Fortunate

First a bit about African Bee's. http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/sep/stories/kbees.html

Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) -- also called Africanized bees or killer bees -- are descendants of southern African bees imported in 1956 by Brazilian scientists attempting to breed a honey bee better adapted to the South American tropics.







Where to start? I am gathering a bit of info about the many great people that i have had the privilege of meeting and getting very close to. Case in point 1 Johannes Relleke. A mountain of a man, a man of great presence, a man of fortitude and a man that I hold in the highest regard.




Whilst living in the sleepy town of Margate I came across a fraternity of men, not going to mention names or describe it, but was never the less intrigued by it. My then partner knew of some people that knew of other people that got me acquainted with some of the members of this ancient fraternity.



I was invited to meet up and was met by senior members and got affiliated and then later joined. What followed was a life altering choice and a decision that made me who I am today. Brian Relleke was soon to become an integral part of my life and goings forth. He alone is a great guy who even though moved to Australia is still part of my thoughts and we communicate quite frequently via email. His wife Gaylene and daughter Kirsty are fantastic and form a great family with a lot of history and part of a legacy.



However my post tonight is about Brian’s dad and Kirsty’s dadudz . Johannes Relleke. Johannes Relleke a mountain of a man (literally) is a man with such a long History that it would take days to read and write about him. Heres an excerpt from one of the articles about him.





Johannes Relleke survived 2,443 bee stings on Jan. 28, 1962, at the Gwai River in Rhodesia. Taken from this link . http://www.trivia-library.com/b/kevin-goldstein-jackson-collection-of-fun-and-bizarre-trivia.htm

The story as told by John is that some of his workers at the tin mine he worked and managed on in Rhodesia had gone missing. Along with another worker and his trusty Rhodesian Ridgeback he went searching for them. He basically walked into an ambush of African bee’s. Each man to his own he and his dog ran for the river whilst being chased down by the swarm. Running on a ledge he decided to make a jump for it into the Gwai river. He grabbed his dog and made the leap. The bee’s followed suite and continued their barrage on him and all he could think about was his dog. He proceeded to put the dog under and leave only its nose exposed as to get some air into the dog. This selfless act resulted in John being stung in the face, throat and lips every time he went up for air.



What seemed like an eternity and many miles down the river literally with his life in the balance and bee’s still swarming around him he got a little respite in shallower water. It was at this point that John noticed that his trusty dog had become quite restless. What eventually happened was that a croc had come into the proximity and taken the dog out of his hands. Sad really considering that he had protected it the whole way. Irony maybe that the dog sensing the danger had risked its life in return.

This act of defiance resulted in John being entered and to this day as a Guinness world record holder for the person with the most bee stings sustained and surviving. Quite funny was that he went deaf in I think the left ear, and years after the ordeal he was thrown to the mat in a judo practice session. Low and behold a bee popped out of his ear and he could hear again. This story is a small part of the achievements he has gained after. John’s daughter passed away and I was asked and privileged enough to deliver a eulogy on Brian’s behalf. John for the first time ever was as sad as I had ever seen him. However being the man that I know he once again stood against adversity and forged ahead.



Call this what you may and chose to, but John much respect and love. You are a man that I wish I was half of. Brian you are a mate of mates and I look forward to seeing you one day again. John thanks for driving Brian and I around every Friday when we were pissed or pissing it up. Kirsty , by the pictures your dad has sent me I can see that you have blossomed into a beautiful young lady. Gay, you are a fantastic person and always will be.



Love you guy’s stacks……



Miss you!



See you on the square.

Twitter

Where to start? Who to mention? What is happening in this crazy roller coaster of a world we live in?




Ill start with Chelsea my team in blue! Injuries, bad selection and general unhappiness has resulted in them playing the worst football imaginable. So much so that I am of the opinion that I will be Dan Van Hemert’s biatch for the rest of the season. Dan and I have a football pact that we have entered into for the duration of the English Premier league.



Besides the pact Dan and I have become quite good friends and play the occasional golf game, and have met up with Angelo Coppello (hope its spelt correctly. This brings me to my next point! Dan and I have a general love of sports and are quite competitive. So Sunday the 12th of December will be the first of a Spurs V.S Chelsea Football golf day. Golf in the afternoon and watching the football with mates later. The latter being the real character tester.



Luckily we have our spouses with to make sure that Dan does not step out of line. Especially him being the Springbok Ice Hockey MMA Xfit junky that he is, he even wears a neck chain to control his IONS. Digressing once again, my main aim in this very short blog today is to mention how powerful social networking is. Twitter has made me good friends with people of all walks of life, I even met a buddy (Dan) on it. It also breaks friendships, however, try it! Ask a question and it gets answered! Ask a favour and most people would try their level best to help.



Twitter is a powerful tool! Use it! I encourage you.