“Abandoned by FIFA after a steamy month-long romance, a jilted South Africa has taken to bed with a tub of rum’n'raisin ice cream and a tear-stained copy of He’s Just Not That Into You. The government has denied accusations that a flirtation with the International Olympic Committee is “…blatantly a rebound”.” www.hayibo.com
So enough about the World Cup. South Africa did marvellously and the world saw. To the national psyche it was like the teenager’s dream come true: for that short while SA felt like a rock star driving a Maserati through the old school grounds to the dropped-jawed admiration of the teachers who had previously been so dismissive. And it felt good.
Looking for a direction for the euphoria to go, Mandela’s birthday on 18th July was HUGE this year, with lots of publicity given to the call for everyone to give up 67 minutes of their time in honour of the 67 years he gave fighting for equality.
Yiull Damasco threw a slight spanner in the works with the public display of a painting which shows a dead Mandela having his arm cut open as various political figures look on. Upsetting yes – and not just because it’s a fairly terrible bit of art. But to some degree the artist’s point is valid. Mandela is, after all, only a man. In other words we all have it within us to do what Mandela did, if only we’d make the effort.
And so with autopsies in mind, I spent my 67 mins slicing meat. I must have carved up half a cow, but it was an almost ridiculously easy hour to give, and really rather social. A steady stream of people wandered into Mandela Rhodes Place in the centre of town where they were each given a paper chef’s hat and a knife and a chopping board and set about cutting and peeling and slicing ingredients to make soups and stews for homeless shelters across the city. And you know what? That also felt good.
How easy it is to give just a little bit of your time. If you didn’t have a chance to give 67 minutes this year, let me know and I can find a way for you to help – even just a tiny bit – some of the many worthwhile projects in Cape Town. Believe me, the feeling you can get from lending a worthwhile hand can be even better than a whole tub of rum’n'raisin ice cream.
Daisy
