‘Good at the extraordinary but not so good at the ordinary’  is a quote from Albie Sachs, the retired Constitutional Court Judge and former activist in the freedom movement.  South Africa always gets notoriously bad press. I think I can safely say that the majority of my guests who have never been to South Africa before and have been warned in particular about the dangers of Johannesburg (from not leaving their hotel/guesthouse to not making eye contact  with people in the streets if they do go out), leave with a completely different impression. 

Here are some random facts about SA taken from SA The Good News (the name is self-explanatory):

• In 2006 SA’s tourism grew at three times the global average. The number of tourists to SA grew from 3 million in 1994 to 9 million in 2007 (Dept of Environment and Tourism) 
• There are 39 million cell phone users in SA (International Telecommunication Union)
• SA is the 2^nd country in the world to host the Cricket, Rugby and Soccer World Cups (No guesses for who is the 1^st country?) 
• This is my best … The only street in the world to house two Nobel Peace pirze winners is in Soweto. Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both had houses in Vilikazi St, Orlando West.
• In 2007 Cyril Ramaphosa was included in the TIME 100 list of the 100 most influential people and in 2009 William Kentridge and Jacob Zuma were included.
• South Africa has the world’s largest deposits of gold, chromium, platinum and manganese.  
• The Kruger National Park supports the greatest variety of wildlife species on the African continent.  
• The Cango Caves near Oudsthoorn is the world’s longest underground cave sequence.
• Not only does SA have one of the 6 floral kingdoms of the world, but it is the smallest and richest per area unit. Of the 9000 species of plants, known as fynbos, around 6200 are endemic i.e. do not occur anywhere else in the world. The area stretches in a 100-200 km wide coastal belt from Clanwilliam on the West coast to Port Elizabeth on the Southeast coast.
• SA has the oldest meteor scar in the in the world (2 billion years) at the Vredefort Dome in the Free State.
• Gauteng is SA’s smallest province but produces 34% of SA’s GDP (Stats SA)
• Tax revenue in SA has increased by 220% over the past 10 years
• Since 1994, 500 houses have been built each day for the poor [Comment from Liz - still way below the needs]
• SA is the 35^th best place in the world to do e-business according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2007 E-Readiness Report  
• South Africa’s Rand is the second best-performing emerging market currency of the 26 monitored by Bloomberg in 2009
• South Africa ranks second worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding its budgets – just behind the United Kingdom, tie with France, and ahead of New Zealand and the United States – according to the Open Budget Index
• Ghandi’s notion of passive resistance (Satyagraha) was developed while he lived in South Africa
• Since the 1940s  SA golfers have won more golf majors than any other nation, apart from the US.
• UNISA is the world’s largest correspondence University with 250,000 students.
• The first MBA programme outside of the United States was started by the University of Pretoria in 1949.
• SA is the first, and to date only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear arms programme. 

 For more facts go to   http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/fast_facts_and_quick_stats/index.html

2010 Match Schedule

GROUP A  1. South Africa  2. Mexico 3. Uruguay 4. France
11 June  – Jhb Soccer City  South Africa – Mexico @  16:00
11 June  – CT Green Point  Uruguay – France @  20:30
16 June  – PTA  Loftus Versfeld Soutth Africa – Uruguay @ 20:30
17 June  – Polokwane Peter Mokaba France – Mexico @  13:30
22 June  – Rustenberg Royal Bafokeng Mexico – Uruguay @ 16:00
22 June  – Bloem Free State France – South Africa @ 16:00
The final results from the games will place number 1 team from group A against the No.2 team from Group B on 26 June in Port-Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

GROUP B 1. Argentina 2. Nigeria 3. Korea Republic 4. Greece
12 June  – Jhb Ellis Park ost city: Johannesburg Argentina – Nigeria @13:30
12 June  – PE Nelson Mandela Bay Korea Republic – Greece @ 16:00
17 June  – Jhb Soccer City Argentina – Korea Republic @  20:30
17 June – Bloem Free State Greece – Nigeria @  16:00
22 June  – Durban Moses Mabhida Nigeria – Korea Republic @ 20:30
22 June  – Plokwane Peter Mokaba   Greece – Argentina @ 20:30
The final results from all the group matches in Group B will place number 1 team from group B against the number 2 team from Group A  on 27 June in Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg

 Group C 1. England 2. USA 3. Algeria 4. Slovenia
12 June Rustenberg Royal Bafokeng England – USA @ 20:30
13 June Polokwane Peter Mokaba Algeria – Slovenia @ 13:30
18 June Jhb Ellis Park Slovenia – USA  @16:00
18 June CT Green Point England – Algeria @  20:30
23 June PE Nelson Mandela Bay Slovenia – England @ 16:00
23 June PTA Loftus Versfeld USA – Algeria @ 16:00
The results from all the group matches in Group C will place the number 1 team from group C against the number 2 team from GROUP D on 26 June in the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

 Group D 1. Germany 2. Australia 3. Serbia 4. Ghana
13 June Durban  Moses Mabhida Germany – Australia @ 16:00
13 June  PTA Loftus Versfeld Serbia – Ghana @ 20:30
18 June PE Nelson Mandela Bay Germany – Serbia @ 13:30
19 June Rustenberg Royal Bafokeng Ghana – Australia @ 13:30
23 June JHB Soccer City Ghana – Germany @ 20:30
23 June Nelspruit Mbombela Stadium Australia – Serbia @ 20:30
The results from all the group matches in Group D will place the number 1 team from group D against the number 2 team from GROUP C on 27 June in the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein (Mangaung).

 Group E 1. Netherlands  2. Denmark  3. Japan  4. Cameroon
14 June JHB Soccer City Netherlands – Denmark @ 13:30
14 June Bloem Free State Japan – Cameroon @ 16:00
19 June Durban Moses Mabhida Stadium Netherlands – Japan  @ 16:00
19 June PTA Loftus Versfeld Cameroon – Denmark @ 20:30
24 June Rustenberg  Royal Bafokeng Denmark – Japan @ 20:30
24 June CT Green Point Stadium Cameroon – Netherlands @ 20:30
The final results from the games in Group E will place number 1 team from group E against the No.2 team from Group F on 28 June in Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium.

 Group F  1. Italy 2. Paraguay 3. New Zealand 4. Slovakia
14 June CT Green Point Stadium  Italy – Paraguay @ 20:30
15 June Rustenberg  Royal Bafokeng  New Zealand – Slovakia @  13:30
20 June Nelspruit Mbombela Italy – Zealand  @  16:00
20 June Bloem  Free State Slovakia – Paraguay @  13:30
24 June JHB Ellis Park Stadium Paraguay – New Zealand @ 16:00
24 June Polokwane Peter Mokaba Slovakia – Italy @ 16:00
The final results from the games in Group F will place number 1 team from group F against the No.2 team from Group E on 28 June in Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

 Group G 1. Brazil  2. North Korea 3. Ivory Coast 4. Portugal
15 June JHB Ellis Park Brazil – North Korea @ 20:30
15 June PE Nelson Mandela Bay Ivory Coast – Portugal  @ 16:00
20 June  JHB Soccer City Stadium Brazil – Ivory Coast @  20:30
21 June CT Green Point Stadium Portugal – Ivory Coast @  13:30
25 June Nelspruit  Mbombela North Korea – Ivory Coast @ 16:00
25 June Durban Moses Mabhida Porttugal – Brazil @ 16:00
The final results from the games in Group G will place number 1 team from group G against the No.2 team from Group H on 28 June in Johannesburg’s Ellis Park Stadium.

 Group H 1. Spain 2. Switzerland 3. Honduras 4. Chile
16 June Durban Moses Mabhida Spain – Switzerland @ 16:00
16 June Nelspruit Mbombela Stadium Honduras – Chile @ 13:30
21 June JHB Ellis Park Spain – Honduras @ 20:30
21 June PE Nelson Mandela Bay Chile – Honduras @ 16:00
25 June Bloem Free State Switzerland – Honduras @  20:30
25 June PTA Lotus Versfeld Chile – Spain @ 20:30
The final results from all the group matches in Group H will place the number 1 team from group H against the number 2 team from Group G on 29 June in the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town.

Matches in Joburg

 Soccer City: 

11 June South Africa vs Mexico
14 June Netherlands vs Denmark
17 June Argentina vs Korea Republic
20 June Brazil vs Ivory Coast
23 June Ghana vs Germany
27 June Team 1B vs Team 2A
02 July Quarter Final Team 1 vs Team 3
11 July Final

Ellis Park Stadium
12 June Team B1 vs Team B2
15 June Team G1 vs Team G2
18 June Team C4 vs Team C2
21 June Team H1 vs Team H3
24 June Team F4 vs Team F1
28 June Team 1G vs Team 2
03 July  Quarter Final

The 90-minute ceremonyfor the long-awaited draw for the 2010 World Cup starts at 7pm tonight. The ceremony will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and it seems the live broadcast will start at 6.30 pm?   Amidst all the politics, hype , glitz and spin, there will be appearances by some great African performers. The Soweto Gospel Choir, Angélique Kidjo and Johnny Clegg will all perform.    Don’t miss it.

There a few shows in Joburg next year which, if you are going to be here when they are on, are well worth booking for.  Elton John will have an open air concert of  ‘Under African Skies’ at the Emmerentia Botanical Gardens on 21st March. Tickets all one price of R500. The international group Stomp is made up of  12 great performers who beat out with truck inner tubes, rubber hosing, Zippo lighters, plastic bags, metal dustbins, bin lids, tubs and even the kitchen sink!  They are showing at Monte Casino Theatre from 23 March to 25 April .  And The Boys in the Photograph will be showing from 18May to 11 July at the Joburg Theatre. With lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber and authored by Ben Elton, the musical is set in Belfast, Ireland. It  looks at how the passion for soccer can help people lead a normal life in a divisive city and is obviously timed to co-incide with the 2010 World Cup.  Go to www.computicket.com to book tickets.

Cape Argus Cycle Race:  14 March

Human Rights Day:  21 March

Public Holiday:  22 March

School Holidays:  27 Mar – 11 Apr

Good Friday: 02 April

Two Oceans Marathon:  03 Apr

Family Day:  05 April

Freedom Day:  27 Apr

Workers Day:  01 May

Comrades Marathon:  30 May

Youth Day:  16 June

Grahamstown Festival:  20 Jun – 08 July

Durban July:  03 Jul

School Holidays 10 June – 11 July

World Cup:  11 Jun – 11 Jul

In 1998 AngloGold , under the then chairmanship of Bobby Godsell (of the recent Eskom sliding doors debacle), separated from  Anglo American. A new physical home was thus required. As a vote of confidence in the inner city, AngloGold set its sights on the Turbine Hall. In 2000 the squatters were evicted from the Turbine Hall. In 2005 AngloGold merged with Ashanti Goldfields and a month later AngloGold Ashanti signed the lease of the building from the Tiber Group. In 2007, almost ten years after its initial conception, AngloGold Ashanti moved into its new headquarters at Turbine Square. The integration of the old and the new has been extraordinarily sensitively handled.  

The X motif as seen in a old photograph of the building

 While the development required some demolition (the north boiler house being the most extensive) components of demolished parts have been re-used. Certain key motifs such as the X brace as a structural and aesthetic motif have been repeated in the new design.

The X motif re-interpreted in the new building

John Steenkamp's sculpture using parts of North Boiler House; the circular motif can be seen in the roof

Hopper North Boiler House

Hopper commemorated in skylights of central atrium

 The concrete hoppers from the demolished North Boiler House are commemorated in skylights in the central atrium and John Steenkamp’s sculpture on a south wall re-uses found objects from the demolished parts of the precinct. 

The 3 old photos used here all come from the publication entitled Turbine Square A Heritage of Power researched by Sue Krige and Sarah Beswick ; a 2008 in-house publication for AngloGold and the Tiber Group.

The 32 teams for the 2010 World Cup Finals:

EUROPE ZONE  England,  Spain, The Netherlands, Italy, Serbia , Denmark, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Greece *France *Portugal *Slovenia *  (* secured a place via the play-off’s.)

ASIA ZONE Australia, DPR Korea, Japan, Korean Republic.

AFRICA ZONE  South Africa (Hosts), Algeria *Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana.

SOUTH AMERICA ZONE:  Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay *

NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN ZONE: Mexico, Honduras, USA.

OCEANIA ZONE : New Zealand *

 Taken directly from Project 2010 no 161:

The 2010 World Cup began in earnest more than two years ago in Samoa – more than 15 0000 km from the 2010 final venue at Soccer City – and 13 times zones away. The tiny town of Apia which kick started the monumental qualifying process and that process has gone full circle with last night’s final qualifying matches with down-to-the-wire clashes between France and Ireland, Bosnia and Portugal, Ukraine and Greece, Slovenia and Russia, Uruguay and Costa Rica and, of course, bitter rivals Algeria and Egypt. There have been plenty of ups and downs – on and off the field – including stampedes in Monrovia and Abidjan which left scores of spectators dead. But the very good news for 2010 hosts South Africa is that next year’s edition of the global showpiece of international soccer will see virtually all the planet’s heavyweights competing. These include five-time champions Brazil, Argentina (by a whisker), Germany, England, Italy and France (courtesy of Thierry Henry’s blatant double handball). The pedigree of these nations raises the quality of the tournament and guarantees that they will be accompanied by hoards of free-spending supporters. There is a great deal of interest in the African contingent and with Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria all securing their places, the chances of a ’home’ country reaching the final of the tournament have never been better. The host nation, now languishing in 85th place in the world rankings has been written off, but the same applied to 2002 co-hosts South Korea who made it to the semi-finals thanks to some impressive coaching and a surge of local support. The next key 2010 event is the Final Draw in Cape Town on December 4. The ceremony which will be viewed by an estimated 700 million television viewers in 200 countries will determine which countries play where, signaling the start of the final preparations for the first World Cup on African soil.

… with thanks to the November issue of House and Leisure (page 140).  Of the ten reasons  to visit Johannnesburg, seven are in the Greater Rosebank Region. The other 3 are:  Joburg CBD, including Arts on Main, and the Cradle of Humankind.  The 7 in the Rosebank Region are listed by House and Leisure (with different numbering) as:

1. The Joburg Zoo 011 646-2000 Upper Park Drive Forest Town www.jhbzoo.org.za 54 ha home to 365 species of animals R41 adults; R23 kids and pensioners ; night tours at R70

2. A Sunday walk at Emmarentia Dam Olifants Rd Emmarentia 011 782-7064  Take a picnic to the rose garden and then join Jozi-ites and their dogs in a stroll round the various dams

3. What House and Leisure calls the ‘steak corner’ Cr of 7th and 3rd Ave Parktown North (only Joburg has an address of corner  7th Ave and 3rd Ave .. go figure?!) There are 3 excellent steakhouses all within a stone’s throw of each other:  Turn ‘n Tender 011 788 7933 ;  The Local Grill 011 880 1946 ; Wombles 011 880 2470

4. The Park Café Parks Shopping Centre cr Wells Ave and Jan Smuts Parkwood 073 444 1700 For the best breakfast in town

5. Rosebank’s hot new night club: The Bank 9a Parklands Keyes Ave Rosebank 083 354 4456 Get out your bling and boogey the night away. For a change of scenery go to Moloko around the corner 160 Jan Smuts Ave 011 447 1082

6. 44 Stanley Ave Milpark 011 482 4444 Great open air centre, full of character and individuality (I’m allergic to enclosed mega-malls) with designer shops, wonderful coffee shop (Bean) and chilled outdoor/indoor restaurants : Il Giardino as well as Saigon Pho for Vietnamese food

7. Athol Place 90, Pretoria St Atholl 011 783-3410  Treat yourself (from R2,500 per night) at this chic boutique hotel

So the Rosebank Region is not only centrally located but is also home to the parklands and green spaces of Jozi’s suburbs, and  has many character-filled neighbourhoods with shops and eateries in open-air spaces.

The town is a-buzz with its latest architectural and cultural landmark.  Circa, a striking elliptical building on the corner of Jellicoe and Jan Smuts Ave, is the daring project of Mark Read of Everard Read Gallery fame.  Seemingly encased in dark streamlined metal fins, the Gallery space has 3 levels.  Exhibition spaces are visiblethrough glass from the entrance walkway and looking through into these modest more intimate rooms, one has the feeling of  peering into giant museum cabinet cases .   

You  walk around the outer edge of the building past a flat rectangular pool of water and one of Willem Boshoff’s monumental granite pieces, to the 1st floor space. This large elliptical room echoes the exterior shape of the building and provides an expansive darkened hallowed space which encourages a contemplative calm.

Another spiral around the outside of the building, and you reach a dramaticdeck space which opens out to an enthralling view toward Northcliff in the distance, across the legendary urban forest (with the spectacular dramatic purple blooms of the jacarandas in November).

Opening out onto this deck is a room  with comfy chairs, sofas, wonderful art works and the most fabulous wall paper of bugs and goggas … what a space.  Reminiscent of a late 19th century collector’s private den, it combines references to science, to contemporary art and to an eclectic ’reception’ room of a private residence.

 And I haven’t even talked about the opening exhibition which showcases the most recent work of two of South Africa’s best and internationally recognized. artists: Karel Nel and Willem Boshoff .. another time

All South African mobile phone SIM cards must now be registered under strict new legislation which came into force on 1st July. From that date mobile telecommunications providers operating in the country are required to record a customer’s cell phone number, full name, identity number or passport number and address before activating a new SIM card. This means that should you want to pick up a local SIM card at the airport or on your way to Liz at Lancaster, you will need proof of address during your stay here. In this case please inform me before your departure, so that I can make advance arrangements.