NowTHINK!AboutIt

Avoiding Hackneyed...Making Sense

The Litchi Market – Umhlali (Ballito)

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The best thing about this market is the availability of honey made from sugar cane blossoms.

Great stuff! Tastes just like cane syrup and this market is the only place I have found it in more than twenty years. That is unusual since I live in the highest sugar cane producing area in South Africa.

But, that’s not the only reason I like this market.

Even though all flea markets are the same in many ways, each one has a personality all its own and that is very true for The Litchi Market.

Situated in the middle of a litchi orchard – literally – along the Dolphin Coast north of Durban – just a few kilometers north of Ballito – it has a vibe as strong as any other. You wouldn’t think it but there is plenty of parking – throughout the orchard – and much of it under shade.

It isn’t large by flea market standards but it offers great variety and the owners are expansion minded. As the market becomes more popular, they don’t hesitate to enlarge and have recently doubled the under cover area for vendors.

They offer: [Read more…] about The Litchi Market – Umhlali (Ballito)

The Farmhouse – Umhlali (Ballito)

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If you want good food, ample portions, friendly service and fair prices the Farmhouse is your place of choice.

Easily accessible from the N2, just north of Ballito, the Farmhouse has a peaceful setting with well established trees (several Monkey Puzzles) in an unmarked parking area. Located at the end of a tree lined dirt road (approximately 150 meters off the main road) gives it an isolated feel.

Two portable wooden huts adjacent to the main building house art exhibits from time to time and the main building offers: undercover patios for open air dining, large screen projection for viewing sporting events, a stage for live music, a pub with a smaller TV for viewing events and a very “down home” atmosphere.

They feature a different lunch special each day of the week and believe me, the portions won’t leave you hungry nor the prices leave you broke. The Monday feature is a hamburger and beer of your choice for R15 ($2.10). The picture here is the Tuesday special (fish and chips) for R35 and the price includes your choice of wine.

The cutlery is a bit mix-and-match and the crockery isn’t fine china but the service is timely and the presentation will surprise you, pleasantly.

Did I say the portions are healthy.

They feature live music on Sunday afternoons. A few chickens roaming the garden give it free-range authenticity. A playground is provided for youngsters and you can sit and enjoy the ambiance as long as you like. They would, however, appreciate it if you made a move before its too late each evening.

Directions:

  • Follow the N2 north from the Gateway Mall exit +/- 30 kilometers (18 Miles) to exit 214 (Umhlali – Salt Rock Rd. – Shakaskraal).
  • Take the exit and turn right.
  • Travel approximately 400 meters to the Farmhouse sign on left.
  • Turn left onto dirt road just past sign and follow the road 150 meters to the end.
  • Park wherever there is space and enjoy.

Phone: (032) 525-8035

They take all major credit cards.

Times of operation:

  • Mon-Fri 8:30 AM till the last customer leaves +/- 9:00 PM
  • Sat 8:30 AM till 10 or 11 PM (depending on when the last customer leaves)
  • Sun 8:30 AM till 7 PM

I got the sense from my few visits that the Farmhouse was a meeting point for many locals but I was treated like a welcomed guest each time.

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

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Radical represents David Platt’s concept of discipleship and he explains it best by derogating what he considers its biggest obstacle, the American Dream. However, even though he holds significant degrees and is clearly articulate, the book is thin on substance, sketchy on interpretation and heavily emotive.

If you follow his lead you might find yourself joining the prophets as they “wander in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”

One woman, in response to David’s teaching, donated a wedding ring to help rebuild homes in an earthquake-ravaged area of Indonesia. On the surface it sounds noble…but!?

To drive his point Platt magnifies the Rich Young Ruler as the model for New Testament Christians – sell all, give everything away. Not exactly a mainstream concept. It would be easier to identify with the spirit of the book if his abandon-everything approach to missions was at least accompanied with a little more detail and maybe a long-term view but it just isn’t there.

It also doesn’t help that his teachings, in principle, aren’t original and he offers no fresh angles to consider. Even the misinterpretations (Rich Young Ruler) sound familiar and, sadly, the whole thing lacks creativity. The word “plethora” – hackneyed to say the least – was used twice!

The main points of the book – personal sacrifice and compassion for the less privileged – are accepted by all but covered only in broad strokes and his arguments are bolstered mostly by examples from the most abused and least provisioned Christian communities in the world.

It isn’t difficult to see how this combination of ideas can produce a lot of emotional turbulence. [Read more…] about Book Review: Radical by David Platt

Review: “Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burpo

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Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo

Heaven is for Real is a bio of a “near death” experience (NDE) but without all the “weird” and “sketchy” images that usually accompany such stories.

My review takes a positive approach. I believe Colton’s experience was genuine and his report is as accurate as any retelling of an event can be. And since heaven is not only real but very close we shouldn’t be surprised when it bleeds through occasionally.

The story is different in that it doesn’t focus on “long tunnels with lights at the end” or the sensation of watching medical personnel feverishly operate from a hovering out-of-body perspective. It is a matter of fact story shared from the perspective of an almost four-year-old child who had no preconceived ideas beforehand and explains everything casually. To him it wasn’t strange.

Colton Burpo, just before his fourth birthday, has a ruptured appendix that is misdiagnosed for several days. Because the event takes place in rural Nebraska, medical personnel and facilities are few and far between. The experience involved miles of travel between hospitals and desperate dependence on professionals who were not hopeful but gave it their best shot. His death was so expected his recovery was dumbfounding.

But recovery, though miraculous, is not the story. God’s answering many prayers in a hopeless situation is also not the story. Heaven is. [Read more…] about Review: “Heaven Is For Real” by Todd Burpo

Book Review: Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

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Made To Stick by Chip and Dan Heath

Every person has a message to deliver or instructions to give or a lesson to teach or a point to make but they aren’t equally effective at being remembered. In fact, from experience we know that the same message conveyed by several different people will be remembered indelibly or forgotten depending on the messenger not the message. Made To Stick explores why this happens and what can be done to make your ideas more memorable.

According to the authors, Chip and Dan Heath, the manner in which you convey your message is just as important as the message itself, if not more so. It can make the difference between leaving a lasting impression or generating haze. And let’s face it, the message rarely changes.

  • All parents encourage their kids to avoid drugs, drinking and smoking, to get a good education and to develop life skills. Why are some effective and others not?
  • Every employer provides their employees with up to date information on job related issues. Why does the lag time between lesson and learning differ from one company to the next?
  • All Algebra teachers are dealing with the same material. Why is one class motivated to excel and others bored with the whole thing?

Messages and purposes don’t vary significantly from one situation to the next but the methods used to communicate do. It’s the method that really makes the difference and that is the point of Made to Stick. [Read more…] about Book Review: Made To Stick by Chip & Dan Heath