Economy
1. The rand was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005
2. South Africa has 37,000 high net-wealth individuals (holding at least US$1million in financial assets)
3. South Africa has the 26th biggest economy in the world, with a Gross Domestic Product of US$126 billion
4. South Africa accounts for almost 45% of the GDP of the entire African continent, with an economy three times the size of the second biggest (Egypt)
5. Gauteng is South Africa’s smallest province but produces 37% of South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product
6. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange is one of the fifteen largest in the world in terms of market capitalization
7. South Africa’s banking system is ranked 8th in the world.
Infrastructure
1. South Africa generates two-thirds of Africa’s electricity
2. Forty percent of Africa’s telephones are in South Africa
3. South African power supplier provides the fourth cheapest electricity in the world
4. Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto is the biggest hospital in the world
5. South Africa is one of only 12 countries with potable tap water
6. Durban is the largest port in Africa and the ninth largest in the world.
7. There are 22 million cell phone users in South Africa
Social
1. Ten million South Africans (a quarter of the population) have access to social grants
2. Since 1994, 500 houses have been built each day for the poor and 1,000 houses per day have received electricity
3. Seventy percent of South Africa’s population is urbanized
4. Our population is set to stabilize at around 45 million people for the next 20 years
5. In the past 2 years, 300,000 people have moved into the middle classes and 500,000 have moved out of poverty, but we still have 20% of the population living in poverty
Tourism
1. The number of tourists visiting South Africa has grown by 116% since 1994
2. The Singita game reserve was voted the best hotel in the world by the readers of a leading travel magazine
3. For every seven tourists who journey to South Africa, one permanent job is created
4. The world's best land-based whale-watching spot is located in Hermanus in the Western Cape.
5. In 2002, South Africa was the world’s fastest growing tourist destination - for those of you that have read this far... under MY watch!!
Sport
1. The Cape Argus Cycle Tour is the largest timed cycle race in the world.
2. South Africa will become the first African country to host the Soccer World Cup in 2010
3. South Africa has the largest soccer league in the world
4. South Africa has two golfers in the World’s Top 10
5. In 1994, we won 11 medals in the Commonwealth Games. In 2002, we won 46.
SA Teaching the World
1. South Africa houses one of the three largest telescopes in the world at Sutherland in the Karoo
2. South Africa is the first, and to date the only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear weapons programme
3. South Africa has the 8th best ratio of women to men in Parliament
4. South Africa’s Constitution is widely regarded as being one of the most progressive in the world, drawing from the experiences of the world’s most advanced democracies
5. South African Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant in 1967 in Cape Town.
6. The South African oil company Sasol has established the only commercially proven oil-from-coal operations in the world.
7. Two of the world's most profoundly compassionate philosophies originated in South Africa – Ubuntu (the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity) and Gandhi's notion of "passive resistance" (Satyagraha), which he developed while living in South Africa.
Education
1. Almost a quarter of South Africa’s non-interest budget is spent on education
2. The University of South Africa UNISA is a pioneer of tertiary distance education and is the largest correspondence university in the world with 250,000 students.
3. Our learner to teacher ratio has improved from 1:50 in 1994 to 1:34 in 2004
4. South Africa’s matric pass rate has improved from 49% in 1994 to 70% in 2004, but student’s receiving university exemptions has remained at 18%
5. The adult literacy rate in South Africa now exceeds 80%
Environmental
1. The Kruger National Park supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent
2. The Cango Caves near Oudsthoorn is the world’s longest underground cave sequence
3. South Africa is home to both the largest land mammal (elephant) and the smallest mammal (shrew)
4. South Africa is the only country to house an entire floral kingdom (fynbos), one of only 6 on the planet
5. In 1991, South Africa became the first country in the world to protect the Great White shark.
6. South Africa has the oldest meteor scar in the world, at the Vredefort Dome near Parys. The scar is 2 billion years old.
7. South Africa has the third highest level of biodiversity worldwide
8. The Cape Hyrax’s (dassie) closest relative is the African elephant
9. South Africa has embraced the concept of trans-frontier ‘peace parks’, linking ecological reserves across national borders
General
1. South Africa is the cradle of mankind
2. Afrikaans is the youngest official language in the world
3. The Western Deep Levels is the world’s deepest mine at 3777 metres
4. South Africa has the world’s largest deposits of gold, chromium, platinum and manganese
5. The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace Prize winners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both have houses in Vilakazi Street, Orlando West.
6. South Africa has the world's second oldest air force, established 1920.
7. South African Breweries ranks as the second largest brewing company in the world. It supplies up to 50% of China's beer.
8. South Africa has the second oldest film industry in the world
9. South African media ranks 26th out of 167 countries in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index, ahead of the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan
10. In 2005, Time Magazine hailed President Thabo Mbeki as the Most Powerful Man in Africa
11. South Africa’s population is approximately 46.8 million (2005)
12. South Africa is a middle income, developing country with well-developed financial, communications and legal services and excellent energy and transport infrastructures
Source: South Africa - The Good News www.sagoodnews.co.za
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Smoki O's - Tapas for Smokers
I am fed up with the anti smoking nazi's that exist all over the world..... whilst lighting up in the doorway of a bar and being frowned at by some twit, I came up with the following idea...
SMOKI O's - Tapas for Smokers
An environment for smokers to be left in peace.
Simple concept: Good food and excellent booze for smokers.
Smokers are charged a cover charge of say GBP10.00.
For that they can choose from a range of cigarettes available at the bar and from a range of tapas regularly brought out from the kitchen. The fags and tapas are included in the cover charge.
All drinks are charged to the customer at the normal going rate.
Good ventilation, good reading material, great TV/DVD programming - NO SPORT!!
Non smokers..... YOU are simply not welcome. Go elsewhere with your attitudes and views. We are tired of you... Oh yes, before I forget.... pretentious smelly cigar smokers - you are not welcome either.
Heaven...... I think I will do it!
Health warning - I am very aware of the potential dangers of smoking, just as I am aware of the dangers of driving, flying, crossing the road, climbing stairs, eating and even drinking tap water. So SHUT up!!
SMOKI O's - Tapas for Smokers
An environment for smokers to be left in peace.
Simple concept: Good food and excellent booze for smokers.
Smokers are charged a cover charge of say GBP10.00.
For that they can choose from a range of cigarettes available at the bar and from a range of tapas regularly brought out from the kitchen. The fags and tapas are included in the cover charge.
All drinks are charged to the customer at the normal going rate.
Good ventilation, good reading material, great TV/DVD programming - NO SPORT!!
Non smokers..... YOU are simply not welcome. Go elsewhere with your attitudes and views. We are tired of you... Oh yes, before I forget.... pretentious smelly cigar smokers - you are not welcome either.
Heaven...... I think I will do it!
Health warning - I am very aware of the potential dangers of smoking, just as I am aware of the dangers of driving, flying, crossing the road, climbing stairs, eating and even drinking tap water. So SHUT up!!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Uncle Gordon
In 1982 or 1983 (I will correct the year when I know it) my Dad, David Leed / Daddy O, returned from a business trip to Australia. We were living in Holland at the time and I was in my last year of school.
I remember the excitement in the house.... we were always excited when Dad was coming back from a trip. We missed him.
This was different though. He had been to Australia, and he had been able to visit his brother Gordon. Our Uncle Gordon.
At that time my Dad and Uncle Gordon had not seen each other for 32 years. A monstrously incomprehensible amount of time for me aged 17/18.
I recall sitting at our dining room table as Dad told us of their reunion, how he felt about it and how, when they met again, they just chatted and chatted and chatted and whittled 32 years in to a few passionate hours of bonding together, re-forging a lifetime apart. I can still see the look in Dad's eyes as we quizzed him, as he told us what he could, and the sense of wellbeing in him having closed that 32 year gap.
Uncle Gordon passed away on Friday evening, gently, in his sleep. I wish him him well on his journey.
And Dad... I love you.
I remember the excitement in the house.... we were always excited when Dad was coming back from a trip. We missed him.
This was different though. He had been to Australia, and he had been able to visit his brother Gordon. Our Uncle Gordon.
At that time my Dad and Uncle Gordon had not seen each other for 32 years. A monstrously incomprehensible amount of time for me aged 17/18.
I recall sitting at our dining room table as Dad told us of their reunion, how he felt about it and how, when they met again, they just chatted and chatted and chatted and whittled 32 years in to a few passionate hours of bonding together, re-forging a lifetime apart. I can still see the look in Dad's eyes as we quizzed him, as he told us what he could, and the sense of wellbeing in him having closed that 32 year gap.
Uncle Gordon passed away on Friday evening, gently, in his sleep. I wish him him well on his journey.
And Dad... I love you.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Time flies
Another month over. Another month of life's experiences, some good, some bad, some great. A month of missing my kids and thinking about them as they experience a change of schools and a new routine. A new start, a new future. A good and bright future.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Antoinette
I went to school with a young lady called Antoinette (surname escapes me now and in fact she is not so young anymore) at The British School in the Netherlands in 1982/83.
I think I last saw her in London very briefly in about 1989 or 1990, and must confess that I had not given her much thought until today sitting on a plane between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
I sat across the aisle from a young Dutch girl (perhaps 16 or 17) on her way to Indonesia with her family, no doubt for their annual summer vacation, who in so many ways reminded me of Antoinette.
Buried memories come rushing front of mind again with such small prompts.
I think I last saw her in London very briefly in about 1989 or 1990, and must confess that I had not given her much thought until today sitting on a plane between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
I sat across the aisle from a young Dutch girl (perhaps 16 or 17) on her way to Indonesia with her family, no doubt for their annual summer vacation, who in so many ways reminded me of Antoinette.
Buried memories come rushing front of mind again with such small prompts.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
A dream
I had a vivid dream a few nights ago. So vivid it has not left me as dreams normally do after a few hours or days.
The dream was about love.
In the dream love was represented by beautiful jewels. Diamonds, rubies, tanzanite, emeralds - all the colours of the rainbow - all glittering in a jewels multifaceted many dimensioned way.
All of these jewels were lying in sand.
Some were vsisible at times while others were not.
As the wind blew, some were covered and others were uncovered and this went on for infinity.
Each jewel that was visible represented love.
Each different jewel that was visible represented someone, a person - a life time of people - ALL people.
As each jewel was covered up and another one, or many at a time, uncovered by the sand, the importance of always remembering love and how to love and who to love and never ever to forget who and how and when, even if that person is not around, was the powerful thought that woke me up, with that crystal clarity that we sometimes wake from our dreams with.
Without LOVE we are nothing. Without the ability to LOVE we are nothing. Without the recognistion of LOVE we are nothing.
Love is indeed all around us, all the time. We just spend too much time preoccupied with other things. Without LOVE there is NOTHING. Love for one another; Love for all our children; Love for all things - whether human or not.
To be able to love is to be able to LIVE.
The dream was about love.
In the dream love was represented by beautiful jewels. Diamonds, rubies, tanzanite, emeralds - all the colours of the rainbow - all glittering in a jewels multifaceted many dimensioned way.
All of these jewels were lying in sand.
Some were vsisible at times while others were not.
As the wind blew, some were covered and others were uncovered and this went on for infinity.
Each jewel that was visible represented love.
Each different jewel that was visible represented someone, a person - a life time of people - ALL people.
As each jewel was covered up and another one, or many at a time, uncovered by the sand, the importance of always remembering love and how to love and who to love and never ever to forget who and how and when, even if that person is not around, was the powerful thought that woke me up, with that crystal clarity that we sometimes wake from our dreams with.
Without LOVE we are nothing. Without the ability to LOVE we are nothing. Without the recognistion of LOVE we are nothing.
Love is indeed all around us, all the time. We just spend too much time preoccupied with other things. Without LOVE there is NOTHING. Love for one another; Love for all our children; Love for all things - whether human or not.
To be able to love is to be able to LIVE.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
Jesse's Broken Dragon
.......Sitting forlornly in a crumpled bag on a window sill in West Sussex......
Dragons are portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing extremely large, typically scaly, bodies; they are sometimes portrayed as having large eyes, a feature that is the origin for the word for dragon in many cultures, and are often (but not always) portrayed with wings and a fiery breath.
Some dragons do not have wings at all, but look more like long snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Modern depictions of dragons are very large in size, but some early European depictions of dragons were only the size of bears, or, in some cases, even smaller, around the size of a butterfly.
Although dragons (or dragon-like creatures) occur commonly in legends around the world, different cultures have perceived them differently. Chinese dragons, and Eastern dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent (there are of course exceptions to these rules). Malevolent dragons also occur in Persian mythology and other cultures.
Dragons are particularly popular in China. Along with the phoenoix, the dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors. Dragon costumes manipulated by several people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.
Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Eastern and Native American cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature and the universe. They are associated with wisdom - often said to be wiser than humans - and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernormal power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are said to be capable of human speech. They are also said to be able to talk to all animals.
Dragons are very popular characters in fantasy lirterature, role-playing games and video games today.
The term dragoon, for infantry that move around by horse yet still fight as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spat flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical creature.
Dragons are portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and possessing extremely large, typically scaly, bodies; they are sometimes portrayed as having large eyes, a feature that is the origin for the word for dragon in many cultures, and are often (but not always) portrayed with wings and a fiery breath.
Some dragons do not have wings at all, but look more like long snakes. Dragons can have a variable number of legs: none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Modern depictions of dragons are very large in size, but some early European depictions of dragons were only the size of bears, or, in some cases, even smaller, around the size of a butterfly.
Although dragons (or dragon-like creatures) occur commonly in legends around the world, different cultures have perceived them differently. Chinese dragons, and Eastern dragons generally, are usually seen as benevolent, whereas European dragons are usually malevolent (there are of course exceptions to these rules). Malevolent dragons also occur in Persian mythology and other cultures.
Dragons are particularly popular in China. Along with the phoenoix, the dragon was a symbol of the Chinese emperors. Dragon costumes manipulated by several people are a common sight at Chinese festivals.
Dragons are often held to have major spiritual significance in various religions and cultures around the world. In many Eastern and Native American cultures dragons were, and in some cultures still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature and the universe. They are associated with wisdom - often said to be wiser than humans - and longevity. They are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernormal power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers. In some cultures, they are said to be capable of human speech. They are also said to be able to talk to all animals.
Dragons are very popular characters in fantasy lirterature, role-playing games and video games today.
The term dragoon, for infantry that move around by horse yet still fight as foot soldiers, is derived from their early firearm, the "dragon", a wide-bore musket that spat flame when it fired, and was thus named for the mythical creature.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Happy Happy Easter
Easter Sunday. When we were kids, Mamma Lou and Daddy O used to lay out a very special Easter breakfast table. We would all have a great breakfast together and Daddy O would give us each a special Easter present.
I wonder what you are all doing today? I will just have to call later and find out!!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Seeing you soon....
Not long now before I see you all in England... I can't wait. It will have been 4 months since I last saw you and it seems like much much longer. It is a long time!!
We must think of some fun things to do!!
We must think of some fun things to do!!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Johannesburg
Reflective mood at 04h10 on 18 February 2007 with Maputo dead ahead (and down) 37000 feet and 40 minutes to go to Johannesburg.
I go there now with mixed and conflicting emotions. It is the place of my birth, where my soul resides, a place I returned to after a lifetime away and have now left, abandoned, to pursue another dream, to flee the pain of the place, yet to return sporadically to breathe the reality of the place. The gritty, harsh dangerous beauty of Egoli, the City of Gold.
It was this exact week in 1997 that I first returned to Johannesburg having left aged 7. Today, 10 years almost to the exact day I return to breathe it again.
That visit in February 1997 resulted in the uprooting of a young, unstable family in June 1997, led by Mummy bearing little Megan and baby Jesse, barely 15 months old, all following a man set on returning to his “home” and leaving behind a certain level of chaos and uncertainty.
This little band of 4 people started to put roots down in Johannesburg and the rollercoaster of the next few years began.
Johannesburg will kill you unless you embrace it, examine it and attack it. I attacked it, with a vengeance. At every level. Business, social, (multilayered social, adulterous social, extreme social). I embraced the hedonism of the place at levels that will never be spoken about.
Our family grew – how could anyone of us ever forget the birth of Mr Jake?? – his entrance to the world still disturbs yet so appeals to the darker more dangerous side of my nature.
The adventures that Mummy and I had with various social groups as we got deeper and deeper in to it all.
The joy of a new lease of life working with the South African government for it all to be destroyed so callously by a group people who simply had to say “Let’s talk”.
The arrival of beautiful Wendy... the slow yet inexorable decay of my relationship with Mummy and hers with mine. The almost totally disasterous self destructive nature of that relationship. The giving up. The end of our relationship and the slow transition to the family unit held together by love and passion for being loved.
Yet the sheer determination to not stay down when told to stay down and the triumph of that sheer will. The purpose of self determination.
The hijackings, the muggings, the smash and grabs, the house breakings the petty theft, the daily tragedy of people dying around us.
I love Johannesburg – it made me the man that I am today, the father that I am and the friend that I am to Mummy, despite the loss of our relationship.
However, I will leave Johannesburg 12 days form now having had my hedonist senses "fixed" with it all and will be more than happy not to return again until circumstance puts me back in to the deep madness of this, one of the most dangerous citites in the world.
The Malaysian ailrines 747-400 has just started its descent in to the newly named OR Tambo International airport – I can feel my senses coming alive, my “Johannesburg radar” prickles and shakes off its dust, my gut tightens in anticipation, my body squares up to the potential dangers of one of the most dangerous, yet alive and vibrant cites in the word…..
Here I come, city of my birth, here I come!!!!
I go there now with mixed and conflicting emotions. It is the place of my birth, where my soul resides, a place I returned to after a lifetime away and have now left, abandoned, to pursue another dream, to flee the pain of the place, yet to return sporadically to breathe the reality of the place. The gritty, harsh dangerous beauty of Egoli, the City of Gold.
It was this exact week in 1997 that I first returned to Johannesburg having left aged 7. Today, 10 years almost to the exact day I return to breathe it again.
That visit in February 1997 resulted in the uprooting of a young, unstable family in June 1997, led by Mummy bearing little Megan and baby Jesse, barely 15 months old, all following a man set on returning to his “home” and leaving behind a certain level of chaos and uncertainty.
This little band of 4 people started to put roots down in Johannesburg and the rollercoaster of the next few years began.
Johannesburg will kill you unless you embrace it, examine it and attack it. I attacked it, with a vengeance. At every level. Business, social, (multilayered social, adulterous social, extreme social). I embraced the hedonism of the place at levels that will never be spoken about.
Our family grew – how could anyone of us ever forget the birth of Mr Jake?? – his entrance to the world still disturbs yet so appeals to the darker more dangerous side of my nature.
The adventures that Mummy and I had with various social groups as we got deeper and deeper in to it all.
The joy of a new lease of life working with the South African government for it all to be destroyed so callously by a group people who simply had to say “Let’s talk”.
The arrival of beautiful Wendy... the slow yet inexorable decay of my relationship with Mummy and hers with mine. The almost totally disasterous self destructive nature of that relationship. The giving up. The end of our relationship and the slow transition to the family unit held together by love and passion for being loved.
Yet the sheer determination to not stay down when told to stay down and the triumph of that sheer will. The purpose of self determination.
The hijackings, the muggings, the smash and grabs, the house breakings the petty theft, the daily tragedy of people dying around us.
I love Johannesburg – it made me the man that I am today, the father that I am and the friend that I am to Mummy, despite the loss of our relationship.
However, I will leave Johannesburg 12 days form now having had my hedonist senses "fixed" with it all and will be more than happy not to return again until circumstance puts me back in to the deep madness of this, one of the most dangerous citites in the world.
The Malaysian ailrines 747-400 has just started its descent in to the newly named OR Tambo International airport – I can feel my senses coming alive, my “Johannesburg radar” prickles and shakes off its dust, my gut tightens in anticipation, my body squares up to the potential dangers of one of the most dangerous, yet alive and vibrant cites in the word…..
Here I come, city of my birth, here I come!!!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Happy Birthday Dad!!
My Dad turned 70 on 8 January 2007. Happy Happy Birthday Dad!! At the time of dad turing 70, I am 41.
When Dad turned 41, I was 12 and a half years old. It was January 1978 and we had been living in the UK for about 18 months, since the summer of 1976 - the infamous "drought" summer.
I had just had my first term at Reigate Grammar School, where I met Sandy and Gregs who remain close and firm friends to this day. Quite scary to know that we have known eachother for +/- 30 years.
When Dad turned 41, I was 12 and a half years old. It was January 1978 and we had been living in the UK for about 18 months, since the summer of 1976 - the infamous "drought" summer.
I had just had my first term at Reigate Grammar School, where I met Sandy and Gregs who remain close and firm friends to this day. Quite scary to know that we have known eachother for +/- 30 years.
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