Phuthu Stay Phut, Don't go!

I’m so glad Mr Winter has decided to give us one last cold snap. Well, it might actually not be the last… but it’s a good one! In fact, I think it’s snowing in the Drakensberg as we speak. Or at least it was snowing yesterday and throughout most parts of last night. No doubt there were a lot of excited kids that woke up this morning, only to look out through their windows and admire a beautiful white blanket of snow – turning their familiar surroundings into a playground.

I must admit I do love the cold. It’s just so very, very cosy! There is nothing better than wrapping yourself up in a blanket, making a cup of hot chocolate (with marshmallows and whipped cream) and parking off in front of the fire place to enjoy a good book.

The thing is, when it’s cold, there are at least ways and means of getting warm. You can have a hot bath, you can wear layers and layers of warm clothes, you can wrap yourself up in blankets, you can drink delicious hot drinks, you can light the fireplace or you can turn the heating on. But when it’s stinking hot, on the other hand, here’s not much you can do to cool down. Ok, so you can sleep in an air-conditioned bedroom and wake up with a sore throat and tight, prune-like dry skin. And you can have a cold shower or a quick dip in the pool. But five minutes later you’ll be sweating again, no matter how hard you try to stay cool.

Growing up in Norway I remember being snowed in when visiting our cottage in the mountains. I also remember hoping that the temperature would drop below -20ºC, which meant that schools would close and we could stay at home and play outside in the snow with our friends. We would get our skis, skates and sleds out at once. We would throw snowballs at people’s cars and windows, then hide in the bushes – giggling away at the angry voices of grumpy old men shouting at us. We would make beautiful snow angles and snowmen, or alluring snow tunnels in between each other’s yards. We would also dare each other to lick a metal fence, because when it’s cold enough your tongue will get stuck and you’ll have to use hot water to peel it off slowly… Ah, the memories!

I bet there will be lots of South African ski and snowboard enthusiasts heading for Lesotho’s Afriski or the Eastern Cape’s Tiffindell this weekend. Personally, I’d love to dig my beanie, scarf and gloves out of the cupboard and head up to the Nottingham Road. Once there I’d go for a long leisurely walk to breathe in the crisp, fresh air and feel the cold on my face. Afterwards I’d blissfully settle down in front of the fire place at Notties Pub with homemade Beef & Guiness pies, a few bottles of red wine, good mates and plenty of board games.

By Katrine

The first Tri Nations match between SA and the All Blacks, kicks off in Bloemfontein this Saturday, it is the first of three back-to-back home internationals for the Bokke, before they hit the road for a three-match trip to Australasia.

John Smit has high expectations of his team and believes that the victory in the British and Irish Lions Tour has put them in good standings to cinch a victory on Saturday and the overall title. The All Blacks have dominated in the past, by winning 10 of the 14 titles, including the last five, with the Boks and Wallabies two wins apiece.

I think that we have a good team, but if Smit believes they have prepared enough, then I think he is sorely mistaken. Although the B & I tour was extremely competitive and entertaining, we sure as hell weren’t on top of our game, in fact we barely scraped through. I believe there are many areas in which the team can improve on and you can bet your bottom dollar that the All Blacks have already pin-pointed our weaknesses and know exactly how to take us down. The British and Irish Lions are ‘cubs’ compared to the strength of New Zealand, and we definitely have to up our game 10 fold, in order to come out with an all-out victory.

That said, I would like to wish the bokke the best of luck and ask them not to get too ahead of themselves in the lead up to the game on Saturday. They can do it, they just need to play a smart game and avoid giving away senseless penalties.

Go Bokke.

Every time you write f*** in a national newspaper, a fairy dies.
- Jacques Winter, in response to the Mail & Guardian billboard at the time of Hansie Cronje revelations

After running my business for 4 years, I have learnt a great deal about the various facets of business. The area that I’ve been thinking about lately though is people. Yes, those interesting and complicated creatures – people! What makes them happy and satisfied at work? What makes them dedicated and enthusiastic? What makes them eager to learn? I know that there are a gazillion business books out there that could tell me what makes people tick but over the last 1399 days of navigating this business of mine, I have come to my own conclusion. It comes down to 4 things; passion, working environment, compensation and flexibility.

Firstly, hire people who are passionate about their field. This may be difficult to accurately ascertain when interviewing someone but my advice is ask questions such as “What would you like to learn within your field that you haven’t already?” or “What is the best part of your job?” and really listen to them to see if they get excited about their work. That’s the first step, the second step is to try and ensure that your staff are assigned projects and tasks that fuel and sustain their passion. This may not be possible 100% of the time because all jobs have a certain amount of “paperwork” attached to them.

Your employees need to be compensated fairly and acknowledged for great work.  This is a basic requirement and if it’s not fulfilled, an employee will be left in a quandary, wondering if they’re really needed.

I work with a wonderful group of ladies. We get our work done but we also laugh and chat..and sometimes cry… over copious amounts of tea and coffee. The environment is friendly and relaxed but it’s also conducive to completing the work at hand. I believe that if people feel comfortable and happy in their working environemnt, they’re more likely to do a good job. So ask yourself, what is your work environment like? Do people feel comfortable there?

My last point is about flexibility which ties into the point above. No one leads detachable lives. And by that I mean that everyone needs to deal with admin at some stage, whether it is car problems, a sick child or general household admin. These can’t always be dealt with outside of work hours so accept that and create a flexible working environment.

I think if I had to choose the most important point though, it would be passion. It’s such a driving force and creates a solid foundation for everything else. I could go on a lot more about this because as I said earlier, I’ve learnt a lot in 1399 days of running my business but I thought I’d give you a bit of respite and save it for another time!

So tell me, what makes you feel satisfied at work? I’d love to hear what you think!
By Louise Sanders