SA Rocks

Who would’ve thunk it?! Apparently the Archbishop is a braaier and has endorsed Braai Day on the 24th September.

What a stroke of luck, great marketing and brilliant endorsement for a project that I have shown support for before on this blog. I am so chuffed for Jan and the Braai Day team that the Archbishop is on board and showing his support.

I hear you asking for proof? I hear that you want to know what happens when the Archbishop eats a wors-roll, done, have a look:

I am definitely going to be braaing if given the opportunity on the day. Unfortunately I have a conference to attend so there are no promises! But I will be trying my best to braai, will you?

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I have recently had my positivity and that of this blog challenged in a very rational and structured way by a gentlemen calling himself “Preacher”. I have my opinions about his point of view and I will respond to his comments below:

Preacher’s comment:

I continue to grow incredibly frustrated with fellow South Africans who seem to share this mentality where a poor attitude is one of the biggest challenges facing the average disgruntled South African. Being positive about the situation in South Africa is one thing, being absolutely blind to the reality of the situation is another thing altogether. Every time you raise the issue of crime, poor service delivery or rising living costs, you get the same response. “Get off your behind and do something about it!” What most people fail to realize is that by paying your taxes and being a good citizen, you are doing something about the situation. You are making a positive contribution.

I am a white male aged 28. Being the indirect benefactor of Apartheid has automatically made me the villain, nothing more then another pale face who has to pay for the sins of his forefathers. Enough about my past though. I wanted to get that out of the way so that you could automatically put me into whatever box you put people like to put me into. Im sure you have a label for it. We South Africans love nothing more then to label and classify people.

Lets, however, rather look at my present situation and possible future. One that is shared by quite a few South Africans of which a fair percentage are beginning to feel the way I do. Perhaps the positive South Africans would be able to elaborate exactly where I am wrong in my cynicism and highlight exactly why I should change my attitude to that of a positive South African. I need examples here. After all, it seems that negativity is almost as big an issue as crime, HIV and unemployment. It has to be. I mean, every time you dare complain about the state of the nation you are called a negative whining spoilt brat. Perhaps once I have been enlightened my perception of the current challenges we face will be accepted with glee instead of the growing frustration I face daily. Im not quite sure. Making an informed decision alone just does not seem to cut it. Continue Reading

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I was sent a great email by one Gerhard Schroeder who has been collecting data about SA for a while now. His email consisted of a document of some really kick ass facts about our great country and the people who live here.

This will be the first of many posts to come about varying topics over the next week. I am going to try and not fill the week with these posts even though the facts are pretty cool and will hopefully spark some interesting debate along the way.

So lets kick-off the SA FACT FOR THE DAY with some facts about our economy:

Many world-wide banking innovations originated in SA: We were the first country in the world to introduce interoperability of ATM cards through Saswitch; the first developing country to introduce credit cards; the first African country to introduce ATMs; the first country in the world to introduce biometrics on cards for the payment of pensions and we were one of the first countries to use satellite communication for branch operations.

From now onwards there will be a fact for the day every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I hope that people read these facts and everytime you are at a dinner party and someone quotes some unfounded “fact” about SA that you can remember these facts and quote them right back!!

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It seems as though SA is not the only nation “struggling” with its citizens flying to other countries and not returning.

According to a BBC report* approximately 385 000 people left the UK over that past year. Of those 385 000, 196,000 were British citizens while 189,000 were “long-term migrants” who had been living in the UK for more than a year.

This is really interesting to me. I love travelling and I admire people who can travel on an ongoing basis because it is a secret desire of mine – drop everything and everyone and just travel – to do so.

With that said, my question is as follows: Is immigration an SA trend recently or is the world suffering from a growing of consciousness?

I am really of the mind that the world is a smaller place, as many people that have left SA in the last ten years have probably also realised. There have also been other people leaving many other nations in search of something. Not greener pastures, not bluer skies, just that something that they think they need.

It has also fast become a name, shame and blame contest here in SA. I think that many people (sometimes myself included) forget how small the world is and forget that some peopler (read: many people) want to experience the world outside of their own country.

Countries for me are like religion, you are born in to one, you do not choose it. But why not? Why not just choose one, go over, get a visa, becoem a citizen and stay? I think there are many arguments relating to this topic and exactly why we need people to stay but I don’t want to get in to them.

All I am saying is that as someone who is passionately and sometimes ignorantly patriotic I need to step back and remember that the world is a smaller place that I think it is. And people have the right to travel, to come, to go, to leave or stay and they probably will choose to do so if they are given the choice.

*Article via Paul from Chillibean.

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I was very saddened to hear about Eendrag’s third story burning down and the roof collapsing. I know from my time in Res that I kept many of my memories in my residence. Not only my physical possessions but many of my experiences and lessons were created and learned in my residence. Life was grand back then.

We had fire drills at least twice a term. Luckily so too had the students in Eendrag and apparently close on 300 students were evacuated from the building in under 4 minutes. Brilliant stuff.

However the moving acts of kindness occurred after the event. All of the students were left without a roof over their heads. Not for long as Stellenbosch locals stepped up and offered their spare beds, couches, flats, chalets and any accommodation they could to the homeless students. That is incredible. That warms my heart. That makes me proud. Humanity is intact, South Africa is intact and we will all be OK if there are people like this in SA.

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I made the fatal error of waking up at the crack of dawn (literally) to play a round of golf yesterday. It might have been 6am and the tee off time might have been 7:15am but it was an amazing feeling to get on the course that early.

Let me explain why. I have heard from many people that winter golf in many places in the world is almost impossible. Not in SA let me tell you. Today was a beautiful day with mixed weather all in one day.

The day began with frosted fairways and a chill in the air. As things progressed the frost on the grass melted and the sun started to shine. By midday the course was magnificent and the weather was perfect. In the middle of winter we were playing a game of golf in T-shirts. What a pleasure. That is why SA Rocked for me yesterday. Joy.

THIS IS WINTER!!!

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Practical visionaries, particularly qualified futurists, real geniuses (of the Mensa variety) who also happen to be genuinely good guys are rare finds.
Even more so if they choose to stay in South Africa despite the obvious lures from other shores for this unique & valuable combination. This Guy has a captivating vision for what we could be, as South Africans/ Africans within a global context. He speaks without the hypnotic ra-ra of sugar-rush motivational speaking, so often unfounded on anything but blunt patriotism.
Instead, strong, clear, sometimes challenging solutions – based on long-term strategy and unlocking present untapped resources – inspire real possibilities. This is what anyone fortunate enough to spend time with this man will see and hear.

If you haven’t been introduced – I’d be honoured to give you a little glimmer of the force for good that is Guy Lundy. If you read SA Rocks regularly, you won’t be surprised.. Guy has been celebrated here before (thanks SA Rocks founder Nic) for his legendary speech “I Pledge Allegiance“. The speech went viral after it profoundly rocked our Toastmasters group; passed hand to hand around the world when South Africans desperately needed the clarity and optimism it offered.

From that seed of hope a book was born, and then another, and saw Guy jetting around the world to share the miracle of South Africa’s unique lessons in transformation. His background as an economist and futurist offers an expanded view that most SA pundits need to provide solidity for their scenarios. Guy has an engaging scenario that was developed coming in as CEO of Accelerate Cape Town : Southern Comfort / Southern Tiger (THIS is well worth a read! especially if you don’t count yourself among the apathetic & would love to get involved in ensuring SA rocks).

If you’re also keen to bridge the gap between idealism and productive action (read: good business): stay connected to the projects that Guy will be initiating through Accelerate Cape Town. Join the Facebook group for updates. Or even better, if your company/organisation can afford to get Guy to come in to do one of his legendary presentions: this is a guarantee that your trajectory will take an upturn from re.visioning your future here.

Join in & get fit for a future that is increasingly disrupted, unpredictable and define your own vision given the opportunities and risks on the horizon. The more of us that have a coherent, creative set of targets to work towards the more likely it’ll be that South Africa will get her day in the sun. We became a more united, diverse, colourful nation that miraculously transformed into a democracy.. is that it? All our karma burnt up? Or have we got the capacity for more?

I believe with my head & heart that we do. And passionate about celebrating the work of the brilliant & brave individuals who step up and do more than just speak. Hence the series >>

There are few people who have inspired as much confidence to contain a realistic yet still determinedly optimistic strategy for our future in South Africa as Guy Lundy. Read his blog, his books or book him to speak ..and let’s get some vooma & accelerate with more confidence into an SA we are REALLY proud of.

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I am glad that the guys at Braaiday are trying there hand at the web eventually! They have redesigned their website and I think they might have created this video:

I am not 100% sure that the Braaiday mense created this video. If you know the truth, set me free. Whether they did or not it’s still spot on and in true braai spirit!

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This was emailed to me but it seems to come from southafrica.net.

There are many surprising and unknown things about South Africa. Facts about the country that are often overlooked or simply not known. Here are some of the little known SA facts.

Strange Nature and history

• South Africa has the oldest meteor scar in the world, just across the Vaal River near Parys, called the Vredefort Dome. The meteor plummeted to Earth nearly two billion years ago (Earth is said to be 4,5 billion years old), predating the heady days of oxygen and multi-celled life.
• The rocks around Barberton in Mpumalanga are some of the most ancient in the world – over three billion years old. Because they are also the most accessible such formations, NASA scientists come here to gain an idea of how life might form on distant planets.
• The Tugela Falls is the second highest waterfall in the world, where the water tumbles down 850 metres. First place goes to the Angel Falls in Venezuela at 979 metres.
• There are 18 000 indigenous vascular plant species in South Africa of which 80% are uniquely South African.
• Blyde River Canyon is the third largest canyon in the world – and the largest green one. The Grand Canyon in the US is the biggest, and the Fish River Canyon in Namibia the second, but both are dry as bones.
• South African grasslands have 30 species per square kilometre, greater than the biodiversity of rainforests.
• Can mountains be folded? Yes they can, and you can see such wonders in the Western Cape at the Cederberg and the Swartberg mountains.
• South Africa and its neighbours are some of the most generously endowed geographic solar hotspots in the world, soaking up just over half of the world’s highest category of solar wattage per square metre of land.
• Therapsids are the true ancestors of mammals, and lived over 200 million years ago, long before the upstart dinosaurs of the Jurassic Age (which ended abruptly 65 million years ago). Most of the world’s proto-mammalian fossils are found in the Karoo – along with a 280 million year old fossilized shark.
• According to recent studies, the star-watching town of Sutherland in the Northern Cape is one of the most geologically stable places on Earth, yet it has a 66-million year old volcano, not yet officially extinct.
• Kimberley may have the biggest man-made hole in the world, but did you know that the southern Free State town of Jagersfontein has the deepest vertical man-made hole (and that a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles breed in it?
• South Africa is home to the world’s smallest succulent plants (less than 10 mm) and the largest (the baobab).
• Lake Fundudzi in Venda is possibly the world’s only inland freshwater lake formed by a landslide.
• 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 in Soweto.

Food and Wine

• Walt Disney serves South African wine exclusively at its 73-acre Animal Kingdom Lodge in the United States.
• South Africa has the longest wine route in the world, the R62 wine route
• South Africa is the world’s largest producer of macadamia nuts and the nuts and oils are exported to countries across the world.
• South Africa is the only country in the world where you can order something called monkey gland steak at a restaurant without the risk of a real internal organ being placed before you. It was invented many decades ago by overseas chefs as a pointed insult, aimed at the brash inhabitants of Johannesburg who poured Worcestershire and tomato sauce over everything.
• No other country eats as much kingklip as South Africans do (also known as Congrio, Ling and Rockling in other parts of the southern hemisphere).

Medicine and Science

• The world’s first heart transplant was done in South Africa in 1967 by South African Dr Chris Barnard.
• South Africa’s Dr Percy Amolis invented the Retinal Cryoprobe used successfully on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to repair a detached retina. He also removed a cataract from Nelson Mandela’s eye that enabled the former president to, for the first time, read a speech without glasses.
• Where else is an entirely new species being recreated from scratch? The quagga vanished in a frenzy of hunting in the 1800s, but after finding that the DNA is almost identical to the common Burchell’s zebra, the species is being brought back from beyond the brink by careful breeding of stripe-challenged zebras.

Water and conservation

• There are only 12 countries in the world that supply tap water that is fit to drink, and South Africa is one of them. Our tap water quality is third best overall in the world.
• South Africa also has the world’s most progressive and admired water legislation, and it is making a real difference on the ground. Since 1998 when the so-called “Blue Revolution” began, four million more poor people have access to clean water.
• South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique are tearing down fences between the countries’ game parks to create a 35 000km2 game park which will become the largest conservation area in the world. It will be bigger than Switzerland, Belgium or Taiwan.
• South Africa is ranked number one in the world for its floral kingdom
• South Africa’s Coastal Management policy is one of the best in the world with the country being the first outside Europe to gain Blue Flag status for its coastal management.
• South Africa has the third highest level of biodiversity in the world

Innovation and Industry

• South Africa is the sole producer of the Mercedes Benz, C Class, right hand drive vehicles
• General Motors South Africa will be the only manufacturing site outside of the United States to build the Hummer H3 vehicle.
• South Africans are natural inventors, giving the world those breakwater dolosse and the automatic pool cleaner.
• We also came up with the first, largest and most viable oil-from-coal refinery (which supplies 40% of our petrol). And did you know that a South African physicist co-developed the CAT-scan, that South Africa makes the seats for Concorde, and also designs and creates flight control technology for Britain’s fighter jets.

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The Discovery/702 Walk The Talk is officially over. And it was phenomenal.

There were close to 40 000 people who walked across the board, that includes the 5KM, 8KM, 20(ish)KM and 40(ish)KM walks. Throughout the walk I tried to do a walkthrough podcast that explained what the team and I were up to, what we discussed, saw and heard. However much of it wasn’t really useful as the noise was too much. Much of it I have strung together and will be releasing tomorrow as the 5th SA RocksCast. Lookout for that one!

For now let me take you through the day:

The instructions suggested that all “athletes” arrive at the venue 2 hours before the start of their walk. That meant that we were at the start very early. The event was so well organised that almost all of the 5KM participants were ready and waiting to start about 45minutes before the start was scheduled. Brilliant.

The spirits of the participants was extremely high and everyone was keen to have a bit of a stroll and a good time. The only issue that I had with the start was that the commentary from the 702 DJs was a bit too loud and in your face. This was quickly resolved after the start as we moved past Jenni and Aki and took it all in our stride. By that I mean a slow stride.

This event is such a joy for various reasons, one of these reasons being the lack of competitiveness. No one is there to win because there are no winners. Everyone receives a medal at the end and we all felt like winners. I was accompanied by a very small but well equipped team of 5 (include myself). I put this first event down to experience. Next year I hope to have a massive team consisting of more than just SA Rocks T-shirts that get lost in the crowd. I was thinking something along the lines of overalls for next year, painted or dyed in a lumo-green colour!

While minding my own business and enjoy a lovely stroll I bumped in to Steve Waugh. Can you believe it? What a great testament to the event and our lovely country and beautiful city, to have the ex-Australian cricket captain taking part! (On a side note, I hear that Steve now lives in SA, how’s that for choosing the better of two countries?)

Once we carried on it dawned on the SA Rocks team that there were thousands and thousands… and thousands of people taking part in the walk. We participated in the 5KM walk which was more than enough for our fist go. Everywhere we looked there were happy, contented, walking, talking and bubbly people.

Eventually we hit the 4KM mark and were pleased to see it. We walked for just over an hour (approximately 1hr 15mins) which I thought wasn’t too shabby. After reaching the finish line we were quickly handed medals, ushered to the party area and walked through to our cars. The event was so well organised that within 20 minutes we had walked to our cars and made our way away from any and all traffic.

I would like to thank the people who supported the idea, who walked with me today and all the people in JHB (and elsewhere) who took part. I can’t exactly tell you why I was so proud and contented to take part in the event but I can tell you that it was worth every step.

Obviously there is more to tell but I don’t want to bore people so I suggest taking part next year, checking out the photos in the SA Rocks group and listening to the podcast tomorrow!

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