Banyana at Southern Sun OR Thambo

Nandisiwe Mcgoyi and Janine van Wyk

Our Women’s National Team is currently training for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Defender Janine van Wyk (23) and striker Nandiswe Mcgoyi (24) say their training camp is at the Esselen Park School of Excellence in Elandsfontein. Respectively Janine and Nandisiwe have been playing soccer for 15 and 18 years.

The team is very excited about the upcoming Banyanya vs Cameroon game this Sunday at 15:00 at Joburg Stadium. Cameroon’s National Women’s team has also qualified for the 2012 Olympics.

Joseph Mkhonza (coach) and Jerry Laka (technical staff member)

Celebz At The Book Launch

Just to finish off Wednesday night's book launch...

Melinda Ferguson

Best-selling author and journalist, Melinda Ferguson was at the event covering it for a book feature on True Love. We didn’t really get to catch up as she was late for dinner at La Rustica with her friends from Wits with whom she is studying for her Honours in Publishing. She is charming, approachable and funny with an ability to conjure similes that make everyday occurrences so visually arresting; all one wants is for one to engage with her more. That fact that she has been to hell and back and has no need for airs and graces makes her thoroughly alluring. I can’t wait to catch up with her at the dinner date she promised.

Katie Mohamed

Having worked with Katie Mohamed at SABC for a few years doing the corporate grind I’m pleased for her in terms of how far her on-screen career has come. She’s made appearances on a number of lifestyle shows including being one of the presenters on No Reservations. Katie was one of the hostesses for the book launch.

In the past I missed on a number of her dinner invitations and was not in the least surprised when I heard about her new show, Food with Friends, due to air on SABC 3 from 4 February 2012 at 4pm. Shot on different locations and, according to Katie, the show aims to give ideas that it is not necessary to be a chef to entertain as well as how to take dietary requirements of family and friends into consideration when cooking.

Paul Slabolespzy (L) with Russel Savadier (R)

Paul Slabolepszy (no ‘k’ as he had to tell me when I tried to pronounce his surname) the world famous playwright and actor also attended the Madam & Even book launch. Currently he is writing plays for a daily soap on SAFM called Daily Vuka which airs at 15h45 Monday to Friday. He has written 700 hundred episodes to date. Whilst on numbers, he also mentioned that Running Riot, the screenplay which he co-wrote with the late Bill Flynn, was shown on M-Net 40 times during the world cup. In typical SA broadcaster style he receives no royalties. Forever busy he is also writing a play to be staged at Market Theatre in the new year.

                                                     

Also gratifying to know is he was a founder member of The Space Theatre, South Africa's first non-racial theatre company, with Athol Fugard, Yvonne Bryceland and John Kani in 1972. Nice!

Veteran actors, Paul and Russel

Those with DSTV can catch Russel Savadier on The Wild Monday to Thursday at 18h30 and moving to 19h00 in January. He has re-occuring role as the dodgey Captain Rossouw. At moment Russel is also enjoying spending time with boys Matt and Noah aged 16 and 13.

Bronwyn Berry

One of South Africa’s top television producers who just recently moved on from The Wild is Bronwyn Berry. Her credentials include Scandal, Gaz’lam, Takalani Sesame, The Wedding Show, Get Real and Take 5 to name a few.

At this point I had complete information overload and did not think to ask about of all the scandal that is alleged to the happening on the production of The Wild...

The Madam & Eve New Book Launch

Next we hit Rosebank Mall and happened upon a book launch at Exclusive Books for Stephen Francis and Rico Schacherl’s new The Pothole at the End of Rainbow, The New Madam and Eve Collection. They took us through some of the cartoon highlights, all reflective of the South African and global society.

Stephen & Rico in action

Percy The Bookworm

On Wednesday I managed to get off work early i.e. 16h15 I convinced my friend (the one so famous that no one knows how famous she is) to accompany me on my content finding mission. We did a quick stop at Hyde Park for her to get a Haagёn daz treat and we made our way to Rosebank. 

We started off at The Firs but with so many eating spots there we could not (didn’t want to) walk in and out restaurants scouting for people. We slowly made our way through The Zone and came out with naught. It was at the The Bookdealers in Rosebank Mews that things started looking up.

Percy Mabandu

Percy Mabandu is a columnist for the City Press entertainment section and I guess it was fitting that we should spot him at a bookstore. My friend went as far to comment how rare it was to find a black man in a bookstore. His retort: five of his friends have the own personal libraries, therefore; he doesn’t know which black man she was referring to. Also he lives in Pretoria and catches the Gautrain from Rosebank and popped into the book store from time to time to look for new arrivals. Pow!