Show time

Still rollercoasting on. Oh, and what a typical Joburg weather show. Thunder and lightning show last night. Summer's truly here.

And this morning that 5 minutes of storm madness with buckets of water coming out of the sky like there is no tomorrow. Traffic will be worse this morning.

And today is exactly 20 years that the Berlin Wall started to come down. People power! Revolution against insanity. Celebrations and commemorations in the German capital all week.

Rollercoasting on

Rollercoastin'. Aliens arrival. AF990. N1 nightmares, but I guess it's for a good cause (2010 and beyond).

Standing in OR Tambo's arrival hall I must admit it looks nice and big and full of light. Compared to many other airports around the world, even in top cities like Paris or London, the new ORT looks very welcoming.

Rollercoasting on. Bell Gables resto. Still great. And they are upgrading Beyers Naude at the Zandspruit township. Good!

On we go. Rosebank Market. Some things are just obligatory alien territory.

Meanwhile keeping an eye on the Berlin Wall festivities in the German capital. It's been 20 years now that it was pulled down, hammered down, bulldozed down. And the world changed.

Rollercoasting on. Cold front for Cape Town expected, while Jozi wakes up to a sunny sky.

Benni

So Benni McCarthy has been called up again for Bafana Bafana. The new/old coach made his first new move. We’ll see if Benni comes because he’s a bit of a rocky character. All eyes are now on SA’s friendly game against Japan. A new start. But with a deadline ticking closer and closer.

The big test game against Japan, qualified for the world cup, will be played in PE on November 14. And then 3 days later in Bloemfontein, Bafana Bafana will play its last game of 2009 against Jamaica (not qualified for the world cup).

These are crucial games for the spirit of the nation. The bad vibe of Santana needs to be outlawed and a new dawn needs to rise.

Not that Benni is making big waves at his English club Blackburn Rovers these days, but Bafana Bafana’s goal scoring has been the biggest headache and thus all help is welcome. We live in hope. The (expected) return of Benni feels abit like the return of the lost, wild son. If Benni's for real he just needs to prove it on the pitch. That's all. It's up to him now!

And not that Perreira was a miracle man either when he coached Bafana Bafana in his first visit to SA. We didn’t qualify for the Africa Cup in Angola as a starter. But South Africa has this thing about expectations and a brighter future. So we live in hope. Indeed.

Dreamfields

Was thinking about it this week as a colleague was looking for some nice football story angle.

Some (most) of radio listeners across SA will know John Perlman from his morning radio show on SAFM (no more) and his current afternoon gig on Kaya FM.
What probably and unfortunately fewer people know is that John is a passionate football fan. And has a big heart.

He is the man behind the Dreamfields Project. The aim is to invest in township and rural schools so they can join the world cup dream. So these kids too can feel the 2010 passion. So John and his Project try to provide better football pitches and football kit to these forgotten corners of the nation. It really brings a smile on these kids and let them really enjoy the love of the football game in decent conditions and with real balls and real outfits.

Dreamfields’ long-term goal is to get a school football league running across South Africa. A great idea!!! Thumbs up for John and his project!

For more check out www.dreamfieldsproject.org



...and did you see that goal from Liverpool's Babel in and against Lyon last night. WOW!

The Dec. 4 buzz

In 1 month’s time, on December 4, we will know in what group Bafana Bafana will be during the World Cup’s first round. Exciting.

Still several qualifying games to be played in Europe, Africa and the Americas but all spotlights are moving steadily towards the draw at the ICC in the Mother City on Dec 4.

It makes a hell of a difference if you end up in a tough group or in an easier one. At least, perceived easier, because there are often some serious surprises at world cups.

So in the coming 2 weeks, Bafana Bafana will play friendly games against Japan and Jamaica. And this while Bafana is under old/new management. See what happens! And then also the final qualifying games across the globe. Especially looking forward to the Ireland-France clash on the 14th (and return game on the 18th). And also Portugal vs Bosnia-Herzegovina of course, as a world cup without the world’s most expensive player (aka Ronaldo) would be a bit sad.

Memories while @ Picobello

Had a nice lunch yesterday with some oversees documentary makers. The lunch was at Picobello on 4th Avenue in Melville. Nice and relax.

And as we were talking about Afrikaners and some perceived stereotypes people have of other people, I remembered a funny event some years ago in a desolate area in northern South Africa close to the border with Botswana.

Me and my 2 colleagues had car trouble. It was my fault. I was driving too fast with a rental, hi-tech Range Rover over dirt roads. The computer on board the 4x4 that constantly recalculates the suspension couldn't cope anymore and gave up. Result of that ‘surrender’ was that it lowered the car to its maximum and thus we were scrapping the dirt track and thus some red lights started to flash on the dashboard. And thus we were forced to stop.

In the middle of nowhere as it goes and without cell phone signal. We looked a bit around and saw a farm in the distance. The Range Rover stopped flashing warning signs but was still very low to the ground. We drove very slowly to the farmhouse. A young Afrikaner couple came out. Very friendly. We explained them our conflict with high-tech car technology. They saw our TV equipment in the car and a brief chat erupted about media. And to our surprise they said they were regular viewers of the international news channel Al Jazeera English, which you can catch through the DSTV decorder (channel 406). We were really taken by (positive) surprise.

Here we were in the middle of nowhere, without cell phone signal and on an Afrikaner farm,... but they were watching Al Jazeera English. How preconceived ideas can be easily forced out of the window!

The 4x4 started to lift itself (and by itself) to normality and of we went. Slower than before, but without hassle we reached Joburg some hours later.

Leftovers

Saturday afternoon. Discovered Avondale Shiraz. Nice. And the lamb leftovers for the 2 original gangsters below: L.U. & T.F.