Gary Benham

223 days to go - Britain thru Mo's eyes

When the captain's voice boomed over my head that we were about to land at Heathrow airport, I actually pinched myself because I had fallen asleep and had had a strange dream about me in some big plane going to a foreign place...strange hey!?

I looked out of the window and realised that the sun was about to come up! A clear sky? My first fear of the UK had been the weather...I had been regaled and scared silly with tales of hardly ever seeing the sun, yet it was a clear day outside not a single cloud in sight - a good omen!

Going through customs was not bad at all and not even as scary as when I went through Jo'Burg's OR Tambo airport, where I felt like I was actually thinking of hijacking the flight I was about to board (but that's a story for another day).

After breezing through customs I went to the counter where I had been told I would collect promised cash.  Again, I was rather nervous because I kept thinking, what if they say I actually have to go into town for that!! Silly of me, I know...There I actually met two other Chevening scholars who had just landed...the UK is really smiling at this Mosotho girl eh?!

The drive from the airport to Winchester was uneventful. I kept looking around trying to see all the things I had seen on TV, but I saw green lush beautiful, big pastures. We arrived at Winchester and I felt like I had stepped into an old English movie...the houses looked so old and so beautiful, and so very close to the street...? ha! That is when I learned that old towns were built that way...strange! At the University, registration up until getting my room was a breeze, less than 20 min, (our universities should really adopt these methods; life would so much easier)

I have not seen much of the country because I have a hectic timetable, but I do intend to explore though I saw a bit of Milton Keynes, thanks to my loving friends residing here in the country.

The people here are quite nice, and I realised that the small stretched smile I used to see back home is actually what people do here to acknowledge that they do notice you...

I wonder how bad or good the crime rate is here...has there ever been cases of people walking out of stores without paying or leaving after filling their tanks?? I ask because I was rather impressed with the self-service filling stations and counters that you pay without help from  a teller...mmmhhh

It is early days to say much, but I really have to say I feel welcome, even though I am the only black kid in my class and in the university residence I stay in -there are very few in Winchester!!! ( Do not get me wrong, just remember I come from a region where I grew up being treated different when in a place full of those not your colour - believe me it still happens)

I will keep you updated and give you a glimpse of my life in Winchester as time goes. Halloween is coming up, I can't wait!!!

Mo is one of the 2009 Chevening Scholars.

Happy Halloween to all!

Posted at 09:09 30 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

224 days to go - Guest Blogger #2 - Moleboheng Rampou

Moleboheng Rampou is my name, but I have come to be known as "Mo" or at least 'Molebz' as I have discovered my name is a tongue twister to most people that I have met since I have been in the UK. I was born and raised in Lesotho, Southern Africa, and no it is not part of the Republic South Africa.  That speck in the middle of RSA is a country - Lesotho.

Mo and her Chevening colleagues at their farewell reception.

I am a Chevening scholar, doing my MA Theatre and Media for Development here at the University of Winchester. My degree is actually in Theatre and Drama, and I minored in French - though I am very rusty in the language at the moment...

I applied for the course I am studying because I wanted to combine my first love, theatre, with my new found love, development. I say development is my new found love because I only recently started being really active in projects. I have always had a thing for helping people, in any way I could, but it was never on a large scale, and it was always haphazard, put together to just make it work then and if it did not, oh well...I tried!

This new found love has rather changed my outlook on life, and at this moment I can only say I feel like I am a toddler, taking those few new tentative steps into the big (bad?) world!

I love reading, and I have an inquisitive mind - basically that is how I landed up here. I have a thing for writing, and have even been on stage a couple of times performing a piece or two!

I love travelling and exploring, though I should point out that this is my first trip 'overseas'.

TOMORROW Mo will give us her first impressions of life in the UK.....

Posted at 13:33 29 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

227 days to go - I can feel it in my water!

Partnering for better water and sanitation in South Africa

Scholarship and exchange programmes like the Chevening Scholarship are recognised around the world.  But were you aware that the UK government also supports learning in more technical fields such as water regulation and management?

As a water scarce country, South Africa's limited water resources require careful management to support economic growth and social development without threatening the environment.  The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are proud to partner with the South African Department of Water Affairs (DWA) and the not-for-profit organisation Partners for Water and Sanitation (PfWS) to provide training and exchange opportunities between water agencies in the UK and South Africa in order to protect this valuable resource.

The project idea came from a scoping study funded by Defra in February 2009.  Water experts from the UK and South Africa came together to discuss ideas and identify gaps in services.  That group identified that one of the biggest challenges was a lack of training.  This project will provide training and exchange in four areas: regulation, water demand management, assessing wastewater treatment works, and institutional strengthening.  Here’s how it will work:

Regulation:

The UK Drinking Water Inspectorate will review South African legislation & the UK Environment Agency will review South Africa’s “Green drop certification” scheme.  They’ll share advice with the South African government.  They’ll also train DWA specialists and regulators on auditing drinking water quality.  One question I get asked often is whether the water is safe to drink from the tap here.  I've been doing so since July without problems and our kettle looks better than the one we left behind in Stevenage!

Water Demand Management:

Wessex Water (UK) are teaming up with the South African Water Use Efficiency Unit to see how the country’s scarce water resources can be shared effectively and efficiently.  Wessex will share information on good practice in other countries and provide advice on how to use that information locally.

Assessing Wastewater Treatment Works:

In the true spirit of exchange that the dialogue fosters, two South African water experts will complete short work placements on waste water treatment with Anglian Water in the UK.  Together, they’ll assess the current state of wastewater treatment in South Africa and share their findings with national, provincial and district stakeholders.

Institutional Strengthening:

Atkins and Bristol water will evaluate the progress of the Technical Services Department and two Water Service Providers operating on behalf of ZDM on water and sanitation asset management.  Wessex Water will provide Ugu District Municipality with advice on optimising their water demand control centre They’ll make recommendations for improvement and share lessons learned with the regional Kwa-Zulu Natal  & National DWA offices.

Posted at 14:58 26 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

230 days to go - the future's bright .......

My relative blog silence is due to the fact that we've just hosted a whirl wind visit from Kevin "Air" Miles of the Football Supporters Federation (FSF).

The FSF will publish a free guide to WC2010 for those fans making the trip.  Kevin's trip has helped him build contacts, gather relevant information and find out for himself what the situation is really like on the ground.  We managed to secure meetings with the Local Organising Committee, city venue managers (for Tshwane (Pretoria) and Rustenburg) and senior FIFA and "Match" Officials.  Kevin met several members of the High Commission team. 

We also included several media opportunities in his programme - after an appearance on SuperSports' "Monday Night Football" Kevin received emails from Zimbabwe and was recognised in a restaurant in Jo'Burg.  I'll post more on Kevin's visit in the weeks to come but I wanted to share a very bizarre conversation we had when we visited Soccer City, the venue for the opening ceremony on 11 June and the final on 11 July.

 Soccer City - Jo'Burg

The stadium is very near completion.  The pitch is growing, although it looks rather small in in the context of the huge seating area in which the seats have been installed.  The vast majority of the seats are orange.  Until this week I assumed that this was because the stadium would become home to the Kaiser Chiefs team post WC2010.  Not the case .......

Kevin, Football Laision Officer Jo Bowyer and I had the chance to go into the stands and promptly took a seat to take in the stunning vista before us.  It was not long before a high vis jacketed construction worker came over to us to ask that we don't sit on the seats.  They have, he told us, had to replace 8,000 seat units so far which at a cost of 500R each adds up.

We asked why this had been necessary.  It would appear that behind "powder puff blue" and "baby pink" orange is the thrid worst colour to install as stadium seating.  We were told that some seats had faded, some had had paint spilt on them, some had been knicked and some had broken when sat on!  I'm no builder but there might be a suggestion of design flaw here! 

If orange was not a good colour for seating we wondered why it had been chosen.  Apparently there was no specification made on seat colour when the tender was awarded.  There have been rumours that the architect is Dutch but our yellow vested friend told us that this was not the case.  What ever the reason the stadium looks stunning in all its orange glory.  Whether or not the future will be orange, rather than a faded version of it, remains to be seen!

More next week.  

Posted at 09:25 23 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[3]

238 days to go - Blog Action Day - Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day on their own blogs with the aim of sparking discussion around an issue of global importance. This year's theme, and a regular topic on my blogs, is Climate Change.

As we head towards the UN's climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, there remains a need for greater leadership if the conference is able to deliver on its objectives.

The Road to Copenhagen is the UK Government’s case for an ambitious agreement at Copenhagen and focuses on urgent action to limit global temperature increases to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, beyond which the risks of dangerous climate change become much greater. The current international agreement, the Kyoto Protocol, will expire in 2012. Copenhagen, in effect, will create its successor.

The ultimate aim, of course, is to limit the damage done to preserve the planet for our children.

Is it important for them? Well, last week, Amber, my 7-year-old daughter was tasked with writing a poem at school. The subject was of her choosing and here is Amber's attempt:

Posted at 06:38 15 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[4]

241 days to go - Guest Blogger - Bafana Bafana Legend!

Its international week.  On Saturday South Africa (Bafana Bafana) lost 1-0 to Norway but have another friendly, against Iceland, on Wednesday.  It is therefore very appropriate that I introduce my first guest blogger - drum role please .......

Andre Arendse is a local legend, having won 67 international caps as, arguably, the best goal keeper South Africa has ever produced.  He represented his country at two World Cups and won the African Cup of Nations with Bafana Bafana in 1996.  He made over 400 professional club appearances, including spells at Santos FC of Cape Town and Fulham FC in London.  Andre retired in 2009 having won back to back Premier Soccer League (PSL) Championships with Supersport Utd of Pretoria.

Goalkeeping legend Andre Arendse talks to a short fat bloke from the British High Commission!

Since retiring Andre has co-founded the local NGO,  Safe Hands Soccer (SHS).

Andre puts some budding goalies through their paces in Alexandra township

He tells us a bit about the project here:

"Safe Hands Soccer is a forward thinking, progressive and holistic soccer development company. SHS moves beyond pure skills training and supports the overall development of the player by offering all elements of soccer development such as: Elite sports mental conditioning; soccer specific body conditioning - agility, explosive power and strengthening; professional skills development and structured training; soccer specific nutritional support; player personal development - life skills, education and life outside sport and player career development and support.

SHS is committed to the overall development of soccer and specifically to the development from the grass roots level as SHS acknowledges that this is where the future soccer stars are born. SHS is not a club and as stated above is focused in the overall development of South African soccer by offering support services.

Andre with future Bafana Bafana stars?

The major focus for SHS is the element of active talent spotting, however this is not enough as once that talent is identified the extra support of nurturing and developing that talent is needed. SHS is involved in multiple areas of soccer development including;
goalkeeper open evenings training, one on one goalkeeper coaching with me (amateur to elite); soccer clinics and workshops; specialist soccer training at schools/universities/clubs (support coaches & players) and community soccer projects."

Click here to find our more about SHS.

Posted at 11:21 12 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[1]

245 days to go - John Jeffrey - a True Scot

On 5 March 2009 the Diplomatic Service lost one of its true characters.  John Jeffrey, then Consul in South Africa, lost his long and courageous battle with cancer.

I'd had the pleasure of working with John some years ago in Tunisia.  When I was told that I would work with John again in Pretoria I was delighted but sadly he passed away before I was able to take up my position here.

John was a proud Scot, a very proud Scot.  He immediately sprang to my mind when, earlier this week, I was asked to make a short presentation to a group of school children in Durban that are participating in a FIFA sanctioned Mini World Cup tournament.  The Victory Christian Academy have been drawn to represent (and play as) Scotland.

I am Hampshire boy, born and bred and I've only visited Scotland once.  So I spent Tuesday night pouring over a hot laptop researching vital Scottish facts.

Did you know, for example, that Scotland has a population of about 5 million and an area of about 78,772km²?  It rains there on about 200 days each year, apparently. 

Research done I entered the school hall on Wednesday to a rapturous reception.  The hall had been decorated with the Saltire (the Scottish flag - the cross of St Andrew).

I spent 20 minutes telling the children of famous Scottish folk - you might be surprised at how many I came up with or how great their achievements were.  Some like Sir Alex Ferguson and J K Rowling were better know to the kids than others (James Dewer, the inventor of the vacuum flask!)

An uncomfortable Englishman?

The children are really passionate about their project to learn more about Scotland.  They have already learnt the "Flower of Scotland" and will, I'm sure, study the works of Burns to get a cultural handle.

Of course, some might suggest that by representing Scotland in the mini world cup the children are already one step ahead of the grown ups back at home! 

What I do know is that from a lofty position somewhere John will be cheering the children on come 28 November.  I'll be there to do the same.

Posted at 16:12 08 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[0]

247 days to go - 1GOAL, they've signed up, will you?

Wow what a day. 

Posted at 22:37 06 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[3]

250 days to go – back your boys.

Brazil will follow South Africa and the UK as hosts for the World Cup and Olympics with WC2014 and the Rio Games of 2016.  We’re hoping that England will secure the rights to host WC2018. 

Posted at 12:08 03 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[3]

252 days to go – Presenting Credentials

There are lots of preconceived ideas and stereo types linked to the wonderful world of diplomacy. A very famous chocolate ad has done us no favours. If I had a pound for every time somebody offered me a fererro rocher with the words "you are spoiling us" I would not need to work at all!

But some things need to be a bit formal; sometimes we need to follow strict protocols to ensure that we do not offend our host nations or take their agreement to receive our diplomats for granted. One of the most important events for our Embassies and High Commissions* around the world is the occasion – and it is an occasion – when our Head of Mission, Ambassador or High Commissioner, "presents their credentials" to the head of state of the host nation.

Dr Brewer speaks at a recent event

Posted at 16:24 01 October 2009 by Gary Benham  |  Comments[3]