Tuesday 5 August 2014

Carl Bates talking about Traversing the Avalanche in South African Warehouse issue Aug/Sept


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Article in South African Warehouse Aug/Sept Issue Traversing the Avalanche

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Review on Dick Mawson's The Gods who Fell from the Sky by Abbygail Zwane



 
Dick Mawson's The Gods who Fell from the Sky makes for inspiring reading

 
Published: 15 July 2014

Dick Mawson’s non-fiction debut is nothing short of inspiring. Titled The Gods who Fell from the Sky, it outlines his adventurous life including the loss of both his legs during two separate incidents.

By Abbygail Zwane

Sometimes life is stranger than fiction and Mawson has certainly gone out of his way to prove it. Mawson presents a memoir of a man who proves himself to the world, not just once, but many times.

Born in England, Mawson and his parents crash-landed in southern Africa during the 1940s. It was a few years later, at the age of eleven, that Mawson lost his right leg in a farm accident.
A few years after that Mawson experienced another life-altering trauma when a 100 mile per hour boat accident left his other leg badly injured. With an amputated right leg and the left badly damaged the young Mawson’s outlook was bleak, but he continued to live with tenacity and did not allow his disability to cripple his life.

This book outlines how the author managed to defy the odds and break the boundaries of the norm to live not only a normal life but a life of largesse. He was enticed into a world of speed and competition on water and ultimately on the race tracks of southern Africa and Europe, competing against and defeating his fellow drivers on a level playing field.

As I read the memoir and the story unravelled, I was reeled in by Mawson’s charm, his lust for life and his love of women. I finished the book feeling inspired. Here is a man, who against many odds, made a success of himself and of his life. He was never a victim, but a survivor and not just a survivor but someone who was willing, and still is, to not only chew on the meat and bones of life, but suck the marrow.

Mawson’s story is not without struggle; often he tries to ignore his disabilities in order to simply get on with it. He also finds inspiration in Douglas Bader – a World War Two pilot who lost both his legs in a plane crash, but taught himself to fly with artificial legs and went on to become a RAF squadron leader.

Dick Mawson’s The Gods who Fell from the Sky is proof that how we live our life is our choice. More importantly, how we choose to see ourselves is our choice.




 




 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Review on Mediaupdate for Christa Biyela's Getting Dirty






 

 

 

 


 

 

Christa Biyela’s Getting Dirty doesn't shy away from gritty issues



Christa Biyela’s latest book, titled Getting Dirty, is all about the gritty issues around sex, HIV and AIDS. She believes that the positive way forward is by having open and honest conversations with not only our partners, but also our children.




By Abbygail Zwane



There are instances, in fact whole chapters, when the book offers a bit too much information and I had to ask myself “when it comes to saving our children from HIV and AIDS how much is too much information?”

The voice inside my head would answer: “surely all of us need to be as informed as we possibly can be.”

In this respect (and in many others too numerous to list) I take my hat off to Biyela who has completely opened up to her reader, exposed wounds, scars and horrifying memories to ensure that our children will not need to endure what she has endured.

Biyela herself is living with HIV and is proof that you can still live life to the fullest. Through her book she outlines how the spread of HIV can be prevented and this starts with the education of our children.

Getting Dirty is provocative, candid and tells it like it is. She says “As adults we need to learn to be open-minded about sex. Let us have an open discussion about HIV whether we are married, dating, heterosexual or homosexual. If one is in a relationship let it be based on trust so we also act in a trustworthy manner thereafter. I believe HIV has come to our lives to better us, our relationships and motivate us to explore safer ways of making love. Nowadays having sex without a condom, being uncircumcised and not knowing one’s HIV status should be despicable.”

With Getting Dirty, Christa Biyela takes you by the hand and guides you through her life. At times it is traumatic, at times it is funny and poignant and at other times it forces you to stop reading for a moment and think. Getting Dirty is a book that should be read by everyone. In the words of director and playwright Clinton Marius, Getting Dirty offers “precious words of wisdom and advice that may save a life; hopefully more than one…”
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About the Author:

Christa Biyela is a writer and motivational speaker whose career includes being a producer and co-host of Sihlomulelana Ngolwazi previously on Ukhozi FM. She is now the head writer for Kusa Kusa, Ukhozi FM’s first soapy.


 

Review in the July Issue of Sarie by Lydia van der Merwe


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As die brein-oordragstowwe GABA en dopamien albei laag is, gaan jou kosdrange (cravings) jou oorrompel, sê dr. Hannetjie van Zyl-Edeling. Volgens haar werk Tim Noakes se hoë-vet-lae-koolhidraateetplan juis daarom vir baie mense. Proteïene voorsien die aminosure waarvan brein-oordragstowwe (veral dopamien) gemaak word. En as jy koolhidrate grootliks uitskakel, kry jy beheer oor jou wisselende bloedsuikervlakke.
Dopamien
’n Tekort kan onder meer lei tot gewigstoename, moegheid en die onvermoë om stres te hanteer. Jy het ’n drang na nikotien, koffie, soetgoed of ander energie-opkikkers.
Vul dit aan
  • Eet proteïenryke kosse soos hoender, maaskaas, eiers, laevet-kase, melk, jogurt, kalkoen, wildsvleis, okkerneute.
  • Oefen met gewigte, speel ’n potjie skaak, doen asemhalingsoefeninge.
  • Kyk ’n snaakse fliek of vertel grappies.
GABA
Dis betrokke by die maak van endorfiene – natuurlike pynstillers wat jou goed laat voel. ’n Tekort gooi jou van balans af en maak jou angstig, geïrriteerd en vol skuldgevoelens. Jy kan ’n binge-eter wees.
Vul dit aan
  • Vermy witmeel, -suiker en ander verfynde stysel, want dit laat jou bloedsuiker wipplank ry, vererger angs en is ’n sneller vir kosdrange.
  • Eet amandels en ander boomneute, piesangs, broccoli, bruinrys, lensies, sitrus, aartappels, spinasie, heelgraan (verkieslik nie koring nie).
  • Doen aërobiese oefeninge, loop in die natuur en drink kruietee vir angs.
Belangrik
Oefen minstens ’n halfuur per dag om jou brein-oordragstowwe te balanseer, bloedsuiker en depressie te beheer en jou metabolisme flink te hou.
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