The silly season

THE SILLY AND COSTLY SEASON

Ok – so we all know about the silly season – but how do we let it happen? For a start it was definitely the wrong time for me to go on diet for a start, but hey, who’s perfect? But apart from going to wall to wall ‘end of year’ parties – not Christmas anymore, that’s politically incorrect (read Primedia aren’t even having a year end party for fear of offending religious minorities) what about the money spent on pressies? Now I’m not talking pressies for family here – just gifts for clients and people who do services for you during the year. The problem here for me is there just doesn’t seem to be anywhere between a classy Carol Boyes gift and Mr Price Home and Clicks! My poor credit card has motion sickness and I’m scared to go online in case when I ‘log on’ to my bank site it starts flashing red at me…

I don’t know if anyone saw this snippet that was taken from the Bus Times Money Club section a few weeks back but I thought someone might like to use it:

“I have received your rather stern letter demanding payment from me for the last month. I would like, however, to inform you that I have many such organisations to whom I owe money and am unable to meet all these payments each month. I therefore place all my creditors’ names in a hat and draw those out for whom I can pay that month. I wish to advise you that, due to the rather rude tone of your letter, you will now not be included in the next three draws.”

For more on Marion go to www.mediamentors.co.za

MY FRIEND ZUMA

OK – so it looks as thought no matter how much we can’t comprehend how anyone can actually want an ‘alleged’ rapist and fraudster as our next President the chances are quite strong that this could happen. So being the eternal optimist I tried to look at the positives here. Firstly what does JZ have going for him? Well, for a start his passport doesn’t have as many exit visas as his current boss. Secondly he values education – after all he would even ‘borrow’ money from a friend to send his 19 children to good schools! He appreciates the finer things in life – and his investment in homes, cars and bodyguards – not to mention Hugo Boss clothes all go towards our GDP!

He also smiles a lot – and is not frightened to get involved in a sing along, especially if the topic is machines guns. He also likes young people – especially entertaining them in his home and will even be willing to tuck them up at night!

So maybe we must suck it up and wait and see how it goes? But then ‘my sources’ assure me he won’t get past the Courtroom and these sources have never been wrong yet…

More about Marion at www.mediamentors.co.za

'JUST WHO WINS?

I can’t resist it – spend x amount on your credit card this month and you’re in line to win…. Send the following numbers in to this cell number and ‘win a luxury stay at …. Enter the draw for this car now and drive away tomorrow…

The thing is do people actually win these things or are they just set up for us gullible few? A friend of mine a few years ago worked on ‘below the line’ marketing, his speciality being setting up competitions. This was pre email days and he told me that very often people don’t enter because they think they’re going to be one of millions entering, when in fact only a hundred or so do enter. And so who wins? He said in those days they’d often pick the envelope or card that looked the best – stickers and stars adorning it. But how do you do this with an sms or how does your account get drawn out.

Mind you a friend of mine did win her groceries free at Woolies the other day. Now that could be great couldn’t it? But how much had she spent? R153 00! She did tell the cashier her other trolley was coming now…

I want to know if you know anyone out there who’s won lately?

Marion
www.mediamentors.co.za

GLITTER IN THE MORNINGS

Now everyone knows the famous poem about wearing purple when you get older, but what about glitter in the morning I ask? The other day I met an interesting lady at the hairdresser and whilst we were both getting rid of tell tale grey hairs – her going jet black and me my usual browny, reddy look, we chatted amiably about: my forthcoming trip to Cape Town and her grown up grandchildren. “Grown up grandchildren?” I enquired - thinking I hadn’t heard right, after all she looked about 50. Turns out she has a son of 43 who was born when she was a mere 20 year old, which even with my journalist’s maths meant that she was 63. Now this is where the story becomes interesting – she took off her black plastic hairdresser’s gown and revealed a silver beaded vest to go with her dangly silver earrings and silver sandals! And we’re not talking delicate tiny beads here – but massive circles of plastic silver! Quite a few heads turned in the direction of her dazzling display – some disapproving at such a show of glitz at 10 am on a Thursday morning – Ok, I’ll admit it, I was initially one of them. But then I thought about it and came up with the assertion that she had guts and the style to carry it off – and maybe that was the secret to looking 13 years younger than you were!

I mean who was it anyway that decreed it fashion suicide to wear glitter in the mornings? Why should we only sparkle at night? Then this morning it all came together for me. I was buying fish at Dunkeld West Shopping Centre when I walked past a shop called Prazzelle which stocks dazzle clothes – in fact there’s so much sparkle in this shop that you could probably light up a small country with its contents.

But the question is – did I rush in and buy beaded jeans and a top? Well no, not yet – but I’m working on it…

For more on Marion go to www.mediamentors.co.za

VIRGIN BLOG

So ok, it’s taken me a while to get around to blogging but I’m finally here. The thing is what to write about? I spend my life writing – it’s what pays the bills, but it’s usually what my editors or companies want me to write about. This is weird – here I am, for the first time in 20 years of journalism and I can write about anything I like. Moan about anyone or anything I want. Go off at the world or just stick to good old Zuma and Manto, with a rant about SA rugby and the price of petrol thrown in… Nah – I’ll leave that to other journos.

I could write about being a mum to a 20 and 17 year old – a whole story in itself, but people without kids particularly find that more than a bit boring. Then again there’s useful tips picked up on a daily basis – really useful stuff like how to get dog pee out of carpets or where to get a really authentic Margarita. I could also write endlessly about acquaintances who are getting divorced, got divorced or are simply sleeping with additional partners – but if you don’t know the people concerned then also -not so interesting.

Looking at my life in the last week I do think, if anything, it’s a bit of a comedy – not at the time, but looking back… Monday was no internet – which lasted ‘til Wednesday, meaning Telkom is improving. I have to say that as they’re clients of mine. Then Tuesday no cellphone – battery problems and as it’s a newish cell phone didn’t want to fork out for a new battery. Wednesday – 3G card which I had to use as I didn’t have internet, wouldn’t let me send emails, only receive them – bummer when you’re trying to put a corporate newsletter together. Thursday – things started to look up – even went to tea at The Westcliff Hotel – great view, rip off on the food. Then TGIF – a drive to the hairdresser and boom, a silly woman (being polite for the sake of minors who may read this) went right thru a stop street and into the side of Polly – my new Polo! Her words of remorse were ‘sorry’. Sorry! Does she know the hours she cost me trying to make sense of what the woman at Outsurance was trying to tell me – another rip off for a separate blog. Then the drive to be ‘assessed’ and of course five days no car…

Oops, this has become a rant – kinda like it though. It’s therapeutic. Maybe psychologists could recommend it as part of psychotherapy – share your random feelings with anyone bored enough to listen. If that’s you then watch this space.