All things Cape Town...

You blink and before you know it the end of January is upon us, it was just like yesterday that I was contemplating whether to go anywhere for the rest of December or just stay home and rest….wow, but anyway, 11 more months to make the year pan out exactly as you hope.

Year is only a month or so old and so much controversy already. The Republican race to the White House is a laugh a minute, those guys are all a bunch of rich, far right clowns to be honest. The funniest thing I have heard to date was the captain of the Italian Cruise that ran aground defending the reason he jumped ship before everyone else and his response was along the lines of he slipped and fell and landed in a rescue boat…SERIOUSLY?!

Anyway last week I mentioned Cape Town Racism in my email, I wanted to go into more detail about it but alas email was getting too long ☺. At the end of last year there was a big hoo ha about CT being racist etc. going on. Now as you all know, if you have seen me (not heard me cos on the phone boss I could easily be John Smith who went to Bishops ;), like a mates parents, who were all too keen to point out the fact a few years ago…I am apparently black ☺. (that was sooo unnecessary but I’m apparently I am unnecessary sometimes)

I go to Cape Town a lot, I properly heart that place, but to call it racist might be a bridge too far. The place is still properly segregated, but no one makes it a law, its just how it is. Oh too often do I cruise the streets and my bro, my cous and I are the only brothers, or one of very few brothers in the joint. Its such a common occurrence there. There is such a huge void when it comes to successful middle class blacks in the city. But the city isn’t racist, some elements of CT are racist definitely but that’s like any other city in this country. The only difference though is that industry in Joburg for example is big enough for blacks to prosper. That’s another thing too. I lived there for a good 2 years and wanted to stay for a while but I couldn’t do it, because you hit a ceiling very quickly and if your life isn’t really about the mountain, the beach, the runs on the promenade, wine routes, the sea, Caprice on Sundays till 4am on Monday, well then the big smoke beckons.

What I will say though is my experience of CT is different to a lot of other Jozi blacks though. I lived in CT for maybe 8 years in total, so I know the scene, well just going out scene not the restaurant scene, because me and dating we not so big, but anyway there are plenty times when I have observed some blacks trying to come into a bar and they have been told that you have to be on a guest list blah blah, old school times ey. Restaurants though yoh, boss we stroll into a larney restaurant about 6 blacks strong, the looks we got, like we were about to rob people, but as I said its not the place, it’s the people…

The thing that exacerbates this thinking is the migration of many whites there, its no coincidence that it coincides with the fact that it’s a DA run city and there is nothing wrong with that, but an underlying undertone would be that the rest of the country is not good enough because its run by the brothers ;) yes I said it

Anyway I can rant on about this forever, it’s a beautiful little city that with some super hot ladies too. There are racist elements there as there are some really good people of which I know plenty! Instead of sitting on the outskirts and passing commentary about how racist the place is, other than the ridiculously hig prices for property ;) there is nothing really restricting blacks from moving there and just making it happen for ourselves. In life you have to prioritise and decide the best course or path for your life so don’t be bleak cos you decide to chase money instead of the mountain. Don’t label a place unsuitable because when you go there you choose not to go out to the night spots….

Speaking of Cape Town, this DA youth league that’s causing so much media hype, so unnecessary it is. Guys in like the 90’s do you guys not remember the United Colours of Benneton’s ad campaigns, I really don’t think that its much of a muchness…well it wouldn’t be if it wasn’t a ‘white’ political party that was using it as its ad campaign. Firstly let me give my stance on it. I think its getting more attention than it deserves to be honest, its quite a random poster and it should have been ignored. But now that its being spoken about so vastly, what I could say though in hindsight for them was really…of all the issues in SA portraying an interracial relationship as what you can do for the youth….SERIOUSLY, people please, even me, if I had to ask my 2 boys Degs and Mbumbs about inter-racial relationships, they’ll answer “we’ve been having it, since we were 9…and them brothers are oooold!!! ☺

So many other issues facing the youth, HIV, service delivery, unemployment, economic standing, job prospects, corruption which if not controlled could render us just another African state and the list goes on, there are sooo many pertinent things soo many more important things that they could have depicted, like a person living in a shack and another in a proper house with a car etc and then have the same tag line…but instead lets have 2 youngsters in a romantic embrace….that has more to do with peoples mindsets…preferences, family etc. than what the DA can do to influence this…epic fail but that’s enough about that…Im out.

Birthdays
22nd Munier
23rd Andrew Scott
24th Sandy
25th Anna
26th Gakim
27th Ingo
28th Martin, Gareth, Dil

Toodeloo good people

Y
…one life…

Its a new day, its a new dawn

Someone please tell me where this year is running off to because I missed the memo!! ☺

Hello my dear friends man its been an age and I was reminded of this by my good man Dakes who prompted me to write, so you owe this drivel to him ☺.

Inspite of itself, last year was a pretty darn good year, a year of learning great lessons which hopefully will be employed this year to bear fruit in all spheres and aspects of life.

At the end of last year I really took it easy and tuned into the world and really listened to people and read what they had to say on social networks etc. and it really struck me that we as a people, have souls that are just not at rest, we are truly not happy with who we are or our lot in life and it leads to bitterness and resentment in all those around us and all those who are willing to listen. It doesn’t matter where you live. We are just not happy. Its work, our spouses, our parents, our cars, our cities, our governments and it goes on. But consider the person with no work, no spouse(if they seek one ;)), no parents, no car, no city to travel to or the ability to travel to different cities or government that allows them to voice their opinion, consider those for a moment and please once again do complain again.

Its about time we started taking ownership o our lots in life. There really is no greater power out there plotting our demise. Sometimes you rise sometimes you fall, its this thing we called life, it’s a rollercoaster and damnit we just have to ride it, because the alternative is a dark place that sometimes becomes a mess and a mare to climb out of trust me!

I believe this is the end of the world that many of those doomsayers have been pointing at. The financial systems are hanging on by a mere frail thread and good for them because its greed that has gotten us to where we are and that had to rebalance itself sooner or later. Societies are standing up and shouting…we are not going to take it, no we aint going to take it, Arab spring, occupy Wall Street, Naijas are telling the government they are not serious and to be honest I don’t think they are either, 2.2mil barrels of oil a DAY at $112/barrel and still so much poverty in the country, aaand on top of it all you decide to cut the a subsidy to your already raped population? Something something, something something just aint right!

It’s the new world order, this material world we live in needs to be toned down because its less human and humane and all about Christian Louboutins and Ferrari 458 Italias…now I aint saying that all those things are bad or wrong, but the actions and thought s you employ to achieve them now there in lies the axis of evil that is decaying this life we live.

This year I had a proper lesson of what this life is all about pretty early, it was sad it really was but my heart smiles still. I started off by picking up this book my sister got me last Christmas called The Leader who had no Title, by Robin Sharma, its one of those self help books and perhaps not applicable to everyone but it hit a big fat cord in me man and I was all positive, then later on the 3rd Jan a man very close to me for the last 28 years of my life was taken away from us to teach other souls some deep yet subtle lessons, merely by action more than words. I spent half of my growing life (still growing I am) at his house and just through observation and my relation to him and his family, I was always reminded of what this life was really all about when I was away from those lessons I observed from my own parents when I was at home.

This thing is simple man! Its all about being honest, treating each other with respect and just being there to help your fellow man when you can. Its about humility, its about depth of character as opposed to depth of wallet, its about the soul. Its about the lessons you leave behind the lives you touch because that’s all you leave.

Those of us who are reading this, just be darn grateful that you have another 11.5 months to work towards being the best you you can be whilst we are walking or rolling on this earth, because you don’t know when and we don’t how, but our days are numbered and all that will matter in the end is the testimony to the life that you have lead, sure some people couldn’t be bothered by that, and that my friends is unto them, but the amount of support those left behind receive as a result of what was done whilst you walked this earth, man, that my dear friends is priceless.

Keep darn well smiling my dear friends, because whatever it is you are going through, good or bad, it will end, but you will learn and grow.

Birthdays
3rd Karabo Morule
6th Jan Ingrid, Darren
10th Brendan K
11th Dear Pops, Precious
14th Zahira
15th Dr Clarke
16th Ann-Louise
17th Takunda Pongweni
18th Graeme,
19th Priya
20th Natasha Diest
21st Chris Snyman dC, Clayton

And I’m out! Stay blessed because trust you me you are!!

Y