Wednesday 24 August 2011

So it was

It happened. The psycholgist said it is deep depression. One can only stand by and listen. Nothing that you can change or do except to be there for your child.

This is life and we must live it, get up and go on, no matter what is happening on the inside that no one else will ever know of.

We are allso different but the same...

Monday 22 August 2011

The Fire place

So they came to install the long awaited fireplace on Fiday last week. We sorted out the shack to serve meals there. The air was coolish but not really cold. Good friends arrived for their lunch but after seeing the commotion in the Deli - the shaft for the fire place is 6 meters tall - scaffolding had to be used to erect it, they decided to rather visit us next week when everything was sorted out.

Midday (lunchtime) the installers started with the welding and hammering to get the fire place in. Lo and behold the customers started walking in and amazingly no one wanted to sit in the Shack. No everyone wanted to be in the main building despite the chaos and sparks and labourers. I had to scurry around, pick tables up, make new seating arrangements in the other departments and in the aisles of SPACES to get everyone seated and fed.

My greatest concern all the time was the safety hazard. All is well that ends well. Thanks Andrew for doing a great job. The fire is going and the people loves it.

Wednesday 17 August 2011

Evening with Ronnie Kasrils and Trevor Manual

It was just one of those have to do events when I saw that Ronnie Kasrils was going to be in a discussion with Trevor Manual on Ronnie's latest book of 4 years in his late wife Eleanor's life. Arriving at the Book Lounge in Cape Town an hour before the time we had time to browse around and drink a glass of wine. The air was filled with expectation.

In the intimate space of the Book Lounge some were seated on plastic chairs others stood around and waited.

The men were introduced and they started chatting -Trevor Manual posing gentle questions and Ronnie Kasrils answered in honesty and giving more background and details. the story unfolded more and more. Jokes were shared.The audience was involved in the discussions - Dennis Goldblat asked how Ronnie got Eleanor to make a bollemakiesie in politics. This lead to even more tales of soup eating and ballet performances.
Special moments were shared as reference was made to the love side of the love story. Artchbishop Tutu sat silently and listened to it all.

The awareness that I got was that this special group of people gathered here is (which consisted of a couple of heavy weights in the politics past) a group of very special people that fought with integrity wits and style to do what is right. It is almost the end of and era.

Great men who regard values, principles and integrity above all. They fought for what they believed, as Ronnie stated he was a revolutionary, he set out to right the wrong to change things around for the better.

He gave an insight of where it all started when he was 10 years old and looking on to gross wrongdoings while older stronger chose not to see.


Trevor had to handle a very political question posed by some one in the audience regarding when will there be light in the tunnel for those that suffer and is poor. This person asking the question also justified the Tottenham events of looting by saying how else ?

The answer was one based on Tervor's basic beliefs on honesty integrity values and principles. That by no means can looting (taking from someone things that do not belong to you) be justified by any cause.

Ronnie's sensitivity and wisdom was underlined by the fact that he encouraged others to listen to the individual to have compassion. Also is it the special chemistry that takes place when you are in a given situation and your heart suddenly opens for something that determines your purpose as was in the case of Eleanor - a special kind of chemistry takes place when you are at the right place and time and your direction is changed by events to to good to others.

As Trevor said: 'It is all about Ubuntu - respect for one another'.