The new R200 perfectly acceptable!
An email has been doing the rounds, urging South Africans to exchange all R200 notes before 01 June 2010, as no R200 note will be accepted thereafter. According to the email the bank will apparently exchange R200 notes up to the amount of R5000 only. If you are stashing away more cash than this, you’ll have to go straight to the Reserve Bank and deal with the big dudes.
This email has achieved what is was set out to do:
Create confusion and spread panic.
The truth is this: Only the old series R200 notes are being recalled. The reason why the Reserve Bank is doing away with the old R200 note (produced between 1994 and late 2004) is due to the fact that it’s quite easy to fake and reproduce these old notes because of the outdated technology that was used when they were created back in the day.
The new R200 notes are perfectly acceptable and no organisation or business has the right to refuse them.
Handy DIY flu tips to get you through winter
I am a big believer in the prevention-is-better-than-cure philosophy. Like a good, loyal soldier, I go for my flu jab every year. The fact that there is a serious lack of flu vaccinations this year first filled me with immense fear but I quickly switched from drama queen mode to survival mode and got myself a plan:
Nature.
Yup, Mother Nature. There are a lot of ways to prevent and cure colds and flu’s using what nature gave us. And I’m willing to share these tips with you. Why nature? Because this is the way to go. The alternative is repeated visits to the same GP for the same medicine that only treats the symptoms, not the problem.
MamaZet’s practical tips to give colds and flu’s a swift kick in the butt this winter:
- Echinaforce drops for adults and the Junior tablets for kids. Use this daily for prevention and a larger dose for cure.
- Stock up on Vitamin C. You need between 1200 and 2000 mg daily for prevention. Solgar is a great product and available at health shops and Dischem.
- Remember to increase your Vitamin C intake by eating the right foods.
- Boost your immune system. KiddieBoost is great for kids under 12; Immunity Plus suitable for teenagers and adults.
- FluGo will treat runny noses, congestion, fever and aches. It uses only homeopathic ingredients and is suitable for the whole family.
- Another natural remedy is Sniffly Sprinkels, specifically for children. It treats colds, congestion and flu. If you are a mother, you know by now that this season equals plenty snotty noses and trips to the GP, which always results in antibiotics. The secret is to get rid of these little buggers (the germs, not the kids) before it gets too serious.
- Chicken soup. “They” reckon it works. I must admit that I’ve never had chicken soup to treat cold symptoms. But what do we have to lose? Don’t be shy with the veggies.
- Bed rest where and when possible.
- Add foods like ginger and garlic to your diet and drink loads of water.
I will be updating this post, so be sure to come back for more! You are welcome to share your practical tried-and-tested tips with us in the form of a comment! Sharing is caring!
SWC Anti-climax in the tourist industry
Do you remember last year how everyone was abuzz with the possibility of being able to hire out their own house as guest accommodation for the traveling masses looking to support their country in this year’s Soccer World Cup? The demand was so great that we were in a position to charge ludicrous rates to our Euro earning counterparts and actually get away with it too. I know I was considering this option, but, and there is always a but, Murphy decided to step in and slap the tourist industry in the face with his cold wet hand of reality. Yes ladies and gentlemen the recession happened to us for the first time since 1982, collapsing the foreign demand for hospitality and accommodation. So now after a year of penny-pinching, keeping our heads down and slogging through the toughest financial year in over a quarter of a century, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that the elusive golden egg so sought after by many of us ‘little guys’, will remain just that and kudos to the larger hotels and lodges that will in fact benefit during this time?
Well not necessarily. It seems that the hospitality industry is in a crisis too with the average occupancy rates of only 40%. The June-July holiday is traditionally the second busiest tourist season, especially for KZN with occupancy rates of up to 70%. FIFA’s official travel agent MATCH has been unable to sell 35% of the rooms it reserved in World Cup host cities and of course the locals have not booked their yearly getaway over this period either because of the World Cup, hiked traveling costs, supposedly booked out accommodation e.t.c. So Instead of bumper profits, hoteliers and guest houses face the prospect of a disastrous midyear season, with occupancies far lower than normal.
So my question to all South Africans is, do you feel like checking into a hotel over the June-July period, I’m sure you are going to get some great deals?
Tourists taking the proverbial wee
This photo is currently doing the rounds. Nice to see that tourists are applying their sense of humour in stead of getting all neurotic about coming to deep, dark Africa!
It reads: Please don’t kill me, I am only a tourist, not the boer.
PS. Maybe they should rather be on the lookout for Iraqi terrorists!