Latest news with #Gerhard
Daily Maverick
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
No signal, a storm and the Springboks: A Karoo weekend with heart
When a group of friends heads to a remote Karoo farm for their annual hunting trip, there's one non-negotiable: watching the Springboks play. With no signal, muddy roads and freezing rain, the men of Britzkraal Jagvat prove that where there's gees, there's always a way — even if it means turning an abandoned sheep shelter into a makeshift sports bar. As the old saying goes: 'n Boer maak 'n plan. And when the Boks are playing you make a plan to overcome every challenge — even if it means braving the freezing cold, pouring rain and muddy roads to find the one spot on the Karoo farm with enough signal to watch the game. Like clockwork a mostly dormant WhatsApp group on my phone sprang to life around March. 'Boys, what dates are we looking at?' came the question everyone had been waiting for. It was time for the annual Britzkraal Jagvat — a post-Covid-19 getaway with some friends that grew into an annual hunting trip to the Karoo, complete with its own set of rules and ever-evolving customs. Every year a good friend, Willem 'Houtbeen' Lombard, invites us to his family farm in the Blue Crane Route region where we spend an extended weekend enjoying the quiet of the veld, catching up with mates around a fire with a few drinks, and hunting an assortment of game in the crisp morning air. But that first question on WhatsApp was quickly followed by a second, and equally important one: 'Have you checked the Springbok fixtures?' The majority of the Eastern Cape hunting season coincides with the rugby season, and there were some valid concerns around missing a Springbok Test match. A clash was unavoidable. Some of the guys had to travel from the Western Cape, others had important work or family responsibilities that could not be moved. Lacking crucial amenities The only suitable dates fell right on July 6, the first Test match between South Africa and Italy. While the facilities at Britzkraal are more than adequate, it lacks certain amenities crucial for watching international rugby. Arrangements were quickly made — Gerhard will bring a TV, Tom will bring an inverter — but the elephant in the room (or rather, on the farm) was the biggest concern. Britzkraal lacked one critical component — reliable signal. Only one spot on the farm has steady signal, and that is the stoep of an old derelict farmhouse, which has become a makeshift shelter for sheep in the cold winter months. 'Guys, don't worry. We'll make a plan,' came the response from Houtbeen. We had faith in our fearless leader. Another snag came up in the days leading up to the weekend. Weather reports steadily changed from favourable to stormy, and on the day, as we finished up in the veld to make our way to our soon-to-be open air cinema for the afternoon, the heavens opened up. Despite being cold and wet, and bordering on miserable, none of us were prepared to give up on the plan. The dirt roads had turned to sludge, and a convoy of bakkies slipped and slid their way down the muddy road to the old abandoned house. Along the way we found a strange metal contraption, its origin still unclear, and it made for the perfect braai. Before we knew it, Con had a roaring fire going, driving away the cold and misery. Geo reversed his Navara up towards the stoep. The TV was placed in the back of the vehicle. Geo then carefully selected a flat river rock from a pile nearby to place under the left rear wheel, so that the TV would be perfectly level. Steady drizzle With a few taps on his laptop, Houtbeen connected with the TV and we were just in time to watch the men in green and gold sing the national anthem in front of the Loftus crowd as the sun set over the Karoo while a steady drizzle still fell around us. Kosie quickly busied himself with another Jagvat tradition under the cover of the old house's tin roof, preparing his legendary braaibroodjies which have become a staple meal for our group. And just as the whistle sounded for the kick-off I found myself with a cold brew in one hand, a toasty warm braaibroodjie in the other, surrounded by my best friends in one of the most uniquely beautiful moments. And I honestly don't think the Boks would have been able to pull off a 42-24 victory without the support of the team at the Britzkraal Jagvat. DM
The Citizen
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Fly-Mu Festival returns with sky-high fun, live music and community spirit
If you think a good time in Brakpan is just pie in the sky, you'll be floating on cloud nine to know it's almost time for the annual Fly-Mu Festival again! Coming to the Brakpan Airfield on July 26, the festival (a combination of aviation and music) is set to soar to new heights of entertainment. The event is a Masonic fundraiser and this year proudly supports Abraham Kriel Girls' House in Brentwood Park, offering the girls and house parents a complimentary day of fun, food and unforgettable experiences. Right Worshipful Brother Gerhard van Staden, the Worshipful Master of Edward H Croghan, Lodge 247 IC, said visitors to this sixth annual event are in for a full day of high-flying fun, live entertainment and community spirit – all for a good cause, of course. 'The Fly-Mu Festival blends the thrill of aviation with the buzz of live music and bustling market stalls, creating an unforgettable day out for the whole family. 'We are honoured to assist the Abraham Kriel girls again and will be distributing additional clothing, food and toy donations to other selected organisations in need.' The headline music acts are PG Taboe and Broke n Free. 'This is a must-attend event for aviation lovers. There will be early morning fly-ins, helicopter flips for visitors and static air displays. We are also giving away fantastic prizes, including a flight experience (details to be confirmed), a weekend away and helicopter flips!' said Gerhard. Ilona Verwey, who is in charge of the market side of things on the day, is excited about the variety of stalls they'll have on the day – everything from handmade jewellery and leather goods to pizza cones and craft vodka. There will also be a dedicated play zone for the kiddies, packed with family-friendly entertainment. Entry is R70 for adults, R20 for kids aged 12 and over and free for kids under 12. There is secure onsite parking. Book a vendor space by July 10 by contacting Ilona on 082 393 9040. For sponsorships or donations contact Gerhard on 082 771 3329. Follow Fly-Mu on social media for updates. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
ITV News
19-06-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
Bristol City appoint Gerhard Struber as new head coach
Gerhard Struber has been appointed as Bristol City's new men's head coach on a three-year contract until 2028. The 48-year-old joins the Robins after most recently managing FC Köln in Germany and will join the squad when they return for pre-season training next week. The Austrian has previous managerial experience in England after an 11-month stint with Barnsley in which he steered the club to Champioship survival. Struber has extensive experience across several countries and has had spells at New York Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg before heading to Germany. 'We're very successful' - Struber Gerhard Struber said: 'I am very excited for the job here with great fans and a great team. I'm looking forward to a new task. 'The style of play here fits completely, especially developing young players. This is a very interesting group, and I think they did a great job last season and we're very successful. "Right now is the time to build and do everything we can to go the next step. "The big responsibility is in the first team, to build, develop and create results but at the same time it is a duty to bring players from the local area and into the academy and give them a pathway to become a professional footballer at Bristol City. 'I like to play with high intensity on the field. We will control, we will dominate the game, and we'll play attractive football for the fans. 'We need them [fans] behind us, we need them over the whole season and with us through the ups and downs. We need the twelfth man behind us to help us achieve and take the next step.' 'Great fit for our club' - Lansdown Struber replaces Liam Manning, who left Ashton Gate to join his hometown club Norwich City on 3 June, 2025. The 39-year-old had guided the Robins to sixth in Championship last season, securing their first play-off campaign in 17 years. Struber, who lost his job at Cologne in May despite guiding the second-tier club to the brink of promotion to the Bundesliga. Bristol City Chairman, Jon Lansdown, said: 'We are delighted to have Gerhard joining us. He has managed in a variety different countries, including in the Championship, and brings a wealth of experience and energy. 'For the last four years, we have moved our academy teams towards a high intensity, pressing style of play, and combined this with recruiting younger players with those same capabilities for the first team. 'Gerhard's style is perfectly suited to this way of playing and his passion for developing younger players is also a great fit for our club. 'It's a really exciting appointment and I'm looking forward to together building on the progress the club has made.'
Metro
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
MindsEye still has no reviews but plenty of bugs in 'disastrous' launch
One of the most important GTA developers has released a new third person action game, but its launch has been marred by performance issues and bugs. Launching a brand new IP at the same time as the Switch 2 launch and the not-E3 season of preview showcases was perhaps not the wisest choice for new third person action game MindsEye, but that's turned out to be only one problem amongst many for the troubled release. MindsEye, developed by Build A Rocket Boy, was released across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on Tuesday, June 10, and as you may have noticed, we don't have a review up yet. In fact, no outlets have published reviews at the time of writing, presumably because everyone is in the same boat and hasn't received a review copy yet. Publishers aren't required to give codes to publications but, as has been the case in the past, it can often suggest that they're not entirely confident in the final product and want to avoid negative press. While we'll hold our full judgement for now, the game's launch hasn't exactly gone down well with those that have already bought it. On Steam, the game has a 'mixed' average rating based on over 800 reviews, with some players calling out performance issues and 'extremely restricting' system requirements. Many of these issues have been encapsulated in video clips on social media, which show stuttering problems, glitches where you fall through the floor, distorted faces, characters floating in the air, and crash bugs. 'They really should have delayed MindsEye,' one user on X wrote. 'Was playing it and all of a sudden it crashed. Then my save data got corrupted.' Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. 'MindsEye is a complete technical DISASTER,' another wrote. 'Avoid this game right now at ALL COSTS.' Following the game's launch, Build A Rocket Boy has promised to improve performance across all platforms. 'We understand that the current minimum spec requirements are very high, but our engineering team are working around the clock to improve performance on mainstream hardware as well as consoles by integrating the performance improvements in Unreal Engine V5.6,' a statement reads. 'We will provide patch 3 update timing, including these improvements, within the next 24 hours.' In the run up to launch, MindsEye has had a weird vibe around it. When negative previews began circulating online last month, Build A Rocket Boy's co-CEO Mark Gerhard claimed all the people who reacted negatively to the game were being financed by an unnamed 'someone'. In a response on Discord, Gerhard wrote: 'I just said that there is a concerted effort by some people that don't want to see Leslie [Benzies] or Build A Rocket Boy to be successful that are making a concerted effort to trash the game and the studio. It's pretty easy to see the bots and the repeated replies to any content that we put out.' While he doesn't explicitly state who he is referring to, many have taken this to be a reference to Rockstar Games and/or Take-Two Interactive. Leslie Benzies, the co-founder of Build A Rocket Boy, was previously a lead developer on the GTA series and former president of Rockstar North. He left Rockstar in 2016 but, shortly afterwards, Benzies filed a lawsuit against the company claiming he was unlawfully dismissed and entitled to unpaid royalties. This case came to an end in February 2019 with an undisclosed settlement between Take-Two and Benzies. MindsEye is the studio's first game but Build A Rocket Boy previously announced a massively multiplayer online title called Everywhere, which has been compared to an adult version of Roblox. More Trending While MindsEye was originally going to be one experience within this wider Everywhere package, it has spun out into a separate entity with its own creation suite, called and However, as revealed in an interview with VGC, the developers have said Everywhere will be shown again at some point in the future. 'MindsEye is definitely the thing that people should be focusing on,' assistant game director, Adam Whiting, said. 'But we haven't forgotten about Everywhere, it will re-emerge.' It remains to be seen if MindsEye can overcome these initial launch issues, but for now, you can expect our full review in the coming weeks. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 officially breaks record for fastest-selling console ever MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 comparison: how do Switch 1 games play on the new console? MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 outsells Switch 1 launch by over 100% but fails to beat PS5
The Citizen
09-06-2025
- The Citizen
Germiston audience inspired by blind man's Kilimanjaro climb
Shrouded in darkness, a formation of eight men climbed the face of Kilimanjaro. Second from the front, Gerhard Ferreira walked with great effort, willing his body to take the last strides to the top of Africa's highest peak. Gathered in the Katse Room at Ebotse on May 29, members and guests of the Garlands Ladies Luncheon Club listened in awe as Gerhard, a blind mountaineer from Lakefield, recounted his 54-year-long journey that led him to stand on top of the world on August 4, 2001. ALSO READ: Nature lovers invited to adventure at Melville Koppies At the age of 16, Gerhard's world went dark when a degenerative condition claimed his vision. Starting from humble beginnings, the father of two's career includes countless accolades, such as becoming one of the country's first programmers. He went on to become manager of quality management and coaching at Standard Bank's Corporate and Investment Bank. Despite being visually impaired, his vigour and lust for life have taken him on a series of whirlwind adventures. Under the guidance of his running partner and lifelong friend, Denis Tavakin, Gerhard has won two bronze medals at the Comrades Ultra-Marathon, two bronze medals at the Two Oceans Marathon, and two silver medals at the New York City Marathon. 'Whether it is bungee jumping or battling rapids, there is very little that scares me,' he said, with a hint of his wicked wit tugging at the corners of his mouth. 'Perhaps it is my die-hard approach to life or merely the fact that I cannot see the dangers or challenges before me that have pushed me beyond my comfort zone.' Zeroing in on his trek to become one of the first three South Africans to reach Uhuru Peak, at an elevation of 5 895 m, Gerhard said that the climb was not only a physical challenge due to extreme conditions but also tested every inch of his will. 'Uhuru means freedom in Swahili,' he said. ALSO READ: Melville Koppies get new paths for adventure 'Freedom of movement and the ability to grow beyond physical limitations were something that I had to quickly adapt to if I wanted to live a life of independence. Navigating through life in darkness became second nature. 'However, trudging through dense vegetation, covered in mud, and steadily making my way up a mountain that stretched beyond the clouds were the moments that cemented my will to live without limitations.' Detailing his adventure, Gerhard told the Garlands how the most encouraging words during the climb came from his patient guides, who routinely told him, 'It's not too far.' 'As humans, we are so fixated on our goals that we grow impatient when it takes a little longer to see the results,' he said. 'This could lead to despondency and frustration, but if my journey has taught me anything, it is to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. 'Every step inches you forward. Take the time to examine the end destination and take stock of how far you have come, but do not linger there. ALSO READ: Treat your family with some adventure at Melville Koppies 'Again, focus on every step, and before you know it, 'it is not too far,' becomes 'lift your hands, you have made it to the top.' The Garlands Ladies Luncheon Club will meet again on June 26. For more information about the club and its monthly meetings or to become a member, email club president Margie Kostelac at margie.h@ At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
