When's 2023? I wannabe 14....

When's 2023? Being one month sucks - everybody thinks they know exactly what I'm thinking and that all I do is sleep! When I'm 14, I'll let them know EXACTLY what I'm thinking! I know my cousin does ... or maybe she's my aunt....? (Gotta figure these things). Anyway, she's 14 and she's BIG.

At least my father says it's safe to go back in the water now, because the sharks' teeth have been pulled. He says it has something to do with blue bulls (at least, I HOPE he said 'bulls' ....). Don't quite get it, but it's good to know, because it's nearly bath time ....

(Sigh) Roll on fourteen. Maybe if I sleep it'll come faster....

(For our international readers, today was the clash of the Titan rugby teams, the Blue Bulls versus the Sharks. The Blue Bulls were victorious. We won't divulge who the child's father supports, but perhaps the picture below holds a clue.)



Well done to the Blue Bulls!

Well, Hello, Mr. President.....

The moment of truth ...is he the man his accusers say he is, or the man his supporters say he is?

It's time to hold our criticisms in check and to get on with the process of government reform. President Zuma and his colleagues need time and space to show what they're made of, so let them do it in a positive atmosphere.

I do believe that he has the potential to be a great leader. A little voice inside my head worries about the long-term consequences of possible attempts by his camp to squash investigations into past actions. When the squashing begins, by the people in power, it could culminate in another Mugabe-type of political gangsterism. However, the office of the Presidency has been filled and the status quo established. It's time to silence the little voices and give the man the chance to be the great leader we hope he is.

I do believe that President Zuma has the capacity to listen and to weigh up what he hears, as opposed to the rather stubborn approach of those who knew it all and dictated their beliefs in a "no-argument allowed" fashion. We look forward to a time of greater co-operation between the ruling party and the opposition parties, for the greater good of the land, and most especially in the areas of service delivery to the poor.

Return us to the dreams of our legendary Nelson Mandela, Mr. President, and we'll all be winners.

Mother's Day & More - from Jozikids; Apr/May/Jun

Newsletter
28 April 2009

Dear Mike,

In this issue we start bringing you Mother's Day Events (below) and Specials:

Yeesh- Receive a free beauty gift and a rose!
Create a Star- Order a My Special Mom book for Mother's Day & receive free bubble bath.
Predator World -Free entry and a gift for moms on Mother's Day.
Keedo@Home-20% discount on all winter merchandise May 1-10 only.
Zwartkops Quad Centre Moms Special-buy 2 laps and get 2 free May 9,10.
Just 2 more days to go before our COMPETITION with 40 book prizes to be won, closes. Don't forget to enter before it's too late. We will be running a new compeition in May with a range of very different prizes. Watch this space to find out more.


New MAY/ JUNE events in this issue:
Kasabow Kids Bookshop-Free Book Readings, Craighall Park (BOOKS)
Star Quality Performing Arts School, Acting Classes, Rivonia (DRAMA)
Mothers Day @ Yeesh!, Woodmead (MOTHER'S DAY)
Keedo Winter Fashion Show, Broadacres (MOTHER'S DAY)
Indulgence Mother’s Day Lunch, Northcliff (MOTHERS DAY)
Smudge Art Centre Mothers Day Week, Craighall Park (MOTHER'S DAY)
Zwartkops Quad Centre Mother's Day Special, Centurion (MOTHER'S DAY)
Sci-Bono Science Festival for Schools, Newtown (SCIENCE/TECH)
Animal Farm, Dance Factory, Newtown(THEATRE)
The Genius of Water for Kids, Johannesburg (WORKSHOPS)


APRIL/ MAY/ JUNE EVENTS:

ANIMALS
Magalies Fly-fishing Special, learn to fly-fish & enjoy a day in the country, Magaliesburg, Mar 25-May 5.
Shepherd's Fold Stables Sunset outrides Jun 5; Camps Jun 29-Jul 1; Horse course Jun 16, Elandsrift.

ARTS/CRAFTS
Crystal Kidz Creativity Wkshps, Petervale/Bryanston, Apr 28-30, May 4,5

BOOKS
Story Hour/ Storie- Uur at BOEKEHUIS, Auckland Park, every Wednesday afternoon.
Free Book Readings at Kasabow, the ultimate Kids Bookshop May 8; & make Mother's Day cards May 9.

BUFFET LUNCH Family Sunday Lunch ,at the Hyatt Regency Hotel w/ kids activities, Rosebank, every Sunday.

COOKING
Little Cooks Club Holiday cooking workshops in May & Jun.
uShef Cooking Courses for kids from 7yrs & domestic workers, Olivedale, in May.
My Suite Hyatt Mini Hoteliers program, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rosebank, every Saturday.

DANCE
The Happy Prince a kids ballet production by Ballet Bugs, Braamfontein Jun 23-26; Pretoria Jul 7-10

DRAMA
Star Quality Acting classes w/musical theatre, improvisation & more, Rivonia, every Sat.
National Childrens Theatre Challenging, innovative & stimulating theatre wksps, Parktown, every Sat.

EXPO SOS² Reptile Expo SA’s biggest collection of reptiles, Kempton Park, May 2-3.

FAMILY HOLIDAYS
Program w/ Wild Dophins w/ DolphinCare-Africa & Dolphin EnCOuntours, Mozambique, Apr 27-May 3.
Swim w/ Dolphins Family Holidays, Halo Gaia Holistic Tourism, Mozambique,Jul 9-12; Dec 12-16.

FUN
Assumption Convent Fun Day, giant slides, jumping castles, food & flea stalls, Malvern, May 16.
Yeesh Holiday Easter fun, paint Easter eggs, Woodmead, Bryanston, Apr 1-30.

GARDENING Soil & Planting Workshop for kids & adults, Ludwigs Rose Farm, Pretoria May 2

HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
River Cafe Holiday program, Parkmore, Apr 29,30.
O'Summit Montessori Holiday Club, lots of fun activities, Bryanston, Apr 16-30.
Kids Holiday Club 5 days of kids activities, Wilro Park, Roodepoort, Jun 29-Jul 3.
Fame Academy Holiday Wksps-singing, acting, dancing w/professionals, June 29-Jul 3; July 6-10; Jul 13-17.

MARKETS
Body, Mind and Soul Fayre for holistic fun & entertainmt in Blairgowrie May 31; Edenvale June 7.
Hazel Food Market , food products, kids craft classes & a jumping castle, Pta, Sat. mornings.
Rosemary Hill Market w/ quality produce & kids activities, Pta East, 2nd & last Sun of mnth.
Irene Village Market at the Smuts Museum, Irene, Pretoria, 2nd & last Sat of every mnth.
The Rustic Food Market w/homemade and farm produce, Fourways, every Sun.
blubird Whole Food Market for fresh produce, Birnam, every Sun.
Jozi Food Market in Parktown North every Sat morning.
Urban Midrand Market, for quality goods & kids activities, 1st Sat of every mnth.
Craighall River Craft Market w/organic food, playgd & pony rides, 2nd Sat of every mnth.
Bryanston Organic & Natural Market, food, crafts, kids activities, every Thurs & Sat, 9am-3pm.
Crafter's Market at Bokkie Park, Boksburg-1st Sat of mnth; Bunny Park, Benoni- last Sat of mnth.

MOTHER'S DAY Zwartkops Quad Centre Moms buy 2 rides & get 2 free, Centurion, May 9,10.
Ushef cooking for Mother's Day, May 2; cooking with mum ,May 10, Olivedale.
Keedo Winter Fashion Show for Mother’s Day w/ prizes to be won, Broadacres, May 9.
Yeesh! Mothers Day free beauty gift & a rose, Woodmead, May 10.
Friends of the rail Bela Bela – Mothers Day trip to Marula Mountain Village, May 10.
Smudge Art Mothers Day Week -flower frames, Craighall Park, May 5-10.
Indulgence Coffee Cafe home of Lollipops Catering, Mother’s Day Lunch w/ live jazz, Northcliff, May 10.

MUSIC
Johannesburg Festival Orchestra,Old Mutual Encounters Concert, Emmarentia, May 3.
“Make a Note of It“Alfresco Musical Feast for families, St Mary's School, Waverley, May 31.
Music for Toddlers, Smudge Art Centre,Craighall Park, every Fri.
Sundowner Music Concerts, at UJ Kingsway Art Centre, Auckland Park, every Mon.

NATURE
Stargazing at Maropeng with astronomer, Vincent Nettmann, May 23, Jun 11.
Planetarium, shows & lectures, Braamfontein, Thur, Fri & Sat.

PARENTING
Bright Ideas, wkshps by Nikki Bush for parents, Bryanston, Edenvale, Mar-May.

SCIENCE/TECH
Sci-Bono Science Festival From evolution to exploring the universe for schools,Newtown, May 19-23.

THEATRE
Animal Farm by Sibikwa Arts Centre, Dance Factory, Newtown, May 11-30 excl Sun.
Princess Magogo,opera, Nelson Mandela Theatre, Braamfontein, Apr 30; May 3,8.
Cuban Ballet Stars perform at Aula Theatre, Pretoria, May 14,18
Othello Shakespeare’s tragedy about racism, love, betrayal, UJ/ Auckland Park, May 28-Jun 4.
Pippi Longstocking, interactive kids theatre, National Childrens Theatre, Parktown, Jun 8-Aug 1
Coppélia by SA Ballet Theatre, Roodepoort, Jun 12-14,16,18-21,23-8.

TRAINS
Friends of the Rail, Steam train trip to Pretoria-Tshwane, Cullinan/ Bela Bela, Pretoria, May 2,30; Jun 16,21,28.

WALKS/HIKES
Check the calender every weekend for a list of regular walks or hikes in Gauteng.
The National Zoological Gardens of SA (Pretoria Zoo) 5km Fun Run/Walk, 3rd Sat of mnth.
Delta Park Walks Victory park, every 3rd Sun of mnth.
The Zoo Trot at JHB Zoo, May 17, June 14.
Alberts Farm Walk in Greymont, 3rd Sun of every mnth.
Kloofendal Nature Reserve Weekly guided walks & talks, Roodepoort, in Mar & Apr.
Melville Koppies Open Days, every Sunday.
Melville Koppies West Walk , Westdene, 1st Saturday of every mnth.
Sandspruit Walk in Rivonia, every Sunday.
Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in Mondeor, every 2nd & 4th Sun of the mnth.
Petathon Walk A walk or run with or without a dog +-10km/ 550m, Hartbeespoort, Jun 20.

WORKSHOPS
The Genius of Water for Kids, Exploring the magic of water, Johannesburg, May 23.

YOGA
Revitalise Your Soul, Mom’s Yoga 5 week Series, Yoga Warrior, Rosebank, May 6-Jun 3.
Yoga Child Yoga Warrior classes for kids, incl storytelling, games & music, Rosebank, May 9.


We welcome your feedback. If there's something we have missed, please email us with your suggestions. Meanwhile, please share this with your friends and encourage them to sign up for this FREE newsletter.

Regards
The Jozikids Team
info@jozikids.co.za
011 482 4310
http://www.jozikids.co.za/

No Electile Dysfunction Here!

Well, the nation's general elections are a thing of the past, and to all accounts that I'm aware of, it all went rather well. My experience of it was very organized and peaceful. No surprises in the results. Now we wait and see.

Two more public holidays this week, then life should get back to more-or-less normal here. Honking taxis, rising prices, the serious business of crime and the equally serious business of denying its seriousness......apathetic government departments - especially in Welfare - and police more acute at dodging having to open cases than dodging bullets.....

Ho-Hum.

At least we have the 2010 Soccer Cup to divert attention.

Odds and Evens

Tomorrow we go to the polls to vote for a new government. I received a timely e-mail from my aunt in America to say that she'd seen some pictures of "your new man in South Africa", referring to Jacob Zuma, probable new President.

"He seems to like dancing around dressed in animal skins...don't you think that's a little odd?"

I guess it does seem a little odd in the international context. (I couldn't help trying to conjure up some mental images of other world leaders prancing about in traditional dress. It did put a smile of my face, I must admit.)

A little more odd to us, though, are his vociferous cries against corruption - for which he is / isn't supposed to stand trial (depending on the mood of the day) - and the fight against HIV/Aids, in light of his 'showering after unprotected sex with a known Aids victim' debacle.

On the positive side, though, here's a leader who speaks from the heart, doesn't speak down to his audience and thinks about what he's saying as opposed to reading pre-prepared responses. Despite his rather odd actions, an element of sincerity eminates from him, which is rather appealing, if a little frightening. All rather odd indeed.

On the Evens, the split in the African National Congress (ANC) that gave rise to the breakway Congress of the People (COPE) party, adds an interesting element to these elections. Results have traditionally been a certain ANC runaway victory, with a very second-place Democratic Alliance (DA) as official opposition and not much else featuring. While COPE is unlikely to do much damage at the polls to the ANC, the DA certainly seems to have strengthened considerably, gaining credibility from the bickering of the other two.

The likelihood is an ANC victory by a slightly diminished margin, with the DA as official opposition, with substantially more support than they've enjoyed previously. However, the possible alliances that could spring up could prove interesting, with some rather strange bedfellows.

It would be rather nice to have at least a fair number of COPE candidates winning seats in Parliament - after all, who could level effective criticism and provide expose`s quite as effectively as dissidents who once formed part of the ANC's inner circle?

Corruption amongst officials, rampant crime and pathetic service delivery in this country is certainly not the dream Nelson Mandela envisaged, yet support for the ruling party seems unabated - rather odd.

On the evens, though, we still have a democracy - and a democracy where corrupt officials are still charged and disciplined, a feature not to be taken for granted in Africa.

Well, tomorrow will come and go - after which there'll probably be a lot more excitement about the 2010 Soccer World Cup than there was about our elections.

Work, Sweet Work.

In South Africa, April has been the month of Public Holidays. There isn't a full week's work this month. The Easter weekend gave us Friday last week and Monday this week. Next week would have been a full week, but Wednesday the 22nd has been declared a public holiday because the country goes to the polls in our General Elections. Monday the 27th is a local public holiday and Friday 1st May is, of course, Workers' Day.

All very pleasant for people earning fixed salaries, but less exciting for contractors and others who get paid by the hour. Add to that kids who would rather be spending money on the holidays than conserving it, and life gets fairly interesting.

Thankfully, we have been enjoying the most glorious Autumn weather, with "fresh" mornings and sunny , warm days. Great outdoor weather. How I envy people who live in the coastal regions, where the family can spend these days on the beach at virtually no cost! In a city like Johannesburg, there's little that one can do for entertainment that doesn't cost fairly dearly.

Bored kids who are whining can be slightly irritating - but creative kids who are too quiet can be downright scary! Household items (that you actually procured for a reason!) can undergo some wonderful metamorphases as creative - and bored - young minds transform them into works of art and items that would stun the original designer!

Frankly, I don't have a major problem with that (except when I get woken up at 1:15am before a working day to "come and see what I've done to my room! Do you like it? Do you like it?"), but the task of keeping them occupied at minimum damage can be quite formidable! Then the sweet luxury of a day at the office in an environment that can be anticipated can be so theraputic and restful!

For a while. Hooray, tomorrow's Friday!

Away With The Blues

No more licensing blues! Monday morning was a breeze and I'm on the road legally again.

I went to the Marlboro Traffic Office (also in the Johannesburg Metropolitan area), with some trepidation, in case they sent me back to the City Centre to complete the transaction. No such problem.

By 7:00am a number of us were in a neat queue outside the front door, awaiting the 7:30 opening. By 7:30 the queue was quite long already, but I was relaxed - I was fourth from the front. They opened almost on time, by about 7:40. The doors opened and .....the queue disintegrated! A mass of bodies stormed the half-open door, determinedly led by a group of regulars, who register vehicles for other people. I emerged from the throng to find myself about twenty places down!

Fortunately, not too many were there for renewals, so that line moved fast. My hard-earned paperwork from Fruitless Friday was scanned briefly and before I knew it, my license was in my hand and my bank balance felt considerably lighter.

What a pleasure these glorious Autumn days are for biking - legally!

Licensing Blues

On Thursday I discovered that my bike license expired at the end of February, not the end of March, as I had thought. Panic. Fortunately on Friday we stop work at lunch time, so I sprang into action.

Unlike the driver's license, which one can process at any centre, renewing vehicle licenses has to be done within your residential municipality. I live in Johannesburg, but work in Benoni, about five minutes away from the Boksburg Licensing Department!

Anyway, I zoomed through Boksburg, stopping briefly at an ATM to draw enough cash for the license, then headed for the Johanneburg city centre as fast as I could, to get in before their 3:00pm closure.

Everything went perfectly. I was there shortly after 2:00pm, and had no problem finding a parking - having a bike, I simply parked on the pavement outside the front door, where bikes are expected to park!

Before I could get to the front door of the building, I was accosted by a couple of very persuasive men, who demanded to know what I was there for. When I told them, they expertly whipped out the appropriate form to fill in and announced that they would help me to complete it very quickly. I looked at them sceptically and asked if they worked there. They looked pained - and the one announced that the other one was "a consultant". They looked even more pained when I told them that I was perfectly capable of filling out a form without the help of consultants! "Well, at least buy us a cold drink," they whined.

Once inside, it took only moments to fill out the form, and there was someone on hand to show me which queue to join. Before too long, my number was called and someone processed my papers, then kept them and told me to join a different queue. That took longer, but a half hour or so later, a batch of numbers, including mine, was called and we were told which counter to go to. To my relief, that queue went fairly quickly - but it wasn't the goal yet. We were simply given our papers back, then told to join any of the others queues along a certain section, where the cashiers were.

3:00pm had come and gone, and the queues became shorter as no newcomers were allowed in. By shortly after 4:00pm, I had the goal in sight and was consoling myself that it had been worth it. At least my bike would be on the road legally again within a few minutes.

When my turn came, my papers were scrutinized, then shoved back at me. "You have an outstanding amount to pay on another vehicle," was the announcement. "Go to counter 20 and get a R114 form. You'll have to pay that before you can get this."

Turned out that there were outstanding license fees on a vehicle that had been in someone else's possession for some time, but had never been transferred - so instead of having to pay R108 for my bike license, I now needed to pay R693.30. By the time I'd received my R114 form with the due amounts, counters were closing rapidly as people packed up for the weekend. "Do you accept cards?" I asked with resignation.

"Yes, no problem. Just go back to one of those cashier counters that are still open."

So back to the final queue I went, sorely depressed, but with the knowledge that at least I'd get my license disk now.

When I got to the front, I pushed my papers under the window, along with my card. The woman looked up, with what seemed to be a triumphant glint in her eyes. "We can't take cards," she announced, "we're off-line! Come back on Monday."

I limped out with my tail between my legs, and rode home as unobtrusively as possible. No prizes for guessing where I'll start my Monday......

Jozikids - March/April Events

Here are some listings of events for March and April, provided by the Jozikids website. The site has a wealth of information, event listings and places of interest in the Johannesburg area to keep your kids busy during the Easter school holidays. For more information, visit their site at www.jozikids.co.za

MARCH / APRIL EVENTS

ANIMALS Shumbashaba, Self awareness through horses for teenagers, Diepsloot, March.

ARTS/CRAFTS Smudge Art Centre music wkps & art activities, Craighall Park, Tues-Sun Mar 10-Apr 26.
Art Classes for teens & pre-teens w/Yda Walt, Auckland Park, Fridays. 1 free trial lesson.
Bryanston Organic & Natural Market puppet show & puppet making workshop, Apr 11.
Color Cafe ceramic painting for beginners, ladies night, moms & daughters, Hyde Park, Mar 13,27
Crystal Kidz Creativity Wkshps, Petervale/Bryanston in Feb/Mar & Easter Programme in Mar/Apr.
Ethno Art Studio charcoal wkshps & adult art classes, Honeydew, Mar 14, 28.

BOOKS Exclusive Books Children's Book Festival for kids u/12yrs Jhb & Pta, Mar-Apri.

BUFFET LUNCH Family Sunday Lunch ,at the Hyatt Regency Hotel w/ kids activities, Rosebank, every Sunday.

COOKING The Bread Workshop ,hands-on bread making wksps, Diespsloot, Mar 28,29.
Little Cooks Club , kids cooking classes, Rivonia, Kyalami, Fourways, Bryanston, Mar & Apr.
uShef Cooking Courses for kids from 7yrs & domestic workers, Olivedale, Mar & Apr.

DANCE Kim Field Winter Dance Workshops, breakdancing & hip hop lessons, Fourways, Mar 27-Apr 15.

EASTER Ludwigs Rose Farm Easter Weekend w/egg hunt, pony rides & more kids fun, Pretoria N, Apr 10-13.
Zwartkops Quad Centre Easter Egg Hunt!, Centurion, Apr 12.
Crystal Kidz Easter Creativity Programme @ Crystal Essence, Petervale/Bryanston.
Easter Bunny Cullinan Steam Train, Friends of the Rail, Apr 13.

FRANCHISEES Equal Zeal® Franchisee Training, Life Coaching Studio for Kids, Chartwell North, Mar 27-30.

FUN The Teddy Bears’ Picnic, Society for Animals in Distress, Midrand, fun for kids & adults, Mar 18.
Sinbad's Stunt Show Gold Reef City Theme Park Mar 28-Apr 14.
EQual Zeal™ Training Family Fun Day - Zeal the Zebra shows his True Colours Book Launch, live music, storytelling, life skills wksps etc., Chartwell, Mar 21.
Honeydew A-maze-ing Mazes Alien Sunday at the Lost in Space Maize Maze, Mar 15.
Playdays @ Elf's Hill, Randburg, Mar 18.
Drakes Party Farmyard, pony rides, waterslide & feeding farm animals, Linbro Park, every Mon & Wed.

GENIUS KidsLab & TeenLab Workshops, an intro to Genius Mind!, Jhb, Mar 21
The Matrix Workshop Wiz1, about how exactly we are 'plugged in, Jhb, Mar 28,29.

KIDS WORKSHOP My Suite Hyatt Mini Hoteliers program, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Rosebank, every Saturday.

MARKETS Body, Mind and Soul Fayre for holistic fun & entertainment in Edenvale/ Pretoria, Mar 7,8; Apr 5.
Rosemary Hill Market w/ quality produce & kids activities, Pta East, 2nd & last Sun of mnth.
The Rustic Food Market w/homemade and farm produce, Fourways, every Sun.
blubird Whole Food Market for fresh produce, Birnam, every Sun.
Jozi Food Market in Parktown North every Sat morning.
Urban Midrand Market, for quality goods and kids activities, 1st Sat of every mnth.
Crafter's Market at Bokkie Park, 1st Sat of every month in Boksburg.
Craighall River Craft Market w/organic food, playgd & pony rides, 2nd Sat of every mnth.
Bryanston Organic & Natural Market, food, crafts, kids activities, every Thurs & Sat, 9am-3pm.
Irene Village Market at the Smuts Museum, Irene, Pretoria, 2nd & last Sat of every mnth.

MUSIC Old Mutual Blues, Jazz and Roots Festival @ Emmarentia Dam, Apr 4.
Music Rose Festival @ Ludwigs Rose Farm, Spiced Coffee Restaurant & Butterfly Garden, Pta North, Mar 21-22.
Music for Toddlers, Smudge Art Centre,Craighall Park, every Fri.
Sundowner Music Concerts, at UJ Kingsway Art Centre, Auckland Park, every Mon.

PARENTING Bright Ideas,wkshps by Nikki Bush for parents & anyone raising kid, Bryanston, Edenvale, Mar-May.

SHOWS Planetarium, shows & lectures, Braamfontein, Thur, Fri & Sat.

STORYTIME Dibuka and Alliance Française story telling by Izindaba, music, theatre, Zulu, French, English, Parkview, every 1st Sat of the mnth.

THEATRE Black Light Theatre of Prague, "Cartoon Theatre" UJ, Auckland Park, Mar 18-22.
SA Ballet Theatre Studios Cinderella, Braamfontein, Mar 20-Apr 5.
Porralicious The Finalsh @ Pieter Toerien Theatre, Montecasino, Mar 4-15 excl Mon & Tue.
“Not the Midnight Mass” Montecasino, Mar 4-15 excl Mon & Tue.
Joburg Promusica Kidz Roald Dahl's "Danny the Champion of the World", Roodepoort, Mar 2-28.
Into the Woods, Jnr by Gecko Productns @ Wits Amphitheatre, Braamfontein, Mar 12-21.
The Rocky Horror Show Barnyard Theatre-Broadacres, Fourways, Mar 3-Apr 12, excl Mon.
High School Musical at Montecasino Teatro, Fourways, Jan 24-Mar 15th, excl Mon & Tues.
Jack and the Beanstalk at the Peoples Theatre, Braamfontein, Mar 9-Apr 25.
The Secret Garden at the National Children's Theatre, Parktown, Mar 9-Apr 25.

TRAINS Friends of the Rail, Steam train trip to Pretoria-Tshwane, Cullinan/ Bela Bela, Pretoria, Mar 29, Apr 26.
See EASTER for Easter train, Apr 13.
WALKS/HIKES Check the calender every weekend for a list of regular walks or hikes in Gauteng.
Walk at the wilds with TJ, a leisurely spring snack-pack stroll, Houghton, Apr 26.
Braamfontein Spruit Sandton Field and Study Centre, Sandton, Apr 26.
The National Zoological Gardens of SA (Pretoria Zoo) 5km Fun Run/Walk, 3rd Sat of mnth.
Delta Park Walks Victory park, every 3rd Sun of month.
The Zoo Trot at JHB Zoo, Apr 19, May 17, June 14.
Alberts Farm Walk in Greymont, 3rd Sun of every month.
Small Mammal Biodiverstiy Assessment, Melville Koppies Central, Mar 21.
Kloofendal Nature Reserve Weekly guided walks & talks, Roodepoort, in Mar & Apr.
Giloolys Farm, Linksfield Ridge & Harveys Park Walk, Giloolys Farm, Mar 29.
Melville Koppies Central Walk, Emmarentia, every Sunday.
Melville Koppies West Walk , Westdene, 1st Saturday of every month.
Sandspruit Walk in Rivonia, every Sunday.
Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve in Mondeor, every 2nd & 4th Sun of the month.

WEEKEND RETREAT One Breath Celebration Kung San people take us on guided journeys, workshops, drum circle, etc. Mar 27-29.

Thanks to the guys at Jozikids for this info - keep up the great site!

If you would like to subscribe to their regular newsletter, go to www.jozikids.co.za and sign up. It's packed with information.

Some Great Gift Ideas

Thanks to Jean of Gift For All Occasions for this award!

Her site has some great gift ideas - a LOT, in fact, not some! Why don't you pay her site a visit at http://giftforalloccasions.com - I'm sure it'll be just the first of many visits.

Viva Kyalami!

It's great to see some major motor sport returning to Kyalami, the traditional home of international motor racing in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This weekend saw the advent of the A1 GP at Kyalami (after the initial years of the S.A. leg of the event taking place in Durban), with some very exciting action! A solid, reliable performance by race winners Switzerland, a very exciting second place for Brazil, with their 17 year-old driver, Felipe Guimaraes, attaining a podium position two weeks before his 18th birthday, and an exciting drive for third place by new-comer Monaco, who also achieved second place in the earlier sprint race. Noteworthy was also a very compelling drive by Lebanon, attaining 6th position. Some great entertainment!

In May this year the SBK World Superbike Championship will take place at Kyalami (15th - 17th May 2009), and there are two more International events planned for Aug/Sept and November. That means a major international event for each quarter in the year - great stuff.

I believe that efforts are being made to get Kyalami back into the Formula 1 calendar. If that's wishful thinking, well, I'm one of those holding thumbs for that wish to come true!

For more news and information about Gauteng motor sport, check out their site at www.go-gp.org

For A1 GP information specifically, with race reports, results and a wealth of information, go to www.a1gp.com - but a warning: on race day that server gets really busy, so gaining access may prove to be very difficult!

Please Click Daily

The third item from the top, in the margin on this site, is a link to the Child Health Site. It is entitled "Please Click Daily". It costs nothing but a few moments of your time - but it makes the world of difference to children globally. By simply clicking on the site and then clicking where they ask you to, donations are made to children who desperately need that help.

Once you're there, along the top row of their site are a few more "click" opportunities that may be close to your heart - the Hunger Site, Breast Cancer, Animal Rescue, Child Literacy and Rain Forests. It takes me only a few moments to click on all of them - and the sites load very fast.

On each of these sites, you can see statistics of the difference your click and those of others are making to the donations made. It can be quite heart-warming to see the achievements - and, at times, alarming to see a drop in donations. Very soon it becomes a part of one's daily internet routine. It's not a sacrifice; it's a great opportunity to make a difference without any discomfort on your part, and soon develops into a daily interest.

Please help these people - at least visit the site to see what it's about.