FESTIVE LIGHTS SWITCH-ON

The Festive Lights Switch-On  is set to illuminate Cape Town’s Grand Parade on 2 December when the City of Cape Town Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille will officially launch Cape Town’s summer holiday  season.

With the theme ‘Our City, Our People’, this year’s event will be the city’s largest public open-air event to date with performances from Lira, Emo Adams, Jimmy Dludlu, Freshlyground and many more.

 The official parade will include participants in spectacular costumes, dancing to music provided by 14 brass and community bands as well as three military bands. Red Zebra will perform on top of one of the magnificent floats along with dancers, giant puppets, stilt walkers, carnival characters and giant wheels that will conclude with a special Santa Clause celebration.

With over 2 000 people participating and many more involved in the build-up, not only does the event include people from all backgrounds and areas of Cape Town, creating job opportunities and skills development with units that are dedicated to the creation of the floats, costumes and light installations.

On the day Table Mountain itself will be officially inducted into the New 7 Natural Wonders of Nature with a special tribute float and performance. One of the festive lights crossings in Adderley Street, will also celebrate this feature.  Since receiving the “New7Wonder” accolade in November 2011, Table Mountain has already seen an increase in visitors with record numbers confirmed by Table Mountain Aerial Cableway – the spin off from this is an overall increase in tourism for the City.

The one of a kind Table Mountain parade float, which lights up as to illuminate the city’s cultural celebration, is a staggering 6 metres high and 4 metres wide and rotates to allow all spectators a view of Cape Town’s most-loved icon.

 In addition, the creative team tasked with creating the City’s light installations has been hard at work creating these works of art with a creative process that has included planning, sourcing materials and the construction of the installations.  Of the 12 light installations, there are two brand new designs, including the main theme crossing and the Table Mountain crossing.

 More than five kilometres of rope lighting and 4000 bulbs have been used to create the various light creations, including the six metre high Christmas tree at the entrance to the Company Gardens.  To improve a further saving of electricity the 15W bulbs were replaced this year with 7W energy efficient bulbs.  Operationally, 25 employees are involved with the manufacturing, assembling and the installation of the motifs and light crossings, and for the first time a massive Christmas Tree will be installed on the Grand Parade.

 Along with the big stage, spectacular performances, pyrotechnics, tributes to Cape Town’s icons and mass parade, this year’s event will also celebrate Cape Town’s diversity and is set to draw a crowd of over 80 000 spectators representing a cross section of Cape Town life.

 

Picture Resource: life-cafe.co.za

 

GO ON AND LAUGH!!!

INSPECTION   One day an Irishman goes into a pharmacy shop, reaches into his pocket takes out a small bottle and a teaspoon. He pours some liquid onto the teaspoon and offers it to the chemist. "Could you taste this for me, please?" The chemist takes the teaspoon, puts it in his mouth, swills the liquid around and swallows it. "Does that taste sweet to you?" says Paddy. "No, not at all," says the chemist. "Oh that's a relief." says Paddy,"The doctor told me to come here and get my urine tested for sugar."   Picture resource: everydayheroshirts.com   A skinhead and his girlfriend were walking down main road when she spotted a beautiful diamond ring in a jewellery store window. "Wow, I'd sure love to have that!" she said. "No problem, baby," the skinhead said, throwing a brick through the glass and grabbing the ring. A few blocks later, his girlfriend was admiring a black leather jacket in another shop window. "What I'd give to own that!" she said. "Sure thing, darling," the skinhead said, throwing another brick through the window and snatching the coat. Finally, turning for home, they pass a Mercedes car dealership. "Boy, I'd do anything for one of those!" she said to her boyfriend. "Damn, baby!" the skinhead cried. "Do you think I'm made of bricks?" Picture recourse:  tumblr.comtumblr.com

 

 

 

GO ON AND LAUGH!!!

Prayer of a child

Lord please supply clothes for the ladies on Dad's computer. They must be getting cold.

Picture resource: texaspreacherponderingsmycapetownstay.comTexuspreaching.blogspot.com

Three Ladies in a Sauna

THREE WOMEN, TWO YOUNGER, AND ONE SENIOR CITIZEN, WERE SITTING NAKED IN A SAUNA. SUDDENLY THERE WAS A BEEPING SOUND. THE YOUNG WOMAN PRESSED HER FOREARM AND THE BEEP STOPPED. THE OTHERS LOOKED AT HER QUESTIONINGLY.'THAT WAS MY PAGER,' SHE SAID. I HAVE A MICROCHIP UNDER THE SKIN OF MY ARM.

A FEW MINUTES LATER, A PHONE RANG. THE SECOND YOUNG WOMAN LIFTED HER PALM TO HER EAR. WHEN SHE FINISHED, SHE EXPLAINED, 'THAT WAS MY MOBILE PHONE. I HAVE A MICROCHIP IN MY HAND.'

THE OLDER WOMAN FELT VERY LOW -TECH. NOT TO BE OUT DONE, SHE DECIDED SHE HAD TO DO SOMETHING JUST AS IMPRESSIVE. SHE STEPPED OUT OF THE SAUNA AND WENT TO THE BATHROOM. SHE RETURNED WITH A PIECE OF TOILET PAPER HANGING FROM HER REAR END.

THE OTHERS RAISED THEIR EYEBROWS AND STARED AT HER.
THE OLDER WOMAN FINALLY SAID.........WELL, WILL YOU LOOK AT THAT....I'M
GETTING A FAX!!

Picture resource: sodahead.com

FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR HEALTH

The Big Walk takes place annually and this year it will take place on Sunday, 11 November 2012.  During the past few years the number of participants using public transport has increased significantly.  This is mainly due to extensive media publicity by event organisors.  Another contributing factor is the convenience of Park and Ride rail stations along the Southern Line and the walking distance between Mobray station stain destination point (Rhodes HIgh School)  .

 

So why use your car, use Metrorail on  Sunday and join thousands of walkers on the train.

 

Distances

·          5km Start at Newlands Rugby Stadium 10.30am

·          10km Start at Moullie Point 08.00am

·          15km Start at Retreat 08.15am

·          20km Start at Dolphin Beach (Blaauwberg) 08.00am

·          25km Start at Fish Hoek 08.15am

·          30km Start at Simonstown 08.30am

·          50km Start at Fish Hoek (To Simonstown and 06.15am then to Rhodes High School)

·          80km Start at Rhodes High School 03.45am (To Simonstown and back)  

 

For this year, the charities supported by the Discovery Big Walk are:

1) CANSA

2) Steenberg Foundation

3) Nazareth House

Your support in this event is for your well-being, but at the same time you are changing the lives of people.

If you would like more information about the Big Walk, please visit www.bigwalk.co.za.

Picture resource: mycapetownstay.commycapetownstay.com

 

 

Picture resource: mycapetownstay.comwanda@capemetrorail.co.za

 

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE !

The first series of rand banknotes was introduced in 1961, with similar designs and colours to the preceding pound notes to ease the transition. They bore the image of Jan van Riebeeck, the first V.O.C. administrator of Cape Town.

Like the last pound notes, they came in two variants, one with English written first and the other with Afrikaans written first. This practice was continued in the 1966 series which included the first 5 rand notes but did not include the 20 rand denomination.

On 11 February 2012, President Jacob Zuma announced that the country would be issuing a complete set of banknotes bearing Nelson Mandela image. They were entered into circulation on 6 November 2012.

What a moment this is for South Africa that our currency bears the image of a man that has laid down his life so that freedom can resonate for the many who now enjoy it.

Thanks Tata MADIBA for giving so much of yourself, we honour you everyday now when we exchange we will think of the exchange that you have made on our behalf.

Picture Resource:ciibroadcasting.com

MY LAST LECTURE

When I thought of what my last lecture would be about, I realized that the most important thing to my disposal is TIME.

Time isn't just an idea, it is a practical, visible and necessary period regardless of what units you decide you want to divide it up into.

Time is necessary to determine the ideal time to forage, to sleep and to have an awareness of day and night.

As months affect tides, an element important for fisherman, as years determine seasons which determine agricultural requirements.

 Time was a factor before people even thought of giving names to units of time. Even then they probably spoke in terms of how many suns or full moons had passed.

I want to make my TIME last. I want use it effectively and want to make sure that I take this opportunity to thank those that have made the last two years of studying so life changing.

Marion, you have opened up a whole new world of time to many of us. Thanks to you we have a VOICE in cyber space now.

We are left with TIME, USE  it wisely.

Picture resource: 360solutions.com

EVEN IN DEATH, HE IS FAMOUS

Video resource: youtube.com

He was lauded and ridiculed. He broke down barriers and built them around himself. He soared to heights unimaginable with his music, and he made the ignominious front page of gutter tabloids worldwide. For Michael Jackson, the spotlight was always present, and the rest of the world followed. That spotlight stayed with him, even in death. 

Personally, I think the man’s a musical genius he has produced some of the best songs i have heard for some time. The thing is they never seem to grow old. His special moves is amazing and totally talented.

He made a huge difference in the world during the 80's and 90's. He formed various human aid projects and funded thousands of children’s health care needs. His last lecture to the world was we can make the difference and are that difference. 

MISSING OUT

Are our lives so rushed and busy meeting deadlines, one meeting after the other that we don’t see what is important in life. A story is told of a nurse that had a male patient that she nursed. She described how he missed his children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Days of just looking up and enjoying the day.  The dying man deeply regretted spending so much of his live on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

Take time to spend with those you love. Watch a movie together, maybe scrap-booking or just playing games.

Take a scenic drive and enjoy picnic along the way.

BUT LIVE LIFE. Picture resource:yourjesusmind.com

REGRETS

I always think about what could have been or what I have not done and then this just brings a sence of hopelessness for what lies ahead. One of the things I don’t want to do is to die with regrets.  I pray for GRACE to live a full life, with meaning and love.

Some people before they die feel that they wished they lived not for others , but to stay true to themselves. “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”

 When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

I love the idea of the bucket list. I think we should become each others “reminders “ of what we have set out in our list.

Picture resource:spring.org.uk

IDEA FOR FUN

So how do we get into something the family can enjoy. My kids love sweets and I thought I would like to share this easy to make microwave fudge.

 

Ingredients:

1 can full cream condensed milk
100 g margarine
500 ml castor sugar
5 ml vanilla essence

Method:

Combine margarine, condensed milk and sugar in a large, deep, heat-resistant container.

Microwave on HIGH for 2 ½ minutes or until margarine is melted. Stir well to combine all the melted ingredients.

Microwave for 10 minutes on HIGH, stirring regularly.

When mixture is a light caramel colour, add vanilla essence.

Pour into lightly greased, flat container to set. When slightly cooled, cut into squares.

Picture resource: knysnafm.co.za

TIME FOR FOOD

Finding time to be together as a family can be challenging in today's fast-paced world. When schedules have parents and children scurrying, it's hard to envision fitting in another activity. For many families, one of the prime opportunities to spend quality time centers on the dinner table.

Carving out time for a family dinner can do more than nourish your body, as it also fulfills a need for family bonding

Cooking and eating together helps to keep today's families together. I think a lot of today's family problems can be traced to eating separately and not taking advantage of the dining table to communicate with each other. Work hard to keep your family traditions alive for your children and your children's children.

Picture resource: fatherrays.blogspot.com

HOW OLD WOULD YOU BE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW OLD YOU ARE

No one wants to experience what comes with getting old, wrinkle skin, hot flashes, no teeth, expensive dyes, male and female wigs, week bones, loss gravity, bad feet, bad eyes, bad hearing, hearing aids stuck in your ear, not having the strength to do what you once could, can't drive, can't run can't walk, can't read the small print that some are using to deceive older and younger ones , and no one around to care in the times we are living in

To ‘stay young’ has now become an ideal, and yet our contemporary culture teaches people to age as rapidly as possible. Oh, not physically, to be sure! Every day, quantities of products and methods are invented to keep the body fit, to maintain the figure, to smooth away wrinkles and so on. But inwardly, psychologically, men and women age earlier and earlier, because it is earlier and earlier that they forsake simplicity, spontaneity and confidence to become suspicious, calculating, blasé and dull.

There is only one way to remain young at heart, forever alive, loving, interested in everything, quick to forgive, delighted by the slightest thing, and ready to forget insults, sorrow and failure. Maintain a heart that is always ready to love and embrace the whole world, a heart that does not shrink and grow cold. As long as you maintain a warm heart, you will never grow old."

So to answer the question, I think I would like to be 18 again.

Picture resource:watchdocumentary.tv

GO ON AND LAUGH !!!

The bride tells her husband

The bride tells her husband, "Honey, you know I'm a virgin and I don't know anything about sex. Can you explain it to me first?" "OK, Sweetheart. Putting it simply, we will call your private place 'the prison' and call my private thing 'the prisoner'. So what we do is: put the prisoner in the prison. And then they made love for the first time. Afterwards, the guy is lying face up on the bed, smiling with satisfaction. Nudging him, his bride giggles, "Honey the prisoner seems to have escaped." Turning on his side, he smiles. "Then we will have to re-imprison him." After the second time they spent, the guy reaches for his cigarettes but the girl, thoroughly enjoying the new experience of making love, gives him a suggestive smile, "Honey, the prisoner is out again!" The man rises to the occasion, but with the unsteady legs of a recently born foal. Afterwards, he lays back on the bed, totally exhausted. She nudges him and says, "Honey, the prisoner escaped again." Limply turning his head, He YELLS at her, "Hey, its not a life sentence, OKAY! Picture resource: bayometric.com

OF ALL THE FORMS OF COURAGE THE ABILITY TO LAUGH IS THE MOST ...

Life is already so serious, I wanted to add some flavour to my blogs and thought that the:”GO ON AND LAUGH!!!” would add something special to our lives.

Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use

Laughter truly is good for all of us .

Picture resource: panhala.net

IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?

Funerals, most, people don’t like it but it does remind us that we only have today, right now, this hour. We only have one chance in each encounter with every "other" to see them as reflections.  Instead of that idiot who cut in front of us on the road, or the person who was rude to us in conversation. We can only form the habit of goodness and kindness and generosity one good act, one kind moment, one generous outpouring at a time. We can only change one tiny momentary part of ourselves, that single part that exists in the fleeting "now" of our lives.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: "I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other."

The person who left this earth is gone now. So many excuses, but let’s do what is important, life today. Start telling those around you what they mean to you , forgive and love.

Picture resource: thegospelcoalition.comthegospelcoalition.orgthe thegospelcoalition.org

GO ON AND LAUGH!!!

Blonde paint job

A blonde, wanting to earn some money, decided to hire herself out as a handyman-type and started canvassing a wealthy neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house and asked the owner if he had any jobs for her to do. "Well, you can paint my porch. How much will you charge?" The blonde said, "How about 50 dollars?" The man agreed and told her that the paint and ladders that she might need were in the garage. The man's wife, inside the house, heard the conversation and said to her husband, "Does she realize that the porch goes all the way around the house?" The man replied, "She should. She was standing on the porch." A short time later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money. "You're finished already?" he asked. "Yes," the blonde answered, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats. "Impressed, the man reached in his pocket for the $50. "And by the way," the blonde added, "that's not a Porch, it's a Ferrari." Picture resource: automotivecarpictures.blogspot.com