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8 GOT A NEWS STORY? Call our news desk on (043) 702-2125. Find us on Facebook 7 November 2019 GO & EXPRESS Sadly still a dirty world at the top Film reveals how little has changed MATTHEW FIELD The Laundromat, like its precursor The Big Short, is an incredibly relevant film given the current economic climate and growing disparity between the haves and have-nots. The film tackles the 2015 Panama Papers leak which exposed the many ways that wealthy individuals, celebrities and politicians were gaming the system in order to avoid taxes and funnel their money into secret accounts. The film is told through the eyes of the fictional Ellen Martin (Meryl Streep), who launches a private investigation following the death of her husband. At the same time, a running narration is provided by Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas as real-life lawyers Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca, who were key players in the scandal. Oldman and Banderas definitely steal the show but Streep also gives a solid performance and helps remind us of the very human cost that the selfish actions of those in charge inevitably have. If The Big Short r e ve a l e d how a few individuals were able to profit in the 2008 Great Recession, The Laundromat shows how little has changed. T H U R S DAY ● THE UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE (U3A) caters to people of a mature age who are eager for knowledge. We meet at the St Andrews Croquet club hall on the second Thursday of a month and the third Thursday at 9.30am. Each meeting has a qualified speaker. Phone: 043- 735-2444 for information ● Narcotics Anonymous at Buffalo Flats Primary School, 84 Greenpoint Road, Buffalo Flats. Starts at 7.30pm. Call 083-900- 6962. F R I DAY ● Narcotics Anonymous at Khanya Youth Centre (next to Fire station), 172 Dunoon Road, Fynbos. Starts at 6pm. Call 083- 900-6962 ● The East Coast Quilters Guild are holding their annual Quilt Show in the Courtney Latimer Hall, behind the East London Museum which will run until Saturday November 16. Entrance fee is R5 per person. ● Come Dine and Dance the night away on EL best dance floor with live music by EL best singer Quentin at Comrades Club from 8-3pm. Bar and kitchen open from 6.30pm at bargain prices. Entry R25pp. Bookings 083-255-3468 S AT U R DAY ● Yellowwood Forest Fare, Morgan’s Bay, every Saturday from 9am to 2pm. ● The Centenary Tennis Club W H AT ’S ON THE GO! Contact the News Desk on (043) 7022048 or e-mail: go ex p ress @ t i s o b l a c kst a r.c o. za by Monday 4pm in publication week hosts social tennis every Saturday from 1.30pm. Enquiries: Maurice 082-676- 9708. ● Gonubie flea market every Saturday in front of the municipality from 8am to 1pm. Glenda 082-714-3390. ● Narcotics Anonymous - for whom drugs have become a major problem, meet every Wednesday and Saturday at 22 Pell Street, St Nicholas Church, Beacon Bay from 7pm. Call Peter on 082-094-0959. ● Nar-Anon Family Group - for family and friends affected by someone else's addiction, meet on Wednesday and Saturday at 22 Pell Street, St Nicholas Church, Beacon Bay from 7pm. Call Belinda on 083-662-3442. ● The Hemingways Mall Community Market Shop runs every weekend, downstairs in the Food Court. Support local t ra d e r s . ● The support group of Diabetes SA - EL branch meet on the first Saturday of every month at the Regent Hotel’s Ocean Terrace Room. from 2.45 – 4pm. Call Vrooda Makhan on 083-708-0489. ● Rob and Linda will be available for croquet coaching at Cambridge Bowls and Croquet Club from 1.30pm every Saturday. All training sessions are free. Contact Linda 083-579-4085 for more info. ● Physical Trauma Support Group at Gonubie Methodist Church, 2 Recreation Rd. Starts at 3pm. Guest speaker will be social worker Amanda Bessinger. Contact Jenny and Attie Venter on 082-920-5399. ● Gardens of East London. Join us and visit some of the beautiful gardens that this city has to offer, all in aid of charity. Tickets are R50pp, children under 12 enter free, and available from Pam Golding. ● Aqua By Rose 7th Annual Worldwide Aquathon Day at Virgin Active Beachfront. Come experience three hours of splashing fun in aid of CHOC. Starts 9am. S U N DAY ● Narcotics Anonymous at Buffalo Flats Primary School, 84 Greenpoint Road, Buffalo Flats. Starts at 7pm. Call 083-900- 6962 ● The Model Engineering Society members will be standing by at the Gonubie Farmers Hall Mini Train station to take young and old on Free train rides from 10 am to 12.30pm. Send in a completed, correct crossword #1157 for a chance to win 1x 250g bag of coffee plus two free cappuccinos valued at R100 sponsored by Cutman & Hawk Coffee go co n t est s @ t i so b l a c kst a r.co. za . Please include your contact number and full name. T&Cs apply. WIN! 1x 250g bag of coffee plus two free ca p p u cc i n os valued at R100 sponsored by Cutman & Hawk Cof fe e The winner of crossword #1156 is: Sue Prinsloo Co n g ra t u l a t i o n s ! Sponsored by BUDDY - Bull terrier x, Outgoing and mischievous pup. HARRY - Bull terrier x, Playful and loving pup . Sponsored by A SELECTION OF PETS UP FOR ADOPTION. PLEASE COME IN AND HAVE A LOOK. HERBY - Jack Russel, Bouncy and ŚĂůŝůĞĚŽŐ OLIVER - Siamese x, will you be the twist in my tale. GRACIE ŽĞΘŚŝĞ your Purrfect pet. MIMI ŽĞΘŚŝĞ Purrfessional Nap taker. Sponsored by Sponsored by Sponsored by Please give these pets a good home. Interested persons please phone 043 745 1441 and ask for Reception. Sponsored by Photo’s by Evette Joubert
GO! & EXPRESS 7 November 2019 For all your advertising needs call Cheryl on (043) 702-2031 or Wezley (043) 702-2048. Find us on Facebook 9 Passing on the baton in the race of this life Some hand it over on solid ground, others shirk their role WATCH OUT ROY HEWETT One of the defining realities of every person’s passage through life is that there comes a time to make way for successors and to hand over to the next generation of workers, leaders, bosses and role players in all fields. In a sense, this inevitable process reflects “passing the “baton to the next participant in the “race of life”, and is arguably both natural and desirable for the evolution and smooth functioning of society. It seems prudent and right that some reflection and introspection should take place regarding our performance during our time in possession of the baton. One aspect of meaningful evaluation would seem to be our handling of the baton’s cousin, “the buck”. Did we generally take responsibility, or were we deft passers of it in the common way of too many of our kind? Did we number among the dubious members of society described by Paul G Stoltz: “Blaming, whining, deflecting accountability, risk aversion, and resistance to change are but a handful of symptoms of the adversity-beaten individual and organisation?” Or were we accountable and ready to stand up to be counted? Another interesting way to look at life is as a metaphorical banquet, with all of its trimmings ranging from the hors d’oeuvres through main course, desserts and then cheese and biscuits. Did we drop our plates or mess our food for others to clean up? The answer to this question speaks volumes. Regarding accountability and taking responsibility as opposed to the tendency of many of us to “pass the buck”, WR Inge offered this compelling advice: “Don’t get up from the feast of life without paying for your share of it.” A sobering comment on this almost universal weakness in so many of us is reflected by Joseph Fort Newton: “A duty dodged is like a debt unpaid; it is only deferred, and we must come back and settle the account at l a s t .” Few would contest the argument that passing the baton has significantly more positive connotations than ‘passing the b u ck ’, assuming that the baton is a strong and worthwhile one. Two impactful observations that make the point: “Create your legacy, and pass the baton.” - Billie Jean King “My hope is to incite that feeling of inspiration in as many other people as possible. To receive and pass along that baton to anyone willing to carry it further.” - Adam Rodriguez On a more humorous note, yet having undeniable relevance in many cases: “Parenthood is the passing of a baton, followed by a lifelong disagreement as to who dropped it.” - Robert Breault “The older generation sat looking at the younger, and Kat wondered exactly when and how the baton had been passed. She wanted to know if it was too late to give it back.” - Ally Carter And then, from two of the biggest names in the history of science and epitomisng the fundamental role of the baton in l e g a cy : “A hundred times a day I remind myself that my life depends on the labours of other people, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give, in the measure I have received, and I am still r e c e iv i n g .” - Albert Einstein “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of g i a n t s .” - Isaac Newton We may find it enlightening to establish whether we are passers of the baton or the buck . . . whether those who take over from us are on solid ground, or having to take responsibility for where we have shirked ours. ❝ The older generation sat looking at the y o u n g e r, and Kat w o n d e re d exactly when the baton had been passed. . was it too late to give it back? Come together for true change MATTHEW FIELD While most of East London was glued to their screens wa t ch i n g the Springboks thrash their English rivals to win the Rugby World Cup, an all too familiar scenario was playing out in the suburb of Stoney Drift. Certain residents, sick of being abused and forgotten by their government, decided to take matters into their own hands. The result was a network of illegal electricity connections that criss-crossed all across the suburb. While such actions may be understandable given the desperate situation, illegal connections are dangerous and led to many injuries and even one human fatality in 2015. In the end, the municipality was forced to react and removed the connections. Unfortunately, this was not the end of it as we report on page 3 of this edition. With their only access to electricity taken from them, residents decided to take to the streets to protest the municipality's refusal to acknowledge their right to basic services. Situations like this are never as cut-and-dry as they might appear and I could fill this paper with a discussion of the many intricacies. For now, though, I want to focus on one of the more damaging results that inevitable arise during a protest – the splitting of communities into two 'teams' in fierce and often violent conflict with each other. On the one hand you have the protesters, which in Stoney Drift are made up of residents of the informal settlement. These people have spent the last 25 years being told that they are free and that a democratic SA meant a new life for them and their families. They have also spent the last 25 years realising that this was a cruel and tragic lie. These are people who are forced to live in squalor, who are forced to experience the humiliation and discrimination that comes with poverty every day while less than 10 meters away, their neighbours enjoy services that they may never get. Is it any wonder that they eventually got sick of waiting and took the matter into their own hands? While I don't wish to condone illegal electricity Chelsea the cat keeps an eye out for any mice that may scurry across her path Picture: FELICITY MASON connections, it is just as foolish to ignore the reasons for their existence in the first place. This brings us on to the next “team”, the residents who oppose the protesters. . As we've reported twice now, some Stoney Drift residents say they and their families have been threatened with violence if they dared to speak out about illegal activities they'd witnessed. The real antagonists in Stoney Drift aren't the protesters or the anti-protesters. Rather, they are the corrupt and inefficient power structures that allowed the situation to become this desperate in the first place. The sooner we realise this, the sooner we can truly come together and bring about the change we desperately need.
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GO 7 November 2019

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