Update on Lockdown

With lockdown in place since the last newsletter, our visits to shopping centres have been sparse.  Below we have a few changes that caught our attention. With hairdressers and beauty parlours allowed to open this week, we hope to be able to report that most of them have survived.  We wish our readers good health and survival through the pandemic.  Further down we have some ways to grow (other than fat) during Lockdown.

Municipal Increases - Official Call for Public Comment

Despite unsettling economic times, several municipalities have proposed significant rates and tariff increases across the board in their budget. Luckily, they have invited you to comment on the increases before implementation.

Increases are above CPI and applied to water and sanitation, electricity, refuse removal, property rates and an increase in salaries across the board. Furthermore, an additional R200 capacity charge on residential pre-paid electricity (R400 for businesses) alongside no Covid relief of any sort, has been proposed.

Comments done directly with government cannot be tracked or recorded – resulting in you blindly trusting that their decisions are an accurate representation of the participation.

We urge you to comment through DearSA's platform by clicking this link:
1. doing so enables DearSA to record indisputable evidence of the public participation, independent of government,
2. your comment is immediately delivered to the official government channel in the legally accepted format, and
3. DearSA's system is able track if government reads your submission.

DearSA's records form a solid foundation of evidence for a legal challenge, should it be necessary.

This is not a petition. It is a mandated policy formation process which government is legally obliged to follow. Your input carries significant impact on the outcome of this issue.  Mass participation from South Africans is essential in order to influence these changes. Please have your say now.  Thank you for being an active and responsible citizen.

Odd Jobs

A funeral is the easiest place to give a speech, Why? You just need the introduction and the conclusion –the body is there already.

New on the Block, Movers and Shakers  Back to top

• Protea Home, Shop 16, Lower Level in Morning Glen Mall – Opened Sat 13 June, where Solomons was. Soft toys, plastic toys, plastic flowers, pots, crockery, platters, torches; an amazing array of varied items for the home.
• Mi-Bella Beauty has left Morning Glen Mall and is now a mobile service provider. Nails, Facials (Nimue, Environ), Manicure, Pedicure, wax, tinting, lash extensions, massage, Gelish. Acrylic tips. Make up.
• Dr T Fletcher - Ophthalmic Surgeon has moved from H09 Hobart Grove Centre to Bryanston Place Office Park, 199 Bryanston Drive, Bryanston.
• Barazza Restaurant (B04 (C01?)), on Hobart Road in Hobart Grove Centre – "Barazza" means "meeting place" in Swahili. The menu celebrates cross-continental cuisine, inspired by the owner’s passion for pairing unique flavours.
• Autospa Car Wash, Basement in Hobart Grove Centre – Open every day 7:00-18:00.
• B Bridal House in Hobart Grove Centre – Bridal gowns, clothes for a black tie event, elegant matric dance dresses. Sizes from XS to XL. Limited stock (one of each dress). Book an appointment.
• Cutting Room in Hobart Grove Centre – Professional hairdressers, highly creative personalities, and a salon experience that stands out from the crowd.
• Fineline Solutions in Hobart Grove Centre – Custom design, manufacture, fabrication and installation of sliding doors, internal organisers and wall display units.
• Les Créatifs Restaurant in Hobart Grove Centre – The first of its kind in South Africa: fine dining, world-class wine list, cocktails, visual art, outstanding décor, interior design and ceramic art.
• Rakoma Travel in Hobart Grove Centre – Travel agency providing affordable, personalised travel management services to clients. Services Include Flights, Accommodation, Car Hire, Visa Assistance, Corporate Travel.

Restaurant Reviews Back to top

With restaurants still shut except for take-aways, we have no reviews for you this month.  We had a vegetarian briyani delivered from Taste of India Rivonia. Although we ordered "mild". it tuned out to be uncomfortably hot, and is being eaten  v e r y   g r a d u a l l y.

Funny Language, English....

"These are longstanding problems that have been with us for some time" –Bongani Bingwa on Radio 702, 7 June 2020 (as opposed to longstanding problems that appeared overnight, of course).

Bereft of Life  Back to top

Many businesses are shut at present. We sincerely hope they will reopen.  Here are a few that won't:

• Fingers & Toes, Shop 09 in Coachman's Crossing – Nail Studio, Health & Beauty. Nails, Hands & Feet, Manicure and pedicure.
• Home of Beauty near Bryanpark Shopping Centre – Hot Stone Massage and Antaneea in Bryanston, in a quiet and cosy space. Facials, Pedicure, manicure, slimming, chakra balance. Ladies Only.
• MME Dietitians, Shop Studio B in Hobart Grove Centre – four registered dietitians who provide factually sound and up to date nutrition consultations for individuals, corporate clients as well as to industry and the media.
• Lunit Vapes, Shop G07 in Hobart Grove Centre – Vaping and accessories. Local Juices, Starter Kits. Open Mon-Thursday 09:30-18:30, Friday 09:30-19:30, Saturday 09:30-18:30, Sunday 09:30-14:30.
• SA Culinary Club, Shop H12 in Hobart Grove Centre – "We're passionate about food and bringing people together in an environment where they can learn, laugh and cook amazing food while having fun.".

Thought for the Day:

"No! Try not.  DO!  Or do not. There is no 'try'.” – Yoda, Star Wars.

Are You Holding Your Shield? (from Daily Stoic)

The world has asked a lot of us over the last few months. We had to stop travelling. We had to shut down our businesses. We had to take our kids out of school.

It asked even more of some of us. The doctors who had to work round-the-clock shifts. The nurses who did the same. There are those among us whose businesses will never reopen or whose jobs will never come back. There are some of us who didn’t get to say goodbye to people we loved, who had to watch funerals over the internet.

In a beautiful article a few weeks ago, Steven Pressfield (interviewed here) spoke about how the Spartans —the ancient Greeks whom the Stoics admired so much— would have responded to this kind of collective sacrifice. He quotes Plutarch, who explained why the Spartans punished with death the soldier who dropped his shield but not his other protective gear, “Because helmet and breastplate are worn to protect the individual alone but the shield is borne to protect the whole line.”

“Why are we asked to wear surgical or face masks in public, to practice social distancing, and to observe self-quarantining?” Steven asked. “Answer: Because these practices are not for the individual alone but for the protection of the whole line.”

This moment we are in is a test. It’s a test of your character. It’s a test of your Stoicism. It’s asking whether you just pay lip service to sympatheia, or whether you actually believe it —whether you can embody your philosophy as Epictetus said. Daily Stoic talked about this with John Brownstein, professor at the Harvard School of Medicine: The mask is not for you. Social distancing is not for you. It’s for the grandmother of the person you never met. It’s for the chemo patient. It’s because you might be a carrier and not know it, and so in wearing a mask, you protect the strangers you see and the strangers they see too. In deciding to eat the deposit on your family vacation, to pay for extra sick leave for your workers, to donate to a food bank, you are not helping yourself—you are doing something far more important and more noble.

You are protecting the whole line. And as a Stoic, as a Spartan, as a Citizen of the world, that is your job. Find out more by subscribing to the Daily Stoic email.

Some More Resources for Lockdown

If you do have some spare time on your hands during this ‘lockdown’, Professor Lee Berger’s series of 30min+ online video lectures about the University of the Witwatersrand's incredible hominid collections are proving very popular. Wits holds some of the most precious fossils in the world that point to the origins of humankind. You can watch the lectures at this link.

This could be one of the most important podcasts philosopher Sam Harris has ever done. Especially in the light of the moral and political zeitgeist of America (and the world). He discusses, inter alia, racism, woke-culture, Trump, police brutality/violence, and police reform (in an American context, but applicable elsewhere). Whatever you think about these issues, he articulates important points that are worth considering.

FMF article: COVID-19 lockdown is exacerbating SA's economic woes – Chris Hattingh:
The devastating effects of South Africa's draconian lockdown are playing out in front of our eyes. Implemented on 27 March 2020, the lockdown has piled on misery for an economy that was already taking its last breaths. The myriad nonsensical regulations, amongst which, for example, was the banning of e-commerce, have meant that businesses, employees, and their families, are in a state of limbo. While a global pandemic could be expected to cause significant economic disruption, as people adjusted their behaviour and work patterns, harsh lockdowns and regulations have unnecessarily exacerbated the negative effects.  To read further, please click here.

Near the Checkout

"Masks?  It looks like the Lone Ranger was ahead of his time..."

"Any chance of a silver bullet too?"