Newsletter December 2006

Grudge-Purchases versus Joys of Choices

So here we are again, it is Christmas day, it is HOT and it is time for the monthly newsletter. It was indeed another tough year and the recent developments around the professional fee as explained last month didn’t help much.

But life goes on, we will have to take some serious and lasting decisions in the New Year, there are going to be some rather dramatic changes to the face of Pharmacy in general but more so at Uvongo Pharmacy. Watch this space . . .

One thing that I cannot change because it is a part of the intricate nature of human beings; we just hate making Grudge-Purchases! The complete opposite is the wondrous Joys of Choice. “What are these two concepts”, I hear you ask yourself?
Let me give you two typical scenarios which will explain the above, but more importantly, will hopefully highlight why there is battle raging in certain type of shops. A battle? Yes, and you have probably fired some fiscal shots at the keeper yourself!

“Good evening Sir, welcome at WDC Exclusive Grill house”, the man in the Tuxedo purrs your way. “Table for two I presume?” he adds with a smile. A genuine smile; because he knows something that you don’t. In fact, he knows a lot of things that you would never even think about. He leads you through the dimly lit interior to a luxurious-looking, well set table, with the soothing sounds of a subtle water-feature nearby. You get comfortable; the man has now disappeared, but is quickly replaced by a reincarnation of James Dean, smiling as well, because he also knows something! “Good evening folks, my name is Philipe, I will be your absolute servant toning, your wish will be my command”.

By now can start to pick up the smell of some glorious dishes from tables around you. You can also see the texture of the food, you can almost feel it under your knife, and you can nearly not wait for Philipe to return with the wine list so that this wonderful experience can begin in earnest! Man, you can all but taste those last plates of food delivered to the smart looking couple in the corner. You want this food. You want this wine. You want this evening.
You are almost halfway through the bottle of Rubicon 2000 when two lovely young girls deliver the stuff dreams are made of; your perfectly prepared Swiss Trim Rump Steak with the Blue Cheese sauce and stuffed with Black Olives. Three hundred grams of Heaven! Right there on your plate. Streams of Amylase are released into your mouth by the Salivary glands in anticipation of the taste explosion and pure enjoyment that is to follow. You take your first bite. You really wanted this so much! You actually booked in advance!


Another time, another place: “Good evening Sir, welcome at WWFF Pharmacy”, the man in the white shirt sings in monotone. He looks tired, drained and his clothes a bit tatty. “Prescription, I presume?” he adds with a slight flash of terror in his eyes. True fear; because he knows something which you also know and he knows that you know and he knows what is coming.
You woke up that morning with a slight burning sensation in your chest. Didn’t think much of it, but by mid-morning you were doubled-up in pain and vomiting what seams to be Swiss Trim Rump with….
“No it is not the food, you had an Angina attack sir”, the doctor exclaimed while scribbling attentively on a piece of paper you immediately recognise as that much hated and ancient means of communication between different fields of the medical fraternity; the prescription!

Back at the pharmacy, your prescription to a scared looking reincarnation of Emily Hobhouse. Scared, because she also knows what you know.
The prescription is finally filled and brought back to you. You gladly take ownership of the medicine because you really want to get rid of the fear the doctor planted in you when he told you about your high cholesterol and the danger to your heart. You want this medicine. You want to prevent the pain.


Get the picture? Not yet? Here goes:
There are quite a few similarities here, but there are also some definite differences. It all comes to boil at an extremely crucial point in both scenarios: The handing over of the Bill of Account. That is where the capsule hits the stomach acid (or ze pooh-pooh hits the fan). You act out of defence, you act because of social experience, and you act because of a certain gut-feel, depending on what scenario you are paying for.

At WDC Grill house you open the bill, you immediately add at least ten percent to the amount (depending on how much Mr Dean impressed you), and you briefly scan the account to make sure that the R340 for a meal for two is acceptable. You do not realise that WDC is short for We Charge Double – they just made a gross profit of at least R200. You accept, making a bit of a grumbling noise while fishing out your Amex Gold. You can still taste that Chocolate Clafoutis when your receipt is handed over. Lovely!

At WWFF Pharmacy you open the bill, you immediately start swearing and asking for discount, threatening the poor assistant with the latest legal changes to the pricing structure of prescription medicines. You cannot believe that the three items for a potentially threatening situation can be as much as R340. You do not realise that WWFF is short for We Work For Free – they have just made a gross profit of R60 Reluctantly you fish out the card, make the payment, temporarily relieved of the fear, possibly from all the Adrenaline pumping through your body, brought on by the anger.

Why the difference in attitude? You wanted both products? Both products did something for you. The one tasted like heaven and added two points to your already elevated cholesterol levels; the other didn’t taste like anything and dropped your cholesterol level by ten points and will continue to do that for the next thirty days. But you wanted both?
You have just lived two scenarios;

1: You made the choice from a menu and decided how much you are prepared to pay for the pleasure. You actually planned to make this Choice-Purchase.
2: You had no choice from the prescription and did not want to purchase medicine. It wasn’t planned and you resented this Grudge-Purchase.

And you will resent that purchase every time, and because deep down you don’t really want it, you will feel entitled to knock down the price.
Lastly, why did the respective people who met you at both premises react the way they did? At WDC they knew that you will gladly pay, even more than the perceived price, without as much as a frown. At WWFF they knew that there was going to be a battle as soon as it came to the payment. Smile versus apprehension. Good news versus bad news.

As long as we keep on selling grudge-items, we will be on the receiving end of this wrath of the public and we will have other interested parties trying to undercut our professional fees. It is a way of life. As long as the public occasionally take a look at similar scenarios, realise that life is all about choice but that we, are not the reason for their ailments; we are just the persons in charge of the substance that will make them better.
Sometimes though, if we all make the right choices with our lifestyles, some of these ailments might never create the necessity of making a Grudge-Purchase.

Quick commercial? We perform Cholesterol tests. Affordable!
You can even add ten percent if you like the treatment. Just pay the man in the tatty white shirt. No discount. Appreciate his service.

Then again, if Manto keeps on applying the pressure, you might find Mr Dean-look-alike employed at number 5 Foster street at the MYCAP Seafood Grill and Dispensary. That is short for Make Your Choice And Pay.

Festive Greetings from the kitchen,

Pieter and Renette Naudé.

PS: I have nothing against the Restaurant fraternity. In fact, I spend way too much money at these fine establishments! They supply an excellent product accompanied by excellent service and should be paid well for it, don’t you agree? Till next time…….

New pricing regulations

It is with great relief that we read the following statement by The Pharmacy Stakeholders Forum (PSF):

It is with relief that we can announce that the dispensing fee published on 1 December 2006 will not come into operation on 1 January 2007.

Following an application challenging the dispensing fee brought by the applicants (Pharmaceutical Society of SA, South African Progressive Pharmacists’ Association and United South African Pharmacies) the Department of Health agreed to suspend the implementation of the dispensing fee. This agreement was formalised by an order issued by the High Court of South Africa (Transvaal provincial division). This order specifies that the dispensing fee will not come into operation on 1 January 2007, pending the outcome of the challenge to the dispensing fee regulations.

The Pharmacy Stakeholders Forum (PSF) thanks the Minister and the Department of Health for this relief and the PSF would like to recommit itself to finding a resolution to this matter as soon as possible. It would be welcomed if such a resolution can be found outside of the legal process.

The PSF would like to ensure the public that there is no reason to believe that pharmacists, who are members of an ethical profession, will seek to exploit the situation by charging excessive dispensing fees.

Newsletter November 2006

We are heading towards another festive season at a dizzy speed. Just the other day we were mopping up after an exceptionally wet Easter weekend and now – still mopping up – we are right here, one month away from Christmas!

My goodness, did we have some rain this year or what?
Then again, maybe, if your roof has some seemingly unstoppable leaks, any rain, whether it is a shower or just a little drizzle, will always get your attention.
I have had so many specialists diagnosing the problem, suggesting a solution, fixing it, taking my money, leaving, getting called back to re-fix it at the next whiff of a frontal system, sometimes getting more money to throw more water-proofing material at the problem and still not fixing it really.
In fact, I am getting worried that all this added material being piled up on my roof might one day proof to be too heavy for the structure and my entire humble abode will sink into Mother Earth like the houses did in Carletonville in the Sixties and Seventies.
With the current witch-hunt for illegal dwellings by you-know-who, I should actually apply for amnesty for the amount that my roof has been raised (without plans), by layer upon layer of membrane glued onto it.
I am going to give it one more try. If that fails, I will sell everything and move to the driest of our arid regions where water doesn’t drip from your ceiling every time it rains more than ten drops or your neighbour decides to water his garden. Go where it leaks sand instead. Sand can be swept under a carpet; water not.
Okay, so I exaggerated a bit. It is not that bad. Anybody wants to make me an offer I cannot refuse? “What was that question sir?” “Oh, no, the price for the house does not include two pairs of gum-boots”.

And so it came to pass that Manto Msimang decided to make some time between the Southern Hemisphere Irresistible Tomato Soup conference (acronym not allowed) and the Young Emerging Beetroot Organisation (acronym YEBO) to announce the new and much debated pricing structure for medicine. How do you justify rigid price control in a free market system? I suppose only in Africa is that considered a possibility.
Within a week the newspapers started quoting some experts from the pharmaceutical, statistical and economic fields, all in agreement that the fees are totally inadequate. The one newspaper headed their article “The end of the era of the Corner Pharmacy”. Wow. Sitting on the corner as I do, that really hurt.

Risking my neck in debating this issue, let me offer only a few short pointers to illustrate aspects not normally evident to the public.

Government wants to assure two aspects with all this interference into medicine.
They want (1) more affordable medication (2) available to the people. What people? If you look at the 1994 Health Charter it becomes evident that previous disparities needed to be addressed. “The supply of affordable healthcare to the poorest of the poor” was mentioned.

How? Again, two aspects: Drop the price through absolute control and allow corporate supermarket groups to obtain pharmaceutical licenses – previously only granted to registered pharmacists. These chain stores were supposed to open dispensaries in the rural areas to reach the poorest of the poor.

Point is: It is not happening. It never will. All the corporate dispensaries are in affluent suburban areas where expensive chronic medication is dispensed. They want to make their shareholders happy. Not the poor.

The supply to the poor has in fact diminished to the extend that a lot of small towns and villages previously serviced by a rural chemist are now totally devoid of any pharmaceutical services due to the fact that the interference and control has forced the smaller chemists out of business and the newly announced fee structure is going to cause a large scale closure within a few months. The people living in these areas now have to travel to the nearest bigger town to get their medicine. Some saving to them!

Bottom line: I agree that medicine is expensive but I also know that it is not only the last link in the supply chain that is to be blamed. Why then cut it off?
If the traditional community pharmacy is not there anymore, you have two choices: Long queues at the supermarket where the pharmacist will not know the names of your children and the health status of your partner, or even longer queues at the state hospital where the pharmacist will not even care if you have any children.
God forbid.

Enough said. Quick commercial: With the exception of one, all the promised items in my PeeCee range are now available. I am quite proud and we are planning to go national in the New Year. The range is affordable and available. Without price control. “Eish, there he goes again!”

This time of the year a lot of people do a lot of travelling – if you are planning a trip somewhere, please read the following:
Just four hours of travel in a plane, train or car can triple your risk of potentially deadly blood clots in the legs. It is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The risk of DVT increases along with journey length. Those at greatest risk were people who travelled for more than 12 hours, people with certain kinds of inherited blood conditions, women taking oral contraceptives, and people taller than 2 meters, who are most affected by lack of leg room.
A traveller's risk of DVT can be reduced by moving the feet, walking around if possible, and drinking water or non-alcoholic beverages in order to prevent dehydration.

Lastly, I have seen some gripping evidence that one must control your weight but the following was too good to ignore. Only in America will they conduct research like this! Have a nice snigger: Losing weight can help you save money at the petrol pumps. That's the message from new research that found Americans' expanding waistlines are affecting fuel consumption and causing them to burn 4.3 billion more litres of fuel a year than they did in 1960. Based on recent average petrol prices, that means that Americans are spending about $2.2 billion (R15.6 billion) more a year to lug their extra kilograms around in their cars, the Associated Press reported. And the researchers noted that 4.3 billion litres is enough to fill almost 2 million cars with petrol for an entire year. – www.news24.com

That’s it for this month, have a wonderful summer, keep safe.
Pieter & Renette Naudé (and one of the kids currently visiting)

Cholesterol - drug free??

Attention To Everyone Who Has High Cholesterol Or Who Wants To Prevent High Cholesterol…

“Who Else Wants To Lower Cholesterol Naturally Without Costly Drug Prescriptions And Without Suffering Through The Miserable Side Effects Of Statin Drugs?”

“Discover The Cholesterol-Lowering Alternative To High-Priced Drugs Riddled With Harmful Side Effects...That Doctors Are Too Embarrassed To Tell You About...And That Big Drug-Making Companies Desperately Hoped You Would Never Discover!”

“Lower Cholesterol Naturally, Eliminate Harmful Prescription Drugs, And Maintain A Healthy, Stress-Free Life. A Simple But Incredibly Powerful Plan You Can Begin Using Today To Achieve Optimum Cholesterol Health!”

“Hurry…And Get This Surefire Electronic Manual To Lower Your Cholesterol Without Harmful Drugs…Before These Methods Are Smothered By Those Who Don’t Want You To Find Out About Them!”

Click on:
Show me HOW!...

Dog food secrets revealed

"Give me ONE day and I'll give you
the happiest dog in town!"

Discover in One Day the amazing recipes that took John Miller 50 years to develop.

Your veterinarian will be asking you for your secrets.

50 years ago, a young dog-fancier, John Miller wanted to improve his dogs growth. After analysing commercial dog food formulas, he found they were all loaded with unhealthy chemicals.

John developed a better recipe himself and tried it on his own dogs... using healthier ingredients...

Click on:
Woof...

Health Warning! Ladies Take Note!

Serious Health Hazard:

Somebody kindly sent me this information and I felt it is so important that I adapted it somewhat and included in this letter for your attention. I cannot give credit to the original author because I do not know him/her but offer my thanks to that person for bringing this to everybody's attention.

HANDBAGS:

I never gave it a thought. Who would have thought?

Does anybody know how many women sit their handbags on public toilet floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot!

It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what you don't know 'will' hurt you"!

Read on...

It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? You may think twice about where you put your handbag.

Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day?

"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says one woman. "I put my bag on the floor of my car, and in toilets."

"I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the toilet while changing a nappy," says another woman "and of course in my home which should be clean."

Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.

Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if their handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was shocked.

Microbiologists agreed that nearly all handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags can be the cause of gastro-enteritis and could make people very sick.

In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. There was fecal contamination on the handbags. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role.

People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. Some type of feces, or possibly vomit.

So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.

Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop.

Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops" - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc!

Do you really want to bring that home with you?

Newsletter October 2006

Of birthdays, anniversaries, and salutations;

Quick rundown why everybody should send me money NOW: October is not my top money-saving month. So many days to remember, so many people that expects more than morsels to celebrate with anything ranging from chocolate-cake and tea, to merlot and brie.

We had in quick succession; 8^th - my sister’s birthday, 17^th - our anniversary (25 nogal!), 20^th - my brother-in-law’s birthday, 27^{th -} my wife Renette’s birthday (a bit more than 25 nogal!), 27^th - the pharmacy’s birthday (58 years of which we had the joy of the previous 9), and then the month will be over.

There is an old saying in Afrikaans: “Oktober, die mooiste, mooiste maand.” It seems to be quite true. It is indeed a beautiful month. Just look at who shares birthdays in October:

Sting, Mahatma Gandhi, Kate Winslet, Brit Ekland, Chevy Chase, Paul Simon, Cliff Richard, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Angela Lansbury, Evel Knievel (on the 17^th nogal), Alfred Nobel, and on the 27^th – John Cleese for humor, Theodore Roosevelt for insight and Captain James Cook for bravery.

The fact that I know most of these names so well gives my age away or says a lot about the days when we were still taught some sort of history.

Enough of the old: Now for some exciting current news:

Thank you. Now let’s move onto some interesting medical snippets picked up recently. (Courtesy of 24.com)

Fat may shield cancer

Fatty tissue may hinder the body's ability to destroy cells that can cause cancer, suggests a Rutgers University study.

It has long been known that overweight people are at increased risk of certain types of cancer, but scientists have been trying to understand the reasons why and whether losing weight can help reduce cancer risk or offer any benefits after a tumour has formed.

Based on their findings in mice, the Rutgers team suggested that fat cells may secrete substances that impair the programmed death of genetically damaged cells, which is one of the body's main defenses against cancer. If damaged cells survive, they can become cancerous.

Almonds could help you lose weight

A handful of almonds, a rich source of flavonoid antioxidants, vitamin E and magnesium, may enhance the feeling of fullness in people and aid weight management, suggests a new study.

Satiety has been called the 'Holy Grail of nutrition' and is seen as a key target in the battle against obesity, which is taking a heavy toll around the globe. More than 29% of South African men and 56% of South African women are currently classified as overweight or obese, according to the latest statistics by the Medical Research Council of South Africa. Foods marketed for satiety enhance feelings of fullness after eating, acting as a boost to a person's will power. People found their daily almond snack to be very filling, and so they naturally compensated in their caloric intake at other times of the day. In other words, almond consumption could displace other foods from the diet, leading to a more stable weight.

Cholesterol drugs help smokers

The millions of people who take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs may have another reason to cheer: These medications may also help boost the lung health of smokers and former smokers.

And a second study reported at the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting in New Orleans found that these drugs - which include Lipitor, Prava, Simvastatin, and others - may also protect people with severely clogged carotid arteries, the main blood vessels to the brain.

Cell phones sabotaging sperm

Heavy cell phone use can harm a man's sperm count and quality, says a study by researchers in the United States and India.

They tracked 364 men being evaluated for infertility. The men were divided into three groups, based on their sperm count.

Among men whose sperm counts were within the normal range, those who used a cell phone for more than four hours a day produced an average of 66 million sperm a day, 23 percent less than men in the same group who never used cell phones.

(Moral of the story? Never make a date with your cell phone)

Some interesting facts about water

Only 1,1% of the water on earth is suitable for drinking.

Our bodies consist of 55 – 75% water.

Depression and fatigue are often symptoms of dehydration.

It is healthy to drink water with meals, as it aids the process of digestion.

The best way of getting rid of water retention is to drink a lot of water.

Water allows the body to metabolise fats more efficiently.

Good water intake prevents the skin from sagging.

Water is the main food the body needs.

The thirst reflex only appears when our bodies are already dehydrated.

Children dehydrate more quickly than adults do, and a survey revealed that 65% of schoolchildren drank too little water.

A 2% reduction of water levels in the body can lead to a 20% decrease in mental and physical performance.

Dehydration may induce contractions in pregnant women.

And now for a quick commercial: My own range called PeeCee:

Judging only from sales in our own shop, it is going to be a hit. The Bath Salts are flying, the Shaving Crème is quite popular, the Bath Oil is a winner and the Air & Fabric Spray is still our best seller! Soon we will have a Shower Gel and an After Sun Soothing Spray as well as our own branded Palm Oil Soap.

Please support us in the process of branding this range by buying the products. They are good, they are affordable, and they are proudly local!

One day you can brag to your friends that you were using these products when they were still unknown and made in a little pharmacy on the coast!

Have to love and leave you now, gotta shake up some more salts!

Greetings from around the Anniversary Cake,

Pieter and Renette Naudé

Nice reference about Newsletters

Hi, Yes am getting newsletters – thanks a mill. Funny how you only get feedback about “wrong thing” but never “right things”.
Your newsletter is a “RIGHT THING” and much enjoyed especially good for a good belly laugh which is supposed to be good for the body – depends on how fat you are and how much “wobbles”. I “wobble” with glee every time I get your Newsletter.
Keep it up.

Thanks so much for your time and effort.

Marian & Phyllis Anderson

So look on the left of the page near the top and subscribe. Apart from the Newsletters, you will be able to get "early warning" messages about serious current health threats.
Easy to opt in and to opt out.
The same mail listing is used for PeeCee Manufacturing Chemist

Much to be gained!

These bathsalts are 2 die for!

Bathsalts

Photo Here

All salts are made with either Sea Salt, Rock Salt, Magnesium Sulphate, Sodium Bicarbonate or a combination of those.
Oils used are true Essential Oils and other fragrances are water soluble perfumed oils.
The invigorating range of Bath Crystals comprises the following:

1. Lavender - the age old feeling of well-being when surrounded by the wonderful bushes of Lavandula angustifolia or commonly known as English Lavender is replicated in the essence of this bath crystal. It has a soothing and calming effect on the nerves, relieving tension, depression, panic, hysteria and nervous exhaustion in general and is effective for headaches, migraines and insomnia. Lavender relieves pain when used for rheumatism, arthritis, lumbago and muscular aches and pains.

2. Rose - apart from the amazing sensation of being in a bed of roses it also soothes and harmonizes the mind and helps with depression, anger, grief, fear, nervous tension and stress and at the same time addresses sexuality, self-nurturing, self esteem and dealing with emotional problems.

3. The Woods - ever been in a real Pine Forest? Not only the smells, the ambience, the soft light; it is a deeper awakening of the senses.
This bath salt contains Pine Oil combined with Frankincense to address a variety of upper respiratory tract conditions - the Frankincense clears the lungs and helps with shortness of breath, asthma, bronchitis, laryngitis, coughs and colds while the warming properties of Pine help with rheumatism, arthritis, gout, muscular aches and pains and it can stimulate circulation.
Got the sniffs or just feeling blocked up and locked out?
You know where to go and what to pick up.

4. Ocean Breeze - nothing extraordinary - just the breeze from the Indian Ocean trapped in an almost translucent light blue bath salt. Pour into your bath, close your eyes, listen to the waves, feel the day roll of your shoulders. A day at the beach without the sunburn, the sand and the wind.
And did I mention that the presentation of these salts are designed to blend with the best in bathrooms or spa areas. Real stunners if I may say so

Newsletter September 2006

Second-hand suppositories and other less welcome issues...

...and let it never be said that this is not the way to open a community newsletter. It is miles (ok, meters in multiples of one thousand for the metric babies) better than any national newspaper on any day in recent months (years?).

Some day, hopefully sooner rather than later, I will experience a wondrous moment in time: I will find a newspaper front-page that is not bleeding, gasping, dying or already beyond rigor mortis.

I will grab said hypothetical newspaper in both hands and publicly rejoice. I will inform everyone within reach, in no uncertain terms, that this particular newspaper caries GOOD NEWS!

Then I will go clean myself and my immediate area, pick up the phone and call the editor.

Then I will probably wake up and realise that is was all just a figment of my imagination. A dream. There just seem to be no good news from any paper these days, and especially not from our local TV stations and in particular, nothing from the politically biased, openly vindictive guy on SABC’s Morning Live!

At least I have some good news today: “There is no such thing as a second-hand suppository”.

Yes, one can maybe share some medicine (never a good idea) but some are better if used once and never again - least of all by the neighbours.

Before I get emotionally carried away again, let us drop the (sorry) issue of SA Today. (Maybe I must start a newsletter on the Internet called SA Today. Anybody interested?)

While on the subject of the Internet, and immediately I’m trespassing on one of my Newsletter rules not to advertise via this medium, please go look at the following web-sites if you can:

http://www.peecee.typepad.com

http://uvongopharm.blogspot.com

and soon http://www.peecee.co.za

The first one gives you some information about the new PeeCee Bathroom range which we are now manufacturing, the second one has been around for a long time and contains the newsletters, some medical info, a facility where you can subscribe to my mailing list and then the last one will soon be the official commercial web site for PeeCee Manufacturing Chemist. We are going to take our product range into a much wider market area and the web is just the beginning.

As they say in the classics, ‘watch this space’.

So, in keeping with the classical format of previous newsletters, what else will be deemed less welcome (according to the opening header)? I should complete the statement somewhere.

I do not know; you tell me? What else is less welcome in our (your) life? We have already determined that certain dosage forms are less welcome if slightly pre-used (wonderful phrase emulating from the second-hand car industry). Also, certain personal items like reading glasses are less welcome if pre-read (phrase courtesy of the second-hand book store).

So what do we do with the stuff in our lives that are less welcome?

Maybe one must do the ‘cleansing thing’? Make your list of all that is not welcome anymore and then ruthlessly weed them out. If, on the other hand your list contains the names of your neighbour or your pharmacist, rather just opt to ignore them; no weeding please.

I am of cause referring to inanimate objects of irritation (IOI) – (try saying that acronym without your teeth might cause permanent paralysis of the cheek muscles).

Here is what we need to do: Brave the attic, storm the garage, enter the Wendy House with courage, pull open those long-forgotten drawers in the spare room, wherever you need to go, make your list. Divert stuff to junk. (Sounds very computer-like doesn’t it?) Yes, if you haven’t used it in five years, forgotten all about it, hated it from the beginning; divert to junk!

At this point I might want to quote some wise person from somewhere saying something like “Junk is something you desperately needs two weeks after you threw it away”.

Now, if this person was correct, his little piece of wisdom would have made him famous and as such he or she would not be referred to as ‘some person’, now would it? So, assumption, this person was wrong. Which means divert it to junk.

So once your list is complete, take said items to the waste disposal, or donate it to somebody who might need it, or sell it on E-Bay or at the local Ctenocephalides canis markis or commonly known as the Flea Market. Point is, get rid of it. Make space in your home. Make space in your life. Part with the old and redundant. In a sense, it is sort of a re-birth.

Go back often to that empty area you created in your garden shed, enjoy the space, and ponder a moment on the purpose of life which is to renew, to grow. To go forward boldly even though we always need the past to teach us and guide us in the right direction. Take your own body for instance; all the cells are replaced all the time regardless of your age. They are replaced (represents re-birth) according to the message and code in your genes (represents the past) to form new cells and in the process old cells die and the body gets rid of it (divert to junk).

Lesson over.

What is achieved with this whole exercise apart from keeping you away from the doom and gloom of the newspapers?

Just think of it as some sort of cleansing. Make way for something new. Detox your life. Feel refreshed and free. It works. Trust me.

In conclusion, please do not give the stuff to me, do not dump in illegal areas, do not offer to pay any accounts with old wristwatches or refurbished dentures from the pre-war era, do not accidentally get rid of any golf clubs, bicycles, magazines, fishing gear, stuffed animals without the explicit permission of the owner of said articles of household disagreement.

That being said and all, let us be joyous; Spring has sprung. Question is just, where?

To the Free State Cheetas: “Why?”

To the rest of the world, greetings from the attic,

Pieter & Renette Naudé

Newsletter August 2006

Why, oh why, oh why…?
The front page of the Fever newspaper dated 25 August 2006 ran a full page article headed: “Another cold-blooded killing”. It told the horrible story of the senseless shooting and subsequent killing of our very popular Beeld newspaper Distribution Agent, Schalk Visser. He was statistic number X on the now fast becoming notorious, N2 toll road, earlier this week.
I do not need to and definitely do not want to repeat any details here, but I can vouch that Schalk, as an agent, as a patient of ours, and as a human being, will be seriously missed. Not only did he deliver my newspaper personally every morning; come sickness or inclement weather, he also had a little special greeting or short piece of wisdom to share ever so often. Schalk, God bless, and to Kotie, may His peace and love guide and embrace you and your family in these troubled times.

Which brings me to exactly the point in question; these troubled times. What is being done to ease the pain of our nation and country going to the dogs and rushing back towards the Middle Ages? I thought the new generation all firmly believed in the exponential expansion of the universe which dictates that after the initial “Big Bang” explosion everything is supposed to be moving away from the initial point of density, (including – and especially; Time), but no, in our beloved country (pun intended) we seem to be heading forward towards the past.
Not only are we reminded relentlessly of our immediate past and the supposed atrocities of said era, we are also accelerating at more than a dizzy rate back to the barbaric middle ages and even before that.
The Five W’s:
Who is going to stop this landslide into the abyss?
What is needed to bring back the future?
When is the pendulum going to reach the apex?
Why are we expected to absorb all this mayhem?
Where is the point of no return?

Dear reader, normally my newsletters are marked by, (and from what I’ve been told,) quite popular, because of some degree of humour expressed, but this month I cannot comprehend the funny side of anything. I am sorry, in these times of sorrow, of violence, of fear, of hate, a little one-page newsletter by some weird guy trying to be funny might not seem significant to most, but I normally treasure the opportunity to make just a few people smile while reading my strange mind, printed in a letter. This time, however, I doubt. I am too upset to entice even a smirk!

Last point on this issue: Think long and hard about the five W’s. Someone will have to stand up and answer these sooner than later.

Now on a different note:
During all those lonely hours in the bicycle saddle one eventually starts to notice a lot of things normally missed by people rushing past in their motorised vehicles. Not that there is anything wrong with the last mentioned method of perambulation! In fact, we all love our car or truck or bakkie or buggy or whatever blows your hair back. If you have enough hair to be blown back, that is.
Anyway, getting back to whatever point I’m trying to make, mechanical powered means of transport and human powered means of transport are not really compatible on the road and more often than not, the human powered one turns out to be the bottom feeder in the traffic food-chain.
This was vividly emphasised recently when another cyclist was killed by a speeding motorist in Durban. This sparked a massive outcry and eventual mass protest ride (or memorial ride as it was labelled) where, according to reports, more than two thousand cyclists took part. The reason was to get the message to the top of the food-chain that us pedal-powered travellers need more safety, consideration and respect from fellow road users as well as from the authorities.
Fat chance!
They do not care! They do not believe that we need to even exist. All they are concerned about is the next ridiculous salary cheque, the best way to scrape the last morsels from the travel allowance, the most mileage from the expense accounts, the most opportune moment to fall asleep during Parliamentary sessions without being caught on camera on channel 58.

They do not care about cyclist being killed by mad motorists at five in the morning, they do not care about a family-man getting gunned down on a busy main road during bright daylight, they do not care about the old farmer having the soles of his feet removed with a pocket knife after being held in boiling water in order to exhume information from him, they do not care if a little five year old girl is raped because some barbaric tribesman unearthed the wisdom that the despicable act will cleanse the perpetrator from the African Flu (which our dear minister of health fortunately believes can be cured by just eating Beetroot!). They do not care. Yes, I know I’m on thin ice. Yes, I know I’m being negative. Yes I know I’m ranting and raving.
Somebody has to do it.

Oh, yes, coming back to what we witness while out riding our bikes; a lot, I can give you my word. We see things and activities that would have gone unnoticed if in a car. I also believe that we sometimes see things we are not supposed to see or maybe people do not realise that we are out there and that we can actually see! Ranging from minor traffic offences to serious drunken driving by some serious members of society to people sneaking home from late night activities not normally smiled upon by society, people leaving houses (before first light ) where they are not personally responsible for the bond, and the list gets longer almost every time.
Maybe one day soon we can do a newsletter where I will be the roving (or be it cycling) observer, reporting ‘from the bike’ and revealing some lekker local corny news for all to share?!
Names and places will be changed to protect the writer.

That is all from the podium for this month. I do not apologise for my black mood. I do apologise for forcing it onto you. We should however not ignore the real state of affairs. The truth might dawn too late for tears.
Take care out there, be alert, be wise, and above all; be healthy.

Newsletter July 2006

Twelve little newsletters since the rebirth in August last year: That is where we are now. Time is no-one’s fool indeed. For the newcomers, we started with edition 1 on the 24th of November 1997, one month after the day we took over the pharmacy.
For 5 years, without missing a single one, we produced sixty editions of the letter, doing the last one on October 27th, 2002; exactly 5 years to the day from the time we took over. It also was my wife Renette’s birthday (it pays to advertise as it is almost time for it again). On that day, a Sunday, I typed the last newsletter. Until August last year, that is. Thirty four lazy months! But we’re back.

So last month saw the story of little Flenters the dog. My heartfelt thanks go to everybody who phoned, or came in to enquire, or just passed a nice comment on his wellbeing. Quite a popular doggie!
Also, the tongue-in-cheek “genuine” sympathetic observations about the broken toe have been noted. Thanks. Really, thanks.
It has healed now, so let us please leave the history behind.

This coming weekend sees us off to the Imfolozi game reserve up North to do a mountain bike ride through Big 5 country in aid of conservation.
You do not have to be quicker than the lion; you just have to be quicker than a fellow cyclist. Easy. No broken tows or anything to fuel some patient’s sense of humour. We sincerely hope so.

Almost one third into this letter and I haven’t said much; just filling up the space, just killing time.
Time. That’s it. We will talk about time. Now, after the end of another spectacular Tour de France, I suddenly have so much time to myself. But what is time, and why does it not give more of itself, or wait for us, or stop occasionally?
Nobody knows why and nobody knows what time really is.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines time as "a nonspatial linear continuum in which events occur in an apparently irreversible succession."
The Oxford English Dictionary defines time as "the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future, regarded as a whole."

What?
And I thought it was only the stuff that I never have enough of? The stuff that drags me back home after a long cycle session, the stuff that makes an evening with friends fly into history, the stuff that makes fun disappear and pain lasts for a seeming eternity.

How much time do we have? Time; for anything, not just for life itself? Do we know and do we appreciate the time lent to us for a given aspect of your life or a moment in your life?
We all know how relative time can be; ten minutes left in the game when your team needs to score 1 more point to win goes a lot quicker than ten minutes left of the sermon when your eyelids feel like two trapdoors.
We are brought up to wish time away. From childhood, in fact, especially during our earlier (for some, much earlier) days, we are forever looking forward to something, always wishing for the holidays to begin, hoping that the time will come to go to high school, later on it is a matter of cannot wait for little Johnny to start walking and talking. Of course, after some time we realize that we have a child with wings and the voice of an angel and that he never stops asking questions and never slows down to even a mild blur, then we tell him to sit still and shut up. (Or we wish the time away for him to go to school to give us a little bit of peace and quiet?)
Point is; how much time are we allowed in our lives? And why do we never stop and make time work for us, instead of being a slave of something like time; who eventually leaves you, literally, dead in its tracks?
“How”, you ask me? “Now”, is my answer.
Do it now. Stop your clock! You can’t stop the Greenwich Time, but you sure can stop your ‘own time’. You cannot make time or take away time, remember it is a linear continuum and it stops for no-one. The trick (and I’m absolutely NO expert), is to go with the time-scale and not try to jump ahead of the clock by rushing headlong into everything.
We rush and fuss, we torment and cry, we toil and boil, all in vain trying to beat the linear nature of time.

King Solomon (970-928 BC) wrote: "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven” … and we all know the rest of the famous verse. So much wisdom, just think about it; in today’s life where there is never enough time for everything, could this verse still be true?
I say “yes”. All we have to do is to make a list like Solomon did in the Bible. If you find that there are way too many things for the time allowed, you have a choice. Make time or cut the list in half. Yeah, by now it is evidently clear that only one of the two is possible. So?
I’m cutting my list. My new list will fit into the time allowed;
I will stop trying to stretch time to fit the list.
Wow, what time is it? OK. Just kidding.
Time for Staff news.

And now, it is time to go. Remember, cut the list. Also remember to get a Polio vaccination if travelling to Namibië or Botswana.
Greetings from the chronometer,
Pieter & Renette Naudé. (Count how many times the word Time appears in any article. Time is no-one’s fool, indeed.

Newsletter June 2006

The Story of Flenters; a case of the underdog beating the odds…

But first; warm words of thanks to all the people who gave me their email addresses. Also, warm(ish) words of request to those people who bounced my first informative email not to block or bounce or reply with unkind words of praise unless they made sure that it is not perhaps any life saving information from the local pill-guy!
And then, lastly, to those wonderful people who wanted to know what “email” is, well, God Bless you; you are from an era where “going home” meant “if you want to say something to me, pack a basket, get on your horse, I’m in the house next to the Wattles on the South slope of Mount Ben Macdui. See you soon.” You, Sir / Madam, have no need for email; you must have the most wondrous memories! Bless you!

There are still many people out there who have not replied but I will be patient. Do not, if you fly into another country, pick up a dreaded disease, come back by ambulance and then blame us for not warning you when in fact it was done by email but you missed out because you were scared of spam mail, junk mail, the boogieman, electronic warfare or whatever your personal phobia is all about. Point made.

Flenters a.k.a. Pondo alias Lotto also under the nom de plume of Stinky, the story, in one part, told first hand (or is that toe?)
It was early one chilly Thursday morning in June, in the year of our Lord 2006, when a group of valiant young men, (of which I was one - noticed the word young somewhere huh?), left the parking at a local resort, made famous by the millions lost there over the years by local people naively feeding hard-earned currency to noisy inanimate objects of sin! (“Ja Dominee, ek het hulle nou mooi gesê, hoor!”).
Having made such a lavish intro, let’s get back to the essence of the story; nine men and their cycling machines (sounds like a movie the older folks might remember – but cannot email us if they do remember) set off from the beach at the Wild Coast Sun on a 3- day mountain bike trek to Port St Johns.

It was not quite light enough but eager to get away we started a long peddle down the absolutely pristine beach south of the Hotel. For more than an hour we cycled below the high-water mark (yes, it was low tide madam, and no, we didn’t need snorkels). On the firm sand it was such a pleasure, especially when the sun came up behind us, casting long, strange looking shadows slightly to the right and in front of us. If you looked over your shoulder the other riders were sharply silhouetted against the serene backdrop of red and ochre. Not much was spoken. Everyone almost drowned in the beauty of the moment.

Then we did a river crossing, carrying the bikes above our heads, a toe made sudden contact with a submerged rock, a little bone snaps like a green twig, and one of the nine gets a sudden reduction in overall speed and agility. The next twenty hours over three days will be remembered for the Biology lesson: “How often the human body needs a little limb like the number 4 toe”. Vividly. Vocally. Repeatedly. Continuously. Ad nauseum!!

Ok, so it was not all fun and games, but, nobody will ever forget the eyes of Flenters when he became Pondo after winning a Lotto but before he became Stinky for a brief moment.
For the sake of the colonial descendants (“Dis die Ingelse Dominee”), the word Flenters is Afrikaans for something that is torn, shredded, in rags, smithereens etc etc.

So here follows the story of Flenters:
At the end of day 1 of this epic trek along the coastline (and it was more mountaineering and carrying the bike than cycling in the end), we came to Port Grosvenor where we spent our first night in a cottage.
Jan and Natalie, our backup team, caterers, and support, were getting the cottage sorted out and unpacking the food from the support vehicle (yes Sir, it was a Landy). The local African families looking after the cottages on a daily basis were very kind and helpful and they were accompanied by their trusted canine friends. The typical rural, skinny, long legged and short haired dogs so well known to us all were placidly mingling with the crowd.
Note: This breed has recently made name overseas as a very resilient type of dog, immune against most known canine diseases, the dogs are extremely loyal and very lovable (given the right treatment and affection of course). It is now known as Canus Africanus and fetches huge prices in England! Or, typical George Bush style marketing:” Canus africanus: the basenji. (barkless hunting dog: forerunners of breeds such as the pharaoh hounds).
Anyway, rounding a corner of the cottage, carrying my kit, limping severely, (yes it was my toe), feeling so sorry for myself, I looked upon two small brown pools of hope! They were eyes and the eyes belonged to a little Aficanus puppy, barely a few months old. There he was looking up at me, almost fearless, with lots of hope, wagging little tail kicking up a puff of dust. “Waar kom jy nou vandaan Flenters?” I exclaimed. He was in a sad state. The expression ‘skin and bones’ suddenly took on a whole new meaning. His little body was covered by patchy dry hair. His ears were hanging. He had numerous little sores and scratches over his entire body. He was totally malnourished and neglected. But his eyes were wide awake, full of life, eager. A real feisty little fellow!

And so it came to pass that ten men and a lady simultaneous experienced the sudden desire to feed the little doggie. And well-fed he became. Within hours he had a firm and rounded middle where previously there were only ribs and ticks. He was now one of the boys. He wanted to show his utter gratitude by running from one person to the next but he suddenly had a spot of difficulty negotiating the corners. He was probably feeling a bit top-heavy with all that cheese (“Camembert nogal, Dominee”) and other food stuffed inside over the previous hour. Eventually he succumbed and fell asleep between somebody’s feet next to the fire.

So when did Flenters become Pondo by winning a lotto?
A little before sunset three of us walked down (sorry, two walked down and one dragged along biting his tongue) to the beach to look at the sunset behind the hill inland from the village. Suddenly he was there: Flenters; with us, emanating a strong sense of belonging, head held high, ears halfway up already. Suddenly, a movement on the beach about 500 meters away; members of a local African family returning home after a day fishing on some remote beach. Flenters made a guttural little noise and set off into the sunset. “He’s gone now”, Eddie said. Barely were those words out when Flenters changed speed and started to produce what he thought was a fearsome growl. “He’s turned on his own people” Dix cried out and we doubled over laughing. Flenters only stormed away a mere twenty yards before he returned, ears now in the full-up position, carrying his new-found belly two inches higher off ground level. In fact, he was floating two inches above all previous levels. He was now one of us! He became the dog called Pondo, now living on the lovely Coffee farm called Beaver Creek just outside Port Edward with Eddie, his son Robbie and the family. Never again will he be Flenters again, never again will he go hungry again; he won a big lotto on that weekend in June of 2006.
In conclusion, he was legitimately bought from the family in Grosvenor for real money and it was indeed a rare occasion where a business transaction came out beneficial for three parties; the African family, Eddie and obviously for Pondo.

I went to see him on the farm last weekend, taking my daughter Lizé and wife Renette for breakfast (on Father's Day!) at Beaver Creek’s coffee shop and he is something to see!
Go there for a premium coffee and a scrumptious meal one day soon and you will see Pondo, the African dog that won more than a lotto.

Oh yes, and Stinky?
You take a puppy from one meal a week to three meals a day and some intestinal process will erupt fifteen minutes into a two hour ride in a real taxi with nine real tired guys with a real driver that were really upset about Pondo’s lack of potty training!


Greetings folks, be kind to your muti-man, he is slower than normal! Thank you for giving us your time,

Pieter & Renette Naudé.

And now for something completely different....

Household odors getting your nose in a knot?
Towels smelling like yesterday's socks?
Curtains with the whiff of dead rat?
Tablecloth speaking to you from a deep curry grave?

We manufacture a range of sprays designed to satisfy the most discerning olfactory senses.

No CFC's, no colorants, no artificial fragrance.

Spray the smells away with PeeCee Air Freshener and Fabric Spray.

Available in 250ml pump action transparent plastic bottles.

Magnesium (3)

Intake and deficiency of Magnesium

Magnesium is second only to potassium among those who failed to meet the intake targets in a UK survey. More women than men failed to reach their target and the younger age groups were worst affected.
The low average intake of Magnesium is often reflected in the low proportion of magnesium from cereals. In a well-balanced diet, the wholegrain food group should provide at least half the magnesium intake. Magnesium intake would be improved several fold by simply replacing refined cereal products with wholegrain equivalents.

Other factors can lower magnesium status, including malabsorption, kidney problems, endocrine disorders and alcoholism.

Magnesium absorption can also be jeopardised when calcium intake is very high: for maximal absorption of both minerals, the Ca:Mg ratio in the diet should be 2:1. Ideally, therefore, magnesium should be included in calcium supplements for bone health. Interesting though is that from the Carbohydrate food group ("sugary products”), which include jams, confectionery and soft drinks; beer (!) is the main contributor of magnesium in this category because yeast contains high amounts of magnesium.

The effects of mild magnesium deficiency include a variety of signs and symptoms affecting the neurological and neuromuscular systems. These include muscle cramps or twitches, palpitations and restless legs. More seriously, magnesium deficiency may cause or exacerbate cardiovascular disease (heart disease), especially arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).

The assessment of magnesium status proves to be problematic. Although commonly used, serum magnesium concentration is inadequate. Red blood cell magnesium, although a better measure as it reflects the intracellular nature of the mineral, is still not universally accepted. The best method is a classic research technique: recovery of magnesium from 24- hour urinary magnesium excretion following a known load of magnesium administered parenterally, compared with a baseline 24-hour urinary magnesium. In other words, give the subject a known amount of magnesium and collect urine over a 24 hour period. Compare the excretion of magnesium with the excretion over a similar period without taking the extra amount of magnesium. This should indicate how well magnesium is absorbed, utilised and excreted.

Tough tests to do. The best to do is to ensure adequate intake through the natural dietary process. Eat healthy.
More on that in the next (nr 4) session on Magic Magnesium . . . .

find-a-buy

Fresh from the printers: A new Blog.
E-bay look out! Bid-or-buy beware!
He's on a roll.....

find-a-buy

Magnesium (2)

Sources of Magnesium.
Good sources of magnesium in the diet are confined mainly to wholegrain cereals, nuts, beans
and seeds. Other very good sources of magnesium include leafy green vegetables, like spinach.
The effect of milling on the magnesium content of cereals can be seen by comparing the content in a portion of brown rice with white rice or a slice of wholemeal bread with white bread.
Cereal refining was responsible for an estimated 50 per cent decline in magnesium intake in the 20th century.
For a table with the most common sources plus the contents of Magnesium in each, please email me.

Function of Magnesium
The body contains about 25g of magnesium: 50 per cent in bone, 27 per cent in muscle, 19 per cent in other soft tissues, and only 1 per cent in blood.
Magnesium functions in most systems of the body, including energy pathways, the replication of DNA and synthesis of RNA. Its role is intimately linked to that of calcium. Indeed, low blood magnesium enhances parathyroid hormone secretion, which promotes bone demineralisation.
At the cellular level, magnesium can act as a calcium channel blocker by inhibiting the calcium entry into the cell (where calcium regulates cell activity).
In the nervous system, magnesium acts at synapses (the gaps between nerve cells) as a depressant. Furthermore, the mineral can inhibit the release of adrenalin, high levels of which increase urinary magnesium output, perpetuating a vicious cycle of deficiency.

Magnesium is excreted by the kidneys, and urinary output increases with increasing doses up to 2g daily. Higher intakes are unabsorbed and laxative – hence the traditional use of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) for constipation. Normally, the kidneys are excellent at regulating blood levels of magnesium and hence it is difficult to demonstrate low body magnesium status through plasma magnesium concentration in normal healthy people. This is especially so as equilibrium between the body tissues is slow – up to 100 days – so plasma magnesium values do not fully reflect total body status.
More to follow . . .

Magnesium

In a multi-part series, I will highlight some issues regarding the mineral Magnesium, sometimes lacking in the modern diet and causing a lot of discomfort, especially if you're into serious training!

Magnesium is the fourth most common mineral in the body and second only to potassium inside
the cell. It acts as a co-factor in more than 300 enzyme pathways including energy metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis (DNA, RNA).
Its involvement is pervasive and includes bone structure, muscle contraction, nerve cell activity, heart muscle function, hormone receptor binding, blood clotting, calcium channel regulation, membrane electrolyte balance, neurotransmitter release and vasomotor tone. Its antagonism
to calcium has led to it being called “nature’s calcium channel blocker”.
Despite its importance, magnesium is the nutrient that is most lacking in the British diet,
apart from potassium. Magnesium deficiency is rarely life threatening, but it can reduce quality of life through a plethora of minor health complaints such as headaches, cramps, palpitations and muscle twitches.

More to follow.......

PeeCee Productions

Go check this out: The guy might even look familiar!

PeeCee Productions: "Creating Marketing DVD's"

What I do and love doing is creating short marketing DVDs or SCDs for small businesses. A lot of small business owners are ripped off by big marketing guru's by creating rigid, pre-conceived crap.
A lot of sSll Business owners do not make use of in-house DVD marketing because they are scared, or do not know what or how to go about doing it, or they believe that it is beyond their financial reach.

Think again"

Go read more .... PeeCee Productions

Aromadough

Now this is something to rant & rave about!
Aromatherapy Play Dough!
Found this delightful idea during our recent travels to the Cape
And the nice thing is, we are now selling these!

Aromadough:
"Need to de-stress or want to be energised?"

Aromadough could be just the tonic!
Aromadough's unique moisturising formula
(with beeswax, grapeseed oil and cocoa butter)
allows for a slow release of essential oils
for 'hands on' fun therapy!


For children we have a squeeze for
• Sneezes & wheezes
• Quiet play and sweet dreams
• Recovery and well-being

Think Fun, Fragrance & Freshness
and give aromadough as a gift
or keep a a handful at your fingertips
– at home, work or in the car.

Simply Squeeze and Release!"

Done a bit of travelling

Middle Earth, Route 62, and other cheesy bits as we travelled through this beautiful country.
What else can I write about except our lovely holiday?
Why would I do that in the first place?
Answers; Firstly – definitely no report on the (sorry) state of our sport – I believe there is a new little family game being played in the living rooms over weekends, it is called Skip the shame and involves the challenge to see who can page through all the TV channels and spend the least amount of time in the channels where another South African team is (again) being beaten. Ouch.
Secondly, I need to pick a time to tell the people about my holiday when they are not thinking about holidays. That way I can get back at them for when they go away when we cannot; December, Easter, any other time….
This is my turn to get other people jealous and although I realize that most people have much more elaborate stories about their overseas travels, their boat trips, their space trips (Hi Mark), and we have only been down to the fairest Cape, it is how we got there that excites me and if this sounds boring, just skip to the bit right at the end where I beg for money and say goodbye.

Ever heard of places like Hobbiton, Middle Earth, Summerton, Gwala Gwala? Do some of these names sound like they come from Tolkien’s book Lord of the Rings? Then you’re right, and probably know that I’m talking about Hogsback, the Eastern Cape’s best kept secret high in the Amatola mountain range.
This mysterious hamlet on the top of the mountain is just a short drive away from King Williams Town on the R63 driving East. Just before a little town called Alice turn right and just follow the road, it snakes higher and higher into the mountains until you get the feeling that you must have missed it, there can not be a town somewhere higher up. When you get this feeling it is about another five kilo’s. Carry-on, the last bit is gravel but very good surface. The forest becomes darker and mistier as you get nearer and just when you expect a Hobbit or another character from the book around the next bend, the trees open up and there they are, the three Hogs of Hogsback; three similar shaped mountain peaks each resembling the rounded back of a Hog.
When you have taken your pictures and turn to your left you will see the first signs of this peaceful mountain retreat; a B&B sign! There are many of those and rightfully so, as more and more people discover the wonders of these wonderful places off the beaten track.
I promised Renette that I will show her a place with waterfalls, fairytale streams, mystical forests, swirling mists and all the other romantic catch-phrases I could dream up. She doesn’t like travelling by car very much so I had to make up by taking her to amazing areas and show her amazing sights. Well, I was as surprised as she was at the beauty and nuances of this little town with its enchanted butterflies, magical mushrooms and at the very top of the main (!) street a delightful little chapel called “St. Patrick’s on the Hill” which is always open! Yes, you can go there and have your quiet moment at any time; it is not locked up and behind sliding security gates with armed guards. In fact, nowhere in this town did I see a single guard of any sort.
The most amazing little moment happened on one of our drives through the outlying areas; we saw two small African girls about six years old next to the road, obviously wanting something from us. Renette gave them a packet of sweets (Wine Gums – but in our defence, that was all that we had in the car). She felt so sorry for these girls that she gave them each a couple of coins, maybe R5-00 each. They immediately dived into the sweets as we started to drive off and then the smaller of the two came running back to the car, waving a coin in her little hand, shouting “Sweets please”.
We just burst out laughing from the joy of this little encounter. She has no use for the money where she lives but she knows damn well that it can buy her more sweets! If only we had more sweets!
We only spent one night in this captivating town, in a place called King’s Lodge. Fantastic food, even better wine, amazing hosts, absolute peace.
I can write pages on what we saw and felt and experienced in Hogsback during only one day and one night but then it will become boring. Did I mention that they have, what is possibly one of the world’s largest labyrinths just outside the town on a resort called The Edge. This is literally on the edge of the mountain cliffs. This labyrinth is described as a ‘Chartres design, eleven-circuit with 700m of pathway’, so walking in and out again is 1.4km! If that doesn’t clear your mind of all the stress, nothing will.
Enough of that. Let’s travel on. Day two will be boring except for a few interesting shops in towns like Pearston, Aberdeen, Willowmore. We ended the drive via Meiring’s Poort – Renette’s first time- and then on to Prince Albert, our stop for the night. Real old-world pace, real Karroo hospitality, and a pharmacy in an old house with a real veranda or stoep where the pharmacist can spend some time with the patients over a cup of coffee while they watch the peak hour traffic – 5 cars, 2 tractors, 1 municipal truck. Opens at 9 and closes at 5. If the dispensary was big enough to accommodate another one person I would have made the lady a partnership offer! What a life!
Next day, Swartberg Pass! Not to be recommended if you travel with a low sedan motor vehicle with a trailer! Hair-raising at best but wow! What an experience. This pass built in the late eighteen hundreds by Mr Bain (son of the famous Bain from the even more famous Bain’s Kloof Pass outside Wellington) is still in very good condition and one cannot believe that it was built by an engineer without computer aided design systems, aerial photography, laser levelling systems etc. Just sheer brilliance and amazing talent with incredible patience! As I said, do it at least once in your life. With a Bakkie.
Where to next? Day 3, the famous Route 62 from Oudshoorn to Worcester and then on to Cape Town. Route 62 is a story on its own and I need writing space and a lot of time to tell it all. Suffice to say that we bought a lot of wine, tasted and obtained amazing mustards (might be stocking those soon – watch this space), spoiled ourselves with unique jams, olive spreads, one of the world’s best Port wines, we stopped for a refreshment at the famous Ronnie's Sex Shop pub and restaurant in the middle of nowhere (that is another story believe you me and it is nothing what the name suggests, just a bar on a farm next to a main road between Barrydale and Ladismith) Oh yes, Barrydale; should have been Fooddale, there are so many eating places in such a small town. Tourism is alive and well on Route 62! Lunch at Joubert-Tradouw cellars just outside town and the view of the Tradouw valley and the Langeberge with its cloud blanket complimented the Olive Ciabatta, cheese, salads, jams and cold meats.
At Ladismith we picked up some original Ladismither cheeses in various stages of maturation ranging from light yellow to very blue. This famous cheese factory did not produce for a long time but was re-opened some time ago and if cheese is your thing and if your medical aid has approved your cholesterol pills as chronic medication and if nothing else gets you on the R62, the Ladismither cheese will!

So ended day 3 of 14 with us arriving in Cape Town. Somewhere in-between those days was a little cycle race called the Argus where I raced against almost 38 000 other cyclists. I did not come first but I did win some of them, but the importance of the cycle tour was somehow overshadowed by the rest of our holiday. If I look back at the two weeks, the enormous amount of fun we had, the quality time we spent exploring new worlds, the uncanny volumes of food we gulped down, the laughter we shared, I just want to say “Vita Magna Est – Life is great”
And thank you to my wife Renette for sharing these wonderful moments with me and thank you to my staff who kept the wolf from the door and thank you to my patients for continued support.
Now please stop making impulsive plans to go on a cheese and olive shopping spree and rather sent us the money you would have spent. That way we can go again and come back and tell even better stories. Sort of your travel guide – I will travel and you will guide your money into the right pocket.

South Coast HEAT

Anybody out there ever felt the humid heat on the South Coast of Kwazulu Natal in Jan, Feb, March? Just been out cycling and it is hot baby~! HOT!!!Into pool, through cold shower, perspiration still pouring.
Just another lovely day down South!We are here:

This is the little village of Uvongo where the business is located (just off the photo on the right hand side, 2 blocks away from the beach).
The area is well known because of the holiday town of Margate situated just south of Uvongo. 

Champagne Castle

Recently revisited an old favourite spot in the Drakensberg region of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. Part of the Cathkin Park area, it is nature at it's best.
Did some mountain biking, hiking, lots of time with the family, good- no - excellent South African wine and a couple of braais (barbeques in other parts of the world.)
Restored the soul and refreshed the body.
One needs to go back ever so often to recharge the systems.
Love the 'Berg!

Juicy Fruiter

Juicy Fruiter
Found this interesting blog - a guy that actually loves his job!
Go pay him a visit.

T'is me - I'm back

Right here in your face. I was more or less absent from this piece of cyber real estate. Now, I'm back.
Watch this space!!
Novelists, cyclists, healthy people, sick people bla bla bla.
I will talk to ya soon, hear?