jazz in Jo'burg

Pretoria

south african tv

Soweto TV
Theme of the debate: Virginity and the scriptures (Sex before marriage, virginity at 21...)
5 Men including a priest are involved in the debate, but no woman are present at the table.

Some pretty good south african adverts I found on the internet:

jo'burg by and large

apartheid museum

one road to freedom 2

Cruising through the different town we are staying in and meeting people is a huge high opener on what goes on here. In our head ideas fuse on how to resolve the problems. As we drive back to Johannesburg I stop on this paragraph of the golden notebook from Doris Lessing:

"Every so often there’s a sort of act of faith. A well of faith fills up, and there’s an enormous heave forward in one country or another, and that’s a forward movement for the whole world. Because it’s an act of imagination-of what is possible for the whole world. Then the well runs dry, because the cruelty and the ugliness is too strong.
Then the well slowly fills again.And there’s another painful lurch forward.
Because every time, the dream gets stronger. If people can imagine something, there’ll come a tie when they’ll achieve it.
Keep the dream alive, because there will always be new people, without paralysis of the will."

the big hole

curious kind of subconscious

This pictures where taken by Pam's 8 years old cousin.

easter friday

Quick tour of the the old city centre: town hall, market, art museum and fountain, Cathedral.
Roads are mostly empty at 12 o’clock except for those going to church for Easter Friday.

We enter the Baptist church in Kimberley to see Pam’s uncle.
The church is all painted in white inside, really basic with green window frames and glasswork.
Pam’s uncle, Willy, is looking like James only shorter and with big round glasses. He welcomes us in is church in a very warm and debonnaire manner, he hadn't seen Pam for 6 years.
Pam’s cousin Theresa and her two girls are also here.
Service is from 12 to 3, the kids in the backroom are creating mounted reproduction of the crucifixion with peebles and wooden mouth relaxator.

After church we head to Willy’s house for pickled fish with the all familly.
The area where they live is quite run down, roads are really wide and bordered by red sand. The architecture varies a lot from houses to houses.
The inside of the house is really fresh and the pickled fish delicious.
We have a long discussion about life in South Africa compared to London, then Theresa takes us around town for a visit.
She's been teaching English in the high school next door for 11 years, and explains to us that the new education system, copied on the american one, doesn’t encourage students to learn.
There is a lot of fighting, even stabbings occurring at school.
Apparently De beers is planning on relocating and the university that was supposed to be built in Kimberley was transferred outside in another city, cutting the possibility for young people to develop.
They have to go to Rhodes university but those who leave don't come back to Kimberley to fuel the economy. Most students even drop out after high school.
De beers provided 80% of the jobs, millions of diamonds have been excavated from Kimberley's mine but now the city is left abandoned.

- how do you feel? - still with my hands!

Tonight we were attending Cyril Moses 80th birthday, at the Kews bowling alley.
There we met up with some of the elders of Kimberley.
The old guard was looking dapper, woman in their most colorful dresses, man in their best suits, ever so warm and humorous.
Sitting at our table were Mr. and Mrs. Mullet. Mr. Louis Mullet was a principal at the College and wrote a book on the Malay Camp. He collects information about the history of Kimberley at the moment, recording people’s story, to include in his next book.

one road to freedom

Today we are heading to Kimberley for Easter weekend.
Kimberley has been built around the first diamond mine, and is one of the oldest cities of South Africa, one that was very prosperous, attracting numbers of people from around the world.

We stop at Martin’s workshop to pick him up. It is situated in an industrial suburb south of Jo’burg.
The company repairs gearboxes for trucks and tractors.
Peter one of the employee shows me around. It’s a really busy place: one gearbox can go in and out the same day if urgent.

The landscape around Jo’burg goes from steep hills to flat land.
Along the way Martin shows us the gold mines. The dumps create a new landscape like the derrick in the north of France.

We cross Potchefstroom and Klerksdorf.
Life in south Africa resolve a lot around roads as driving is the main transportation, and those towns are built around the main arteries crossing the Northern Cape Province.
All along are low buildings with hand painted typography, fast food joints: Chicken Licken, Wimpy, Steers and the local biltong joint (dried meat with herbs and spices).
People everywhere are walking along the road or waiting for taxis.



We pass a private game farm along the way where we can see rhinos giraffes and zebras.
The road is a bit chaotic at times as they are improving it and some portions are closed, so we have to wait till the traffic coming from the other side has gone.

nation branding

First day in Midrand: it is a very enclosed and sheltered environment.
There are no shops in this estate, despite the already large number of inhabitants, and houses popping out everywhere unrelentingly, the closest shop is a 15 min drive out.
The hospitality we receive in this house is overwhelmingly warm, so I want to put my time here in good use and dedicate my trip to the exploration of Brand South Africa: people, landscape, industries, politics, etc…

What is it that makes South Africa?

There will be pictures, sound recording, newspaper cutouts, whatever I can find to learn more about this country.

You can listen to an interview of DVD rental shop employee in the podcasts.

ça y'est I'm South Africa!

I arrived this evening after a long journey.

2.30am in Beckenham: leaving in a taxi to Heathrow.
Slept all along only waking up when we crossed Battersea bridge, and dreamt whether my passport was valid or not.

4am in Heathrow: Waiting for boarding at 6h30.
Pam and I singing “aday aday awanna damn day”.
The steward asks us who sings this. He doubts it’s prodigy.
Slept through the flight.
After landing in Amsterdam we find a note: “SL2 – On the ragga tip”.
Big smiles on our faces as we leave the plane.
Quick view of the airport and we’re on board of our plane to Johannesburg.
Our KLM plane is huge, meals are quite good and come regularly.
I sleep a bit and Pam too.
Saw some splendid landscapes when we past the south of Italy, north and central Africa.
Strangely realize I am crossing this beautiful continent.

9.30pm: Arrived in Jo’burg, magnificent paved hall that reflects like a mirror. Walking through the boarder the building is not finished yet.
Auntie Heather is waiting for us at the exit, we will be staying with her and uncle Martin.
Outside a lot of constructions, the impression that everything needs to be captured with my camera, the humidity of the night, the streetlight and the purple colored sky giving a strange, magical atmosphere to the landscape.
Gigantic trees, massive roads sometimes poorly maintained, dark places and large illuminated crossroads as we drive through Midrand.
Then entering the estate: steel doors, hundreds of houses surrounded by a brick wall, toped by wires, separating them from the other estate.
The estate also holds a golf course.
Massive houses, of Toscan inspiration, big arches, cream concrete, geometrical shapes, bay window showing the staircase that leads to the top floor.
Kitchen and dining room are gigantic, the oven is big enough to cook food for an army.
Two living rooms, high ceilings, swimming pool and pond for Koi fish.
The palm trees are moist and the sky sparkles with stars.
The impression to be totally connected with my surrounding and at the same time completely rid of any freedom.