Dinner For One

There's not a lot to report from the mine these days with business carrying on as usual. This morning I was running some of my samples over the James Table and began chatting with the guy who was on James Table duty at that time. His name is Nkosinathi, pronounced "Kohs-NACH-i", and he was telling me how he wants to be a sampler so he can go out in the field and down the mine. I felt for him, because it can get a bit old being stuck in the plant all day with the loud noises of the pump motors going. Naturally, we got on the subject of soccer, and when I asked Nkosinathi what his favorite teams were he gave the typical reply: Kaiser Chiefs and Chelsea. The Kaiser Chiefs play in Johannesburg, along with the rival Orlando Pirates. Everyone in this country seems to support either one of those teams. He said he also liked Brazil, and when I asked about his national time he replied, "Of course! Bafana bafana!"

In other news, I have just about finished moving fully into my new digs. I've got a nice couch, a little TV and DVD player, an enormous bathroom, and a generously-sized George Foreman grill that's substituting for a real cooker. Mine is broken at the moment. At some point I'll also have to build a braai area.

Now I don't know how I've forgotten about this, but I've remembered now to tell you about a great comedic discovery I made when I was up in Pilgrims Rest the other week. They were having a movie night in the pub I went to, and as a precursor to the main feature, they first showed the short film entitled "Dinner For One." This British comedy sketch originally written in 1920 and filmed in 1963 has since become a national tradition in Germany of all places, where every New Year, German TV channels all broadcast the 15-minute sketch for everyone to see.

With South Africa having heavy European ties, especially from the Netherlands and Germany, the Afrikaans community celebrates new years much in the same way as the Germans by watching this short. If you have 15 minutes, search for the short film on Youtube with old British comedian Freddie Frinton, I couldn't stop laughing. Same procedure as every year!!