She believes in all the magic of hopes and dreams, and she’ll fight until it proves true. -Not so that you’ll agree, but to inspire your hear never to give up on its truest wish. Her eyes sing of honesty, and I trust her with everything that I am. Her heart holds my secrets; and there’s nowhere else I’d have them be.

Her smile sparkles as she dances around the room, whimsical and unaware of how she enchants me. Her voice is soaked with passion, her words sincere; her yes always yes, her no always no. She is unashamedly and completely certain of who she is, ever true to her deepest love.

I see her walk towards me, her eyes still heavy with early-morning dreams, and I can’t imagine anything more beautiful. She leans into me, comfortable and safe; closing her eyes, breathing me in. I hold her close and listen to her heartbeat against mine.

She makes me smile from the truest part of my heart. Everything is brighter as she greets the day with a sweet whisper. ‘Goodmorning’ warms my shirt, fades into my chest. My heart screams “you mean the world to me.” I am hers completely. And by some miracle her heart is mine. Forever and always. Incredible and powerful. This is our love.

Read Andrea Joseph’s Blog

This past weekend, countries all around the world crowned new national cross country champions. For South Africa it was no different and team GT Mr Price were in attendance to try retain the title in the team, as Erik Kleinhans was the defending National Champion in the green and gold.

As has been  the case in the past the course at the Pretoria Fountains was dry, technical and rocky, with little ascent in the lap. This made for fast and furious racing and it was great to see that we were all in for an 8 lap race instead of the usual 6 to due the high level that has emerged in the last few years. Having arrived early on the Thursday morning we had ample time to get to grips with the twisty and technical course as well as get some much needed rest before out 12 30pm start on the Saturday afternoon.

Race day soon arrived and I was finding it hard to get psyched. I was feeling a little dry in the throat from the thin dry air, and was also quite bruised and battered after having two hard crashes on Thursday and Friday. So it was understandable that I was feeling a little neutral. I was determined however not to let this sabotage my race as I was very hungry for those green and gold stripes on my jersey!

After a long drawn out morning it was finally time for call up to the race start and I had done a good job of getting myself into race mode and was the picture of focus. The start line was packed with quality riders such as u23 World Champion Burry Stander, Matthys Beukes, Philip Buys, Ben melt Swanepoel, Dominic Calitz and Adriaan Louw. Erik unfortunately had chose to sit the race out as he had not recovered from a cold.

The race got off to a very fast start as always and I fought hard to get into the trail in 4th spot. It is always important at this venue as time can easily be lost. Setting the pace on the front was Philip Buys on his home course with Burry Stander glued to his rear wheel. Matthys Beukes was slightly off the pace with me seconds behind him. By the end of lap 1  it was more or less the same situation with the time gaps slightly inflated. Over the duration of the race the u23 World Champion managed to expand on his lead steadily minus Philip who had to settle into a more sane race pace. Philip was a minute ahead of Matthys, with me never more than 30 seconds back on him in 4th. The conditions were making things tough with the thin air and the dust, and at times I could even taste blood in my mouth, which was my body’s cry for more oxygen!

On lap 4 Philip paid for his risky riding on the rough course and suffered a puncture. No matter how hard he tried he could not close the gap again. By the end of lap 5 I noticed that I was starting to close the gap on Matthys bit by bit, but it was a short while after that that he too suffered a mechanical in the form of a broken front mech. This meant I was up to 2nd overall! From then on I focused on keeping the pace consistent and not making any mistakes, as there was no point in chasing Burry’s lead as it was now up to 7 minutes! The remaining 2 laps passed quickly and I crossed the line safely with my 2nd place still in tact. What a great feeling it was coming back from illness and coming home second to the u23 World Champion! Behind me Matthys held on for 3rd followed by Ben Melt Swanepoel and Paul Cordes.

The upset of the day though was when my team mate Dominic Calitz rose to the occasion and showed everyone his class by clinching the u23 National Champions title away from a disappointed Philip Buys! Well done Dom! So at least GT Mr Price kept one title in our trophy cabinet. Adriaan Louw finished in 3rd.

There was not much time to hang around however as after the race I had a meeting with Drug Free Sport who were keen for some samples. This left us with just enough time for prize giving before rushing to the airport to catch our flight back to Cape Town where we all got to celebrate with our friends. What a relief it was to get home and sleep  in my own bed.

I am very happy with how my comeback is going, although I think top form is still a long way off, and might only return next year after doing a proper build up. The long break off the bike seems to have hampered my ability to train hard and recovery quickly, which is having a definite effect on my training capabilities.

Here is a list of other National Champions crowned over the weekend that I could find:

South Africa- Burry Stander

SA- Todd Wells

Canada- Geoff Kabush

Namibia- Marc Bassinthwaight

Cyprus- ??Mario Athanasidias

Germany- Moritz Milatz

Russia- Maxim Gogolev

Switzerland- Nino Shurter

Netherlands- Rudi van Houts

Thank you Lord for your amazing grace, as well as to my great sponsors for getting me there and the amazing products that I am so privileged  to use.

Next up in the Die Burger MTB Challenge!

Keep those pedals turning!

Photo’s courtesy Zoon Cronje

Renay is a professional mountain biker. Follow his blog Life of a Mountain Biker

To know more about this arty gourmet destination read “Things to do on Granville Island”

The most important month is fashion, September, is upon us. Fashionista have started to rank the various magazine covers. Click on through for their analysis of the best and worst September issues.

Newly-married model Miranda Kerr has officially confirmed her pregnancy. The Victoria’s Secret model is four months pregnant according to Elle. Rumours have been circulating about the Australian model’s pregnancy prior to her wedding last month to Orlando Bloom.

Our fashion columnist, the incognito Green Eyes, blogs about life, love and fabulous fashion at her must-read blog: Skinny Bitches – In The Making.

For how long will we continue to blame the poor performance of our students in the country on the Department of Education alone and not the students themselves too? Aren’t they, the students, the ones learning, if not failing to learn?

But of course one would have to also take into account the failure too, on the part of the country’s education system which for more than a decade now has continued to produce the ‘so-called illiterate and incompetent future generation’ as they are now known.

One cannot understand let alone comprehend the audacity the Young Communist League has in trying to dictate to the University of the Free State what admission requirements it should set for the new entrants and what not.

In its ill-informed and dictatory statement to the university – the YCL said the introduction of the innovative ways’ by University of increasing its admission points requied for entrants into the university from the previous 28 to 30 is “inconsistent”. With what, exactly?

The increase, according to the YCL, was just another way in which UFS could “further exclude black students from being admitted in the institution”, a decision which it ‘vehemently opposed’. The league said the point system used by universities was “inconsistent and [had] been a tool to ostracize students from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

The league said:

The point system does not take into consideration that students from privileged schools have more subject options as opposed to schools in disadvantaged communities. The point system and the number of points one needs is applicable regardless of how many subjects a student has. A student can have only six subjects and still be required to meet the same requirements with someone who has 11 subjects.

It further accused the University for not offering Music subject to the “disadvantaged communities whereas in private school there is an entourage of subjects offered where students can easily meet stringent requirements set out for entry”. This in the YCLSA’ view, read the statement, was a “creation of a white elephant in UFS and [affirmation] that the institution will forever be white”. Now who’s a racist?

The 12 month programme, allegedly, created to assist students from disadvantaged communities, said the league, was a “mockery” because it only “prolongs the number of years which students study and moreover it increases the already high costs of tuition and expenses of staying in university.” The programme is one that is used by many Universities, including the North West University at Mafikeng campus.

The the pointing system, – as one understands it and although, admittedly, it somehow disadvantages students who are/were from the poorer schools that were not well-resourced enough and some of whose students voluntarily failed to study hard enough to reach their ‘expected’ potential and meeting the pointing system required of them by higher learning institutions like UFS – is not used for the purpose of ‘excluding the black students from being admitted in the institution’ as alleged the league. Instead, it is used to raise the high level of intellect on students. More than that, it is used as a yardstick on how much efforts the students themselves willing to put into their school work in order to reach and even exceed their ‘expected’ potential and results.

And this is something that the league itself fails to understand and one thinks that even the Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande cannot ‘intervene’ on this matter unless of course the system was used on ‘racial lines’ or to/on black students ONLY, something that is presently non-existent in this case.

So, please YCL, no matter how hard it might be for the students to meet the required pointing system – you still cannot dictate to the university on what’s always best for the students, except on other politically-motivated matters as they, the university and its entire teaching stuff members, are experts and professionals in their respective fields of study and one trusts that they actually know what they are doing and why they are doing it.

And whether you collectively “fight tooth and nail” and “mobilize [your] structures” to scrap the system should it be implemented as you see it as “racial tactics policies” – it is still the UFS’s prerogative, one that you presently cannot do anything about.

Akanyang Merementsi blogs at Akanyang Africa.

Luxury label Hermes have just launched a website all about their scarves says Elle UK. The site J’aime mon Carre which translates to I Love My Scarf is a streetstyle blog featuring pictures of the oh-so-fabulous sporting the brand’s signature product in various styles, colours and methods. The website also marks the collaboration between Hermes and French shop Colette. The two have teamed up to create a special collection of scarves which will be sold exclusively by the boutique in September.

If you’re keen to invest in a designer handbag head on over to Fashionista as they count down the Top 5 handbags that are worth their fame and your moolah. Entries include the Chanel quilted flap bag, the Mulberry Neely and the Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton Top Handle.

Our fashion columnist, the incognito Green Eyes, blogs about life, love and fabulous fashion at her must-read blog: Skinny Bitches – In The Making.

The Inukshuk at Stanley Park

Hospitable host of this year’s Winter Olympics, abode of a burgeoning film industry known as the Hollywood North and called hometown by stars such as Ryan Reynolds, Michael J Fox and Joshua Jackson; Vancouver is the epitome of laid-back cool. Quietly having built up its cult following over the last few years, it has suddenly (almost surprisingly) popped up the city to see in 2010. Only a ferry-ride away from Seattle, the city of sea, yoga and bucketing rain is perfect for a weekend getaway or family trip – especially when the sun breaks through.

The great restaurants and world class shopping are major attractions of the seaside metropolis what really differentiates it from other North American cities is the ambience, or as we like to say, the vibe, bru. Vancouver is known throughout the world for its relaxed style, eco-consciousness, tolerance and seemingly collective love of exercise and the outdoors. This list contains the best of the west (coast, that is).

Granville Island Flowers

Granville Island

Take a five minute water-taxi to this bustling arts and gourmet destination. While

its main attraction must definitely be the fresh food market housed in rambling warehouses, a short stroll will take you to the boutique shops, theatres for both grownups and kids and even an arts university.

We heart: The postcard shop – full of vintage prints and retro notebooks. Perfect for cheap gifts. Also the Granville Island Tea Company – choose your leaves from hundreds on offer!

Hat Shop, G.I.

Stanley Park

Forming a peninsular of garden and trails on the west of downtown, Stanley Park flows seamlessly into the city and is where locals and tourists alike come to bike, blade, swim or run. Breathtaking views in all weathers mean that the circular trail running along the coast is always humming.

Cycling Around Stanley Park

We heart: The people-watching opportunities. Sit on a bench and watch families swimming in the outdoor pool, self-elected mavens of cool blading past and young couples getting all schmoopy.

Sushi

In the city everything is all about the sea, so many of the restaurants are all about the seafood. Salmon abounds galore around Vancouver and the sushi restaurants are

Mmm. From Ocean to Plate

manifold and good. If you are a fan, enjoy, if not, try it out – you’ll be a convert in no time.

We heart: The fresh sashimi. And being able to find a sushi restaurant whenever we feel peckish.

Lululemon

Little known outside North America, this luxe yoga & active wear company is a Vancouver native, born in 1998 in a yoga studio and quickly growing to become a Canadian phenomenon. Cheap? No. But worth it – and the healthy-living quotes that make up their logo are always inspiring. The even give free classes and demonstrations from all their retail venues! Call me a fan.

We heart: The hoodies. High necked, distinctive design that comes in all colours of the rainbow. These are no ordinary hoodies.

Steam Clock, Gastown

Gastown

This quaint area stretches only a few streets up and across, but these few streets are a haven of good eating, productive shopping and great photo opportunities. Birthplace of Vancouver in 1867, the area is called after the maverick gold digger and saloon owner, John “Gassy Jack” Deighton.

We heart: Eating gorgeous food at the River Cafe while looking out onto the traditional steam clock. If you manage to take a photo of it without any tourists in your frame then count yourself lucky!

That about sums it up for me. Visit and write your own list, or add to mine on the comments section below!

“We can still be friends” is a phrase we’ve all heard before and most often dread.  So forgive me if I must confess that I am a loyal minion of the post break up friendship.  While many would consider this a recipe for disaster, I have managed to secure bonds with great men… well until recently, that is.

Establishing a friendship with my ex was easy, since there was no unresolved anger towards each other, but maintaining it was a whole other playing field.  Since he welcomed my replacement on his side I’ve been served with the ex-girlfriend charter.  It’s amusing how suddenly my name has been changed to THE EX, as if I’ve been awarded full alien status.

FRIEND ZONE

Since receiving this “restraining order” I have had the opportunity of really questioning whether you can truly be friends with an ex.  Perhaps being friends with someone you’ve seen naked isn’t always that comforting and given that we didn’t survive the relationship, maybe a friendship was a bit idealistic.  And yes, why would anyone want the pleasure of being constantly reminded of how they got their heart broken.  But certainly this wasn’t the epitome of our relationship, so why have the two years of love and friendship gone unremembered?

Our break-up wasn’t messy, we didn’t cheat, there was no name calling.  It was merely a simple case of ‘it isn’t working anymore’.  Since we were already friends before romance came into play one would assume that we would be able to appreciate the things that attracted us to each in the first place.  But it seems on the road to parting ways, we ended up on a trail of abolition.  So now I’m burdened with the fate of realising that he isn’t the person I thought he was.

Really?  Come on.  I’m in way too deep.  Pull off the self-pity goggles and open my eyes.  No new girlfriend is going to allow him to hang out with you knowing you have a history, and he will respect her just as he respected me.  Now I don’t expect her to be my biggest fan, but there has to be some mature solution to this conundrum.

Being friends with an ex is not about waiting around until he miraculously decides he loves you again, since this is real life and not your Oscar winning romance.  But does it really have to be all or nothing?  And why should it be?  Before you presume that I am one of those optimistic grandee’s who lives in a perfect world, I want to assure you my world is less than perfect.  My reasoning is simply this, reconnect on new terms.  No bitterness but no spending evenings in the park either.  Establish a casual friendship where you can still catch up with the person and find out how they are doing.  After all, this is someone who knows you inside out, he knows your quirks and there is no need to impress.  And if I really want the fact that I watch … in my spare time to remain undisclosed, maintaining positive ties is bound to do me well.

Genevieve Vieira is a journalist and photographer based in Johannesburg.

One cannot help but suspect that the now recent reports of Anglo Platinum being advised in splitting its South African assets into two has something, if not everything, to do with the country’s ruing party’s (Africa National Congress) youth movement ANC Youth League’s talk of nationalising the Platinum Mines.

Business Day newspaper reported this week of a leading international banking group, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, suggesting that Anglo American “should split into two and separate its South African from its non-South African assets, underlying the poor international perception of the state of the mining industry in SA.”

The split is believed, hopefully in the long run, to ‘boost’ Anglo’s international rating by 17%. “The rerating of the international assets could result in a 17% boost to Anglo American’s total valuation by one calculation, and would result in two London-listed vehicles worth $30bn and $34bn respectively.”

Analysts and investors, according to the report, have suggested that the split would result in “lay[ing] itself open to takeover bids from major competitors if it followed the suggestion” and that government was also likely to “oppose any such split vigorously”.

Since last year, the ANCYL president Julius Malema suggested that the country’s minerals be under the control of the state (read nationalisation) for the benefit of the greater population especially the poor communities. At the time, Malema said: “Our call for nationalisation of mines is in such a manner where the State will own mineral wealth and mines as a custodian of the entire South African population, and not a custodian of few big-businesses. All South Africans should equitably benefit from State owned and controlled mines and we are not mistaken when we make the call for the nationalisation of Mines. We are vividly aware of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) which retains State control of all mineral rights, but what we are calling for is State ownership and control of both the mineral wealth beneath the soil, and the extraction and production of these mineral resources in Mines thereof.”

Many observers, including the opposition party Democratic Alliance (DA), criticised the move as it was likely to have a “considerable (negative) effect on investor sentiment”.

Industrial unions, National Unions of Mine Workers South Africa, have also joined calls for nationalisation of some of the companies. Recently, NUMSA reportedly called for ArcelorMittal SA to be nationalised so as to “bring an end to its protracted steel price war with Kumba Iron Ore”. This after the two were involved in trade war (see fresh reports here) for longer than three months, at the time of writing.

Malema has long called for a 50% share of the country’s minerals by government on behalf of the poor despite president Jacob Zuma assuring investors a while back that nationalisation was not a government or even ANC policy, that people needed to engage with Malema instead. Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, like Zuma, also denied nationalisation of the mines being a government policy as was suggested by Malema.

Therefore, one hopes that Anglo Platinum’s suggested split into two is not a result of a call for nationalisation of the country’s minerals, an industry in which Anglo trades. This is because if this to be the case or the reasons, the move will then continue to perpetuate and reinforce Malema’s call for nationalisation or 50% ownership of Anglo, Impala and other platinum and minerals companies as to date they are only interested making profits for themselves and leave the hard-working lower-class workers drowning in the high level of poverty we continue to witness on a daily basis. This is despite the millions and billions of profit they help bring in for these companies such as Anglo et al.

With recent Sunday Times newspaper report suggesting that nationalisation is back on the agenda and is to be tabled at the ANC National General Council this year, one waits with bated breath.

But I hope that I am wrong about the reasons behind Anglo’s split and that that is not to be the case nor should it ever be the case in future.

Akanyang Merementsi blogs at Akanyang Africa.

Grazia Daily has reported that a private memorial service has been arranged for the late designer Alexander McQueen. The service will be held at St Paul’s Cathedral on Monday 20^th September during London Fashion Week.

Vogue has all the details on the latest Stella McCartney for Adidas sportswear range. The latest collection will include glow-in-the-dark apparel. In addition, there will also be a Wintersports line which will feature figure-hugging jackets with alpine scene graphics.

Our fashion columnist, the incognito Green Eyes, blogs about life, love and fabulous fashion at her must-read blog: Skinny Bitches – In The Making.