A call-up to the South African Men’s Dodgeball Squad for the upcoming World Cup in Thailand.

It’s happened.

Amazing.
Incredible.

And so well-deserved. A huge amount of effort, an unfaltering work ethic to work on his skills and fitness, and at the same time, so much hard work to help others and promote and develop the sport in schools, academies and underprivileged areas.

He deserves every moment of this.

Well done to all the players selected. And yes, South Africa may be a small fish in the big pond of international Dodgeball, but you can rest assured that they will be there, they will play their hearts out, and they will give it all for every single minute of every single game.

And thanks to the work that Alex and others continue to put in, the future of the sport in South Africa is in very safe hands, and the standard will only continue to improve.

The future is bright.

Want to get involved? CLICK HERE!

And – on Father’s Day – I was very proud to be there and see how my boy managed himself, organised the tournament and quickly diffused the (very) occasional disputes that happen in this sort of intense competition.

And that he was on the winning sides. Because it turned out to be a pretty amazing competition, with Pam Golding Phoenix winning both the National Mixed and National Men’s titles.

The whole event was excellent: fiercely competitive stuff, with so much energy, determination and effort, but still all played with respect and sportsmanship for one another. While they were playing for their individual teams on the weekend, these are friends who train together and represent SA on the international stage.

There are a few sports and a few organisations that could learn a lot from this crew.

That said, this was a competition, and it was won fairly and squarely by the Phoenix teams:

Now we wait for the announcement of the National squads to head to Thailand for the World Cup in December.

Watch this space…

I spent some time on his website having seen the image above (and I also found out that it runs from one part of a gentry crane to another part of a gentry crane in the building).

His washed out tones give a really lazy, laid back, 1960s California film look to his images.

But when he needs to go bold: it’s right there.

Pop onto his site and have a wander around: his prison project “Aufschluss” is especially cool. But there are also some really interesting photographs of well-known buildings and places that he’s just done… differently.

Very cool.

The Airbnbs have been booked, the weather is looking pretty good considering the time of year, and the braais and the beers are waiting for us at the other end of a numerous hour drive.

Everything has wi-fi (of course), and I’m sure I’ll find some time to share some thoughts and images along the way. But you know me… just in case, several (or more) blog posts have been pre-written and scheduled for your reading endurance pleasure.

See you on the other side!

Like the correct place to use a possessive apostrophe, for example?

(This isn’t it.)

Happy Father’s Day!

At stake: places in the squad for the upcoming World Cup in Thailand.

Streamable for your enjoyment:

Nationals underway ??? come and watch the streams ?

Court1: here.

Court2: here.

LET’S GOOOOOOO!

Honestly, each week has become a basic procession rather than a race, with the only random element now being whether or not the stewards will penalise someone for doing something that they shouldn’t have done, or not doing something that they should have done.

The podium for the race last Sunday was finally resolved just yesterday – 5 days on from when the cars actually crossed the line.

Tedious.

Thankfully, the Spanish are in town – that town being Madrid – and they’ve come up with a great new way of making F1 a bit more unpredictable.

They’ve done it with athletes. They’ve done it with horses. And now hurdles come to Formula 1.

This is going to test suspension, tyres and driver bravery (not that that aspect has ever really been an issue). Finally, something new and different in F1. Jumping cars!

More seriously: Oh good – a new “street” circuit. That will definitely encourage more exciting overtaking action.

[drops off back to sleep on Sunday afternoon]

> renames it to the Department of War
> names himself the Secretary of War
> fights one war
> loses

What an embarrassing climbdown and a total waste of time, resources and human life (a situation which sadly only half of the US population will acknowledge).

Thankfully, Hegseth didn’t name himself the Secretary of WarS so we might just be safe for a short while.

Here’s the link: https://longreads.com/2026/05/28/the-cheese-theft-food-crime/

Criminals are targeting everything from truckloads of Guinness (35,000 pints stolen in one go) to bulk shipments of KitKats (400,000 bars hijacked en route from Italy). 37 tons of olive oil was stolen from a mill in Halkidiki, Greece, costing the cooperative growers $348,000.

And my favourite:

In 2023, in Shropshire, Joby Pool hitched a trailer containing 200,000 Cadbury Creme Eggs, estimated to be worth around $41,000, to a stolen tractor unit and towed the Easter chocolate away. He was caught driving northbound on the M42 and walked toward the police with his hands up.

Honestly, I’d have eaten most of them before the Rozzers turned up.

But this article specifically centres on the 2024, £300,000 ($390,000), 22 tonnes(!) “grate cheese heist”, in which 950 wheels of award-winning, clothbound cheddar bound for France… disappeared.

Because the distributor for the French supermarket chain wasn’t real and the British cheese company had been duped.

What follows is a really interesting breakdown of how bulk food theft works. And it’s amazingly technical – you have to respect the levels of ingenuity going into this sort of crime, even if you don’t agree with the actual criminality. Which we don’t, unless it’s Creme Eggs, obviously.

The economics of it are also fascinating. And almost scary.

So if you fancy learning some interesting, surprising facts, and you have 10 or 15 minutes to spare, give the link above a go.

Just like Punta Molentis in Villasimìus, Sardinia, where the council – not content at charging a whole €10 just to go on the beach (Eina! Fok!) – have now banned beach umbrellas. Except for people aged 10 and younger, and 65 and older.

Obviously.

Their reasoning?

Punta Molentis is reopening after being closed since last July after a devastating wildfire started by arsonists.

Villasimìus council said the fire and “exceptional marine weather events” had moved it to impose stricter rules in order to preserve the natural beauty of Punta Molentis, which is located within a designated conservation area.

“For this reason it’s necessary to limit the [human] impact and ensure the protection of this heritage for future generations”.

Limiting the human impact to ensure the protection of this heritage for future generations is a great idea. And there are so many ways that you can do that: impose stricter building regulations, don’t approve new housing developments, encourage residents to plant native species and remove invasive vegetation.

Don’t do arson would be another.

But I can’t see how having an umbrella on a beach (if you are aged 11-64) is really going to make a lasting contribution to the conservation of the area.

It might cut down the population through spiralling skin cancer rates, which would limit human impact in the medium to long term, but this does seem a bit extreme.

The rules will remain in place until the end of October.

Which is even more bizarre, making it seem like the environment and natural beauty is on its own for the winter months.

Italy’s public beaches often get crowded, especially owing to the rising cost of renting loungers at private beach clubs. According to recent figures from Italy’s largest consumer watchdog, Altroconsumo, the average cost of renting two loungers and an umbrella at a private concession has increased by 24% within the past five years, and 6% in the past year alone.

As a result, many Italians are snubbing beach clubs while protests calling for more free beaches have intensified in recent years.

This is one area where South Africa is way ahead of the game. Access to (almost) all beaches in South Africa is completely free to the public. Under the Sea-shore Act and the Constitution, the coastline is considered public property and cannot be privatised.

There are a couple of exceptions, like Boulder’s Beach for example, managed by Table Mountain National Park, which charges a small fee for entrance. And maybe there will be an event – like a concert – on a beach, which will then not be free. But that would just be a temporary thing under a council by-law.

No hotel, beach club or private individual can have a private beach or charge you for access or prevent you from going on “their” bit of coastline. Because it’s simply not theirs.

And can you take an umbrella along with you?

Of course you can. No matter what age you are.