A Stroll Through Downtown Durban

It's a long time since this "whitey" took a stroll through Durban's city centre. With the growth of shopping malls, it's not really necessary to go to the city centre any more, however I had an appointment in downtown Durban recently and arrived unfashionably early.

Being too early, I decided to take a lesuirely walk around the City Hall and was pleasantly surprised with the friendliness of the locals.

The Museum

The jolly Indian gatekeeper outside the Museum asked me what I was doing and then tried to convince me to sample the dated delights of the Museum. Knowing that I would not have sufficient time, I declined and we politely chatted for a while as if this was normal city behaviour, which it most certainly is not in the city where I reside.

Pigeons at the City Hall

I rounded the corner to come across an aged woman merrily feeding a large flock of pigeons on the Museum lawn. She looked so content and the pigeons seemed to know her well and hustled to get to her first. I was watching the scene when a security guard came and stood with me and told me that she feeds the pigeons every day and that they have become quite tame. She looked as though she needed a bit of feeding herself, but the pigeons seemed to feed a deeper need in her.

Taxis in Downtown Durban

I continued round the next corner to see the antics of the taxi drivers and their helpers. Hooting continually with short sharp blasts the taxi drivers did not want to waste time stopping for too long to pick up passengers, so they had helpers who leapt out of the moving vehicles and shouted out their destinations to nearby pedestrians and everybody seemed to know exactly who was going where. People leapt in and out of the mini busses in ballet-like precision.

Colourful Flea Market

As I rounded the final corner I spied a flea market across the road. I crossed at the zebra crossing and strolled through the colourful gazebos browsing through their wares. Everything from clothing to matches could be found there and I wished that I had more cash on me.

Finally I looked up at the great clock and realized that it was time for my appointment, so feeling revitalised, I made my way to my destination.

We are generally so rushed as we go about our daily business that we miss the little delights in our routine excursions. I am going to look for the extraordinary in the mundane. I'm sure that will keep a smile on my lips.

Moses Mabhida Stadium Skycar ready for 2010 FIFA World Cup

I am a confirmed Moses Mabhida Stadium junkie. The stadium is a magnificent sight and as I have been in Durban on business for the last month, I have taken countless photos every time I have have driven past the iconic stadium. I was fortunate enough to have been at the opening a week ago and swore to myself that I would ride the skycar before I leave Durban.

Skycar at Moses Mabhida Stadium Open

Imagine my joy when I drove past the stadium again on Thursday last week and saw the skycar making its way up the arch. I promptly pulled in to the parking and bought myself a ticket for R50.

I took the 3 minute ride to the top of the arch, enjoying the view all the way up. I stepped out at the top, 106 m in the air, and admired Durban from every angle. The sea breeze blowing through my hair and a group of young teamsters in training for instructing the adventure walkers were my enthusiastic companions.

Adventure Walks to the Top of the Arch and Swing Jumps

The adventure walk on the other side of the arch takes about half an hour to 45 minutes depending on one's fitness levels. It is a slightly more exciting option which will cost R75. However, for the real excitement seekers, the soon to be opened swing jump will be available. As much as I strained, I could not see where the jump will take place from. Maybe just as well, as that is the next promise that I have made to myself. As soon as I possibly can, I will be doing that jump. Perhaps I can do it with a blast of my new blue vuvuzela, instead of a shrill scream!

World AIDS Day

It's a wet rainy day in Durban, almost as if the heavens are mourning the loss of so many lives to HIV AIDS in the last few decades. I have read that cures for new diseases take at least 40 years of research and development, so hopefully we will see some sunshine on the horizon in the not too distant future.

Glimmer of Hope

One glimmer of hope is being portrayed on the Umhlanga lighthouse this morning as a huge condom was pulled over the lighthouse in an awareness campaign causing one happy woman to win $10 000 and many people to stop and think with a smile brightening their faces .

HIV Positivity

Another ray of positivity would be the countless men and women worldwide who live with HIV positively. They are HIV positive and they are still positive about life, full of the joys of possibility. They live with gusto and they inspire many around them with their attitudes.

I personally know some of these courageous people and would like to make World Aids Day a day to honour them and the many others I have not met. I would also like to honour the many selfless volunteers throughout the cities, townships and rural areas who work with the disadvantaged AIDS sufferers and give them dignity, love and hope on a daily basis.

May today bring some sort of change to diverse lives all around the globe as we proudly display our red ribbons in support of them .

The Final Countdown

We all seem to love a countdown. Think New Year's famous "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... Happy New Year!" How about all of our web pages in South Africa plastered with FIFA World Cup countdown clocks? Remember those wonderful little calendars we received in December counting down the days to Christmas. Each day we opened a window and received a mini chocolate - what fun.

What is the Final Countdown?

We all recognize the iconic words of the song by Europe, but what do they mean to us? Well, for different people, it will probably mean different things

Different Things to Different People

A Bible believer will think of Christ's return. A final year school student will think of the day that school's out. A pregnant mom will think of the birth date. A jailbird will think of release. An unhappy employee will think of 5pm. An astronaut thinks of blast off. We each have our own countdown.

And what happens when the countdown ends? New beginnings, I guess and a new countdown!

Adam Lambert's Same-Sex Kiss at the AMA

Photo: Adam Lambert's AMA kiss. Credit: Dick Clark Productions

We've had Britney and Madonna at it, Charlize Theron doing it for charity, and now Adam Lambert kissing a guy on stage at the American Music Awards. What is it with all these public same-sex kisses?

Reasons for the Kiss

I don't recall seeing too many heterosexual kisses during live performances. Is it for shock factor? Is it for publicity? Is it to make a statement? Is it to improve sales? I certainly do not claim to have the answer to that question.

If they did it for effect, they achieved their goal, as Google is abuzz with Adam's scandal and Twitter can hardly keep up. TV and newspapers are loving the gossip and everybody is talking about it - either in shocked delight or indignant offense.

No Apologies

Adam Lambert defends his performance accusing the media of double standards, accepting sexy women's risque' antics on stage, yet denouncing his. Although he has not made himself wildly popular with his performance at the AMA, there are bound to be a whole lot more people watching his video and buying his new CD.

I wonder what will be next?

Meteorite Fever, Caster Semenye and Vuvuzelas

We have had a lot of excitement in South Africa recently. First we had the Caster Semenye debacle', then the ongoing vuvuzela controversies, and recently the National Anthem being slaughtered by a Rastafarian, and now our very own meteorite! How exciting.

Meteor in the Sky

The sad thing is that although it was spotted in the sky by many people, nobody seems to have seen where any of the debris landed. I find that kind of weird. I would have expected a sudden thumping of rocks of various sizes landing in the area would be pretty noticeable. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Now we have a meteorite rock search. All sorts of stories will probably emerge regarding aliens and we should have a fair amount of entertainment over the next short season. Already Wikus Van Der Merwe and his "prawns" from the movie, District 9, are being acknowledged.

Illegal to Own a Piece of Meteorite

Another interesting fact to remember while you eagerly scramble over the Limpopo terrain looking for galactic rock, is that it is illegal to own or keep a piece of meteorite. Now that is quite scary, because how do we amateurs know whether we have meteorite rock or earth rock in our possession? It causes my imagination to take flights of its own - remember Superman and his kryptonite.

The video is CCTV footage of a meteor spotted over the skies of Gauteng, South Africa on the 21st of November 2009, shortly after 23:00.



Before my superpowers take hold, let me get back to earth and enjoy the meteorite fever which already has a grip on me.

Airport Delays and People's Reactions

I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my flight, which has been delayed for an hour due to bad weather. It was initially delayed for half an hour, and while I was checking in, another half hour was added on to it. At first, I was highly irritated, but then accepted the inconvenience and settled down to use the time constructively.

Delay at Airports

It is quite interesting to watch people's reactions. There are the uptight who get really angry and give the poor check in staff a hard time as if they purposely arranged the delay. They scream and perform and provide much needed entertainment for the rest of us patiently waiting in the queue. If we didn't know about the delay before this, thanks to their tantrums, the entire departures hall of the airport now knows - no need to announce it over the PA system.

There are the courteous who politely acknowledge it, shake their heads subtly, and make their way to the coffee shop to while away the time, being as little bother as possible.

There are the corporates who make annoyed sounds, snatch up their boarding pass, immediately make frantic calls on their blackberries and briskly stride to the nearest hotspot and whisk open their laptops, never to look up again until the flight is finally announced.

People Watchers Don't React Much

There are the people watchers who don't react much but find a seat with the most traffic passing by and sit and watch the passers by, making up delicious stories about perfect strangers.

I am sure that there are a still a whole lot of categories which I have not yet noticed with various reactions and idiosyncrasies. That's what makes humanity so very interesting. Despite all being thrown to the same circumstance, like a delayed flight, there are so many varied responses.

I also find it very interesting that we all want to be categorized in one way or another. How often do we fill in surveys to see what type of people we are? We read the results and agree with the parts we like and disagree with the parts we find offensive, but we do like to fit in somewhere. That's what causes so many interesting sub cultures in society.

On that note, let me close my lap top, grab a cappacinno, find a seat in a busy area and do some people watching.