Pick 'N Pay Memo

Pick ‘n Pay – one of only two big grocery shops in Grahamstown, and thus an interesting subject for a story.

Most Grahamstonions and students shop at Pick ‘n Pay regularly. It is always busy, so it is easy to find someone who has some time to talk while shopping…

Santisha Chattergoon, third year student at Rhodes University, does most of her regular grocery shopping at Pick ‘n Pay. She lives in digs about two and a half kilometres from campus. She passes Pick ‘n Pay on her way to campus every morning, which makes it more convenient for her to buy something on her way rather than go to Checkers.

Santisha finds that Pick ‘n Pay stocks most of the products which she requires, and that the prices are reasonable. She walks towards the 2 minute noodles and grabs about five to stock up for those days when she cannot deal with cooking, saying that “Pick ‘n Pay’s 2 minute noodles are the cheapest”.

She slowly walks through the aisles, glancing at the shelves, thinking about what she needs and what she should get. The word “jambos!” is exclaimed at the entrance to the biscuit aisle. Jambos are for a treat and when she needs something sweet, and it is fairly reasonable. Santisha is disappointed when she cannot find any passion fruit flavoured Pick ‘n Pay no name brand juice. She admits that she is a bit of an addict when it comes to passion fruit juice, and it gets her by the long nights in front of her laptop.

At the food counter she gets two round rolls and some fresh chips, she has not had lunch yet. Next stop is at the fridge where she picks up a 500ml lemon & lime Twizza, and heads to the tills.

What's for lunch?

The construction workers look at me strangely, this awkward little person coming in and ‘invading’ their lunch time. I then question them about their lunch. How could they not find this strange? However, a few of them decide to come to my aid and allow me a peek into their lunchbox…

The average construction worker has about a loaf of bread and some polony or tinned fish for lunch. Some carry a flask of tea or coffee, or a bottle of water or juice. A meal of this sort is convenient and affordable. It is nothing expensive and does not have a huge affect on their budgets.

A meal of this size is required as they are doing continuous strenuous work and their energy levels are fast depleted. They need a large meal in order to sustain them throughout the day. It is also very tiring to be working outside in the draining heat at times. The weather takes a toll on the workers. “I carry heavy things up and down all day. My lunch time is my time to rest and fill up my stomach”, said one of the workers. A fulfilling meal is thus very important to these men. “Sometimes we share our meals between a few of us for a bit of variety and exchange a few words”, said another worker.

A balanced diet is very important for the well being of everyone. However, your diet is determined by how much you earn. And so your job, along with your culture, determines what sort of food you will eat. A manual worker earns a minimum wage; therefore he cannot afford a fancy meal. He has to make do with what suits his budget as well as his stomach.

Abused and Misused Words

So, as a class assignment, for writers, our lecturer thought it would be good to go through a few 'abused and misused words'... So here some examples, and a few ways in which they SHOULD be uses. I was given a 100% for the assignment, so I do hope that they all make sense, if not, I'm open to correction :)

1. affect-effect
2. allusion-illusion
3. angry-mad
4. bring-take
5. complement-complement
6. council-counsel
7. emigrate-immigrate
8. flaunt-flout
9. farther-further
10. fewer-less
11. imply-infer
12. lay-lie
13. lend-loan
14. principal-principle
15. rebuke-rebuff

1. -He was not affected my her silly pranks.

- The laxative had a great effect on him.

2. - It is an allusion to think that they are equals.

- The food I saw in front of me was a mere illusion.

3. - She was angry with her little brother for destroying her room.

- She was mad at her brother for what he had done.

4. - It was decided that she would bring the refreshments.

- He was to take the cool drink to the car.

5. - His shoes complement his shirt.

- It was a compliment to be told that he was well dressed.

6. - The town council held a meeting.

- She counselled her friend on her relationship.

7. - He wishes to emigrate to Canada.

- They immigrated to South Africa.

8. - She flaunts her good looks.

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9. - The further they way, the more worried they became.

- It is a farther distance than was assumed.

10. - There are fewer girls in the class than boys.

- There are less dogs than cats.

11. - She implied that it was his fault.

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12. - She lay awake all night.

- One must lie in ones bed.

13. - He asked her to lend him her notes.

- He obtained a loan from the bank.

14. - He is the principal of the school.

- One should never lose ones principles.

15. - His mother rebuked him for what he had said.

Not the most exciting examples, or use of the words, but hey, it was a class assignment done in a limited space of time... And I'm not the most descriptive person around...

Remembering Sharpeville and Human Rights

The right to life - Section 11 of the Bill of Rights in the South African Constitution.

The Bill of Rights states, “Everyone has the right to life”. They have the right not to be killed. It’s part of being a human being. You don’t expect to step out onto the street one day and get shot. It’s just not something that happens. The right to life is one of the most important rights. No one has the right to take the life another person. Even the law should not be above this.

On 21 March, 1960 innocent people were killed. All they did was participate in protest march, and they lost their lives for it. Life may be overrated, but it is up to the individual to choose whether they wish to live or not (and up to nature as well). The Sharpeville Massacre was tragic, and it shows us just how brutal people can be, and which is why we need set laws in place to insure that people are kept in line.

Eugene Terre Blance

South Africa's history is dense with racism which sets a heavy undertone to much of South Africa's present. Fifteen years on of being a democracy and the horrors of apartheid still taunt us. In a country that is still recovering from apartheid, do we really need to focus so much attention on the likes of Eugene Terre Blanche ? Yes, he died, we regret the loss of a human being to the world, but do we really care? Does his death affect our daily lives in any huge way? Either way it was decided for us that his death would be a 'big deal' by the country, the media, by whoever the powerful forces may be. And so we take a look at Denis Beckett's profile of Eugene Terre Blanche.

Beckette seems unable to make a definite decision on whether he thinks Terre Blanche to be good or bad. Throughout the story there are constant flashbacks to his meeting with Terre Blanche. At the beginning Beckett describes him as "the arch vilain, the super-ogre, the ominous, foreboding figure so often depicted as the South African resuscitation of Hitler", yet at other times Beckett seems to relate to Terre Blanche and understand him and maybe even sympathize with him.

The title reads, “Eugene, the arch-ogre”, yet there we are not given anything which proves the man to be such. He comes across as a rather understanding person who is just set in his beliefs, which are a bit extreme. He helped the black people around his area and those who worked for him and he was against acts of violence towards black people. He just believed that blacks and whites should be separated. He wasn’t against non-whites; he was just pro white and pro Christian.

Beckett manages to remain reasonable and allows a different view of Terre Blanche. We can see him as a human being, as a father. The leader of the AWB does not come across very strongly, but we are constantly reminded of this as with the references to Terre Blanche’s public appearances and his ‘roaring’ speeches. Beckett goes back to where he started off with Terre Blanche though; Terre Blanch is not a good man. He comes to this final conclusion by the magazine, Sweepslag, which Beckett finds offensive. However, Terre Blanche comes off looking far from the likes of an ogre.

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Using technology...always a task...
Urgh!