**** Casa da Galinha, 1st Avenue, Rivonia, 3 June 2011

On a cold Friday afternoon, we meet one of our best suppliers for lunch at the Codfather cluster of restaurants and chose Casa da Galinha.  The place was empty except for an outside table and very cold.  However the staff were great and organised a heater.  They also turned down the music after a number of requests, which meant we could actually have a conversation!

We ordered a bottle of Beyerskloof Pinotage, which arrived at the right temperature and was, as usual, excellent.  The truly cold of us ordered Caldo Verde, the beautiful green Portuguese soup, and were not disappointed.  It was hot and tasty and the bread was good too.  This was followed by calamari with lemon butter sauce (a bit lacking) and spare ribs, which were tasty but a bit dry.  The calamari were good and a good portion size.

We finished off with Tiramisu and Cream Caramel, plus coffee.  All excellent.

Contact Details for Casa da Galinha.

The Lie

Julius died suddenly during infighting in the ANCYL.  Because he'd always voted ANC, he went straight to heaven, where he was met by St Peter in a room with a huge wall of clocks.  He asked what they were.

St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on Earth has a Lie-Clock. Every time you lie, or make a promise you don't intend to keep, the hands on your clock will move."

"Oh," said Julius , "whose clock is that?"

"That's Mother Teresa's. The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie."

"Wow," said Julius, "and whose is that one?"

St. Peter responded, "That's Nelson Mandela's. The hands have moved twice because he told only two lies, under interrogation by the Apartheid Security Police."

"Where's Jacob Zuma's clock?"

"In Jesus' office.  He's using it as a desk fan."

The Gone Dogs  Back to top

• PG Glass & PG Autoglass, Shop 11 in Woodmead Super Value Centre – Glass and Windscreens.
• Cube Cosmetics Woodmead, Shop 12 in Woodmead Super Value Centre – cosmetics clearance: premium hair, fragrance and skincare brands.
• Pulcinella Ristorante & Bakery – Shop 6 in Rivonia Centre, 369 Rivonia Boulevard, Corner 11th Avenue. Northern Italian restaurant, deli and bakery, sadly missed.
• Larry's in Euro Centre, 363 Rivonia Boulevard – south of 11th Avenue roughly opposite Rocket. Thai, Indian, and national food.
• Jabu Stone Salon in Rivonia Centre, 369 Rivonia Boulevard, corner of Rivonia Boulevard and 11th Avenue – Ethnic hair. Lifestyle programme and funeral plan.
• Sign-a-Rama, Shop 3 in Rivonia Centre, 369 Rivonia Boulevard – Quality signs for all your needs.
• The Nail & Beauty Palace upstairs in Rivonia Central – ex-Nail bar and beauty salon.

Continuing the Legacy of Blackouts    Back to top

Parks Tau, the man responsible for the billing crisis, and our new mayor (or mare, as 702 puts it) has undertaken to "continue the legacy of Amos Masondo".  He must mean the legacy of potholes, broken traffic lights and promises, above-inflation tariff increases, erroneous bills, corrupt contracts, power blackouts, and a dysfunctional call centre.  Well, it's what the democratic majority wants, so we hope they enjoy it.

The Free Market Foundation held a conference on June 9 entitled "Unlocking the electricity transmission grid: An Independent System and Market Operator [ISMO] for South Africa”, dealing with the new ISMO bill that is before parliament.  The intention of the bill is to take operation, and perhaps ownership, of the electricity grid away from Eskom.

Why is this important to you?  Because with Eskom in control of the transmission grid, they can make it difficult for independent power producers to get their power to users.  Another organisation running the grid would open up space for competition –usually good for consumers!  You would have a choice of where your power came from.  Eskom is notoriously committed to the dirtiest technologies: coal and nuclear power. What if you'd prefer your power from renewable sources?  With the rapid rises in Eskom's power prices, solar and wind power will soon be competitive.  Would you like to do your bit for the planet by going for green power?  Please write and tell us.

Winter at the Checkout

"My wife's always nagging me, nag nag nag: Why don't you put your long-johns on? Why don't you wear your long-johns? So today, just to shut her up, I put the damned things on. And, you know something?"
"Tell me?"
"It's the first winter day in years that I've felt warm."