Research about Rooibos and the positive impact it might have on human health has been ongoing for years, and now finally scientists are in agreement that cardiologists from all over the world could soon be prescribing Rooibos as part of the therapeutic approach to tackle cardiovascular disease – a modern-day epidemic that annually claims 8 million lives worldwide.

Prof. Amanda Swart from the Biochemistry Department at Stellenbosch University says following an in-depth examination of peer-reviewed studies, spanning the last two decades,  there is now overwhelming evidence that Rooibos has the potential, to both alleviate cardiovascular disease in sufferers aswell as lowering the risk of developing heart disease.

This holds tremendous possibilities not only for patients, but for the Rooibos sector and South Africa too, as the herb is exclusively farmed in the Western Cape.

The beneficial effects of Rooibos are largely attributed to the complex mix of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds. Currently 59 of these compounds have been identified of which aspalathin is one of the most abundant and also unique to Rooibos.

Prof. Swart says future research related to Rooibos should now progress to clinical trial phase in earnest.

To get the most from Rooibos, Prof. Swart advises drinking it as a tea, whether it be red or green, which will supply a constant stream of antioxidants, while keeping one sufficiently hydrated.

By all accounts, my 3 year old will live a very healthy life, as she guzzles at least 6 cups of Rooibos every day!

It’s wonderful to know that visitors to the Cape Town CBD and Bo-Kaap can rely on extra pairs of eyes and ears to keep them safe, while they take in the breath-taking beauty of the Mother City.

A group of individuals called Tourism Safety Ambassadors, guide locals and visitors around the city, offer advice, share safety tips and keep a keen eye out for any suspicious behaviour.

They are appointed by Cape Town Tourism within a short space of time, have notched up some notable successes.

The ambassadors work closely with their partners in crime prevention such as the Bo-Kaap neighbourhood watch, the Central City Improvement District (CCID) and the South African Police Service.

The ambassadors keep in touch with each other via a WhatsApp group, and recently have stopped several criminals in their tracks.

They were instrumental in the bust and arrest of a gang of 10 ATM credit card scammers who were targeting mainly tourists, and they prevented several attempted muggings of tourists.

If visitors haven’t been here before, they also assist lost tourists by walking with them to the attractions they were looking for and accompanying them back to the Cape Town Tourism offices.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management, Alderman James Vos, met with the Tourism Safety Ambassadors this week to present them with a certificate of commendation for the great work they are doing and to acknowledge their successes to date.

“I tip my hat to this group of young people who are going about their task without fear. They are disrupting the tourism hotspots where criminals were becoming a nuisance by preying on unsuspecting locals and visitors to the city. Some of them have been threatened but this has not deterred them from doing what they have been trained to do best. Instead they have soldiered on and notched up some really good successes.”

The Tourism Safety Ambassadors have become a familiar sight on the streets at tourist hotspots and they have earned the trust of many local business owners as well as residents who know them by name. In some instances, community members come to their assistance when they detain a perpetrator while waiting for SAPS to arrive and make the arrest.

One of the ambassadors, and someone you don’t want to mess with, is Munifa Canterbury, a 4th dan black belt martial arts instructor and competitor. Not only does she have her South African colours but is the All Africa champion in kata.

Munifa lives in the Bo-Kaap and making a difference in her community has always been a passion. She says being a tourism safety officer has given her the platform to put some of her skills into action while earning an income that has in turn benefitted her household.

Cleo Moses, who lives in Elsies River, says he is extremely grateful to be chosen to be a part of this ambassador programme. Being jobless after completing her tertiary studies brought a sense of discouragement and low self-esteem to her for about two years, as it did to a number of other young people in her area.

“The programme has challenged me to escape from my comfort zone and interact with strangers, many of them tourists who depend on me to provide information and guidance on their safety.  I have become conscious about my approach to a stranger, how I engage with them and share information that I need to convey about their safety. I have learned to speak slowly and clearly, as I tend to become nervous when I have to approach a group of people. This has really helped to boost my confidence in public speaking. The ability to develop my listening and speaking skills and broaden my knowledge about Cape Town as a tourist destination has also had a positive impact on my group work skills. To be able to work in a group requires communication and trust.”

Well done to these Tourism Safety Ambassadors, they clearly know how important it is to keep all our visitors safe so they can return to our shores!

Someone’s getting spoilt rotten by Smile 90.4FM and AfriCamps this Valentine’s Day… and it could be YOU!!

WIN a 2-night glamping escape to AfriCamps at Doolhof in Wellington, the first glamping location in the Cape Winelands. Apart from the luxurious AfriCamps tent with open plan lounge and dining area, fully-equipped kitchen, two bedrooms, spacious bathroom, indoor fireplace, air-conditioning, large wooden deck and your own outdoor wood-fired hot tub, you will also receive your choice of spa treatments from the comfort of your tent to the value of R2500, a romantic Doolhof vineyard picnic for two, wine tasting for two at Doolhof’s Tasting Room and daily breakfast baskets and braai packs for two containing the freshest local ingredients.

To enter, please answer the questions below and complete the required fields with your details:

Good luck and stay tuned to Smile 90.4FM.

The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day, Thursday 14 February, during Bailey Schneider’s show from 09:00 to 12:00.

This competition is closed.

Last week we commemorated a very special event that took place exactly 50 years ago.

On Thursday the 30^th of January 1969, John, Paul, George and Ringo took the stairway to the rooftop of their Savile Row office HQ in London, for an impromptu live performance, which turned out to be their very last.

The Beatles’ infamous rooftop concert lasted only 42 minutes, before London Metropolitan Police asked them to reduce the volume, and eventually pulled the plug.

In attendance were a few Apple Corp staff members, their US manager, the band’s roadie, camera and sound guys filming and recording the event, Yoko Ono, and Ringo’s wife at the time.

Five floors down, in the street below, frustrated fans gathered … who could hear the rooftop serenade clearly, but for whom any sight of the Fab Four’s performance was out of the question. Others quickly assembled on neighbouring rooftops, peered out of windows and gathered on balconies to get a glimpse of the rather ramshackle production, unaware that they were witnessing the Beatles’ final live performance.

The band performed five songs, some of which were repeated multiple times. ‘Get Back’, which would end up as the final song in the bio-documentary film ‘Let it Be’, which they were busy filming at the time, was performed three times. Footage from the film shows two policemen, standing sheepishly in the background; as John queued the band to play a second take of ‘Don’t Let Me Down’…

It was an especially chilly and blustery day in London, which added layers of interesting but unconventional facts to the offbeat nature of the Beatles’ impromptu gig.

John was wearing Yoko Ono’s fur coat and Ringo borrowed his wife Maureen’s red raincoat for the performance.

Recording engineer, Alan Parsons, was sent to the shop to buy women’s panty hose to wrap around the delicate microphones recording the drums and guitars.

And despite having written many of the songs, John Lennon had trouble remembering the lyrics, and asked an Apple office assistant to kneel beside him, holding up the words on cue cards.

The rooftop concert came to an end with a third take of the song ‘Get Back’, after which John signed off with the words… “I’d like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves and I hope we’ve passed the audition.”

Since the Fab Four’s – now infamous – final live performance on the rooftop of the Apple Records building in January 1969, there have been many more bands and artists who’ve ‘borrowed’ the idea, for either its publicity value or to pay homage to the legends of Liverpool. The best example of that being U2’s Grammy Award winning music video for their 1987 hit ‘Where the streets have no name’, that was filmed on a rooftop in Los Angeles.

But for die-hard fans of The Beatles the world over, there can always only be one rooftop concert. A very special ‘audition’ that took place 50 years ago.

To everyone else we say: Let It Be…