Archive for the ‘Misc’ Category
by Amanda on May 16th, 2013
In Angels of Mercy, Chris Schoeman quotes from the diaries of various women who came to South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War to help out as nurses, teachers or simply in search of adventure.
Zebra Press has shared a few extracts from the book, starting with descriptions of conditions at the hospitals and going on to describe the schools organised for children in the concentration camps.
From the diary of Elin Lindblom, a Scandinavian nurse, Schoeman relates the story of an exceptionally tall Boer who was shot through the head and delirious. “We succeeded in nursing him through, thanks partly to our able doctors, partly to our vigilance. That we could cure Christian (as was his christian name) gave us a reputation among the Boers that ‘when they came to us they would be well again’,” she writes.
Among others, Schoeman also writes about Alice Bron, who came to South Africa with strong pro-Boer feelings, but left disillusioned, and Mary Kingsley, who visited Rudyard Kipling at his home in Wynberg.
‘The weather was now very cold at night, the frost being thick both inside and out of our single bell tents – the patients, being in double marquees, did not feel the cold so much. We were scarce of water, and lived on rations, which an orderly cooked for us on a fire on the veldt, dinner being a movable and uncertain feast on a rainy day. Around our camp, within fifty yards, were several six-inch guns, while we had prepared in a donga a place of safety for helpless patients and a bomb-proof shelter for all the hospital staff in case of attack, which for some time threatened us daily. Hanging in our mess was a copy of orders to be observed when attacked, etc. Several mornings we wakened to hear the boom of guns, which, however, were never near enough to necessitate our using the shelter.’ ~ Georgina Pope, Canada
Named after the strong-flowing Hex River, Sterkstroom lies in a valley, with the Stormberg and Bamboesberg forming an amphitheatre. Nearby is a wide expanse of rolling grassland, with rocky kopjes on all sides, where the wind blows fiercely, and lightning and severe thunderstorms frighten strangers. Nights are bitterly cold, mornings are frosty, and summer days are unbearably hot. It was in this inhospitable place, at the Stationary Hospital, that Nellie Gould and the other sisters prepared to nurse Gatacre’s sick and wounded soldiers. It was the beginning of a period in which Nellie and her team set about transforming decrepit buildings into hospitals, and raising the level of patient care; supplies were often limited, and food and water were in short supply. The team was fully committed to its task, however, and the women tirelessly scrubbed and cleaned sick tents, frequently using their own clothing as covering for the sick. At one point, Nellie was in charge of the entire Orange River district, which stretched far beyond Sterkstroom.
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by Amanda on May 9th, 2013
Darrel Bristow-Bovey’s latest column for Random House Struik, “In praise of Sea Point”:
In Paris recently I became depressed by the thought that I don’t live in a first-floor apartment on the rue des Fossés-Saint-Jacques, across the way from a Tibetan restaurant, around the corner from the Pantheon, rue Soufflot and the eastern entrance to the Luxembourg Gardens.
‘You’re being childish,’ my partner said.
‘I know.’
‘Is it so bad where you live?’
‘No.’
‘You love Sea Point.’
I do love Sea Point. I have lived there for a little over four years, since I moved from Johannesburg. I loved Johannesburg, but I love Sea Point more. It has people and stories and life, and gratifyingly few Capetonians. It is the Joburg of Cape Town.
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by Amanda on Apr 24th, 2013
Gill Moodie spoke to Julian Rademeyer, author of Killing for Profit, who was recently appointed as a full time editor at Africa Check.
Rademeyer explained that the site aims to “encourage accuracy in public debate” and to “try encourage people to think and to fact-check and to challenge what they see and what politicians or companies say.”
“Who watches the watchdogs?” is a question often posed by the ruling party when it is unhappy with how it and the government is being portrayed in the media. It has also been the ANC’s rationale for the need for tighter regulation of the country’s press.
For the print media’s part, its counter argument has been that self-regulation in the form of the Press Ombudsman and market forces do the job just fine. Now we have a new non-partisan website, Africa Check, questioning what is said in the public arena and how it is reported in the media.
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by Amanda on Apr 11th, 2013
Killing for Profit author Julian Rademeyer was recently named the southern African editor for Africa Check, a non-profit website which promotes accuracy in public debate. Last week Eyewitness News published an article titled “Kruger Park could lose 1,000 rhino in 2013”, Africa Check responded with the following article, researched by Rademeyer and edited by Peter Cunliffe-Jones, which shows that these numbers don’t add up.
In a postscript to the article, they note that Eyewitness News has since changed their headline to “SA could lose 1,000 rhino in 2013″ and added a clarification that states that Kruger Park spokesperson William Mabasa was referring to the national figures, not the park’s.
The number of rhinos being poached each year in South Africa is rising worryingly. But the reports this weekend that Kruger National Park could lose 1,000 rhino in 2013 are alarmist. The facts show a much lower trend.
The story that South Africa’s “Kruger Park could lose 1,000 rhino in 2013”, spread quickly on Twitter and Facebook this past weekend.
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by Amanda on Mar 20th, 2013
New from Zebra Press in April, Angels of Mercy by Chris Schoeman:
After the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War, hundreds of women left their countries for South Africa, some in search of adventure, others with a genuine desire to help the victims of war. They came from all over the world – from Britain and its colonies, and from pro-Boer countries in Europe. But, whatever their origins, they all came to live and work under harsh conditions that were foreign to them.
Angels of Mercy tells the story of twelve of these brave women. Hailing from England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, some worked as nurses on the frontline, while others came to teach Boer children in the concentration camps.
Based on personal diaries and letters, as well as other wartime sources, this fascinating and inspiring book tells of their trials and tribulations as they dealt with the dangers of war, the extremes of the environment, and the sad eyes of the dying men under their care.Theirs are stories of compassion and courage.
Also available in Afrikaans as Engele in die Vreemde
About the author
Chris Schoeman was born in Somerset East and has master’s degrees in history from the University of Port Elizabeth and Colorado State University. He has worked as a historian and journalist, and has authored and co-authored several books. These include District Six: The Spirit of Kanala, as well as the autobiographies of Springbok legends Danie Gerber, Frik du Preez and Os du Randt. His recent books include Boer Boy: Memoirs of an Anglo-Boer War Youth and Brothers in Arms: Hollanders in the Anglo-Boer War.
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by Amanda on Feb 12th, 2013
Dale Hefer, author of From Witblits to Vuvuzelas and founder of Chillibush Communications,talked to Bruce Dennill from The Citizen about how artists need to promote themselves.
Hefer cited examples of successful communicators with a particular brand and mission, and mentioned that even big corporations are now using social media platforms to speak to their customers:
“Marketing is like grabbing an eel in a barrel,” says Dale Hefer, and she should know – she’s the founder of Chillibush Communications, an agency that specialises in advertising, design, public relations and brand communication, as well as the author of From Witblits To Vuvuzelas – Marketing In The New South Africa (Zebra, R160. ISBN: 9781770200296).
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by Amanda on Feb 1st, 2013
In this age of information, with access to 24-hour rolling news, scientific breakthroughs and technological innovations, we may fool ourselves into thinking that we know all there is to know. Such hubris is, of course, an illusion. In reality, the world is full of grey areas, unsolved mysteries and unresolved stories.
History’s Greatest Mysteries delves into these grey areas to examine the imponderable and sometimes unlikely stories of actual events and real people. From the whereabouts of Lord Lucan to the loss of an entire continent and the existence of UFOs, this is a journey through history that aims to shed a little light on events that have mystified and enthralled us for years.
About the author
Bill Price is a freelance writer and seasoned traveller who has worked in various areas of the book trade for the past 15 years. More recently he has built a reputation as a specialist in travel and history writing and has become a regular contributor to a large number of international publications as well as popular reference books. His published works include books on Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill and Tutankhamun.
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by Amanda on Jan 8th, 2013
In this interview Wilma den Hartigh chats to author of 100 Moments that Mattered: Events that Built South Africa, Peter Joyce. Joyce tells of some difficulties he had with choosing historical moments for the book and also shares his reasons for writing 100 Moments that Mattered:
South African author Peter Joyce has written an accessible history of South Africa, told through 100 unforgettable moments that shaped the country over centuries.
Each entry in 100 Moments That Mattered: Events that Built South Africa is presented in a concise format and illustrated with beautiful photographs. Many people will recognise the iconic snapshots, such as the last farewell when former president Nelson Mandela stepped down; that handshake between the former statesman and Francois Pienaar at the Rugby World Cup in 1995, and the aerial photo of South Africans queuing to vote in the country’s first democratic elections.
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by Amanda on Oct 19th, 2012
Jy staan die kans om ‘n geskenkpakkie met die boeke Idees vol vrees en Idees vol vrees: Volume 2 deur Kobus Galloway te wen, sowel as ‘n Idees vol vrees-beker, -t-hemp, -voorskoot, -muismatjie en -tekenprent van jou keuse!
Om aan die kompetisie deel te neem en ‘n kans te staan om te wen, moet jy slegs jou besonderhede op Random House Struik se webtuiste invul. Inskrywings sluit 13 November 2012.
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by Amanda on Sep 28th, 2012
100 Moments that Mattered features a selection of 100 events, and the personalities involved in them, that shaped the nature of South African society over the centuries.
It is a compendium of interesting stories offered in bite-size chunks that, taken as a whole, offers a coherent and colourful picture of the nation’s history.
Written in an accessible and informal style, and beautifully illustrated throughout, this book aims to tell a good tale, to entertain and to inform. The ‘moments’ have been chosen for these reasons, as well as, of course, for their importance.
From early landings and bloody wars, to dramatic political events and long-awaited freedoms, to innovative South Africans and sporting heroes, 100 Moments that Mattered will give the reader a fascinating glimpse into our country’s history.
About the author
Peter Joyce has produced some seventy titles ranging across the spectrum from travel and wildlife through biography to his specialist subject, history. Among his books are the bestselling South Africa in the 20th Century and The Making of a Nation. Before becoming a full-time writer, he held senior positions with publishing companies in Zimbabwe and with Reader’s Digest South Africa. He lives in Cape Town.
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Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
