Michael Gorey

This is the last in my current nostalgia series. The photo was taken in October 1990 at Victoria Falls from the Zambian side.
I did a week-long tour of Zimbabwe and really enjoyed the spectacle of the falls. With another Australian, two Swiss and an Italian we hired bikes, hazarded the border crossing and took a [...]

The former President of South Africa PW Botha died on October 31, 2006.
He was already out of the political scene when I visited South Africa for the first time in 1990 and FW de Klerk had accelerated the reform process. Botha was seen as stubborn in the face of irresistible change but in terms of [...]

Juliet became an Australian citizen on 30 May 2006. She is pictured with the Mayor of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Mr Ron Yuryevich.
She is now a dual citizen of South Africa and Australia.

The Age online has a box displaying the 10 most popular articles in the current edition. Anyone scanning today’s stories could be forgiven for thinking the end of the world is nigh. They include:
1. Woman marries dolphin.
2. Porn star arrested for raping boy.
8. Australia feels the heat of Proteas’ slow burn.
9. Woman weds dolphin (again [...]

I think it’s true that you’re getting old when funerals outnumber weddings. Kerry Packer died, but he was overweight, diabetic, had a dodgy heart and was sick for a long time. It came as a greater shock to me that former South African all-rounder Eddie Barlow died this week, aged 65.
I saw him play World [...]

Congratulations to South Africa on fighting to survive the First Test against Australia in Perth.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Australia’s decision not to declare earlier in the second innings helped South Africa to save the match.
I deliberately say it was "Australia’s decision" because fast bowler Glen McGrath confirmed as much when he told [...]

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh made an interesting suggestion recently that a composite African team should be given Test status along the lines of the West Indies.
West Indies isn’t a country. It’s a collection of islands and nations from the same region that share an interest in cricket. Some of the nations have very small [...]

Juliet received confirmation of permission today from the South African High Commission to apply for dual Australian citizenship.
If a South African national obtains foreign citizenship without permission they forfeit their birthright.
The approval process took nearly a year. I guess the bottle they threw in the water finally made its way across the pond.

Juliet has submitted her application to vote in the council election. That’s two votes I should get now; only 698 to go!
Juliet is a South African citizen with permanent residency in Australia. She can’t vote in state or federal elections, but can exercise her right as a ratepayer to vote in council elections.
If I win [...]

Zimbabwe dicator Robert Mugabe has signed a new law to imprison journalists for up to 20 years for publishing false information.
Zimbabwean journalists already faced long jail terms for publishing "falsehoods" under existing law. Under Section 15 of the Public Order and Security Act enacted in 2002, journalists could be jailed for up to five years [...]