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Radical Middle | 207<br />
more of: NomaV, often; Terry Baron, often; often our satirical<br />
versifier, Knockespotch, retired Norman Hc Smith in Sea Point;<br />
often Gus Silber, who appeared in as many magazines as you’d<br />
find in the newsstands but whose Frontline material was viewed<br />
by connoisseurs as his summit. Quite often, people specified<br />
articles of mine. Mostly, they were too polite to exclude what<br />
Tony Sutton called the “head up your ass theorising”, so what<br />
they frequently did was specify articles they did like.<br />
and I had to learn. It’s not that no-one wanted more democragonising.<br />
But if we had to hold a congress we could do it in a<br />
Mini. Most people wanted anything but that.<br />
I heard, I gulped, I blushed. Inwardly I screamed. audibly<br />
I nearly-almost promised that I would shuddup about better<br />
ways of running countries and get on with writing things that<br />
someone would read. right after europe.<br />
a lot of media people owe a lot to raymond Louw. I am<br />
high on the list. Via ray, I was invited to the International Press<br />
Institute congress in Berlin. Then ray did a thing I could never<br />
have tried. He prompted the embassies of Britain, france, and<br />
West Germany to each lay on a show-week for me. already a<br />
fairy godfather, now ray got a halo.<br />
Over the Frontline decade I had heard that things happened<br />
in a world beyond the Limpopo, but had seen none. Not that<br />
Frontline was off the junket cycle but that invites went to<br />
NomaV, who knew Kennedy International as well as I knew my<br />
bus stop. When she walked into my office with a suppressed<br />
grin, stroking the back of her black hand, I knew she was off<br />
on an all-expenses jaunt to discuss freedom in Lisbon or study<br />
democracy in San Salvador or take tea at 10 Downing Street<br />
(yes, really, with Mrs Thatcher).<br />
This time, my turn, and a whole month; just a slight little<br />
temporary holdover of the nearly-promise to part from megademocracy.<br />
People abroad might be interested, y’know.<br />
The tour meant lots of meetings, usually over lunch, with<br />
MPs and South africa-watchers. The idea was exchange. They’d<br />
tell me their betting on our prospects, and then ask for mine.
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