A local man's memoir about life in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s has been getting critical acclaim from some of that country's newspapers and websites.
Longtime New Westminster resident Erich Rautenbach has written The Unexploded Boer, which tells of his life as a draft dodging fugitive in South Africa during the mid1970s.
"In the winter of 1975, Erich Rautenbach's life took a serious turn for the worse when he was busted for selling weed by gun-toting undercover cops," stated a synopsis of the book. "He'd been selling the dope to raise money to leave South Africa in a bid to escape his army call-up and resist having to shoot people in the name of apartheid. But instead he found himself in the infamous John Vorster Square, at the mercy of drug squad policemen who seemed convinced he was part of some notorious drug ring."
In The Unexplored Boer, Rautenbach writes bout Cape Town in the 1960s and 1970s and describes his travels around the country. The memoir has been described as a "wild story of rebellion and retribution" and recreates the hippie/glam subculture of the 1970s Cape Town.
"The last decade or so has produced a flurry of South African memories," wrote author Jonny Steinberg, a two-time recipient of South African's biggest literary award for non-fiction. "Rautenbach's is among the best, not simply because he saw his country from an angle no novelist could ever have invented, but because he is brave enough to plumb his own depths, producing a book saturated with pain, bile and love."
The book is available at stores across South Africa and Namibia. In Canada, it's available online through www.amazon.ca and www. chaptersindigo.ca.
FOR A GOOD CAUSE
The New Westminster Police Service's fourth annual Keith Logan Memorial golf tournament raised $14,000.
The police department held the annual tournament in honour of Sgt.
Keith Logan by donating all funds raised to the Crossroads Hospice Society, where he stayed until his battle with cancer came to an end in 2007. The tournament, launched in 2008, has seen its sponsors and funds grow each year.
"It's been wonderful to see Keith's colleagues, friends and family come out to this fun event while raising money for such a worthy organization," said Police Chief Dave Jones in a press release. "We're so thankful to our many sponsors, whose support helps us honour the memory of Sgt. Logan, while helping us give back to Crossroads Hospice, a place that was integral in supporting and comforting Keith and his lived ones in his last moments."
The New Westminster Police Service is grateful to sponsors including Stephanie Barritt - Mortgage Architects, Thrifty Foods, New Westminster Police Officers' Association, Fowle and Company, Frankie G's Boilerhouse Pub, Rivers Reach Pub, G&F Financial Group, Vancouver Police Union, Delta Police Union, British Columbia Police Association, New Westminster Superannuated Police Officers' Association, the Logan family, Chad August, Wolrige Mahon, Columbia Square, Peak Investments, Prestige Hotels and Resorts, Kensington Insurance Services, Freybe Gourmet Foods Ltd. and Old Dutch.
HELP FOR SENIORS
Thornebridge Gardens has made a generous donation to a program at Century House.
The seniors' residence, which opened at the corner of Sixth Street and Eighth Avenue in January 2007, recently donated $6,500 to Century House.
"The cheque is specifically for funding the training of senior peer counsellors," said Jan Greenhow, a past president at Century House. "It is pretty exciting.
WOMEN WANTED
There's still time to submit nominations to for the YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction awards.
The deadline for nominations is on Monday, March 5 at 5 p.m. Nomination forms and information can be found at ywcawomenofdistinction. org or by calling 6048955768.
An item in a recent Around Town column stated that the YMCA Metro Vancouver was accepting nominations for the awards, but it's in fact a YWCA initiative.
Send Around Town ideas to Theresa, tmcmanus@royalcity record.com.
