this and that

?  We got our appointment for our 20 week scan today so that’s something to look forward to   Everyone is asking if we are going to find out the sex of the baby and the topic is still under discussion.  My mother begged me not to find out on the phone this morning but this will, of course, have little effect on our decision   One option is to find out and not tell people unless the specifically ask.  The problem with this of course is that if I find out there is no way that I’ll be able to stop calling it him or her!

?  This story made me laugh……. New Zealand have just had elections and although this woman went through the selection process and got elected as a Member of Parliament no-one figured out that she wasn’t a New Zealand citizen!

? ?During the tri-nations match between SA nd NZ in the weekend a South African supporter ran onto the pitch and tackled the referee.  The ref suffered a dislocated shoulder and the “fan” has been charged with assault and trespass. Sure, there were dodgy decisions in the match as there are in almost all sporting endeavours but they were, IMO, pretty evenly spread in this match. Just because you feel aggrieved that is NO excuse to attack and official.

Given this I was amazed to read the The Citizen newspaper in Pretoria, South Africa had

branded the “fan” a martyr!! (NZ Herald story link) in it’s editorial.  Now I have no idea what type of paper this is (couldn’t find a web presence) so it may be that this is the type of stance it takes on a lot of things – who knows. One thing I do know is that articles like this don’t do anything to dispel the idea of South Africans as being arrogant and bullish.  Most of the South Africans that I have met have been very nice people and I count them amongst my friends but stories like this just play up to the stereotype that much of the world has.  What do my SA friends think?