Heritage day could be a sequence of events but it is about History and Rugby.
Verwoerd, Tsafendas and Gazelles Tour.
So here goes…
1965 / 66 I was selected from Natal with Julian Bennet to tour Brazil, Argentina and Chile over three months as part of the Gazelles. Eight current Springboks were part of our team including Dawie De Villiers and Hannes Marais. The plan was to build a team to beat the All Blacks destined to tour RSA in 1970 which goal the Springboks achieved.
What took place prior to leaving was the invitation by SARB for the NZ Maori’s to tour RSA, was aborted by our President Dr Verwoerd who made it clear that they would not be welcome in our country. Two important events took place that are part of RSA and Rugby history.
On our arrival in Rio our game was cancelled as a result of our Apartheid system in particular not welcoming the NZ Maori’s to tour. The tour went ahead and we played all the other scheduled games, and won all the games including two test matches against the “Los Pumas” Argentina. Jannie Le Roux Manager, Flappie Lochner Selector and Isaac Van Heerden Coach were the officials and we had an excellent Rugby experience.

The second more significant event took place on the Pampas where we were hosted to a barbecue, where we watched the horsemanship and other skills of the Gauchos. At the time lunch was being served we heard that Dr Verwoerd had been murdered in Parliament. Naturally everyone was extremely upset, but to my astonishment and also Isaac Van Heerden’s most of the players wanted to go home.
Isacc and I had much to do with the continuation of that tour simply by stating that there was nothing to be gained by going home and that we were merely a sports team interacting with other countries to create goodwill on behalf of our country. Isaac was also seconded to the Pumas for three months by SARB and Dr Craven, to teach them the finer points of the game, really a great sporting gesture. So the invitation aborted the cancellation of the Rio game on arrival and the death of Verwoerd, have worried me all my life, these events were somehow connected.
I could not understand the connection of events until I heard a conversation and event described by Roger Gardner, involving a visit to a wine farm to entertain a British Rugby reporter by Doctor Craven, who made him stop outside a home in Stellenbosch. Dr Craven told the reporter that this was the home of the man who destroyed SA and our game of Rugby, it was the home of the late Hendrik Verwoerd
Well it did not take me long to solve a problem that had always seemed strange, was our President assassinated for banning the NZ Maori’s from touring RSA? If so who were the people responsible, and that I will leave for others to figure out. However it is a part of our history and it has concerned me all my life that Tsafendas a court messenger could stab Dr Verwoerd in Parliament with all the security present, possible but extremely unlikely, without an organized plan.

When you add Pratts failure to assassinate Dr Verwoerd six years earlier and the fact that Tsafendas served in the USA Security when Kennedy was assassinated, you have to consider the USA and SA liaison and the role of the Broederbond.
Rugby was used as a tool to gain respect for the ideology of the Government at the time and you may recall the Broederbond who I believe had a major say in Government and Apartheid and were extremely influential in our history.
 

I have read this book many times over for the last 50 years and each time I have learnt new things that impact on the way we conduct our lives both in business and socially.
Any person who wishes to accumulate wealth should read the book and like everything in life the lessons are all there for anyone to follow. The real question is the discipline and wisdom to apply all the simple logic that the stories cover.
The lessons taught by Arkad who became the richest man in Babylon in this simple read are about life and the way we fall into traps where money and wealth are concerned and how to avoid a lean purse and in his teachings to acquire wealth and a fat purse.
My impressions were so great that my wife and I have applied many of these lessons to our lives and so much so I purchased 60 copies and handed them to my staff over 20 years ago who either used the lessons or like most of us discarded the concept of how to improve their finances and had no idea of the gift the company gave them.
However, a few of those 60 have responded correctly and still value the gift to this day and I am pleased to report that these few who paid attention have also found they prospered and still refer to the lessons they learnt so many years ago from the Richest Man in Babylon.
It is not too late to get a copy and apply these lessons to your lives and discipline yourself in these simple but true lessons that if followed will make a difference to each of your lives as far as finance and a good life are of value to you personally.
1. Spend 7/10 of your earnings.
2. The discipline of achieving this is most important.
3. Once achieved, opportunities arrive.
4. Giving back becomes natural and is enjoyed.
5. Comfortable with oneself is a key factor where the discipline is always present.
Finally, the key is to have a plan and stick to the plan. Your life is far more important than a building and every building has a plan before building commences. Do you consider your life as less or more important than a building?

Last year 500 sportsmen and women competed in team sports on one day at the Riverside Sports complex.
On Saturday the 20th of May, 630 players broke the record comfortable by competing in team events on one day.

The Hockey, Rugby and Football events are all pre planned and the games all started exactly on time with electronic scoreboards giving the results so that spectators can see the state of the games and who is winning and losing. As each game progresses.
This is a result of upgrades to the Turf, increasing the number of changing rooms, the new and innovative security lockers for teams and the renovations and improvements to the viewing areas under cover and the new bars and toilet facilities.
Please feel free to visit us to catch a sporting experience that http://www.riversidesports.co.za/ have managed to create in 10 years after being insolvent.
To the general public and all the schools that use our facilities, we invite you to join at the Membership fee of R250.00 per annum and R50.00 for scholars and save the R7.00 levy for parking. 37 visits per annum and you have the Club subs.
Could we achieve 10 000 members and improve a further with 2.5 million subscriptions to plough back into even better facilities? Imagine a gym……….

An Interview with Rodney Gould by Shaun Fitzgerald on the history of Pelican Systems, what it means to run your own business successfully, Integrity and a life well lived.
Shaun’s YouTube channel is focused on all aspects of Life, Happiness, Inner Peace and any subject that deals with the truth of our daily existence. The channel is people focused and runs through the interviews of ordinary people.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxtuylb737k&w=560&h=315]