Stand Up! Speak Out!



The official logo of The SouthAfrican Anti-Bullying Forum.

 In the news lately, it has been reported that many people especially children have been the victims of bullying. Some have been traumatised for life, some go as far as emding their lives. The latest victim was apperently "alledgedly raped" by his team mates on a school rugby tour. The boy was so traumatised by the incident, his parents transferred him to another school. According to the school principle, the "alledged rape" was just a schoolboy "prank" and the boys involved had been suitably punished. They should have been expelled, and then charged with rape because "rape is rape", it can never be a prank.It was this news report that got me thinking as to whether here in South Africa we have a place for people who are anti-bullying or have been victims themselves. I did a quick search and found that there are not many such forums at all, hence "The South African Anti Bullying Forum" was founded on Facebook. If you or anyone you know would like to join in discussions or read various articles on the matter, please go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-South-African-Anti-Bullying-Forum/410668332289768 or E-mail us at: saantibullyingforum@worldonline.co.za .  You can also find us on Twitter @SA_AntiBullying .

We need to stamp out this curse! Stand up! Speak out!

Stop Cable Theft!

Last month I started a "page" on the social network Facebook called "Stop Cable Theft" to raise awareness of this crime, which not only causes huge inconveniences to community members who end up without electricity for days at a time but sometimes damage to property and appliances as well. One resident complained that during the last power surge due to cable theft, she had incurred damages costing her over R10,000 and neither the municipalty or her personal insurance could assist her in recovering the costs. During the same period 3 top floor flats in Adrain Road, Durban were completely destroyed due to a fire started by power surges. Insurance companies should look into this as a lot of residents' household appliances like fridges and computers stopped working. My neighbour said his microwave oven was "cooking" his meal faster than it normally does in the same period. Electicians were having a field day, advising residents in the area to put voltage protectors in their buildings. We got a quote for our 6 flat complex from a well known contractor for........wait for it..........R10,800. Now who has that kind of cash lying around? The municipality is trying their best to combat this crime by installing pepperspray alarms in their substations. These alarms emit pepperspray if there is unauthorized entry and at the same time "armed response" is also activated. Have they caught anyone in this manner yet? Not that I am aware of but then a warning notice is posted outside these substations so maybe that is a deterrant in itself! I "borrowed" the accompanying photo from "timeslive" as ot shows Cape Town youths "stealing" cable. You can voice your opinion on our Facebook page by using the link: Stop Cable Theft and liking the page if you use Facebook.

DVD OR CINEMA?

I just sat through 3 hours and 10 minutes of Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King and luckily it was on Blu-ray, so that I could pause it and make some sandwiches for lunch, and go to the loo. I can imagine watching this in the movie house and halfway through you have the sudden urgent need to go to the toilet. You stumble over the stairs and seats in the dark as you make your way out of the theatre and other patrons tell you to "get down" so they can see all the action on the big screen. And by the time you get back to your seat you've missed about 15 minutes, disturbed patrons again, and you keep waiting for evil king to appear, but only realise afterwards that he "died" whilst you were busy in the Gents. What a bummer! You paid a princely sum of R10 for the movie ticket and you missed the whole point of the movie because it was too long and you had to answer nature's call. I remember the days when these epics used to have an intermission. It gave the patrons the opportunity to "stretch" their legs or go to the loo. So why don't they do it with modern movies of today? That's why a lot of people these days hire the movie or if they really like it......buy it on DVD. I personally try and avoid watching movies in the cinema just for that reason.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

My Xmas Screensaver

It's that time of the year again, when fat men in red suits invade shopping malls, and we take out our fake xmas trees and tinsel. Some of us will adorn our homes with festive decorations. Others like myself will have Xmas wallpaper on our desktop PC or festive screensavers. At least in the new year it can be removed with the "click" of a button. It is good see that more plastic trees are being sold in place of the real deal, what with COP17 just coming to an end it must do something to help the envioment. I know it's been almost 4 months since I blogged anythin here, well I'll be back in January with fresh ideas. BTW those of you who want to follow me on Twitter over the festive season can find me @MrDurbanite. Okay so you caught me out on that one.......I did say some things against tweeting but I thought let me try it again. Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy Xmas and a festive 2012.

Dear Walter.............

At some time in our lives we have read the advice columns in your local magazines and newspapers, and often wonder if the the people asking the advice or the "giver" of advice really do exist. I rememember the ones we had on the "back" page of the local Sunday newspaper that children were banned from reading because of the advice asked/given. Today we have the Dr Paul who gives advice on relationships and Peter Kirsten who gives gardening advice. My point is .....if the column is "Ask Auntie Alice" for example are you sure that it is Auntie Alice dishing out advice to you? It could been Uncle or better still a penguin. It is of my opinion that men should never be allowed to write an advice column, merely because their advice is usually not related to the matter at hand as the following example shows:

"Dear Walter:

I hope you can help me. The other day I left for work, leaving my husband in the house watching TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a few hundred yards down the road when my engine conked out and the car slowed to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was parading in front of the wardrobe mirror dressed in my underwear and high-heel shoes, and he was wearing my make-up. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years. When I confronted him, he tried to convince me that he had dressed in my lingerie because he couldn't find his own underwear. But when I asked him about the make-up, he broke down and admitted that he'd been wearing my clothes for six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He lost his job six months ago and says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. I don't feel I can get through to him anymore. Can you please help?

Sincerely,

Sheila Lusk

*******

Dear Sheila:

A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of problems with the engine. Start by making sure there is no debris in the fuel line. If it's clear, check the clips holding the vacuum hoses onto the intake manifold. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber. I hope this helps.

Walter"

This little piece was doing the rounds on the internet recently and is hillarious, and on that piece of advice........til next time!

Yes I know it's been awhile............

Wow!! Time flies! We are already halfway through 2011. And such a lot has happened since I last wrote anything here. The recent news bulleteins contained 2 royal weddings; a Norwegian man goes on a shooting rampage in Oslo; rock star Amy Whitehouse dies from a suspected drug overdose; and Nelson Mandela turned 93 years old!  Well of course there were other events but these are the one's that stand out for me........oh yes not to forget the Japanese earthquake/tsunami disaster. But these events are now part of our history ........ so what about the future? Locally everbody appears to want better salaries and so have taken to the streets to protest for higher wages. These strike actions were mostly bought to a halt after both parties came to an agreeable solution, but now I see the local Durban Municipal cleaners are going on strike on Monday. Does this mean our streets will once again become one big rubbish dump as in their last strike action? I hope not.

        As the photos show, the strikers thought it would be a good idea to empty the garbage bags in the street. I wonder if they ever thought about it beforehand, who will clean it up afterwards? I mean look at it.............these were the scenes in 2009/2010. I just hope they will have a skeleton staff to at least remove your rubbish from your premises. Living in Durban my pet hate is bad service delivery, and it looks like I may be able to do something about it now. I have volunteered to stand on the DA committee for Ward 27, we all like to complain but we don't do anything about it. So 2011 for me looks like an interesting year for me, it looks like I'll have lots of things to write about here. If you live in Durban and are in Ward 27 I would like to hear from you. Til next time.......take care!

Happy New Year 2011

I must confess that this photo is not mine but I do say that it
does put you in a festive Durban mood!

This is my first post for 2011, and my wish is that I hope more people will discover my blog, and that some solution will be found to prevent further global warming. South Africa has been given until January 2015 to phase out the gas methyl bromide used by fumigation companies to eradicate wood borer. The only problem is this gas has been depleting the ozone layer for decades due to it's use. We could lead the way in Africa by banning it's use with immediate effect instead of waiting another 4 years!
Just for those who read this it is aleady 1st January 2011, 9:30AM here in Durban, so if you are in a part of the world where 2011 has not quite yet arrived........all the best for year ahead!!