Hi Blood

While I am often annoyed at the level of English in South Africa, especially where it can effect efficiency and effectivity, I am also fascinated by some of the words we use.

In English we are used to biro meaning pen, scotch meaning cellotape and hoover meaning vacuum cleaner but as a white South African I miss much:

"high blood" is even used in the INTERNET e-commerce for a herbal remedy for hypertension

"checkers" for a plastic bag and brilliant advertising for checkers

"look up and runs" for packets of chicken head and feet

"zo zo" for a small room in the back yard of a house

"hippo" for the round roofed township house

just a few really interesting words, but there must be thousands - send them in and I'll start a Colloquial South Africa Website and publish if we get enough.

By the way a look at the web shows many lists, but to me mainly uninteresting Afrikaans based slang - I am sure there's something much more interesting out there.

• http://www.capeoptions.com/slang.htm
• http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/634bf/
• http://www.answers.com/topic/list-of-south-african-slang-words
• http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/links.htm
• http://www.southafrica.info/plan_trip/travel_tips/questions/saenglish.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_African_slang_words
• http://www.southafrican.za.net/sa-slang.html

Changing Place Names - A Solution?

A few weeks ago I wrote about the changing of street names in Machadodorp, quite liking the idea but seeing some of the interesting issues around the process.

I didn't, however, address the one that effects me to some extent - how to remember the new names and match them to whats still in my map. What about this from www.iol.co.za ?

I first put this up with my tongue in my cheek, thinking it was rather weird. But maybe while the old sign is still usable, its not a bad idea, especially for all those tourists we want to attract.

A final thought - what a difference between all that Durban's Point Road represented and what the Great Mahatma Gandhi represents.

The Market is King

Small business success is ALWAYS linked to a market thatwill buy the product. But a simple as it seems its not easily taken to heart.



Mary Jane knows that and puts it very clearly (SABC 15/03/2007), surprisingly it not always considered - you would see this in the rest of the interview, where she says it twice more in response to the questions.Small business success is ALWAYS linked to a market that will buy the product. But a simple as it seems its not easily taken to heart.

Machadodorp Musings III

Helping Hawkers?

The hawkers (under the tree & in the insert), the old unoccupied building (across the intersection) and new building shows a flawed process. I have seen in many places including KwaNgwanase, Bazana, Soetfontein and am sure it happens over and over again.



Local government (with a desire to help the poor) see the hawkers and, maybe pressurised by some of the old guard, want to get the hawkers off the road. They don't think of using the empty buildings nearby but build new ones. They presumably consult (but not well enough) the hawkers and design and have something built like that at Maschadodorp. They expect to attract the hawkers and get them to move into the new building.

However, the hawkers don't find any advantage in moving, possibly for one or more of the following reasons:

• the rent is too high - anything is a lot more than nothing (happened in Mellville)
• its too hot inside as its just a corrugated iron roof (I have seen this in Soetfontein)
• it doesn't meet the behavioural needs (women sit on the ground in front of counters selling from the floor in KwaNgwanase)
• its not as pleasant and socially open
  

I of course can't assure you these are the real and the only reasons, but then its not my job to build these centers. I have informed the municipal manager of this post & given her the right of response.

However, with all the failures, I believe its the duty of local government to identify the real problems and share there experiences so that others don't blunder after them.

These small stalls obviously were not an enormous cost but the problem is that similar errors are made with many public buildings (including many similar stalls, Majadje Food Processing Center in Limpopo, Community Center on road from Josini to KwaNgwanase ... - all possible future stories.)

Innovation in Department of Home Affairs?

Morning Live, the SABC morning TV news, had another gem today. Talking of the


they said "... the plans includes a crack down on corruption and incompetency and other innovations include the separation of immigration ..".

Yes, it is unfortunately rather innovative to address address corruption and incompetency in this department.

Related was the comment by the minister that they needed unemployed & retired chartered accountants on a part time basis, who should co-operate to serve their country - had she stopped to think how the country served those who were pushed out of the very places which now need them.

Machadodorp Musings II - Street Names

The street name change was facinating and a bit comical and full of symbolism. The old black and white sign showing its age and not really standing straight.


A block down the road two young guys in some sort of official bakkie putting up the new coloured sign (Batina Jele) onto the old pole. The assistant to the "sign attacher" said Jele was a local comrade in the struggle but that he wasn't sure exactly what he did because "I am still too young"

The questions is raises is why has it taken so long for the majority of the population of the area to get the street renamed and why didn't we use entrepreneurs to do the job?

9 months to my Second Life!

Today in 9 months time I stop my formal worklife and start my Second Life.

The parallel to pregnancy is obvious and today is therefore the conception of my Second Life. Then comes developing, growing and finally coming to a new world. There's also a parallel to reincarnation but I can't figure that one.