Author: KokkieH

Some more getting right of facts

No, this isn’t another Dan Brown-inspired rant. (Do tune in tomorrow for my review of Secrets of Inferno which explores the facts behind Mr Brown’s latest bestseller, though.) Today I want to talk about something else.

I’m generally a nice guy (at least I think so), but I do have a nasty side and at times I can be a real bastard when I think someone is deserving. What does one need to do in order to receive this dubious honour? My dark side gets awakened when people indiscriminately forward e-mails. Continue reading “Some more getting right of facts” →

On National Passtimes – The Braai

Yep, you’re not mistaken. You’re actually getting two posts from me in one day. Aren’t you lucky?

But that’s symbolic of this day, you see. For not only is South Africa today celebrating Heritage Day, but also National Braai Day.

Braai is the Afrikaans word for barbecue. The word is derived from the Dutch braden, meaning “to roast”. In South Africa the word has been adopted into English, also appearing in the South African version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Continue reading “On National Passtimes – The Braai” →

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On South Africa – land of many tongues

Goeiemôre, good morning, dumela, molo, sawubona, salibonani, ndi matseloni, avuxeni, ǃGãi tses, goedendag, bonjour, bom dia, guten Tag, hari yang baik, subaha acchā, subha-ba-khair, marHaban, shalom, Zǎo ān and nzuri asubuhi.

No, I’m not swearing at you. Today we celebrate Heritage Day in South Africa. Our country is incredibly diverse in terms of cultures, histories, religions, languages and natural heritage. The purpose of today is to remember and celebrate who we are and where we come from.

One of the most obvious signs of diversity in our country is in the languages we speak. To start with, we have eleven official languages protected by our constitution. Several of those eleven languages have various dialects and there are a couple of pidgin languages as well, combining several official languages into one. And I don’t even know how many other languages are spoken here, either by descendants of the original European settlers or more recent migrants.

So be greeted today in just a few of the many tongues spoken in South Africa. To learn a bit more of each of the languages used above, click here

Song Title Challenge #17: Living With A Hernia – “Weird Al” Yankovic

It’s time for this week’s Song Title Challenge, back after a week’s absence.

Write a short piece of fiction, around 300 words, using the song title as your story title but don’t listen to the song. You can pick your own genre or use the one suggested to me. Remember to link back to this post so I can find yours.

If you would like to suggest a song title for a future post, you can do so from the challenge page. You can also leave a suggestion on the Facebook page.

This week’s song is Living With A Hernia by “Weird Al” Yankovic and the genre is Historic Fiction. Thanks to bumblepuppies for the suggestion.

Living With A Hernia

Continue reading “Song Title Challenge #17: Living With A Hernia – “Weird Al” Yankovic” →

On Romans, Railroads and rHobbits

The interwebs inform me that today is Hobbit Day, it being the birthdays of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. However, as I did not know this beforehand and as I’ve already done International Talk Like A Pirate Day this week, I’ll simply wish Messrs. Baggins and Baggins a very happy birthday and get on with my business for today…

…which is a bit of humour. My dad sent me this in an e-mail during the week and it’s simply too good not to share. Continue reading “On Romans, Railroads and rHobbits” →