The Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble

Classic FM often plays pieces performed by the Buskaid Soweto String Ensemble, but it was only recently that I learnt that the ensemble is largely a children's group; with a great story behind the formation and the success of the ensemble. Started 13 years ago by Rosemary Nalden, the project has grown tremendously and now features a number of support staff and many more participants. The project showcases an annual concert at the Linder Auditorium, and this year, it was particularly well advertised.

The standout highlight of the evening, for which the soloist, Simiso Radebe, got a thoroughly well deserved standing ovation, was Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen. The piece is fast, complex, and was extremely well played - and I would love to hear it with the backing of a full orchestra (check these Youtube videos out to hear it). The performance was actually breathtaking, given its incredible complexity towards the end of the piece, and he was well supported by the ensemble.

Another highlight piece was Fauré's Élégie, played by cellist, Gilbert Tsoke. As the name suggests, this piece is rather somber, but in many respects is well complemented by a Cello.

The concert also highlighted the multiple talents of many of the key ensemble members, either with singing (there were two Jazz pieces, and a few more traditional Kwela pieces at the end of the show), or other instruments (mostly percussion instruments).

In the program, Rosemary Nalden (who also conducted the whole performance), notes that yesterday was a notable achievement in hosting an International rugby match in Soccer City (or FNB Stadium), in Soweto - and that hopefully one day art programs like her ones would get similar attention and patronage. My personal opinion is, that a Soccer City like venue would actually detract from the performance; but the ensemble definitely has the talent; and programs like Buskaid and others, should really get better billing and more exposure. And perhaps, they can spread their wings and play around South Africa too - because they deserve to be seen and heard.

The Unanswered Question

I was really looking forward to last night's JPO performance, as it was going to feature the full recital of Mozart's Mass. It's nothing to do with the religious nature of the work - just enjoy the combination of symphony and choral. But this piece was cancelled, as the choir was apparently not ready; and will be performed next year instead (perhaps the pre-Easter show?)

While that was disappointing, the program was still briliant. It started with a short piece by Beethoven (Coriolan overture, op.62); followed by Charles Ives' The Unanswered Question - which I thought was just absolutely brilliant - not only the music, but the performance itself. The conductor, Bernhard Gueller, gave a short talk on the piece as well as a bit of background on the composer - which definitely shed some light on a very different piece.

The first half rounded off with Barber's Adagio for strings; which is instantly recognisable for most movie watchers as the theme tune from the movie Platoon. It is beautiful, and was superbly played by the JPO.

The full symphony was Schubert's 9th Symphony, which was interesting, but like the other pieces of the evening seemingly very different to other symphonies. It was a pity that the concert was not well attended - it was one of the best I have attended.

Movie: Inception

As I was walking into the movie on Saturday night, R sends a sms "P & I just finished watching Inception. We reached consensus that there is too much hype. It's like Thirteenth Floor meets Ocean's Eleven."

Inception is not the most original movie around. Lots of movies and stories previously have made use of layers of dreams and reality. The Matrix for example, is a very easy example of such a concept, and science finction stories exploring "other worlds" (e.g. Narnia series) feature distrotion of time, and the inability to separate reality from the dream state. Sergey Lukyanenko's Night Watch series also features layers of "Twilight", separating reality and the magical realms; but also feature the distinctions used in Inception - the distortion of time and the the ability to influence the outcome in the real world through actions in the dream/magic world.

That said, Inception is a very polished movie with a very good script (when compared to many Science Fiction and Fantasy stories); although there are some very glaring plot holes. The mechanisms of the heist, and for that matter, the inception at the heart of the story, is well thought out, and cleverly written. And unlike many heist stories, where there is a clear winner (either the thief wins with our support, e.g. Thomas Crown Affair or Ocean's Eleven; or the heist is foiled, and the theives are brought to justice), there is no real winner in Inception(and for that matter, there is no clear moral position on which side the audience should be supporting either).

Is it worth the hype? Yes - partly because of the lack of really good movies this year, partly because of the good acting (another rarity in Science Fiction/Fantasy movies), partly because of the polished production. In terms of Christoper Nolan's movies, this is not a classic like Memento or The Dark Knight; but rather like The Prestige - it is good, but not great.

Fresh Seafood

Boston is well known for it's seafood, and many seafood restaurants Feature fresh seafood. What is interesting about this approach, is that they assemble their menus based on the fish bought that day, and print their menus every day (complete with the date on the menu). At least that somewhat justifies part of the price premium :)

Conundrums caused by etiquette

Last night, was the "social" event of RSA TechFest, at the headquarters of RSA. There was a tour of the RSA facilities, and I was on the last tour. The impact of that was, we were effectively the last people to arrive for dinner - by which time, there was 1 plate and 1 set of cutlery, for about 25 people. This led to a social conundrum - taking the plate would be rude to everyone else, while not taking the plate would mean that everyone looked stupid, staring at the food and the last plate. Ultimately, everyone decided to look stupid - and wait while new dishes and cutlery was cleaned and delivered; but it's one of those awkward social situations which are just very funny (at least to those who are there).

The Cheese Cake Factory

Normally, American restaurants, especially chains, are either ok and expensive, or cheap and bad; both in terms of taste and nutrition. Near the hotel, there is a restaurant, The Cheese Cake Factory, with an incredible selection of cheese cakes and an equally incredible waiting line. What was also surprising was that the food was very good too - especially given the price. The service (or our particular waiter at least) was briliant, and thus made a very good evening!

Immigration

I have always had trouble with border control - I have a passport from one country, but was born in another. I have as one, immigration official put it, "a different name", which in these times of overblown showcases of security, is always an excuse for hassles. But this has also led to weird and interesting conversations with immigration officials (the chatty ones at least) like a discussion on cocaine smuggling and fake passports (at the three borders in Brazil).

But I have also discovered that, when the rules work, and you play by the rules, there is some sort of reward. The Schengen visa for example, if you travel more than three rimes in a year, it is much easier ro get a year long one. And, I was really surprised at the US immigration this afternoon. Instead of my normal grilling, I got the normal check of biometric credentials (fingerprints and face) and that was it. More surprising is that I can stay a full 6 months in the US, which is normally not granted to non visa-exempt persons.

That said, I am still expecting "extra" security checks on my way out, the apparently random ones that I have never missed in my 6 previous visits to the US.

Dreikönigskeller

South of the river Main, almost directly opposite the Dom (Cathedral), is an equally impressive church, called Dreikönigskirche (Three Kings Church). I do not know the history behind the name, but it is very impressive from the outside.

In the event guide in my hotel room, I found that there is a live music venue called Dreikönigskeller (Three Kings Cellar), and which was seemingly the only venue in town hosting live music last night.

The venue is incredibly small (about 3m wide, and 7m long), with the stage taking up a very cramped front end. As the name suggests, it is housed in an old cellar, and the owner has certainly gone to great effort in getting excellent sound facilities (with the room dimensions giving excellent acoustics). I did not get to see the act that was mentioned in the guide, since I left after the first two acts (I was very tired, after walking a lot), but the other two acts (whose names I don't know) were excellent.

The first act was fronted by an expat (American or English, or maybe even Canadian) with the rest of the band members being German. The songs were all in English, and featured some really cool lyrics, with "Skin" being a particular highlight for me. The music style is hard to describe; but it seemed to be a mix of punk rock - I would say, think of a mixture of "Bed on Bricks", "Parlatones" and "Knave" to get the various styles. The musicians were really good, and it was really enjoyable. The second act was an all German, rock band. The music was decent, but nothing spectacular. And since I don't know much German, I cannot comment on their lyrics.

The venue seems to be a hive of music activity, with a lot of posters for next acts. But there wern't that many people last night, and the venue wouldn't hold that many anyway.

Marketing South Africa

The main shopping foyer of the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) has a series of spectacular photos and commentary (in German and English), by the Eastern Cape Tourism board. Photos covered the usual (J-Bay, Tstisikama, PE, Ado) but also some really spectacular rural photos, including some really off the beaten path locations.

I think it is a very smart move - especially as this week is the German Grand Prix, and Mannheim is where to get a train to Hockenheim. And with the World Cup just finished, SA is still in many people's mind (incidently, it is easy to spot a tourist boarding a flight in Jo'burg - they are the ones carrying vuvzelas).

I did not spend too much time in Mannheim - in and out for my meeting. It did look like a nice town, but nothing spectacular.

Karen Zoid and The House of the Holy Afro

I think many people would be surprised to hear that in the past month, the Market Theatre in conjunction with the Department of Arts and Culture was hosting "South African Music Festival". It was a fantastic decision - right next to the Newtown Fan Fest, it is a great place to showcase South African music. But it was poorly advertised and the details were rather sketchy.

The whole festival seems to have been hosted around "The House of the Holy Afro", which started just after the 8:30pm match finished while one or more artists played before them starting around 8pm. There seems to have been some great artists across a number of different genres on show.

I last saw Karen Zoid live about 18 months ago in the Blues Room. Since then (or around then), she disbanded her band in Jo'burg, moved to Stellenbosch, reformed her band - and also seems to have written a few new songs :) She was also very chatty - talking about her dislike for the more conservative Afrikaners from Pretoria (Moreleta Park in particular) to some astute observations about South Africa. Amongst her new songs, I particularly liked "big mouth", where she has also changed her style to rapping parts of the lyrics.

It is difficult to describe what "The House of the Holy Afro" actually is. I think the best way to describe it is, that it is a performance piece featuring dance and music - but that is rather tame. The music - largely derived from various traditional songs in South African cultures has been modernised in terms of musical instruments and probably even tempo and rhythm. The dance and the general performance is high energy, high tempo - non stop action for 90 odd minutes. Fantastic costumes rounded up a very polished performances - and it is no wonder that the show has got such amazing reviews. It is a South African show about South African music, but until June 2010, the show had not been performed in South Africa; but toured the world for a number of years. Can someone please bring it back to SA - and publicise it more!

Hugh Masekela and Special Guests

Wow! There are only two shows (last night and tonight) at the Teatro at MonteCasino, and if you have an opportunity - go. Hugh Masekela is a legend in the jazz world; and last night's show proved everything on why he is such a legend.

To start of, there is obviously his music; his trumpet, his singing (he has an amazing voice range, with some amazing sound effects - the steam train on Stimela is particularly impressive) and various other small instruments that he plays. But it is also the improvisation within the music - whether it is to admonish a patron for taking a photo; or to tell a story, or a joke - and yet still maintain the overall song.

Then there is his stage performance and stage presence. For an old man, he dances exceptionally well, and it is an integral part of the show. And he manages to get the audience up on their feet and dancing and singing along with him. And like a school teacher, he was not afraid to admonish the audience when we did not meet his expectations in participating! Not many artists can take command of the stage like that!

And then there were the special guests. The standout guest for me was Tshepo Mngoma, an exceptional violinist (as well as a good singer). His "solo" performance with the backing band was very impressive - and I would love to see a solo show featuring him! His backing vocalists included a vocal band "Complete" - who also have their own story on how Hugh Masekela came to work with them. And they can sing well on their own - with some exceptional vocal ranges. The other guests included Tshepo Tshola (who I had not heard of before, but most of the audience clearly did) and Thadiswa Mazwai, who was introduced to do a tribute for Miriam Makeba, before doing one or two of her own songs.

At three and a half hours (including a break), it the longest "solo" concert I have been to and with Hugh Masekela's library of hits, he could have done a lot more. I found that his live show was a lot more entertaining than his CDs; and it's a lot easier to enjoy his show live when you don't understand Zulu.

Earlier this year, there was a show starring Hugh Masekela at the Market Theatre called "Songs of Migration" which I wanted to attend, but never did. It is coming back in November and I don't want to miss it then.

"renew your justified lack of faith in our company"

Last month I rented a car from FirstCarRental, when my car went in for an unscheduled electrical check. I chose them simply because they were the closest to my office, hence easy to get to. The rental itself was painless; but after returning, I was charged for additional damages. Upon further investigation, I found that they had charged another client's damages to my account - and it took almost 4 weeks (!) to get my money refunded; and that was after a particularly nasty email was sent since polite emails, phone calls and even rocking up at the office twice didn't have any effect.

In the last email, which was very appologetic (though they didn't even pay me my interest on the overcharge), I came across the following line:

"I trust that you will allow us to be of service to you again in the future so that we may have the opportunity to renew your justified lack of faith in our company."

Really? I should try them again, so that they can renew my already low opinion of their services?

FWC 2010: Uruguay v Ghana

As Gyan stepped to take the penalty on the last minute of extra time, the ground was in ruptures; willing for him to convert, and "make history". It was a well deserved place to be in - except for the first 20 odd minutes, where Uruguay definitely had control; Ghana played really well, and looked the better team. They seemed to be running harder, trying harder, and playing better.

It would have been well deserved - Ghana were the best African team this year. And it's not only because they got to the quarter finals. They played better than the Nigerians and Cameroonians - and they handled the loss of their star player better than Ivory Coast. They did scrape by in the group stages, but played each match to win.

Sadly it was not to be - and despite the consolation from his team mates; I think everyone knew it was not going to be Ghana's night after his miss. Gyan was devastated after the penalty shootout, so much that he was almost carried off the field by his teammates afterwards. And the Uruguaians carrying Suaraz (who deliberately handled the ball to stop a certain goal) in celebrations after the penalty shootout rubbed salt into the wounds of the near 80 000 Ghanaian supporters (there were about 85 000 people in the ground, and except for a small section of Uruguay supporters, everyone else spotted red, black and yellow).

The world cup in South Africa, has been a great success in most respects. Every one of the visitors I have spoken to have loved their experiences. A Canadian family I met on the bus to the stadium was gushing about how much they have enjoyed their travels in South Africa; a traveller from, I think Malta (or one of the mediteranean Island countries) was looking forward to his first game drive in the Kruger on Sunday while the Australians on the bus to Sandton were very complimentary about the service they had recieved in their hotels and guesthouses (although they thought the Metrobus system could have been done better in terms of ticketing).

And the fans, have been very colourful - as per the photo below. I had great seats yesterday, 8 rows (actually 6 since, the first 2 were blocked out) from the corner flag - allowing me to get some really cool pictures of the game.

FWC 2010: Argentina v Mexico

Sunday's match was the most competetive and most exciting match I have attended at the World Cup so far. This time, I went with a friend and his family using the park and ride at Gold Reef (allowing us to see Germany's thrashing of England) - though I think this was a lot less effecient when compared to the bus system I used for the previous game.

One of the great things about the World Cup, is the array of colourful fans that attend the event. There are off course the supporter clubs, this one being from Argentina, but there are also the stunning sombreros etc. Certain footbal traditions such as the toilet paper rolls being thrown on to the field have also been transported to South Africa - although they were cleaned up pretty quickly. So it is not only the export of the vuvuzela to the wider world - but also the import of various fan regalia.






Drums and celebration using drums are nothing new in football, and the Argentians were in high spirits after the game (and apparently it carried on inside!). Though I think the medley of drums and vuvuzelas at the Ghana v Serbia game was a lot more interesting!



Maradona has been criticised a lot, although he has succeeded well so far. But no one can really criticise his involvement at training. In the warm up before the game, he was very much involved in training with the players - instead of standing back and barking instructions. Maybe that is one of the factors behind his success?





Tevez's first goal was clearly offside from where I was perched - but that didn't stop any celebrations from the Argentians around me once the goal was given by the referee - although they did seem to accept it was offside once it was inadvertantly shown on the big screen; leading to the players' protests. But this also showed how easy it would be to deploy television replays as part of the game in large tournaments. The entire process took less than a minute; and big screens ensured that it was fair and easy for every one to judge.


My side of the pitch featured 3 goals, and I did manage to capture Higuain catching the stray pass from Osorio, on his way to the goals.

There are not that many games left in this world cup, and my last live game is tomorrow, where I hope the Ghanaians finally beat the Uruguayans.

South Africans Supporting African Teams

While waiting for the game to start, C, the diplomat, had asked a very interesting question - are South Africans genuinely supporting African teams like Nigeria, Ghana etc. or is it a hype made up by the media? It is a very pertinent question - South Africans of late have had a history of xenophobia, and some of our fellow African brothers have less than stellar reputation (Nigerians anyone?).

In some respect, support for Ivory Coast because of Drogba, or supporting Cameroon because of Eto'o is not surprising - but would we support Ghana without Essien, and what about Algeria?

I was at the FIFA Fan Park at Mary Fitzgerald square in Newtown last night for the screening of the USA v Ghana match; and I found that there is genuine support for the Ghanaians. It did help that they played great football - but the true nature of support can be easily ascertained when fans heckle the referee for legitimate calls going against "your" team, show despair at the opposition's goals etc.

Last night was a great game, and yes, South Africans are behind Ghana. And I am looking forward to their match against Uruguay on Friday night.

Transport Blues?

Apart from security, the next biggest fear about the world cup was the transport system - or the lack thereof. In the space of 3 days last weekend, I got experience both the highs and lows of the transport system.

For the matches at Loftus in Pretoria, I used the Park and Walks. What was amazing was the efficiency - not only in the signage and policing - but also how little time (comparatively) it took to actually get in and out of the stadium. In the Denmark v Cameroon games, I got home 65 minutes after the final whistle had blown. I drove to the same area this morning for work, and it took 25 minutes. Given the volume of people leaving the stadium - that was really impressive.

For the match at Soccer City on Sunday - I decided to park at Sandton City, and then make use of the Metrobus to the City Centre, and then the Rea Vaya, bus rapid transport system to the stadium. The tickets were R50 return, and a further R9 for parking at Sandton City - not bad in my opinion. The return trip - from the end of the match to getting into my flat, took under 90 minutes, which is very respectable.

This mode seemed to be very popular, with a lot of tourists making use of it; and with a very festive atmosphere (esp with the bunch of Brazilian fans that got on the bus with us). It was not a smooth start. With tickets being needed to be bought on board; and our general lack of orderly queues, it was a bit of chaos to actually board the bus. While I have had similar experiences in many other countries (Peru, Brazil and India stand out), it could have been controlled a lot better. But then again, this is Africa.



But thereafter, it was a pleasure. The bus dropped us of at Westgate BRT station, where there were a lot more orderly queues to board the BRT buses to Soccer City. The attendants were helpful and the system really works.

It was the first time I have used public transport in Jo'burg, and I was truly impressed. And the other South Africans with us were seemingly also impressed - especially the BRT. Not all South Africans - among the people in our bus from Sandton were three teenage girls (sisters I believe), who were quite spoilt and was aghast that they were actually going into town (the standout comment - "Town, eewwww gross. Mommy - you didn't say we were going to town!"). Their parents were however quite impressed - and stated as much.

Early Monday morning however, also brought out the deficiencies in our transport system. A Mexican/American friend of mine (and his girlfriend) were wanting to travel to Rustenburg for the Uruguay v Mexico game; and there does not seem to be any transport arrangements in this regard. A number of shuttle services charge outrageous amounts of R1500+ for a return trip. While they had booked a car, his credit card had a huge block from a previous rental (when he went to Polokwane to watch the Mexico-France game). Luckily, I managed to help him out with the transport arrangements - but what about all those people who were travelling alone?

The transport arrangements at the World Cup shows that we can do this correctly, and do it well. It has also shown the areas we need to improve on - the ticketing, the queueing and the coverage. This is all good news - I just hope that we keep on implementing these. And I hope, that in future sporting events - be it cricket, rugby or football; we carry on using these arrangements.

FWC 2010: Brazil v Côte d'Ivoire

Soccer City is an amazing stadium - not only beautiful at night, but also really good organisation (even with the inevitable disorganised South African queues at the security check points). Very spacious, it really defines what sport stadiums should be like! And with a near full house (over 95% attendance), it was an absolutely amazing atmosphere.



The Brazilians truly dress up for the occasion, and while Zakumi draped in a Brazilian flag was a stuffed doll, there were people dressed in various animal costumes, a fan dressed as a Mexican wrestler cum super-hero and a whole lot more. And there were plenty of replica world cup trophies; leaving no doubt on the expectations that the fans have of their team.



The game itself was high scoring, and with the red card for Kaka, featured a bit of everything. But the Ivorians were mostly outclassed - not in their ability to stand up to the Brazilians, but in two crucial areas: bad defending (and communication at defence) and even worse passing. Countless opportunities were lost where the pass was just too strong, and the striker or wing just not being able to get to it in time. There was also some rather bad decision making in terms of passing to the wrong player or not striking or passing the ball when there seemed to be an opportunity.





This is the only Category 1 ticket I bought for my games, and had an amazing view of the game; which also allowed to take some nice pics. I really enjoyed the Soccer City experience, and look forward to my next two matches there.

FWC 2010: Cameroon v Denmark

Ultimately, this ended up being a fairly depressing night for African football, as one of the best African teams on paper, became the first team to crash out, without scoring a point. It had started so well, but Cameroon fluffed so many chances, they trully did not deserve to win.

It was a great game from the Danish perspective, and the Danish fans were a great bunch (I was surrounded by them). They played better football overall, and had some very fast counter attacks.

Loftus, was once more, not full - and yet again it seems mostly to be the hospitality sections. Maybe Loftus, being the stronghold of the Bulls, just has too many hospitality suites and not enough standard seats; but empty seats are not good signs regardless.

Fan Diplomacy

On Saturday, I sat next to C, a temporary dimplomat working in the German Embassy. The German embassy has created a fan embassy, travelling around with the German team. The intention is to expedite any issues German visitors may encounter in SA - typical German efficiency! That said, C, did think that it was just an excuse to travel around SA watching football. C, the temporary dimplomat was in SA to staff the normal embassy operations - and he didn't mind as he is taking the opportunity to watch as many games as he can!

What was most interesting however, was his comments on the world cup so far. In his knowledge, there have only been two incidences that have been dealt with the fan embassy - lost passports in Durban. On that basis, this has been a very much trouble free WC - and that is great news to hear!

He did think that PE was not a good choice for game venue - it was simply too far from other venues; and that is his rationalle on why the games haven't been well atteneded. PE is too far to drive from Gauteng for a day trip (unlike Nelspruit, Polokwane and Rustenburg) or in fact from Durban and CT. In many respects I agree - but I also think the Arts Fest etc. did not advertise well enough of the merits and could have made it work better.

Supporter Clubs

One of the impressive aspects of the FWC, is the "Supporter Clubs". The temporary dimplomat from Saturday explained, that there are a number of supporter clubs in Europe, especially Germany, who go round the world watching football matches. The supporter clubs rank up "points" on the games they show their banners at - although he was unsure of what the points entailed.

Grosblie, is one of those prominent clubs - but there are a lot more - and they certainly lend an interesting dimension to the experience.