The Boxer story

So the Mike Tyson story has now hit the media, the evening news opened with 'Jacob Zuma is having dinner with a rapist tonight'. 45,000 rapes are reported a year in South Africa and domestic violence and violence generally is a reality for many women and men here. So there's protest in response to the ANC president seeking out the company of a convicted rapist.....

The Boxer

I'm told that Jacob Zuma the President of the ANC is planning to honour Mike Tyson the boxer sometime in the next couple of days. The most comic but worrying pair the country will see for a while. One man's record of assault and rape may be well known, whilst the other is facing allegations of corruption and was recently up (but cleared) for rape charges.

Good Day

I'd forgotten the storms here at this time of year. Loud thunder long flashes of lightening and a deluge of rain and then a short while later only the drips remain.

Good day today with a meeting at Wits University who will be hosting the exhibition at the end of the month. It was orientation day on campus - so lots of youth wandering around in shades and shorts, music blaring from somewhere. A positive vibe.

Unlike the car hire man Tony who sighs his way through his reason for being late. Traffic. It's not the usual kind of morning traffic, its a the-country's-gone-to-the-dogs kind of traffic. He obviously cant bear it here but he thinks he has nowhere else to go.

And a drink and chicken and chips with Matt who has been working on the project, in between freelancing for one of the big papers. Doing very well for himself.

Back again

Starting as I mean to go on by blogging earnestly in the first 24 hours! Back in Jo'burg early this morning with a quiet Sunday drive from the airport. Same set up as last year which is a little disorientating - 12 months have really passed I'm sure of it.

Here for a week doing some follow up work for the project I worked on last year and then to Durban for workshops and training with a new group up in a very hilly beautiful area where I used to live.

Apparently it's been raining every day for ages but the past couple of days have seen sunnier days and maybe a change of season. No sign of the electricity cuts that's been reported on on the BBC. It's so hard to get over the Jo'burg reputation but some things welcomed me back. The taxi driver saying he felt things were improving with the police really working hard to cut crime in the city. A waiter called Acid complaining to another waiter behind the bar. And the sales are on...