Briefs

Mizrahi lecture

Professor Valerie Mizrahi will deliver a lecture titled Taming the White Plague: Post-Genomic Tools for Identifying and Validating Targets for New TB Drugs and Vaccines at 17h00 on Wednesday, October 27, 2004. This is part of the science faculty's Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series. Mizrahi is co-director of the DST/NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical TB Research at the University of the Witwatersrand. The venue is PD Hahn Lecture Theatre 1, R floor, PD Hahn Building, upper campus. Refreshments will be served after the lecture. RSVP to Elaine on 650 5179 (pm) or e-mail erutherf@science.uct.ac.za.

Historian talks about Shackleton's voyage

The Duncan Elliott Seminar Room was crammed for historian Peter Wordie's (left) talk on Ernest Shackleton's escape from the ice to Elephant Island after his ship, Endurance, sank after being crushed by pack ice during his momentous 1914-16 Antarctic expedition. The historian is the son of Sir James Wordie, one of Shackleton's crew, which included RW James, a former acting principal of UCT whose name graces the physics building on University Avenue. "I never thought I'd be giving a talk in the RW James Building," he told the audience. Wordie said his father rarely spoke of the ordeal. "It was part of what they did in life and they moved on. They didn't look back." 1914, however, was acknowledged as a bad year for ice, this according to the Norwegian whalers at South Georgia Island, where Shackleton and two crew members eventually found help. But there were some things Wordie did share with his son. "After your turn on the oars [they rowed to South Georgia from Elephant Island], your hands were iced-on and the ice had to be chipped off."

All's well at Wellness Week

Wellness Week, that regular UCT celebration of all things healthy, proved to be another triumph as staff lined up to have their heart rates checked, their eyesight scrutinised and their bodies oiled and contorted two weeks ago. As has become a trademark of the event, there was a wealth of services to partake of - OptiSite took a look at the peepers of those worried about degeneration, dieticians chided the burger-lovers, Body IQ tested fitness levels, consultants from the Institute of Allied Health treated the high-strung to therapeutic body massages (or, for the modest, to a foot massage), and IQ Tec checked how well the lungs of some staffers were standing up to the onslaught of daily ciggies and the like, among many other services. "It makes me feel healthier just being here," observed one staff member. Well said.

Big thanks from Shawco

Shawco wishes to extend their appreciation and gratitude for the non-perishable food collected at the 175th birthday lunch. Two boxes were collected at the lunch, with another collected later by the Muslim staff in the Old Admin building. Sandwiches and cakes left over from the lunch, as well as some of the birthday cake, were delivered to the Golden Girls orphanage for disabled children in Langa - one of the Shawco Masizame project sites. Shawco is still, however, looking for old printer cartridges. If your department wants to donate them to Shawco please contact Anna du Bois on 406 6740 or e-mail adubois@shawco.org..

Annual public dance production

The UCT School of Dance presents its annual public performance at the Baxter Theatre on October 28 (preview), 29 and 30. Showing Off celebrates the school's 70th anniversary and includes a variety of dance styles (classical ballet, contemporary, Spanish and African dance), highlighting the versatility of the students. Features on the programme include Petrouchka and an excerpt from the second act of Swan Lake, both produced by Elizabeth Triegaardt. Bookings can be made through Computicket and block bookings for schools (R20 per ticket) can be made through the School of Dance. For more information please contact Sharon Friedman on 082 308 6989 or e-mail friedman@protem.uct.ac.za.

Film looks at life in post-Taliban Afghanistan

As a fundraising event, the promotion, education and training group of Amnesty International South Africa will be screening the movie At Five in the Afternoon at 18h00 on October 31 at the Labia on Orange. Set in post-Taliban Afghanistan, the first film to be made there after the war, At Five in the Afternoon takes a look at the aftermath, the everyday hazards that persist and the legacy that a harsh fundamentalist regime has left behind, particularly regarding the attitudes towards women. The film won the Special Jury Award at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. Tickets are selling for R35. For further information please contact Jacqueline van Meygaarden on 462 5413 or 083 220 1937.

Poetry at the Labia

The Poetry Junction, part of this year's Tradewinds International Literature Festival, will be held at the Labia on Orange on October 28 (preview) and 29 (main evening). The Poetry Junction features over 20 important voices, including Ingrid de Kok and Chirikure Chirikure from Zimbabwe. The event also features some fascinating films on poets, including the 35mm South African debut of Ingrid Jonker: Her Lives and Time. Headline performers this year are Mzwakhe Mbuli and Karen Zoid. Mbuli has just released an album and Zoid is bringing out a book of lyrics and poems next year. Added to this, the festival will mark Mbuli's first post-prison performance in Cape Town. Tickets cost R25 for the preview evening and R40 for the main evening and bookings can be made through Computicket. For more information please visit www.tradewindsfestival.co.za.

Retirees' dinner

The chair of Council, Geoff Budlender, will host a dinner for retiring staff on Thursday, November 18, 2004 in the Smuts Dining Hall at 19h30 for 20h00. All staff are invited to attend this meal to support the retirees. The cost of the three-course dinner, which includes a welcome cocktail and red/white wine, will be R85 per person. Contact Rosina Van de Rheede at 650 4468 or e-mail vdrheede@bremner.uct.ac.za by November 5, 2004.