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IT’S THE YIN AND YANG OF THE COLOUR WORLD. BOLD, GRAPHIC PRINTS AND THE JUXTAPOSITION OF THE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED SHADES CAN MAKE POWERFUL STATEMENTS, NO MATTER WHAT MEDIUM IT IS EXPRESSED IN. BLACK AND WHITE NEEDN’T BE BORING. LIGHT & DARK

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1. QUIRKY QUOTES WALL HANGING | R100 | www.hellopretty.co.za 2. WALL CLOCK 3D SPIRAL | R375 | www.hellopretty.co.za 3. DESIGN CUSHION COVER | R299 | www.yuppiechef.com 4. LE CRUESET MULTI BOWL | R289 | www.yuppiechef.com 5. G.O.T. DINNER PLATE (4 PLATE SET) | R499 | www.mantality.co.za 6. ARM CHAIR CADDY AND ORGANISER | R239 | www.mantality.co.za 7. ROUND PRINTED TOWEL | R330 | www.aplacetoshop.co.za 8. POUCH BAG GRAPHIC BLACK | R490 | www.aplacetoshop.co.za 9. “BRING ME A COLD BEER” SOCKS | R49 | www.niftygifts.co.za 10. BUNNY SALT AND PEPPER SHAKER | R139 | www.niftygifts.co.za

EMMA Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

If the trailer is anything to go by, the movie will once again have audiences flocking to the theatres to catch all the action on the big screen. There’s no Dame Judi Dench but Ralph Fiennes reprises his role as M and Ben Wishaw as Q, the Quartermaster with all the techno goodies.

There’s also a return for the silver Aston Martin – and it does donuts as well as it has in previous movies! top pick NO TIME TO DIE Emma was the last novel published by renowned author Jane Austen, in 1816, and it continues her exploration of misreading romantic signals – and all the dramas that ensue from meddling into the (love) lives of others.

Austen provided a rich vein for movie directors and actors to mine with her characters in this particular novel, set in the Georgian Regency period in England, with her somewhat unlikeable heroine a highspirited, clever, wealthy and spoiled 20-something.

As Wikipedia states: Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and selfsatisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people’s lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray.

In the 1996 version Gwyneth Paltrow played the title character. This time around it is Anna Taylor-Joy in the main role while Bill Nighy plays her father and the comedienne Miranda Hart is Miss Bates.

Expect a lively comedy performed out with impeccable manners, the odd flutter of fans and batting of eyelashes against a backdrop of English high society and beautifully decorated country houses. Hearing a pin drop – or a radio squawk or baby’s cry – could bring death. That was the premise of A Quiet Place, filmed in 2018. It was a major box office hit and grossed $340 million as well as garnering critical and awards acclaim. Just two years later and the story continues ...

Director John Krasinski was convinced to write a sequel and it sees Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe back in character as the Abbott family picking up where the previous film left off.

This depleted little family are trying to flee the horror that was wrought by the murderous sightless extra-terrestrial critters in the first film which had as its tagline: “If they hear you, they hunt you!”

On their fraught – silent – flight in the outside world they meet the new hero, Emmett, played by Cillian Murphy. As the actor said, “Emmett represents where the heart of the world lies right now, which is: finally feeling like they’ve all given up. Here comes this girl (Regan, played by Simmonds) who allows you to believe in more, and allows you to believe in yourself.”

But the aliens are not the only antagonists they face ... A QUIET PLACE II OF BOND, PRINCE AND RATS ... DANIEL CRAIG’S SWANSONG AS THE

LEGENDARY BRITISH SECRET AGENT JAMES BOND, 007, HITS THE SILVER SCREEN SOON, MUSIC LEGEND PRINCE SPEAKS FROM

BEYOND THE GRAVE IN A NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOK AND SIR BOB GELDOF AND HIS MONDAY HATING BOOMTOWN RATS COLLEAGUES MAKE

MUSIC AGAIN. THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT!

C IT IZENS OF

BOOMTOWN BOOMTOWN RATS

It’s entirely appropriate that the Boomtown Rats of “I don’t like Mondays” fame have reunited to release a new album in 2020, the Year of the Rat!

Much of the Boomtown Rats’ enduring fame has been incidental because of the high profile the band’s vocalist and frontman, Sir Bob Geldof, maintained as a result of his championing global humanitarian causes.

Citizens of Boomtown is the first album recorded by the group which split in 1986. Kicking off the assault on the ears of a new generation is the first single called “Trash Glam Baby”.

As Geldof explained when asked why the album now, after so many years, he said: “Because that’s what bands do. They make records. Songwriters write songs. There’s so much to respond to in this new and different febrile atmosphere that we live in. People forget we took our name from Woody Guthrie, the great musical activist. I think The Boomtown Rats have always shown that rock ’n roll is a form of musical activism. The music has intent and purpose even if that is just the sound, about boy/ girl, nothing particularly at all, everything in general, or pointed polemical … whatever.”

SAD HAPPY CIRCA WAVES

Two sides of the same coin – or album, being happy and sad are the conundrum of this “tech-saturated, highly insecure age” the English indie rock band formed in 2013 maintains.

It’s why they have tapped into the current appreciation of more depth and content the market requires by releasing a double album, aptly titled Sad Happy. The first half of the album – Sad – was released in late 2019 with the Happy portion released early in 2020.

“We live in a world split into two extreme halves,” guitarist and vocalist Kieran Shudall said. “One moment you’re filled with the existential crisis of climate doom and the next you’re distracted by another piece of inconsequential content that has you laughing aloud.

“I find this close proximity of immense sadness and happiness so jarring, bizarre and fascinating. Our brains rattle back and forth through emotions at such a rate that happiness and sadness no longer feel mutually exclusive.

“This idea was the blueprint for Sad Happy and is the theme that underpins the album. Sad Happy was written in my Liverpool home, it was also hugely inspired by my surroundings and the love I have for the city. It runs through thoughts on mortality, love and observations of people.”

DISCLAIMER: All books featured here are supplied by Penquin Random House South Africa

ENGLAND IS A GARDEN CORNERSHOP

T H E B E AU T I F U L

O N ES PRINCE

It’s almost hard to believe that British pop band Cornershop had a smash hit with their song “Brimful of Asha” in 1997. It was off an album When I Was Born for the 7th Time that Rolling Stone magazine declared one of the essential recordings of the 1990s.

March sees the release of their newest album, England is a Garden, and true to form both the album tracks and cover art are subtle commentaries on British identity.

The first track is reminiscent of the Stones in their heyday with heavy rock foundations. “No Rock: Save In Roll” has been described as Cornershop doing Primal Scream ... when Primal Scream were doing the Stones.

On their webpage, the band write that you can’t have rock without the roll – and their inspiration came from their young adulthood, downing a few lagers and then heading out to a night on the town, with rocky metal tunes from the jukebox as a soundtrack. From Prince himself comes the brilliant coming-of-ageand-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time – featuring never-beforeseen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death.

Prince was a musical genius, but he was also a startlingly original visionary with a deep imagination, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of his early records to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of Paisley Park. His greatest creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of his era.

The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince – a firstperson account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him.

KNIFE JO NESBO

Rogue police officer Harry Hole wakes up, predictably hungover – but his hands and clothes are covered in blood!

Hole is alone. Rakel has dumped him but the Oslo police have extended a lifeline – but he has to work cold cases. Making matters worse the murderer and serial rapist, Svein Finne, who Hole put behind bars, has been released after a decade. Hole is convinced Finne is unreformed and wants to prove it. But after yet another epic night’s drinking, he wakes up in a bloodied state – and that’s the start of his latest nightmare.

The tenacious protagonist from The Snowman and The Thirst is once again brought to the page by Number One bestselling author Jo Nesbo. This time he faces a deadly foe and he’d better watch his back ...

T H E W E I G H T

OF SKIN ALASTAIR BRUCE

“You would not think it to look at you, but your voice, when you use it: is akin to a god’s. You must be careful what you do with it.”

Exiled Jacob Kitara takes in injured compatriots and nurses them in a boardedup building. Social unrest has emptied the streets of London, movement into and out of the country has been suspended, and those who remain are in hiding.

When a young man makes his appearance, insisting that he is Jacob’s son – a man presumed dead, torn from Jacob’s life by war and guilt over the fate of the boy’s mother – Jacob is driven to anger.

But can this stranger offer Jacob a chance to reach back to a different continent, to the foot of Africa from where he has been banished, to atone for the past?

The Weight of Skin is a poignant tale of personal and political responsibility, and of the intricate narratives of family and nationality that bind us.

MAIN: Kit at the ready – just waiting for the alarm to be sounded at NSRI’s Station 23 in Wilderness. IMAGE BY: Lucia Pinto.

ALL AT SEA

Pounding seas, crashing waves, lashing gales and driving rain and spray are hardly ideal conditions in which to launch a boat – but that’s what the dedicated crews of the NSRI all over South Africa contend with.

Saving lives, Changing lives, Creating futures. That’s the bold statement on the NSRI website, below the heading Our Vision.

But their mission is not purely to rescue people in boats, as their lively Facebook page (www.facebook.com/SeaRescue/) reflects. In recent weeks they have assisted a yacht whose mooring had parted while the skipper was ashore in Mossel Bay – making the vessel head dangerously close to shore and the heavily populated bathing beach, aided drowning victims in Tinley Manor Beach, Ballito and a flooded quarry in Sir Lowry’s Pass, contributed to a medical evacuation from commercial oceangoing ships and successfully participated in more than one whale disentanglement.

The roots of the NSRI lie in a terrible tragedy in 1966 which took place at Stilbaai, near Mossel Bay. Four small fishing boats were caught in a violent storm. Only one vessel returned and 17 fishermen drowned.

Members of the community wrote letters to the newspapers, advocating for a rescue organisation such as the British Royal National Lifeboat Institution or RNLI. A few people volunteered their services, among them naval and merchant mariners, a 4.7m inflatable boat was donated by the Institute of Master Mariners and the fledgling organisation was formed.

From those early beginnings in 1967, the National Sea Rescue Institute has grown to more than 1 200 volunteers in 41 stations throughout South Africa. Not all of them are at the coast: there are a few bases located at major dams inland (Mpumalanga, Gauteng and Free State) that perform an invaluable service.

Statistics from 2018 reflect that the organisation had 106 vessels, 30 rescue vehicles, 16 quad bikes and 13 tractors in operation. During 2018 1620 people and 51 animals were rescued in 1 138 rescue operations. But there were 4 482 training hours and 2 327 operational hours spent in service of the public by their teams of volunteers.

These caring individuals spend hundreds of hours after work and on weekends in training. And then when on standby they carry radios, ready to drop whatever they’re doing at a moment’s notice to head to the base in order to set out on a rescue. And it’s not all about messing around in boats or splashing in the surf. There is an amazing amount of theory to be learned – much of it online, allowing volunteers to do it in their own time.

A large chunk of NSRI time is devoted to preventing worst case scenarios. Members visit schools to talk about water

THE EXPRESSION “ALL AT SEA” MEANS BEING ADRIFT, LOST, PERPLEXED AND FILLED WITH BEWILDERMENT, THE DICTIONARY STATES. BUT THIS IS AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE NATIONAL SEA RESCUE INSTITUTE (NSRI) – STAFFED BY VOLUNTEERS – THRIVES, SAVING NUMEROUS LIVES IN THE PROCESS.

safety and drowning prevention as well as teaching bystander CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). One of their most successful initiatives, other than the dramatic rescues one associates their red and yellow boats with, is the pink safety buoys located at swimming spots intended as a primary first response to a distressed bather.

These pink flotation devices can be found at 605 sites near water – and 56 successful rescues have been reported, all since first deployed in November 2017, so just over two years.

As their website states: “In a typical scenario Sea Rescue gets an emergency call for a swimmer in difficulty and, when we get there, we find two or more people in danger of drowning.

“Tragically, sometimes we are not able to get there in time and someone drowns. Usually the person who does not survive is the kind person who went into the water to try and help a person in difficulty. Because

this happens so frequently, Sea Rescue launched our Pink Rescue Buoy project in November 2017.

“These bright Pink Rescue Buoys, which conform to the AUNZ standard of 100 Newtons of flotation, are hung on strategically placed signs and we hope that they will remind people to take care when entering water – and not to swim if lifeguards are not on duty.

“If there is an incident and someone needs help, these buoys can be thrown to that person, providing emergency flotation. There are clear graphics on the sign which explain how to use the buoy. And most importantly, the emergency number for the closest Sea Rescue station is printed on the sign. If anyone decides, against advice, to enter the water the Pink Rescue Buoy provides flotation for that person as well as for the casualty.”

But what about the rescues? Assisting a fishing vessel, drowning victim or kite boarder

One of their most successful initiatives, other than the dramatic rescues one associates their red and yellow boats with, is the pink safety buoys located at swimming spots intended as a primary first response to a distressed bather.

at trouble and in deep water requires special skills. It’s not just a matter of launching a boat and zooming out to sea. Hours and hours of training go into ensuring that the boat crew are well drilled and proficient in all aspects of seamanship such as boat handling, navigation, radio work, first aid and water safety. And it’s not just the active boat crews who put in the hours either. There are invariably patrol vehicles onshore, assisting with co-ordination and information because frequently there is more than one organisation involved in the rescue. There could be local lifeguards, port authorities, the South African police or even Air Force participating.

Take this report of a capsized Hobie Cat in Durban harbour from a few weeks ago, for example: (Report by Paul Bevis, NSRI Durban duty coxswain.)

“At 10h48, Saturday, 25th January, NSRI Durban duty crew dispatched the Sea Rescue craft Spirit of Surfski 6, accompanied by two Police Search and Rescue divers and a Metro Police Search and Rescue diver, following reports of a Hobie Cat capsized in Durban harbour near to the passenger terminal during a routine club Saturday regatta.

“A Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) dive boat was nearby and they responded and rescued two local adult men from the upturned hull of their sail craft and a Point Yacht Club safety boat attended at the scene.

“TNPA divers entered the water to commence righting the capsized sail craft using the TNPA dive boat and NSRI rescue swimmers and a Police Search and Rescue diver were deployed into the water to assist.

“The TNPA dive boat towed the capsized craft to Central Bank and the sailboat was righted and our sea rescue craft took over the tow of the Hobie Cat from the TNPA dive boat and the sail craft was towed to Point Yacht Club and recovered. There were no injuries and no further assistance was required.”

In addition to the NSRI response, there were the local Point Yacht Club, SA Police, Transnet Ports Authority and Durban Metro Police involved. Just imagine the co-ordination and communication required for things to work efficiently.

But NSRI volunteer crews are trained in a range of skills: rescue swimmers are often called upon to assist in helicopter operations, again, co-ordinated with their own boats such as when they’re evacuating injured sailors from passing ships – as happened in January when five sailors, one critically injured, were removed to local hospitals.

It’s not always life threatening though! According to a report posted by the station commander of the NSRI base at Mykonos near Langebaan on the Cape’s West Coast, they were sent out to sea to save a bird!

Mike Shaw said in early January the crew of the rescue and salvage tug SA Amandla reported an injured petrel which had sought refuge on their vessel. The weak bird had landed on board on December 27 and by early January was still there, being cared for and fed by the crew.

SANCCOB, the SA Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, made a request to the NSRI to play water taxi or salty Uber to the bird.

“We rendezvoused with SA Amandla 12 nautical miles off-shore of Laaiplek and the bird was transferred onto our sea rescue craft and brought to shore and collected by SANCCOB,” Shaw wrote.

“Believing the bird to be a petrel NSRI crew named the bird Diesel but SANCCOB have confirmed that in fact the bird is a Cory’s shearwater which are not often seen locally.”

As the Audubon Field Guide to birds notes about this bird: “This species has a stronger flight action than most shearwaters, with slower wingbeats and prolonged glides, sometimes soaring high above waves. Nesting on islands in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic, it regularly visits waters off the east coast of North America.”

It was way off course and no doubt appreciated the assistance of the NSRI, the crew of the Amandla and the excellent care from SANCCOB!

But it is just one more example of this organisation living out its mission statement.

“We are a proud organisation. Proud of the service we deliver, proud of each other and proud to be South African.

“We are accountable to the people who we serve, for the service that we deliver and to each other for support.

“We value the safety of our crews and that of our patients above everything. And we don’t compromise in ensuring their well-being at sea.”

The NSRI relies on donations to cover the costs of the work they do. They have a range of Platinum Partners – Mitsubishi Motors, DHL, Absa, I&J, Italtile, De Beers Group, Oceana Group, Terrasan, ebmpapst and Samsa – but they still require funding. All donations, no matter how small, are gratefully received. If you’d like to know more, contact them at info@searescue.org.za , visit their website www.nsri.org.za and check out the funding page or call 021 434 4011. EMERGENCY NUMBER: dial 112 from any cell phone.

MAIN: Our new Durban Search and Rescue ORC 140 (Offshore Rescue Craft) Alick Rennie IMAGE BY: Paula Leech.