Two Bits – 21 August 2015

Local birders have often commented that you can set your calendar by the return of the yellow-billed kites from their North African wintering grounds every year. On or about August 14, they say, and true to form there were a few hovering and swooping this weekend.

A Southern Right whale caused great excitement at Salt Rock beach on Saturday afternoon, coming right into the rocks about 50 metres offshore, between main beach and Catfish. It stayed there for a long time, not doing much that we could see.

But when it swam off in a southerly direction, there was a calf alongside! Whether it had calved right there wasn’t clear, but the season is right and why else would it have spent so long in the shallows? Bit of useless information in this regard. Do you know why they are called Southern Right whales? Because when the whalers came down into the southern oceans, they identified this type as the “right” type of whale to harpoon. Sometimes explanations can be simple.

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The phone lines have been buzzing over the decision by the Dolphin Coast Striders running club to relocate to Salt Rock.

The club has seen a growth in membership recently, so much so that parking for Wednesday night time trials is overflowing into the street. Furthermore, the committee wants to grow even further by bringing the cycling and paddling fraternities on board as well. The Salt Rock country club premises offer a lot more parking space, as well as staff for running the bar and facilities for meetings.

Older members are upset that the decision has been taken by the committee without so much as a by-your-leave to members, let alone telling them of its plans. The clubhouse represents a sizeable investment in time, effort and money over the 20 or so years it has been there in Dolphin Crescent.

I have been a member of the club for 28 years and am a past chairman, and along with founder chairmen Joe White and Richard Young and many others, have put our hands deep into our pockets to pay for the club’s upkeep.

My own view is that the reason clubs have steering committees is to do the hard work and take the decisions that have to be taken. To keep going back to the members for decisions is like herding cats and about as productive.

That said, it is not a trifling matter to give up the club’s home of 20 or more years. I do think that in this instance it would have been prudent for the committee to inform the general membership of its line of thinking and allowed an airing of views. The end result would most likely have been the same, but without the unnecessary unhappiness.

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As much as my younger family members regard me as an old bullet, I am truly astonished and excited at the potential of the online world. While our partners in Johannesburg have a whole regiment of pointyheads working on new ways to get our message online, we have recently started selling advertising online and what impresses me is the sheer speed at which an electronic message can spread and multiply.

On Friday we posted an ad offering a prize of R3000 school stationery from a local stationer. Part of the rules was that you had to “share” the item with your friends. By Monday the clock was ticking at 1300 shares and climbing. Each “share” led new viewers back to the competition and so the message was spread again. Of course it helped that it is a great prize, but it opened my eyes to the speed and breadth that a message can travel.

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We are not the only people suffering from a terrible drought. California has been suffering from a record-breaking four year long drought and now Los Angeles turned to quite an unusual way to try and save more water.

To prevent millions of litres evaporating from the Los Angeles reservoir in Sylmar, California they released 96 million black, plastic balls into the reservoir. These polyethylene balls are used to block the sun’s rays which prevents water from evaporating. The balls are about the size of an apple and cost around R4.61 each.

Think outside the box!

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An explorer walked into a clearing and was surprised to see a pigmy standing beside a huge dead elephant. “Did you kill that?” he asked. The pigmy answered: “Yes.”

“How could a little bloke like you kill something as huge as that?”

“I killed it with my club,” replied the pigmy.

“That’s amazing,” said the explorer. “How big’s your club?”

The pigmy replied: “There’s about 150 of us.”