Ruffle the feathers and powder the beaks

■ Brad Bird

After weeks of back-and-forth flirtation between the geese and ganders of Tzaneen’s business community, the time has finally come to put your money where your beak is. Tomorrow the inaugural Great Limpopo Warriors Duck Race is set to fill the rapids of the mighty Limpopo River with the brightest yellow racing stripes this side of the Cheese Curls wrapper. And no, this is not just a lekker day out next to the river. There are so many fantastic prizes up for grabs that this is expected to be a web-footed battle royale.

Prizes include 4 nights self catering at Leshiba Lodge in the Soutpansberg, a Magoebaskloof mountain hike for four people courtesy of The Mountain Company, a 4-day trip down the Orange River in a canoe courtesy of the Warriors, and of course a Brandy and Coke hamper for the Last Duck In courtesy of Anthony Bret at Superspar Tzaneen.

There will be loads and loads of other prizes for various competitions on the day which also include massages, Tarzan Vellies, beauty vouchers, cash vouchers and other accommodation prizes.

Teams who will be facing off tomorrow are The Frikkels, Gucci Girls, Machi Mechanics, Zennie, Tzaneen Dental Studio, The Amore Ducks, Disco Ducks, Kiddeo Tots, Lady Julia, Prozak Pennys, Le Grand Ducks, The Real Queens, Bulletproofs, Trauma Queens, Ricky Rescue and a special entry all the way from Australia, Duckin Down Under.

The Race Day will get under way at the Tzaneen Showgrounds at 11:00 on Saturday morning (tomorrow) where the instructions and the rules and all the rest of the official business will be covered. From there, the ducks will be taken to the start line and the race shall commence amid much pomp and ceremony.

Those who have not yet adopted a duck are welcome to do so on the day and join in the cause to change a life for the better. For more information contact Tracey van den Dool on 083 968 0902.

■ Joe Dreyer

You are not untouchable

This last week I experienced once again what the “new age” of communication has done to the media industry. And I’m not talking about the move away from print toward a paperless society (which money seems to be following at an alarmingly rapid rate), but I’m referring to the idea that you can say and post whatever you like over social media without the fear of any repercussions.

Mike Tyson famously told an interviewer that “social media has convinced you that it is okay to say whatever you want about whoever you want, without being punched in the face.”

Whilst that is a bit of an extreme example, the past week I saw people jump onto social media blatantly calling a young man from Phalaborwa a murderer and calling for justice to have him “rot in jail” and even proclaiming loudly that if you live by the sword you will die by the sword.

Regardless of whether those statements were driven by emotions, one must remember that the facts don’t care about your feelings, and in court, your emotions have absolutely no bearing. In court it is not what you know or what you feel, it is what you can prove.

And most importantly, right now, we don’t have ANY real facts other than the report of what appeared to have happened. In short, our story on page 4 involves a young man and an older man who somehow engaged in a physical altercation during which the old man was allegedly injured and later past away in hospital from his injuries. The police are busy with investigations into exactly what happened. During these investigations it will be determined exactly what caused the altercation, who provoked it and ultimately what caused the elderly gentleman’s tragic death. Nowhere has it been stated with certainty that the victim was beaten to death.

There are rumours flying around and accusations being levelled by people who were not even at the venue at the time of the incident. In fact there are people who don’t even live in that town claiming that the police and the media have got it all wrong!

These people are claiming that the police information is incorrect and that our reporting on the matter is riddled with holes, some have even insinuated that the family of the suspect has somehow paid the media off to keep the story under cover. An investigation is an ongoing thing. Initially when the news is broke, information was extremely limited and for a newspaper or media organization to speculate, is not only extremely dangerous as it can negatively affect the court process, but it is also very irresponsible and flies in the face of what journalism is meant to be. To the sanctimonious commentators I offer the following question: would you be willing to stand witness in a court of law during a murder trial and have your say on the record knowing that you were not there, and that your speculation could send a young man to jail? What happens if the investigation reveals that the cause of death was not what you speculated? Would you be willing to face jail time for your opinion on something you did not witness?

“The media, the media, the media!”

So by my bokmakierie

■ Ben Theunissen

Met die volgende les in ateljee 13 wat ons, dis nou Kommissaris, Weyers, Dawid en die uwe, bymekaar kom, daag Weyers op met ‘n gips, vol boodskappe van simpatie op, in al die kleure van die reënboog, selfs die kleure van die Suid-Afrikaanse reënboog.

“Wat makeer die gips?”, vra Dawid die vraag wat al afgesaag is.

“Ek het my arm op drie plekke gebreek”, sê Weyers. Dawid het dadelik ‘n oplossing vir die probleem en sê: “Jy moet wegbly van daai plekke af.” Toe breek Weyers homself.

Kommissaris is toe van mening dat die breek van ‘n arm nie soveel ernstige konsekwensies het, soos ‘n belofte wat gebreek word nie. Vat nou maar ‘n huwelik. As jy die troubelofte breek en ma vind dit uit, gaan jy gips aan verskeie liggaamsdele nodig hê.

Die ergste is dat jy nie eers met ‘n kierie sal kan loop nie. Toe wonder Dawid waar die woord kierie sy oorsprong gekry het.

Kommissaris, wat ‘n toegewyde boekwurm is, sê toe dat ons eie moedertaal heelwat van die Khoi-bevolking se woorde bevat. So is daar abba, boegoe, dagga en kiri…

Laasgenoemde het toe later kierie geword. Daar is ook ander name vir die kierie. Soos wandelstaf en stapstok. Die woord kierie het ook onder die voëls ‘n bydrae gemaak. So is daar kierieklapper en bokmakierie. Die kierie is nie net vir ondersteuningsdoeleindes gebruik nie, maar die knopkierie word vir selfverdediging en jagtogte gebruik.

Die geselskap raak stil en vir ‘n wyle word die kele benat om die verbasing te delg van die kieriegeskiedenis wat ons te beurt geval het.

Ek vertel toe dat wyle Danie Smuts, bekend vir sy vroeë-oggend program op Springbokradio en verskeie televisierolle, ook beroemd was vir sy kierie waarmee hy nie net die wêreld vol beweeg het nie, maar dit ook as “wapen” gebruik het as iemand met hom ‘n argument sou aanknoop. Of met hom sou verskil oor wat ‘n hou met ‘n kierie regverdig.

Tannie Stienie het ook met ‘n kierie gestap. Sy het in ‘n woonstelletjie in Sunnyside stoksielallen gebly...elke aand. Op ‘n dag besluit sy om ‘n entjie te gaan stap en die gewoel van die strate te ervaar. Sy stap toe die straat binne met die geklop-klop van haar kierie op die sypaadjie. Om die hoek van die woonstelblok waar sy woon, is die dienaars van die gereg toe besig om meisies van swak reputasie in ‘n vangwa te laai. Sy vra toe vir die een dametjie wat daar aangaan.

Die sê toe: “Tannie, hulle deel lemoene uit daar voor, aangesien sy nie vir tannie Stienie die waarheid kon vertel nie… Tannie Stienie val toe ook in die tou. Toe die polisieman by haar kom, vra hy: “Tannie, is jy nie te oud vir hierdie dinge nie?”

Waarop sy antwoord: “Boetman, ek druk hulle pap, dan suig ek hulle uit!”