Australian Corporate Games 2011 (English)

(Daar is ook 'n Afrikaanse weergawe van hierdie bladsy)


I don't know about you, but in my mind I'm not getting any older. I still feel 19, just finished with school and in my first year of studies, something that happened 19 years ago if my calculations are correct. On the one hand it's a good thing because they say you are as old as you think. But it can also cost you dearly, like when you agree to take part in the Australian Corporate Games.

Two years ago I took on the 10km challenge and of the 205 runners I finished third. From the back. When the race officials start to collect those orange route-marker cones and flags immediately after you passed, it might be considered a subtle hint that you may not be as competitive as you thought you were. I would just like to express my gratitude to Lesley, a lady from ANZ who ran a little slower than me, and also two of my former colleagues from JDS, Neale and Vilam. If they had not decided to walk the whole 10km for an equal last place I would probably have had that honour. (here are the official results of that historic day)

How quickly one forgets! Two years later I again found myself signing up for the 2011 Australian Corporate Games, but this time I was a little wiser and decided to go for the 5km run rather than the 10.

Australian Corporate Games 2011 (Afr)

(there is also an English version of this page)


Ek weet nie van julle nie, maar ek voel nie al dag of ek oud word nie. In my kop voel ek nog 19, pas klaar met skool en in my eerste studiejaar, iets wat, as ek my somme reg gemaak het, al 16 jaar terug plaasgevind het. Aan die een kant is dit goed want hulle sê mos jy is so oud soos jy dink jy is. Maar dit kan 'n man ook duur te staan kom, soos wanneer jy instem om aan die Australian Corporate Games deel te neem.

Ek het twee jaar terug die 10km wedloop aangedurf en uit die 205 deelnemers het ek derde gekom. Van agter. Wanneer die beamptes daai oranje cones en vlaggies wat die roete aandui begin kollekteer pas na jy verby gekom het is dit seker 'n subtiele wenk dat jy dalk nie so kompeterend is soos jy mag dink nie. Ek moet egter net my dank uitspreek teenoor 'n ene Lesley, 'n tannie van ANZ wat stadiger as ek gehol het, en twee van my oud-kollegas by JDS, Neale en Vilam. As hulle nie besluit het om die 10km te stap vir 'n gesamentlike laaste plek nie was ek heel laaste. (hier is die offisiële resultate van daardie geskiedkundige dag)

Hoe vinnig vergeet mens nie! Twee jaar later kry ek myself weer dat ek opteken vir die 2011 Australian Corporate Games, maar hierdie keer het ek bietjie meer verstand en besluit ek om die 5km te hol eerder as die 10. 

All about fish and lizards and stick insects…

It so happened that Herman came to me one Friday evening, wide eyed and very excited. “Miss Davies said I can get a stick insect!” 

“O she did, did she?” 

“Yes, all we need is a fish tank and we have a fish tank so we can get one, right?” 

“You probably mean an aquarium?” 

“Yes, an aquarium. Can we get one? Can we...?” 

We don’t have an aquarium. We do have something that once housed a little gold fish for a short time but the thing was so small that Frankenstein could practically just swim forwards and backwards and hardly turn around. But my budding entomologist believes that it qualifies as a fitting habitat for a stick insect. Now I know something about sticks, and I know something about insects but not much about a stick insect. Fortunately I know something about computers and Google so before long we were gaining expert knowledge about stick insects, and the keeping thereof. (Did you know that a mommy stick insect can produce baby stick insects without a daddy being anywhere in the picture? And here I hoped I could use the stick insect project for more than one educational purpose, like conveying the facts of life, but that won’t work very well...)

Van visse en akkedisse en stokinsekte...

En so kom boetie toe die een Vrydagaand by my, groot oog en baie opgewonde. “Die juffrou het gesê ek kan ‘n stick insect kry!”

“O so?”

“Ja, ons het net ‘n vistenk nodig en ons het mos ‘n vistenk so ek kan een kry, né?” 

“Seker ‘n akwarium?” 

“Ja, ‘n akwarium. So kan ons een kry? Kan ons...?” 

Ons het nie ‘n akwarium nie. Ons het wel iets wat ‘n goudvissie vir ‘n kort tydjie gehuisves het, maar die ding is so klein dat Frankenstein amper net vorentoe en agtertoe kon swem, van omdraai was daar nie sprake nie. Maar my opkomende entomoloog glo dit kwalifiseer as 'n geskikte habitat om ‘n stokinsek in aan te hou. Nou ek ken stokke en ek ken insekte, maar ek ken nie so lekker van die sogenaamde stokinsek nie. Gelukkig weet ek so ietsie van kompûters en Google en ons word toe vinnig kenners op die gebied van stokinsekte, asook die aanhouding daarvan. (Het julle geweet 'n mamma stokinsek kan baba stokkies kry sonder dat daar 'n pappa stokinsek iewers in die prentjie is? Ek het nogal gehoop ek sou hierdie stokinsek-oefening kon gebruik vir meer as een opvoedkundige doel, soos om te gesels oor die feite van die lewe, maar daarvoor sal dit nie goed werk nie...)

My culinary experiences (Part three)

(click here for part two of my culinary experiences)
South Africans like biltong (if at this point you find yourself asking, “What is biltong??” then click here). It may be a broad generalisation but I believe it to be true. It is especially true in Australia, or for that matter in any country where the South African expat may find himself. I will venture that even those who may rate themselves low on the biltong-lover scale will start to develop a desire for the traditional delicacy - for the simple reason that it is not easily obtained here, and it’s a well-known fact that you generally want that which you cannot have, right? So what are you to do when you find yourself in Australia and the biltong is in South Africa? There are four options:

My kulinêre ervarings (Deel drie)

(gaan hier vir deel twee van my kulinêre ervarings)


Suid-Afrikaners hou van biltong. Dit mag miskien ‘n veralgemening wees, maar ek glo dis waar. Veral hier in Australië, of enige ander land waar die Suid-Afrikaanse expat homself mag bevind. Ek glo selfs diegene wat normaalweg nie lief is vir biltong nie sal begin hunker daarna, bloot omdat dit nie so maklik is om dit hier te bekom nie – mens wil mos altyd dít hê wat jy nie kan kry nie, of hoe? So hoe gemaak wanneer jy in Australië sit en die biltong is in Suid-Afrika?