Visiting your local city market this weekend?

Like this one or this one or this one or this one or this one
or this one or this one or this one or this one or this one?

After all, they’re all so individual, aren’t they? *cough*

But why not? Or rather – why?

We believe that, in spending ludicrous sums on this wonderful food, we are making a stand against The Man. We are turning our faces against the supermarkets, promoting true agriculture, supporting a way of life that is in danger of being lost.
There is a technical term for all this: bollocks.

So says Jay Rayner.

But that aside, really why not? After all, the produce is superb and… er… “authentic”:

There’s ostrich steaks, smoked venison,
And eggs with sh*t and feathers on,
There’s cauliflowers with gritty bits in between…

At the Market, the Farmers’ Market,
I drive my Volvo there and then I park it.
At the Market, the Farmers’ Market,
I find any old crap and sell it in a basket.

Some Friday smiles with this brilliance from the Armstrong and Miller Show.
You’d be well advised to watch it all the way through for the twist in the tail.

Got to love the odd cameo appearance, right?

Private Eye on shale gas

South Africa isn’t the only country to have potentially economy-changing amounts of shale gas underneath it. The UK has some too. According to the usually politically-left In The Back section of Private Eye magazine:

Cuadrilla, the gas exploration company drilling for shale gas in Lancashire, has announced its discovery of 200 trillion cubic feet of gas – a seriously big find.
If only a tenth of that were to be produced, it would still make it far larger than any gas field discovered in the North Sea, with the added benefit of it being accessible from dry land.
It represents a potential lottery win: not just for Cuadrilla, but for UK plc as a whole.

And here we are talking about 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale gas.
South Africa’s shale gas deposits are estimated to be at least 450tcf. That’s 450 000 000 000 000 cubic feet of gas. Putting that into some sort of perspective, Mossgas, the successful refinery in the Southern Cape, was built on the assumption that there was just 1 (one) tcf in deposits under the seabed.

The article continues:

Recent shale gas discoveries in the US have already transformed the North American gas market, changing it from a net importer to a net exporter in just two years, and significantly lowering gas prices there. If the Lancashire discovery turns out to be even remotely as big as has been announced, the UK will be in a position to keep its lights on cheaply – and cleanly – for a very long time to come.

Yes – locally produced shale gas means cheaper, cleaner energy.

The technology for shale gas production is controversial [including] the alleged – but disputed – potential for contamination of groundwater. Again, if the amounts of gas are as large as stated, the highest environmental standards could be imposed on its production and it would still be profitable.

Because abundant shale gas undermines the case for subsidising nuclear and renewable power generation, it faces a well-funded hostile lobby, keen to play up any negatives it can find.
Lurid films of gas-flames shooting out of bath-taps in America have comprehensively been shown to have nothing to do with shale gas production (it is a naturally-ocurring phenomenon in part of the US) but they capture the public imagination.
We can therefore expect largescale anti-shale gas protest from a range of vested “green” interests.

Indeed. I wonder if the British-born Lewis Pugh will take time out from poking his nose into other country’s affairs for long enough to “save” his homeland from an economic boom and cheaper, greener energy like he is trying to do here in South Africa.

Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Schedule 2011/2012

The Kirstenbosch Summer Sunset Concert Schedule has been released which does mean that summer is just around the corner, but sadly, looking at the line up it’s much of the same-old, same-old but this time with an R80 or R100 price tag.
This is, of course, ignoring the Parlotones, who demand a R125 entry fee because they didn’t make enough out of supporting Coldplay (where they were crap) or their myriad of other sponsorship and endorsement deals. Greed.

Of course, the repetitive line-ups and the higher prices won’t mean that each and every concert won’t be packed full and that Woolies won’t have to order in extra picnic food each Sunday – of course they will.

Anyway – here’s what’s on offer:

  • Sun, 20 Nov 2011 Locnville / Jax Panik
  • Sun, 27 Nov 2011 Van Coke / Die Heuwels Fantasties / Jack Parow / JR PG (L)
  • Sun, 4 Dec 2011 Lira
  • Sun, 11 Dec 2011 The Parlotones
  • Thurs, 15 Dec 2011 Carols by Candlelight Rotary
  • Fri, 16 Dec 2011 Carols by Candlelight Rotary
  • Sat, 17 Dec 2011 Carols by Candlelight Rotary
  • Sun, 18 Dec 2011 Carols by Candlelight Rotary
  • Mon, 26 Dec 2011 Zebra & Giraffe
  • Sat, 31 Dec 2011 NYE Concert – Prime Circle & Elvis Blue
  • Sun, 1 Jan 2012 Mango Groove
  • Sun, 8 Jan 2012 The Graeme Watkins Project / Plush
  • Sun, 15 Jan 2012 Johnny Clegg
  • Sun, 22 Jan 2012 Dan Patlansky /Natasha Meister
  • Sun, 29 Jan 2012 Zahara (TBC) / Claire Phillips
  • Sun, 5 Feb 2012 Flash Republic / Foto Na Dans
  • Sun, 12 Feb 2012 Going Back to the Crossroads / Natasha Meister
  • Sun, 19 Feb 2012 Taxi Violence / Machineri
  • Sun, 26 Feb 2012 The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra
  • Sun, 4 Mar 2012 The Blues Broers featuring Albert Frost
  • Sun, 11 Mar 2012 Goldfish
  • Sun, 18 Mar 2012 Freshlyground
  • Sun, 25 Mar 2012 Hugh Masekela
  • Sun, 1 April 2012 Hot Water / Wrestlerish

Full line up and prices on PDF here.
Ticking information and booking via webtickets or Kirstenbosch.

Project B.R.A. – mission completed (almost)

In a weird fit of organisation, I have organised – almost single-handedly – the kids’ Christmas presents way ahead of time in what became (for reasons best left unshared) Project B.R.A..

The gifts in question are available in SA, but as so many of these things do, they come with a hefty mark-up on the foreign price tag. In fact, the UK price is exactly 20% lower than here and the US price is an incredible 33% lower. All for something made in China, who – lest we forget – are supposed to be our best friends.
If I had the option then, why would I not purchase elsewhere and get them brought in?
Of course, I have links to the UK, but – just this once – I also have contact in the US and so we got them sent to her via Amazon.com. This was my first experience with Amazon.com – having had mixed results with their .co.uk counterparts.

My contact in NYC said that the US is a nation of online orderers, so there was nothing big or special about getting a parcel sent to her. But that was before “Sophie” signed for it and it went missing for 48hrs. However, while I was on a quick call from South Africa to India to discuss a parcel going missing in New York, the delivery was found and all is now well with the world.

Now all that needs to happen is the handover in NYC next week and then the courier flying them back to the Mother City.

So – to recap: Goods made in China, and for South African use, were bought in the USA, following examination of the price in the UK and were delivered after a call to an American call-centre in India.

Some good service

Sadly, SA is not noted for its customer service. Or rather, it is, but not in a good way. That’s why when I have some good customer service, I like to tell people about it. And this week has been a revelation in what other countries would call “service”, but what we here in SA call “fantastic service”. These companies should be celebrated and rewarded. I will do the celebration bit here, you sort out the rewards bit by doing business with them.
Companies must adapt or die. As this unnatural form of natural selection proceeds, so poor customer service will die out like the dinosaurs (but without massive meteorite involvement) and good customer service will evolve to be the dominant species.

Hi-Q Wynberg
After my op, I wasn’t allowed to drive for a while. And when I did want to drive, my car wouldn’t start. Even trying  to jump-start it via its big sister didn’t work and I deduced that it needed a new battery. Cue a call to Andre (021) 761 7063, who did exactly what he said he would, exactly when he said he would and got me back on the road.
Nice.

Geysol
Having decided that we needed to save money on electricity (who doesn’t?), we turned to Geyerwise for assistance. They got one of their distributors – Leon from Geysol (076 036 0623) – to pop around and fit our unit for us. One prompt, fast, friendly, helpful and clean job later, we are saving money on our electricity. How much, I’m not sure yet, but I’ll let you know. I’m hoping that the unit will pay for itself inside three months. After that, it’s pure saving goodness.

ADM Home Appliances
With two kids and an annual Cape Town winter, a tumble dryer is a luxury necessity. And it’s only when it goes wrong that you realise how much you rely on it. Not so much yesterday, with its 29.5°C temperatures – more on days like today with its 29.5mm+ of rain.
Ours went badly wrong last Friday and so we called in Deen from ADM Home Appliances on (021) 797 2321. He came, he saw, he took the machine away, he gave us a quote, he fixed the machine and he brought the machine back. What’s not to like?

Pool Doctor
Ironically right next door to my friends at Hi-Q (see above), Pool Doctor (021) 761 9121 dropped in right when they said they would to sort out my leaking pump. Then they sorted out the leaking pump and my pool is looking ready for summer already. This seemed like such a good idea in yesterday’s sun. Today, I’m going to see how the overflow works.

So, if you need bits for your car, to save money on your electricity bill, an appliance repaired or your pool sorted out – please give these guys a call and do your bit to promote decent customer service.