15 December 2006
	DID YOU HEAR?

Cattle roam the streets of SA cities all the time. That's what expat Denton Infield would have Americans believe. Infield, who lives in the US but grew up in SA, made news recently by helping to catch a 270 kg bull that was running free in Newark, New Jersey, after it had escaped from an abattoir truck. "Back home in SA, this is quite common," Infield told a reporter. "A lot of our cattle are transported by truck, and a lot of times the truck will turn over and there's cattle all over the place." Yup, 'strue. And we've got zebra crossings for our bears and tigers, too. In its "Quotes of the Week" column in the edition of December 2, The Weekend Argus ran the following: "Without seeing all of these things with my own eyes I could not have imagined the extent of the misery. Then it becomes clear to you in what indescribable luxury we live in the West.' - Film star Leonardo di Caprio talks about how he met with former child soldiers who had had their arms hacked off while filming Blood Diamond." Sounds like they overdid the realism somewhat in making the film. When Brian Riley takes over as WesBank's CEO on January 1, the first piece of capital expenditure he should approve is for new pocket calculators for his marketing team. After the Reserve Bank increased lending rates last week, WesBank issued a statement explaining the impact on car buyers' monthly repayment rates, showing how they have risen with each rate hike in 2006. But many of the figures were wrong and underestimated the increases customers are paying. The bank issued new figures as soon it was alerted to the errors (by the FM). In 1996, US vice-president Al Gore, already a renowned greenie, got a letter from a Dallas couple asking for his support to save the "Texas Eagle". His reply: "I share your view that the urgent problem of species extinction and the conservation of biological diversity should be addressed. The first step in saving any plant or animal from extinction is to become aware of and respect the fragile ecosystems that make up our environment..." The "eagle" in question? A train linking Dallas to Chicago and the west coast. Who'd have thought that the final nail in the coffin of colonialism would be a lack of gas. Our Inanda Club correspondent tells us that with no fizz for the tonic water, G&Ts have become a decidedly endangered tipple. The City of Johannesburg council recently approved spending of R101m for the Ellis Park and Soccer City stadiums, provided national treasury pays the money to the city in "trances". Rising on a point of order, DA metro leader Mike Moriarty said he hoped it was a spelling error, since "trance" could be likened to a figment of the imagination, as opposed to "tranche" - the word presumably intended - which was an instalment of money. Johannesburg residents should monitor what happens, to ensure the money isn't a figment of the council's imagination. YOU CAN WIN You could win a prize or cash by sending news snippets, wit and gossip to Did You Hear? The best reader's contribution each week wins a fashionable Rotary watch, valued at R2 450. Berco Express will deliver it to your door. Two more readers could each win a weekend's accommodation for two at any Protea Hotel in SA. All other published contributions win R200. Please include your name, postal address and telephone number with each entry. Last week's Rotary winner: Kamal Bhugwan, Houghton. Protea Hotel winner (only one this week): Bobby Stevenson, Port Elizabeth. e-mail: fmdidu@fm.co.za