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www.thevillagenews.co.za
12 August 2020
FROM THE EDITOR
Let the visitors come, rinse and repeat The next edition of The Village NEWS will be available on 19 August 2020. The NEWS can be found at over 300 distribution points in the Overberg.
De Waal Steyn PUBLISHING EDITOR E: dewaal@thevillagenews.co.za T: 083 700 3319
Hedda Mittner
The past long weekend’s boost to our local economy came just in the nick of time. Several businesses in the area had reported in recent weeks that they would no longer be able to keep on trading if the current economic slump continued. What a bumper weekend like this means for our town is that there are more businesses that will now be able to pay their bills and staff, leading to more locals spending money, and so on. As a community desperately dependent on tourism spend, what we need now is consecutive weekends
CONTENT EDITOR
Raphael da Silva
E: raphael@thevillagenews.co.za T: 074 125 5854
Elaine Davie SUB-EDITOR & JOURNALIST E: elaine@thevillagenews.co.za T: 084 343 7500
Taylum Meyer PHOTOGRAPHER & PRODUCTION MANAGER E: taylum@thevillagenews.co.za T: 084 564 0779
Charé van der Walt MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE E: chare@thevillagenews.co.za T: 082 430 1974
Nickey Jackson
This weekend saw most people and businesses strictly adhering to these guidelines, even if many found themselves, “illegally”, on our seductively beautiful beaches. Kudos to those who did not act draconically to the letter of the lockdown laws. People were out in the sun, enjoying our scenic beauty and our hospitality. That is what we as a region have become known for.
As our provincial government has stated: the province is safe for opening all businesses and for the sale of alcohol together with smart interventions. This is the only rational way to combat the dreaded Coronavirus and its evil twin, unemployment. It is estimated that the province will lose 10.2% in Gross Value Add, R720 million in revenue, and a staggering 167 000 jobs. Wine industry body Vinpro estimates that the initial nine-week ban on alcohol sales, and five-week ban on exports will result in 18 000 jobs lost, and 80 wineries and 350 grape producers closing
their businesses over the next year. By taking stringent economic measures the provincial government can save thousands of businesses and jobs. Winning against the pandemic should not be a zero-sum game. All actions must be rational and practical. Throwing a blanket ban on things like alcohol and tobacco sales only fans the flames of the black market. If a business can operate safely, allow it to do so. Rinse and repeat, should be our new cycle. This is the good NEWS – Ed
Murder most foul and Dens of iniquity
E: hedda@thevillagenews.co.za T: 083 645 3928
ONLINE EDITOR
where our accommodation establishments, restaurants and shops are filled with visitors. And as per the new normal, this can only continue happening with strict social distancing and sanitising protocols in place.
By Murray Stewart murray.stewart49@gmail.com
and showed his displeasure rather dramatically.
unexpectedly.
T
here has been an overwhelming response to a few topics we chatted about recently. The palindrome contributions were encouraging, although some of them weren’t palindromes at all. We also discovered where to buy cigarettes quite openly, and more about Marco Polo’s discoveries during his South African leg en route to China. Thanks for that. Luckless leaders Over the centuries, leaders have been removed in different ways. Sometimes they’re voted out, sometimes they cede power to their next of kin and bow out. And sometimes they’re simply snuffed out. Julius Caesar had no chance once the conniving cabal of senators bloodied his toga. Nor did Britain’s ‘warrior queen’ Boudica, when they tied her to a stake and braaied her. Then there’s Marie Antoinette who was pipped at the post, and lost by a head and, of course, Malcolm X (1965), Martin Luther King (1968) and Mahatma Gandhi (1948) who also bit the bullet
During the 600 years of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East, whoever seized the throne on the death of the old Sultan, was permitted/ encouraged, to murder all his male relatives to reduce the risk of being overthrown. Charming custom. American presidents feature quite prominently in the sordid saga of forced removals. In 1881 James Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau who was somewhat peeved that he wasn’t awarded his preferred diplomatic posting. William McKinley took a couple of bullets to the chest in Buffalo (1901), courtesy of a bloke called Leon Czolgosz, who obviously didn’t like him much. The most recent was JFK, and as usual with heads of state, the dastardly deed was shrouded in intrigue and conspiracy. But let’s have a look at John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin (1865) and what became of him. Booth (27) was an acclaimed actor back then, so he was thoughtful enough to shoot Abe inside a theatre. He was cheesed-off that the President frowned upon slavery,
Jumping out of the presidential box onto the stage to escape, he then fled on horseback, shouting for some reason in Latin,“Sic semper tyrants!” which means ‘bugger tyrants’. He was avenging the southern slave- owners, he claimed, and among his last words were, “Tell my mother I died for my country” – in case she was confused, maybe? Anyway, it turned out that both he and JFK’s assassin Oswald, were shot dead before going to trial.
Throughout the ages, the pros and cons of this activity have bounced about from courtrooms to town squares, and from Congress to shootouts in the main street. All this was really a begrudging acceptance and legitimising of its existence and how to control it. In 1413 for example, a rather stringent law in Amsterdam stated that a woman performing her trade outside the allotted place, and after having received two warnings, would be buried alive. Bit harsh, don’t you think?
So here’s a tip: If you plan to assassinate a President (no names please), tell your mother first, and make sure you don’t get shot yourself. You might be saving a country and in fact the world.
Anyway, my main interest was to find out why red lights are associated with dens of dubious repute. Apparently it originated with the pioneering railway workers laying train-tracks across early America.
Red lanterns We all know what people refer to as ‘the world’s oldest profession’ and this may well be true. Ancient records reveal that around 3 000 BCE in Uruk (nowadays Iraq), the first organised luring of men off the streets was organised by Lilith on instruction from the Goddess (whoever she was), for the pleasure of the upper-echelon ladies within the palace. You go, girl!
Among their tools of the trade, they were issued with red lanterns, so when off-duty they could be located in an emergency. These they left outside the front doors when entering for a spot of horizontal refreshment, and the image spawned the concept of controlled, designated ‘red light districts’ which sprung up all over the western world. So, no – it didn’t originate in Amsterdam.
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