Authors Magazine

AUTHORS MAGAZINE

JULY 2015

MINAH

SINDANE-BLOEM

There’s a new book on the shelf Defence Technology Made Easy

KGANYA RATSAKA

Professor

Performing Poet From The North

TIM NOAKES “I am not controversial”

08 FEATURES

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COVER STORY “Banting is not a diet, it is a lifestyle” VARSITY SPOT Gontse talks about Khaya Dlanga’s Memoir OPINION 67 minutes of Tata Madiba POETRY CORNER Poet Kganya Rakatsa makes his mark

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REGULARS

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EDITOR’S NOTE I learnt that the readership of Authorsmag.com has more than tripled in the past eight weeks. And to my amazement, most of our readers came from Russia.

EVENTS The Annual South African Book Fair at Newtown BOOK LAUNCH Defence Technology Made Easy

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QUICK READ Read the last chapter of “A scandal in Bohemia” BOOK REVIEW Diane Chamberlain: Secrets she left behind BOOK EXTRACT Opposite the Icon By Tony Leon

EDITOR’S CHOICE Richard Branson, Screw it, let’s do it.

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FROM THE EDITOR

T

he director of this South Africa’s most popular comedy The God’s must be crazy, must have been exhilarated when his film went on top of the charts in the early eighties. At least he was sharing the same excitement with the movie character he created.

Only recently did I understand the excitement of the Khoisan man when the mysterious item from the gods suddenly dropped on his path from the sky. Even though it was just an empty coca cola bottle, with no value to the pilot that threw it out the window, to this man and his tribe it was treasure. It was used for so many other things than to contain “coldrink”.

I was sharing the same jubilation when I learnt that the readership of Authorsmag. com has more than tripled in the past eight weeks. And to my amazement, most of our readers came from Russia.

Huh?! Yes, I also felt that way.

The United States took the second spot, with South Africa taking the third place. The readership footprint has increased drastically, spreading sporadically all over the globe.

This July we are expecting a touch of Madiba Magic on our readership statistics, as we remember the man who has sacrificed himself for the good of others. Through Nelson Mandela’s wisdom to lead, South Africa did not become what veteran author Nadine Gordimer ‘anticipated’ in her fiction novel, July’s People.

There was no bloodshed and no White citizen were chased away. We came together and the world experienced a smooth transition of power from autocracy to democracy like it never did before.

And yes like any other country, we do have our own challenges in Parliament. It is normal that even when something is good, others will still make a mockery of it. William

Golding must have noticed the latter when he wrote his novel Lord of the Flies decades ago.

No matter how much Ralph and Piggy wanted the boys to maintain a descent lifestyle even after they were stranded on an uninhabited island after their plane crashed, the other group got the excitement from a salvage lifestyle. It gets so ugly that even three of the boys are killed in this power play. The clear division takes place as Jack takes the majority of the boys with him, lured by the promises of meat, play, and freedom. He ends up sticking head of a pig to stamp his authority and increase fear amongst the boys.

But life goes on and so does business. Authorsmag.com will be introducing new exciting features in the upcoming editions. We take your comments and requests seriously and we will deliver according to your expectations. As Sir Richard Branson would say, “Screw it, Let’s do it”.

Shalate Portia Dhavana 6 | AUTHORS MAGAZINE

AUTHORS MAGAZINE Publisher Lesiba Morallane Managing Editor Shalate Portia Davhana Editorial Assistant Sean Maabe Business Development Sibongiseni Junior Ncube Layout & Design llaai ntsoane Photography Tiego Morallane Contributors Tshiamo Mahloele Minah Sindane Bloem Banele Gontse Seyama

Office Manager Boipelo Mngadi Published By Authors Magazine PTY( ltd) P O Box 92644 Mooikloof Pretoria East email: team@aurthorsmag.com

DISCLAIMER:

The views and opinions expressed in this magazine are intended for informational purposes only. Authors magazine takes no responsibility for the contents for the advertising material contained in.

All efforts have been taken to verify the information contained herein, and views expressed are not neccessarily those of Authors Magazine.

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Events

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“IF IT’S NOT IN THE FRIDGE, DON’T EAT IT” Professor Tim Noakes

e met up with and interviewed Professor Tim Noakes in his office at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town on the day of his retirement, 18 November 2014. There were boxes everywhere and books in the background ̶ he was literally on the way out. And yet, he was still very willing to grant us his last interview. So we looked around a little bit and found chairs to sit on. It was, to say the least, such a memorable day and an experience for us. He made time for you, and we appreciated that.

Why are you interested in interviewing me?

Professor Tim Noakes

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Cover Story AM: For many reasons. Everybody is talking about Professor Tim Noakes. My 17-year-old son was surprised that I was coming to interview you. He said, “I think he is a controversial guy but all my friends’ mothers are BANTING ̶ astonishing!”

The books have a lot of recipes, and we wanted the story and some kind of guidelines.

Like eat this on Day 1 and do this and not that – similar to what most weigh-less programs tend to do. Why the structure and the way the book is written?

PTN: The book came about in a very short time from when the two chefs and the nutritionist, Jonno Proudfoot, David Grier and Sally-Ann Creed, came to us and said, “Let’s write a book on a low carb ̶ high fat diet and we will provide all the recipes.” In fact, all they asked of me was to write the foreword; the goal was purely to put together a recipe book and they wanted to raise some money. I said, “Of course I will write a foreword,” but then I wanted to write a bit more ̶ I had a lot of material in my head, but not yet on paper. In four weeks I wrote all the science (I am a quick writer when I get going) and I wrote 25 000 words on the science, and within six weeks we finished the book. Three weeks later it had been proofread, photographed and sent to China for printing. It took literally eight weeks to produce the whole thing. That is amazing because every other book that I have written has taken five to ten years to complete.

AM: Why China?

PTN: Because the price was so much cheaper; you could not make a living if you got this printed in South Africa because the cost would be so high.

AM: Why did they choose you to do the foreword?

PTN: Because I changed my diet five years ago, four years before the book was written. I had written another book called Challenging Beliefs, which is my autobiography and it’s all about my science. It is not challenging religious beliefs but challenging scientific ideas because I am known as the guy who takes ideas and challenges them.

I had discovered that I was unhealthily eating the

“healthy” diet that I had been told would make me live forever, and that for me is paradoxical.

How could I do what I was told to do, eat lots of carbohydrates, and be unhealthy and in fact develop type 2 diabetes? Here I am, doing what I am told to do by my colleagues and it is making me sick. So then I read the literature and realised that what I was doing was wrong and I needed to reverse that and stop eating carbohydrates and bad fats. I had written the first edition of my autobiography with nothing about nutrition, but in the period of time before I wrote the second edition, I read a lot about nutrition. So I wrote a chapter on low carbohydrate eating and what it had done for me. The other authors had read that and it had inspired them to change. Sally-Ann Creed had actually changed about fifteen years before. She was very sick and almost died ̶ she had a group of allergies. She had changed her diet on the advice of her GP in Sea Point and it made her very healthy. So she led all of us and she was very keen that she should help us write this book. She had lived the life for fifteen years at least.

AM: Are you a circle of friends?

PTN: I know Jonno indirectly because I know his father who is a medical doctor, but I know David more closely because David ran the length of the Great Wall of China and I helped and advised him on that. He had been treated here at the Sport Science Institute for knee injuries. They were in Mongolia and they were really struggling because they were so cold and didn’t have proper food, and a Mongolian said, “You have to eat pork fat; you are not going to finish this run unless you just eat pork fat,” So they started eating pork…

AM: Pork? Porknogal?

PTN: Yes, nogal pork ̶ and they made it through.

That’s the Mongolians. They took over the world.

Genghis Khan ̶, his tribe were just complete carnivores. They just ate meat right through Asia and Western Europe ̶ just meat. Mongolians have always eaten this type of diet.

AM: But Prof, were you ever fat?

PTN: I was thin until my ‘fifties but then I started to gain weight progressively. I mean I am not going to show you my photographs, but I lost 20kg on this diet, in fact probably 21 now.

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AM: But why won’t you show us your photos?

PTN: Because you will show people, but I didn’t look too fat; I looked reasonable, but within me I knew I wasn’t right and my running was terrible.

As soon as I went on this diet and lost the weight I started running much better, even before I lost the weight, so it told me that there was something wrong in the diet.

AM: Is the fact you are a professor, trained as a researcher, the reason why you were able to do so much personal research?

PTN: Yah, I think I always observe what happens and as soon as something doesn’t make sense I am interested in it. My book Challenging Beliefs is all about that. There are about five or six different ideas that I’ve pioneered, and which people originally said, “You’re mad! You’re wrong! You’re completely wrong!” And later, of course, they said, “You were right; we knew all along that you were right.” So we changed the whole direction of exercise physiology ̶ completely changed it.

When I started exercise physiology; I would say that your muscles get tired and we now know that that’s not the real answer. Your brain regulates the whole body; the brain makes sure that you

that you don’t overdo it. So there’s a picture there of Shackleton that comes from our expedition where we had Lewis Pugh swim in this ice cold water in the South Atlantic, the Antarctic and then at the North Pole, and his body was telling him don’t do it; it’s dangerous.

We had to tell him, “Don’t listen to your brain; I’ll tell you when you have to get out of the water.

But until I tell you, you just keep swimming. And you don’t worry about anything; just keep swimming.” And that’s what we tell our teams. (laughs) “We’ll tell you when you’re tired. Don’t you make that decision”.

AM: Okay, so earlier I said to you that my 17-year-old who is writing matric said to me, “I know Prof Tim Noakes, but Mummy he’s controversial”. How do you feel about that?

PTN: It’s very sad that I’m labelled controversial, because you see, what is academics if it isn’t confronting ideas? And so it’s the people who aren’t confronting the ideas who are controversial because they’re not doing their job. Does anyone honestly believe that we know everything? If we know everything, why do we have Universities.

And if we have Universities then the principal role

Regardless of age. Because your brain will always look after you; you just have to make sure that you don’t overdo it. don’t damage yourself during exercise and that’s why we have been able to help teams win these trophies. Because the players/athletes understand that when they get tired it’s just an emotion.

They don’t have to listen to their emotion; there’s no excuse. If you don’t die on the field, don’t tell me you’re tired. If you die, then I say, “Okay you’re tired; let’s go.” (laughs). If you didn’t die, you didn’t get tired, so please don’t come and tell me that.

AM: (smiles) You’re 66 years old. I suppose you would be tired if you keep on running.

Wouldn’t you? Or will your brain keep on telling you that you’re fit enough to go?

PTN: Yah no you have to do that.

AM: Have to?! Even regardless of age?

PTN: Regardless of age. Because your brain will always look after you; you just have to make sure

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of University academics is to question …. Everything. When you stop questioning you stop advancing your knowledge. So you have no place in academia.

AM: (laughs) PTN: They’re not doing their job! And they should get sacked!

AM: (still laughing) So, being quiet means you’re not controversial?

PTN: Exactly. They should get sacked. You see science is all about different ideas and you must always teach both ideas. There’s no single theory in science that’s absolute. They’re all wrong to some extent, and you must go and find out what works.

If there is a problem with what I am presenting to the world, someone must come and prove me wrong. In the last forty years, medical sci

ence has unfortunately been completely hijacked by industry.

Most of medical science is no longer about TRUTH. Too much of medical science is now about money. Too much of medical science is run by the pharmaceutical industry and they are not interested in your health or my health; they are interested in turning a profit. If what they do is not going to make you healthy, that’s the cost of making money and doing business.

The public unfortunately don’t understand it because they are still living fifty years ago when medicine was about patient care and looking after the patient, but it is all business now and a big industry and it is about turning a profit. As a patient you are part of the cog and a patient has to

decide. I either take responsibility and find out what is wrong and try to cure myself or just be a cog in the whole wheel.

AM: You can challenge it and modify your health̶. You are a professor so you are fortunate to be able to change the status quo for yourself.

PTN: I cannot do this alone. If I run a study about a particular drug produced by a pharmaceutical industry and I find that the drug has serious adverse consequences and I publish that paper in a scientific journal, whether it is correct or not is immaterial, it will end my career and I will be hunted out of the country by the industry. This has happened more frequently than anyone cares to remember. Fortunately I took on a diet

and the diet wasn’t made by the pharmaceutical industry, so that no single industry was directly threatened because I am not focused on a single product.

AM: But they know that you had an opportunity to attack them directly?

PTN: Fortunately not really because there is no specific product that we are against and you have to read the literature on this. People have been excommunicated for writing the truth and I won’t go into that but it is clear. I was partially excommunicated by my colleagues and my own Dean of Medicine published a letter in the Cape Times which sought to dissociate both the University and my medical faculty from me. But the truth will come out in the AUTHORS MAGAZINE

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end and I will ultimately be remembered for telling that truth.

AM: Were you hurt?

PTN: Yes, I was obviously very hurt at the time, but fortunately I know that 165 000 people bought The Real Meal Revolution and perhaps 500 000 people in South Africa have benefitted from it and I spoke to over a hundred audiences in the last year and no one else has ever spoken to so many audiences on nutrition in one year. I know what the people think about this diet in ways that no one else does.

AM: Well done. Controversial or not, you have done well and you’ve got people talking. How is the overseas market?

PTN: There are twelve countries currently looking at translation rights and we have other big plans like backers overseas to help us make this revolution go global.

AM: How does one follow your diet? You don’t give a step by step guide of what to do on day 1, 2, 3 etc. like many other diets do?

How many meals a day?

PTN: First you need to realise that this is not a diet but a plan for life. You have to commit that you won’t eat bread because if you go back you will pick up weight. Most processed food you eat can be addictive and are not likely to be good for you. You will just pick up weight. You have to throw out all the processed foods (breads, cereal, pasta, rice) and you will be left with very little that is in the fridge. If it is not in the fridge, by and large, you should not be eating it; except for nuts and vegetables, you eat from the fridge. The way I started I just said it is going to be difficult to adapt so I will eat from only a small range of foods, but I don’t care if my nutrition is not good for the next two or three months; I’m just going to eat a very limited range of foods and get rid of the addictive foods. So that’s the best. You have to choose the foods that you love eating. I like nuts, macadamia nuts (and if I don’t eat nuts I feel deprived), lots of fish and lots of fats from coconut oil, butter, dairy and avocado. You can have breads that are low in carbohydrates and we have one recipe in the book. If you go to the health shops you will find low-carb breads and

they are delicious and much healthier. Rye bread contains gluten so beware. Lifebake bread is really good and is made of seeds. White bread rises because it contains gluten and many if not most of us will do better removing all gluten from our diets.

The key is you have to see yourself in the future and say that’s what is going to happen in three months’ time (lose weight). You have to see yourself in the future and visualise yourself there.

Chuck out wrong foods. No processed foods, no sugar, 25-50 grams of carbs per day. The problems are too much starchy veggies (potatoes, beetroot, peas). You must go onto the green list of our book and you’ll be fine. Any veg grown above the ground you can eat without limits.

AM: One slice low GI whole wheat bread?

PTN: No, you cannot eat that if you are seriously overweight and have marked insulin resistance including type 2 diabetes. Most people who struggle to lose weight never get the carbohydrates down low enough. Once you get it down your carbohydrate intake low enough you just burn fat all the time and that’s when you start to lose weight.

AM: When did you start banting?

PTN: On 12 December 2010. I have not had one sweet, not one sweet drink in four years.

AM: Have you ever cheated?

PTN: I have never cheated in four years! I have no interest in cheating! The point is that if you cheat, you pay for it. You start to feel sick again.

AM: Is this diet related to weight loss or a new weight loss problem?

PTN: If you are insulin resistant and you eat carbohydrates you will get fat. We are treating a condition called insulin resistance, which is the single most important medical condition on the globe.

There are 400 million people with type 2 diabetes; there are perhaps 2 billion people who are overweight and I know what the cause is because I was overweight. I am not overweight now and I will never be overweight because now I know what the problem is. The key is that obesity and type 2 diabetes are the same condition caused by the same mechanisms. Unless one understands that one cannot ever prevent or reverse either condition.

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AM: Did you ever have cravings?

PTN: Yes when I started, sugar is a massive problem because it is addictive and I had been a real sugar addict and also had binge eaten and would binge on bread and peanut butter. Replace peanut butter with macadamia nut butter but it’s unfortunately very expensive.

When you are overweight you don’t have options.

After 4 years I have absolutely no cravings and essentially no hunger. This is the precise opposite for how I ate before I converted.

AM: How does the common man understand about his insulin resistance?

PTN: The key problem in medicine is insulin resistance, which is a genetic condition; you are born with it and it gets worse with age. You put on weight with age. You struggle to control your weight; you become lethargic and you fall asleep in the afternoons; you have little energy, you become progressively fatter and eventually you get high blood pressure, diabetes and gout and they go together as a group ̶ that is very likely to be insulin resistance. What happens when you are insulin resistant is that you cannot store the carbohydrates and can’t use it so you have to take it in and turn it into fat. Fat cells in the body are there, in a sense, to take out the dangerous carbohydrates that you eat and store them as fat –in which form they are less toxic. Your body cannot cope with a high glucose level in the bloodstream. If you eat high carbohydrates and your glucose level goes high all the time then the body says you must take out that high glucose level and store it as fat. It does that by secreting the hormone insulin. The problem is that insulin is the fat-building hormone. You cannot get fat without insulin. So in time you get a roll around your waist and then you say, “Good Morning Insulin Roll.” Then you understand because insulin is a fat-building hormone. If you don’t eat carbohydrates you won’t secrete enough insulin to make you fat and that’s the key.

As long as you can get your insulin down you should be able to lose weight, but that requires that you cut carbohydrates to very low intakes.

The more insulin resistant you are the less carbohydrates you can take.

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Apple is not good because it is a bag of sugar!

Berries are fine. Strawberries are a bit sweet.

I am on a Banting Cooking course, The Real Meal Revolution cooking course. Teach your family how to cook for long term health.

AM: You said, “My wife doesn’t have the medical condition that I have.” Does it mean this lifestyle diet is for those with a condition only?

PTN: No they should not eat processed foods!

You find children at age three with a roll around their waist and that is a sign of insulin resistance and a diet that is too high in carbs. Chances are that they are already developing a sugar addiction. The diet is full of minerals and vitamins that are good and healthy for you. Carb processed foods are so processed that there is nothing left in them and they come from foods that we have not been eating for more than 12 000 years. The biggest error we made was agriculture 12 000 years ago and the moment we started eating cereals and grains we got smaller and sicker and unhealthier.

AM: What do I say to our friends and families who are living in the darkened corners of South Africa whose staple diet is bread? Have you written this book with them in mind as well?

PTN: Not yet. There is a solution. We need to provide the internal organs of the animals because those are the healthiest parts of the animal (liver, pancreas, brains, intestines, tongue, tripe and the stomach). We should not be eating only meat. It is fine, but it is not good enough. I was with Yvonne Chaka Chaka and she introduced this concept into Khayelitsha and Gugulethu. She is implementing it. She provides even common food such as trip in a most beautiful presentation. It is not banting because there is still samp in it, which I don’t agree with, but at least there is much more protein, fat and the nutrient-dense foods. Government really needs to subsidise that type of food. The worst thing you can do is to try to raise a child on carbohydrates because they need protein and fat to make them healthy. Poor people are stuck in their poverty because of poor nutrition and we then ask a question, “Why don’t I

have tuberculosis?” We all carry the bacteria, but I come from a healthy community where we eat good food and that’s why I don’t have active TB. Our immune system is so good, but you go out to the poor communities where TB is rife and it’s rife because nutrition is so bad. You cannot fight TB only with drugs; you have to address nutrition. If you get people eating well they will become much more immune to TB and it is a much quicker solution than drugs.

If you eat carbs and have a family history of type 2 diabetes then it will definitely happen ̶ you will have type 2 diabetes.

AM: What is your view about the culture of reading in South Africa?

PTN: It is disappearing. My colleagues in the medical profession, who you think will read, don’t and that is a tragedy. I am a deep reader and have a massive library and have in fact written about six or seven books. They all have been published and The Real Meal Revolution is not

my best seller. I have written a big book called The Lore of Running, which is a bible of running and it sold well ̶ a quarter of a million books, which is my best seller because it’s been in the market for over thirty years, so it is understandable why it has sold so many copies. It worries me that people are not reading enough; they aren’t inquisitive and curious. The society does not want us to question, but wants us to just accept the untruths that are being taught to us often for nothing more than commercial gain. They don’t want you to think because if you think you start questioning and you stop doing what they want you to do and that is a real issue.

AM: What made your book so successful?

PTN: There are couple of reasons. The public has been misled for forty years so we had to explain why they have been misled and give them a bit of the science and that appealed to them. The real reason is because it works. It is the only plan that will give you weight loss. We said, “This is

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why you are fat. This is what you have to do to take away the fat and here are the recipes.” These recipes are amazing.

AM: Did the diet cure you?

PTN: No unfortunately not. I still have type 2 diabetes because I started too late, but each day we receive letters of thanks from grateful patients who claim the diet has “cured” them of a wide range of different conditions.

AM: Is one year of The Real Meal Revolution enough time to start celebrating banting?

PTN: Is 3 million years long enough? We have been eating this diet for 3 million years and that’s what people forget. We would have been wiped out 3 million years ago if this diet killed you. This is the original diet. Everything has to be explained in evolutionary terms. This is not a new diet; it has been there forever.

We are so distanced from what we ate in our past that we are now living in the zoo because all the diseases and the illnesses we have are linked to the fact that we are completely removed from what we should be eating. I believe that medicine is utterly astonishing if you have an acute condition (break your arm or have pneumonia) - medicine is brilliant and there is nothing to match it. When it comes to chronic diseases (heart disease and so on) we are utterly useless.

We have to admit that we don’t do it properly and that there is another way because, in my opinion, 85% of chronic illness is caused by nutrition. If we cannot address nutrition we cannot sort it out. We don’t teach it properly and research it well. It is biased towards industry. The result is that we end up treating symptoms and ignoring the causes of chronic disease, almost all of which have a strong nutritional component.

AM: Any unsuccessful stories?

PTN: There will be and there has to be and it can’t work for everyone. Two major problems in the world are obesity and diabetes. There is an explanation why is it happening. When I try to give answers I get criticised. I choose foods that I have to eat. We get told that we should eat a little bit of everything, which is wrong. If you are insulin resistant you should not eat certain foods. Nutrition is religion. But if you don’t follow the nutrition religion that is based on science, you will live to regret it in the long run.

AM: What are the critics saying?

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as long as you eat them “in moderation”. But when you are sick like me or obese, you cannot eat in moderation, but you have to choose what you eat. I am thin because I choose what to eat and more importantly WHAT NOT TO EAT. That is why I now can remain thin and not because of my fabulous metabolism. I choose carefully what I put in my mouth and analyse it on a scientific basis and not an emotional basis and say this is what I can eat versus this is what will kill me. We all have to make that decision, but get told to eat a bit of everything in moderation and that is wrong. If you are insulin resistant you have to be very very careful about what you eat.

AM: Have there been personal threats made to you?

PTN: Some academics have been less than honourable in what they have done to me.

There may not have been personal threats, but threats to my career. I am the first professor at the University of Cape Town who is an A1 highly rated scientist and that is the highest possible rating and I have won almost all the awards in science in this country. Every award and yet I’ve been labelled as mad by my colleagues and by my own faculty. It’s astonishing.

What they should have said is, “Tim, you are an academic; you are allowed your opinion and let’s debate it”. But unfortunately we’re dealing with a religion. Nutrition is a religion. If you don’t follow that religion you get excommunicated and that’s a problem. The tragedy is that in 100 years’ time I can guarantee you that we will look back and say, “Do you mean that is the way we treated heart disease? That is how we treated high blood pressure? With those toxic drugs? When it was a nutritional disease? How could you have been so stupid?” We, today, look back and say, “You used to put leeches on the skin and bleed people”. In 100 years’ time we will look back and see that the drugs don’t work, but nutrition does.

There is a professor at Harvard Medical School, Dr Alessio Fasano. He is my hero. He said, ”All diseases begin and end in the gut”. In other words they are all based on what we are eat-

ing. What you eat determines your gut bacteria and your gut bacteria determine your health in ways that we are only now just beginning to understand. That is the greatest advance in medicine in the last 150 years. In 100 years’ time, when we finally sort out peoples’ health and understand that what they eat determines their health, then people will say, ”The professors in 2014 had absolutely no clue”. And I will be one of the clueless professors. But at least I was prepared to question.

AM: What drives you and makes you unshaken?

PTN: More people need to understand that we need visionaries. I am independent and the truth is that I am not out there selling anything but the truth. The people who are concerned about me see that I will damage their financial futures and that’s the issue. As a scientist all I am interested in is the truth and if I made an error I will admit it and say I made an error. I did before about eating carbohydrates, but I was wrong and saw the truth. I read more in nutrition than I guess anybody in South Africa.

I read both sides. You have to. You have to be able to argue both sides. Our next book, by the way, will be The 15 Great Myths of Nutrition Cook Book.

Remember: the only thing that survives is the truth!

Thank you it was a lovely interview.

He then shows us his first book, Lore of Running, a book handwritten in the 1980s with pride. “Big things start small,” he tells us. “This is the best thing I have,” he says. “There are four editions and now there’s a fifth edition one the way.” ̶ and he shows us lovely pictures of his wife of forty-three years.

We take pictures with him and when we say, “We will show people that we met you,” he says, “And tell them that I am human.”

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Book launch

Defence Technology Made Easy

BY MINAH SINDANE-BLOEM

“South Africa is an interesting country in that it has two worlds...�

A

s I write, it is 2 July 2015. The launch took place on 30 June 2015. As human beings we have very special days that we remember for the rest of our lives. I have a few, the day I finished high school, the day I graduated from college, the day I started working, the four times I changed my career, the day I got married, the days I gave birth to my two children, my 40th birthday party, and the days I launched my first and second books.

The launch of my third book is an added day to those days. It was an awesome day in the life of an author. The function itself was professionally done. Denel, my sponsor, outdid themselves. The greatest moment for me was when they played video clips of learners who were given the book to read and review.

The things they said about the book warmed my heart. I tried very hard to hold back my tears because I realised that

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me and my co-author have achieved what we set out to achieve. The target market for the book received the book well. What more could we ask for?

All the sleepless nights, all the frustrations and anxieties that come with writing, were nothing compared to what I saw at the book launch.

I thought to myself that I can actually walk through those frustrations again for an end result such as this.

Remember this is a book that some expects told us that the township child will not be able to comprehend its contents. We were told that it is going to be too difficult for them. My interpretation of those statements was that they

help change the mind set of most learners about Mathematics and Physical Science. The Master of Ceremonies at the launch indicated that teachers used to tell them that if they don’t go to school they will look like a guy who has a blue overall and is an artisan. However if they go to school they will look like the guy who has a tie and a suite. Today as a country we are short of artisans. People go to school to wear suites yet they do not get employed with the qualifications they have.

It is our duty to tell our children that if they do not take up Mathematics and Science at school, they are closing themselves out of at least 100 careers. South Africa is an interest-

It is my belief as an author that this book is the beginning of getting the African child to think about how to make Africa better and not how to run to the western countries and find comfort there. were not smart enough to enter the world of Defence. Thank God we did not believe the experts. Thank God my sponsor, Denel, did not believe the experts too.

The book targets children who are in grades 7-9 at high school. These are children who have not yet made choices about subjects they will be pursuing in higher grades. The subjects they choose determine their career choice post schooling. Our book encourages children to take up Mathematics and Physical Science, somehow daunting subjects for most children in this part of Africa, South Africa.

We realised that as authors it is our duty to

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ing country in that it has two worlds, that of the rich and that of the poor. The challenge is to get those who are poor to change their lot and be partakers in the economy of the country.

There are many ways to do this and one of them is authors like us changing the mind-set.

Defence presents endless opportunities for the youth. Those opportunities have not been tapped because they are not known. It is our vision as authors that the book reach every learner in the Continent of Africa so that the African child begins to solve all kinds of problems in society instead of waiting for others to solve those problems. The African child should

work towards being a consumer and not only an inventor. It is my belief as an author that this book is the beginning of getting the African child to think about how to make Africa better and not how to run to the western countries and find comfort there.

The Defence Industry in South Africa runs a biennial exhibition called Africa Aerospace and Defence. The next one is in September 2016. There are less than five (5) African countries exhibiting at that show. Many of the African countries visiting the exhibition are consumers and manufacturers of Defence equipment. It is my humble opinion that we begin to invest in our youth so that they can change the situation around. Again, it is my belief as an author that this book is the beginning of getting the African child to think about how to make Africa better and not how to run to the western countries and find comfort there.

Parents play a crucial role in making sure that the children study and choose the right careers. We have a situation where children go to tertiary and do studies that do not allow them to be absorbed in the mainstream economy. Parents should take an active role in the education of their children. It is time that we think about our future as a country South Africa, and as a continent Africa. Let us begin to dream of a continent where others will come and consult on technology issues rather than us always consulting.

In 2008, China was producing a million technically qualified people per annum. That number must have doubled by now. These things are possible.

The book is downloadable at www.denel.co.za.

MINAH SINDANE-BLOEM

africa arise!

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Varsity spot

SHE IS QUOTING HERSELF!!!

A

uthors caught up with Banele, a third year Accounting Science student from UNISA, to find out what she is up to this holiday season.

Banele’s other name is Gontse. Although her names, in isiZulu and Setswana respectively, carry the same meaning, she still prefers being called Gontse. They can be loosely translated to “enough”, although she suspects her folks intended to mean “content” instead. And of course, any parent would be content to have such an inspired daughter. At her tender age, she still finds the courage to handle a full time administration job well, excel in her studies and read a heap of books.

She speaks passionately about “To quote myself ”, the book she is currently reading. It is not surprising because she admits to once having a crush on the author, Khaya Dlanga “It’s silly, I know”, she confesses. Gontse is attracted not only to Khaya’s looks, but his zest for life and the way he relates his journey to success in this “true story” book. “I am inspired by his journey from the rural Eastern Cape to becoming the head of Marketing and Communications industry for the world’s largest brands”, she elaborates. Gontse also believes that Khaya is also and South Africa’s most loved ‘tweleb’. (i.e. Twitter Celebrity).

My names Banele and Gontse mean the same thing, it’s just in Isizulu and Setswana, yeah my parents were that creative.

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Her philosophy is that women should empower other women, instead of belittling each other Her opinion of the book is that it is poignant. “This is a book that can make you smile, laugh, cry and swear all-in-one is a good read! It don’t think that it is completely relevant in today’s lifestyle, but one can learn a thing or two, or five from the book, especially since it’s a real life story”, she says with a blush. “It reminded me that the only time one should look down on another person is when the help them up. I have also learnt that our present sufferings doesn’t compare to the glory that will be revealed in us one day”, she adds.

Gontse believes that the youth is more interested in reading magazines than they are in reading books.

“I think it’s because we are a lazy generation - too busy uploading Instagram pics and updating Facebook statuses, which isn’t wrong, but it has made us even lazier! To me, anyone who doesn’t read the Bible won’t be interested in reading books,” she says with a bit of irritation.

The East Rand born apprentice says she draws her inspiration from people who love genuinely, those with the will to lend a helping hand and from her father. Her philosophy is that women should empower other women, instead of belittling each other. Gontse spends her spare time catching a nap or cooking. Even though she seems to be conservative, she is actually a cheery soul!!!

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Opinion

67 minutes for tata madiba BY: TSHIAMO MAHLOELE

H

e was not elevated to the status of an icon by corporate. Neither did he receive it by honorary means. He is an icon of sacrifices. He compromised “self ” for the good of others. He missed the sunlight. He missed family Sunday lunches. He didn’t run around the park with his grand children. And missed birthdays, weddings, funerals, anniversaries, traditional ceremonies and any other celebration that his family and relatives had, so that all of us can enjoy those days.

So, it was fitting that there was a countrywide ullilating when he was released on a February summer afternoon back then.Yes, as South Africans we pride ourselves in participating in 67minutes for Mandela Day every year. We make document it this day through noble actions. Be it food or blanket drives, giving away books or clothes, visiting an orphanage and playing with children, painting houses, doing street sweeps and so on. We participate. But do we know why? Do we know the history of Mandela Day? Who founded it? And when?

It’s all about honouring Nelson Mandela’s legacy by taking 67 minutes of your time to participate in Mandela Day activities

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“Only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can freedom be won. The struggle is my life. I will continue fighting for freedom until the end of my days.”

Nelson Mandela International Day is a worldwide movement to not only celebrate his legacy, but also as a remembrance to honour his life’s work and the change that he brought about to South Africa- the change that was solidified in 1994. Year of the Born Frees. This year we, as South Africans, will be celebrating 21 years of Democracy. 21 years of progress.

21 years of freedom.

Back in 2008, Nelson Mandela said, “it is in your hands now”, inspiring the unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly to launch Mandela Day a year later on his birthday- 18 July 2009. A simple 6-word phrase with a powerful message: “For the next generation to take on the burden of leadership in addressing the world’s social injustices”.

It’s all about honouring Nelson Mandela’s legacy by taking 67 minutes of your time to participate in Mandela Day activities. With activities widely

themed under food security; education and literacy; shelter and infrastructure; service and volunteerism, it doesn’t seem like such a hard task, right?

Right! It’s not hard, especially given that there are so many options... Options that cast a wide net and allow people all over the world to contribute in trying to make the world a better place, one act at a time.

Participating in Mandela Day can be thought of as a way to prove that the trust he displayed in the human race, and that his fight for freedom and equality, was not in vein. That indeed, each and every individual has the ability and responsibility to make a difference in the world. By fulfilling this responsibility, we would be living Mandela’s legacy on a daily basis. And really, who wouldn’t want to be living such a phenomenal legacy on a regular basis?

Poetry corner

AS IT DAWNS FOR THE MAN OF LIGHT

BY SHALATE PORTIA DAVHANA

The sun rays are shining over Khanya Ratsaka’s career. His smile illuminates the room as he walks in to speak to Authors. Soon enough, he transmits his charisma to the rest of the staff that has been eagerly waiting to meet him.

He has been at his hometown in Botlokwa a day before to announce his new achievement. His first release, a poetic CD entitled The Dawn has been warmly received by communities in Limpopo where he first performed on stage recently. The choice of venue was influenced by the language in which some of the poems are performed, which is Sepedi.

THE UNTHINKABLE Kganya did the ‘unthinkable’. He debuted his poetry album at a local pub, much to the delight of the patrons. Soon word broke out like wildfire, and he has since been attending to media interview requests. While some may think of his “marketing” methods as unconventional, the Communication Science graduate from UNISA knows his story, theoretically and practically. Kganya opted to record first instead of publishing his work because he believes in the “power of the spoken word”. He says: “I am a performing poet. People have been telling me that they would like to hear my work even when they are driving, for instance. This is a matter of popular demand”.

BREAKTHROUGHS He entitled his CD The Dawn because the poems aka tracks, embraces positive breakthroughs in life, just as the dawns makes way for light, leaving the darkness of the night behind. He describes his poems as traditionally spiritual because they promote heritage and spirituality. “Most of my poems emphasise on the importance of education and also aim at restoring morality”, he adds.

His love for poetry was ignited by the literature work of some South African prominent authors such as Professor Wally Serote, Modikoe Dikobe, as well as the world’s renowned author, William Shakespeare while he was still a scholar.

INSPIRATION Laugher erupts as he jokingly mimics The People’s Poet, Mzwakhe Mbuli, whom he says is his biggest inspiration. “When I was growing up, I used to listen to his recorded poems. The audio cassettes came with the ‘lyrics’ printed

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on small paper. So I could repeat the poems and understand what he conveyed”, says Khanya. He is impressed by his choice and order of word and of course, alliteration- the repetition emphasis that Mzwakhe is popularly known for. “His package is so perfect to me. I don’t know about others”, he adds.

THE WORST THING From his experience of ‘on stage’ performance, he cautions that hosts should allow poets adequate time to prepare for the event.

He says that often people think that writing is easy and expects it to be done instantly; he adds, “The worst thing that can happen to a performing poet is to lose a line in front of your audience. You’re finished”.

HIP HOP? REALLY? Kganya believes that young people are still very much interested in poetry because they participate a lot in poetry sessions. He then drops a potentially controversial statement; “They have since developed it in a form of hip hop!” He adds that many upcoming poets have approached him for advice with their work, “When they start performing, I realise that they are actually doing hip hop. That is how I find the connection between the two”.

He believes that, globally, poetry is transformed even though some may disagree with him. The remix of one of his tracks entitled Limpopo, was done by a popular music artist from Pretoria.

“The worst thing that can happen to a performing poet is to lose a line in front of your audience. You’re finished”.

During his spare time Kganya listens to Funky Masipe Mahapi and the Tshepo Tshola, aka Village Pope, because he is impressed by the quality of their music and their dedication to the industry.

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HIS 67 MINUTES In his poem, Freedom, he commemorates the good work by political activists of the past, such as Nelson Mandela. He intends spending Mandela Day at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional facility, performing a 67-minutes poem. He had done this ‘poetry marathon’ before at a similar facility in Venda, Limpopo. “As poets, we are the voice of the voiceless, let us go there. Let us assist them to rehabilitate” Kganya also fancies the idea of performing free poetry sessions for the underprivileged.

THE LIGHT SHINES THROUGH Kganya is a firm believer. His mission is to spread light though the word of God as well as the teachings of the elders. He says that he is encouraged by his names, Kganya which means “light” and Christopher, which has “Christ” in it. He summarises the song compilation of The Dawn as “evangelic” and “prophetic”. He catches a glimpse of the camera flash as he poses for his last picture, before he rushes to UNISA for another media interview.

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PHOTO: TIEGO MORALLANE

Talk of Tested Leadership Leadership from the Dungeons Leadership of great stature Lest we forget Lest we forget Warriors and Gallants Compatriots Veterans and Combatants Veteran Stalwarts and Legends Heroes and Freedom Fighters Lest we forget From slavery to infiltration From infiltration to ambush From ambush to resistance From resistance to resilience From resilience to Power From power to freedom Lest we forget From Rivonia to Robben Island prison From Robben Island to Pollsmoor prison From Pollsmoor prison to House arrest From House arrest to Power From Power to freedom Lest we forget From Groote Schuur minutes to Pretoria minutes From Pretoria minutes to National Peace accord From National Peace accord to Power From Power to Freedom Lest we forget Talk of Zephaniah Mothopeng, Andrew Mlangeni, Oliver Tambo, Steve Biko, Raymond Mhlaba, Oscar Mpetha, Moses Mabhida, Moses Kotane, Govan Mbeki, Harry Gwala, Japhtha Masemola.........and Nelson Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Madiba Mandela... *Sophitsho, Nqgolomsila,Vela Bambhentsele Yem Yem!!!!!!

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Book extract

B

rian Gilbertson, the angular, youthful-looking chief executive of the mining giant Gencor, was an unusual business titan in South Africa in the 1990s. More in desperation than expectation, I had visited him around September 1995, to requestFUNDING for my party’s very threadbare municipal election campaign. At the time, other than the Oppenheimer family, most of Johannesburg’s commercial community met such entreaties with big smiles and very small, if any, cheques. Gilbertson, however, completely understood the need for robust opposition and promptly wrote a cheque for R250 000. He also requested my presence at the imminentOPENING of his company’s corporate headquarters.

So rewarded, I duly presented myself on a balmy Friday evening in downtown Johannesburg at the rather splendidly reconfigured Gencor building. We were gathered, the leaders of South African corporate and political leadership, in a marquee set upOUTSIDE.

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Mandela needed to leave the dinner to telephone such business luminaries as Harry Oppenheimer, Donald Gordon and Marinus Daling to apprise them of this before it was announced, I was not surprised by the presence of President Mandela, there to provide the keynote speech.

After all, he set great store by obtaining the buy-in of business leaders, both toFUND his cause and to keep faith with the course of the new South Africa.

I had witnessed this just over a year before, in June 1994, at the banquet he hosted for François Mitterrand. I, along with other guests, had been somewhat startled, then, when he hastily departed the dinner after the first course. It later transpired that his finance minister (and Gilbertson’s predecessor at Gencor), Derek Keys, was about to quit his post; Mandela needed to leave the dinner to telephone such business luminaries as Harry Oppenheimer, Donald Gordon and Marinus Daling to apprise them of this before it was announced, and to receive their blessing for his designated successor, Chris Liebenberg, the former head of Nedbank. Reassuring the markets and their leaders was a key presidential priority.

Equally unsurprising was the presence at the Gencor bash that evening of FW de Klerk. Gencor, after all, was the latest corporate iteration of General Mining, which, with some assistance from Anglo’s Harry Oppenheimer, had in the mid-1960s become the first Afrikaner-controlled mining corporation in the country, nearly eighty years afterGOLD had first been discovered on the Witwatersrand back in 1886. De Klerk was the inheritor of a patient political tradition that, in matters economic at least, set considerable store by the empowerment of die volk(the people, or Afrikaners).

But what followed was completely unexpected for the several hundred guests, me included, arrayed before the podium. Having commenced a prepared speech of suitable and forgettable politeness, Man-

dela took off his reading glasses midway through his courtesies and went vehemently off script. In altogether more memorable fashion, he launched a root-and-branch attack on the National Party, blaming itDIRECTLY for the crime wave then engulfing the suburbs and townships of South Africa, and which had been a central theme of the recent local government elections in Johannesburg. His angry tone was reflected in his eyes, which seemed to focus directly on De Klerk, then serving alongside Mandela in the Government of National Unity (GNU). As the former president later wrote in his autobiography: ‘He worded [the attack] in such a manner that it was clear that he had targeted me personally as leader of the party.’

This somewhat dampened the bonhomie of the night, but we all duly retreated into the building for the banquet – all except Mandela, who hadINDICATED he would have to leave before the meal began. It was only the next morning, whenThe Star newspaper splashed candid pictures across its pages, that South Africa learnt that Mandela’s dressingdown of De Klerk hadCONTINUED outside on the pavement. The photographs showed the two joint Nobel Prize winners wagging fingers at each other – with an anxious-looking Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, Pik Botha, trying to intercede.

This was a further reminder to the country that the relationship at the summit of political power was neither peaceful nor happy. In fact, De Klerk and the National Party’s presence in government would end, by their own hand, less than a year after the showdown that evening.

Extracted from Opposite Mandela, published by Jonathan Ball and available from Kalahari.com.

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Quick read

A Scandal in Bohemia

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I

CHAPTER III.

slept at Baker Street that night, and we were engaged upon our toast and coffee in the morning when the King of Bohemia rushed into the room.

“You have really got it!” he cried, grasping Sherlock Holmes by either shoulder and looking eagerly into his face.

“Not yet.”

“But you have hopes?”

“I have hopes.”

“Then, come. I am all impatience to be gone.”

“We must have a cab.”

“No, my brougham is waiting.”

“Then that will simplify matters.” We descended and started off once more for Briony Lodge.

“Irene Adler is married,” remarked Holmes.

“Married! When?”

“Yesterday.”

“But to whom?”

“To an English lawyer named Norton.”

“But she could not love him.”

“I am in hopes that she does.”

“And why in hopes?”

“Because it would spare your Majesty all fear of future annoyance. If the lady loves her husband, she does not love your Majesty. If she does not love your Majesty, there is no reason why she should interfere with your Majesty’s plan.”

“It is true. And yet—Well! I wish she had been of my own station! What a queen she would have made!” He relapsed into a moody silence, which was not broken until we drew up in Serpentine Avenue.

The door of Briony Lodge was open, and an elderly woman stood upon the steps. She watched us with a sardonic eye as we stepped from the brougham.

“Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I believe?” said she.

“I am Mr. Holmes,” answered my companion, looking at her with a questioning and rather startled gaze.

“Indeed! My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She left this morning with her husband by the 5.15 train from Charing Cross for the Continent.”

“What!” Sherlock Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and surprise. “Do you mean that she has left England?”

“Never to return.”

“And the papers?” asked the King hoarsely.

“All is lost.”

“We shall see.” He pushed past the servant and rushed into the drawing-room, followed by the King and myself. The furniture was scattered about in every direction, with dismantled shelves and open drawers, as if the lady had hurriedly ransacked them before her flight. Holmes rushed at the bell-pull, tore back a small sliding shutter, and, plunging in his hand, pulled out a photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Irene Adler herself in evening dress, the letter was superscribed to “Sherlock Holmes, Esq. To be left till called for.” My friend tore it open and we all three read it together.

It was dated at midnight of the preceding night and ran in this way: “My dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes: “You really did it very well. You took me in completely. Until after the alarm of fire, I had not a suspicion. But then, when I found how I had betrayed myself, I began to think. I had been warned against you months ago. I had been told that if the King employed an agent it would certainly be you. And your address had been given me. Yet, with all this, you made me reveal what you wanted to know. Even after I became suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind old clergyman. But, you know, I have been trained as an actress myself. Male costume is nothing new to me. I often take advantage of the freedom which it gives. I sent John, the coachman, to watch you, ran up stairs, got into my walking-clothes, as I call them, and came down just as you departed.

“Well, I followed you to your door, and so made sure that I was really an object of interest to the celebrated Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Then I, rather imprudently, wished you good-night, and started for the Temple to see my husband.

“We both thought the best resource was flight, when pursued by so formidable an antagonist; so you will find the nest empty when you call tomorrow.

As to the photograph, your

client may rest in peace. I love and am

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loved by a better man than he. The King may do what he will without hindrance from one whom he has cruelly wronged. I keep it only to safeguard myself, and to preserve a weapon which will always secure me from any steps which he might take in the future. I leave a photograph which he might care to possess; and I remain, dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, — “Very truly yours, “Irene Norton, nee A ´ dler.”

“What a woman—oh, what a woman!” cried the King of Bohemia, when we had all three read this epistle. “Did I not tell you how quick and resolute she was? Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity that she was not on my level?”

“From what I have seen of the lady she seems indeed to be on a very different level to your Majesty,” said Holmes coldly. “I am sorry that I have not been able to bring your Majesty’s business to a more successful conclusion.”

“On the contrary, my dear sir,” cried the King; “nothing could be more successful. I know that her word is inviolate. The photograph is now as safe as if it were in the fire.”

“I am glad to hear your Majesty say so.”

“I am immensely indebted to you. Pray tell me in what way I can reward you. This ring—” He slipped an emerald snake ring from his finger and held it out upon the palm of his hand.

“Your Majesty has something which I should value even more highly,” said Holmes.

“You have but to name it.”

“This photograph!”

The King stared at him in amazement.

“Irene’s photograph!” he cried. “Certainly, if you wish it.”

“I thank your Majesty. Then there is no more to be done in the matter. I have the honour to wish you a very good-morning.” He bowed, and, turning away without observing the hand which the King had stretched out to him, he set off in my company for his chambers.

And that was how a great scandal threatened to affect the kingdom of Bohemia, and how the best plans of Mr. Sherlock Holmes were beaten by a woman’s wit. He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honourable title of the woman.

Ph: 083 757 3713 email: naomi.myburgh@gmail.com http://naomimyburgh.wix.com/naomiephotography www.facebook.com/naomiephotography

naomi e

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Book review

Book Review: THE SECRETS SHE LEFT BEHIND Author: Diane Chamberlain Publisher: www.mirabooks.uk

What if you did something so devastating you regretted it for the rest of your life?

M

aggie Lockwood’s release from prison resuscitates the agony of the people she has hurt. Her one year sentence is like a spit in the face for the victims of the fire she caused at the chapel in an attempt to turn her fire-fighter boyfriend, Ben, into a hero. Three people died when the fire broke while others got severely burnt, including her family friend Keith. Sadly, Ben did not get to be the hero that saves the day…

No amount of regret from Maggie is enough to heal the deep wounds she has inflicted. Many lives are turned upside down, dreams are shattered and families are scattered. She keeps herself locked away, except for the few instances that she has to go for counselling sessions and community service. As if her guilt is not enough, she has to deal with journalists who behave like hungry hounds outside her home.

Keith’s mother disappears with no trace. She leaves behind, the deepest darkest secrets that involves family, friends and neighbours. Meanwhile, Maggie and Keith have to find a way to move on despite the dark cloud that keeps hanging above their heads. Maggie has always insisted that she only “set” the fire, she did not light it up. The shocking revelation comes out towards the end when the guy that caused the inferno by throwing a lit cigarette on the dosed ground happens to be one of the victims.

The characters in the book speak in “first person”. It gives a feeling as if the story is narrated directly to the reader by each character. Diane Chamberlain does not follow any chronology in this fiction novel, yet it is easy for the reader to keep abreast with the events as they unfold. It is the story of love, hatred, loyalty, betrayal and forgiveness. A very intriguing tale that keeps one captured till the end. A great read indeed!!!

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Editor’s choice

Believe it can be done; try and try again until you achieve your goal of a successful life. Learn the secrets from Richard Branson.

Sir Richard Branson was born in 1950 and educated at Stowe School. It was here that he began to set up Student magazine when he was just 16. By 17 he’d also set up a Student Advisory Centre, which was a charity to help young people.

In 1970 he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and not long after he opened a record shop in Oxford Street, London.

During 1972 a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire, and the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield, recorded ’Tubular Bells‘, which was released in 1973. Virgin Atlantic Airways, formed in 1984, is now the second largest British long haul international airline service. The airline has won many

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major awards, including Airline of the Year Award several times.

During 1997 Virgin took over Britain’s two most run-down rail franchises, CrossCountry and the West Coast Main Line to form Virgin Trains. In addition to his own business activities, Richard is a trustee of several charities including the Virgin Healthcare Foundation, a leading healthcare charity that was responsible for the launch of a health education campaign relating to AIDS in 1987. Richard has been involved in a number of world recordbreaking attempts since 1985. In 1986 his boat, ’Virgin Atlantic Challenger II‘ crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest ever recorded time.

This was followed a year later by the epic hot-air balloon crossing of the same ocean in ’Virgin Atlantic Flyer‘. This was not only

the first hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic, but was the largest ever flown. In January 1991 Richard crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Arctic Canada, breaking all existing records.

Between 1995 and 1998 Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made a number of attempts to circumnavigate the globe by balloon.

In late 1998 they made a recordbreaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii but their dream of a global flight was shattered by bad weather, and then a Swiss team successfully circumnavigated the globe in early 1999. In December 1999, Richard Branson was awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s Millennium New Year’s Honours List for ’services to entrepreneurship www.virgin.com

T

he press call me and my partners at Virgin ‘Mavericks in Paradise’. There’s no doubt that we tend to do things in a less stuffy way than most businesses – and I have ended up with two tropical islands to have fun on – so it must be true. And for me it works. I work hard and I play hard. Though I have never followed the rules at every step, I have learned many lessons along the way. My lessons in life started at home when I was young. They carried on at school and in business from as early as my teens when I ran Student magazine. I am still learning and hope I never stop. These lessons have held me in good stead throughout my life. I have written them down and I hope that you will find something in these pages that might inspire you. I believe in goals. It’s never a bad thing to have a dream, but I’m practical about it. I don’t sit daydreaming about things that are impossible. I set goals and then work out how to achieve them. Anything I want to do in life I want to do well and not half-heartedly. At school, I found reading and writing hard. Back then, dyslexia wasn’t understood and my teachers just thought I was lazy. So I taught myself to learn things by heart. Now I have a very good memory and it has become one of my best tools in business. When I was starting out in life, things were more certain than they are these days. You had a career lined up, often the same one your father followed. Most mothers stayed at home. Today nothing is sure, and life is one long struggle. People have to make choices if they are to get anywhere. The best lesson I learned was to just do it. It doesn’t matter what it is, or how hard and daunting it might seem, as the ancient Greek, Plato, said, ‘The beginning is the most important part of any work.’ A journey of a thousand miles starts with that first step. If you look ahead to the end,

Believe it can be done; try and try again until you achieve your goal of a successful life. and all the weary miles between, with all the dangers you might face, you might never take that first step. And whatever it is you want to achieve in life, if you don’t make the effort, you won’t reach your goal. So take that first step. There will be many challenges. You might get knocked back – but in the end, you will make it. Good luck!

ISBN 0753510995

AUTHORS MAGAZINE

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42 | AUTHORS MAGAZINE

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