I've become fascinated by mime since my friend Collen Marawa told me he taught himself the art (and now supports himself - and his extended family - through it)
Here's Collen at work:
If you want him to perform at your function, contact him through me... I'll gladly pass the message on.
And just for fun, here's the supreme master, Marcelle Marceau:
... who continues to inspire everyone. From writers to wrappers:
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Married Couple Qualify for Land Rover G4 Challenge National Selections
PRINCE ALBERT, 17 SEPTEMBER 2008: Husband and wife Ian and Susan Don-Wauchope made history today when they became the first married couple to qualify for National Selections in the search for South Africa’s two-person team for the Land Rover G4 Challenge.
They’ll meet Tatum Prins, Abbey Mediema, Jeannie Bomford, Jan Schutte, Andre Gie and Richard Kolbe as well as the top eight runners-up and four wild cards (selected by Land Rover South Africa) in Lesotho next month.
Runners-up in this last rotation of the Regional Selections were Jennifer Soutar, Christine Woods, Jeremy Green and Craig Carter-Brown.
“At the National Selections we will be looking for two men and two women to go forward to the International Selections in England next year, when one South African man and one South African woman will be chosen to participate in the Challenge itself,” said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid.
As the Don-Wauchopes (the ‘ch’ is pronounced as it is in the Scottish ‘loch’) were married only four months ago and her new identity documents have not yet been issued, Susan went into the Regional Selections under her maiden name – Erskine.
“Making it into the Nationals is an incredible achievement by any standards,” said Mark Collins of Magnetic South, the company managing the Selections on behalf of Land Rover South Africa.
“The Land Rover G4 Challenge is the greatest adventure race in the world, and it attracts the top multi-sports athletes – so you can image how tough and unforgiving the competition was amongst the 120 candidates in the Regionals.
“Scoring was particularly difficult in the fourth rotation as the main contenders ran neck-and-neck all the way: but both Ian and Susan stood out in the end, and it’s a wonderful coincidence that they just happen to be married.”
In fact, South Africa’s Martin Dreyer, the current Land Rover G4 Challenge world title holder, said that “this was a very romantic result because Mark and Belen and John and Christine Collins of Magnetic South were also Land Rover G4 Challenge finalists – and both brothers met their wives on the Land Rover G4 Challenge.”
He said that Sue and Ian had it in them to make it all the way through but that they should expect enormous pressure if they do.
“The Challenge is an individual event, but it is also adventure racing so teamwork is vitally important, too - so imagine what it will be like for a husband and wife to race with each other and against each other at exactly the same time!”
Roland Reid commented on the professional way in which Magnetic South had managed the Regional Selections and said that National Selections could be expected to be similarly impressive.
“Contestants should know that we are looking for people with as much athletic ability as strategic thinking skills – so everyone who makes it into the squad will have to up their game.
“But having seen the quality of the athletes who’ve come through so far, we’re confident that South Africa will be fielding a winning team when the Land Rover G4 Challenge gets going in Mongolia next year,” he said.
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
ENDS
NOTE: Squad for National Selections for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge team.
They’ll meet Tatum Prins, Abbey Mediema, Jeannie Bomford, Jan Schutte, Andre Gie and Richard Kolbe as well as the top eight runners-up and four wild cards (selected by Land Rover South Africa) in Lesotho next month.
Runners-up in this last rotation of the Regional Selections were Jennifer Soutar, Christine Woods, Jeremy Green and Craig Carter-Brown.
“At the National Selections we will be looking for two men and two women to go forward to the International Selections in England next year, when one South African man and one South African woman will be chosen to participate in the Challenge itself,” said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid.
As the Don-Wauchopes (the ‘ch’ is pronounced as it is in the Scottish ‘loch’) were married only four months ago and her new identity documents have not yet been issued, Susan went into the Regional Selections under her maiden name – Erskine.
“Making it into the Nationals is an incredible achievement by any standards,” said Mark Collins of Magnetic South, the company managing the Selections on behalf of Land Rover South Africa.
“The Land Rover G4 Challenge is the greatest adventure race in the world, and it attracts the top multi-sports athletes – so you can image how tough and unforgiving the competition was amongst the 120 candidates in the Regionals.
“Scoring was particularly difficult in the fourth rotation as the main contenders ran neck-and-neck all the way: but both Ian and Susan stood out in the end, and it’s a wonderful coincidence that they just happen to be married.”
In fact, South Africa’s Martin Dreyer, the current Land Rover G4 Challenge world title holder, said that “this was a very romantic result because Mark and Belen and John and Christine Collins of Magnetic South were also Land Rover G4 Challenge finalists – and both brothers met their wives on the Land Rover G4 Challenge.”
He said that Sue and Ian had it in them to make it all the way through but that they should expect enormous pressure if they do.
“The Challenge is an individual event, but it is also adventure racing so teamwork is vitally important, too - so imagine what it will be like for a husband and wife to race with each other and against each other at exactly the same time!”
Roland Reid commented on the professional way in which Magnetic South had managed the Regional Selections and said that National Selections could be expected to be similarly impressive.
“Contestants should know that we are looking for people with as much athletic ability as strategic thinking skills – so everyone who makes it into the squad will have to up their game.
“But having seen the quality of the athletes who’ve come through so far, we’re confident that South Africa will be fielding a winning team when the Land Rover G4 Challenge gets going in Mongolia next year,” he said.
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
ENDS
NOTE: Squad for National Selections for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge team.
- The winners of each of rotation in the Regional Selections are guaranteed places in the National squad. They are Abbey Mediema, Andre Gie, Ian Don-Wauchope, Jan Schutte, Jeannie Bomford, Richard Kolbe, Susan Erskine and Tatum Prins;
- Eight runners-up will also go into the squad. The complete list of runners up (in alphabetical order) is: Catherine Treasure, Christine Woods, Craig Carter-Brown, David Krige, Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird, Hanlie Booyen, Jeanette Walden, Jennifer Soutar, Jeremy Green, Liske Lauterbach, Mike Hewan, Nicholas Mulder, Olivier Feuillet, Robin Farrar, Susan Jane Sloan and Ugene Nel;
- Land Rover South Africa will choose four wild cards from amongst the 120 athletes who took part in Regional Selections;
- The Company will announce the names of the eight runners-up as well as its wild cards in the next few days.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Miedema and Kolbe Go Forward To Land Rover G4 Challenge Nationals
Media Release: Immediate 14 September 2008 - Land Rover G4 Selections
Miedema and Kolbe Go Forward To Land Rover G4 Challenge Nationals
PRINCE ALBERT, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008: Richard Kolbe and Abbey Mediema made it through to the second round of Selections for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge team after the third rotation in the Regional Selections ended here this morning.
This puts them in line with Tatum Prins, Jeannie Bomford, Jan Schutte and Andre Gie for National Selections in October.
The winners of each rotation, the top eight runners-up and four wild card entries chosen by Land Rover South Africa will battle it out in Lesotho next month.
Runners-up this weekend were Jeanette Walden, Susan Jane Sloan, Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird and Mike Hewan.
Up to now the location of the Regionals and the nature of the tasks in the competition have been kept secret because it was felt that incoming competitors could use this kind of information to mentally prepare themselves – thus gaining a strategic advantage. But with the fourth and final group currently on their way to the start at Matjiesfontein, Race Director Mark Collins of event managers Magnetic South felt that it was time to praise the host towns.
“We’re particularly keen to tell everyone about Matjiesfontein and Prince Albert because people here have been incredibly helpful. They’ve welcomed us and done everything they could to make the Selections as successful as possible – and, of course, the Swartberg Nature Reserve, the Swartberg Mountains and the local farms where we’ve set up the tasks and our competitor accommodation, Camp Discovery, have provided us with perfect conditions in which to test the athletes.
“The landscape here also closely resembles the places we’ve seen on our scouting expeditions in Mongolia, where the Challenge will take place in June and July next year,” he said.
Bokkie Botha, chairman of the Prince Albert Tourism Association, said that the Land Rover G4 Challenge Regional Selections had given a welcome boost to the local tourism economy – but Mark felt that there was more to the townsfolk’s hospitality than purely commercial motives.
“They’re just great people, very friendly, warm and helpful and they’ve done everything they can to make us feel welcome,” he said.
DIFFICULT TASKS
During Regional Selections, competitors are presented with thirteen tasks that test their mental and physical strength as well as their ropes work, mountain biking, kayaking and orienteering skills and their ability to navigate by map, compass and Garmin GPS.
The tasks – and, indeed, the format of the entire selections process – were designed to emulate the G4 Challenge as far as possible (except that the Challenge is staged over 4 weeks whereas this first stage was only two nights and three days in length).
“One of my favourites was the ‘USN Feathered Agression,’ said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid. “It was a mixture of mountain biking and orienteering with one additional and unexpected twist: it was held in a huge camp filled with aggressive male ostriches in full mating plumage.
“So every rider had to carry a tall pole and flag with which to frighten them off.
“There’s no way that anyone could have prepared themselves for that. It made it a totally African experience and put a real edge into the competition – and the competitors’ attitude and enjoyment of the challenge perfectly demonstrated their suitability as adventure racers.
“We’re very excited about the quality of the athletes we’ve met over the past week or so and I’m looking forward to sending all the other competing nations a picture of our team and one simple message: ‘The South Africans are coming!’”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
.
Miedema and Kolbe Go Forward To Land Rover G4 Challenge Nationals
PRINCE ALBERT, 13 SEPTEMBER 2008: Richard Kolbe and Abbey Mediema made it through to the second round of Selections for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge team after the third rotation in the Regional Selections ended here this morning.
This puts them in line with Tatum Prins, Jeannie Bomford, Jan Schutte and Andre Gie for National Selections in October.
The winners of each rotation, the top eight runners-up and four wild card entries chosen by Land Rover South Africa will battle it out in Lesotho next month.
Runners-up this weekend were Jeanette Walden, Susan Jane Sloan, Graham ‘Tweet’ Bird and Mike Hewan.
Up to now the location of the Regionals and the nature of the tasks in the competition have been kept secret because it was felt that incoming competitors could use this kind of information to mentally prepare themselves – thus gaining a strategic advantage. But with the fourth and final group currently on their way to the start at Matjiesfontein, Race Director Mark Collins of event managers Magnetic South felt that it was time to praise the host towns.
“We’re particularly keen to tell everyone about Matjiesfontein and Prince Albert because people here have been incredibly helpful. They’ve welcomed us and done everything they could to make the Selections as successful as possible – and, of course, the Swartberg Nature Reserve, the Swartberg Mountains and the local farms where we’ve set up the tasks and our competitor accommodation, Camp Discovery, have provided us with perfect conditions in which to test the athletes.
“The landscape here also closely resembles the places we’ve seen on our scouting expeditions in Mongolia, where the Challenge will take place in June and July next year,” he said.
Bokkie Botha, chairman of the Prince Albert Tourism Association, said that the Land Rover G4 Challenge Regional Selections had given a welcome boost to the local tourism economy – but Mark felt that there was more to the townsfolk’s hospitality than purely commercial motives.
“They’re just great people, very friendly, warm and helpful and they’ve done everything they can to make us feel welcome,” he said.
DIFFICULT TASKS
During Regional Selections, competitors are presented with thirteen tasks that test their mental and physical strength as well as their ropes work, mountain biking, kayaking and orienteering skills and their ability to navigate by map, compass and Garmin GPS.
The tasks – and, indeed, the format of the entire selections process – were designed to emulate the G4 Challenge as far as possible (except that the Challenge is staged over 4 weeks whereas this first stage was only two nights and three days in length).
“One of my favourites was the ‘USN Feathered Agression,’ said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid. “It was a mixture of mountain biking and orienteering with one additional and unexpected twist: it was held in a huge camp filled with aggressive male ostriches in full mating plumage.
“So every rider had to carry a tall pole and flag with which to frighten them off.
“There’s no way that anyone could have prepared themselves for that. It made it a totally African experience and put a real edge into the competition – and the competitors’ attitude and enjoyment of the challenge perfectly demonstrated their suitability as adventure racers.
“We’re very excited about the quality of the athletes we’ve met over the past week or so and I’m looking forward to sending all the other competing nations a picture of our team and one simple message: ‘The South Africans are coming!’”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Gie and Bomford Go Through to Land Rover G4 Challenge National Selections
Media Release: Immediate 10 September 2008 - Land Rover G4 Selections
GREAT KAROO, 10 SEPTEMBER 2008: By Wednesday of next week, 120 of the country’s top multi-sports athletes will have completed the first leg (Regional Selections) of the three-part process of naming South Africa’s team for the Land Rover G4 Challenge which will take place in Mongolia during June and July 2009.
The second rotation of the Regionals ended with a farewell ceremony here this morning – when race director Mark Collins awarded places in the Nationals to Cape Town’s Jeannie Bomford and Knysna’s Andre Gie.
The runners-up were Catherine Treasure, Liske Lauterbach, Ugene Nel and David Krige, whose names will go into the judging pool for the Nationals. A total of eight runners up from all four selections will join the leading men and women as well as four wild card entries chosen by Land Rover South Africa at the Nationals in Lesotho next month.
Although specific information about tasks in the selections can only be made public once all four rotations have been completed, prizes for outstanding performance by individuals – provided by sponsors Land Rover Gear, Hella, USN, Garmin and Helly Hansen – are also awarded during these farewell ceremonies.
Other sponsors of the Selections – which will benefit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – include Goodyear, Petzl, Fluid Kayaks and Supersport (who will screen footage from the event during October).
“For logistical reasons we had to divide the Regionals into four rotations of 30 people each,” said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid. “Now that we’ve completed the second rotation we have a good idea of the strength of the athletes we’re dealing with – and I’ll tell you this: I think the Nationals are going to be quite something because the competition has been very, very tough and uncompromising so far.
“Jeannie Bomford is a case in point: she fell going down a hill and took quite a knock in one of the mountain biking races - big bruise, roastie on her elbow and hit her head so hard that she cracked her helmet – but she got up and continued and ended up setting the record for women in that task.
“Straight after that, she went on to set a record time for the next task - an orienteering challenge. The incredible thing is, though, that she won every single task in her rotation – a 100% score every time.
“She’s a machine.”
Like Jeannie, Andre Gie, a medical doctor, was a popular choice amongst the athletes, many of whom knew him from his highly successful adventure racing career.
Speaking after the awards, he said, “I’m psyched – there were so many really awesome competitors and in your mind you see everyone else charging off into the distance and cleaning up.
“But I think the main thing is to remain positive the whole time and give it all you’ve got... I’m pumped, I’m really excited!”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
MEDIA RELEASE BY BarefootClients | MARTIN HATCHUEL Barefoot Writer
martin@barefootclients.co.za
Cell +27(0)84 951 0574 | Telephone +27(0)44 384 1810
Want The Barefoot Benefit? - Visit www.barefootclients.co.za
PROUDLY BAREFOOT - FULLY SOUTH AFRICAN
GREAT KAROO, 10 SEPTEMBER 2008: By Wednesday of next week, 120 of the country’s top multi-sports athletes will have completed the first leg (Regional Selections) of the three-part process of naming South Africa’s team for the Land Rover G4 Challenge which will take place in Mongolia during June and July 2009.
The second rotation of the Regionals ended with a farewell ceremony here this morning – when race director Mark Collins awarded places in the Nationals to Cape Town’s Jeannie Bomford and Knysna’s Andre Gie.
The runners-up were Catherine Treasure, Liske Lauterbach, Ugene Nel and David Krige, whose names will go into the judging pool for the Nationals. A total of eight runners up from all four selections will join the leading men and women as well as four wild card entries chosen by Land Rover South Africa at the Nationals in Lesotho next month.
Although specific information about tasks in the selections can only be made public once all four rotations have been completed, prizes for outstanding performance by individuals – provided by sponsors Land Rover Gear, Hella, USN, Garmin and Helly Hansen – are also awarded during these farewell ceremonies.
Other sponsors of the Selections – which will benefit the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – include Goodyear, Petzl, Fluid Kayaks and Supersport (who will screen footage from the event during October).
“For logistical reasons we had to divide the Regionals into four rotations of 30 people each,” said Land Rover South Africa’s General Manager of Marketing and Sales, Roland Reid. “Now that we’ve completed the second rotation we have a good idea of the strength of the athletes we’re dealing with – and I’ll tell you this: I think the Nationals are going to be quite something because the competition has been very, very tough and uncompromising so far.
“Jeannie Bomford is a case in point: she fell going down a hill and took quite a knock in one of the mountain biking races - big bruise, roastie on her elbow and hit her head so hard that she cracked her helmet – but she got up and continued and ended up setting the record for women in that task.
“Straight after that, she went on to set a record time for the next task - an orienteering challenge. The incredible thing is, though, that she won every single task in her rotation – a 100% score every time.
“She’s a machine.”
Like Jeannie, Andre Gie, a medical doctor, was a popular choice amongst the athletes, many of whom knew him from his highly successful adventure racing career.
Speaking after the awards, he said, “I’m psyched – there were so many really awesome competitors and in your mind you see everyone else charging off into the distance and cleaning up.
“But I think the main thing is to remain positive the whole time and give it all you’ve got... I’m pumped, I’m really excited!”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created on Facebook.
ENDS 515 WORDS
MEDIA RELEASE BY BarefootClients | MARTIN HATCHUEL Barefoot Writer
martin@barefootclients.co.za
Cell +27(0)84 951 0574 | Telephone +27(0)44 384 1810
Want The Barefoot Benefit? - Visit www.barefootclients.co.za
PROUDLY BAREFOOT - FULLY SOUTH AFRICAN
Monday, September 08, 2008
Schutte & Prins Qualify for National Selections in Search for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge Team
Media Release: Immediate 7 September 2008 - Land Rover G4 Selections
Schutte & Prins Qualify for National Selections in Search for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge Team
GREAT KAROO, 7 SEPTEMBER 2008. Capetonians Jan Schutte and Tatum Prins today became the first athletes to qualify for the penultimate round of selections in the search for South Africa’s team for next year’s Land Rover G4 Challenge.
They beat twenty eight other contestants during the first, intense and tightly-fought rotation of the four-part Regional Selections which took place at a secret location in the Great Karoo this weekend.
The form and extent of the tasks they faced cannot be published until after the final rotation is complete, but both Jan and Tatum were surprised by the challenges that were presented to them and said that selections had helped them identify skills which they’d need to hone in the next few weeks.
“The ideal G4 athlete isn’t just a powerhouse; he or she also thinks strategically and is a good team player - although these are just two of the many characteristics the judges look for during the tasks and, indeed, the entire event,” said event director Mark Collins.
“Scoring this first round was incredibly difficult and we don’t expect it’ll get any easier as the rest of the participants go through their paces during the next three rotations over the next two weeks,” he said.
Twenty people will attend the Nationals in Lesotho in October – the winning men and women from each round of the Regionals will be joined by the eight next-best scorers and four wild card entrants.
The runners-up in the first rotation were Robin Farrar, Hanlie Booyen, Olivier Feuillet and Nicholas Mulder – but whether or not they will attend the Nationals will depend on how they score against the other runners-up.
“We’re delighted with the results so far,” said Roland Reid, General Manager, Marketing and Sales for Land Rover South Africa, “and if this group is any indication of the strength and talent of South African adventure sports athletes, we think we’ll be able to field and unbeatable team next year.”
He said that the Land Rover G4 Challenge – the greatest adventure race in the world - would benefit the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and that the winner of the event would have the honour of presenting a brand new Range Rover to the Society in his or her home country.
“And we’re certainly hoping that South Africa’s Red Cross will get that car!”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters Facebook group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created.
ENDS 429 WORDS
Schutte & Prins Qualify for National Selections in Search for South Africa’s Land Rover G4 Challenge Team
GREAT KAROO, 7 SEPTEMBER 2008. Capetonians Jan Schutte and Tatum Prins today became the first athletes to qualify for the penultimate round of selections in the search for South Africa’s team for next year’s Land Rover G4 Challenge.
They beat twenty eight other contestants during the first, intense and tightly-fought rotation of the four-part Regional Selections which took place at a secret location in the Great Karoo this weekend.
The form and extent of the tasks they faced cannot be published until after the final rotation is complete, but both Jan and Tatum were surprised by the challenges that were presented to them and said that selections had helped them identify skills which they’d need to hone in the next few weeks.
“The ideal G4 athlete isn’t just a powerhouse; he or she also thinks strategically and is a good team player - although these are just two of the many characteristics the judges look for during the tasks and, indeed, the entire event,” said event director Mark Collins.
“Scoring this first round was incredibly difficult and we don’t expect it’ll get any easier as the rest of the participants go through their paces during the next three rotations over the next two weeks,” he said.
Twenty people will attend the Nationals in Lesotho in October – the winning men and women from each round of the Regionals will be joined by the eight next-best scorers and four wild card entrants.
The runners-up in the first rotation were Robin Farrar, Hanlie Booyen, Olivier Feuillet and Nicholas Mulder – but whether or not they will attend the Nationals will depend on how they score against the other runners-up.
“We’re delighted with the results so far,” said Roland Reid, General Manager, Marketing and Sales for Land Rover South Africa, “and if this group is any indication of the strength and talent of South African adventure sports athletes, we think we’ll be able to field and unbeatable team next year.”
He said that the Land Rover G4 Challenge – the greatest adventure race in the world - would benefit the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and that the winner of the event would have the honour of presenting a brand new Range Rover to the Society in his or her home country.
“And we’re certainly hoping that South Africa’s Red Cross will get that car!”
More information at www.landroverg4challenge.com. A South African supporters Facebook group - “Land Rover G4 Selections South Africa” - has been created.
ENDS 429 WORDS
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