South Africa today celebrates Freedom Day which commemorates the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994.

Freedom Day is celebrated annually as a reminder of the struggle for a free and just South Africa culminating in the first democratic elections held in 1994 where South Africans of every walk of life participated in the making of our new country.

I found this funny ‘educational video‘ on YouTube.

Do you remember Clarence Keyter who used to work for the SABC back in the days? He made a series of video (in the guise of Clarence the puppet) on the eve of South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994.

Can you identify some of the personalities (some latter-day billionaires) in the clip?

Anglicans accross Hong Kong ushered in Holy Week today with a Palm Sunday Said Eucarist at 8am.

A peaceful, tranquil area  in the midst of the concrete jungle that is Hong Kong’s Central district, St. John’s Cathedral is located at 4 Garden Road. 

The oldest Anglican building in the Far East, it is surrounded by other famous buildings such as the Bank of China Tower, HSBC Building, Legislative Council Building, Central Government Offices and the Court of Final Appeal.

My family has been worshipping at St. John’s ever since we first arrived in the city 4 years ago, and my kids have been blessed with their first Holy Communion at the Seat of the ArchBishop of Hong Kong.

For those who are interested, here is the schedule for Holy Week:

Palm Sunday 17th April

8.00 am Said Eucharist

9.00 am The Liturgy of the Palm and Solemn Eucharist

10.30 am The Liturgy of the Palm and Sung Eucharist (Mandarin)

11.45 am The Liturgy of the Palm and Sung Eucharist

2.00 pm The Liturgy of the Palm and Sung Eucharist (Filipino)

6.00 pm Taizé Eucharist

Monday in Holy Week 18th April

8.00 am Said Eucharist

6.00 pm Stations of the Cross & Eucharist

Tuesday in Holy Week 19th April

8.00 am Said Eucharist

6.00 pm Stations of the Cross & Eucharist

Wednesday in Holy Week 20th April

8.00 am Said Eucharist

6.00 pm Stations of the Cross & Eucharist

Maundy Thursday 21st April

8.30 am Diocesan Eucharist with Blessing of Holy Oil and Renewal of

Ordination Vows

1.15 pm Said Eucharist

7.00 pm The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday. Solemn Eucharist with the

Washing of Feet,the Stripping of the Sanctuary and the Watch

Good Friday 22nd April

9.00 am Morning Prayer

10.30 am Good Friday Service (Mandarin)

12.00 noon All Age Worship

1.30 pm Liturgy of the Day

Easter Eve 23rd April

9.00 am Morning Prayer

6.00pm Evening Devotions (Cantonese)

8.00 pm The Easter Vigil Liturgy with lighting of the Pascal Light (English,Chinese & Filipino)

Easter Day 24th April

8.00 am Said Eucharist

9.00 am Sung Eucharist for Easter Day

10.30 am Sung Eucharist for Easter Day (Mandarin)

11.45 am All Age Easter Liturgy with Baptism and First communion followed by

Easter egg hunt

2.00 pm Sung Eucharist for Easter Day (Filipino)

6.30 pm Solemn Choral Evensong

Monday of Easter Week (Public Holiday) 25th April

9.00 am Said Eucharist

Easter Day, as are most religious celebrations at St. John’s, are very family-centered. The church’s Easter Egg Hunt, one of my kids’ favourite events, takes place in the lush garden adjacent to the church.  While the kids have their fun scurrying around the shrubbery, parents are treated to hot cross buns and tea and the church hall.

————————————————————————————————————————————————–               HowzitHongKong.com stays in touch with home listening to Soli & Grant, only on The Taxi

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To continue with the focus on South Africa created by the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the South African Consulate-General proudly presents the very first South African Contemporary Art Exhibition 2011 in Hong Kong.

The theme of the photo exhibition includes lifestyle, people and wildlife, adventure and natural scenery, to present the richness of South Africa in different angles.

The groundbreaking event will also introduce the work of an emerging abstract artist Lee Chaldecott.

Oliver Kingston an emerging digital photographic artist has this to say:

“Photography has always held the allure of essence through images. The ability to communicate hidden meanings and subtext has previously been a form of subconscious prompting limited to film and literature. The birth of the digital photographic medium has now changed that in an exciting and beautiful new way”.

An excited Tembi Tambo, Consul-General of South African Consulate-General, Hong Kong/Macau added:

“Through this exhibition, we would like to exhibit the contemporary art and beautiful scenery of South Africa, to introduce South Africa in a different and more sophisticated way than people are traditionally used to. We hope that this first exhibition will be enjoyed by the Hong Kong community as we would like to do a bigger and more diverse event next year. “

South African Contemporary Art Exhibition

Date: 18 April to 1 May 2011

Time: Monday to Sunday ( 10 am – 10 pm)

Venue: The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Atrium Painting Corner

If you’re interested in attending, or for more information, please the South African Consulate-General:

Eva Yan

Email: sacghgk1@netvigator.com

Tel: + (852) 2577 3279

I am busy watching the devastating scenes coming out of Japan after a magnitude 8.4 (it has just been escalated to 8.9) earthquake struck off the north-east coast.

Currently about 53 Pacific countries are on a tsunami alert and I just watched the tsunami sirens going off in Honolulu, Hawaii.

The death toll at the time of writing is at 18 people just been increased to 26.

Currently, media reports are that Waikiki in Hawaii is on a heightened tsunami alert and it’s expected to hit in less that 1 hour.

I have just consulted the Hong Kong Observatory website but it seems that Hong Kong is not on the tsunami watch-list.  Here is the notice from the observatory (after the picture):

Tsunami Information and Warning

Tsunami Information Bulletin issued by the Hong Kong Observatory at 3:55 p.m. on 11 Mar 2011.

A severe earthquake of magnitude 8.4 occurred near east coast of Honshu, Japan at about 1:47 p.m. on 11 Mar 2011.

The earthquake has generated a tsunami which affects the Pacific. However, it is unlikely that Hong Kong and the neighbouring coastal areas will be significantly affected. The rise in the local sea level is expected to be less than half a metre, which is much lower than the normal day-to-day tidal variation of about one metre.

Precautionary announcement:

1. Please stay tuned to the radio or television for further information.

Dispatched by Hong Kong Observatory at 15:53 HKT on 11.03.2011

South African Tourism is delighted by the huge success of World Cup 2010 in South Africa (nán fēi, 南非)

It’s figures reported that the tournament boosted visitor numbers by 25% from 1 June to 1 July in 2010 compared with the same period in the previous year.

According to figures released by the Department of Home Affairs of South Africa, a total 1,020,321 visitors visited the ‘Rainbow Country’ during the month, clearly demonstrating the tremendous pulling power of the World Cup.

From January to October 2010, 55,874 Chinese travelers visited South Africa, an increase of 65.5% compared with the same period in 2009, making China the fastest growing market in Asia for tourists visiting the country.

“The success of the World Cup 2010 presented a colourful South Africa to the world and further enhanced South Africa’s brand internationally,” said Mr. Bradley Brouwer, Regional Manager: Asia Pacific, South African Tourism (SAT). “In 2011, SAT will enter a new era and look to ride on the tremendous growth experienced in 2010 by continuing to explore more diversified cooperation with media and trade partners making South Africa an even more attractive destination for travelers.”

South Africa rakes in awards in China

Last year, South Africa received many awards from media and trade partners in China, including the “Year’s Most Influential Tourism Destination”, “The Most Popular Long-haul Destination” and “Top 10 Overseas Destinations”.

SAT recently held a roadshow that visited Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou, with the theme of “Leave Ordinary Behind and Enjoy the Green South Africa”, to further promote the Rainbow Country as a preferred tourist destination for Chinese travelers.

SAT also embarked on a series of marketing activities using the “Leave Ordinary Behind” theme to enhance the profile of South Africa following the huge success of the World Cup where the country extended a hand of friendship to visitors from all over the world.

‘Reality tourism’

Last November, SAT launched a “20 Experiences in 10 Days” casting campaign organised by Rapid Blue, a professional TV production company from South Africa. This promotion seeks to find a couple from China to travel around South Africa while being trailed by Rapid Blue’s cameras that will record all the fantastic sights experienced along the way. Following this, a TV commercial will be produced for broadcasting internationally.

A four-month sales campaign was also recently launched targeting travel agents to promote South Africa.

The five sales agents that generate the most sales will receive an award from SAT.

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Do you remember this classic Douglas Green advert from waaay back in the days?

(OK… they were Japanese tourists, but I’m sure enjoyed it!)

Hot on the heels of our report on the return of Nando’s sauce to Park & Shop, we have some more good news.

On another trip to the shops for some last-minute shopping (we’re making some good old Cape Town-style trifle tonight!) we came upon something rather unexpected:

Cape Apricots!

Needless to say, we found this Western Cape gem in the fruit & veg-section of Park & Shop in Whampoa Garden, near Howzit-HongKong.com HQ in Hung Hom.

This is the logo that drew my eyes to the golden fruit:

I am from the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town and used to often pass the headquarters of CapeSpan where this logo was emblazoned on their gates and buildings in Bellville.

I am happy to report that, just in time for winter…

Nando’s is back on the shelves at Park & Shop.

A trip to the shops here in Hung Hom turned out to be a happy one.  Ever the scout for South African products here in Hong Kong, I was delighted not only for the Nando’s but that Park & Shop is also still selling the Nederburg 2010 FIFA World Cup selection at a great price no less.

This is how Howzit-HongKong.com reported when the Nederburg 2010 range was first released in Hong Kong.

I stand to be corrected, but it could be selling for around $79 for 2 bottles.

I bought this baby two days before Christmas!

While Howzit-HongKong.com was busy spending some quality time sipping Red Bull by the can-load at the first-ever Red Bull Flugtag in Asia, it seemed that it was South Africa-day over at the Sunday Morning Post.

No less than three stories made the Sunday newspapers today.

The Good…

First off, the Post ran the story about the retirement from public life of the former Arch-Bishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu.  The article referred to the cleric popularly know as “The Arch” as “South Africa’s voice of conscience.”

The other good…

Judging from the online responses to this story back home, some would describe it as “the bad.”

The Sunday Morning Post also reported on the story about the South African billionaire Robert Gumede who, together with his international arms-dealer business partners, bought a 49.9% stake in up-and-coming South African rugby franchise the Lions.

The ugly…

Finally, they just had to mention the story about Roland Schoeman, a top South African swimmer who referred to an Indian spectator at the Commonwealth Games as a “monkey.”

A storm-in-a-teacup if you ask me.

If you missed any of these stories, this is how the South African press reported on them:

Tutu retires (News24)

Lions Rugby shares (Times Live)

Race row at Commonwealth Games (Sport24)

Just over a year ago, Joseph Shabalala’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo made an appearance at the Shatin City Hall.

I remember the flurry of e-mails circulating among the South African community trying to rally a group to attend the concert.

Well, it seems that Hong Kongers liked what they saw in Shatin and the article in Tuesday’s The Standard certainly attest to the fact.

This is how we posted on the Group’s Hong Kong appearance back in May 2009.

Here is a scan of The Standard’s story:

(click for larger view)

A former Matie, Lizette Smook is an executive member of the South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong) and was featured in last Sunday’s Sunday Morning Post Magazine, a local English daily newspaper.

In 2008 a group of Hong Kong-based South African business women met to discuss ways of supporting the entrepreneurial spirit of young people and women in business and how to build a cultural bridge between South Africa and China.  Smook was instrumental in this gettogether and the outcome was the formation of the South Africa Women’s Chamber of Commerce (Hong Kong).

Lizette Smook is also the founder and CEO of Innovasians, a development and manufacturing company located in Hong Kong since 2007.

This is what the Sunday Morning Post Magazine had to say:

Who?

Lizette Smook’s mission is to make innovative products from materials most people would discard, such as dinner plates from rice husks, towels from plastic bottles and bed sheets from bamboo. Smook founded her company, Innovasians, three years ago in Hong Kong to help companies become greener and cleaner.

Why are the products unique?

Her handsome beige dishes and cutting boards are crafted from the skin of rice husks, which are bound with bio-resin and then heat-compressed. They are reusable, biodegradable and microwave safe.

Bamboo fibres can be harvested to make fabric for bed sheets, says Smook, who studied science in South Africa, where she was born. Bamboo is ideal for mass production because it grows extremely quickly, requires no pesticides and uses only 33 per cent of the water that cotton production requires.

Her non-snag towels (pictured) are made from organic cotton and recycled plastic bottles and are, according to Smook, more durable than conventional towels.

Another fabric gaining international recognition is e-leather.

“Traditionally, the leather that is harvested from cows comes from their backs because that is where the thickness and grain is most consistent,” Smook says. “The rest is discarded and thrown into landfills, where it produce copious amounts of methane gas.”

E-leather is leather that has been broken down into a fibre form, using hydro-electricity. It is then reconstructed to reduce waste.

“It is leather – only it doesn’t stretch like leather. It’s easy to clean, more durable, tear-resistant and lighter,” Smook says. “[India's] Jet Airways used the fabric in their seats and found they were 40 per cent lighter.”

Why did she jump from working for mass producers such as Nike and Next to founding a sustainable design company? ”

Actually, that was the impetus – when you see the impact on the environment that cheap, disposable fashion has, you realise that trends come and go, but the fabric and pollution created from producing these textiles lingers,” Smook says.

Where are her products used?

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts uses the rice dinnerware in its staff canteens and for guests with babies. Hong Kong hairdresser Emmanuel F uses the towels.

Sources: SCMP, SAWCC(Hong Kong) and Innovasians