I hope you have a fantabulous day hon! Sorry we cannot be there to celebrate with you and the croquet set this weekend!wishing you a day of cupcakes, cocktails and festivities
Lots of love
Wednesday 30 September 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANCES
I hope you have a fantabulous day hon! Sorry we cannot be there to celebrate with you and the croquet set this weekend!wishing you a day of cupcakes, cocktails and festivities
Lots of love
Monday 28 September 2009
Babies
Anybody got any pics of the new addition to the Winearls family?
I have pictures of Paul's new nephew Charlie (10 days old) - I can post these if we need to feel broody.
x
I have pictures of Paul's new nephew Charlie (10 days old) - I can post these if we need to feel broody.
x
Opposite of under the sea
Ok so it is not as rad as seeing lots of cool fish and getting sore ears... But we also did something rad this past naweek. I conquered my fear of heights (30m high) and got the adrenaline pumping. It was actually alot tamer than we were expecting. I had images of remaining glued to the side of the cliff not being able to look down or willingly jump off a cliff, but you soon get into the swing of it and end up jumping off (well almost, and it's actually not allowed). Check out our sexy outfits - that Paul said made the boys do an egg flip? Anyway.
I went scuba diving
At Sodwana Bay. This long weekend that just passed. With Brig and Jeremy and Jeremy's waterpolo mates. But I don't have any pictures. Saw flying fish, dolphins and whales from the boat, and all sorts of things on the reefs. The lion fish, boxy, rock cod, honeycomb moray eel, and lemon fish were cool, as were the loggerhead turtles.
Anyway diving is forkin rad - no doubt one of the best things I've learned to do in the past few years. I have issues equalising, so it hurts quite a bit sometimes, but eventually I seemed to get it going better and managed to get 3 of my 4 qualifying dives done. Will be going back to the ENT doktor to check if I did any damage! Also passed the thoery test, naturally, even though all the PADI book really tries to teach you is how and where to buy expensive gear from PADI shops.
You should all get your licenses and go diving. Just don't be shocked by the size and general quality of the bonehead population at Sodwana over long weekends.
Anyway diving is forkin rad - no doubt one of the best things I've learned to do in the past few years. I have issues equalising, so it hurts quite a bit sometimes, but eventually I seemed to get it going better and managed to get 3 of my 4 qualifying dives done. Will be going back to the ENT doktor to check if I did any damage! Also passed the thoery test, naturally, even though all the PADI book really tries to teach you is how and where to buy expensive gear from PADI shops.
You should all get your licenses and go diving. Just don't be shocked by the size and general quality of the bonehead population at Sodwana over long weekends.
Wednesday 23 September 2009
10 Ash Street
Here are the pics of my new house! As excited as I am it is damn stressful and I even cryed yesterday after dealing with the all the financial stuff. Thank God it was all sorted this morning! Moving in date is 1 December and my spare room will be ready for visitors. There will be a house warming and Christmas party all in one this year!
Red boogers
A huge red stand storm was blown into town last night. Turned the whole of Sydney into a sandpit. It felt like some kind of biblical shit at dawn though, thought i was being punished for the pork dumpling i ate last week (I was experimenting!!!). It did make for a spectacular red sunrise though...
Picture from me mate Mary. More picture here.
Monday 21 September 2009
Another one down...
R.I.P. Roc Raida - 1995 DMC World Champion and by all accounts a really good guy.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Nobody puts Floyd in the corner!
Man, everyone is dying! I was never a big Swayze fan, but he seemed like a nice guy.
One story that did really take me by surprise was the death of REAL celebrity chef Keith Floyd! Dude was only diagnosed in June this year, so sad. I never rated his cooking much, but lots of people who know thought he was good, so i was probably just not paying attention. Regardless, he had personality, a great sense of humour, and made for compelling viewing, even if you weren't into food. In a totally different league to todays 'TV chefs' (I'm looking at you Kylie Kwong and Masterchef Australia!). He even handled his alcoholism with a frankness and dignity that i don't think you'd find in todays 'TV personalities' who mostly just seem to be famous for being famous. Anyone know what Nicole Richie actually does? No, me neither.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Is it a bird... Is it a plan... no its a Hero Rat!
I know I have mentioned this to some of you before but it came up again in conversation this weekend and I love these li'l critters and wanted to share it with you all!! Hero Rats to save the world from Land Mines
Sunday 13 September 2009
Carrots III
last week's carrot was, as you know, a weekend in Jozi with the posse. Can only offer glowing recomendations for the Earl Ridge B&B ;) Thanks Hels and Paul!
Weekend of catch ups, sundowners in the park, Rock vs Disco dancefloor fun (including an awesome line dance reunion) and lemurs, white lions and zebras at the zoo. For those, like me, who have always wondered what the difference is between a Mountain and Burchell Zebra - fear not, we now know the answer: Burchell's zebra has "shadow stripes"- extra grey stripes inbetween the black ones on its ass - and the Mountain zebra has a "dulap" of extra skin (looks like an adams apple) on his neck. So.. now you know :)
Some pics:
Also... just needed to share my excitement... The Giant Carrot for October:
We (ken, his posse and me) are all booked for Lake of Stars!!!
http://www.lakeofstars.org/festival.htm
10 days in Malawi, 4 days of which are at the fest - I am so excited I cannot concentrate on the daily grind that is this week's training in the grand metropolis of Hammanskraal (40km north of PTA).
Weekend of catch ups, sundowners in the park, Rock vs Disco dancefloor fun (including an awesome line dance reunion) and lemurs, white lions and zebras at the zoo. For those, like me, who have always wondered what the difference is between a Mountain and Burchell Zebra - fear not, we now know the answer: Burchell's zebra has "shadow stripes"- extra grey stripes inbetween the black ones on its ass - and the Mountain zebra has a "dulap" of extra skin (looks like an adams apple) on his neck. So.. now you know :)
Some pics:
Also... just needed to share my excitement... The Giant Carrot for October:
We (ken, his posse and me) are all booked for Lake of Stars!!!
http://www.lakeofstars.org/festival.htm
10 days in Malawi, 4 days of which are at the fest - I am so excited I cannot concentrate on the daily grind that is this week's training in the grand metropolis of Hammanskraal (40km north of PTA).
Friday 4 September 2009
Hectic
Justin Nurse's daughter dies in fire
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Sep 04 2009 07:21
Satirist Justin Nurse's two-year-old daughter Vanilla was killed when their car caught fire in the driveway of the family's Cape Town home, the Star reported on Friday. The Honda Jazz she was sitting in caught alight in Noordhoek at about 2pm on Wednesday as the family was unloading groceries after a shopping trip.
Vanilla's mother suffered burns trying to get her out of her car seat and her father tried, but failed to resuscitate her. She was declared dead on arrival at a hospital.
Forensic expert Dr David Klatzow, who would investigate the matter, told the Star he would be looking for "possible sources of ignition, short circuits, point of ignition in the car and leaks in
the fuel tank".
The police were also conducting their own forensic investigation.
Western Cape police spokesperson November Filander said an inquest docket had been opened and a post-mortem would be conducted on the girl.
Several years ago Nurse made headlines with his T-shirts, one of which satirised South African Breweries' "Black Label Carling Beer" slogan, which he turned into "Black Labour White Guilt". The company took him to court for trademark infringement. Nurse eventually won the case in the Constitutional Court. - Sapa
Huntley case helps Darfur survivors gain perspective
What upsets me most about the Huntley episode, dealt with brilliantly by Hayibo:
CAPE TOWN. Survivors of the genocide in Darfur have issued a formal apology for overstating their case, saying they were forced to reassess the extent of their plight once confronted with the terrible story of South African refugee Brandon Huntley. "It's like Jerry Springer," said one, "you only realize how fortune has favoured you when they bring out the seriously dysfunctional at the end of the show."
Sudanese refugee, Abdul Wardi, currently living illegally in Mowbray, Cape Town, said he could only imagine how tough things must have been for Hartley. "He spent a whole winter living in a basement in Ottowa. Could anything be worse?"
Wardi, who walked from Khartoum to Cape Town said Huntley's journey must have been significantly more dangerous than his own. "He made it all the way to Canada, I only made it to South Africa. It's hard to imagine the degree of persecution a man must have suffered for him to be driven that far."
Wardi said it was only after Monday's ruling that he was finally able to understand why repeated appeals to the West from humanitarian groups working in Darfur had fallen on deaf ears.
"They are busy assessing important applications like Huntley's," acknowledged Wardi. "They can only do one thing at a time."
He said he was also able to understand why Huntley had chosen Canada as the place to lodge his appeal for refugee status. "The most famous black person in Canada is Leonard Cohen," he said. "It's all so clear now."
Meanwhile responding to Wardi's comments and the furore that greeted the ruling on Huntley's status a spokesman for the Canadian government, Chalky Canuck, expressed regret.
"It saddens us to hear of a second genocide in Africa so soon after the terrible events in South Africa."
Canuck went on to say he hoped his country's decision to grant refugee status to Huntley would be a small silver lining and a tribute to the millions of white people who had suffered during South Africa's worst ever atrocity."
When it was pointed out to him that raced based persecution in South Africa had ended in 1994 and that the country had never experienced the horrors of a genocide, Canuck said the evidence presented by Huntley's attorney's had shown otherwise.
"The tribunal has ruled," he said. "I am sure history will prove them correct."
Tuesday 1 September 2009
An option for you Grek
To speed up your perm. res. process in Oz...
I can see how this guy's story could be spun such that it may in places look convincing, but doesn't Canada know we have a Constitution and an extensive Bill of Rights? C'mon lawyers how did that oversight slip through?
General: Canada gives white South African refugee status
A white South African who claims persecution by black South Africans has been granted refugee status in Canada. A representative of the SA High Commission in Ottawa, Anesh Maistry, told News24 SA has taken note of the decision by Canadian authorities in the case of Brandon Huntley (31), who claimed he would be persecuted if he returned home. The Ottawa Sun reported earlier that Huntley had presented ‘clear and convincing proof of the South African Government's inability or unwillingness to protect him’ to a panel of the Canadian immigration and refugee board. Tribunal panel chair William Davis said Huntley's evidence ‘showed a picture of indifference and inability or unwillingness’ of the SA Government to protect ‘white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans’. Maistry told News24 that the High Commissioner had been aware of the ruling, but had not seen a transcript of the proceedings. Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the government was ‘disgusted’ by the ruling. Mamoepa said the department had heard about the ‘baseless allegations against our people and our country’, adding: ‘It would have been courteous for the Canadian Government to allow the South African Government to respond to the allegations.’
Full News24 report
See also a Beeld report
Huntley argued in his application that he had been attacked seven times by blacks while in SA because of the colour of his skin. He claimed he was called ‘a white dog’ and ‘a settler’ during the attacks, notes a report in The Citizen. Davis noted that Huntley’s ‘subjective fear of persecution remained constant and consistent’ up to the time he made his claim for refugee status.
Full report in The Citizen
Huntley’s lawyer, Russell Kaplan, says he is a human rights lawyer who emigrated to Canada 20 years ago to escape the apartheid government’s discrimination against black South Africans. Kaplan told The Times that his sister, Lara, who emigrated to Canada last year, testified about the torture and murder of her other brother, Robert, by robbers in SA in 1997. Both Lara and Huntley gave evidence in camera in a full-day hearing on 18 August, the report says. Between 30 and 40 newspaper clippings were presented as evidence of life in SA. ‘One article exhibited was published in (the Daily Sun in 2004) by Africa Ka Mahamba. (It was) entitled ‘Taking from whites is not a crime’,’ Kaplan said. The article quotes the leader of the ‘Uhuru cultural club’ as telling youngsters who attended a Human Rights Day celebration to steal from whites because ‘it is the right thing to do’. ‘The judgment was a direct criticism of the SA Government,’ Kaplan said. He said affirmative action and black economic empowerment were two of the aspects that were taken into account in considering Huntley’s application for refugee status in Canada. ‘These legislated policies, even though there is an explanation for them, are discriminatory.’
Full report in The Times
I can see how this guy's story could be spun such that it may in places look convincing, but doesn't Canada know we have a Constitution and an extensive Bill of Rights? C'mon lawyers how did that oversight slip through?
General: Canada gives white South African refugee status
A white South African who claims persecution by black South Africans has been granted refugee status in Canada. A representative of the SA High Commission in Ottawa, Anesh Maistry, told News24 SA has taken note of the decision by Canadian authorities in the case of Brandon Huntley (31), who claimed he would be persecuted if he returned home. The Ottawa Sun reported earlier that Huntley had presented ‘clear and convincing proof of the South African Government's inability or unwillingness to protect him’ to a panel of the Canadian immigration and refugee board. Tribunal panel chair William Davis said Huntley's evidence ‘showed a picture of indifference and inability or unwillingness’ of the SA Government to protect ‘white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans’. Maistry told News24 that the High Commissioner had been aware of the ruling, but had not seen a transcript of the proceedings. Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the government was ‘disgusted’ by the ruling. Mamoepa said the department had heard about the ‘baseless allegations against our people and our country’, adding: ‘It would have been courteous for the Canadian Government to allow the South African Government to respond to the allegations.’
Full News24 report
See also a Beeld report
Huntley argued in his application that he had been attacked seven times by blacks while in SA because of the colour of his skin. He claimed he was called ‘a white dog’ and ‘a settler’ during the attacks, notes a report in The Citizen. Davis noted that Huntley’s ‘subjective fear of persecution remained constant and consistent’ up to the time he made his claim for refugee status.
Full report in The Citizen
Huntley’s lawyer, Russell Kaplan, says he is a human rights lawyer who emigrated to Canada 20 years ago to escape the apartheid government’s discrimination against black South Africans. Kaplan told The Times that his sister, Lara, who emigrated to Canada last year, testified about the torture and murder of her other brother, Robert, by robbers in SA in 1997. Both Lara and Huntley gave evidence in camera in a full-day hearing on 18 August, the report says. Between 30 and 40 newspaper clippings were presented as evidence of life in SA. ‘One article exhibited was published in (the Daily Sun in 2004) by Africa Ka Mahamba. (It was) entitled ‘Taking from whites is not a crime’,’ Kaplan said. The article quotes the leader of the ‘Uhuru cultural club’ as telling youngsters who attended a Human Rights Day celebration to steal from whites because ‘it is the right thing to do’. ‘The judgment was a direct criticism of the SA Government,’ Kaplan said. He said affirmative action and black economic empowerment were two of the aspects that were taken into account in considering Huntley’s application for refugee status in Canada. ‘These legislated policies, even though there is an explanation for them, are discriminatory.’
Full report in The Times
Rachman on Japan. Snuggling Ifbot anyone?
Of course, Japan has its problems. Its average age is rising steadily and its population is shrinking. One in five Japanese is over 65. The Democrats have promised to raise pensions and payments to parents – and to cut taxes. It is hard to see how the sums add up. While the US and the UK worry that their public-sector debts could hit 80 per cent of gross domestic product, Japan’s debt is heading for 200 per cent.
Some of its efforts to deal with an ageing society are positively unnerving. The country has led the world in developing robots as companions for the elderly. These include a “snuggling Ifbot” that, according to press reports, “lives in an astronaut suit, chats about the weather, sings and plays games”.
It is best not to laugh. As the US and Europe struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of a bubble economy, rising public debt and the retirement of the baby-boom generation, they should look to Japan with respect. It may be the future.
Some of its efforts to deal with an ageing society are positively unnerving. The country has led the world in developing robots as companions for the elderly. These include a “snuggling Ifbot” that, according to press reports, “lives in an astronaut suit, chats about the weather, sings and plays games”.
It is best not to laugh. As the US and Europe struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of a bubble economy, rising public debt and the retirement of the baby-boom generation, they should look to Japan with respect. It may be the future.
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