Archive | April, 2007

Australia Wins The 2007 Cricket World Cup… Or Do They?

Posted on 29 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

I am congratulating the Australian cricket team on their victory of the 2007 cricket world cup. In spite of the umpires of the match confusing the daylights out of everyone involved (pun intended). Bad light halted play, rain put the game under delays and then Sri-Lanka took the offer for bad light.

Australia have already celebrated their victory but were told to stop when the light apparently improved.

I am posting this post to say that I think the best team won. Australia have been incredible in the previous three cricket world cups and there is no better team in the world. South Africans generally have a dislike for Australians but I think that we all need to admit that the best team in the world won the cricket world cup. So Congratulations to Australia, you deserved the win!!

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Simphiwe Dana Jazzes Her Way To The Heart Of SA

Posted on 28 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

Simphiwe Dana is a South African Musician. She is a beautiful South African woman who captures the soul in her jazzy-pop-afro sound (that’s the best way I can describe her sound).

She is sultry, sexy and earthy and just what South Africa needs on the music scene. I might not understand what her words are trying to say to me but I can feel what she feels and hear what she wants me to hear.

From Dana’s website:

It may sound clichd, because it has been said of so many female vocalists that come on to the scene these days, that they sound so much like the young Miriam Makebas and Dorothy Masukus, but Dana’s voice does transport you to that golden era in South Africas history.


Simphiwe Dana

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President Mbeki Addresses the Nation

Posted on 28 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

I have chosen to place the entire speech in this post so that you can read it all in one place. I found the speech at IOL.

Here goes:

Fellow South Africans,

We need to dedicate ourselves to the building of a socially cohesive nation, always working to create a common identity as South Africans, united in diversity, bound together by the same vision of creating a truly non-racial, non-sexist society based on the values of ubuntu.

Clearly, all sectors of society should join forces in a national partnership to achieve social cohesion and build national unity.

While priding ourselves on the successes we have made since the dawn of freedom, we equally have a duty to reflect on the challenges that we still have to do, especially the eradication of the legacy of our odious past.

Indeed, since the onset of freedom and democracy in our country we have traversed a long and arduous journey of bringing together a nation until then fractured by a deeply entrenched system of institutionalised racism.

However, to accelerate our efforts towards a non-racial and non-sexist society and build a better life for all, means working in partnerships to fight the legacy of apartheid in all its manifestations. It means that we must fight racism wherever it appears – at the workplaces, in business, at schools, in the media, in the streets, at the dinner-tables, in public and private institutions and in every part of our country and society.

Further, freedom and democracy gave birth to a culture of human rights in South Africa. At the centre of the new culture of human rights is the promotion of non-sexism and non-racialism. We therefore, call upon all South Africans to work in partnership, especially with institutions such as Commission for Gender Equality, Human Rights Commission and others for the promotion, protection, development and attainment of human rights.

Three years into the Second Decade of Freedom, let us renew the pledge we made as a nation as we entered the decade, to build a national partnership to advance faster towards a better life for all.

The progress we made in the last thirteen years of freedom laid the foundation for us to move still faster towards a better life for all and to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.

Let all of us, on this day, the Freedom Day, rededicate ourselves to build a better society in which we can defeat poverty, unemployment, homelessness and economic marginalisation.

Together, government, business, traditional leaders, women, youth and workers should help the rural poor with simple yet critical programmes that would alleviate poverty and hunger. Together let us help to set-up and strengthen community gardens, co-operatives, small and medium enterprises and structures aimed at the up-liftment of our people in the rural areas.

It means that government’s expanded public works programme should be accelerated and services to rural areas radically improved, so as to continue changing for the better the living conditions of the mass of our people in the rural areas, so that they can also feel that while today is better than yesterday, tomorrow will bring more joy than today.

In this regard, all of us as South Africans – business, women, youth and both the public servants and public representatives, should rededicate ourselves to building a caring nation.

Today, on the occasion of the celebrations of our freedom, we renew our partnership committed to working with business for a growing economy that benefits all, an economy that creates the resources necessary to push back the frontiers of poverty.

Together, let us ensure that our economy achieves higher rates of growth and that all the people of this country share in this growth; that our businesses re-invest in our economy, in this way helping to create more jobs and thereby fight poverty.

Together – government, institutions of higher learning and business – let us strengthen efforts aimed at addressing the shortage of skills in our country.

Together, we must work hard to tackle the challenges of our second economy and ensure that measures aimed at addressing the specific needs of the millions who subsist in this economy are effective, so that these masses of our people can also become part of the first economy and enjoy its benefits.

To work in partnership to build a better life for all means that all of us should be committed to the implementation of policies aimed at bringing black people into the mainstay of the economy and therefore help implement policies on affirmative action and broad-based black economic empowerment. Continue Reading

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SA restaurant rocks in the world’s top 50

Posted on 27 April 2007 by Cooksister

Cooksister bannerThe annual list of the Top 50 Restaurants in the World was released this week. Like most people, I was interested in seeing whether Ferran Adria or Heston Blumenthal snatched the top spot (it was Ferran – better luck next time Heston!). But unlike most people, my eye scanned down the list looking hopefully for an African connection (unlikely, you might think, given that we are such tiny minnows in the world of international fine dining). But there it was – just in at no. 47, but in nonetheless: Le Quartier Francais outside Cape Town.

Le Quartier Francais is a gorgeous Relais & Chateaux hotel (or rather auberge, according to their site ;-) ) in Franschhoek, named as “Best small hotel in the world” by Tatler in 2005. If you’re wondering about the distinctly Francophile name of the hotel, it’s no mystery once you know the history of Franschhoek. In 1685, after Protestantism was outlawed in France, a group 277 of so-called French Huguenots arrived by ship at the Cape of Good Hope and were given land by the Dutch government in a fertile valley outside Cape Town then called Oliphantshoek (literally “elephants’ corner because of the large herds of elephants that roamed the area – hard as though that now seems to believe). The are soon became known by a new name – Franschhoek which in fact means “French corner” in Dutch. So not only is there a distinctly French tradition of wine-making in the area, but there is also still a strong French Cultural influence in the restaurants and vineyard names (La Motte, Plaisir de Merle, L’Ormarins and Chamonix, to name but a few). They even hold a Bastille Festival and boules tournament each July!

There are two restaurants at the Le Quartier – the more casual space is called Ici (more French!) and has a relaxed menu to match its ambience, but the star of the show is definitely the fine dining restaurant The Tasting Room. Diners are in the safe hands of chef Margot Janse. Margot was born in the Netherlands and had no formal training as her first career choice was not food-related at all: she spent a year at theatre school in Maastricht. However, when she applied to the Amsterdam theatre school the following year she was told that she needed to to do some travelling and experience the world before they accepted her. This led to a trip to Africa in 1990 with her boyfriend, a South African political journalist living in the Netherlands. She spent time in Zimbabwe and Zambia and obviously fell in love with the continent, because in 1990 she arrived in Johannesburg, still with the intention of pursuing a career in theatre.

But in 1992 she realised that her real passion lay in cooking. Not wishing to tie herself down to a three year catering diploma, she started working as a waitress. This eventually led to a job in the kitchen at La Cucina di Ciro Johannesburg where chef Ciro Molinaro recognised her potential and encouraged her to become involved in creating menu items and hone her skills. In 1994, Margot moved to Cape Town, working briefly at The Bay Hotel before being appointed sous chef at Le Quartier Francais. When executive chef John Huxter departed not long after, she stepped into his shoes and seems to have gone from strength to strength ever since. Both the restaurant and Margot have a string of accolades to their names, including Margot’s selection by Wine magazine as Best Chef in South Africa in 2004.

The Tasting Room is only open for dinner, Monday to Sunday, and diners have a choice of a four- or six-course a la carte menu, or the eight course menu gourmand. Both options perfectly showcase Margot’s affinity for melding the cooking techniques of Europe with the unique ingredients of Africa. I was drooling over the oyster and vanilla nage with a crayfish and avocado mousse; the ballotine of wood pigeon, duck and foie gras with peach and rooibos chutney; or the sugar-cured springbok and confit rabbit terrine with cabbage marmalade. And we won’t even mention desserts like white chocolate and citrus terrine with a passion fruit and cherry foam… Even better is the price – the eight-course menu gourmand with matching wines comes in at a laughably reasonable £55 per person.

At that price, it almost pays to fly to Cape Town for dinner…

The Tasting Room
Le Quartier Francais
16 Hugenot Road
Franschhoek
7690
South Africa
Tel. +27 (0)21 876 2151
Fax. +27 (0)21 876 3105
E-mail restaurant@lqf.co.za

This post also appears on my blog, CookSister!

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Not The 2010 World Cup Logo

Posted on 27 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

world_cup_2010_logo.jpg
The original 2010 logo

Not the 2010 world cup logo is great. It’s loads of fun, talent and prizes rolled in to one Pro-SA and design site.

From the site:

This website was created simply as a portal for designers who felt that they were unjustly excluded from the opportunity to design an emblem or logo for the 2010 World Cup. Many designers feel that the current logo is not a good reflection of SA design and this website affords them the opportunity to submit their own creations. Your logo will not become the official logo by any means, but you can win some great prizes for your efforts and become recognised as creating the best unofficial logo. Do you think you can design a better logo? PROVE IT!!


2010notworldcup.jpg

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Internet Protocol Television is here!

Posted on 26 April 2007 by Justin Hartman

Technology Thursday

On Friday Telkom Media, a completely separate entity from Telkom Limited, demonstrated its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platform which is a service that the company plans to introduce during 2008.

IPTV has become a common denominator for systems where television and/or video signals are distributed to subscribers or viewers using a broadband connection over Internet Protocol. Often this is in parallel with the subscriber’s Internet connection, supplied by a broadband operator using the same infrastructure but over a dedicated bandwidth allocation.

IPTV is one of the services that will be made available on the next-generation network that Telkom is rolling out by upgrading their current ADSL exchanges to ADSL 2+. Telkom’s current ADSL offering allows for a maximum download speed of 1 Mbps however ADSL 2+ allows for download speeds in excess of 20 Mbps which will make IPTV a reality in South Africa.

Telkom Media has applied for a pay-TV cable and satellite broadcast licence via a consortium that includes Telkom (66%), Anant Singh’s Videovision Entertainment (15%), Given Mkhari’s MSG Africa Media, WDB Investment Holdings (5%), a staff incentive trust (4%) and a broad based black economic empowerment shareholder (5%) which are investing R7 billion in setting up a subscription TV service aimed at the mass market, as well as several multi-platform technologies such as IPTV and video on-demand.
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Contribute to SA Rocks

Posted on 26 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

It has been a while since I explained to readers how they might be able to contribute.

The main and easiest way to contribute is to email me your story, photograph, word or any other sort of contribution: editor@sarocks.co.za.

You can also visit the SA Rocks Flickr Group, Digspot Group, or Facebook Group and contribute to any of those.

It would also be great if you stick up the SA Rocks badge in the sidebar of your blog or simply link to SA Rocks. This way you are added to the SA Rocks supporters list.

However you want to do it, just do it. Contribute to SA Rocks and get your name on the supporters list!

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Countries Visiting SA Rocks

Posted on 25 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

I have been astonished and interested to see the list of countries that visitors to SA Rocks come from. Topping the list is the USA. I am not sure if this is a true reflection but it is still interesting to note who is visiting and digging SA.


Countries visiting SA Rocks

It is also good to know that when these people do visit the site they are not bombarded with violence, poverty and fraud, but are filled with hope, excitement and positivity to a degree.

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South Africa’s Online Presence is Growing

Posted on 24 April 2007 by Nic Haralambous

When I started SA Rocks I was surprised at the lack of positive online presence and press South Africa was receiving. I stand corrected and I am so glad to say that.

Here is a list of sites I currently subscribe to containing SA info and outlooks:

Homecoming Revolution Blog
Algoa Bay Yacht Club
CapeTown Blog
Notes From The Cape
South Africa Blog
South Africa.info

There are so many more that I know I haven’t located. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep on top of all of the news happening on all of these sites. The competition is fierce, the players are tough and the subject matter is brilliant! I am loving the fact that there are so many sites trying to say so much about our country. Do yourself and these sites a favour and visit them regularly, in fact subscribe to their RSS feeds and support.

gogo.gifThe latest in this long line of sites is Go2SA.

Stii has blogged about the project already so I wont try to better his words, I will simply quote:

Its been a loooong time coming and is finally here! Our latest project is in a final Alpha stage ready to go beta! And since everybody else launches at this time more or less, We though “Why the hell NOT?”. So here is one of the reasons for my lack of blogging…

Go2sa.co.za is a community driven tourism portal. By that I mean that content is generated by the members. The members is all tourism related service providers like accommodation establishments, activity providers, restaurants, etc… everyone that service the tourists.

Stii was gracious enough to ask for SA Rocks to feed stories to Go2SA. I accepted without a moments hesitation. I think that any and all help that our beautiful country can get is welcome a million times over.

I implore you all to get over to Go2SA and the other sites I have listed and show your support today. Blog about them, blog about the subject matter, contribute to their sites and their causes. Contribute to SA Rocks too, of course!

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This place rocks

Posted on 24 April 2007 by thecrusa

Wine Around the Corner

If you’re looking for an uber cool place to meet a friend for a drink – or indeed try & buy some great wine – then Winesense is the place.

This trendy wine bar is modern, sophisticated and has stores located in some of South Africa’s coolest spots: Cavendish;Mandela Rhodes Place; Kalk Bay; Willow Bridge; Melrose Arch – and I’m sure the list will go on!

Go and check out their website for more on what they are about – Winesense – actually go visit one of their stores, get yourself a ‘top-up’ card and start tasting!

Come South Africa, we really need to start drinking more wine – our consumption levels are down. It’s criminal, we have some of the best stuff in the world right here – and with places like Winesense – well there really isn’t any excuse!

Cru Master

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