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Changes, Changes...Why should you never pay a Buddhist with a large note? Because when you ask for your change, he will say, gravely, "change comes only from within"! (A Christopher Hitchins joke) Unlike our Buddhist, we have plenty of change in this newsletter. Woolworths' empire-building continues apace: The food store in Chilli Lane, Sunninghill has vastly expanded and taken over the whole southern end of the centre, where the hardware shop and several others were. Meanwhile, in Morningside Shopping Centre, everybody in the Upper Level northern block –including the Standard Bank– has either been evicted or moved to make way for a new Woolworths. We already have a Woolworths Food in The Wedge, and food and clothing in Rivonia Village and Morning Glen Mall. In an irony of history, after wiping out the Spar next door a long time ago, the Pick n Pay in what is now Rivonia Oriental City has itself succumbed, presumably to Rivonia Village's Woolworths and the new Checkers. In its place, the Rivonia Asian Supermarket is having a Grand Opening this Saturday, 27 September. They stock a variety of foods from Korea, China, Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. They operate a Sushi Bar, Bento Box Bar, Taiwanese Beef Noodle Bar and a Bakery as well. Undeterred, Rivonia Oriental City is planning a full-on Food Court, and are looking for tenants to open food stores. There are plenty of other changes to report from Sunninghill including, belatedly, the move of Builders Warehouse from Rivonia Crossing 1 (at Rivonia Road and Witkoppen) up the road to a vast new warehouse at corner Rivonia and Leeuwkop Roads, diagonally opposite the entrance to Chilli Lane. The shop is now so enormous that they provide a map to enable you to find the various departments. The agoraphobic are well advised to stay away. You may want to take a ball of string to unroll behind you to find your way back to to the entrance. They now stock a range of tiles (but oddly, no white ones), sanware (toilets, basins and baths), carpeting, lighting, made-to-measure flooring, curtains and blinds. In case you get exhausted walking around the new, bigger, Builders Warehouse, they have a coffee shop just inside the entrance, and a permanent Hot Dog Café just outside the exit. On the subject of hot dogs, what does the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor? "Make me one with everything".
Odd Jobs
If you function well under pressure, you should
become either a deep-sea diver or a Rand Water Board engineer.
New on the Block Back to top
Understanding South Africa, for Foreigners: African Names
Presumably to make it easy for whites, many black people also have a "white"
name. Thus, Sikhumbuzo is also called Cyprian, and Nontsapho has the
middle name Princess. There isn't much reciprocity from the white side, but
things are changing.
Restaurant Reviews by Judith Back to top**** Kiyota Sushi, Shop 73, Upper Level in Morning Glen Mall opposite SpurA return to a favourite restaurant for a leisurely evening meal - service here is excellent. We chose to share a seafood Bento Box, which was a really worthwhile choice with fish, mussels and calamari in great quantities. This is value for money at R110 and fed two people easily. Our drinks were white wine and green tea. Altogether a quiet relaxed meal with time to talk and unobtrusive service - somewhere to go when you want to enjoy being with your favourite person. Contact Details for Kiyota Sushi. ** Caffe Della Salute, 17 Autumn Road, off Rivonia Road, RivoniaFeeling peckish and also wanting to find out what had replaced the Spur on Autumn and Rivonia Roads, we went to this new restaurant for Saturday lunch. Although most of the children's play area has gone, a jungle gym still exists. The rest of the restaurant has been done over and made minimalist. The colours of grey and white are used to good effect. The menu is extensive. I choose the mussels in white wine and garlic sauce whilst my companion choose the basic burger. He took a risk and chose Bos Mango Tea whilst I stuck to dry white wine by the glass. The tea was acceptable as was the wine. Alas the food was not. The mussels came with white bread, which was replaced on request, and their sauce was mostly flour. The plain burger came with a vicious "secret sauce" which my companion suggested ought to be kept secret. However, after much discussion on possible improvements to the food, we were not charged for either dish! We will go back to see if things have improved. Service was very good and the owner open to feedback. Contact Details for Caffe Della Salute. Funny Language, English...The phrase "waste no time" can mean that you are
eager to start something, but maybe that wasn't intended when Disraeli (?) said:
"Thank you for your manuscript. I shall waste no time in reading it".
Gone, All Gone! Back to top
The Lazy BikeJulius says a bicycle can't stand up on its own because it is too tired (two-tyred).
Green Tip by Samantha Derham: Sustainable Living V (Conclusion) Back to topIt will lead to personal internal conflict if you try to practice sustainability without first living a sustainable life. Meet your own needs (needs, not wants) before you can meet the needs of others and the environment. I have put the points below in order of importance according to my fairly educated opinion, but must emphasise that a balance of all six is required for optimal health. 1. Get Enough Sleep – See March article. 2. Get More Relaxation while Awake – See April article. 3. Get Enough Direct Sunlight – See June article. 4. Do more that makes you truly happy! – See July article. Points 5 and 6 are Diet and Exercise: If the health benefits of eating healthy and getting regular exercise haven’t been shoved in your face from every direction already, then you are living under a rock and you are probably healthy anyway. I just have a few more comments to make here: a) I truly do believe that getting right points 1-4 above is more important than worrying about your diet and exercise, and most likely you will find that when you have mastered the above, a healthy diet and regular exercise will come naturally. When you feel better, you naturally want to maintain it. Sadly, the opposite is also true. b) The first step to healthy eating is to cut out fast food – once you decide to eat more home-cooked meals, or at least meals that take time to prepare, you will automatically be cutting out almost all unhealthy food. c) If you have a desk job, moving your body regularly is more important than exercising intensely for an hour every day. Sitting still for long periods of time causes a number of health problems. My Google search found this article first. I propose playing with Poi while you wait for your computer to do something. This video gives you an idea of what poi are: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbKntcBNi7w Read more by Samantha Derham at www.sustainabilitystuff.co.za.
Report-Back on Petition and People's Climate March by Avaaz and 350.org Back to topLast month we said "Africa will be hit hardest by climate change but for too long our leaders have failed to take action. It is time for action, not words!". Last weekend more than 675,000 people took to the streets in New York, Berlin, London, Paris, Rio and more than 2,000 places all over the world to send a message to the heads of state gathered at the UN to take climate change seriously. Images of the massive turnout blanketed the front pages of world media -- just as our leaders arrived at the UN’s emergency climate summit. The message was received, and it was echoed. Almost every opening speaker of the summit, and leaders from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to US President Obama, cited our marches as their call to action. See a report-back and pictures here. Thanks to our volunteers' support and the commitment and dedication of facilitator Simone Innes, we also put Jozi on the map: Nearly 200 people formed a "Green Heart" formation in Emmarentia Botanical Gardens on Sunday 21 September, and there were 4949 Avaaz petitions signed within 30km of our event. A more modest contribution than a parade 80 New York city blocks long, but a good start! We also received coverage in the local media. Together, we made history, but it's just the beginning. The crucial Paris climate summit is 15 months from now -- that's where we need a global deal. By March next year, countries have pledged to make their national commitments -- so our movements will focus on these national targets. Every few months until Paris, Avaaz and 350.org supporters will come together to beat a drum for change, for 100% clean energy. As Ricken Patel of Avaaz says, "The movement we've been waiting for has begun".
Overheard at the Checkout:"Hello Cindy!" "Hi Sally! What's new?" "I'm dating a twin!" "Isn't that confusing?" "Fortunately not: He has a beard and his sister doesn't." |
Your name in print! Would you like to contribute a shop- or restaurant review, a better joke than ours, an event, or something else for this Newsletter? Please e-mail us. You will get full credit (unless you want anonymity). Reach 5848 shoppers and shop-owners: Advertise in this newsletter! Editor: Rick Raubenheimer.