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Students who did not pass their matric have until Jan 21 to register for a re-marking or re-checking. File photo: Chris Collingridge

The Eastern Cape’s 2012 matric results were “one step backwards and two steps forward”, provincial education MEC Mandla Makupula said on Thursday.

“The 2012 matric results depict one thing: we have taken one step backward and two steps forward, moving along with ordinary people,” Makupula said in a statement.

He was proud of the improved pass rate for the province, one of the worst performers in South Africa, to 61.6 percent, from 58.1 in 2011.

He said the last time the province got more than 60 percent was in 2003, when it managed 61.1 percent.

Several districts showed big improvements, in particularly Libode with a pass rate of 59.4 percent, up from 19.5 percent in 2011.

Butterworth had an increase of 8.1 percent to 53.9 percent in 2012. Sterkspruit improved eight percent to 56.1 percent.

The top performing districts were Cofimvaba, with a pass rate of 72.5 percent, Cradock with a pass rate of 72.3 percent, and Maluti with 71.9 percent.

The three worst performing districts were Fort Beaufort with 44.7 percent, Qumbu with 49.1 percent and Mt Frere with 49.6

percent.

Makupula said while several districts improved their passes, other saw substantial drops. The largest of these was Qumbu, dropping 10.3 percent to 49.1 percent.

Makupula said there were 30 schools in the province with a 100 percent pass rate.

Eleven schools had a pass rate of 10 percent or below. The three lowest performers were Dlulisa Senior Secondary School in Butterworth, with 4.5 percent, Mpingana in Lusikisiki with 4.7

percent, and Dilizintaba with a 5.3 percent matric pass rate.

“For the first time in many years, there are no schools with a zero percent pass rate,” Makupula said. – Sapa

2013-01-03 22:33

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Johannesburg – The Eastern Cape’s 2012 matric results were “one step backwards and two steps forward”, provincial education MEC Mandla Makupula said on Thursday.

“The 2012 matric results depict one thing: we have taken one step backward and two steps forward, moving along with ordinary people,” Makupula said in a statement.

He was proud of the improved pass rate for the province, the worst performer in South Africa, to 61.6%, from 58.1% in 2011.

He said the last time the province got more than 60% was in 2003, when it managed 61.1%.

Several districts showed big improvements, in particularly Libode with a pass rate of 59.4%, up from 19.5% in 2011.

Butterworth had an increase of 8.1% to 53.9% in 2012. Sterkspruit improved 8% to 56.1%.

The top performing districts were Cofimvaba, with a pass rate of 72.5%, Cradock with a pass rate of 72.3%, and Maluti with 71.9%.

The three worst performing districts were Fort Beaufort with 44.7%, Qumbu with 49.1% and Mt Frere with 49.6%.

Makupula said while several districts improved their passes, other saw substantial drops. The largest of these was Qumbu, dropping 10.3% to 49.1%.

Makupula said there were 30 schools in the province with a 100% pass rate.

Eleven schools had a pass rate of 10% or below. The three lowest performers were Dlulisa Senior Secondary School in Butterworth, with 4.5%, Mpingana in Lusikisiki with 4.7%, and Dilizintaba with a 5.3% matric pass rate.

“For the first time in many years, there are no schools with a zero percent pass rate,” Makupula said.

Man, friend in court for raping sister

The world she described is a world partly vanished. Travel too has changed,
along with the Tyrol and winter sports, which makes her book so charming. So
what did she make of it all?

“On November 22nd,” she writes, “we left our London home at 7.30am, arriving
at Kensington Air Station 10 minutes later. Allow, as we did, at least 10
minutes for the weighing of baggage – and the payment of excess baggage
rates! Departing by bus at 8.40am we reached Northolt with time to spare for
a hot drink at the bar, considerably irritated we may add – as were our
fellow passengers – at the recently imposed 5/- per head bus fare and 5/-
per head airport charge.”

Cradock flew to Munich, stopping en route to refuel at Düsseldorf, and
squeezed in a “thoughtful hour with history at the Hofbräuhaus, scene of the
beginning of Adolf Hitler’s first putsch”. She warns readers of the “extreme
poverty” they will find in post-war Austria and Germany; the “infinite
sadness, whatever your national loyalties, in the sight of so much ruin”;
remarks on the sight of oxen pulling carts in snow-bound fields; the need
for a transit visa in Germany; and the prevalence of cars with “US Rhine
Army plates”.

She then travels to Innsbruck by train (“cleaner and better kept than our own
British Railways”). Third-class seats (and sleepers) were still available.
“The feeling of excitement and anticipation mounts,” she writes. “Turn out
the carriage lights, peer through the windows and see the glittering valley
floor flooded by moonlight, sparkling with a thousand lights while the
little train, like a cautious insect, gropes down the mountain side and
comes to rest in the parochial peace of Tyrol’s little capital.”

Innsbruck, she said, was a place where “you must listen, and wait, for if you
belong to that disastrous company that ‘does’ whole countries in three,
four, or five days – stay away – you will not suit Innsbruck and Innsbruck
will not suit you.”

Dining in a local restaurant, “in some alcoved recess, panelled in pine and
decorated with wrought iron”, Cradock invited fellow post-war Britons to:
“eat and drink your leisurely fill and happily forget for a while such
rigours as those inflicted on our restaurant life by the Catering Wages Act.”

Leaving the urban pleasures of Innsbruck, Bon Viveur delighted in the
“delicious” village of Seefeld. Today, the stylish resort is the
self-proclaimed place to “see and be seen”, bristling with wealthy,
glamorous Austrians and Germans, yet what so entranced our writer was its
“prevailing quietude, in which the tinkling of sleigh bells and the swish of
skis make gentle music”.

Hints of what would become contemporary après-ski and a “glamorous” future
were, however, already present: “Such gaieties as a snow bar built amid the
snowbanks beside a terrace… a nightly dancing spot which resembles an
Atelier in Paris – all these enhance the evening leisure.”

Travelling on to St Anton by train – “a silver blue sun-gilded journey through
pine-clad mountain forests alongside the river Inn” – Bon Viveur declared:
“St Anton is fashionable, make no mistake about it.” The town, celebrated
today for its lively nightlife and challenging skiing, was already popular
with strong skiers: “Principally, of course, it is a ski-ers resort of
outstanding runs, ski-lifts and tuition.”

However, Bon Viveur had some words of caution for potential visitors to the
resort (fortunately no longer valid today, given an efficient bus system):
“We were distinctly nervous of the smaller, less accessible hotels in the
surrounding heights above the village. Kindliness is everywhere, with
courtesy and willingness to please. But a hard bed remains a hard bed
however smiling the proprietor and it is not always attractive to face
either a costly taxi home to supper, or a long climb after a day spent in
deliberate exercising.”

Cradock pressed on to the villages of Steinach am Brenner (“especially
commended to humans suffering from an overdose of pace, pressure and
progression”) and Gries am Brenner (“rich in suggestion of woodchoppers with
magical qualities”), passed a happy couple of days in Ehrwald and Lermoos
(“twins in our opinion and lovelier even than Steinach, set in a lovelier
valley”) before reaching her final stop, Kitzbühel.

Here Bon Viveur fell under the spell of what today remains one of Austria’s
most sophisticated and cosmopolitan resorts, discovering: “A faint aura of
old Monte Carlo, an evocation of Biarritz, a whisper of Menton and the
merest rustle of fans in San Remo.

“By night, the amusements are more formal than in any other region of Tyrol,
except perhaps to some smaller degree in St Anton. The evenings are
designated après-ski. Après-ski clothes are worn, and Kitzbühel has the
reputation for being the gayest city by night among all ski-areas.

“Family hotels cater for the tastes of two generations, shutting away their
dance bars from the hotels proper so that paterfamilias can nod, while his
young hold sleep contemptible and frolic till the dawn.”

“Did we like the Tyrol?” asks Bon Viveur in conclusion. “We found it
colourful, childishly endearing, gay and unaffected. We are going back as
soon as we can possibly make the necessary arrangements.”

Cradock’s enthusiasm for travel-writing waned as her career as a television
cook took off – history doesn’t recall whether she ever made it back to the
Tyrol.

Is her book of any practical use, 60 years later? Many of the hotels and
restaurants mentioned do still exist (see right) and much of what Cradock
writes about the Tyrol remains as pertinent in 2012 as it was in 1952. It’s
we guidebook readers who have changed most, becoming much more travel-savvy
than we were 60 years ago. On the other hand, we do still “exhibit a shaming
tendency towards ‘local’ hats with far-from-local clothing”. Some things, it
seems, never change.

Getting there

By air and train in 1952 London-Innsbruck (via Munich), £35 17s 8d return;
journey time: 12 hours.

In 2012 London-Innsbruck (direct) with British Airways (ba.com),
£118 return; journey time: 1 hour 55 minutes.

By boat and train in 1952 London-Innsbruck via Calais-Boulogne 2nd class, £23
10s plus five guineas for a two-berth sleeper return; journey time: 24-30
hours).

In 2012 London-Innsbruck 2nd class, £239 return (raileurope.co.uk);
journey time: 10 hours 32 minutes.

Packages

Erna Low (ernalow.co.uk)
pioneered guided ski holidays from the UK in 1932 when she placed an ad in
The Morning Post: “Austria, fortnight, £15 only, including rail and hotel,
arranged by young Viennese graduette [sic] for young people leaving
Christmas.”

In 1952 A week’s accommodation in a chalet in St Anton with Erna Low cost from
£52 per person, including rail travel.

In 2012 A week’s self-catered accommodation costs from £349 per person in a
five-room apartment, including rail travel.

The inside track

Bon Viveur says “Be sure you have a valid Passport. This can be applied for at
your Local Labour Exchange. Cost One Pound.”

In 2012 A passport costs £72.50 and is applied for at the Post Office.

Bon Viveur says “Pre-ski lessons can be taken in London. Messrs. Lillywhites
of Piccadilly Circus, London, W1 hold classes. Under the direction of a
champion skier, a course of six lessons of half-an-hour costs £1 1s.”

In 2012 A course of six hour-long lessons at the Chiswick Skiplex costs
£199.99.

Bon Viveur says “If you are taking your ski clothes with you by air, travel in
them, those boots weigh heavy on the excess baggage scales.”

In 2012 Ski clothes are lighter but ski boots are heavier and, with the
exception of Swiss, airlines charge standard excess baggage rates (around
£34 each way) for a boot bag.

Bon Viveur says “A pair of skis and sticks to hire costs 1/9d to 3/-.

In 2012 Count on around £50 for skis and poles in an Austrian resort today.

Bon Viveur says “Meat at meals in Austria is accompanied by dumplings or rice
(aristocratic) or potatoes (common). Vegetables are in short supply. Except
in summer they are nearly always tinned.”

In 2012 Austria boasts 48 Michelin-star restaurants and four two Michelin-star
restaurants where you are as likely to tuck into polenta and gnocchi as you
are dumplings or potatoes.

Bon Viveur says “The be-ribboned garlands for wine bottle necks and matching
floral-topped corks which met with such public approval when a picture of
ours was published in The Daily Telegraph, are obtainable at Tiroler
Heimatwerk, Meranerstrasse 2, Innsbruck.”

In 2012 You can buy them from the same shop, still at the same address (0043
512 58232; tiroler.heimatwerk.at).

The best hotels

Hotel Valluga, St Anton £
Bon Viveur says “As bright and well arranged [as Hotel Arlberg] but with
smaller rooms is the Hotel Valluga, a snowball’s throw from the Arlberg.
From 20s per day. Extra for heating: 2s 3d.”
In 2012 Recently renovated, with a cocktail bar, spa, Wi-Fi and iPod docking
stations (0043 5446 3263; vallugahotel.at;
double half board from €195/£157 per night).

Hotel Europa, Innsbruck ££
Bon Viveur says “Even the luxurious Hotel Europa with exquisite rooms charges
only 27s 9d for bed and breakfast. Private bathroom, 7/- extra.”
In 2012 Now Innsbruck’s only five-star hotel, blending contemporary Italian
and homely Tyrolean design (512 5931; grandhoteleuropa.at;
b??b from €156/£125 per night).

Hotel Tennerhof, Kitzbühel £££
Bon Viveur says “Delectable hand-painted furniture (like sleeping in a fairy
tale), beguiling zither player and new private ski lift. The rooms have
central heating or tiled stoves, built like Edwardian matrons on thoroughly
generous lines. Ten days here will cost you £12.”

In 2012 Family-owned since 1957; a sumptuous five-star hotel stuffed with
antiques and fine art (5356 63181; tennerhof.com;
b??b from €291/£234 per night).

The best restaurants

Stiftskeller, Innsbruck £
Bon Viveur says “The little Stiftskeller (three-course table d’hôte 4s 4d and
7s 2d) served us with a midnight dish of goulash and puff-ball Austrian
soufflés.”
In 2012 It’s no longer little (it seats 800) but the Stiftskeller still serves
traditional Tyrolean dishes in various dining rooms and beer cellars
(Stiftgasse 1; 512 570706; stiftskeller.eu).

Karwendelhof, Seefeld ££
Bon Viveur says “Then we entered the beer cellar of Hotel Karwendelhof as
costumed dancers whirled through the Holzhacker and chickens spun on the
charcoal spit.”
In 2012 The beer cellar now houses a casino but guests can still enjoy a
weekly “Tiroler Schmankerlabend” evening of traditional local dishes
(Bahnhofstrasse 124; 5212 2655; karwendelhof.com).

Hotel Alte Post, St Anton £££
Bon Viveur says “Do save sufficient to lunch, as we did, at the Old Posting
House restaurant where the Sachertorte mit Schlag (a hunk of feathery
chocolate cake soused in thick cream) is gorgeous.”
In 2012 Although the Alte Post has been significantly extended in recent
years, the original 18th-century Gaststube remains and still serves
sophisticated Tyrolean food (Dorfstrasse 11; 5446 25530; hotel-alte-post.at).

What to avoid

“Baths cost money. Extra money, 3/- to 4/6d. So be careful.”

“Do not forget a flap-fastening hip pocket on your trousers; handbags look odd
and there is no allowance for them when skiing.”

“We believe a number of middle-aged people hold back from wintersporting
because they consider they are ‘past it’. This is quite fallacious. It is
obviously harder for some very unathletic types who have never taken any
exercise. However, John, a superannuated rugger player and general games
addict, was transformed overnight into a ski-enthusiast.”

“Remember ladies, Britain is judged in Europe by what Britain’s holidaymakers
look like abroad. Just try to avoid, in the interests of our national
reputation, the standard faults Europeans, male and female, deplore in our
womenfolk: a shaming tendency towards ‘local’ hats with far-from-local
clothing, repellent ankle socks with stub-Cuban heeled walking shoes, those
unbecoming cardigans which a certain type of woman considers inseparable
from cotton frocks, and sloppy shoulder bags which give a peculiar slouched
stance to the female sex.”

There he lived at the Manse, High Street, until leaving a few years later for Henley on Thames. Yet apart from religion he had many other callings and gained much renown in other fields. However, his brother also achieved great fame, for he was the artist Thomas Gainsborough, who among his works painted a portrait of the poet William Cowper, which would grace the Cowper and Newton Museum at Olney.

Another painting to grace the Museum would be that of William Cowper stoking a fire in his garden to keep an orange tree warm. Valued at several thousand pounds this was donated by the artist Charles Spencelayh but was stolen in May 1991. Charles – now remembered for his early advertisement for Colman’s mustard – came to live at Olney during the First World War, having left his London residence not least because a crew member had fallen through his greenhouse roof during a Zeppelin raid. (As for WW2, stained glass in the eastern window of Marston Moretaine church is the work of Hugh Easton, the artist responsible for the Battle of Britain window in Westminster Abbey.) But back to William Cowper, who also possessed artistic talents. In fact he had been taught the art of drawing by an Olney stone mason, James Andrews, whose work may be seen in a memorial by the celebrated Peter Scheemaker in the church of Clifton Reynes.

Fashioned by Thomas Burman, another notable memorial came to be placed in Walton Church commemorating Bartholomew Beale (1583-1660) and his wife Katherine. This had been given by their sons Henry and Charles, and as the eldest the latter became lord of the manor. Yet he was also a manufacturer of artists colours, and supplied several prominent artists of the time including Sir Peter Lely, the famed portrait painter.

As a good friend of Lely, Mary Cradock would expertly copy many of his works, and she became the most renowned female artist of her day. Making the acquaintance of Walton, it was therefore appropriate that she married Charles Beale, and both her sons would become talented artists. In the later century Charles sold his local interests but in the 20th century the village was again acquainted with artistic talents, specifically those of Primrose Harley, a daughter of Dr. Vaughan Harley of Walton Hall. She would paint many murals in Walton Church and it was alongside her parents at Walton that she was laid to her final rest. Another talented artist was a railway ticket collector, Albert Perry, of 4, Bedford Street, Bletchley, who, despite competing with architects and art school students, gained a premier railway award at the Willesden LMS Institute.

In his ticket collecting ‘cubby hole’ he sketched in the intervals between trains and for several years received a letter of appreciation from the Chief Operating Managers Department. Another to receive railway recognition was Ernest Fryer, of 59, Eaton Avenue, Bletchley, who was presented with a gold watch, having since 1956 been chief staff clerk at the motive power depot at Kings Cross.

His wife’s father was a well known Canadian artist and illustrator, Herbert Sellen, who while on a visit to his daughter found he was unable to return when the Second World War broke out. He would then stay at his daughter’s address until he died in 1962.

In June 1956 one of the new teachers at Bletchley Grammar School was his granddaughter Miss Kathleen Fryer, who from a teaching position at Northampton came as the art mistress.

And on the subject of inherited talents and art mistresses, this week’s illustration is by an aspiring teacher Jessie Guymer, the daughter of a friend whose skills, in this age of internet publishing, are proving invaluable.

As for the theme, with regard to Herbert Sellen this quite literally has a very appropriate Transatlantic flavour.

By Mary Reid Barrow
Virginian-Pilot correspondent
© December 23, 2012

PORTSMOUTH, meet Paradise Creek Nature Park.

The new area with wooded trails and restored wetlands on Paradise Creek will open Friday at 1141 Victory Blvd.

From the top of a man-made hill or “earthworks mound” that is 27 feet tall, you can gaze down into the restored marsh. Looking to the north, you can see where the wetlands flow under a new wooden footbridge into Paradise Creek proper.

You also can walk on trails through one of the last stands of mature forest on the river. In the future, there will be a kayak launch and outdoor classroom. Though a grand opening is scheduled for June, special walks and programming Friday will introduce you to this latest effort by the Elizabeth River Project to restore the green shorelines of the river.

Park hours are from dawn to dusk daily.

Paradise Creek flows into the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The pretty creek could have been called Paradise Lost for many years, because of the Superfund sites and dredge sites that spoiled its shoreline.

Now, thanks to the Elizabeth River Project and many partners, including the city of Portsmouth and the Virginia Port Authority, the new park will be a place for residents, particularly in the nearby Cradock area, to walk their dogs, ride bikes and enjoy nature.

Portsmouth City Schools will use the park as a field-trip site, and Old Dominion University ornithology classes will conduct bird surveys there. Eventually operation and ownership of the 40-acre park will be turned over to Portsmouth to become the city’s third-largest park.

The earthworks, built with the dredge spoil that was removed from the marsh, offers “an osprey’s eye view” of the park site, said Joe Rieger, deputy director of restoration for the Elizabeth River Project

Historically, the area was called the “mudflats” but over the years the mudflats were filled with dredge materials, said Dave Koubsky, environmental project manager for the Elizabeth River Project.

“The idea is to re-create and restore the mudflats,” Koubsky said.

Beyond the park along the shore of the creek, four Superfund sites have been restored into 80 acres of wildlife habitat that can only increase the presence of wildlife in the nature park.

Osprey platforms have been erected on the edge of the marsh with hopes that an osprey pair or two will move in late this winter when the big birds return from their southern migration.

Now the restored wetlands are crisscrossed with goose fencing to keep hungry Canada geese from feeding on the tiny marsh grasses that have been planted. Trails lead around the wetland and over the wooden footbridge.

More trails lead through the woods. A trail along the edge of the park goes past a meadow habitat that has been seeded with native wildflowers and grasses. Many orange flags tag natives, such as huckleberry and switch grass, that have been planted throughout the park.

The beautiful new parking lot has been constructed in a way that won’t harm the environment. Once a field of phragmites, the parking lot was cleared of the invasive, fast-growing marsh reeds. The lot was surfaced with pervious stone so that rainwater runs into the ground instead of into the creek.

When folks stand atop the earthworks and scan the new park, their first impression is, “Who would have thought this could exist in Portsmouth?” Rieger said.

“It really is a little piece of paradise.”

Paradise Creek Nature Park is at 1141 Victory Blvd. in Portsmouth. Open daily dawn to dusk, beginning Friday. Friday’s events include an 8 a.m. bird walk and guided tours at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. RSVP for walk and tours to jrieger@elizabethriver.org. Commemorative water bottles will be given to the first 50 park visitors. For directions and more information, visit www.paradisecreekpark.org.

Another opportunity to be in nature will take place at 9 a.m. Friday with a Winter Waterfowl Walk at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. RSVP to Visitor Services Specialist Erica Locher at erica_locher@fws.gov.

Get organized for the New Year with Back Bay Restoration Foundation’s nature calendar, with beautiful photos from Back Bay for each month, some taken by Close Encounter contributors. Calendars are $12 at the foundation office on New Bridge Road, but since the office is not always open, call ahead of time to executive director Mary Tilton at 619-6429 or send email to executive.director@bbrf.org. Tilton also will mail calendars for the cost of shipping: $1.70.

Carl Fuller in Port Norfolk in Portsmouth saw his white robin again mixed in with one of a flock of many robins that have been flying through his yard. “Robins cover the trees, the ground and fill my ears with their calls,” Fuller said. He’s also seen red-winged black birds, cowbirds, starlings and grackles coming through in big flocks.

Sharon Sherrill reports a “LARGE red-tailed hawk has been soaring about Windsor Woods lately. We saw it this morning right over our house.”

Bob Harvey saw a flock of 500 or so migrating tree swallows that “swooped and swarmed” around a parking lot on Concert Drive.

Mack Simons sent photos of a Coopers hawk that was in his dogwood tree on Pinewood road recently.

Lorraine Jordana, who lives near Kingston School, looked out of her kitchen window and for the second time saw a fox just standing around in her yard.

Claudia Lee sent a photo of a bald eagle in a pine tree at the corner of Lake Cohoon and Indian Trail in Suffolk. The eagle had been dining on a dead deer, she said.

Pam Monahan photographed a common loon in flight over Sherwood Lakes, not an easy task! Steve Coari captured a photo of a handsome male long-tailed duck off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel islands. See both photos in Thursday Beacon’s Close Encounters.

Robert Brown, who is tracking wintering osprey, thinks he can speak with some certainty that the Lynnhaven River and its creeks are home to a small population of wintering osprey. He has seen several and has been getting reports of osprey from both Steve Coari from Pleasure House Point and Woody Stephens from Thalia.

 

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I say, breakdown, this is largely what I’d associate with a grown man honking, “look I’ve made a jam sandwich as big as a bed!” while his team of friends and supporters feign happiness for him, wearing the eyes of al-Qa’ida hostages. “And look, here’s the world’s biggest Kit Kat,” trills Heston. “I’ve been worrying all night that it may crack!” By this point, I’d have taken Heston to a quiet area, placed my hands on his shoulders and said: “Heston, lovey, this big-food thing has to stop now. Can you do this for me, sweetheart? It’s weird and no-one is enjoying it. Shall we go back to a proper kitchen and make a nice beef Bourguignon? And eat it off plates, not out of a watering can emitting dry ice?”

As Heston’s series winds up, teaching nobody anything, pushing the TV agenda nowhere, achieving nothing aside from filling airtime and wasting large amounts of food and money, we now move onto Jamie and Jimmy’s Food Fight Club, which I looked forward to, anticipating it to be a cookery show, which it is not. It’s one of those lads’ adventure shows made where two ol’ muckers (always male) go on a journey – roughly related to food – and have a chance to banter. TV production law is that any famous blokes you put together will have great “banter”. Not famous women, that would just be annoying. In reality Jamie and his friend Jimmy Doherty – who have known each other for years and are both successful businessmen – have nothing to say to each other, or, more likely, anything they actually banter about is either too libellous, adult-themed or too in-jokey to televise, so what we get are heavily staged clips of the boys singing to “I Owe You Nothing” by Bros, or stage-acting being terribly het up about the sage in a Cumberland sausage.

“We need to find out who has the best sausages, the British or the Germans,” I’m told by the voice-over, 10 or more times. In the preview copy I watch the voice-over is laid down by a female TV producer, not by Jamie, who has yet to pop into a sound-booth in Soho, London and add his trademark zing.

I love watching the unsigned-off preview copies when you can hear the sad futility of the whole project ringing in the rough voice-over.

But who makes the best sausage? Germany or Great Britain?’ Well, anyone educated to a GCSE standard E or above would answer this with: “Well, I suppose it depends what you like. They’re totally different things.” While an A-level-educated person might say: “Well why do we have to choose? We can have both.”

Meanwhile the demographic this show caters for would answer: “Ooh it’sh a snossidge competition! I love me some snossidges! I hope Jamie Oliver beats the Germans and meks us PROUD.” The thing is, I love Jamie Oliver. And I quite like his friend Jimmy even if he is the Jonathan Wilkes to Jamie’s Robbie Williams. If anyone slags off Jamie Oliver in my vicinity I find saying, “that’s so 1998,” and airily waving a hand at them quells the matter. Jamie Oliver is a great TV chef with, so it seems, a heart of gold. His 15-Minute Meals currently replaying on More 4 are a thing of great culinary joy. They teach people to feed themselves and feed their families and make the most of British produce and stretch family budgets and have a jollier life, and do this in a way a rich white man in lab specs making a giant custard cream in a bid to advertise his very very exclusive restaurant does not. It rankles me that big talents in cooking like Jamie and Heston are frittered. I mean wasted, not dipped in a light batter and deep fried, although that could be for Heston’s next series.

I’m finding so much Yuletide glee right now over on Good Food Channel replaying a back-to-back feast of the Christmas specials by Nigella, Nigel, Delia, Jamie and of course Fanny Cradock. I have seen Fanny Cradock cook a vile Christmas mincemeat omelette three times, her wearing drawn-on eyebrows and a ruched pant-suit. It’s fast becoming as much part of Christmas TV for me as The Good Life special where Margo cancels Christmas and is forced to wear a party-hat made of newspaper or The Vicar of Dibley having seven dinners.

Over on the Good Food Channel Nigella has been visiting authentic German Christmas markets for weeks, while Jamie has been making sprouts edible by coating them in cream, Parmesan and garlic, thus killing all sprout taste. Nigel is pretending he loves guests for Christmas. Delia is in her enormous house icing a Christmas cake she began tinkering with last June. Real cookery shows, with actual aims, recipes, tips and no sense of forced daftness. Actual delicious turkey, not total TV turkey. God bless us, every one.

Grace’s Marmalade dropper

The BBC’s Eastenders at Christmas trailers. The montage alone leaves me in need of a Valium and a good cry. Cheery.

Letter to UMBC from Coach Chad Cradock and the UMBC SD team

12/11/2012

Dear UMBC Administration, Athletic Administration, All members of the Facilities Management, Safety and Health and the UMBC Community,

The UMBC Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving cannot thank you enough for completing the indoor pool renovation. Not only does it look amazing, but it has brought infinite amounts of inspiration to our team. This beautiful new pool deck is just the thing our team needed to get back on our feet and head in the right direction. After both our men’s and women’s team finished second place at the America East Conference Championship meet for the first time in 8 years, we were lost and hurt. We needed some new energy and inspiration to revamp this swimming and diving program and to start doing what we are all used to doing winning!

This pool is our new start. Due to this renovation, every day we all feel a sense of pride, motivation and spirit that will help us regain our spot on top of the podium. Every time one of us walks onto our new pool deck we see a teammate instantly brighten with a smile. That bright smile brings a positive attitude to our practice and is helping us get back on the track we need to not only be as successful as we used to be, but helps to take our team to new heights. These smiles are a direct result of your hard work.

During the summer this renovation did not seem possible. After our pump room flooded and broke for the second time. We found ourselves watching the employees of UMBC come together to help us. One early Saturday morning this summer many members of Facilities Management and Safety and Health came to our rescue and made us a priority. You worked relentlessly for weeks to get our pool up and running so that we could continue to operate. We thank all of you for that.

As soon as we were up and running from the flood we started the huge renovation of our facility. We once again saw the care you have put into our program. Thank you to the Administration of this great University who allowed us to move our program in a new direction; thank you to our own Athletic Administration for supporting us an all the work that went into on your end; thank you to the Project Managers; and lastly thank you to all those who care! It means a lot to us.

All of you clearly showed us all how much you really care about our team and we are extremely grateful for this generous gift you have given us. Our team has every intention of utilizing this new opportunity and plans to put UMBC Swimming and Diving back on top (with recruiting and our team). Once again our team gives you our deepest thanks for all the people who are behind the scenes.

Thank You,
UMBC Swimming and Diving team
GO RETRIEVERS!

Printer-Friendly | Modified Tue Dec 11 01:30:27 2012 – © The Retriever Weekly.

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The majority of properties in the Upper Mid-North Region are relatively rabbit free following a successful program using biological control and rabbit warren destruction, says Kevin Teague of Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

This is the first time the district has seen such low rabbit numbers since they were introduced more than 100 years ago.

The Cradock Landcare Group near Hawker and the Upper North NRM Group were successful in attracting Federal Government ‘Caring for Country’ Funding in excess of $750,000 over 6 years to assist landowners in rabbit warren destruction.

“Calicivirus, or Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD), remains active in controlling rabbits in the Upper Mid-North, but landholders have reported the effects of the virus are seasonal and do not fully control rabbits,” he said.

The program carried out by the Upper North NRM Group and Cradock Landcare Group in partnership with local landowners involved destroying vacated warrens to prevent repopulation when rabbit numbers were at their lowest after the seasonal effects of RHD.

Bulldozers were contracted to rip through soil across empty rabbit warrens to collapse the earth tunnels, preventing new rabbits using the burrows for breeding.

Approximately 40 000 rabbit warrens have been destroyed across more than eighty properties since 2008 said Mr Teague.

Rabbits are a major food source for foxes and therefore a parallel program of fox control was also carried out to protect ground dwelling native animals from subsequent fox predation.

Mr Teague said that there has been a significant increase in native vegetation and biodiversity in the region since the program was implemented.

Rob McCarthy, owner of Yalpara Station near Orroroo, has seen major improvements in his land since he began warren ripping.

“We’ve been doing it solidly for the last four years,” he said.

“Where there were previously rabbit warrens, where there has never been feed for stock before, we are now suddenly seeing feed.”

One major benefit of the program is that Mr McCarthy no longer destocks the property in bad years.

“Spear grasses, salt bush, native feed are all coming back, and lately we have seen an increase in smaller native animals breeding up.

“It’s been very viable, it make the property more viable. We can carry more stock now without doing damage to the land,” he said.

Dunstan High School held its junior prizegiving recently. The
prize list is. –

 

Special awards

Outstanding contribution school life, Sam McCulloch; Mabel
McKnight award, year 9 girl, Maegan Thompson; board of
trustees awards, year 10 girl, Nikki Wheeler; year 9 boy, Ari
Casbolt. year 10 boy, Canaan Napier.

 

Academic awards

Year 9

Merit: Robert Afan, Robert Allen, Kate Bachop, Amy
Bonsor, Emily Boud, Hamish Brenssell, James Brooks, Ari
Casbolt, Sydney Cook, Ross Coubrough, Brayden Couper, Dylan
Crawford, Grace Crawford, Bella Cubitt, Rusty Davidson, Matt
Dodds, Julia Driehuis, Harry Ellis, Sharon Ferreira, Lucy
Geddes, Jaxon Gent, Sam Gillies, Emma Gillions, Etta Grant,
Jack Grant, Harlem Hall, Sophie Hall, Hannah Hoskin, India
Hoskins, Ben Hurley, Michael Hutton, Harry Johnston, Simone
Keane, Mia Kelly, Riva Kerrisk, Antonia Kohler, Hajdyn
Krsinic, Tain Laing, Jacinda Mackie, Jack Marsh, Tayla
Martin, Adriana Mawhinney, Hamish McHugh-Smith, Shannon
McKissock, Josh McMurray, Libby Melhopt, Liam Milford, Scott
Millar, Jayden Miller, Tansy Mogensen, Giordyn Moss, Ally
Nicholls, Caleb Nicholson, Keegan O’Donnell, India
O’Donnell-Fluit, Nikita Parker, Kit Pascoe, Jack Paulin,
Campbell Pearson, Charlotte Portegys, Kensa Randle, Otis
Rayner, Talia Reid, Emily Rietveld, Jacob Rogers, Brooke
Ross, Emilie Schorer, Ravineel Sharma, Janie Shaw, Jasmine
Smith, Harrison Sprosen, Caitlin Staples, Harriet Stiles,
Alex Stuart, Jackson Stuart, Maegan Thompson, Jarred Tohill,
Keryn Tubbs, Caitlin Turfus, Macaela Turfus, Mareesha Unahi,
Alex Wagstaff, Blake Wagstaff, Cheyenne Waldron, Celine
Welch, Layce Welch, Jesse Wight, Eva Williams, Clark Wilson,
Kylie Wilson, Taura Wilson.

Placings: Robert Afan (1st equal physed health,
1st French 2); Kate Bachop (2nd music 3, 2nd French 2); Amy
Bonsor (1st equal maths gi, 1st technology, 1st equal music
2, 2nd art 1, 2nd English, 3rd equal science); Hamish
Brenssell (2nd science, 3rd social studies, 3rd Maori 1); Ari
Casbolt (1st equal physed health, 3rd science); Sydney
Cook (1st equal physed health, 2nd equal science, 3rd
equal music 1); Ross Coubrough (3rd art 1); Grace Crawford
(1st drama 2, 3rd equal physed health); Bella Cubitt
(1st social studies, 2nd Maori 1); Matt Dodds (3rd equal
Maori 2); Sam Gillies (1st Maori 2); Etta Grant (1st equal
technology, 1st drama 3, 3rd social studies); Harlem Hall
(2nd equal technology); Sophie Hall (3rd English, 3rd equal
science); Hannah Hoskin (3rd equal English, 3rd art 2); India
Hoskins (3rd equal French 3); Michael Hutton (1st equal
English, 1st equal music 1, 2nd social studies, 3rd equal
science); Harry Johnston (1st equal physed health, 2nd
equal art 3); Simone Keane (1st physed health, 3rd
French 1); Mia Kelly (1st social studies, 3rd English); Riva
Kerrisk (1st equal technology); Antonia Kohler (1st maths mo,
3rd equal English); Hajdyn Krsinic (3rd physed health);
Adriana Mawhinney (1st science, 1st equal physed
health, 1st maths hg, 1st art 1, 1st maths 1, 3rd equal
English, 3rd music 3, 3rd French 2); Hamish McHugh-Smith (1st
equal social studies); Shannon McKissock (3rd physed
health); Libby Melhopt (1st equal English, 1st equal science,
1st equal music 1, 2nd equal art 3); Giordyn Moss (3rd maths
jm); Ally Nicholls (1st technology, 1st equal drama 1, 1st
French 3, 3rd social studies); Caleb Nicholson (2nd Maori 2);
Kit Pascoe (2nd English, 2nd technology); Jack Paulin (1st
French 1, 2nd equal drama 2); Campbell Pearson (3rd drama 1);
Charlotte Portegys (3rd equal English); Kensa Randle (1st
Maori 1, 2nd maths 1, 2nd maths hg, 3rd equal science); Otis
Rayner (2nd equal drama 2); Talia Reid (1st equal drama 1,
3rd equal social studies, 3rd equal Maori 2); Emilie Schorer
(2nd equal drama 3); Janie Shaw (1st equal English, 1st
social studies, 1st art 3, 1st equal music 2, 2nd French 1,
2nd maths jm, 2nd technology, 3rd equal science); Harrison
Sprosen (1st equal maths gi, 1st equal English, 1st equal
science); Harriet Stiles (1st maths jm, 2nd science); Alex
Stuart (1st equal social studies); Jackson Stuart (1st
technology, 1st equal art 2, 2nd equal science, 3rd equal
social studies, 3rd maths mo); Maegan Thompson (2nd drama 3);
Keryn Tubbs (1st English, 1st science, 1st music 3, 2nd
social studies, 2nd physed health, 2nd equal
technology); Caitlin Turfus (3rd equal French 3); Macaela
Turfus (2nd French 3, 3rd technology, 3rd equal physed
health, 3rd equal music 2); Alex Wagstaff (1st English, 1st
science, 2nd equal art 3, 3rd maths 1, 3rd maths hg, 3rd
equal music 1); Blake Wagstaff (1st equal art 2, 2nd maths mo
, 3rd equal English); Eva Williams (2nd social studies, 3rd
maths gi, 3rd technology).

 

Year 10

Merit: Jamie Abernethy, Kate Aburn, Socorra Adcock,
Bradley Allan, Rachel Anderson, Kane Andrew, Yu-ki Baker,
Mikade Barns-Graham, Joshua Baxter, Remi Berg, Joey Blaikie,
Eirlys Bond, Ashley Charles, Crystal Chua, Nathan Cradock,
Phoebe Cubitt, Devyn Dick, Emma Dick, Jaiden Direen, Reanna
Evans, Ella Galletly, Tayla Galletly, Bria-lee Gladstone,
Lachie Gordon, Maddie Grant, Todd Hamill, Sam Harris, Harry
Hart, Ellie Harris, Olivia Healey, Matthew Hesson, Lewis
Holvey, Connor Hopkins, Samantha Hughes, Ben Hume, Polly
Jantapanya, Thomas Jarvis, Josey Jefferson, Hannah Kelly,
Hermione Kemp, Jordon Kempthorne, Jack Kinney, Bianca
Lauster, Madeline Loudon, Hamish MacKay, Caitlin MacKenzie,
Adele Maheno, Emma Maheno, Jono Martin, Connor McCone, Sam
McCulloch, Brandon McDonald, Jack McKenzie, Georgia McLean,
Cameron McLennan, Liam Miller, Jonny Moloney, Jimmy Morris,
Ceridwen Naylor, Canaan Napier, Jeremy Norbury, Josh
O’Donnell-Fluit, Akiko Ogawa, Pin Patcharaintho, Alex
Peacock, Tom Richmond, Matt Robb, Deanna Roos, Caleigh
Rutland, Dominic Saladino, Henri Schneider, Carrie Shirley,
Jordan Smith, Phoebe Smith, Lenny Stiles, Kelsey Thompson,
Shilo Tilyard Te Kaahui, Joshua Tutty, Tahlia Tynan, Alex
Vilela, Nikki Wheeler, Jimmy Whyte, Chacaan Williams-Mihaka,
Abigail Withington.

Placings: Jamie Abernethy (1st science, 2nd equal art
1, 3rd equal music 2); Bradley Allan (3rd design technology
1); Rachel Anderson (1st art 1, 3rd maths br, 3rd science);
Kane Andrew (3rd equal social studies, 3rd French); Mikade
Barns-Graham (1st health physed, 1st social studies,
2nd English, 2nd equal science, 2nd equal ICT 1, 2nd art 3,
3rd drama 1); Joey Blaikie (3rd food nutrition 3);
Eirlys Bond (1st English, 1st equal maths jm, 1st health
physed, 1st equal science, 1st social studies, 1st
Maori, 1st equal graphics 1, 1st art 3); Jack Bruce (2nd
maths mo); Phoebe Cubitt (1st equal music 2, 2nd equal ICT );
Devyn Dick (1st food nutrition 3); Emma Dick (2nd
social studies, 3rd English, 3rd graphics 1, 3rd equal drama
2, 3rd equal ICT 2); Jaiden Direen (1st ICT 1, 3rd equal
maths mo); Tayla Galletly (2nd social studies, 3rd equal art
2, 3rd equal ICT 2); Bria-lee Gladstone (2nd food
nutrition 3, Maddie Grant (1st English, 1st food
nutrition 1, 1st drama 2, 3rd equal music 2, 3rd equal social
studies); Todd Hamill (1st equal graphics 1, 2nd health
physed); Ellie Harris (3rd equal drama 3); Sam Harris (1st
music 1, 2nd drama 3); Olivia Healey (3rd equal drama 2);
Tomas Hessell-Palmer (2nd maths 2); Matthew Hesson (1st
social studies, 1st equal music 2, 2nd equal maths gi, 2nd
English, 2nd equal health physed, 2nd equal science,
2nd drama 1); Elizabeth Hocking (1st English); Lewis Holvey
(3rd equal health physed); Connor Hopkins (2nd social
studies); Samantha Hughes (1st equal art 2, 2nd maths br, 2nd
equal graphics 2, 3rd social studies); Josey Jefferson (1st
English, 1st maths, 2nd equal science); Hannah Kelly (1st
maths br, 1st science, 1st social studies, 1st equal art 2,
2nd French, 3rd equal English, 3rd health physed, 3rd
equal drama 3); Hermione Kemp (2nd drama 2, 3rd social
studies); Jordon Kempthorne (2nd equal science); Jack Kinney
(3rd design technology 2); Bianca Lauster (1st ict 2); Hamish
MacKay (2nd equal health physed, 3rd equal maths mo);
Adele Maheno (2nd English, 2nd equal Maori, 3rd science);
Emma Maheno (2nd equal Maori, 3rd equal art 3); Jono Martin
(2nd design technology 1); Sam McCulloch (2nd health
physed, 2nd equal music 1, 2nd design technology 2, 3rd
English); Georgia McLean (2nd equal graphics 2); Jeremy
Norbury (2nd equal health physed); Alex Peacock (2nd
equal maths gi); Matt Robb (2nd equal science); Caleigh
Rutland (2nd equal music 1); Dominic Saladino (3rd equal
health physed); Monty Shearer (2nd equal art 1, 2nd
food nutrition 1); Carrie Shirley (3rd equal art 3);
Jordan Smith (1st maths mo, 1st design technology 2); Phoebe
Smith (1st health physed, 1st drama 1, 1st graphics 2,
3rd English, 3rd equal art 2); Kelsey Thompson (1st equal
science, 2nd equal health physed, 3rd maths); Shilo
Tilyard Te Kaahui (2nd equal health physed); Alex
Vilela (1st science); Nikki Wheeler (1st equal maths jm, 1st
health physed, 1st French, 1st drama 3, 2nd science,
2nd equal social studies, 3rd equal English, 3rd food
nutrition ); Chacaan Williams-Mihaka (1st maths 2); Abigail
Withington (2nd English, 2nd equal social studies, 2nd ict
2); TJ Woodrow (1st design technology 1).

 

Arts awards

Blues awards: Dunstanza, Ella Galletly, Ellie Harris, Hannah
Kelly, Hermione Kemp, Deanna Roos, Caleigh Rutland, Phoebe
Smith; kapa haka, Grace Butler, Cheyenne Cribb. Trophies:
Excellence year 10 drama, Nikki Wheeler; most promising year
9 drama, Etta Grant.

 

Sports awards

Blues awards: Adventure racing, Sam McCulloch; athletics,
Eirlys Bond, Hermione Kemp, Cole Wilson; canoe slalom, Sam
McCulloch, Jeremy Norbury, Kate Pascoe; ice hockey, Kane
Andrew, Connor Hopkins; multisport, Sam McCulloch; skiing,
Kate Pascoe; softball, Tyler Cameron, Isaac Kahukura, Cole
Wilson.

 

Barbara Mutch is the author of the recently-released novel The Housemaid’s Daughter. Born and raised in South Africa, she currently lives near London. She will be guest editing The Afterword all this week.

Ada, the main character in The Housemaid’s Daughter, was alive before I was born. My challenge, therefore, was to re-create the world of 1940s Cradock, South Africa, that she would have seen.

So there I was, standing on the corner of modern-day Market Square, trying to peel back 70-odd year’s worth of history. At first, there seemed to be no connection between the vast Square pictured in the historic photo in my hand, and the congested space in front of me. Only when I began to work from the outside in — from the perimeter — did I start to make progress.

On my left sat the restored Victoria Manor hotel, ever gracious, but obscured by traffic. On the right, the Dutch Reformed Church rose above the melee to dominate the scene as it has done for close on 150 years. The centre of the Square, however, required drastic surgery. The supermarket, with its fenced car park, had to go. Then the remnants of an indigenous aloe garden had to be revived, although I actually spotted one of the original cypress-like trees surviving in a corner.  Walking past the supermarket and peering through the fence, I noticed the war memorial, once centre stage, but now obscured by weedy vegetation.

I went back to my corner vantage point. There was only one way to do this. I lifted up the largest photo, positioned it in front of my face so that the sepia-tinted Victoria Manor lined up with its modern counterpart on the left edge of the picture, and the Churched loomed up over the right edge. On the far side of the Church, invisible from where I stood, would have been Cuthberts Shoe Store, with my grandfather at his post. Suddenly the Square opened up before me, sounding to the clip-clop of horses and carts, and bright with aloes from the garden to my right. Ahead, soldiers were marching across the gravel parade ground to the centre of the Square, dust eddying around their boots. And maybe, just maybe, a young girl called Ada was hurrying by…

Editor:
Mark Medley

Deputy Editor:
David Berry

Feedback: theafterword@nationalpost.com

Twitter: Follow us on Twitter (NPBooks)

Editor:
Mark Medley

Deputy Editor:
David Berry

Feedback: theafterword@nationalpost.com

Twitter: Follow us on Twitter (NPBooks)

The Jakaranda Children’s Home, a South African orphanage, says it’s losing funding from large companies because 70 percent of its children are white, news24.com reports.

“To us a child is a child. We don’t discriminate,” Elzane van der Merwe a spokesperson for the orphanage told Beeld. “Here we have 250 children between 18 months and 18 years that need care, regardless of race or gender.”

The orphanage houses abused children who are placed in the organization’s care by court order, according to its website. The home needs 25,620,000 South African Rand ($2,954,293) a year to run.

The Jakaranda Children’s Home was told that it will lose funding because its practices don’t adhere to South Africa’s policy of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), van der Merwe told news24.com.

The policy, which was implemented in 2007, is designed to accelerate economic growth by educating and training black citizens — a large sector of the population that suffered during the apartheid.

A 2001 census showed that 79 percent of the South African population is black, 9.6 percent white and 2.5 percent Indian-Asian. Almost 20 years after the apartheid, a recent study reveals South Africa’s black majority directly owns less than 10 percent of the Johannesburg stock market, the Globe and Mail reports.

Under the BEE policy, businesses are awarded points for contributions made to programs that empower black people, news24.com reports.

Recently, new BEE policy measures have faced scrutiny by South African nonprofits.

In October, changes were made to the BEE Codes of Good Practice. Companies would only qualify for full points for donations made to 100 percent black African beneficiaries, according to The Star.

“This amendment will have a huge effect. It means if the charity benefits any Indian, white, coloured or even a Mozambican or Zimbabwean child, companies will not be able to claim points on their BEE score card,” Bridget Brun, a BEE agency head told the Star.

According to Dr. Rob Davies, South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister, the amendment was needed to transform the demographics in the workplace to better reflect those of society, he said in a statement.

For nonprofit leaders, the news challenged their organizations’ very existence.

“We don’t know the race of the child who phones us,” Joan van Niekerk, head of the childhood abuse charity Childline told the Star. “It’s inappropriate to ask ‘are you black, and how black are you?’ This is a different kind of apartheid. It’s extremely distressing.”

But on Nov. 29, after citing media and public misinterpretation of the policy’s intentions, South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry withdrew the controversial section, according to a department statement.

Related on HuffPost:

Loading Slideshow

• Part of the crowd near the Drill Hall on the opening day of the Treason Trial, December 19, 1956.

  Times Media Collection, Museum Africa, Johannesburg.

• South Africa goes on trial. Police and crowd outside court. The whole world was watching when the three major sabotage trials started in Pretoria, Cape Town and Maritzburg. Outside the palace of Justice during the Rivonia Trial, 1963.

  © Baileys Archives.

• The 29 ANC Women’s League women are being arrested by the police for demonstrating against the permit laws, which prohibited them from entering townships without a permit, and were later kept in Boksburg Prison for 14 days. 26th August 1952.

  Courtesy of the artist.

• South Africa goes on trial. Police outside the court. The whole world was watching when the three major sabotage trials started in Pretoria, Cape Town and Maritzburg. Outside the palace of Justice during the Rivonia Trial, 1963.

  © Baileys Archives.

• SACP banner displayed at the funeral of the Cradock 4 (Matthew Goniwe, Ford Calata, Sparrow Mkonto, Sicelo Mhlauli) at Lingelihle Township,Cradock, Eastern Cape., July 20, 1985.

• Harriet Gavshon in Jan Smuts Ave., Johannesburg. Part of a Black Sash protest stand in which protesters had to stand alone, or be arrested as an illegal gathering, July 19, 1985.

• Sisulu released. South Africa, Soweto, 1989.

  Courtesy of the artist.

• Right Wing. South Africa, Pretoria, 1990.

  Courtesy of the artist.

• Mandela released. South Africa, Cape, Paarl, 1990.

  Courtesy of the artist.

• Right Wing. South Africa, Pretoria, 1991.

  Courtesy of the artist.

• The 94 election. South Africa, Soweto, 1994.

  Courtesy of the artist.

By
Craig Brown

PUBLISHED:

17:00 EST, 8 December 2012

|

UPDATED:

17:34 EST, 8 December 2012

THE ODD COUPLE by RICHARD BRADFORD

Robson £20 ? £16.99 inc pp

Rating:

Imagine that we had all trooped into Skyfall to find it a mish-mash of all the old James Bond movies, with a couple of freshly shot scenes, and the producers had just trusted we wouldn’t spot it.

This was how I felt when reading The Odd Couple by Richard Bradford. It is a triumph of ‘cut and paste’ – indeed, such a triumph that by now Bradford must be able to press the Command button and C for Copy simultaneously in his sleep.

Back in 2001, Richard Bradford, Professor of English at the University of Ulster, wrote a biography of Kingsley Amis, who had died six years before. Naturally, quite a bit of it was about Amis’s lifelong friendship with Philip Larkin.

Copycat: The author of The Odd Couple has copied parts from his own biography about Sir Kingsley Amis, written 11 years ago

Four years later, Bradford wrote a biography of Philip Larkin. Naturally, quite a bit of it was about Larkin’s  lifelong friendship with Kingsley Amis.

And now, seven years after his biography of Philip Larkin and 11 years after his biography of Kingsley Amis, Bradford has come up with a new book, The Odd Couple, about the lifelong friendship of – yes, you’ve guessed it  – Philip Larkin and Kingsley Amis.

Well, I say new, and it is being marketed as new, and it has certainly been reviewed as new by all the leading critics and pretty enthusiastically, too. It looks new, and it smells new. It has a new cover and even a new publisher.

But Bradford has taken us all – and presumably his new publishers, too  – for a ride. And he might have got  away with it, but for the diligence of Inspector Brown.

Come rain or shine, I have been plodding the literary beat for 35 years, but never before have I come across quite such a shameless exercise in marketing old rope.

Professor Bradford is no slouch. He gets going on his copying and pasting before the book has even begun.

Old story: Richard Bradford has also written a biography on poet Philip Larkin, photographed in 1979

On
the second page of his Introduction And Acknowledgements, he quotes
three lines from a poem of Larkin’s and adds, ‘Thereafter, the poem
becomes the occasion for reflections on how such gatherings prompt him
to perceive life as largely a catalogue of equally pointless routines,
variously customised to reinforce the assumption that something might
matter.’ Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I would  ask you to turn
to page 18 of the same author’s 2005 biography of Philip Larkin. You
will find he quotes the  same three lines, followed by exactly the same
sentence of commentary: ‘Thereafter, the poem becomes the occasion for
.?.?.’ etc etc.

And that’s just for starters. Once the introduction is over, there’s no stopping him. The lengthy second paragraph of Chapter 1 is lifted word for word from page 21 of Professor Bradford’s biography of Kingsley Amis. The following paragraph, too, is exactly the same, although for some reason he has gone to the trouble of changing ‘Amis’s mother’s sister, Dora, went mad, officially’ to ‘Amis’s aunt, Dora, his mother’s sister, went mad, officially’.

The next paragraph is copied, word for word, and so is the next, and the next, and the next, and the next, and the next. To cut a long story short, apart from the first paragraph, which seems to be new, the next four-and-a-half pages are all copied directly from the Amis biography.

In the next paragraph, he switches to Larkin, so he is obliged to go to the effort of copying from his other biography. ‘Larkin usually recalled his childhood with a mixture of feigned forgetfulness??.?.?.’ it begins, as does the third paragraph of Chapter 1 of the Larkin book.

The subsequent eight pages are all
cribbed – lock, stock and barrel – from it, too. There then follows a
bit of gooey literary grouting (‘Already one becomes aware of parallels
between Larkin’s and Amis’s childhood experiences.?.?.’) presumably to
link the two sources of the copying and make them look brand-new.  

Two
paragraphs later, it’s back to copying from the Amis book: the next
three pages are all lifted straight from it. This is followed by a brief
linking sentence (‘Like Amis, at school Larkin found the opportunity to
explore and account for aspects of his own personality that were
stifled by life at home’) before normal business is resumed: apart from
one other brief compare-and-contrast linker, the following nine pages,
right up to the end of the first chapter, are all pilfered, paragraph
for paragraph, sentence for sentence, word for word, comma for comma,
from the Larkin book.

And so it goes on, all the way to the
end: copy, copy, copy, paste, paste, paste. There are even some passages
– their initial meeting at Oxford, for instance – that have been
reproduced in all three books: the Larkin biography, the Amis biography
and now this ‘new’ biography of their friendship.

Is
self-plagiarism an offence in academia? I suppose it is better than
plagiarising others, but I wonder what the professor would say if his
students were to produce essays which, on closer inspection, turned out
to be copied from essays they’d given in earlier?

I
suppose Professor Bradford might argue, albeit a trifle sheepishly,
that an awful lot of people simply won’t notice, either because they
haven’t read his earlier books or because they’ve forgotten what was in
them. Certainly, none of my fellow critics seems to have sniffed the
distinctive, musty smell of second-hand goods: in fact, they have all,
to a man, treated the book as brand-new.

Copied copy: The Odd Couple by Richard Bradford

It
might be the case that, in the years since their deaths, we have been
bombarded with so much stuff about Amis and Larkin – authorised
biographies, vast volumes of letters, memoirs with titles like The
Larkin I Knew, critical essays, and so on and so forth – that we now
find it impossible to recall what we know, what we used to know, what we
don’t know and what we might just be able to remember we once knew, if
we really try.

There were a
number of details in The Odd Couple that I found amusing or interesting,
only to find, on closer investigation, that I must have read them
before, on their earlier outings.

For instance, I was amused by the way Bradford wrote on page 274 about Amis’s stint as an academic in Nashville: ‘There is a joke about a man being shown the various rooms available in Hell. The best seems to involve a group of condemned souls chatting agreeably and drinking  cocktails, albeit while standing knee deep in something resembling faeces. The man chooses this one, only to be told that the weekly break is now over:  “Back on your heads.”?’

Very funny indeed, but then a little bell rang in the back of my head and before long I had found the very same joke, told in exactly the same words, on page 238 of his Amis biography.

There are, I should add, one or two things new to The Odd Couple, among them Larkin’s letters to his girlfriend Monica Jones, many of them grudging or resentful towards Amis.

These were, however, published in their own volume a couple of years ago, so any Larkin fan should already be familiar with them.

But there is one cheery little detail that, as far as I know, Bradford hasn’t told before: apparently, the Amis family once had a lodger called Nicky de Peche Cradock, who went to bed with both Kingsley and his oldest son, Philip, who was then aged 14.

It turns out that Nicky de Peche Cradock was the daughter-in-law of the flamboyant TV chef Fanny Cradock. This is just the sort of detail I like. But is it worth £20? Nearly, but not quite.

• 
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Hong Kong (HKSAR) – Following is the speech delivered by the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, at the luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong today (December 6):

Douglas (FCC President, Mr Douglas Wong), members of the FCC Board, FCC members, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. Thank you very much for the opportunity to join you today.

Some people have told me that when I get up to speak I can seem rather serious and that maybe I should tell a joke to break the ice.

I like a good joke as much as the next man, and I know that jokes are part and parcel of the bar-side banter in this great club. I’m not that good at telling jokes.

So I won’t tempt fate and depart from my usual practice – so sorry, no jokes today. A relief for everyone! But perhaps down at the bar one day.

Some others have remarked that I’m a hard man to read – that people don’treally understand what makes me tick, or where I’m coming from.

If that is true, then that is something I do need to talk about. I think it’s important to understand not just what I stand for, but also why I stand for it.

One thing I want to say at the outset is that I do believe – I strongly believe – in the importance of free speech and a free and open media in Hong Kong.

These are core values of Hong Kong and a competitive advantage. I pledge to uphold these core values along with others so important to Hong Kong people such as human rights, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, equality and justice.

We are fortunate to have such a vibrant media scene in Hong Kong. Not just because it keeps people informed and engaged about the many issues that are important to us, but it also keeps us connected to the Mainland and the rest of the world.

We are also fortunate to have such a concentration of international media organisations that play the role of reporter, interpreter, and commentator of events here and throughout the region.

We welcome your presence and hope that you will continue to see Hong Kong as a vital element in your global news operation.

We see your presence, also, as a vital element of Hong Kong’s advantages as the “Chief Information Officer”, the “Chief Knowledge Officer” for those interested in China. From financial services to real estate or social development, Hong Kong is the place to come to for information, knowledge and networks.

Believe it or not, I have been an avid newspaper reader since the age of three. Of course, I couldn’t actually understand everything I read in those days but when my dad finished work he would come home, pop me on his knees, and read the columns from the Kung Sheung Daily, one of the three largest Chinese newspapers in those days, with me character by character.

So that was my first encounter with newspapers in Hong Kong.

That must have left a deep impression on me because when I did learn to read I couldn’t wait to pick up a newspaper to get all the latest stories about events unfolding here, in China and abroad, and that would include many of the military conflicts happening in the region.

I think this early habit of reading the papers was one of the reasons why I became deeply interested in what happens in Hong Kong. It gave me a good start in understanding the way in which Hong Kong works, the challenges we face as a community and the way in which we may be able to address important issues such as poverty alleviation, care for the elderly and housing.

Newspapers left a slightly different – but no less important – impression on me when I was a student in Bristol in the UK from 1974 to 1977. Three nights a week, to make ends meet, I worked in the local Chinese takeaway selling fish and chips and chop suey.

Wrapping up a steaming serve of cod and chips, sometimes plaice and chips, in an old copy of The Times or Daily Mail really made me understand the meaning of the adage – today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chips wrapper.

For people like myself in public life – and for people like you who write about those in public life – there is a good life lesson in that old saying.

Working in the fish and chip shop you see that most people clearly aren’t interested in the wrapping, only what’s inside.

So I hope that I will be able to peel back some of the wrapping that people associate with the “serious” C Y so people can understand more about what’s inside and what makes me tick.

As Douglas mentioned, I used to be a member of this fine club.

I joined not long after I returned home from my studies in the UK, back in the late 1970s. In those days it was in Sutherland House, which was demolished to make way for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which was demolished to make way for another incarnation. That in itself tells you something about Hong Kong – it is a city that is always changing, and always trying to make the best use of land.

My impression then – and it hasn’t changed – was that the FCC was full of “very interesting” people, including a number of war correspondents covering Indochina in those days.

And I use that term in the most endearing way.

There were, of course, journalists – foreign correspondents, local reporters, photographers – as well as lawyers, PR professionals, and an assortment of business people, academics, civil servants and a good smattering of “Old China Hands”.

It’s great for our city that the FCC has called Hong Kong home for more than 60 years – 30 of which have been here in these grand old premises in Ice House Street.

But it’s also interesting to note that the club started off in Chongqing back in 1943 – at that time, the provisional capital of China and the base of various allied operations during World War II. The club had homes in Nanjing and Shanghai before relocating to Hong Kong in 1949.

So, the FCC and its members have always had a close link to, and interest in, China – its political, social, economic and military development.

Hong Kong has been an integral part of the China-watcher story. For many years we served as the eyes and ears of the world for the China story and the most convenient and reliable observation platform.

Some people think that with a more open and engaged China, that our role, Hong Kong’s role, in this regard has diminished – I do not agree.

I believe that our role is more important today than it ever has been – both in terms of enhancing global understanding about our country and its development, and also in helping our country to understand more about the world and its ways.

The headline title of today’s lunch is “Hong Kong – the Next Five Years”.

Well, five months into my term, I would like to narrow the focus down to the relationship between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region over the next five years.

The management of this relationship – both by the Central Authorities and here in Hong Kong – is as important as ever. At the risk of stating the obvious, it is without doubt our most important bilateral relationship and one we must treat with the utmost respect.

As Chief Executive, it is my primary responsibility to safeguard the interests of Hong Kong and Hong Kong people in our relationship with the Mainland. For example, our measures to help ensure that the supply of residential property is adequate for Hong Kong people; our plans to curtail the number of Mainland mothers giving birth in Hong Kong hospitals; or clamp down on parallel traders.

Our approach and actions have shown that when there is a shortage, Hong Kong people come first.

Thus, one of my major tasks as Chief Executive is to foster a much deeper understanding in Hong Kong of what this relationship means to the Mainland, and what it means for Hong Kong. This is central to the success of “One Country, Two Systems”, a subject which has been in the news lately for various reasons.

The Central Authorities, including the new leadership, understand our value proposition as explained and protected in the Basic Law. They, together with local government leaders on the Mainland, have high expectations of Hong Kong to contribute to the fullest extent possible to the ongoing process of opening up and reform in the Mainland.

If we can do that, we stand to benefit enormously and so can other parts of the country.

This does not mean surrendering our autonomy – it means making the most of our high degree of autonomy as defined in the Basic Law.

This is a great opportunity for Hong Kong. Our role for example in the Pan-Pearl River Delta grouping – what we call the 9+2 – meaning the eight provinces on both sides of the Pearl River plus the Guangxi Autonomous Region plus Macau SAR and then Hong Kong – is a case in point.

Just last week I attended the annual Pan-PRD meeting with leaders of the provinces, the autonomous region and Macau SAR and it was held in Hainan.

I can tell you that our neighbouring provinces and autonomous regions hold us in high regard. There is much goodwill towards Hong Kong and what we have to offer.

In my meetings, bilateral and multilateral in Hainan, I stressed Hong Kong’s highly international outlook and positioning – in terms of finance, legal services, accounting, trade, logistics, shipping, aviation and so on; in terms of the high number of international chambers of commerce, consulates and international organisations based here and that obviously includes the high number of international media organisations based here.

No other province or city in our country can play the role that we do, or draw on the breadth of experience that we have in dealing with the rest of the world, and that’s a unique attribute of Hong Kong and therefore our unique strength and advantage in the country.

This is another example of Hong Kong’s advantages as the “Chief Knowledge Officer” and “Chief Information Officer” and, in particular, what we can do to facilitate the Mainland’s “Go Global” efforts.

Here in Hong Kong you will find for example law firms from different countries practicing their national laws. If a Mainland company is thinking of investing in, say, Italy, then they can come to Hong Kong and talk to Italian lawyers, Italian consular trade officers, and the many chambers of commerce to find out more about the business and investment environment in Italy without having to fly across the continent.

It’s much more convenient for Mainland companies to do all the groundwork here in Hong Kong with our multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment.

The 12th Five-Year Plan takes us up to 2015.

By that time we expect trade in goods and services between Hong Kong and the Mainland to be fully, or very close to fully, liberalised.

The challenge that we face – the challenge for all Hong Kong to ponder – is not whether we should ask for a seat at the table of the 13th Five-Year Plan to be crafted by the new leadership. That will come in one form or another.

The challenge is whether we can deliver what is being asked of us now, and what is expected of us in the future as a part of the nation, the family and its polity.

So, over the next five years my team and I will continue to work hard to deepen our relationship with the Mainland across many sectors – I cannot think of one area of my work as the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Government that doesn’t have this element in it, and this element is the relationship between Hong Kong and the Mainland or Hong Kong and the central authorities, and this includes not just trade, finance and logistics, but in the areas of regulation, legal development, and exchanges across many sectors including arts and culture, creative industries, education, sport and at the government-to-government, or G2G, level. These are some of the key issues in the interface between the two systems within the same country which make up the principle of “One Country, Two Systems”.

In all of these areas, our sovereign has been strongly supportive of expanding access for Hong Kong goods and services – and of course, also, expanding our role as the premier international Renminbi clearing house and services centre.

They have been helping us with our external diplomacy on many fronts as well.

But there is still a huge amount of work that we need to do to explain what we bring to the table for the country as a whole and for the provinces that make up the country – and that is, our internal diplomacy.

Four years ago in his farewell speech in this very venue, the former British Consul-General Stephen Bradley spoke about the need for Hong Kong to improve its diplomacy, but specifically, our relations with the rest of the continent, in his words, that is China. He quoted in his speech a term that I had coined, namely “nei jiao” in Chinese, or internal diplomacy, as opposed to “wai jiao” or external relations.

Nei jiao, as in wai jiao, or internal diplomacy as in external relations, has political and economic content. On the economic front, there is a huge reward for fully unlocking our potential and access to the Mainland market through Pan-PRD and CEPA.

There is another similarity between our internal diplomacy with the Mainland and foreign relations between countries. In his book “Experiences of China”, Sir Percy Cradock, an outstanding diplomat and a former British ambassador to China, described as Cradock’s First Law of Diplomacy that “it is not the other side that you worry about, but your own.” In nei jiao, one often worries about the Hong Kong side, and not so much the Mainland or Central Government side. Better communications with the people of Hong Kong will be the key to articulate our position in nei jiao in the interface between the two systems within one country.

But we have to tell the people better stories about the Mainland.

Hong Kong has for many years been the largest single source of external investment in the Mainland. As such, our investors and entrepreneurs have already contributed tens of billions of dollars to help upgrade cityscapes and service levels across the country. This however is not widely known or appreciated on the Mainland.

Hong Kong has also proved to be a fertile picking ground for global best practice and experience for the Mainland in its reform programme launched in the late 1970s.

This is not widely known or appreciated on the Mainland either.

From the first private lands sales in Shanghai and Shenzhen in 1988 and 1989, to urban development, law drafting and the training of civil servants – to cite just a few examples – Hong Kong has been, and remains, a constant source of ideas, positive experience and information to the Mainland. This process still has a long way to go – and that means we still have much more room to contribute. We need to do more in our nei jiao with the Mainland, in complete compliance with the “One Country, Two Systems” principles and the Basic Law.

My team and I will work extra hard – through words and deeds – to address local issues as they arise, and to explain in more detail here in Hong Kong, in the Mainland, and also abroad what we offer as a Special Administrative Region of China, and as the most free, open, and international city in our country.

Ladies and gentlemen, it has been a hectic first five months for me and my team.

In just over a month I will deliver my first Policy Address. It will touch on some of the matters I have just mentioned, and also some of the other important issues that Hong Kong people are concerned about – housing, poverty alleviation, job creation, the environment, economic development, and so on. Whether it is domestic, nei jiao or foreign relations issues, effective communications with the Hong Kong and international communities will be key components of our efforts.

And the key partners in our communications will be the mass media. Ladies and gentlemen, let me thank you for your assistance and your partnership in this regard in anticipation.

Now, I’d be more than happy to take some questions. Thank you very much.

Source: HKSAR Government

Published on: 2012-12-06

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It was 751 days ago that Cody King, the young American who races for Kyosho and Orion, crossed the finish line to win his first IFMAR World Championship in what has become the elite class in radio control racing. And after the completion of Monday’s final practice, we are just hours away from the official begin to King’s title defense.

His biggest opponent may not be anyone on the track, but the track itself. With a track surface already deteriorating from tons of run time mixed with freak thunderstorms, and more rain in the forecast, the drivers who plan on making a run for the World Championship in Saturday’s final will have to battle the elements as well as their competitors.

Several manufacturers have brought new cars to this year’s Worlds, with prototypes from Hot Bodies, Mugen Seiki, Team Durango, and Team Losi Racing as well as significant modifications to Team Associated’s and XRAY’s buggies. It’s worth noting that defending champion Kyosho – whose drivers TQ’d (Tebo) and won (King) two years ago – was one of the few teams to roll into Argentina with no major modifications to their chassis. Their experience with the MP9 TKI3 has paid dividends early, earning European pilot Elliott Booth the top overall seed after practice based on IFMAR’s point system. However, it was the new TLR 8IGHT 3.0 of young Michigander Dakotah Phend who turned in the fastest 5-minute run during the timed practice sessions. Here are the top fifteen drivers from yesterday:

Who will win the first round of qualifying? Will it be Boots? King? Tebo? The racetrack? Stay tuned for more coverage!

Team Associated’s Ryan Cavalieri is a two-time National Champ in this class. Current European champion Darren Bloomfield and reigning World Champion Cody King. Kyosho designer Yuichi Kanai’s big and little buggies.
Team Kyosho’s Mike Cradock talks shop with teammates Elliott Boots and Cody King. Ryan Maifield led the way in practice among Team Associated drivers with his modified RC8.2. With the track already deteriorating after practice, it’ll be interesting to see what it’s like on main day.

Witness calls for red light cameras to nab dangerous drivers at crossroads.

Greg Reynolds has seen too many young, inexperienced drivers crash outside his business. He’s also seen older drivers, those who should know better, come to grief at the intersection of Great South and Penrose Rds.

They all have one thing in common as far as he’s concerned – the drivers are at fault.

New Zealand Transport Agency figures released to the Herald on Sunday show the intersection is the worst in Auckland for serious injury crashes in the three years between 2009 and 2011. Six people have been seriously hurt in three crashes.

Reynolds has witnessed more than a dozen crashes since he opened his furniture-making business at the intersection 17 years ago.

He said that although the intersection had its challenges, the problem was people running red lights, especially those turning right into Penrose Rd, and speeding.

“It’s unbelievable what people do, it’s scary. The police are picking up tickets all the time.”

He wanted higher penalties and red light cameras at the intersection.

“People are not afraid to go through a red light. But going through a red light causes deaths.”

Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said road markings had been changed and new signs and traffic islands installed but there were no plans for a red light camera.

Acting Auckland road policing manager, Sergeant Matt Rogers, said the intersection was not among the 10 in Auckland included in a two-week campaign on intersection safety last month.

Those 10 had the highest number of crashes in the past five years. But the message to drivers remained the same – take care at intersections.

“Every motorist has to be responsible for not running through red lights. You’re just taking a risk that doesn’t need to be taken.”

The figures showed the worst intersection in the country for serious injury crashes was Stuart St and York Pl in Dunedin, where seven people were badly hurt in two crashes, and Christchurch intersections proved the most deadly.

Six people died in two crashes at garden city intersections – Estuary Rd and Cradock St, and Slip Rd and Moorhouse Ave – between 2009 and 2011. The worst Auckland intersection was Church St and Onehunga Mall, where two people were killed in a crash in 2010.

Inspector Doug Parker, acting road policing manager for Canterbury, said police were targeting high risk areas and crash rates had dropped in the last year.

By Cherie Howie Email Cherie

Just a few short weeks ago, a great residential purchase opportunity entered the Medford real estate market. At a great price point in the middle of the local housing range, the next owners of this beautiful condominium can enjoy luxurious living with sweeping sunset views from their top floor penthouse balcony overlooking Craddock Cove. When it gets a little too cool for sightseeing, this two bedroom unit offers comfortable and beautiful accommodations with over 1,200 square feet of living space in immediate move-in condition.

A handsome common lobby greets residents and guests into the hi-rise, 63 unit building. Eleven floors above, this five room condominium awaits with a welcoming front-to-back living/dining room with a sliding door that leads to the private balcony with that breathtaking landscape. The fully-applianced kitchen will please any level cook with its culinary accessories that include an abundance of cabinetry and granite counter space. The large master bedrooms offers double closets and a full bath while the second spacious bedroom shares access with the second full bath.

Amenities included within this unit include newer gas heat, central air conditioning, a washer/dryer and generous closet space, but homebuyers will also be impressed with the services within Cradock Cove Condominiums with an indoor heated pool, function room, sauna and supplemental bike and storage space. These services, as well as water and sewer statements, master insurance, exterior maintenance, landscaping and snow and refuse removal are all included in a convenient monthly fee.

With the wonderful condition of this attractive condominium, its amenities and conveniences and favorable location near major routes and Medford Sq., this opportunity is more than just an interesting prospect, it is a must see.

• Location: 2500 Mystic Valley Pkwy., Unit 1106
• Price: $329,900
• Rooms: 5
• Bedrooms: 2
• Baths: 2 full
• Living Area: 1,206 sq. ft.
• Listing Agent: Charlotte Scuderi, RE/MAX Andrew Realty Services, 781-395-7676

If you are a Realtor or a home owner selling a home and want to be featured in an upcoming Home of the Week, please email Michele Taranto at m.taranto@aol.com.