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Finally! A Recycling Pickup Service!

by Taryn on 16. Jul, 2010 in reviews, south africa

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… and at a 17% discounted price for Hayes Happenings readers! Keep reading to find out more! :)

IMG_8489For the past few years, our under-sink cupboard space has been a general "collect all recycling" area.  Up until last year, I had a reason to head towards the Claremont area on a weekly basis, so it was no sweat to take our mixed bags of recyclables to Oasis, who happily accept drop-offs of unsorted recycling.  This year, however, I have had to remember to take our bags on a special trip.  This usually happens when the bags have been sitting out in the rain under our non-sheltering tree. Hauling 5 or 6 heavy, wet, tree-sap-sticky bags into the boot of my car is not fun.  Especially since I usually wake up to the fact during a torrential downpour!  

A much better solution would be to find a great recycling collection service.  Here in the Cape, however, finding any collection service, never mind a reliable, non-kooky one, has proven to be rather difficult.  And finding a service that is happy to accept recycling that hasn’t been carefully sorted into paper, plastic, glass and metal, has proven impossible.  Until now.

A KoolWaste flyer changed it all for me!  And I am THRILLED! 

As of this past Monday, Koolwaste picks up my unsorted recycling on a weekly basis.  All I have to do is secure my black bag worth of recyclables and pop them outside my gate on Monday morning.  Their only stipulation is that cardboard boxes are folded flat and placed beneath the black bag/s. 

Finally a great recycling collection service!  No sifting through my recycling to sort it out into the correct categories.  No need for expensive sorting bins.  No worries about space issues to collect separated recycling.  No out-of-the-way trips to drop off recycling at friendly recycling depots.  None of that! 

Instead, I get a friendly guy called Basil arrive at my door and whisk away my black bags and cardboard with a smile and a wave! 

And, without sounding like a clichéd infomercial … you too can have this! 

Barry Visagie, owner of Koolwaste, has very kindly extended a discounted rate to everyone reading this post! 

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Very simply, if you live in the Southern Suburbs* of Cape Town, you are eligible for a 17% discount for the first three months of Koolwaste Service.  All you have to do is fill out this form below.  You should receive a confirmation email shortly after you’ve filled out the form.  Barry will contact you soon after.  In the meantime, feel free to download their Do’s and Don’ts of Recycling document, below, which gives you a comprehensive list of what constitutes as acceptable recyclable materials.

*Not all suburbs in the Southern Suburbs are included yet. Therefore, please include your suburb in the form above to ensure that Koolwaste is able to service your area.

Thank you Barry for this fantastic offer!

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Soccer stuff

by Taryn on 29. Jun, 2010 in opinions, south africa

We don’t have aerialed TV and haven’t been much along the lines of soccer fans in the past, but this Soccer World Cup 2010 business has got us wishing we did have a TV aerial and getting into the spirit of things with noisy vuvuzelas moving into our house and the South African flag making its appearance like never before. 

South Africa has been building up to the FIFA 2010 World Cup for some years now – new highways, stadiums and other infrastructure, to name but a few things. 
Sadly, our politicians haven’t been the same sort of visible improvement that our buildings have, nor can one say the same for the crime, AIDS and unemployment rates.  In fact, our president has been quoted instructing the South African people to be good, even if only for 4 weeks!  Not exactly a picture of a responsible nation!  But, with the Cup nearing, so the spirit of the people of South Africa has risen to the occasion.

Living in South Africa right now is a surreal experience of camaraderie, national pride and unity.  Just about every 3rd car is adorned with South African regalia – from mirror socks to window flags.  Car guards sport South African flag scarves to ward off our cold winter winds.  Bafana bafana t-shirts hug black, white and coloured bodies – no racial discrimination there.  We are wearing our colours loud and proud.  Our unique recipes are up for taste at Pick ‘n Pay’s entrances – bunny chow gourmet-ly presented in tiny taste-test cups.  Stereotypical South African phrases, behaviours and jokes abound in the media.  The world is here in our country and we’re giving them a great time and showing them that despite our problems; despite our difficulties; despite our prejudices and despite our upward battle towards a healthy God-fearing nation, we have gees.  Gees … spirit: spirit to keep on fighting for a better future and spirit to keep on celebrating the best of our past. 

Yet, while we are rising above our troubles right now, we’re not undermining our past… or the problems of our present.  Interestingly, the World Cup happenings have been the platform for dozens of great teaching opportunities with our kids around our country’s history and future.  While watching the opening game, Katie and I had a fantastic conversation about Apartheid.  I showed her the video for that beautiful anti-apartheid song Weeping by Bright Blue and we talked about segregation and why things are the way they are today.  In another conversation, it dawned on the girls that some of our friends’ lives would be radically different, had the Apartheid laws been in effect today.  Some would be living in another country, whilst some of their little friends may never have been conceived and born.  We often talk about how things are in our country today.  For such little kids, the burden of crime is real.  The knowledge that our government makes some seriously evil decisions is not a foreign concept to them.  These are heavy burdens for carefree kids to carry … and a grim picture of their homeland.   So, while we look around us, we are grateful that we can add this experience of the World Cup vibe to their treasure chest: slithers of beauty that form part of the wealth and grace that is our land.    

What does this mean for South Africa post-World Cup?  Will this World Cup-induced unity last beyond mid-July?  Will we breath a sigh of relief and return to our wicked ways, having been "good" for our President’s 4 week stipulation?  I’m not sure.  But, my hope is that the feelings of goodwill and unity will spill over into action.  Naive?  Probably.  Hopeful?  Definitely. 

In the meantime, we embrace this opportunity to root for our country, however flawed she may be.

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And thanks to some kind friends, we’ve managed to watch a game or two!  Here are some of pictures of the football fun we’ve been enjoying…

Mattie enjoys his 4th birthday with a Soccer party – I love the sweet abandon as his big sister enjoys blowing her vuvuzela :)

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No, we don’t own three yellow vuvuzelas – but we do have one that the kids like to share.  Not sure what Micah thinks he can see down it, however!2010_06_19

Even Craig is getting his colours on :)    Collages2

And the crazy 2010 Mascot Zukumi features with these temporary tattoos.  2010_06_23

And … proof that we actually do have wing mirror socks that have stayed on.  The irony about these mirror socks is that they’re so easy to steal – making them prime targets for our crime-ridden country.  Our first pair lasted 24 hours before they were stolen.  Our 2nd pair didn’t fit (they’re now on Craig’s car).  I got my cell phone stolen trying to buy a pair on a different occasion; only realising it when I returned home.  One would think I’d give up in disgust…!  But, no – we wanted to wear our colours; support our country: support all that is good about her.  So, we bought one more pair and "sock-locked" them with cable-ties.  And I marked them along the lines of the catchy 2010 theme phrase (Can you feel it?)  So, now our wing mirror socks say, "Feel it! Don’t steal it!" :)   And… yes… that is a vuvuzela on our car roof…   2010_06_25

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Soccer World Cup 2010

by Taryn on 21. Jun, 2010 in south africa

Watching the Soccer World Cup opening ceremony was a fun experience.  Since we don’t have TV, we’ve not had too many opportunities to watch the games, but I wanted the kids at least to experience the opening ceremony.  Our church is screening the games – another way to serve our community and to talk about Jesus and His saving grace.  The kids had a ball as did many of the viewers, all decked out in their Bafana Bafana garb. 

After the ceremony, the younger kids ran around with flags and simply enjoyed each other. 

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Little Jemma and Sam were loving each other lots that game!  At one point, while watching the ceremony, Jemma leant over to hold Sam’s hand … and never let go.  Here Sam gives her a big hug and kiss.  Too cute.  2010_06_111

Sadly, we had to head home to Micah and Johanna, and so we missed the first game.  But, I did remember ustream at the last minute and we managed to catch the last 5 minutes of the game – tense though it was!  The kids loved it!

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Ag Pleez Deddy

by Taryn on 17. Feb, 2010 in reviews, south africa

imageI was browsing in a music store the other day and came across this gem in the bargain bracket – R40 (or R33 each for 3) for Ag Pleez Deddy by Jeremy Taylor.

Ah!  Talk about bringing back childhood memories!  My grandparents had an album which featured the “Ballad of the Southern Suburbs” (that is, the Southern Suburbs in Jo’burg) and us kids got a great kick out of singing, “Ag pleez deddy, won’t you taak uz to the draaiv in, all seex, seven of us, eye-t, naai-n, tin. We wanna see a flik about Tarzan and the Apes, Man, Ag, pleeeez dedddy, won’t you taak uz to the draaiv in?”

Since I was buying a couple of other R40 Cds, I bought this one too for kicks and am really glad I did.  Glad, not because of the smattering of ‘naughty’ innuendoes or South African swear words which makes it censor-worthy for our kids, but because of the rich history in these songs.

As a white child growing up during Apartheid, I was fairly oblivious to the world around me – and definitely the world on my doorstep.  Yet, as I grew older and more aware of the peculiarities of South Africa, I realised that songs as innocent as Ag Pleez Deddy speak loudly into the white culture cultivated by Apartheid.  Most of the songs are light-hearted and fun; many poke fun at the government of the time; and all broadcast South African culture (and particularly white culture) in such a deeply interesting way.  History is infused in every song.  And once again I’m reminded how rich our smorgasbord of South African cultures are.

Now, 40 some years after Ag Pleez Deddy was first played (and banned) the music is even more interesting to me.  The history and English teacher in me is thrilled with the awesome teaching aids these songs offer.  Regardless of whether we keep homeschooling our kids or not, I suspect that they will be subjected to a great lesson or two, via the medium of song, on Apartheid, prejudice, censorship, political correctness, culture and particularly the peculiarities of South Africans in general!  It may only be a high school thing, however, given that the choice exclamations of “voetsak!” and “donder die blerrie ou” are not quite appropriate for the young ears in this house.

(Having said that, they’ve heard Ag Pleez Deddy a few times and it’s already a firm favourite – but since Sam has repeated “voetsak!” a few times, I think this album will go on sabbatical until the kids are older!)

If you’ve landed on this page through a search engine like Google, chances are you’re South African in some form or another and nostalgia or some other reason has prompted your search.  I’d love to hear your memories of South Africa / Jeremy Taylor / Ag Pleez Deddy!  Share your experiences here by clicking on “comments” at the end of this post.

For the international audience, a glossary:

Ag – (pr. Aggggg – guttural “g”) “Oh” as in “oh man!”

voetsak – (pr. foot sak) literally: footdrop.  it is an offensive way of saying “go away”; usually yelled at the dog

donder die blerrie ou – (pr. dawnder dee blear-ree O) beat up the bloody guy; considered mildly to highly offensive, depending on your background.

Ag pleez deddy, won’t you taak uz to the draaiv in, all seex, seven of us, eye-t, naai-n, tin. We wanna see a flik about Tarzan and the Apes, Man, Ag, pleeeez dedddy, won’t you taak uz to the draaiv in? – Oh please daddy won’t you take us to the drive in, all six, seven of us, eight nine ten.  We went to see a movie about Tarzan and the Apes, Man, Oh please daddy, won’t you take us to the drive in?

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