Of chiropractors and motor mechanics

Visits to the chiropractor come and go. This time followed a lower back sprain from kiteboarding. He did all the usual things: checked me out, did some massaging and ended up with the traditional wrench that extracted a satisfying vertebral click. Initially he told some interesting stories, including a fascinating one about the Ryukyu Islanders, whose approach to old age is to become increasingly youthful in attitude. This is not the fabled 7 ages of man where you end up mewling and puking like a baby but an approach to life that becomes increasingly playful and joyful. Thereafter, though, it went pear-shaped, as he unveiled a string of extremely unappetising stories about people with chronic scoliosis or nervous disorders, a woman's corpse with huge layers of fat exposed and other unwanted anecdotes, some of which would be repeated in later sessions. When you are face down on the bench it's hard to converse but I tried to discourage these tales from the war front, with little success. During this period of treatment I was actively self-medicating, doing stretches several times a day. I asked him for exercise recommendations to supplement my own and he reluctantly produced some diagrams which had his name on top but were in fact virtually straight off Google. At the end of each session he was quick to sit down and write up the next appointment, claiming this was a complicated, long-term spinal project which needed regular and frequent attention. He would also drop names like Gary Player and Bobby Locke (two great SA golfers, who had used his services in the past). But he would never actually give me his current diagnosis of my condition. He simply wouldn't commit himself as to how I was progressing in his eyes. As I was self-medicating, I was also self-diagnosing and could feel the improvement as I went along. So increasingly I became aware that I was actually just a part of his annuity stream, cloaked in this mystical process, which he was never able to fully explain or link up to my progress. When you are young you believe that doctors know everything and invest in them all your trust but as you get older you realise that many are also subject to moral hazard, not unlike motor mechanics.

Knock your socks off with Cybernetics

Maxwell Maltz wrote Psycho-Cybernetics in 1960, celebrating the concepts of self-affirmation and positive visualization, all taken up by athletes and others in years to come. It had this striking red, black and white cover, with a little medallion claiming that 3 million had been sold. I came across it in 1971 when dropping out of university, having lost interest in accounting, if I had ever had any! Surfing was much more fun. A dose of self-help was called for. The first chapter ended with the instruction: before you move on to chapter 2, tie your shoe laces each morning in a different way for the next 7 days. As I had no shoes with laces at the time, this was a bit of a deal-breaker, so I never made it to Ch 2 or any subsequent chapter. I'm not sure I would have made it even if I had lace-ups, the whole message just seemed so buttoned up. The volume still languishes in the psychology section of the bookcase. But over the years, not in the interests of self-help but more for efficiency, I still adopted some unconventional dressing techniques. For instance, one way to remove your shoes and socks is to roll back on the bed, feet in the air and use both hands to remove both shoes, then socks, at the same time. If they're lace-ups, you can undo both laces simultaneously too. To round things off you can try to toss both shoes into their accustomed place across the room, making them land soles down. An efficient way of putting a coat on is, instead of struggling to push one arm through at a time, take the coat from the back with both hands holding the collar. Then fling it over your head and push your hands into the arms at the same time. There are loads of variations on the theme e.g. put your deodorant on while brushing your teeth and running the comb through your hair while shaving. All very useful if your alarm clock failed to go off and you're late for work.

The post Post Office era

On Sunday, surf at the Corner was running following some big winds. I worked across to the westernmost section in front of the rocks where the waves had better shape and pitch. In big surf it's harder to latch on to the wave: you have to take it when it's quite critical, so need shape to turn and stay ahead of the white water as it tumbles over. Between sets I had close-up views of the attractive buildings along the Muizenberg 'Historical Mile', including the old post office. Completed in 1911 it was later used as a courthouse and has recently been renovated and taken over by an ad agency. There are loads of other old buildings including Cecil John Rhodes' cottage and Rust en Vrede, one of architect Herbert Baker's best residential works. The SA Post Office business is in turmoil with scores of branches closing down. It has run at a loss in recent years, aggravated last year by an insane, long drawn out strike. This was a wake up call for many businesses, not least magazine publishers (yes some people still read hard copy magazines!), who couldn't distribute their product. Inevitably they have sought other forms of delivery. You have to feel for unionised workers whose leaders are prepared to sacrifice jobs and livelihoods in return for unaffordable salary increases. In the photo you can see  from the quality of the building that, back in 1911, post was a profitable and respectable business, vital for firms and individuals alike. E-commerce has not really caught on here as it has in the UK and China. The Royal Mail has gained a new lease of life from the likes of Amazon.com, delivering stacks of parcels all over the country. I still get the odd radio station verification (QSL) in the snail mail along with local postage stamps. I don't hang about waiting for the postman to arrive anymore but when one does come it gives me a real kick.

China's has its way

I recently read Evan Osnos' book on China, "Age of Ambition". It was fascinating and had the virtue of following a number of diverse characters through time, a sort of longitudinal study. But I felt it had too much ideology about the inevitability of democracy - the ticking clock for China. I don't seem to detect that feeling among Chinese themselves, although I can't claim to have my finger firmly on the pulse. A few years ago I read all the biographies of Han Suyin in which she covers the worst of the Mao periods, inter alia. Some criticised her for being too forgiving of Mao. But when I look at China today I don't detect nearly such vitriolic hatred of Mao and his appalling destructions within the country as I do in Europe/USA. Perhaps it's just human nature: you move on, the new generation forgets the past, especially if you have to live there. This is all mixed up with big doses of patriotism and ancestral memory. I do follow the company Tencent closely and see the explosion of internet usage, e-commerce, classified ads and mobile phones across China. Services of all kinds are dramatically spreading through cities and provinces, rich and poor alike. That all has a very long way to run, most people have no idea. You see JD.Com delivery scooters everywhere and there are said to be over 1000 peer-to-peer money lenders, I could go on.... Osnos' book seemed to examine China via a pre-selected lense, whereas it's more likely developing along its own course, veering this way and that but never actually conforming to a handed-down ideology from the 'West'. We see the same thing in many economists' analyses of 'Africa' (all 50 plus countries!), where if only Africa adopted this way of doing things, or that, it could more quickly resemble/replicate the rich countries. Get real! As with China, 'Africa' is going to do things its way and there will be many different ways. Ditto India.

Roll up for Beijing Line 6

Just had two weeks in Shanghai, Chengdu, Suzhou and Beijing. Instead of the international hotel I hired an airbnb apartment about 8 stops east on the 6 line in Beijing. Nary a westerner in sight! It was riveting. Catching the crowded tube each morning was fascinating. Not nearly as scary as some people warned but hectic nonetheless. It helped that I've lived in London on and off for years and know how to take the knocks in the Underground.

Actually, the Beijing stations have arrows marking where the train doors are and people stand in an orderly line. The only pressure comes when a crowd is desperate to get on and perceive there still to be enough space. Then there's a shove which is a bit like a rugby scrum when the ball goes in. But there's no aggro really. There's no point, people do it day after day.

I was with an investment bank for some of the time and those Chinese lunches..... My mother always used to make me clean my plate with the admonition: think of the poor, starving millions in China.... Well, no more, I just couldn't handle all the food. Courses were piling up around my place setting.

We have a Chinese Tiger Mum story from London. She used to arrive about an hour early at our son's prep school in Hampstead so that she could park right outside the exit. So when her boys came out she would whisk them home quickly to start their homework. The one son is at uni now studying.... Egyptology, go figure.

The Great Wall of Smaze

Flying into Shanghai I was greeted by a layer of haze that covered the entire region. It was tempting to label this smog as I've heard so much about the hazardous levels of the stuff in Chinese cities. We've heard about how the smog levels in Beijing dropped significantly during the Olympics as the government forced loads of factories to shut down for the duration of the event. But it turns out smog isn't always visible. I was in Beijing too, and there were days when perfectly clear blue sky emerged on a virtually windless day as high cloud lifted. But the recorded air quality index for the day didn't change that much. I flew from Chengdu to Beijing one morning and didn't see the ground at all through the entire trip (about 1500 kms). I'm sure that wasn't all pollution. Maybe China's just a hazy country :). During my two week trip the recorded AQI levels in Beijing and Shanghai were 'moderate' despite the hot days. Chengdu was higher, in the 'unhealthy' range. Back in Cape Town I went surfing in a big north-wester at Muizies and there was quite a haze over the bay. Cape Town also has its pollution problems but that day the air was clean and sweet. The pic is a section of the Great Wall of China. Now there's a place to get some exercise. And is that smog in the distance?