Archive for January, 2008

I’m sure I must be at least the thousandth person to write something like this.

Load shedding hit us today again and our office was plunged into (somewhat) darkness. Luckily our management have managed to implement some sort of power generation system so at least we not be totally unproductive as I noticed some of the other businesses in the area were at this time.

It really made me quite sad as I drove into the petrol station, the pumps were all off, and the petrol attendants left twiddling their thumbs thanks to another parastatal. It made me sad because, the poor staff are losing out of an eight our shift, two and a half hours worth of their tips, which I’m sure makes up an important part of their income. Also, the company hiring these staff will probably feel the effects of lost sales and will end up retrenching some of their staff, its a vicious circle.

The theme is all too similar. Another one of our beloved monopoly’s, maybe not as visible as the current load shedding takes the focus. Of course I’m talking about Telkom. Telkom has been riding the South African public for years and continues to do so as no end is in sight of their exorbitant prices and unreliable service.

These two companies, if things go the way they are now, are going to cost the South African economy a whole pile of money. We can already see from the various news articles around that international investors and international businesses with South African offices are seriously starting to reconsider their future investment in this country.

It just annoys me immensely, after all the hard work that was done to get international business confidence in South Africa to this point, and now it is basically lost after a few weeks of sporadic power cuts.

Apparently the government is to blame for Eskom too, so can I ask a favour? I pay enormous amounts of tax every month, so can I get a discount for the following things goverment has failed to supply me:

• Education
• Security
• Health care
• Electricity infrastructure
• Cost related telecommunications

I’m really tired of supplying them (where I’m allowed to) my self, and I could use the money.

I have been so busy in the past 4 months that I have simply not had the time to write any sort of reviews on golf courses, not that I think anyone actually cares, but to the one person who might want to know what to expect when they go to a golf course, I have decided to write a ‘mass’ course review with some of the courses I have played over the past few months with a quick rating.

• Arabella
  • A very nice golf course with spectacular views, softish greens, but quite difficult when the wind is blowing (as it usually is)
  • 8/10
• Pinnacle point
  • Quite possibly the golf course with the most spectacular views I have ever played. The greens are super fast and well looked after, I only have good things to say about this golf course. The service at this course was also out of the top drawer. I suggest taking lots of balls though.
  • 10/10
• George Golf Club
  • The people of George are very spoiled to have this as a home public course, it is a fantastic course, well manicured with a challenging layout. If you start on the 10th tee and shoot a good score for that 9, don’t be fooled as the front 9 is quite a bit more challenging!
  • 8.5/10
• Humewood Golf Club
  • Some say it is the only true links course in South Africa and I would tend to agree with them. It is a simple course which is put out right in front of you, with the only defence being the wind, which in Port Elizabeth is more often than not around to enjoy the game with you. The greens are grainy which will confuse some first timers but just ask some of the locals for some tips and you’ll be on your way.
  • 9/10

I will try write some more reviews as the time comes, if you have any questions about the courses, please leave a comment and I will respond.

Enjoy the golf!