Two Bits – 9 October 2015

An unexpected outcome of the Shaka’s Head taxi accident which claimed 16 lives last month, is that the Ilembe Chamber of Commerce is now investigating ways to allow small businesses to have access to funeral cover and death benefits for their staff.

Following calls from the community who wanted to help the dependants of those killed in the horrific accident, the chamber agreed to be the collection point. In all, a little over R80 000 was donated by the community.

“It was really heartening to see how some people, who could afford very little, a few rands, while one man put in R20 000,” says chamber CEO Cobus Oelofse.

The money is to be shared out equally to the dependants of the victims, except three who already had death cover from their employers. It may be a controversial point for some, but the chamber also included the family of the taxi driver.

“This was because the Road Accident Fund has refused to provide for him as they said the reason for the cause of the accident is still under investigation, while paying for coffins for the other victims,” said Oelofse.

It will be a gain for local business and the community if the chamber can obtain a bulk rate for death and funeral cover from an insurance house to offer to its members.

* * *

A pair of Eastern Olive Sunbirds have chosen to make their nest in the narrow alleyway right outside the gent’s toilet in my office building, for the third year running. For the last two years, they have just given the old nest a spring clean, resecured the supports and lined it with a few feathers, then moved in.

For a week or so all I could see was a long beak sticking out, as one of them sat on the eggs. It’s hard to tell which is which, though – mother or father.

Determined to photograph one of them, I set up a camera position through the louvre window above the urinal. Crouching there for 30 minutes at a time was not too comfortable, but the best things don’t come easy.

In the first place, sunbirds moves incredibly fast. I had maybe a couple of seconds to catch the bird in flight. So I preset the focus, opened the flash and waited, finger on trigger, for the blur of movement to appear in the window.

The birds are also very wary of me. They are very aware of their surroundings, because the short stub of lens that appeared through the louvre was enough to give them fright. They would appear on the very fringe of my vision, then dart away. They did this many times before deciding that the young ones simply had to be fed, and went right to the nest.

At least I think it’s the olive sunbird. The yellow or orange pectoral feathers which, according to Robert’s, should be present are not visible, but what else could it be? The other option is that it is a female Amethyst sunbird, but then I have never seen the male nearby, which is very dark, almost black. Perhaps a reader could enlighten me.

And young ones there must be, because the parents are incredibly busy bringing it (them?) little morsels to eat. Perhaps I will be lucky enough to see the youngsters before they fly away. Just one of the pleasures of living in this paradise we call home.

* * *

A tough looking group of hairy bikers are riding when they see a girl about to jump off a bridge, so they stop. The leader, a big burly man, gets off his bike and says, “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to commit suicide,” she says. While he doesn’t want to appear insensitive, he also doesn’t want to miss an opportunity, so he asks, “Well, before you jump, why don’t you give me a kiss?”

She does, and it is a long, deep, lingering kiss. After she’s finished, the tough, hairy biker says, “Wow! That was the best kiss I’ve ever had! That’s a real talent you’re wasting. You could be famous. Why are you committing suicide?”

“My parents don’t like me dressing up like a girl…”