Ode to the dead dove

When on a visit to Newcastle, a town in Northern Kwazulu Natal, a province in South Arica, I shot this scene with my Blackberry...

Wild pigeon - dove - dead as a bird... literally. It looked so peaceful... in the very cold morning air.

Death reminds us of the reason to live—and live full out every day, I guess. But then again... the majority of people around the world get trapped in daily existences that resemble just that: existence, not living; mere survival, not prosperity.

Life... in death we come to appreciate its every moment... and when we see the end is near, we perhaps long for all those missed opportunities when we opted to play it safe...

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Journey into the "other" South Africa

The setting is a large rural settlement in South Africa's Mpumalanga Province. The background to this region's development is of course intricately linked to its past: a homeland outside Pretoria created by the Apartheid Government in the name of 'separate development'. The environment is rural: cattle, goats, donkeys and chickens roam freely, while members of this community carry on with their daily lives, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the "other South Africa" - the one characterised by Western civilisation's pillars: individualism, private property & title deeds, credit and mortgages, money, commercialisation, consumerism and personal wealth accumulation. They are all at odds with an idealised Africa. Here in Siyabuswa, the R578 carries traffic, goods, and passengers past rural dwellers for whom time has a different meaning. It is safe to assume that the principles outlined in "The Fifth Discipline" are unknown to the locals, a...

The Old Johannesburg Stock Exchange and surroundings

What an awe-inspiring building this is, enriching the Johannesburg skyline... Alas, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that use to operate from this location in 17 Diagonal Street, Newtown moved to Gwen ln, Sandton. The Newtown area in and around where the old JSE use to be has been earmarked for further development. One of the the developments that has been completed is the Nelson Mandela bridge. The rest of the developments seems to be on ice. But will it become a reality or remain drawings? Im not sure at this point. The Nelson Mandela bridge connects downtown Johannesburg with Braamfontein where another landmark is situated, the University of the Witwatersrand. This bridge eases congestion between the Johannesburg CBD and the suburbs to its north that get connected via Braamfontein. However, its the symbolism of naming the bridge after the country's most iconic bridge builder, Nelson Mandela, that captures one's imagination. The old Tramshed building borders the Ne...

The essence of being

It took considerable courage for me to put down everything, block out the noise and pick up the book. It's overcast outside, the kind of weather one would expect to encounter in London NOT Johannesburg in early summer. It's Saturday and I don't need to be at work. Exhausted after a week of traveling to the school where I try my best to teach students for whom school seems an unnecessary stumbling block, staying in bed a bit longer than usual was especially welcome. I recently received five copies of Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius. Reading Ghost Boy was not going to be easy. Martin Pistorius's life story is a moving one, since he fell ill as a child and became trapped in an unresponsive body. Yet, once he came out of his coma no-one actually knew that he was awake and completely aware of his surroundings. In fact, he could follow conversations. Being placed in front of a TV for long periods meant that he was "re-schooled". While other...

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