BluBird Entertainment

Run the Western Cape – in style – with the Discovery Vitality Run Series

Following the overwhelming success of the Discovery Vitality Run Series (”the Run Series”) in Johannesburg in 2017, Discovery Vitality is excited to announce the launch of the next Run Series in the Western Cape over February and March this year.

“The first Discovery Vitality Run Series, held in Johannesburg last year, brought together four iconic races to encourage more people to take up running as a form of physical activity,” says Dr Craig Nossel, Head of Vitality Wellness. “Of the 25 000 runners who took part in the inaugural Run Series, several thousand were novices, having never participated in a running event before. This was particularly encouraging as our vision is to make people healthier, and leading an active lifestyle is an important starting point for many people’s journey. In response to requests from runners across South Africa, we are excited to be expanding the Run Series to Cape Town this summer, and hope to announce other cities soon.”

The theme for this Vitality Run Series is ‘build your running look’. Runners will receive limited edition Vitality running gear at each race and they need to collect all four items to complete their unique Run Series look. Runners who share these looks with Discovery on social media as they collect each item using the hashtag #VitalityRunSeries, stand a chance of winning weekly spot prizes and a grand prize of R10 000 to spend on sports apparel from Totalsports.

The Run Series kicks-off with the Spartan Harriers Firgrove Challenge on 3 February, with the route winding through Firgrove and Constantia. The second race will be the inaugural Discovery Retro Run powered by KFM, taking place on 10 February with a start and finish at Green Point Common.

The third race is the Century City Express on 3 March. The Run Series will end with the Tyger Run on 21 March. Distances at the four events vary from 5km to 21km. Runners of all fitness and experience levels can participate in the Discovery Vitality Run Series by entering online at www.discovery.co.za/vitality/runseries.

Visit the Discovery Vitality Run Series webpage for more information and get the latest Run Series news by following Discovery Vitality on Facebook (@discoveryvitality) and Team Vitality on Twitter (@TeamVitalitySA). Team Vitality members will receive 50% cash back on Vitality Run Series registration entry fees.

BADgal BANG! Volumizing Mascara

BADGal BANG! Volumizing Mascara has landed!
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Silverstar tornado donation

Silverstar tornado donation

February 2018

Schools repaired and back in business – after the storm

When a tornado ripped through Krugersdorp on 9 October 2017, it left local schools heavily battered and facing millions of rands worth of damage. Over the past three months, with the help of local government and donors, two of the primary schools – Protearif and Muldersdrift – worked hard to be ready to welcome the 2018 intake.

On 24 January, the schools hosted a ‘thank you’ event for the sponsors who contributed to their restoration at the Barnyard Theatre (https://www.tsogosun.com/silverstar-casino/entertainment/barnyard-theatre) in Tsogo Sun’s Silverstar entertainment destination. Silverstar was one of the donors who joined the efforts to repair the damage at the schools.

Anneke Potgieter, GM and Operations Director of Silverstar, says the precinct itself also suffered damage in the tornado and determined to support the embattled schools. At the thank you event, Silverstar handed over cheques to the total value of R75 000 – R50 000 to Protearif and R25 000 to Muldersdrift – to the school principals, to serve as top-up funds to cover any shortfall in the repair costs.

“Silverstar (https://www.tsogosun.com/silverstar-casino) has been part of the Krugersdorp community for 10 years and it has always been part of our ethos to uplift and take care of our community,” says Potgieter. “We are highly community-focused, and recognised the major challenges the schools faced in recovering from the storm. As a stakeholder in the community, we wanted to contribute towards the reparation projects. We wish the schools all the best for a highly successful 2018.”

This initiative by Silverstar dovetails perfectly with Tsogo Sun’s wider group CSI focus on education (https://www.tsogosun.com/citizenship/community/learning), which impacts more than 35 000 children and youth around the country annually.

Donna Lourens, headmaster of Protearif Primary, says that the school suffered extensive damage in the storm, which thankfully happened after most learners and staff had gone home. A few aftercare children and four teachers were on the premises at the time, but there were no injuries. “Repairs were largely undertaken during the summer break, and we were able to open at the start of the school year with most of the work done. However, building costs are extremely high and only part of the repairs were covered by insurance and emergency funds. The top-up funds from Silverstar and the support from other businesses and organisations in the community have been a tremendous help in ensuring we were able to open this year – without it things would have been extremely difficult for all our learners and staff. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to be a part of such a caring community.”

Adds Potgieter, “Schools are vital in the fabric of our society, protecting our children and preparing them for successful and bright futures. It makes sense to contribute to the lives of the future leaders of this country.”

Also as part of the wider Tsogo Sun tornado community relief efforts, several properties responded to the needs and a large amount of blankets, linen, mattresses, towels, pillows, chairs, crockery and cutlery, and other sundry items were donated, which were handed over to the West Rand Disaster Management team for distribution once homes and shacks had been rebuilt, and to a church in Munsieville that had suffered damage and loss.

Caption:

From left to right: Herman Byleveld (Principal – Laerskool Muldersdrif), Nondumiso Mngadi (HR Manager, Silverstar Casino), Donna Lourens (Principal – Laerskool Protearif) and Reinhold Redinger (Slots Manager, Silverstar Casino).

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South African Airways introduces the new Airbus A330-300 on the Johannesburg to London route and rationalises frequency

South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to introduce the new A330-300 on the London route from March 2018. The airline has also decided to adjust frequencies on the route to a single daily service.

“We have decided to focus on those areas of our business that will enhance our efficiencies, bring more value to our customers and produce improved overall performance of the airline. Network optimisation is one such area that can contribute towards containing our costs and we introduced some initiatives that must yield dividends to return the business to commercial sustainability in the shortest time possible,” said SAA CEO, Vuyani Jarana.

At the end of 2017, SAA announced network remediation on the domestic and regional markets and the airline has now turned its attention to its international network.

“We have also decided to upgrade the service operating between Johannesburg and London Heathrow to the new Airbus A330-300 with effect fromSunday, 25 March 2018. This will afford customers a significantly improved on-board Business and Economy product, with state-of-the-art technology, increased comfort and capacity,” explained Jarana.

With effect from 20 April 2018, SAA will operate a single daily flight from Johannesburg to London Heathrow replacing the double daily service operating on the route currently.

The new Airbus A330-300

“Our announcement to introduce the new A330-300 on the very competitive London route next month is exciting and positive news for our customers,” added JaranaSAA took delivery of five new A330-300 aircraft last year. The aircraft offers state-of-the-art technology; they are environmentally friendly and super-comfortable. The interiors are striking in warm, neutral colours to provide a comfortable, elegant and relaxed ambience, leaving customers feeling well rested. The A330-300s offer more Business Class seats than any aircraft already in the SAA fleet. In total, the aircraft has capacity for 249 passengers, with 46 in Business Class and 203 in Economy Class. They are quieter than previous-generation aircraft, equipped with advanced avionics and navigation systems, and have ultra-fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent engines, resulting in lower fuel burn and, as a result, lower carbon emissions.

Business Class experience

Business Class on the new A330s is set to make customers between London and Johannesburg feel at home in their very own ‘living space’. Seating in Business Class cabins is in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, offering all customers a forward facing, lie-flat seat, increased privacy and direct access to the aisle. To give customers the best possible viewing experience, each seat is fitted with its own high-tech, 15” easy-to-use touchscreen.

There is space for personal tablets to rest in the back of the seat and SAA introduced an app where customers can download additional entertainment before their flight. Customers can of course continue to expect restaurant quality a-la-carte dining, served with award-winning South African wines.

Economy Class experience

Economy Class on the A330-300 is fitted with newly designed seats with personal space and generous legroom for travelling comfort. Each seat is fitted with a 10.1” high-resolution screen, individual USB charging ports, and access to shared PC power points, so customers can enjoy the latest movies and TV shows, on-demand.

Seating in the Economy cabin remains in the popular 2-4-2 configuration, continuing to ensure that customers are only ever one seat away from the aisle. The A330s complement SAA’s existing Airbus long haul on the domestic/regional fleet, which include A320s that were delivered in 2015.

South African Airways network

“We will continue to operate the daily non-stop SA234/SA235 service which offers customers convenient connections into and out of Johannesburg on SAA and our codeshare partners’ domestic and regional networks,” Jarana concluded.

SAA has leased the second Heathrow slot, giving the airline the flexibility to reinstate a second flight at the end of the lease period, providing the airline an opportunity to grow and develop in the future.

SAA has announced a flexible re-accommodation policy for customers currently booked on SA236/SA237 to switch onto the earlier SA234/SA235 service and enjoy the new aircraft.

ØCEANS is on FIYAH with Lakota Silva

Brand New ØCEANS Single Fiyah Available Now From http://smarturl.it/HR571

[pictured – ØCEANS / Photographer Credit - Allister Christie]

ØCEANS drops a banger of a track as he kicks 2018 off with the explosive dance single Fiyah featuring local Urban Pop favourite, Lakota Silva.

Listen to Fiyah here: https://youtu.be/7_fDIIZkGLE

Cape Town-based Vlad Buzdugan is ØCEANS and Fiyah is his third original release and second label signing as ØCEANS, which was preceded by singles Low feat. Irinami and Fade Up.

How did this brand-new single come about? ØCEANS explains, saying: "After writing the instrumental rough cut of ‘Fiyah’, I wasn't sure in which direction the vocal should go, but once I heard Lakota's demo, I was sold. Lakota really brought the right feel, in-your face vibe and catchy hook that the track needed, and working with her on ‘Fiyah’ was a great experience overall, which I think resulted in a great track that we both hope people will enjoy listening and dancing to as much as we enjoyed making it."

Lakota is just as complimentary and absolutely loved working with ØCEANS on the single. “Working with Vlad was an absolute pleasure! He trusted my vision for the song lyrically and melodically; his production was inspiring and made it easy to produce something fiery to match. I’m very happy with the collaboration of dance and urban pop and hope many will enjoy our song ‘Fiyah’!”

The release of Fiyah also follows a highly successful live debut for ØCEANS at Fiction nightclub in Cape Town late 2017, performing alongside some of CT’s finest such as Das Kapital and Venture. Fans will be excited to know that 2018 is set to be on Fiyah with many more performance dates on the horizon from ØCEANS.

For now, get your dance fix online. ØCEANS’ brand new single Fiyah featuring Lakota Silva is available for your sonic delight from http://smarturl.it/HR571

[Fiyah Single Cover Art]

Follow ØCEANS online:

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/___oceans/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/oooceansss/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/___OCEANS

Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/ceans-325748758

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCudDjiV-5pJFXWv2-vacraQ

Lifehouse South African Press Conference

Lifehouse are in South Africa, guest performing with Collective Soul. They are such down to earth men and super funny. They answered a couple questions for the media and this is what they had to say.

They were actually quite funny guys, and very into answering questions, which was awesome! They are very excited to be in South Africa for the first time, and to be performing for our people. They said that they loved South African's welcoming nature. We are all excited to see them performing along with Collective Soul

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Collective Soul Press Conference South Africa

In light of their South African tour (especially excited for the show at The Tickepro Dome), Collective soul answered some questions for the media at the Jacaranda Studios in Midrand this morning. (01 Feb 2018). Here's what they had to say. The video is a bit long, but we wanted to give you a full insight into the conference, We hope you enjoy!!!

I found the band to be so down to earth and open. This surprised me, as so many who have made it big, act that way. Collective soul were just so humble, made jokes and didn't act like they were the biggest thing in the room (even though, you know, they WERE).

They were so excited when one of the photographers had made them a photo book from their previous show here in South Africa and I loved that they Loved that, because that means they fully embrace their fans and don;t take them for granted.

Never in a million years did I ever think that something this great would happen, and it did. So I have to send the biggest shout out to Dionne and Tammy, who work tirelessly to make this amazing events happen.