Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Aish, thought I'd lost my mates...
#1
Good day

I saw a newer and different looking website, but upon investigation, realised you were all still out there!!
Haven't visited for a while, busy and all that...
I had an idea, would you mind telling me what it's like where you all live, I'd be interested to hear who loves where they are and why, and the opposite...
Anyway, back to sunny Durbs.. Been hot here, like Robin Williams said, "Damn Hot!!" Temp above 30 degrees and high humidity. Aircon is important, imagine how the aircon installers are doing..
The rollercoaster continues in SA. It's so nice to live here some days/hours and other days, you start to think of what else there is out there. Our team the Sharks seem to be playing well, and our SA Cricket team. We've just hosted the A1 GP and it went off well. The best part was magic exposure all over the world... maybe you can let me know if we get as much exposure as we hear. We've got the SABC telling us all the good stuff, mostly.
A downer not long ago was the Rattrey murder, which I'm sure got to all parts of the world. Another chap who did so much to put Africa on the map, taken out. Shooting yourself in the foot is still big here...
My personal favourite is the recent discovery that our President will be getting a new wall around his home and other "important people" that will cost 90 million rand. This for a man who recently stated that crime is not a big problem in SA...
The economy is buzzing though, in spite of the government, not because of them...Durban is starting to buzz as much as Gauteng, fortunately the traffic is not quite as bad though. I'm still waiting for the traffic report to start reporting the robots (traffic lights for those with short memeries) that are not out in Durban, it would take less time. Really bad, and something we are unfortunately getting used to. The taxis still drive as though they own the roads, stopping where they like and going through robots all the time.
I think one of the best things that is happening is growing voices of discontent with things as they are, from those that we expect to speak up.
I think the same is happening in Zimbabwe, where our quiet diplomacy seems to be really working well...about as well as our crime fighting abilities.
So I think things will change, and for the better, in the region. But beware, for some reason, I think that this year will be the worst for crime. We just need to ride it out and hope that we are OK on the other side. I believe that in 2008 things will start to be turning for the better in our region...
I am part of a group of people in our area where we send an sms to a central number if we see anything suspicious or anything crime related, and this gets relayed to hundreds of others in the area via sms. We are "making a plan"...
The cops cannot be relied upon, unfortunately. I suppose it's making communities stand together. And our communities are getting diverse, but this seems to be OK.
I'm looking forward to a long weekend soon down the coast with the family and some friends. Then a wedding in Cape Town a few weeks later. A business trip planned to London and Italy in April.
Otherwise busy at work, the forecast is looking good, record sales this year, and this is the same for most other businesses.
Cheers all.
Minister for the Motherland
Reply
#2
[COLOR="Blue"]Great to see you found us again Disting! Always enjoy your posts and hope that you will visit more!! Thanks for the update.

You are welcome to pick an avatar in your User CP .... Wink

Confusedue:

[/COLOR]
Reply
#3
a magic post Disting .. I do believe that Admin have a number of things planned and hence the reason for the change

should be exciting

as always magic to hear about SA even if at times it isn't the best

This Duck lives in Sweden these winter days and it is quite pleasant to say the least, we rent a house on a farm and it is splendid

summer is around the corner so a lot to look forward to Just Now

Big Grin

take care and keep up the feedback
Reply
#4
Great to hear the updates Disting :thumbs:

Didn't catch much of the news on the A1 GP other than on IOL.za

Am living in Amersham, county Buckinghamshire. Beautiful quaint village in the Chiltern Hills and where they filmed a great portion of Four Weddings and a Funeral.

The history, village atmosphere, accessibility to central London (only 30min to Baker Street), the countryside and the scenery make it a great place to live in.

Its close to Windsor, Marlow and a wide variety of villages with their own part in the history of England: eg. 10 minutes drive into a small village adjoining Beaconsfield, is the Royal Standard of England - a pub that dates back more than 950 years and is still functioning! Wonderful!

Its also the home of the English language; the food scene here is exciting, frenetic and ever-changing.

If there is one thing I do miss occasionally, its the sound of the waves crashing at night - I grew up 5 minutes walk from the beach. in Hout Bay.

A real quaint thing is the emergency services only use their flashing lights at night (seldom do we hear the sirens going at 3am) whilst during the day they use their full blues and two's . Weird, I agree, but it's something I think is remarkable and reassuring. They don't need to go blaring around at all hours - maybe its a village bylaw or something - I have no idea.
Reply
#5
Yo! disting, great to hear things are thriving down there.

I live in Leeds which although a city is small enough to get to know quite easily. If I were younger I would love the nightlife which is ever on the increase, there is a real buzz about the place.
For me the dales are beautiful all year round and it's a great place to get away from the modern world. Places like Kettlewell, Grassington, Masham...James Herriot's countryside, are fantastic.
The coast ain't too bad either, Whitby, Robin Hood's bay etc...
Reply
#6
Really good to hear from "Durbs by da sea" even though the news is not always all good. Good to hear the economy is bearing up and this not from an "official" source which is never taken too seriously.
We live in Dallas, Texas and despite some major cultural differences, we are extremely happy here. Don't have to lock our doors in our suburb and my wife and I still marvel at the fact that we go for long walks every evening, completely secure and safe. ( my grandparents used to tell of such pasttimes in Durban and Maritzburg in the old days)
Reply
#7
Hej Disting,

Great to "hear" from you again :thumbs:

I'll have to do a write up someday about living in Denmark but in the meantime you can read my wife's thoughts in the articles section - She came to Denmark just over a year ago after having spent a few years in the U.K.

Thanx for the update esp the Durban part as Durbs was my home away from home Smile

Sadly I yet again missed the A1 GP as it's only web broadcast here in Europe as far as I know :mad:

Hope to hear from you again soon and please don't wait for GB to have another face-lift before your next visit Big Grin
Reply
#8
Some really nice sounding places. I enjoyed it down in the SW of England. Mostly Plymouth, then Hayle, near St. Ives in Cornwall. Did the 2-year working visa thing. (99-01)
I met someone from Texas "mak", she was an Optometrist, from Zim I think, but had studied in SA. And where did I meet her? On the tube to Heathrow last year...And she knew mates of mine down near Exeter, originally fom PE.
Minister for the Motherland
Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Plse spare a thought for friends of mine... Icecub 17 6,224 06-07-2006, 09:11 AM
Last Post: Almitra
  I've lost my luggage Pronkertjie 52 15,884 26-06-2006, 07:37 AM
Last Post: oe-la-la

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)