Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

SOUTH AFRICA Vs BRITISH & IRISH LIONS

Date: 20.06.2009
Time: 15:00
Venue: The Absa Stadium, Durban

World champions South Africa and the British and Irish Lions finally come face to face this Saturday.

The guys need our support this weekend, so show your patriotism by learning ALL the words to our National Anthem and not just your favorite bits. Sing loud and sing proud South Africa!

Go Bokke!!!

South African anthem

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo Iwayo
Yizwa imithandazo yethu
Nkosi sikelela thina lusapho Iwayo

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho
O se boloke, o se boloke setjhaba sa heso
Setjhaba sa South Africa
South Africa …

Uit die blou van onse hemel
Uit die diepte van ons see
Oor ons ewige gebergtes
Waar die kranse antwoord gee

Sounds the call to come together
And united we shall stand
Let us live and strive for freedom
In South Africa our land

Lineups:

South Africa: Francois Steyn, J.P. Pietersen, Adrian Jacobs, Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana, Ruan Pienaar, Fourie du Preez, Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis, John Smit (captain), Bakkies Botha, Victor Matfield, Heinrich Brussow, Juan Smith, Pierre Spies.
Replacements: Deon Carstens, Gurthro Steenkamp, Andries Bekker, Danie Rossouw, Ricky Januarie, Morne Steyn, Jaque Fourie.

Lions: Lee Byrne, Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Roberts, Ugo Monye, Stephen Jones, Mike Phillips, Gethin Jenkins, Lee Mears, Phil Vickery, Alun-Wyn Jones, Paul O’Connell (captain), Tom Croft, David Wallace, Jamie Heaslip.
Replacements: Matthew Rees, Adam Jones, Donncha O’Callaghan, Martyn Williams, Harry Ellis, Ronan O’Gara, Rob Kearney.

Go Bokke!!

Sport brings people of one nation together, no matter what background they come from. Whether you are black or white, you’ll passionately cheer on our cricket, rugby or soccer team on with an ice-cold Castle in the one hand and a boerewors roll in the other. With Mrs Ball’s Chutney on, of course! And a few Nik Naks to snack on as well…
Ok, so we lost the Twenty20 semi final to Pakistan last night by only seven runs, but like Graeme Smith said: we are not chokers! There are other tournaments to come, new opportunities to explore and plenty of games to win.
As for rugby, it used to be predominantly for white people, but now there are millions of black fans out there – as well as a great number of excellent black rugby players.
“When Nelson Mandela was president of the nation one year after apartheid ended, he symbolised unity by donning the once hated Springboks rugby jersey and handing the 1995 World Cup to captain Francois Pienaar. A dozen years later, it was winger Bryan Habana who led South Africa to a second World Cup – yet another move toward turning the rainbow nation into reality. And now, the football World Cup is coming,” reports SA Good News. “The road from apartheid to racial reconciliation in South Africa has passed by dusty fields and grand football stadiums. Across the rainbow nation, there is hope that next year’s World Cup will bring black and white in an ever closer embrace.”
South Africa’s population is close to 50 million of which about 80 % is black. Football has long been a close representative of that, but it’s slowly changing and will without doubt change even more with the 2010 Soccer World Cup on home ground. What a fantastic opportunity to show the world that we have progressed, put the apartheid era behind us and embraced freedom and unity!

Spain’s Xabi Alonso has called for the vuvuzela to be banned from the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “Those trumpets? That noise I don’t like,” said Zabi. “FIFA must ban those things, it is not distracting, but it is not nice to have a noise like that.”

Well, there are quite a few things I don’t like but I have to keep in mind that the majority of people perhaps do. Alonso is of course entitled to his opinion, but I think it’s quite arrogant of him to “call for the vuvuzela to be banned”. If you take away the vuvuzela, you take away the essence of the soccer fan. The vuvuzela is to soccer like the siesta is to Spain.

Ban the vuvuzela? I think not.

In reply to a fed up journalist who complained about the vuvuzela’s noise, the FIFA president smiled and agreed that it’s a noisy instrument. “But that’s what African and South African football is all about – noise, excitement, dancing, shouting and enjoyment. This is a celebration.”

Reference:
The Mercury
Sport24.co.za

The other night, over a glass of red wine, my man and I started chatting about the do’s and don’ts of “meetings”.  Sad but true.  I just love business though and I could talk about it all night, especially if you throw a glass of red wine in the mix!  So we brainstormed a few points, each one seeming better and more important than the last. They are in no particular order…just in the order that I remember them…so I guess that is an order then?…moving on…

1. Unless you are going into labour, there is no excuse for being late. Rather be a little early. You don’t have to burn the rubber off your tyres to get there on time, you just need to leave your office timeously and make sure you know where North and South are.
2. Don’t ask for precise directions either. Just get the address and then use your own initiative to find the place. You might think that’s a bit of an arb point but the real point is that you don’t want to take up someone’s time by asking for directions when you could easily go onto Braby’s and get them yourself. Initiative people, initiative!
3. Dress the dress. If you’re a plumber you may be forgiven for donning your sexiest overalls and work boots but if you’re a financial advisor, you’ll be expected to look like a Versace intern.
4. Research the company you’re meeting with. Really. Do it. It’s impressive.
5. Turn your cell-phone off. You wouldn’t want to be cut off by your latest cutesy wutesy ringtone. Not cool.
6. Know the name of the person you are meeting with and then don’t forget it. You should also avoid terms of endearment such as shortening the person’s name or calling them “my love” or “cuzzi“.
7. Know your stuff if you want to sell your stuff and earn a great commission. I went to buy face cream at Edgars this week and the salesperson couldn’t tell me the difference between the day cream and the night cream:

Me: “Why do I need a night cream and a day cream?”

Salesperson-who-knows-jack-shyt: “Well, the one cream you put on in the day and the other cream you put on in the evening.”

Really hay? I would never have guessed!

Me: “Yes, but what exactly makes them different?”

Salesperson-who-knows-jack-shyt: Well, the creams target the different needs of your skin in the day and in the night.

Help me someone! Anyone..

These are a few simple little things that you can do to impress a client and win some of their business. Conversely, you could disappoint in several key areas and sell a whole bunch of fresh nothing!  My advice – use points 1 through 7.

Read all the posts in the the Professionalism Series:

Part 1: Don’t Call Your Clients Cuzzi!

Part 2: Don’t Make Your Client’s Beg You for a Quote

Part 3: Think About Answering that Cell Phone

Part 4: Pay your Clients on Time

Part 5: Email Etiquette

Life is like a game of Snakes and Ladders. We are all on a journey, starting at the same point. The decisions we make determine whether we get to climb the ladder to another level or take a tumble and try again. Sometimes we trip over the same block a couple of times before we get to move on. But we’re all on our way to the Finish Line.
- Elzet Pedersen