Maids - brilliant!

Yes, I have a maid. For those of you who are from South Africa, that is not a surprise. But for most other people, it makes me sound like an aristocrat! Truth is it's brilliant, and you very quickly get used to it. She does the washing up, cleans the house 3 times a week, cleans the kitchen every night, makes my bed, does my laundry, cleans the pool, and generally looks after me. The other day I bought some shoe polish with the intention of polishing my boots - and the next thing I knew she'd done it!

Casalina is from the Transkei, and has 3 kids and one grand-child, who occasionally come to stay. I must admit to feeling some pangs of guilt, particularly when she has people round and they're all squished into the tiny room in which she lives, and I'm on my own in the huge house! But I soon get over it...

Police officers in shootout with ... er ... other police officers.

Yes, you read that right. You really can't make this stuff up. Here's an extract from Bloomberg's report from the events of 26th June, where 2 different police departments began shooting at each other.

A gunfight between Johannesburg's police departments blocked one of the city's main highways and may result in crime fighters being charged with attempted murder. Striking traffic officers, known as the Metro police, last night blocked the M2 highway that runs along the southern edge of the city center and fired live ammunition at riot police, who were trying to disperse them with rubber bullets, a spokesman for the South African Police Service, or SAPS, said.

My friend Marisca witnessed this from her office window in central Joburg. She and all her colleagues were unable to leave the office until about 10pm. Read more about this story here and here.

Some (unintentionally) amusing comments came from the representative of the police union, Vincent Vena:

"Obviously it (the stayaway) will hit the public hard, which is not our aim," Vena said. "Nobody will die on the roads if the traffic officers are not there."

Asked what effect this would have on crime fighting, he said: "Whether we are on the streets or not, it won't deter criminals from their wrongdoings."

So there you have it - what better admission of ineffectiveness can you think of?

Motorists who dared to ask the metro cops why the road was blocked got a face full of pepper spray.

The more awake of you may wonder why the police can go on strike. Aren't they an essential service, and not allowed to strike, in most countries? Answer: of course they're not allowed to strike - welcome to Africa!