 20 people. Areas such as Delft, Lynedoch, Klapmuts, Sir Lowry's Pass, Grabouw, Hermanus and Rawsonville suffered power failures over the weekend due to the stormy weather. One of Eskom's call centre operators said one of their biggest powerlines, running to Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, George and Beaufort West, had been damaged. Rawsonville and Grabouw had their powerlines destroyed when trees were blown over by the wind onto the lines. In Plumstead, an electric cable snapped and the municipality took three hours to respond to urgent phone calls from residents. Power also failed in Lansdowne Road. A resident, Stephen Mplatyi, said he and other residents had called Eskom and the municipality, but they were given the run-around and the problem had not been solved. Farmers from De Wets Hof Estate in Ashton, on the other hand, were pleased with the way the weather turned out because they received 15mm of rain, which they said would be good for their crops. Police said motorists driving on the N2 had experienced poor visibility between Riviersonderend and Stormsvlei because farmers had ploughed their lands, and the strong winds were blowing sand and seeds into the road, obstructing drivers' vision. The Weather Bureau issued a severe weather warning that gale-force north-westerly winds (65km/h) would persist. Temperatures were expected to be a maximum of 13C and a minimum of 11C on Monday. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Winnie hit for R1-million The First National Bank has confiscated about R1-million from African National Congress Women's League president Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the Sunday Times reported this week. The money was seized from her because she had failed to repay a loan she was granted in an apparent diamond deal. Madikizela-Mandela secured the loan after claiming to the bank that the "diamond exporting transaction" would generate vast sums of money for her, the newspaper said. But she has denied this, saying she had been defrauded. Details of the dispute were contained in court papers for an urgent application the ANC Women's League leader brought to the Johannesburg High Court on Friday. She asked the court to stop the bank from seizing the money in investment accounts belonging to her and her company, the Heroes Acre Foundation. The application was dismissed. The bank said Madikizela-Mandela's debt was about R1,1 million, and has threatened her with another court action to recover the further R100 000 which she was still owing. The bank also intends closing all her accounts. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - I've recently come to realize that rhythm isn't necessarily part of a person's birthright. Not even for those of us who hail from Africa. Oh, but isn't hindsight always such a lovely thing? It's just such a pity that it usually arrives a minute too late. Although I've had my suspicions about being rhythmically challenged for a long time (ever since high school when I was the only one to be barred from attending the open school dances, to be exact. Okay, so that was probably a BIG hint, right there, but never mind! ), I stubbornly clung to the belief that humans, like dogs, can be taught to do virtually anything. So on the day that GQ - a stage name meaning Good Quality - danced his swaggering way from the Arthur Murray dance studio into my motionless life, it didn't take him too long to convince me that he could very well transform me into the next Ginger Rogers. "I can teach anyone!" he smoothly covered my weak protests. "Besides, doll! You already have the hair!" he gushed. I should have known better then, but somehow, after all these years of being in the United States, an unhealthy amount of the American self-confidence had already rubbed off on me too. After spending a sleepless night fantasizing about how I was going to strut my stuff in the starring role of a passionate tango opposite a Latino hunk, I showed up at the studio for my complimentary first lesson. As I watched the twirling couples on the dance floor, I shook the recurring images of the hilarious Australian film "Ballroom" from my head and assured myself that the exercise would be good for me. Upon seeing me, GQ performed a lavish pirouette. "I have more left feet than the number of tentacles on an octopus!" I forewarned as he grabbed me by the hand. The music must have been too loud, because he merely took one disapproving glance at my Nikes and ordered his assistant to go and get me a pair of size 8 stilettos. "But I can hardly WALK in them!" I lamented at five inches above floor level while desperately flailing my arms about in a shaky attempt to keep my balance. "It doesn't matter, honey, 'cause you ain't gonna walk!" GQ said with relish as he flashed me his mile wide grin. It is possibly due to the trauma that followed, but I can hardly remember what happened next. One moment my body parts were being contorted into surreal shapes and I was displaying about the same amount of grace as an ox on speed. The next minute I was truly airborne. I just remember GQ's voice throughout the blur of sight, sound and pain going: "And ONE, and TWO, and THREEEEE and LIFT and AraBESque..!" I don't think I will ever forget the one rule of Physics that more or less states that a body in motion is bound to keep on moving. (Only until it collides with a dancehall mirror, of course. Then it can stop very abruptly indeed.) Following its crash landing, my body remained miraculously unscathed. But the emotional scars still run infinitely deep. Whenever I hear an upbeat song on the radio and I am tempted to start tapping my foot, I can still hear GQ's voice as he told the assistant: "Man, that white girl really can NOT dance." I always hesitate for a second. And then I simply turn up the radio another notch and start to tap my foot with a vengeful vigour! © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] De Lille prays for solution to land-grab woe Pan Africanist Congress MP Patricia de Lille was optimistic on Monday morning about the outcome of the Pretoria High Court hearing on an application for the eviction of people living on land at Bredell near Kempton Park. Speaking to reporters at the court before the start of proceedings on Monday, De Lille said: "I'm praying that we find a solution." A few dozen squatters toyi-toyied outside the court, some holding a PAC banner. Placards among the group read: "Seven-and-a-half years and no delivery", "We are homeless, we need shelter", "One family, one plot" and "We want our land back". Another poster read: "Enough is enough. We need to enjoy that better life for all, not for certain people." Thousands of people have paid R25 to PAC officials for access to the land and the right to build a home but the land belongs to the national government, Transnet and Groengras Eiendomme, which rents part of the property to a private farmer. Eskom also has servitudal rights to the land. The government has applied for a court order giving the squatters 48 hours to leave, or face forceful eviction. The squatters have said they will resist eviction. On Friday evening Judge P Rabie dismissed an application by the government for interim relief, which would have seen the squatters temporarily ejected from the land, pending the outcome of a formal eviction application. He upheld an application by the squatters and the PAC for a postponement, saying everyone had a right to be heard before judgment was passed. The PAC was informed on Saturday that it was no longer cited as a respondent in the application, De Lille said. "Nobody is seeking any relief against the PAC, so all this condemning of the PAC is merely at a political level. "The PAC was wrongly cited in this case. We have done nothing wrong. Any political party can go in and help people." The PAC would maintain a presence at the court, De Lille said. She said the court had to consider both the situation of people who had been living on the land for more than six months - to whom the government, in terms of the law, had to give alternative land - and that of people who had been residing there for less than six months. The latter group was the PAC's major concern, she said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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