Durban's centenarian
THE ADMIRAL celebrates his 100th birthday at Mitchell Park this Saturday. The giant tortoise is the survivor of three that were left in the care of the supervisor of the zoo in 1915, during World War I, by a naval officer who never did return to pick them up.
They were brought from the Aldabra islands, in the Seychelles, at a time of poor refrigeration facilities when tortoises were kept on board ship as a protein source.
In 2001 the 300kg tortoise was named The Admiral and made an honorary member of the Durban naval base since he had been part of the community for so long and has a naval background.
To mark his 100th birthday, the Mitchell Park Trust has organised a celebration on the paddock lawn at 11.30am. Master of ceremonies will be Zakia Ahmed, of Lotus FM, and The Admiral will be presented with a birthday cake and fruit baskets.
The SARS dog unit will put on a display and there will be a karate demonstration. Other fun will include pony rides and face painting, while food stalls will serve hot dogs and boerie rolls.
For more information contact Des Ramsay at 031 566-6300 or go to the website at www.admiral.org.za
Fund-raiser
BASED on the naval connection, the Mitchell Park Trust has hit on an ingenious fund-raising device. People are invited to go into the website and buy themselves a naval rank, ranging in price between R50 for Able Seaman to R5 000 for Admiral of the Fleet. Companies are invited to buy warships, which range from R1 000 for a frigate to R10 000 for an aircraft carrier.
But – oh dear! – some of the ranks, as depicted on the site, are wrong. The "stripes" often worn on the sleeve by naval ratings and senior ratings have nothing to do with the stripes worn by NCOs in the army. They don't indicate rank, they indicate years of service. In the navy they are called "service badges".
The insignia of crossed anchors denotes a Petty Officer. But on the website an Able Seaman is also given the crossed anchors, as is the Chief Petty Officer. In fact an Able Seaman has no badge of rank (I should know – I am one) and the Chief Petty Officer wears no long service badges/stripes. His badge of rank is three brass buttons on the sleeve, there to stop the midshipman (a very junior officer) wiping his nose on it. In fact for this reason the midshipman is known as a "Snotty".
One doesn't like to niggle about this esoteric stuff, but I'm sure The Admiral would be most put out to know about the confusion below decks.
Sic 'im!
MEANWHILE, it's intriguing that SARS should have a dog unit. This could be pretty spectacular – a German shepherd bringing down at full speed a book-keeper running away with a ledger; a rottweiler savaging a money launderer; a spaniel sniffing out fraudulent entries.
Come to Mitchell Park and find out what it's all about!
Patrick Leeman
IT WAS WITH great sadness that I learned of the death last week of my old friend and colleague, Patrick Leeman, who until his retirement from The Mercury had been faithfully reporting news events in KwaZulu-Natal for more than 40 years.
Patrick covered a range of subjects, political and labour developments included, but his special interest was music and the arts, which he not only critiqued but supported passionately in all kinds of ways. He combined this with an intense involvement with the Catholic Church.
Patrick knew just about everybody of any prominence in KZN, and they all knew him. Apart from a spell in the London office of The Mercury in the 1960s, he was based throughout his career in Durban. He was possessed of a wealth of background knowledge in all kinds of areas.
In retirement, for a while he kept up much of his writing on a freelance basis. But his health went into serious decline about a year ago. He will be sadly missed.
Agfac
THEY tell me ice is no longer available at the Faculty of Agriculture in Maritzburg. The girl who knew the recipe has graduated.
Tailpiece
"DOCTOR, what should I do if my temperature goes up by more than a point?"
"Sell, sell!"
Last word
Saying what we think gives us a wider conversational range than saying what we know.
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