Crowdfunding Appeal

 If you enjoy my blog, a donation of one rand / dollar / pound etc would be most welcome. 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

This would go towards:

Publishing a trio of books

Legal fees (defence against lawsuits)

A regular supply of nutritious magwinyas (South Africa's answer to the bagel)

If you don't enjoy the blog or are offended, a donation of 50c would be poetic revenge.

Zim dollars, kwacha and cowrie shells accepted. 

No amount is too large.

Gratefully yours in the struggle to stay afloat.

Richard 

Taking The Bull

 Dear Ms Duarte 

There is no polite way to say this. It needs saying for our sanity.

I thought I might be going too far and too hard when I wrote this:

"If George Orwell had written 2020 in South Africa:

The party's ever-present slogans fluttered proudly from deserted dairy farms, vandalized railway stations and scorched public buildings:

INCOMPETENCE IS HEROISM

DECAY IS PROGRESS

BULLSHIT IS TRUTH"

Clearly not. Yours must be the Ministry Of Truth, then. Atop the steaming pile that has issued from various Party quarters, proudly perches your contribution. South Africa without the ANC could result in civil war. Comrade Tony did nothing wrong.

Madam, any discussion of these offerings would be as futile as analyzing the utterances of Chicken Little. As foolish as taking the temperature of a freshly deposited pile of droppings  by plunging one's hands into it. Why you persist, nay, accelerate in this headlong plunge into other-worldly logic is a far more interesting avenue to explore.

I don't think you are on bad crack or Durban's best (seeds not removed). Tempting as that assumption may be.

Could you be topping the office pool on who can make the most ludicrous utterances? Without being committed. That's understandable, then.

Is it the Zuma anointing? 

Is it a Macbeth situation: i am in bullshit stepped in so far,  that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er?

I do understand that it could just be that there's no logical or sane argument on this planet anymore for voting for the Party.

Have I hit the mark? Am I at least as warm as one of those piles?

Yours in the struggle to survive the avalanche of animal waste.

Richard 

Yes Minister Cele

 Dear Mr Cele

I was in bed by 8.30 pm, half an hour before your appointed time. Just showing my regard and respect. Besides, there's a mother of thunderstorms over our part of Durban. I love nothing more than to listen to the rumbling and crashing of thunder. Reminds me so much of the Party. Also the other party that is in perpetual marching motion. Also,  of course of the words of dear old Macbeth:

'It is a tale told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

signifying nothing'

I just mention the last. No underlying meaning. Making conversation. I know you love chatting. Saw you having a fatherly chat with the fellow who neglected to wear a mask. You also wisely warned him not to linger (ungalingi). Sir, you are good at this stuff. Lecturing people, grandst.., sorry, standing at roadblocks, stopping dangerous filming on beaches.. Is there not some ministry that could use your talent to the full? Anyone can manage the business of bringing dangerous but boring criminals to justice. But this thing you do, sir, now that's something special. A sort of Bruce Lee or Jedi of the tongue-lashing on camera. Play to your strengths, the HR gurus tell us. Flow. My wish for you for 2021 is that you find that niche. Let some less talented, one track minded fellow do the law and order thing.

Incidentally, while on my way to the loo, I absentmindedly looked through the telescope in the attic. My neighbour was in his garage well after 9pm. Probably receiving a consignment of liquor. Please look into that. The address is below. 

Yours in the fierce struggle against crime and disobedience.

 Richard

Just Not Cricket?

 Dear Fellow South Africans 

Please help. 

Watching SABC TV is almost as absorbing as watching dung beetles on a slow day. I turned to the cricket test for some relief.

I know little about the game. After this morning's session, I feel as if I know even less. A presenter described the game as strenuous, demanding. 'Ha', I thought.  I saw batsmen relaxing at the wicket, strolling around and chatting. Then I learned that the game lasts five days. I've seen football matches run an extra half hour. Tennis matches that last a few hours. But five days! Is this not cruel and unusual punishment? Do the players do it willingly? Or are they pressured into it?

My suspicions were heightened when a commentator said that the South African target is lunch. Logic tells us that the target should be one run more than the Sri Lankan score. Good heavens, these chaps are starving. It's no wonder we struggle in the big competitions.

Another alarming comment was that Mickey Arthur, the Sri Lankan coach,  is worried by injuries. If the coach is getting injured, then there's more to this game than meets the eye. None of it good.

'He (a bowler) needs to ask questions of the South African batsmen', was another perplexing comment. So why doesn't he do it during those chat breaks? What questions? 'Would you rather I hit you on the head or on the ribs?' might be a logical one. I hope it's not general knowledge stuff like: 'Which comes first; South Africa or the ANC?' The game's slow enough as it is.

When the talk turned to leg spinning (surely physically impossible), chirping (is this a Sri Lankan thing?) and other stuff that hadn't the remotest connection to any sport I know, I turned off the sound.

Is this normal in cricket matches? Please let me know.

Yours in the struggle for understanding.

Richard 

 

Only When I Laugh

 

Dear Fellow South Africans 

Heard the one about the ANC politician who meets an admiral in Swaziland?

"But you have no sea", he says.

"We do have some rivers and lakes", the admiral replies. "But you have an integrity commission!".

And Tony Yengeni chairs a working group on crime and corruption. Good choice. Experience is important. 

Dear fellow South Africans, please give the ANC some credit. They have been trying so hard for so long to get us laughing. But we are a tough crowd to please. Always moaning about service delivery, corruption, incompetence and other relatively unimportant stuff. 

Our best comedians couldn't have dreamed up these absolute corkers:

Those who vote for the ANC will be blessed on earth and heaven - Jacob Zuma 

The people love me - Supra Mahumapelo

So this over-concentration of coloureds in the Western Cape is not working for them. They should spread in the rest of the country.... - Jimmy Manyi

Many politicians publicly deny they did certain things but then later admit to them. It is accepted and is not unusual anywhere in the world. .....I personally don't find it a very bad thing - Ndaweni Mahlangu

 

So what? - Baleka Mbete reacting to reference to UN report on SA having world's fifth highest murder rate (Al Jazeera interview)

I am not corrupt. I am not corrupt. Go to the Free State and see what we have done there - Ace Magashule

I stand here to say thank you to Msholozi for everything that he has done for this beloved country of ours - Carl Niehaus

Is fraud a bad thing in society? - Judge Zondo.

I respect you, Chair, but I will not answer. I will not incriminate myself- Dudu Myeni 

Laughter is the best medicine. I think the ANC has been trying to bolster our slightly less than excellent health services system. The problem is that you take them seriously.

Yours in the struggle for excellence in stand-up comedy.

Richard

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723

Heat

 Dear Mr Cele

I may be the only person in South Africa who recognizes your genius. I see your strategy and your vision as clearly as a sunrise over Durban's Treasure Beach. (Which, I should think, you will be visiting sometime soon).

You have taken the NYPD's broken window approach to levels unimagined. You too are dealing with 'minor' crimes to discourage major crime. You are fixing the broken windows of wanton boozing, brazen beach shenanigans and so forth. Making the newly cleansed environment unattractive to criminals. I bet that anyone contemplating a heist at Camps Bay now knows to stay well away.

The movie people on the beach were an inspired choice of righteous target. Look at what goes on in the movies. Wild, abandoned boozing, smoking, violence and sex. And other things. And they have the nerve to flaunt their cameras and semi-clothed bodies on our beaches (I mean the cameramen, directors and wardrobe people). I watch movies with great reluctance, only to keep track of the depths of decadence they are willing to plumb.

Sir, I think it's an opportune time for us to meet for a fruit juice. This is not a sudden impulse. During the level 5 lockdown, I was not idle. Over a bottle of Scottish Leader that someone left on my doorstep, I analysed, weighed, measured your remarkable strategy.  I am all in. It's been alleged that, on Mr Zuma's watch, people with no qualifications or experience held high rank in the police. I, at least, have been reading crime novels since primary school. I am realistic  enough to start at the bottom  - colonel, major, that sort of thing. Nothing like having team members who are fully on board with your vision and strategy.

Yours in the struggle for crime-free beaches and cities.

Richard

2020

If George Orwell had written 2020 in South Africa:

The party's ever-present slogans fluttered proudly from deserted dairy farms, vandalized railway stations and scorched public buildings:

INCOMPETENCE IS HEROISM

DECAY IS PROGRESS

BULLSHIT IS TRUTH

Under one of the gaily fluttering banners, an endless queue snaked from the doors of the Ministry Of Employment And Plenty. The citizens were in discussion. 

"Comrade, so what if he took bags of cash? He's one of us. A prodigal son. We need the leadership."

"One of us? I don't see a Bentley here?"

"Ah, Comrade. You don't understand. The Party drives Bentleys for us. Drinks champagne with our lips".

A convoy of black-hatted police drove by, staring as intently at the crowd, as they munched at KFC.

"Look at them. On their way to the beaches. Where are they when we are being robbed and murdered?"

"Be careful in your thinking, Comrade. The revolution is a long march. The enemies of the revolution are sunning themselves on the beaches. The Goldsteins."

"The what?"

"They go by many names: capitalists, boere, Rupertists, Gordhanists, Clever Blacks, bloody agents, opposition parties... But the glorious revolution will prevail."

"This is the glorious revolution? Queues, decaying buildings, filthy streets?"

"Your thoughts are verging on counterrevolution, Comrade. But you are young. On this long march, we must be patient. You see, in the struggle, there is a different kind of truth being birthed".

"Huh?"

"Follow the Party faithfully, my young comrade. You will understand the truths:

INCOMPETENCE IS HEROISM 

DECAY IS PROGRESS"

"And bullshit is truth?"

"You have it, Comrade. You have it".

Tips for the blogger gratefully accepted 

Capitec Bank, South Africa  

1378565477

O Tichmann 

+27 833970723