SPRINGBOK CYBER NEWSLETTER
June 2005 edition
This month sees the start of the British Lions rugby tour to New Zealand. Alas (following the regrettable decision to open up Ryder Cup places to continental golfers - a retrograde step which, with the current collapse of the EU, we trust will shortly be reversed) rugby is now the only sport where Britain - the whole of the British Isles - plays as one united team.
There is always something very special and ultra-patriotic about watching and supporting a united British side, something which can never be captured by supporting teams merely representing the component parts of the British Isles, or even just a Great Britain side. What makes the very concept of the British Lions rugby tours even more special, however, is that they only take place to the brother nations of the core Commonwealth - New Zealand, Australia, and - in the "good old days" at any rate - South Africa.
This present writer's first visit to Southern Africa was in order to follow Willie-John McBride's 1974 British Lions around the country. It was purely as a result of this tour that I first became aware of the fact that the peoples of both these two great countries were basically one and the same, and that wicked lies were being told about the true situations in both South Africa and the then Rhodesia - and as a result, in spite of the fact that I was by no means a "political animal" by nature, I started to become politically active, and emigrated to South Africa in order to express my solidarity more tangibly shortly thereafter. It is true to say, therefore, that without the 1974 British Lions rugby tour of South Africa there would have been no S.A.Patriot nor Patriotic Forum, and as a result today's Springbok Club would not exist.
Regretfully, though inevitably, "political correctness" seems to have crept into even this most patriotic of British institutions. The media routinely seem to refer to the side as "The British and Irish Lions": they are not, they are simply "The British Lions" (Ireland of course being just as much part of the British Isles as England, Scotland and Wales), and everyone should take every opportunity to rectify this mistake whenever possible. It has also been most disappointing to see supporters displaying the flags of the component parts of the British Isles at early tour matches (in some cases even weirdly the rebel tricolour of the Republic of Ireland, although of course the very concept of a united British team is anathema to doctrinaire republicans!). Needless to say only one flag should be used by supporters of the British Lions - the Union Flag!
In spite of these unfortunate concessions to "political correctness" the current British Lions tour still embodies everything which has been most inspiring about such tours in the past - the traditional badge and team strip (now worn in replica by so many of the supporters) as well as the very concept of players from all parts of Britain playing together in one united team. Let us hope that not only do British Lions tours continue and escalate in the future, but also that the idea of one united "British Lions" team spreads to other sports, so that no longer are only component parts of the British Isles able to complete at the highest international level.
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SPRINGBOK CLUB'S EMPIRE DAY CELEBRATIONS
In order to celebrate Empire Day 2005 the Springbok Club staged a special buffet evening at the famous Red Lion pub in Westminster - appropriately situated almost opposite the Foreign Office and former Colonial and Indian Office buildings. This meeting was addressed by Mr. Robert Shipley, the International Liaison Officer of the Springbok Club and an expert vexillologist, who gave an enthralling illustrated talk entitled "Flags of the Empire", bringing along dozens of the Imperial flags which he holds in his collection for all to see. Shortly prior to this meeting a supporter from South Africa e-mailed us a copy of the "Cape to Cairo" flag so that we could "test" Mr. Shipley to see if he knew what it represented. We are happy to be able to report that he knew exactly what it was immediately he saw it!
The Northern Ireland Branch of the Springbok Club also held a special meeting to celebrate Empire Day in Enniskillen, which was addressed by the current Treasurer of the organisation who had flown over to Ulster specially for this occasion. There was a very high turnout for this event, and the talk proved to be a most inspiring and was highly appreciated by all. The Northern Ireland Branch of the Springbok Club is certainly to be congratulated upon its growth, and indeed it now seems to have established two structures, one east of the Bann and the other west of the Bann. Let us hope that their success will act as an inspiration to other established and embryo branches of the movement.
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FUTURE SPRINGBOK CLUB EVENTS
The Springbok Club will be making a trip to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre in London in order to visit a special exhibition which they are staging to mark the 400th anniversary of the Discovery of the Gunpowder Plot in June. The details are as follows:-
Date : Saturday 25th June 2005
Assembly time : 12.30 hrs to 13.00 hrs
Assembly place : Outside the main entrance to the exhibition at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre (this is situated on Bankside SE1, 10 minutes walk away from London Bridge Station, and adjacent to the southern end of the Millennium Footbridge over the Thames).
It is anticipated that the trip round the exhibition should take about 2 to 3 hours, after which the party will adjourn to a nearby historic hostelry on the South Bank for refreshments and convivial discussions. [N.B. there will be a £9.00 charge to visit the exhibition (with a concession rate of £7.50), though a pre-booked discount rate is obtainable if 15 or more people can be guaranteed. If you are interested in attending then please e-mail us back with details as soon as possible.]
The Springbok Club will also be organising a trip to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich to see a special exhibition marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar later on during the summer. Further details about this visit will be given in future editions of the SCN.
Towards the end of August the Springbok Club will be staging a special meeting to be addressed by a serving member of the British forces who has recently seen active service in the War against Terrorism in Iraq. Again fuller details will be given in future editions of the SCN once arrangements have been finalised.
In October the Springbok Club will be organising a delegation to visit Gibraltar in order to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. It is planned to stage a wreath-laying ceremony at the Trafalgar Cemetery during the day of Friday 21st October, to be followed by two events being organised by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust - a Trafalgar Day Dinner during the evening of Friday 21st October and a trip to Cape Trafalgar on Saturday 22nd October. Evidently hotel places on the Rock for this period and vacancies for the two events being staged by the Gibraltar Heritage Trust are filling up fast, so it is therefore suggested that all those who wish to join this visit should make arrangements as soon as possible. For more details please e-mail : springbok@falklands.org
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LONDON SWINTON CIRCLE NEWS
The London Swinton Circle held a highly informative meeting last month which was addressed by Mr. Peter Pepper, a leading member of the Falkland Islands Association, and a former co-editor of the Falkland Islands Newsletter. Mr. Pepper gave a most fascinating and detailed account of the attempts by the Wilson Labour government to sell-out the Falkland Islands during the 1960s and 1970s, and how these plans had been thwarted. He also gave a thorough overview of the current situation in both the Falkland Islands and in Argentina, a country which he has close firsthand knowledge of.
After Mr. Pepper's talk the 2005 AGM of the London Swinton Circle took place, whereat the committee for the forthcoming year were elected. Inter alia it is interesting to note that Mr. Tony "Wallergate" Waller is now no longer the LSC Treasurer, although he remains - for the time being at least - as an ordinary committee member.
The LSC will be holding a meeting to be addressed by Mr. Adrian Hilton in July, and will be staging their annual summer buffet in September whereat Mr. Simon Heffer will be the guest of honour. Fuller details will be given in next month's SCN.
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THE HON. IAN DOUGLAS SMITH
Subsequent to our report about the current health condition of the Hon. Ian Douglas Smith which appeared in the April edition of the SCN, we have recently received the following update report from Ann Bishop in Cape Town :-
"Mr. Smith had a couple of bad falls due to the weakness in his legs, caused mostly because of the severe war wounds he received. During these falls, he unfortunately banged his head on the floor, which caused a blood clot between the brain and the skull. This has been removed totally, and in fact the scar has almost disappeared now.
"The charm, razor sharp wit and tongue are in full force again, and bearing in mind that he is almost 86 years of age, he is in remarkably good health. Unfortunately due to the relentless pursuit of the Press, we are keeping his location private.
"If you would like to send him a get well message, please do so through :-
agedaid@mweb.co.za "
We continue to extend our very best wishes to Mr. Smith for a full and speedy recovery.
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REPORT FROM THE ZIMBABWE CONSERVATION TASK FORCE
Despite all our efforts to prevent the Bumi elephants from being shot, we could not have predicted that the guardians of the wildlife, National Parks, would go in and shoot them.
We have just received a report that National Parks were instructed to shoot elephants in the Omay hunting area the day before "Independence Day" to provide meat for the celebrations. The elephants in the Omay are wild, unlike the Bumi elephants, which means it would have taken some time to track down and shoot them. The National Parks scouts were running out of time so they went to the Bumi foreshore to shoot four of the Bumi elephants which were much easier targets.
The first to be shot was a young cow and immediately, a long tusked female, the matriarch, charged and was also shot. The herd left but returned later to visit their fallen herd members, especially the matriarch as they had been left without a leader. Another cow was then shot at the end of the Bumi airstrip. We have not yet received details about the fourth elephant.
Normally, it is quite common to see up to 50 elephants on a game drive in Bumi and it is possible for a vehicle to get as close as 3 yards to them, but the day after the killings there was not a single elephant in sight. A guide climbed to the top of a high kopje and saw all the elephants heading for the Border River where they will fall prey to the professional hunters in the Omay.
It is a great shame and embarrassment for Zimbabwe that 2 foreign tourists witnessed the killings.
We received another report about elephants being shot to supply meat for the "Independence" celebrations. In Urungwe 5 elephants were seen close to a farming area, so the Urungwe Rural Council instructed a farmer to shoot them. He obliged and the meat was used for the "Independence" celebrations.
These are two cases we have heard about - we wonder how many more animals were killed in the name of Zimbabwean "Independence Day" that we haven't heard about?
For more details about the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force visit :- http://www.zctf.mweb.co.zw
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MESSAGE FROM PHILIP BENWELL OF THE AUSTRALIAN MONARCHIST LEAGUE
"With what little knowledge I have, it has been clear to me from the outset that convention requires the wife of the King to be Queen. I have always held that this is not a 'morganatic' marriage and that the UK Parliament would need to pass an 'Enabling Act' at the time of the Accession defining the style and title of the King's spouse because such matters are not within the prerogative of the Monarch but that of the people through the Parliament. Such legislation would not be required in Australia as it is only the Sovereign (and by implication the Heir Apparent) and not their spouses nor indeed any other member of the Royal Family, who have any involvement in our constitutional arrangements.
"However it appears that there is a great deal of mischief making over this matter as can be clearly seen from the statement of Mr. Paddy Harverson, Communications Secretary to The Prince of Wales that: "The implication ... that Mrs. Parker-Bowles would have to be called Queen unless there is legislation ... is not in accordance with the government's advice ..." which is in direct contradiction to the statement to the British Parliament by the Constitutional Affairs Minister, Christopher Leslie. It is therefore clear that it is the Blair Government which is at fault in obviously issuing one set of advice to Prince Charles and another to the Parliament!
"However, what has become common-place amongst the populace is something entirely new for the Crown as this is the first time that a divorced Prince of Wales is marrying a divorced lady. That there are problems which must be resolved does not imply a constitutional crisis, only that there should be more understanding, particularly from the media."
Philip Benwell MBE, National Chairman, the Australian Monarchist League.
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RHODESIAN BRAAIS AND REUNIONS
The 6th annual Pig-on-a-Spit Roast Weekend will take place over the weekend of 24th/26th June 2005 at Emberton Park, Olney, Buckinghamshire, UK. Campers are welcome, or you can just attend the actual Pig Roast on Saturday 25th ready to eat early afternoon. There will be fun for all: a pub full of "Castles", boerewors to braai (or to take home), a bouncy castle, touch rugby, evening entertainment and lots more. For more information contact Lindsey at doddsjl@tiscali.co.uk or 'phone 01280-702680.
The Rhodesians Worldwide Assistance Fund's annual UK July Braai will be held from the 22nd to 24th July 2005. Charges are £2.50 per day per person (accompanied children under 16 free, pensioners £1 per day) - this includes campers, caravaners, day-trippers and those staying in B.& B. accommodation. For more information about B.& B. accommodation contact the Broadway Tourist Office at 01386-852937. £15 per night per camping site (one tent per site) £3 hook up, £3.75 per braai pack (the very best meat and plenty of it), £2.75 per boerewors pack (slightly spiced, delicious, approx 1lb). N.B.: Please bring your own salads, rolls, and cutlery. Send cheques, made out to "RWAF", to: Mary Sawyers, The Orchard, Penbidwal Lane, Pandy, Monmouthshire NP7 8EA, UK. Facilities at the park include a heated outdoor swimming pool, a mini-market, excellent ablution blocks, and the town of Broadway is within walking distance. The camp site is flat and superbly laid out. The famous Castle Corner Beer Tent will provide “Castles” at £1.25 per beer, plus a wide range of wine, spirits and cool-drinks. There will be biltong and other goodies on sale, and sufficient braais and enough fuel for them laid on. Live band every night, raffles (please bring a prize), games, lots for kids to do, and best boerewors competition. All queries e-mail Mary at mary@sawyers4.fslife.co.uk or 'phone between 16.00 hrs and 20.00 hrs on 01873-890744.
A massive Worldwide Rhodesian Reunion will be held in Durban over the weekend of Sunday 6th November to Sunday 13th November 2005. For more information visit www.mjvn.co.za/benefit/benefit073.html or contact Peter Morris (Chairman of the RASA Durban Branch) on 031-7015025 or 082-5744719.
The annual rendezvous hosted by the Rhodesian Services Association in New Zealand will take place over the weekend of 11, 12 & 13 November 2005 in Tauranga. For further information please contact the secretary, Hugh Bomford, at hbomford@clear.net.nz
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NEW BRITAIN'S CANADA DAY CELEBRATIONS
In order to celebrate Canada Day 2005 the New Britain party will be staging a number of events :-
Friday 1st July (Canada Day itself): Assemble at 11.30 hrs at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, where a short march led by a Canadian flag to the Church of St.Alfege (where General James Wolfe is buried) will take place. A wreath will be laid on the grave of General Wolfe, the Canadian National Anthem will be sung, and there will be a short talk about General Wolfe's connection with Greenwich. Afterwards all are welcomed to have lunch at the nearby Weatherspoon's Gate House.
Friday 1st July (Canada Day itself): A Reception will be held in Birmingham at 19.00 hrs (full details to be advised).
Saturday 2nd July: Assemble outside St.Paul's Cathedral at 14.30 hrs, from where a march led by a Canadian flag supported by Standards of the Royal British Legion will take place to the Church of St.Katherine Cree in Leadenhall Street for a short service. There will be a special choir and trumpet to sound fanfares, and a message from the Lord Mayor of London will be read out. Everyone will also be able to sign a message of friendship and goodwill to the Prime Minister of Canada, and the afternoon will end with a garden party in the garden adjacent to the church.
For further information from New Britain either 'phone 0207-2472524 or e-mail :-newbritain@btinternet.com
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CAN YOU HELP? (1)
A few years ago we were asked by one of our subscribers whether we could help trace a Ms. Gil Werner, who was last known to be living in Sandton. We have recently been contacted by someone who evidently knows of Ms. Werner's current whereabouts - but unfortunately we no longer have details of who made the original request? If you were that person, or can help in any way, then please e-mail us at springbok@falklands.org
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CAN YOU HELP? (2)
A contact tells us that a search engine has recently returned an article on our "Latest News from South Africa" web-page that now appears to have been removed (we tend to remove articles from our web-site after about a year). It referred to the shooting of Detective Inspector Shaun Hutt, near Umkomaas, Natal, who was evidently someone known to this contact, and they are therefore very keen to learn of the original source of this article. If anyone can help in any way then please e-mail Deefyr@aol.com
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HOME BILTONG MAKERS
Biltongmakers.Com! runs a monthly competition which is free for anyone to enter. There are some great prizes to be won each month. Some of the prizes during the last couple of months have included a Skottel Braai, Biltongmakers, Barbecue Utensil sets and Potjies!
To enter please go to: www.biltongmakers.com and follow the competition link!
Biltongmakers.Com! have created a special order page just for readers of the SCN at :-
http://www.biltongmakers.com/biltong09_sc_orderplacing.html
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FLAGS etc.
The Springbok Club is now retailing full-sized real South African and Rhodesian flags. They are priced £6.00 each for Full Members of the Springbok Club, £8.00 each for Associate Members and £10.00 each for non-members (please add £1.00 for p.& p.).
Also now available are copies of an excellent 8-page magazine published by Glenwood Publications in Northern Ireland entitled "The 2004 Twelfth: Celebration - not Provocation" price 50p (please add 25p for p.& p.).
Payments should be made to "The Springbok Club" and sent to: BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX, UK.
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BOOK OFFERS
"WAY OUT OF LINE" by Trisha Jackson is a novel which tells the story of the profound impact that an innocent youthful love affair has on the lives of two young lovers. The plot moves from a cult and a maximum security prison in the US to the savannah grasslands of Mozambique and Zimbabwe - this makes for adventure, suspense and melodrama. Packed with conflict and sexual tension, anyone who loves romance, passion and excitement should enjoy reading this story.
Trisha Jackson was born and grew up in Rhodesia. She immigrated to the USA with her husband and three children in 1990. She and her husband live in a unique, rural community in the Tonto National Forest in the eastern mountains of Arizona.
Copies of WAY OUT OF LINE can be ordered from Amazon.com.
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"THE GREAT SOUTH AFRICAN LAND SCANDAL" by Dr. Philip du Toit is a vital piece of work. South Africa can do without many things, but it cannot survive without its farmers. Thirty-five thousand commercial farmers feed 45 million people. Read what has happened to many productive farms which have already been handed over under the government's restitution and redistribution programmes.
It is available priced R150.00 in South Africa from: Jack Loggenberg, TLU/TAU, P.O.Box 91251, Silverton, Pretoria, 0127, Transvaal, South Africa (payments to "TLU/TAU"), or priced £9.95 (+ 15% p.& p.) in the UK from: The Springbok Club, BCM SAPAT, London WC1N 3XX (payments to "The Springbok Club").
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"GOVERNMENT BY DECEPTION" by Jan Lamprecht details the disasters of Mugabe's Zimbabwe, and illustrates the similarities between Mugabe's rule and that of Mandela/Mbeki in South Africa. It can be ordered on-line at: www.AfricanCrisis.org
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"BETRAYAL IN HIGH PLACES" by James Mackay.
271 pages, some illustrations. Soft-back £5.00 including p.& p. (r.r.p. £10.00)
The compelling story of what really happened in a defeated Japan following the end of World War II. Merchant seaman James Mackay, whilst travelling in the east, started to hear stories of massacres and other atrocities committed by Japanese forces, not just against enemy troops, but against innocent civilian populations. His subsequent investigations revealed reluctance amongst Allied governments to discuss these incidents that seemed to amount almost to a cover-up. Why would the Allies want to overlook the crimes of a former enemy, especially when the leadership of another former enemy was being liquidated at Nuremburg? Using his own research, as well as material prepared by Australian Army war crimes investigator Capt. J.G. Goodwin, Mackay exposes the cover-up and names the guilty. Not only were the Japanese keen to sweep the past under the carpet, but the US government of the time also had its own reasons for preserving the political and industrial elite in Japan. A provocative book, which calls into question the morality of US policy towards Japan after WWII.
Payment can be made by credit or debit card. To order on line, log onto www.paypal.com and enter postmaster@gcartwright.demon.co.uk as payment destination.
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"THE BLIGHT OF BLAIRISM" by Francis Bennion is a devastating indictment of the "new" Labour administration. For more details about the book visit: www.francisbennion.com
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"KING'S GOLD" by Glenn Macaskill, a former member of the Rhodesian BSA Police, is an adventure novel set in Zimbabwe and South Africa in 1983 and 2000, involving espionage against Mugabe's regime and the exciting quest to unravel the secret of an ancient priceless relic. Considerable historical research makes the work informative and entertaining and current sales show interest by all Southern Africans. Sells at £9.95 plus registered p.& p. Contact Glenn at mjmac@mweb.co.za or order on-line at: www.geocities.com/goldking992000/index.html
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BILTONG SALES IN THE UK
Biltong Brother produces top quality, handcrafted biltong. 100% British beef is used, no artificial flavourings or preservatives.
There are 5 types, Traditional, Garlic, Pepper, Hot & Spicy and Ostrich.
To order, just click on: www.biltong-brother.co.uk
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EXOTIC HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITY
John Hardcastle reminds us of exciting holiday opportunities which he can provide in the Philippines :-
I am from Rhodesia, educated at Chaplin, Gwelo. Left in 1984 for South Africa, and then in 1995 for the Philippines. I've lived in the small village of Coron for the past eight years, and bought a dive shop Dive Calamianes four months ago. If you would be interested in having a holiday in this part of the world please contact me. The following is a sample list of price breakdowns :-
2 dive day US$ 45.00
3 dive day US$ 60.00
Equipment rental/day US$ 7.00
Nitrox tank US$ 7.00
Accommodation from US$ 4.50 to US$ 80.00
Average meal US$ 2.14
Beer/soft drinks US$ 0.45
Domestic flight US$ 46.00
Check our web-site for more details at : www.divecal.com
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RON CAMPBELL'S BOERWORS AND BILTONG
Ron Campbell's Boerwors & Biltong have been working on a new range of pork and mutton sausages soon to be launched. There will be one Pork, two Mutton and our own Smoked Russian Sausage. We have been very busy putting together and test-driving our Smoker, and are pleased to report that it's working pretty damn good. One of the Mutton Sausages will also be available in a Droewors (but very different flavour) version, and the other will be a Durban Mutton Curry Sausage. So more news about that soon.
Our Game Biltong is going great guns, with our Kudu Fillet being by far the most popular followed by the Impala. Many of you have asked where we get our game meat from, well we buy it frozen from an importer who brings it in from P.E.. Our Ostrich is local and comes from a farm here in Devon, and our Beef is also from a local abattoir here in Devon.
To place your order please 'phone 01803-380712 or 07957-509950, e-mail us at ron@biltong-boereforafrica.co.uk, or visit our Flame Lily Internet Shop at http://www.biltong-boereforafrica.co.uk to place your order on line.
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW ?
No.79 : Mr. Darryl Howard of Pinetown.
Darryl Howard was an active member of the Conservative Party's Student Branch at the University of Natal, Durban, during the late 1980s, when he was also very active with a number of other political organisations in the city, including the Durban Parliament and the Patriotic Forum. He was a man of high intellect, and after graduating from UND did his National Service as a clerk in the Army. He toured the UK and Europe during the early 1990s when he made friendly contact with the embryo Springbok Club, but unfortunately contact ceased shortly after his return to South Africa. He was last known to be living in the Ashley district of Pinetown, and is believed to have started work as a computer programmer for a company based in Amanzimtoti. Several of his old colleagues would be very keen to make contact with him again.
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RECOMMENDED WEB-SITE OF THE MONTH
At a time when the British forces are engaged in action around the world at the highest level for decades, it seems reprehensible in the extreme that the Blair government should still be planning to abolish some of the finest regiments in the British Army - particularly some of the most famous Scottish Regiments.
Happily a vibrant and determined Save the Scottish Regiments Campaign has been launched to oppose all these dangerous plans, which is fully deserving of support. Their fully-comprehensive web-site can be accessed at :-
http://www.savethescottishregiments.co.uk/main.htm
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
ROODT CAUSE
Sir,
South Africa is falling apart, slowly but surely. It is an inevitability, given the circumstances which govern the rest of the continent.
People say the economy is "booming" but you should read Dan Roodt's piece called "Adapt and Die". His e-mail address is dan@praag.org and I think you should print what he says. It's all desperately true, but of course there are the hordes of politically correct critics who have labelled him "right-wing" and who simply refuse to believe what their eyes and ears tell them. It's a sickness in this White society here - a desire to kill the messenger (see what they did to Phillip du Toit) and as far as I'm concerned, these liberals - Afrikaans liberals - are the most dangerous element in this society.
It is they who landed us where we are today, not the Blacks who could never have landed where they are without the help of liberalism throughout the world and particularly the Afrikaans liberal in our midst.
They are a poisonous cancer in this country. They will never admit they are wrong, and they savage anyone who is not politically correct. I've never seen anything like it.
Yours etc.,
G.O.K., Transvaal.
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EH .... ?
Sir,
Incidentally, I know you only mean well with "Alles van die beste", but I have to tell you that - as a generalisation - I'm not a fan of Afrikaners and their policy (past, hopefully) in schools and churches of teaching their kids that Blacks were a sub-human species placed on earth to serve the White master race.
Yours etc.,
Derek Partridge, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
[It is interesting to note that in spite of all the bizarre liberal paranoia contained in this message, the writer was quite happy to work as a television presenter for RTV during the days of UDI - and furthermore requested to speak on the right-wing Save Rhodesia Campaign platform in 1979 in both Durban and Pietermaritzburg, when he appeared alongside the John Birch Society author Gary Allen no less! How people change. Ed.]
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ROGUES GALLERY
In the March 2004 edition of the SCN, in an article actually on a completely different subject, we used a "throw-away remark" about an obscure organisation called the Conservative Democratic Alliance saying that it was "... neither Conservative nor Democratic ...". At the time we knew practically nothing about this outfit (as indeed is still the case), and only used this remark as a result of seeing it in the renowned anti-fascist magazine Searchlight (copies of which are shown to us regularly by a supporter who is evidently a staunch anti-fascist).
The reaction to this "throw-away remark" was bizarre in the extreme however, for we received an anonymous threatening e-mail from someone who claimed to be connected to this CDA. Needless to say, nothing ever resulted from this childish threat.
One of the few things which we did know about this CDA however (which we learnt from a press report) was that they planned to stand a candidate in the Dorset West Constituency against the popular and charismatic Conservative Shadow Chancellor Oliver Letwin - the reason of course why we stated that they could not be considered Conservative.
After the recent General Election we therefore checked the Dorset West result to see how the CDA's candidate had fared - only to find that in spite of all their bravado the CDA, eh, hadn't fielded a candidate there after all - and furthermore that Mr. Letwin was victorious with a healthily increased majority!
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See you again next month!
