Happy 2024 to all IPA Members!!

May this year be a healthy, prosperous, and successful period for each of you!

“Communication” is the name of the game in 2024 and I hope that you will share your thoughts with me, be they positive or negative.  In this way, we can achieve the best possible outcome for our Section of the IPA.

On a personal note, Gordon and I undertook a wonderful trip to Ireland over the festive season.  Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to interact with our IPA colleagues as our family had a full programme scheduled.  However, the Garda definitely had their finger on the pulse if the law-abiding citizens we encountered were any indication.

As an additional tidbit, I thought the following New Year traditions would make for interesting reading …

• In the United States, it is reported that the first day of the new year is all about that brown oval ball of American Football. This is reflected in the live broadcasts and football parties all over the country.

• Another fascinating tradition in Colombia, South America, features people walking around the block with an empty suitcase, hoping that this will usher in a year filled with travel and new experiences.

• While in Japan there is a tradition of eating soba on New Year’s Eve. Slurping these long buckwheat noodles is the custom but the most important thing to remember is to eat without biting off the noodles because their long length symbolizes a long life.

• Finding a load of smashed plates on your front doorstep after midnight could be confusing. However, in Denmark, this would mean good luck for the next 12 months.

• The tradition I’m particularly partial to is that which takes place in Spain. As the clock is about to strike midnight, people reach for grapes.  This is because eating one grape for each time the clock strikes is said to bring good luck for the year ahead.

• And the one that tickled my funny bone on the internet is that in Johannesburg (read Hillbrow), people like to start the year without unwanted items, and they do this by throwing old furniture out of the window. Now that accounts for the fridge and couch I saw one year!!

Our first RAFIKI for 2024 will be issued shortly and I hope it provides interesting reading. Until then I leave you with the following Irish Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

And until we meet again

May God hold you in the hollow of his hand

Best wishes,

Toni Billing
National Editor
IPA South Africa