Singer, songwriter and author Koos Kombuis had a huge hit with his “Fokkol” song a few years ago. He’s back with a new version – but this time his gripe isn’t with service delivery, it’s with our trashing of the environment. Listen to “Die Groen Fokkol Song”:
(NB: Parental guidance is advised for young listeners.)
Koos Kombuis se Groen Fokkol song:
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DownloadAfter a creative spurt of two books and two CDs in the space of two years, Koos Kombuis has come to the point in his life where he needed to step back and look at the bigger picture.
“I have had some surprising reactions to my recent biography of the Voelvry era,” he admitted. “Instead of bringing musicians together for a common purpose, it has caused more divisions. It seems as if not everyone remembers that era in the same way, and the differences of opinion are far greater than I imagined.”
Koos says that he felt that musicians needed a larger focus to help them forget about local politics, the past, and the old forms of protest. “The issues at stake right now are so much bigger than the things which divided us in the past. It is no longer relevant to worry about who did what to whom, and who disliked whom, for whatever reason. We are living in a time of global crisis.”
For those who wish to reminisce, here’s a clip of Kombuis’ original, wildly popular “Fokkol” song (recorded live at Oppikoppi):
Book details
Photo courtesy Channel24
Dave Pepler is ‘n besige man; nie net is hy die aanbieder van kykNet se Groen nie, hy skryf ook artikels vir VISI, gee klas vir meestersgraadstudente by die Universiteit van Stellenbosch en, hy’s sopas ‘n boek gesrkyf: Immgergroen: Stories oor plante. Die boek is ook in Engels beskikbaar as Forever Green.
Hanlie Retief het namens Rapport met die merkwaardige man gaan gesels:
Hy wag my in, ’n skraal man in die middel van ’n groen pad.Die dag is aan die breek.
Kom in, wink hy, maar suutjies, hier’s twee vaak muskeljaatkatjies wat hy onder die motorafdak grootmaak.
In sy skemer huis, sommer vir ’n welkom, brand drie kerse. Dis ’n ou stal op ’n plaas buite Idasvallei, Stellenbosch, sonder fieterjasies, soos ’n nes in ’n boom.
Boekbesonderhede
Doornkraal is a farm near De Rust where Swepie and Anne le Roux have farmed for decades. This is where they taught their children – all seven of them – to live off the bounty of the land.
Everything served at Doornkraal’s table comes from the farm. The smoked sunflower seeds, the butter, the ricotta… The fish would have been pulled from the farm dam earlier in the day; the quince sweets might still have been fruit hanging ripe and heavy on the tree but a few hours ago; and the cream would have made the heart of the separator go klink-klink-klink only that morning.
Emilia le Roux is one of the seven children who grew up on Doornkraal. She and her husband, Francois Smuts, wrote A Farm In My Heart: From the yard to the pantry and the table for everyone who yearns for the land, and who wants to bake and cook for the ones they love in a real farm kitchen.
This is not simply a cookbook, it’s also a down-to-earth, do-it-yourself guide to preparing your soil, making compost, planting, nurturing and harvesting. It will inspire you to reacquaint yourself with your own piece of land, and to live a simple and soul-filled life.
Book details
Immergroen ontsluit die wondere en geheime van die plantwêreld in woorde en beelde.
Dave Pepler se oupa, Boy le Roux, het hom reeds kleintyd in ’n kruiwa saamgestoot veld toe. In dié boek deel Pepler sy diep liefde vir plante van sy kinderjare tot nou. Hy vertel stories uit sy eie verlede, maar bring ook die kunste, ons land se geskiedenis en die wetenskap by.
Pepler se botaniese liefdesverklarings fokus grootliks op inheemse plante – van proteas, aronskelke en verskeie fynbosspesies tot aalwyne, vygies en medisinale en stoepplante. Elkeen word met ’n nostalgiese anekdote ingelei en dan verder in pragtige, verbeeldingryke Afrikaans bespreek.
Dié boeiende versameling oor 25 plante laat die leser met ’n sin van verwondering. Van die essays het in Visi verskyn, terwyl amper die helfte spesiaal vir die boek geskryf is. Daarmee saam is daar ook praktiese wenke oor hoe om elke plantsoort in jou eie tuin te verbou.
Immergroen gaan oor veel meer as mooi stories: Dis sowel ’n pragtige koffietafelboek as ’n praktiese handleiding. Die kunstenaar Lien Botha het die verbeeldingryke foto’s geneem, en die plantwenke vir tuiniers is deur joernalis en bobaas tuinier, Laurian Brown.
Also available in English as Forever Green.
Forever Green initiates the reader into the hidden marvels of the plant world. Stories and pictures pay homage to the secret life of plants – from proteas, arum lilies and fynbos to aloes, vygies, medicinal plants and stoep companions.
Dave Pepler’s love for nature goes back to his childhood when his grandfather, Boy le Roux, pushed him along in a wheelbarrow on veld excursions.
Pepler’s homage to botanical richness focuses on indigenous plants. Each one is brought to life by a nostalgic anecdote and explored in lyrical, imaginative prose – to inform, entertain and enchant. Pepler draws links between nature, his personal past and the realms of history and the sciences.
This captivating collection contains 25 stories, some of which have appeared in the lifestyle magazine Visi, while others were written especially for the book.
Oor die skrywer
Dave Pepler is een van Suid-Afrika se bekendste groen persoonlikhede. Nie net hy hy ’n M.Phil van Cambridge nie, hy is ook ’n bekende gesig op televisie en in die media en ’n uiters gewilde professor aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch.
Sy omgewingsprogram, met die gepaste naam Groen, is van die gewildste kykstof op KykNET. Hy was pas een van die glanspersoonlikhede wat Earth Hour ondersteun het en word gereeld in koerante aangehaal.
In 2007 is hy met die Steven Hamilton-toekenning bekroon vir sy buitengewone bydrae tot die veld van soölogie.
Boekbesonderhede
