I read the news today, oh boy!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
i saw that on BBC World this morning, seems a bit strange doesnt it?

[JeromeD]

They know something we don't - that's for sure. And for the UK to announce this just before a general election is very strange indeed.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

yeah, and with the Tories grasping at straws i would have thought alienating younger voters would have been the right way to lose an almost unwinnable election (assuming the local election results have shown the political mood on national politics)

[Ruby]

^^Hmmm - wonder what that's all about?? 

We've had no load shedding for a couple of months now - elections on the 29th of May. Sure it will resume shortly thereafter!! 

And on the good news front - this guy is such a superstar - Leon Kluge (and his team, of course) - no help at all from the powers that be - all privately funded and putting the Cape Floral Kingdom on the map - again. He really knows his stuff and by all appearances is down to earth and happy to get his hands dirty ... Chelsea Flower Show ... 

https://www.capetownetc.com/cape-town/ch...ow-champs/

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
ANC appear to have driven SA into the ground in the last 30 years, not sure what the future holds for the people living there whatever the outcome of the election.

on a slightly different note, Mr-T hasnt wormed his way out of this one.....yet?!?

[Ruby]

Well, you have less than half our population and at least six times more space so we could always ship some your way?? There’s already a substantial contingent in Perth – two of my sisters among them!

The Western Cape will remain DA run thank goodness. That’s something, at least. But the scary new factor is the MK and Jacob Zuma (who at 82 has miraculously overcome the severe medical conditions for which uncle Cyril pardoned him), and the ANC alliances that will no doubt take place as a result. However, the message being sent to the ANC is loud and clear and hopefully, that will be a game changer.

At the end of it all, there are 60 million people here with nowhere else to go so we will just have to get on with it. Fortunately, political shenanigans, corruption, and crime aside, we still have a pretty decent, remarkably affordable lifestyle. We also have the ability to laugh at ourselves, to make a plan, plenty of citizen led initiatives, and our entrepreneurial skills are next level – aided primarily by not being a nanny state. Now, with the cat very decidedly among the pigeons, maybe the powers that be will be forced to reassess. 

I could live in the UK but I don’t want to – that’s in an almighty big mess lately which isn’t getting any better whereas I know how to navigate my way through the hurdles we have here. I am lucky enough to live in a beautiful location and I have a bountiful life by comparison to what I would be able to have elsewhere – excellent, affordable wine, fantastic food, friendly people and gorgeous weather. There are too many people with too much invested here for it to all go completely down the tubes. Did I mention that we tend to be eternal optimists?

Seriously – I know people who’ve returned to SA from Oz and the other places. Yes, there’s a dark underbelly and yes, we have been ruled by a bunch of palookas for way too long now, but still, somehow, we are a whole lot better off than you think. There are things that don’t work (plenty of them) but on the other hand our banking systems are among the best in the world, for example, and private business is powerful. It’s not Shangri-La but please tell me where is! No maybe don’t – LOL! Oh well - where there’s life there’s hope - fingers, toes and eyes crossed!!

[JeromeD]

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE OF YOU!!!!!

Jokes aside, you do NOT want to live in the UK. I have been there 6 or 7 times in my life - for different reasons - and every time I cannot wait to leave. A nanny state deluxe if ever there was one. And so wrapped up in red tape you can barely get anything done. A perfect example of a nation that has painted itself into a corner. And it is in serious decline. Ireland is a bit more liberal but it tends to follow what the UK does so it is heading in the wrong direction as well. If you are happy where you are - stay there. The grass is not always greener on the other side. As for the politics - I cannot ever foresee complete stability in SA - too many diverse views & circumstances to ever get consensus on anything. Oh well - what will be will be.

[Ruby]

^Six to be precise. LOL!

Yes - agree re diverse points of view etc. Hugely complex. It's interesting that we are getting plenty of Europeans heading this way - Germans especially (and not that surprisingly at this time). They come on holiday and end up wanting a piece of what to them seems like paradise. I guess it's all relative. Funny old world!

[Music Head]

They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise
Kiss it goodbye

[CRAZY-HORSE]

im pretty sure we, here in in Australia, have more Rhodesians and South Africans than any other country in the world (other than their homelands obviously). a fact i could be wrong but i think i remember hearing it somewhere in the late 1990s.

there are two sayings that seem to nearly always ring true in most cases:
1: the grass is always greener on the other side
and
2: its better the devil you know