Lyla and KFC

it gives me great delight to advise that Lyla has, it would seem, fallen in love with the ways of the finest foods known to man; the splendid menu that is offered by The Colonel at his many, many KFC outlets. what a pity that KFC do not do a breakfast menu (outside of in China for the benefit of THE KING), but i am sure like the rest of us she appreciates what she can get!

just how good is KFC? well, it is the choice of food of THE KING, for a start, and a classy Chicky Meal is one of the few things in this world that James will stop and eat because he wants to, rather than having to!


Lyla, it would seem, has taken quite a shine to The Colonel's fine ice creams!





nice one Lyla! i am not really that fond of ice cream, but if were presented with a dairy concoction that was provided by The Colonel, i too would soon eat it in thanks for the fine foods he gives us all.





i did once unwisely allow James to eat an ice cream in the car. he ended up looking much like Lyla at the end of it, as did the car windows, the car seat and everywhere around him. there is a happy end to the story, mind - we were in Mummy's car at the time!!!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

about my chums

hi there

well, as intimated in a previous post, here are some of the people i am lucky enough to spend my days at verk with. they are a terrific bunch indeed, making the bad days get resolved and the good days seem all the better!

first up, here's a whole bunch of us. with your humble narrator is Jayson, the delectable Sandra in the background, Zama proudly showing off his hat and glasses, and oh look there's Kelvin lurking around.




i must say you are rather lucky - to have two pictures of Kelvin and him retaining his pants in a traditional state (ie zipped up and on properly) is a rather rare thing!

here's another of Zama, so you can have a good gander at how much better he looks in the hat and glasses than i do!





Zama is a rather interesting chap. as i recall, my first conversation of consequence with the lad occurred in the gentleman's facility in our verk building. it was a rather profound chat and we shall leave it at that, quite frankly.


speaking of interesting chaps, my good friend Prenasen is certainly that; a gent with many strings to his bow. sadly, we said goodbye to him today, as he heads off to pastures new with a rather interesting and great career opportunity lying away from us.





he is a great lad, and i will be staying in touch with him wherever he ends up!

ah, now what would a Spring Day celebration be without an image of Sinbad?





like Ronel, Sinbad is a manager at verk, and will thus be first up against the wall and shot when the revolution comes. actually, even if he wasn't a manager this would probably be the fate which befell him, friendship regardless.

and here's Iggy. a wonderful friend, who took me in on my first day and taught me all that i know. Spiros then showed me how to shortcut all that, of course. she also sat at the main table with Michele & I when we got married; a rather clever move as if anything ever goes wrong i can just blame her!





yes, Iggy is a manager too (sorry, i have a complete lack of career ambition in that regard), so will in all likelihood end up against the wall when the revolution comes, etc, etc. in the mean time, however, she does command a reasonable, if not notable, amount of respect, and we try to show that. sometimes we show that by putting hundreds of sugar packets and tea bags in her handbag in the hope that security will stop and question her as she tries to leave the building, granted, but there are other ways we do. like for instance this rather impressive ceremonial dance that Zama and your humble narrator created for Iggy today....





look at the unbridled joy on her face!!

that's probably it for Spring Day pictures, unless anyone at verk that i took a pic of gets upset about not being here and i shall gladly upload them!! those who are uploaded here and don't want to be, alas, will not be removed. well, not until i receive a cease and desist letter from a lawyer or something.



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the verk gang

hi there


well, the team i verk with are regular readers of this site (i think), so i thought it may amuse them to see themselves up here!

ladies and gentleman, here are Vivienne, Erick, Ronel, your humble narrator, Leslie and Michelle!





they are a magnificent bunch, and i am as proud to call them all friends as i am colleagues. that said, in the hierarchy of verk, Ronel, one of the best of the many friends i have in this world, is the manager and responsible for us, so alas she will be one of the first against the wall and shot when the revolution comes. it will be a sad day, but it's revolution, innit?


please note that the five above who are not me would probably testify my definition of verk is not the normal one. hey, someone has to sit there and look good......



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring Day at Verk.....

hey everyone


well, following on from James having a Spring Day celebration at school, we had a similar event at verk today. many, many fine people put some fine effort into some dazzling decorations for our verk area, but i am not sure how much of it will be in the pictures i put here!!


now, i do try to avoid that "me, me, me" style of posting that blogs get accused of, but how could i not show off this class picture of me here?





this is one of the most ace pics of me yet! many thanks to Zama for "lending" me the hat and the shades; the shades that are so smart that they are second only to the ones that THE KING wears. i will try and include a pic of Zama in the hat and shades later. reluctantly, as they somewhat suit him better :)

now i know a great many people get very excited when it is Spring Day at my verk, as it means that it is time for the annual pic of me and Trigger doing our thing, so to speak. and who am i to disappoint?





does that kind of posing with Trigger have any effect on the ladies? you be the judge.....





what a shame for all the suitors above that i am happily married!

aha, back to the classic posing, this time being assisted with Kelvin, who whilst not a smoker has procured a lighter for me. not that i or anyone else could light up indoors of course.





Kelvin is class to have around. other than being a great guy, he is "mr fix it". beyond lighting cigarettes, over the years he has performed top level surgery on many of my possessions, from staplers to car stereos. nice one man.

some more pics to follow!

happy Spring, or Autumn, depending where you are. if i have any readers in the Arctic Circle or similar, happy whatever you actually have i guess.....


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burning Down The House

hey everyone


well, those lucky people who get to live next door to my good friend (bum chum, if you will) Spiros would seem not to live next door to him for the present owing to the fact that their house burnt down.





as is the way of Spiros, his actions in regards of assistance, help and concern was of a nature that involved standing and watching it, saying "this is class" and then taking some pictures for me to put here.





nice one Spiros, many thanks for adding some interesting images here!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Galactic Empire's Problem Resolution Flowchart

so, how do Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine resolve problems within the Empire?





Throw the Death Star at it!!

Spring be here

hi there


well, the season of spring is slowly spreading across the southern hemisphere, and not a moment too soon might i add. it has been a rather cold winter at times, and i dare say we shall all welcome the heat of the sun and the cool of the rain!

to celebrate Spring, James had a spring day picnic during the week. they all brought in a picnic basket, a plant to put in the garden and a hat to wear. James was rather lucky as Mummy made him a most magnificent piece of headgear to wear!





my, that is stylish! well done Mummy on a wonderful work of art! considering that James seldom wears any sort of hat by choice, it says it all that he loves wearing this one!!






be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sammy Hagar is a Twat

hey everyone

many thanks to my chummy Spiros for forwarding this on.

basically, there are two stages of feelings about Sammy Hagar. at first very few in the world cared nothing for him, and then many saw him with nothing but contempt and dislike when he was, for some bizarre reason, seen as the ideal new frontman for Van Halen after the departure of the great, brilliant and talented David Lee Roth.





here are the backstage requirements for Sammy Hagar and his band from some tour or other. now, in partial fairness, most (proper) Rock stars do have lavish, bizarre and strange backstage requirements; that's why they are Rock stars. however, the listings and demands below would seem to be better suited to an actual, proper and popular Rock stars. not one that would be lucky to attract a double figure crowd in a town where there was nothing but cloud watching to do.









any Hagar fans reading this, apologies for offence caused, but maybe go out and check out some different music?


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

possibly the best film of the year?

sadly for my brother Richard this is not a remake of They Call Me Bruce?. it is something that looks much, much better!





apparently this thing was made quite a while ago, and yet no release date! come on, get it out!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Donovan plans new album comeback

Former Neighbours star Jason Donovan is to release his first album in 15 years.

His last album, All Around the World, languished at number 27 in the UK charts in 1993.

Donovan's new album, called Let It Be Me, is inspired by music from the late 1950s and early 1960s and will be released in November.

The 40-year-old had hits with songs like Too Many Broken Hearts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and has enjoyed a TV comeback in recent years.

He came third in ITV1's jungle show I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2006 and went on to appear in soap Echo Beach with Martine McCutcheon.

Let It Be Me features new versions of classic songs like Blue Velvet, Love Hurts and Smoke Gets In My Eyes.

The Australian-born star has also reworked his old hit Sealed With a Kiss, and written new track Dreamboats and Petticoats.

Donovan married his long-time girlfriend Angela Malloch, a stage manager and the mother of his two children, in a ceremony in Bali in June.

the streisand confessions - no truth is ever a lie

hey everyone


well, with the Yankees (or at least the media) apparently making it inevitable that the Democrats shall soon have the taste of power again, now seems like as good a time as any for us all to confess to our crimes, misdemeanors, incidents and what have you as they pertain to Barbara Streisand.

i do not expect many who read this site to be quite so brave as to publicly admit their Streisand-related acts of folly, but let us embrace and respect those brace enough to do so here.





your confession could include, but not be limited to, having Woman In Love in the car. and playing it. loud. and singing along. in a rather loud manner. with the window down. with an audience.


confess! confess!

Airport mix up leaves thousands cheering return of Gary Glitter

Thousands of Union Jack waving supporters were distraught yesterday to discover that the plane they were cheering at Heathrow Airport was in fact the one bringing celebrity paedophile Gary Glitter back from the Far East.

The embarrassing mix-up occurred as it emerged that the plane flying Team GB back from the Olympics was badly delayed, while the actual aircraft bringing home the former glam rock star was scheduled a few days later than publicised in order to avoid a hostile mob reception that could have turned ugly.


‘But cheering crowds was perhaps going too much the other way’ suggested airport worker Mike Pryor. Gary Glitter seemed surprised and delighted with the response as he looked out at the sea of cheering crowds with banners proclaiming ‘We love you!’ and ‘You make us proud to be British!’ Gordon Brown was at the airport for the big welcome home and declared ‘What we have here today is a symbol of what it means to be British today. It is partly the result of government investment but we should also salute the individual effort reflected here today – achievements that will be reflected in the Honours System,’ he continued as Gary Glitter waved at the crowd behind him.

However it appears that government officials were too embarrassed to admit the mistake, and so the country’s most famous paedophile then posed with the Prime Minister before driven past the throng of cheering fans on an open top bus to Buckingham Palace where he was to become ‘Sir Gary Glitter.’

Britain currently lies fourth in the world’s Paedophile League Table behind the USA, Thailand and Belgium.

Prison Break returns.....

well, after a short and curious 3rd series, Prison Break returns as of 1 September, at least on American TV sets, with it being all over the interwebnet as of September 2, probably.

i have enjoyed all three to date, although the second half of the 2nd series and large chunks of the 3rd series have, in fairness, given ample evidence to prove the law of diminishing returns. all too often the brilliant premise of the initial series gave way to absurd or ridiculous twists, turns and developments. whereas one would hope that they do not set out to make it absurd or ridiculous, there has to be some concerns already about the new series.

if one reads this interview, you will see that a fairly important character somehow comes back from the dead! i would label this with standard *** SPOILER WARNING *** stuff, but as this character seems to feature in all the promo pictures, i guess neither i nor the interview are giving all that much away, at least nothing that they don't already want you to know.

i am also looking forward to seeing how they skimp on the budget this time, too. lest we forget that, for most of series 3, the character of Michael Schofield, ostensibly the protagonist of the piece, spent a rather large amount of time in long sleeved shirts under the blazing Central American sun, presumably to avoid having to have the elaborate tattoos done over his body!





and then there's everyone's favourite, T-Bag. he has, you may recall, one hand too few via an incident with an axe. i wonder if they will be just filming him from discreet angles instead of going to the trouble of make up and special effects to remove the hand?





anyway, i shall be watching the series as soon as i get the chance (ahem). unless they come up with something spectacular, or are determined to make it in to some sort of soap opera, i think one would have to assume this will be the final outing for the gang!!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the informers

well, it would appear that 2008 has a least one more promising film for us!





the informers could, sadly, well go down as the last great work by the talented Brett Easton Ellis. the collection of short stories, often mistaken for being an actual novel, is a devistating collection showing off the man's talents for telling a tale with a dynamic flair for words. he has, alas, not shown this off since, with glamorama not being, shall we say, the greatest achievement of his career and the recent comeback, Lunar Park, seemingly not worth the effort of reading.

for those of you who have not read the informers, well, go get a copy! in the mean time, it's a collection of (rather loosely) connected, or if you will interwoven, short stories based in an around LA in the early 80's. it is as critical as it is observant to the characters within the various tales in the manner you would expect from the authour at his best, really. sadly, it's been a good 10 or 12 years since i read it, i don't recall all that much off the top of my head, bar the tale of the Rock Star and the tales of valium. any more details would be a bit of a spoiler, anyway.


that said, i believe i will be digging out my copy and having a re-read anyway on the basis of the rather awesome trailer that's out there for the film. it looks like they are going to deliver an undiluted interpretation of the tales, which means that it will not be suitable for all tastes!

looking at the account above, i think it's just dawned on me why the last two works of Ellis were failures, if comparative failures at least. neither of them have an 80's background or setting. ho hum, let's hope he clocks that valid point before he delivers another novel, then.

anyway, back to the film - if you have a gander at the cast for the fim by clicking here, you will see a rather interesting assortment of talent has signed up for it. nice one!!

well, not a good deal else i can say on this one right now!!!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there is a light which forever goes out....

well, this evening delivered a fascinating twist in the saga of perpetual "power failures" in the area we live. apparently, South Africa's power woes have been addressed and there is no need for enforced power cuts, something which occurred around the time it was decided to give the state owned power company even more money (go figure). and yet, somehow, we have had at least one power cut every day for the past four days.

the power went out again this evening. i immediately picked up the phone and called the number for City (non) Power to report such incidents and get further information. that number would be 011 375 5555, option 2.

can you imagine my surprise to get a recorded message telling me that the power was out in my area? i mean, how is that possible? at best, and this is being generous, there was 1 single minute between the power going out and me calling the number. as they thrive on inefficiency and revel in their incompetence. there's no way they could have got the information, recorded the message and implemented it in that time. a rather planned power outage then, methinks, and i thought it best to get an explanation from them as to how they could do this.

of course, the people who answer the phones above could not answer the question. they are but simple people, hired for their will power i would imagine, as i dare say the majority of calls received are of a less than complimentary nature. to their credit, they too were equally puzzled as to how such a message could come into being with such speed, and one chap was keen to learn how a recorded message advising that the power was out in an area could be put in place so quickly. they suggested that i speak to a supervisor, and endeavored to put me through to one of them.


the supervisors, alas, were mysteriously all unavailable right up until all four of them (Brian Nxumalo, Rabizo Nthe, Vuyiswa Makeke and Gugu Kheswa) finished their shift at 10pm. what an interesting deployment of manpower that is - have four supervisors on duty at the same time, all unavailable, and then have a large chunk of time at your 24 hour call centre where no supervisor or anyone senior is on duty. it's also rather convenient for dealing with questions like mine in regards of incidents like this one.

the lady i spoke to after 10pm, however, felt that not even a supervisor would be able to answer this curious question; she suggested that no less a being than the "area manager" would be the best person to answer the question. i was given the details for this supreme being, a Mothusi Tawana, telephone 011 256 8500. needless to say, that's only going to be during office hours, and i would wager that Mothusi will be unavailable if i bother to try calling tomorrow.

if anyone reading this wishes to pursue the story, go mad. i am just growing as tired of their dishonest attitude as i am of their lack of competence to do the job they are paid rather well to do.

and, as the lights will no doubt go out again at some point, let me head off to bed now that i have all that out of my system!!

talented Katie / NZ wildlife

hey everyone


well, it would appear that Katie is becoming as industrious as her mother (and her father, i suppose) as she takes on a number of jobs. this she would be undertaking before reaching the age of three, which suggests that she is actively seeking a career and serves to underline the apparent chronic lack of professionals in New Zealand at the moment.

first off, here is Katie seemingly ready to drive a tractor around, towing a whole bunch of people around the sheep park. well, i am guessing it is at the sheep park, but more of that in a later pic (patience, Grant, the digs are coming)





i have little or no doubt that she eventually clocked the correct way to sit and operate the mechanical wonder that is the tractor.

not content with doing this, it would seem for all the world to see that she is also prepared to have a whirl at all things medical.





nice one Katie. i am not of a disposition to comment on medical procedures, but i have every confidence that you will have diagnosed what was wrong with Daniel's haircut with your rather class stethoscope with relative ease!

back at the sheep park, it seems that Katie was also rather eager to be some sort of shepherd or zookeeper to the rather interesting variety of wild sheep being looked after there. here she is, diligently ensuring that her father is not trying to get over the fence to pet or otherwise stroke the various species of sheep in the park.





now, as i have no evidence to the contrary (well, none that i choose to pay attention to), i can only conclude that Grant took the family off to see the incredible, if at times astonishing, varieties of sheep that one can see on the fair shores of New Zealand. there is no particular reason that i can think of that Grant would want to see anything but sheep on a day out, so here's two fine examples.

this one i suspect may have a latin-ish name of Maorilionos lamblia. i must say, for a sheep this specimen has quite a mane! in fact, if you did not know that this picture was from New Zealand, you would be forgiven for assuming that it was a picture of a lion!





on the off chance that this kind of sheep has lion-esque tendencies as well as appearances, i certainly wouldn't fancy trying to shear it. or whatever it is Grant does with them.

and finally, here's Grant and the children proudly smiling in front of what i can only assume must be called MassivosSheepos dos Elephante, and must surely be the biggest land-dwelling sheep in New Zealand.





quite frankly, i can't see one getting all that much wool off the above kind of sheep, but the lamb ribs and chops must be absolutely massive.


thank you once again to Gillian, Daniel, Katie and in particular the adventurous, livestock loving Grant for sending these pictures along!!!!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

another August 16 birthday!!

well well, another event on August 16!! over at my mate Norman's interwebnetsite thingie, you can see and read all of Emma's 2nd birthday!!

if i have got this right, a picture of the birthday girl should appear below!



if not, well, best you head over to Norman's interwebnetsite thingie soonest!!


be excellent to each other!!!!

the cement factory

hey there


well, i imagine this update is of a somewhat selective appeal, but as the selection there would feature my dear friend Mr Michael Llewellyn, it is included all the same, thank you.

our trip to the birthday party on Saturday took us past the PPC cement factory. on one occasion of a verk trip here, Mike was staying in a place which required us to travel past this production plant. both Michele and I felt it our duty, if not obligation, to get some pictures so he can be assured that it is still there, as majestic as ever.





i am not sure why Mike took quite a shine to the cement factory, but he did make one or two kinds words about it, and indeed thanked me for pointing out this rather interesting landmark. one could perhaps suspect that the slightest fragrance of sarcasm may have been scented within his sentiments, but this is rather unlikely. i mean, Mike spoke just as kindly of the Jason Donovan CD i had in the car for him as he did the cement factory. there's no way he could have been sarcastic about our Jason, whose music was the muse which wove such a part of the fabric of our youth, is there?





in regards of how this particular cement factory (or cement plant, if you will) stands in comparison to others around the world, you would have to ask Mike, really. i mean, they must have some sort of concrete creation scheme in Australia, unless every single building is wood and Middlesbrough steel. he also visits China and neighbouring countries from time to time, where he might see the odd venture into concrete manufacture going on around him. although i do encourage him to go and have a gander around the KFC's on the off chance he sees The King in one of them whilst he is in that part of the world.





i quite like how the above pictures have come out, really. not bad, considering that they were taken from inside Michele's car whilst trying to entertain James as we headed home. who said that digital cameras were killing the art of photography?

anyway, Mike, i hope you have enjoyed this current look at the cement factory/plant, and please feel free to set any one of the above images as your new desktop wallpaper or something. if any casual visitors to this interwebnetthingie site page have enjoyed these images, well, my work is thus done.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

birthday celebrations

hey there

as well as marking the day on which The King removed himself from the public eye (see previous post), August 16 also marks the birthday of James' cousins, Jade and Skyla, as well as Auntie Natasha, also known as Michele's sister and Jade and Skyla's Mummy.

after the long drive back from Sun City we simply couldn't stay at the party as long as we wanted too (i am still somewhat under the weather), but James nonetheless got to run around and have some fun!

here's James posing with Jade and Skyla - well done Michele for getting a picture with the three of them sort of in it!!





James took quite a shine to the play house! i think we shall have to have a look around for one for our garden, if one will even fit in our garden!!





i believe we all had one when we were kids. well, not like this one exactly; if memory serves correctly Richard, Gillian and I had a most splendid Wombles play house when we were young!


i will wager that James' Grandad can find and scan a picture of it - over to you, Dad!!






be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

31 years away

hey everyone


well, 16 August marks 31 years since The King, Elvis Aron Presley, took the decision to no longer live in the public eye.





i am sure that The King is enjoying his time in China still, what with all the KFC breakfasts that are available and what have you.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

all things Spanish

hey there

please take the time to visit the site of one of my dearest friends on this planet, that being the site of David "Norman" Gutteridge.

i am flattered to have inspired him, beats me writing his English essays for him!

have a look and tell him what you think!!!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!