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Showing posts from June, 2016

It's been a year since I had breast cancer and life is good.

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Ayesha (far right), my past student and now wonderful radiologist, posing with me after the mammogram and ultrasound moments.   On 18 May, it was a year after I had a lumpectomy.  As you will recall, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the option my surgeon, Dr Edge, recommended was a lumpectomy. Fortunately, there was no evidence of spreading after the binodal biopsy and thus I had to only go for radiation after the operation. The year had flown past. Just the other day, my family and I were dealing with all the visits to the hospital for the lumpectomy, the 30 daily sessions of radiation and then the recovery period. In fact, our lives went back to normal pretty soon after this trauma and life has been good. Sometimes when certain well-meaning folk enquire about my health whenever they see me, my mischievous streak hovers below the surface. When they ask , "And how is your health  now?" their voices drop, their mouths contort  and I get that " I hope I lo

Tess, a gut-wrenching film about violence against women, should be seen by all South Africans.

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Meg Rickards (film director, Tess) and Christia Visser ( lead actress, Tess) at the premiere of Tess at the Durban International Film Festival   The film, Tess ,  is based on the book, Whiplash by South African novelist, Tracey Farren. Tess  is a gut-wrenching film that grapples with the abuse of women within the soul-destroying context of drug addiction, prostitution, violence and poverty. We see the brutality against women through the eyes of Tess , the main character. Tess , the prostitute and drug addict, lives recklessly by selling her body to men who violently abuse her as they see her as a sex object worthy of their lust and disgust. It is only when Tess becomes pregnant that she starts her own painful journey of healing. Reluctant at first, she confronts her dark, horrifying past of being sexually-abused as a child and then becomes more determined to transform her life.  Although there are glimpses of hope for Tess and her child whom she carries full term, this film ha

Guided tour of Moses Mabhida stadium

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The Moses Mabidha stadium where you can see the leg of the Y-section of the roof arch   The Moses Mabhida stadium is indeed an architectural and an engineering masterpiece. View from the platform on top of the roof   We took the Skycar up the striking Y-shaped arch of the roof of the stadium. When you reach the top of the stadium roof, you can spend time soaking in 360 degree views of the Indian Ocean and the Durban city.    After this experience we went on a guided tour of the Moses Mabhida stadium. The stadium is named after one of our struggle veterans who played a key role in setting the stage for our democracy.  The Moses Mabhida stadium replaced the Kings stadium. The Kings stadium was demolished and the concrete was used to lay the foundation of the Moses Mabhida stadium. The stadium, that cost about R1,4 billion to build, took three years.  The tour starts in the amphitheatre which is flanked by the Imbizo, a belt of shops, restaurants and othe