Low-key,
celebration
of Guy Fawkes
REMEMBER, remember the fifth of November with gunpowder, treason and plots … with Guy Fawkes and Diwali practically coinciding, parts of Durban are like a war zone these nights.
The experts tell me the Hindu Diwali festival was originally one of gentle lights and decorous behaviour. Was it then influenced for the worse by Guy Fawkes?
One thing seems proven. There's a great resilience to any tradition that involves frightening people with loud bangs.
But celebrating Guy Fawkes surely belongs in one's youth. The passage of time induces a sense of responsibility. I shall confine myself this evening to a string or two of ladycrackers in people's post boxes and perhaps a lifting of a couple of gates.
Seasonal touch
HO, HO, HO! The Brits are having a Christmas election. They go to the polls on December 12, the political parties in fierce competition with the Christmas parties, which will be in full swing.
It was probably fitting that a seasonal touch should be added to the Brexit soapie, but the outcome seems by no means certain. Nigel Farage's Brexit Party is to fight 600 seats, a certain drawing-off of support from both Tories and Labour.
The anti-Brexit parties - the Liberal Democrats, Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru (Welsh nationalists) - are cobbling together an election pact.
It will also be an icy time for canvassers traipsing from doorstep to doorstep in the dark (the sun goes down around 4.30 pm) not to mention the voters themselves, who will have to be persuaded to leave fireside and TV to venture out of doors. (And that's presuming the voters are home and not at a Christmas party somewhere).
Has Boris Johnson perhaps miscalculated? Will he get Brexit through parliament? Ho, ho, ho!
Patriotism
THE Boks' Rugby World Cup victory continues to reverberate. All kinds of pictures and video clips are doing the rounds.
One shows Queen Elizabeth in a Springbok rugby jersey.
Another shows Prince Harry (who was at the match) in the Bok changeroom afterwards, chatting away to Faf de Klerk, who is in his underpants.
The underpants seem to be in the colours of the South African flag. Man, that's patriotism!
Destiny, free choise
DURBAN poet Sarita Mathur contributes some thoughtful lines on Destiny and Free Choice.
I believe in astrology
That's destiny for you,
Your present and the future too.
However, Free Choice is a must.
It's your will,
To try and rise against the odds,
Never a victim be.
Destiny might throw boulders at you,
However you can victorious be.
That too is your choice, and it defines your destiny.
As it weaves your present into a future bright
That is if your choice is right .
Like the inverted 'V'.
It is pointed upwards, so life's gales and storms
May be the norm,
You can rise above them all,
Your attitude is the key.
Yes, the choices you make,
Affect your destiny.
Leading to a future bright,
Everything turning out alright,
Happiness and peace in sight.
That defines both
Free Choice and Destiny.
Tailpiece
HOW do you tell if an Irishman is at a cockfight?
He enters a duck.
How do you tell if a Pole is at the cockfight?
He puts money on the duck.
How do you tell if the Italian Mafia is at the cockfight?
The duck wins.
Last word
Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it. - Stephen Vizinczey
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