SA CHEFS WORLD CHAMPIONS

A team of 10 South African chefs are the Olympic champions after winning gold at the Culinary Olympics in Germany. South Africa beat 32 national teams, by cooking a three-course meal which included beetroot and thyme-marinated springbok loin, creamed barley with juniper-braised springbok shoulder, a crayfish starter, and naartjie & chocolate malva pudding. They also won two silver and one bronze medal for presentation.

SA WOMEN WORLD TENNIS CHAMPS

The South African women's 70+ tennis team beat top-seeded USA and became the ITF Seniors and Super-Seniors World team championship in Turkey. The championships involved 324 teams from 34 countries. Just goes to show... you're never too old to become a world champ!

EMIGRATION WAVE

According to furniture removal companies, South Africans are again emigrating in droves. The numbers are closely matching those of the 1994 emigration wave. The new emigrants are giving crime, affirmative action and falling standards as their reasons for leaving. One company claims that there has been an increase of 70%, compared to last year's figures, in Cape Town residents emigrating to New Zealand. Most are Afrikaans-speaking and/or Coloured. Pickfords has also seen an increase. compared to last year, of emigrants to Australia and New Zealand. They ship 10 to 15 containers to Australia each month, and 4 to 5 containers to the UK. Most of their clients are couples with young children. First National Bank's residential property report shows that 20% of sales are due to emigration. Two out of every 10 house sales are because of emigration.

BROTHERS IN COACHING

Gary Kirsten's brother, Peter, will follow in his footsteps when he takes up a coaching job in Kenya. Peter joins another brother, Andy, who is the coach of the Kenya cricket team. Gary is the coach of India's team. Peter will coach the batsmen. He was coaching the Jersey Island team prior to his latest appointment. Together with another brother, Paul, the Kirsten boys are part of our cricket history.

Well done Helen!

Cape Town Mayor, Helen Zille, disclosed her secret in being voted the world's best Mayor - “I put the right people in the right places.... I don’t micro-manage.” The Mayor of the world's most beautiful city is also leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA). She was selected from 820 mayors world-wide, in a competition run by global local government think-tank city mayors. Accepting the award, she paid tribute to the staff in the her mayoral and parliamentary offices, as well as to her supportive husband and two sons. Helen started her career as a political correspondent for the Rand Daily Mail. Before becoming Mayor, she was elected to the Western Cape Provincial Legislature in 1999, serving as MEC for education until 2001 and then as leader of the DA.

A much-needed invention

Vusi Ndlela was a maths and science teacher for 12 years. He left the profession in 2005. Now he's invented a much-needed teaching tool called Fraxion Master. It teaches students in Grades 3 to 7 fractions in a simple way. To prove that his invention does work, Vusi needs 200 prototypes in 5 schools. He has located a manufacturor but the mould alone costs R250 000. If you can help Vusi with sponsorship, please phone him at 078 250 8542.