Downton Abbey

 

By now, everyone's heard of the series. But if you haven't watched it, buy the series (1 and 2 are already out). Seriously!

I first heard about it from my Granne. She brought it back from her last visit to England but of course, the Downton Abbey obsession hadn't quite reached South Africa yet! Being from the UK originally, Sky News and BBC are her favourite and pretty much only channels she watches on DSTV, I figured this must just be one of those random Pommie series that will never appeal to me...like East Enders.
But then I decided to give them a try as I like books set in the past. And I couldn't stop.

Title: Downton Abbey
Stars: Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, and Elizabeth McGovern
Genre: Period series (set in England in early 1900's)
Synopsis: The whole story takes place in a grand country house of the Crawleys in North Yorkshire, England. It's an 'Upstairs, Downstairs' tale of the lives of the family (issues about future heirs, marriage, fashion and fortune) and their servants (illicit romance, theft, baking and bargains) and how they are all intertwined. It's not a spoiler to give away the fact that the second series takes place during World War I, affecting every aspect of life at Downton Abbey.

My thoughts: Such a fascinating look into the lives of Edwardian England! The blurred role of servant/master, rich/poor, man/woman play out in each episode, making me question how far we've really come. A classic line from the second series just sums up the ridiculousness of those times: 
"Is there anything worse than losing one's maid?" -  said by Lady Grantham to her mother-in-law, the Dowager Countess of Grantham during WW I.

Review: 8/10
              Even if you're not into period dramas, I would give it a watch - there really is something for 
              everyone! I cannot wait to get my hands on season 3 when it comes out (And conveniently, 
             Granne is in England right now :) :)


For more information: Go to this website or just get yourself down to the DVD store and hire it if you're still  not convinced!

Three Cups of Tea

Don't you just love the name?

It was literally the reason that I picked up the book from the second hand book sale. And if that wasn't enough to sell me on the book, the next line was:  
"One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time"

So starts the book review feature on my book review section of the blog - Book Lover - where I will review books I've loved and ones that haven't been that great (just so you don't waste your time!) And from time to time, I'll take a look at a TV series and audio book too! Any suggestions for books to devour are welcome!


Title: Three Cups of Tea
Author: Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Genre: True-life inspirational adventure
Synopsis: This is a truly astonishing real-life tale of mountaineer, Greg Mortenson who, after getting lost on his way down from K2 (one of the scary huge mountains in the Himalayas), stumbles into a remote mountain village. He is touched by their generosity at welcoming a stranger and so he sets out on his unexpected life's work - to build schools in the remote villages of Pakistan and eventually Afghanistan. Bureaucracy, a love story and firm friendships litter the story, as told to David Oliver Relin.

My thoughts: Firstly, there is the absolutely inspiring dream of a man trying to provide the means of education for rural children, and in particular, for the girls who have traditionally been left out of the school system in Islamic Pakistan and surrounds. But more than that, is the fact that education is being used to triumph over terrorism and the Islamic extremism that is spreading in that region. 9/11 happens during the book and it was refreshing to see the horrific event - and its consequences - from the other side. Of course, Greg is an American so even seeing how he was treated differently - and the same by some - in Pakistan and Afghanistan as President Bush declared his War on Terrorism made the story even my real.

My rating: 9/10
                   Buy the book right now to get wowed by humanity and to hopefully,  inspire you to  
                   do something for your own community or get involved in Greg's mission, which
                   continues to this day!

For more information: Go to the book's website here and follow Greg on Twitter (@gregmortenson) here

Art (in)justified

Nando's ad - right on the money, again1

For nearly two weeks now, the controversy over Brett Murray's 'The Spear' has made headline news in South Africa.

You haven't heard?
Basically, one of the art works in Cape Town artist, Brett Murray's exhibition at the Goodman Gallery depicts our president, Jacob Zuma, in a pose made famous by communist leader, Lenin - with his penis sticking out.

My opinion (because everyone has to have one)
Yes, taken in isolation, this is a rather shocking and insulting reflection of our president. It does degrade Zuma's right to dignity - and I feel for his children (all 22) and his family who have to bear the 'shame'.

Taken in context though, the entire exhibition is a political comment on the government - which has moved so far from the virtues of the Freedom Charter on which it was based all those years ago. Murray, once an ANC supporter, feels disillusioned by what he has seen in these 18 years of democracy and chose to use his freedom of expression, as enshrined in our Constitution, to make a statement.

Did he plan to offend? Probably - as every artist wants a reaction from his work whether it be good or bad. Did he expect so much public attention? I definitely don't think so. The gallery and him certainly didn't expect the surge of visitors and media attention once the ANC started its ranting!

ANC's reaction
The ANC could have chosen to laugh it off (leader of the DA, Helen Zille did when a spoof of her naked circulated on Facebook - although whether that was a deliberate political move is another debate - see the story here if you're interested). Instead they chose to get angry - very angry - with ANC leaders, tripartite alliance leaders and organisations associated with them calling for the painting to be defaced (two citizens kindly obliged, one black, one white for their own reasons - smearing it with black and red paint - see their reasons here).

Back to me
I have to pause for the moment and make a disclaimer - the reason I pointed out the colour of the defacers' skins was because this whole saga has become a racial issue when in fact, I believe it should have just been viewed as 'two disgruntled citizens'. I pointed this out to a colleague who said: "Why is a white guy getting involved anyway?" That's the point!! It's not the fact that one was white, one was black...or that the artist is white and Jacob Zuma is black.....it's about the fact that someone created this art work because he feels so disillusioned about our government - and in particular, the president who has been accused - regardless of whether guilty or not - of bribery, corruption, rape, putting compromised allies in high positions so he can manipulate them for his own gain etc etc etc etc.

Back to the ANC
I just hope that the ANC protest march yesterday to the Goodman Gallery (see IOL's video) will be the start of the end of this mad debate whether a painting of a man and a penis is (a) insulting to the entire black African race (b) an offense to every single ANC member and (c) a racist and unforgiveable act of expression...that should lead to the defacing of the art in question (oh wait, that already happened) and the head of the artist as one religious leader called for.
 
ANC secretary general, Gwede Mantashe then called for South Africans to boycott the City Press for keeping the image on their website (besides the fact that it has gone viral anyway)...finally resulting in editor, Ferial Haffajee formally apologising for keeping the image on City Press's website out of 'fear and care' Can she be blamed for buckling to government's pressure, I wonder?

Where to from here?
There's plenty more angry rantings and racial slurs going around on Twitter, blogs and the real media but for now we will wait for Friday, when the Film and Publication Board (FPB) will decide whether to classify Brett Murray's contentious painting ;The Spear' (see here).

This will then spark another debate on freedom of expression in our country. This debate is good, healthy, and what we need in a democracy such as ours. What he don't need is making every issue about race, calling for the beheading of artists and the destruction of creativity.

Because, then we will be going backwards as a democracy, a nation, a free country ... making 'The Spear' a self-professing prophesy where power corrupts absolutely.

Compassion in a time of 'crisis'

While the news is filled with Zuma's penis, real things are happening on the ground.

This is what it means to be a journalist > to instigate change. This may have just revitalised me in the profession and society in general just a little.

Article courtesy of Times Live
article

Landfill families stunned by relief aid

GRAEME HOSKEN | 24 May, 2012 00:17

A child looks out of a window reflecting the landfill site as he prepares to go to school early in the morning

Embracing aid workers, a Gauteng grandmother broke down as she was handed food and blankets for her family of seven.

"God is here. Today I saw God," wept Petunia Khumalo as Gift of the Givers workers wrapped her and hundreds of Randfontein landfill site residents in blankets.
The organisation yesterday brought tens of thousands of rands worth of aid, including blankets and food, to the tiny settlement.
The aid arrived after the community's plight was highlighted by The Times this week in an article on child poverty.
Singing songs of praise, residents were left in awe when workers from the organisation told them to spread the word that food was to be delivered.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you being so nice? What must we give you?" asked a bewildered Paul Mtshali.
Mtshali was left shaking his head in disbelief as his arms were piled high with blankets.
"This is for you. It is yours. Make sure your children are warm and come back for food later," said Gift of the Givers' Emily Thomas.
For Ursula Johnson the donations were too much. Staring in disbelief she said she did not know that there were people who cared.
"I thought my children were going to freeze this winter. It has been so cold and I did not know what I was going to do.
"Our prayers have been answered. We can now live without fear of dying alone," she said.
Allauddin Sayed, of Gift of the Givers, said the organisation would provide warm nutritious meals to the community and would install two 10000-litre drums to provide fresh water for drinking, bathing and washing dishes.
"For the children we will be setting up a special day centre with toys and educational material. We will provide mothers of babies with infant food and nappies, and will bring clothes and shoes for everyone," said Sayed.
"We are going to set up a kitchen which, through food donations from businesses, we will get community leaders to use to cook for and feed the residents."
The organisation will also give residents the resources needed to fend for themselves and will ensure that doctors with a mobile clinic will come to the area.
"These people have been like this for too long and we are encouraging people to help us help them.
"All they need is a little bit of love and kindness, which is what we want to give them," he said.