I was hesitant, but I trusted Jasper: “Bring me some sound-clips, but I will book him provisionally”.

I received the sound-clips on a very busy morning and had about 20 seconds to listen to it. Franz could obviously sing. I confirmed the booking.

On Valentines Day it was about 11 in the morning and Potter’s terrace was full of patrons having their midmorning breakfast. There was a friendly buzz in the air and a rather noisy crowd.

Then the music came from the theatre – a voice accompanied by piano. Franz had just started his sound-check. The terrace fell quiet. Pure notes, loud, melodious. Every-one paused. No one was eating, no-one was talking. This was something special.

On the terrace a lady got up and started to dance. She received wild applause from every-one. This was music for celebrations. I phoned the newspaper. I told the editor about this magic that is happening that morning.

The evening Franz performed his “Stories of Love Songs”-show. From the first song he received thunderous applause. There were standing ovationsafter the show and he was re-called twice. This was the kind of show not often seen in such a small theatre!

Here is a wonderful new talent in Jeffrey’s Bay. He has been here only two months. He is also a music teacher and has directed youth choirs to great acclaim. For many years he has performed as director of the Cantare Children’s Choir.  He toured with them as solo singer to Austria and Britain. His highlight was a performance with 200 children in the St. Stevens Cathedral in Budapest.

Franz has also performed in Spain, Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, and Poland. He will now perform at Potter’s often. He will do a lunch-time piano show on Sundays and once a month an evening show.

The evening shows will also showcase some of his students.

Watch the press!

Komplimentêre glasie vonkelwyn & ‘n spesiale Valentyns-menu met seekosse, steak en poedings.

Tyd: 18:00 vir 20:00;
Kaartjies: R75 per persoon;

Stories of Love Songs – FRANZ GELDENHUYS

Die internationale sanger en koor-afrigter, Franz Geldenhuys, het onlangs na Jeffreysbaai verhuis en het ingestem om by Potters ‘n Valentynskonsert te hou.

Die vertoning sal love songs van oor die hele wêreld insluit en die verskillende stories daarom.

Lees meer oor Franz ..

Musiek bring mense wereldwyd bymekaar.
Musiek bring hoop en musiek bring vreugde.
Musiek is my storie wat ek graag deur sang met mense deel.
Musiek is emosie en dis ‘n kragtige middel om mee uit te reik en lewens te verander.
lke dag wat jy wat musiek werk besef jy hoe min jy weet. Dis ‘n voorreg en nie ‘n reg nie.
Moenie net tevrede wees met drome nie wees jou droom. “Love changes everything”.

Valentyns Menu:

And right now we have a lot of pink bits at Potters. We bought prawn. A lot of it. We did so at a very good price. And you can have some. Nice eh?

So – lots of pink bits at R65 per ½ kilo and R105 per 1 kilo. That is downright the best priced pink bits this side of the North Pole. Prawn porn I call it.

And they are a decent size. Large of course. I have never been one to fool around with shrimps.

Large of course!

The full menu is available if you like your bits in other colours. And we are fully licensed to add to the merriment. “Drown those bugs!”, I say.

This offer is only valid until the end of November…..or until the prawn of day.

We are now open at night – from Wednesday to Saturday..even if there are no shows.

So if you were Prawn to be Wild….Potters is where you go!

“Garnalen vir de valen!”

So, Ouma, you sell your home-made rusks to the co-op or to a retail chain? And you do not specify on the label what ingredients you used. That is illegal. “Full disclosure”, Ouma. If your flour comes from genetically modified wheat, you also have to tell that to the customer.

And your son Johnny has a sign in his workshop that states “Enter at own Risk”. Well, that is useless and will not protect him. There is another notice in the waiting room that states “The Company is not liable for any loss or damage ……whilst guest is on the premises of the Company”. Ouma, tell Johnny that that is illegal.

And let him look at those quotes and invoices of his, Ouma. As a supplier, Johnny cannot waive the rights of the consumer, he cannot let the consumer accept liability, he cannot avoid his obligations, Ouma. Johnny cannot let the consumer accept the risk, there can be no forfeiture of money or goods clauses, there can be no penalty clauses.

And that mixer that packed up while you made your lovely health rusks? The shop stated that they will have to contact the supplier as they only sell the product? Well Ouma, nail them! Anyone that has a service that supplies or installs something is fully responsible ? If the “something” fails or is unsafe, they cannot hide behind their supplier. They are responsible.

As a consumer you have a right to fair and honest dealing. So you feel you have been done in? Ouma, go lodge a complaint with the Consumer Protector!

The new Consumer Protection Act is a bill of rights for the consumer.

Ouma, come learn the details at the Seminar at Potters Place on 25 and 26 October 2011. It is presented by Advocate Niek Grobler. He serves as alternate Chairman in the Free State Consumer Affairs Court. He knows the law and he knows how it works. Bring Johnny with. If he wants to train all his staff, we can make special arrangements. And we will do a follow-up audit in his business.

The Fee is R350 pp. That is cheap Ouma. Cheaper than having to take all your product off the shelves or having to pay fines or being sued.

I love those rusks Ouma! So get a new mixer out of that shop, stick a proper label on that packet and get it back on the shelf.

Oh….and I am not too keen on the genetically modified stuff. The idea won’t do justice to your rusks. So check your supplier’s label please.

60 seconds. You are on and off the stage in 60 seconds or you get disqualified. The best kids from 52 countries compete – just short of 3000 of them.

It is the World Championships of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles – the world stage for the youth. The best young instrumentalists, actors, singers, dancers and models in the world go there to compete.

These kids have won their regional championships all over the world. Then they had to win gold at their own national championships. They are the best out of probably millions. Then they go to Los Angeles. And the actors have 60 seconds on the stage.

Kouga had two actors on this stage. And a model.  Jamie Smith won the Golden Award for Modelling on her age group and was chosen for the final showcase.

Then the actors entered. For 60 seconds. There was no time for warm-up or hiccup. On and off. No re-plays. What you do in 60 seconds must beat the world.

Marilie Olivier entered 10 categories. She won six gold, 1 silver and one bronze medal. She was the overall Junior Champion in the comical division. She is the Junior World Champion. She beat them all. Alexander Holliday won gold in three categories in the 16-24 age group. He beat them all.

So you think this is good? So did the people from the industry. Marilie and Alexander both received the Industry Awards. That is the best of the best according to the people who matter.

And so did the New York Conservatorium. They both received scholarships to attend that famous school.

Alexander also recently did his exams at the Trinity College of London. How do 96% for drama and 100% for speech sound? “Excellent” according to his examiner, “one of the best ever”.

These kids are from Kouga and there are more of them. Lise-Mari Du Preez recently won the overall drama prize for High Schools at the Eisteddfod in Port Elizabeth. There were some big schools and a lot of entries. Abigail Goosen won the same prize for Junior Schools. And there are more students from Kouga entering this exciting stage.

Their teacher, Eubré Ferreira promised that there are two more of her students that will make LA next year.

Speaking of Eubré…wherever a child excels there is some adult guidance involved. Kids come from a variety of backgrounds and most of them will have parents that care and allow the spirit to be free. Most of them, but not all. But one thing you will always get, is a teacher. Someone who knows, who can teach, who loves and someone who believes. A child might have the inner fuel and spirit, but he or she needs that someone who can light a fire, nuture it and let it will burn for a life-time.  Eubré Ferreira is such a teacher. I have watched the interaction between Eubré and her students. There is a spark, a bond and the guidance to be extraordinary. Eubré maintains that you cannot set a table for a great dinner if you do not have the silverware. Indeed, but  you need to know what is silverware and what is not, you need to polish it and you need to set each piece exactly in its right place.

Here we have born natural talent, devoted, inspired and committed. And a guide.

You can see a showcase of this talent at Potter’s Place on Saturday 24 September.  You will see the prize-winners and you will see the new students. What you will see will amaze you.

You will also contribute to these children’s futures. A regional competition costs about R5,000 to compete in. The nationals cost about R10,000 per child. Los Angeles will cost R90,000. Most of these students will not have the funds to carry them as far as their talent will allow. The income from the tickets of this show is for them.

iCan. If you allow me!

“What I learned from a sportsman”

It was around the time of the 1995 Rugby World Cup that I was managing a factory that produced food for Woolworths. We made “High Risk” items. That is food for which the risk of contamination is high. Like a sandwich for instance. You assemble as sandwich by hand. Whatever is on your hand, on the table or on the equipment, will land up in the sandwich. And that is what the customer will eat.

The standards that Woolworths set in this factory were unheard of for the ordinary citizen. You could send these sandwiches with an astronaut to the space station and you would be 100% sure it would be safe and the astronaut would not get sick, not need a doctor and would eat a healthy product.

I had just ordinary tools to work with. A few pieces of equipment, yes. But mainly workers from the townships and the squatter camps around us. Yes – people who have probably never bought any food from Woolworths before. Many were uneducated. Many did not understand much about hygiene.

Woolworths told us where we had to be. No-one told me how to get there.

So I asked Kitch Cristy. I was fascinated by the fact that this man could coach a team like our Boks to beat the best in the world. Not only did they win the World Cup, they had an unbeaten run of 14 games between 1994 and 1996. How do you coach people to go beyond themselves – day after day? I realised that my job would be more of a coaching and leadership job than a management job.

In the quiet, desperate (and sometimes very lonely) dead-end moments I would contact Kitch. What would you do? Fire them? Scream at them? Threaten them? Pay more, pay less? Lead them? How? How would you bring out the best in them? And more than the best – beyond best?

Well, I am not Kitch and it was not easy for me. When you are tired and overworked, the worst comes easily. The tempers, the screams and shouts. Leadership needs calm and that was not the natural way the water would flow with me.  It took a few years and a lot of discussions with Kitch. Many times he would ask me “And now do you really think that would bring out the best in them?”

It was around my last days at this factory that I was invited to address a Pan-Africa symposium of Food Technologists. The topic of my address – “First World Standards under Third World Conditions.” Just before the symposium we had our annual review with Woolworths. One of the factors they looked at was our “Customer Complaint Ratio”. We have received 1 complaint for every 600,000 products manufactured.

By this time we have had many visits from the high-brass at Woolworths. They came to see how we did it. They would bring their colleagues from Marks & Spencers in the UK to come to look at our factory. Marks & Spencers would in turn bring some of their high-tech suppliers to see how a low-tech factory in Africa can achieve those standards. (Some of these UK suppliers would manufacture upwards of a million sandwiches per day.)

They all come to look. We were proud…so very proud. In our own way we knew we were world champions. Ordinary people, ordinary jobs, ordinary lives. World champions.

You see – the most amazing thing is – I have never met Kitch Cristie in person. I have never even spoken a real word with the man. All our discussions over the years were imaginary.

What I learned was this:

Life can be confusing and desperate. If you can become really quiet and dig inside yourself you will often find the answer. In most cases in life we know what to do. We know what is wrong and we know what is right. And our limits are way beyond the ordinary.

 
That was the newspaper headline. Jay tells the story after a performance at Ceres:

“There was this well-built teacher and rugby trainer in town. Everybody called him Boland. He wanted to “pull finger” with me. When I looked again, his finger was off. So off that it was horizontal to the other fingers on his hand. Fortunately there was a doctor close by who could re-set the finger. He returned later and we had a lot of fun afterwards, no hard feelings”

This makes Jay the man with the strongest fingers on stage. You can have a chat with him after his show on Sunday afternoon at Potters. Be careful what you do with the fingers, though.

The fastest fingers surely belong to Dan Patlansky. During his tour in the USA he received comments like:

“Dan Patlansky is one of the most renowned and fiery blues artists in the southern hemisphere and one of the greatest I’ve ever seen.”- David Batiste Sr. (New Orleans)

“Dan has some of the fastest fingers I’ve ever seen” – Phillip Walker (New York).

He will be back at Potters in October.

The dumbest fingers do not belong to a muso. It belongs to the cop who gave Christopher Snyman a fine on New Years Eve because he “Drove a motor vehicle while driving”.

He will not be at Potters anytime soon.

The dangerest finger will also not be at Potters. It belonged to the Groot Krokkedil.

The dirtiest fingers : it’s a secret  – but it will be political. Counting the sweaty notes…

The stinkiest finger award goes here – check the link http://youtu.be/DmskJe0UuG0

The Mightiest finger! That is my middle finger. Showing it makes me the Champion of the World!

Sexy fingers, strong fingers, fast fingers, middle fingers and fingers paying the bill. I love ‘em. Call me the Finger Man!

Lotus - Jan Blohm

Êrens het ‘n resesent geskryf – “Jan het sy beste musiek in sy donker tye geskryf”. Sy CD 7 Jaar is so ‘n storie van sy binnesreis. Dis ‘n album wat onteenseglik bewys hoekom Jan al met soveel toekennigs weggestap het.”

Roekeloos Webtuiste oor 7 Jaar: “Dis ‘n avondmaal. Soms proe jy reën en soms proe jy vuur maar jy staan vervuld en tevrede op aan die einde daarvan – en die beeld is skielik helder.7 Jaar is ‘n son wat opkom. Dit is die lig van dag”

7 Jaar het die SAMA-toekenning verlede jaar verower vir beste rockalbum.

Van sy CD “Die Runaway Sessies” skryf Jan self: ” Daardie tyd was ook ‘n tydstip in my lewe waar ek as kunstenaar deur baie emosionele struikelblokke moes werk. Die album ‘n Stille Runaway is soos ‘n kind van my, dit is deel van my; ons het saam gegroei en ek voel nou rustig en gereed om met trots die nuwe verwerkings uit te gee as Die Runaway Sessies”.

Die Runaway Sessies het hierdie jaar die Tempo-toekenning vir die Beste Afrikaanse Rockalbum verower.
Jan Blohm is ‘n Rocker, ja. En jy rock behoorlik. Verlede jaar was daar Britte, Australiërs en Amerikaners in die gehoor by ons. Sy musiek is eintlik beter in klein plekkies soos Potters. Waar jy naby kan sit en deel kan word van ‘n “gentle soul” en die Lotus kan ontdek.

Ek sit nog so agteroor en voel goed oor Augustus se show line-up, toe kom die nuus van die Tempo toekennings deur…

Jan Blohm het WEER die best Afrikaanse rock CD. Dit was laas jaar ook so. Dit maak hom nou verseker die beste Afrikaanse rocker. En hy speel by Potters 12 Augustus en stel sy nuwe DVD (Lotus) bekend.  Hy tree op saam met Bacchus Nel en Marissa West wat hulle nuwe CD bekendstel (Tussen Junk & Jewelry). Hierdie gaan ‘n groot aand wees!

Jay het die gewildste Popalbum van die Jaar (Solo) en Gewildste Liedjie (Melanie). Hy tree op by Potters 21 Augustus. Saterdag sing hy die volkslied by die toets in PE. Sondag doen hy ‘n middag-show by Potters.

Andriëtte het die beste Kontemporêre Album van die Jaar (Vat My Hoër). Ons sien haar by Potters 14 Oktober.

En dis maar deel van die line-up!

En dis maar deel van die line-up! Augustus het kunstenaars soos Elvis Blue (2e), Silver Creek Mountain Band (3e), André Schwartz (8e), Danie Niehaus (14e), Stef kruger (19e), Bye Ma, Jaypee (25e) en eindig af met superstêr Nianell (26e).

Hierdie is die lekker deel van die job!!

En….Resessie se

Vir al amper 100 jaar kan jy by Mastertons in Port Elizabeth se ou-wêreldse koffiemark instap en van hulle uitstekende koffie koop. Met die instap groet  die aroma jou vriendelik. Jy snuuuuif. Jou gemoed lig sommer. Daar’s ‘n belofte in die reuk.

So is dit mos ook met ‘n glasie rooiwyn. Jy swaai die glasie, jy  snuuuuif en die mmmm…Jy ruik ene belofte.

Of ‘n meisie se parfuum…..soos ek sê – die ene belofte!

Maar van al die reuke is daar die een reuk wat jou siel roer. Die grootse belofte van alles. Die reuk van reën wat kom. As jy op die plaas staan na die droogte en jy kry die reuk van die nat stof nog voor die eerste druppel geval het, dan kan jy maar kyk – die diere staan ook neus in die lug .. en snuuuuif. Dit lyk of die insekte begin skarrel. Almal weet. Die GROOT belofte……

Die reën het uiteindelik geval hier in die Oos-kaap. Baie daarvan. Dankie tog.

En so gaan die eerste stemme in die stad al klaar op….hef op die waterbeperkings sodat ons ons motors met die tuinslang kan was en ons sproeiers op automaties kan sit…..

My vriend – het jy al op ‘n plaas gestaan in die droogte en gekyk na die stof-droë landerye wat ‘n sandpit geword het vir die meerkatte? Het jy al by ‘n dier gestaan wat gevrek het van die dors? Of ‘n boer gesien dorp toe trek opsoek na odd-jobs?

Genadewater. Dis wat dit is. Dit maak nie saak waarin jy glo nie, jy wil dankie sê. As dit val, wil jy dans. En die diere dans en die insekte skarrel. Niemand weet dit beter as ‘n boer nie.

Lize Beekman het ‘n video van haar  liedjie “Ek het ‘n boer sien dans”. In die laaste tyd dink ek baie aan hierdie video. My oë word sommer reënerig. Kliek hier as jy wil kyk.

So hiers die deal – is jy ‘n boer? SMS my jou naam, en jou plaas se naam en sê watter show jy wil sien hier by Potters. Enige show oor die volgende maand of so. Daar is baie briljante shows wat kom. As die show klaar vol is, maak ons ‘n ander plan. As jy oornagplek soek in Jeffreys sal ek probeer help. As daar ‘n tafel oop is, gee ek vir jou een. Vir jou en jou gesin. Hier’s my nommer – 082 324 3888. En die een met die mooiste plaasnaam kry sommer ‘n bottel Moerse Sous ook. Sê sommer ook hoeveel dit by jou gereën het.

Kom ons dans. En dan gaan was ons die karre met die hosepipe!