Mugg & Bean, Melville

Wednesday 31 July 2002

A SASWA meeting at Mugg & Bean straight after work.

Work was long and arduous, with some very enjoyable moments. Edited two ECO-CHALLENGE NEW ZEALAND promos, one for THE HOOP LIFE (the best television drama series I've seen, and, I can tell you this, working for SABC3, I've seen a LOT of television), and two for INSIDE SCHWARTZ. Then dashed across from the Henley building down to the bowels of Radiopark to pre-record my Sunday night "Computer Gig" slot with Tony Lankester. I'm the "Priceless Advice" dude. Followed by a quick drive to Melville for this meeting.

SASWA. The South African Scriptwriters' Association. I'm the co-deputy chair, and we're meeting to discuss getting funds for "Nuts and Bolts" -- an intense two-day script development masterclass hosted by Clare Downs, the celebrated British script development guru. The council members present agree that we'll have the meeting done and dealt with in half an hour. We do pretty well by only taking one-hour and forty-five minutes.

When we finish, I decide to stick around and chat with Jill Kruger. She's also on council, and she makes documentaries. Her latest -- MY SON, THE BRIDE -- is on two screens at the Earth Summit International Film Festival. A huge honour. And it's also doing superb business on several other film festivals. Of course, she sees no money from all this interest, since, like all filmmakers in South Africa, she was forced to sign away her rights when M-Net invested in it.

But hey. At least she gets a warm glow.

I make eye-contact with Adele, our waitress. We flirt lightly. I don't take it too far, cos that's not polite with Jill around. But still, Jill seems to notice the way I inadvertently glance at Adelle's bum as she walks to and fro. Nobody says anything though.