Sunday, September 24, 2017

Tobries / Tobies Ridgeway

Does anyone remember the pub Tobries or Toby's in Ridgeway in the South of Johannesburg?  I remember back in the day when I was working for Metro Cash & Carry, probably about 1989, it was our local hangout from work.

There were a few places in the South that were good, and mostly Tobries was good because of the music.   Shaun Liebenberg who was also ex Hill High would play his music there every Friday and Saturday night.   A brilliant guitarist and singer and I became a groupie.

Shaun was married to another ex Hill High pupil Beverley who lived up the road from us, one of the most beautiful girls I have ever known both inside and out.   Tragically Shaun and Beverley were killed in a car accident on the 14th of July, 2001 coming home from a gig.   Not long after we left South Africa.

I always believed that when Shaun sage "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal he was singing it just for me. 

We frequented Tobries from about 1989 until about 1992 when it just went downhill from then on.  It was a great pub and you would always bump into someone you knew there.

I do believe I was even kicked out of the pub one night, some friends and I were playing a sambuca game with black sambuc and we ended up setting the table on fire.

I could tell you a hundred stories from Tobries, but I think we will leave it there for now.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Commune parties in Jo'burgs Northern Suburbs

I think it must have been around 1987 or so, I was living in Randburg in a cottage and there were lots of young 20 somethings in the area sharing houses or as we called them "communes".  

A lot of the guys who rented these houses would have commune parties to help pay the rent, a commune party was an open house party, some charged entrance fee and sold booze, where as others had free entry and sold booze.   The booze was cheap, the music was loud and there was loads of fun. 

I do however rememer one night I think it was a party on Republic road or somewhere around there, the neighbors got really upset and you can't blame them.   The police would be called, they would come and tell them to turn the music down, but as soon as they were gone, the music would go up again!  This particular night the neighbor took matters into his own hands and threw a canister of tear gas over the wall.

It was the first time I had experienced tear gas, and I remember running with my friends to the garage over the road and splashing water on our faces, only for someone to tell as after that, that is the worst thing you can do.   I don't remember what happened after but it is possible we went to Bimbo's for a schwarma, we often did that after leaving Smugglers on a Friday night on our way home, more often than not still with a glass of wine or a beer taken from the pub.

There were so many communes in those days, a lot of times run by varsity students and needing to make some money for the electricity or some other utility.  I do remember going to these commune parties in Illovo, Parktown, Sandton, Rosebank and more often than not these were beautiful old houses, that by the time the students left were asolutely wrecked.

I'd love to hear your memories on commune parties round the late 80's early 90's.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Childhood Memories #1 - Green Mielies Missie

I was just telling someone here in the office about a childhood memory, I think it was round the autumn time but I could be wrong, when the local ladies with their big bag of "Green Mielies" would come walking past the house, shouting "Green Mielies Missie" at the top of their voices, and we would come running out to select our sweet corn, from their big hessian bag.

Those were the days!  

Saturday, September 09, 2017

Facebook School Friends

Barely 20 years ago the only way you had to stay in touch with your school friends was if you still lived in the area and you were in contact with these friends from the time you left school.

The first time I had access to the World wide web was probably when I worked at the SABC back in 1996, the first thing I remember doing was looking for old friends, and at that stage there was a site called SAreunited, where I managed to get in touch with some old school friends.

Welcome 2004 and the birth of Facebook, which is now 13 years ago and has made Mark Zuckerburg into a multi billionaire.   I must say Facebook has been the most wonderful internet web site to find old friends that had moved away and you had lost touch with.   I always consider someone a friend regardless of what has happened in the past, however when my husband started using facebook he did make me realize that Facebook is not always "real".

He would say, this guy couldn't give me the time of day at school, so why does he want to be my friend on Facebook?   and I realized, yea a whole heap of my "facebook friends" didn't want to know me at school, in some cases they bullied me.

A lot of people will only post good stuff on Facebook, they never tell you about the hardships they have been through, and I guess people don't really want to know.   For instance, you don't want to know that the guy in your class you thought was so nice, actually beat up his girlfriend. 

And if you are destitute, don't ask for help from your facebook friends, because they wouldn't give you brass farthing.    I sometimes wonder why I keep up my profile on Facebook, but I guess it is like anything you don't want to lose touch again with those you have found, but is it really that important?

Are we just nosey individuals wanting to know about everyone's lives?  And do we really know the people we make friends with?  .... I don't think so!!!!   I have proved this, I created a ficticious Facebook profile, with a ficticious name but with Genuine schools and universities, I then requessted about 100 people to become my friend, I even had a profile photo - only 1 person out of all of them asked the question - "Where do you know me from?", the rest just blindly accepted my friend request!   So here I am a complete stranger to you, and yet you are sharing all your personal information with me, not very safe is it!

So I guess now you will be a lot more careful on who you choose to be Facebook Friends with!  Right?

Blood & Water

  If you have never seen the Netflix Series " Blood & Water " - I am not going to tell you to go and watch it, but I did find ...