The only radio show and podcast dedicated to Africa’s richest square mile, the weekly Sandton Times Hour brings the pages of The Sandton Times to life with an array of entertaining and informative interviews blended with the best music, every week on Mix 93.8, Mondays at 7pm.
- Daniel Silke, Director of the Political Futures Consultancy discusses the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA) and what’s next.
- Artist Ferdi B Dick shares some background to his ‘Lion’s Breath Exhibition’ at the Everard Read Gallery and Circa Gallery.
- Kylie Kaiser, Florist By Kylie, catches up on some last minute Valentine’s Day flower prices and wrapping bouquets in cash.
- 13-year old Giselle Niemand connects from New York Fashion Week where she’s walked the ramp for designer Mitch Desunia.
- Visit www.sandtontimes.co.za for more stories.
The Sandton Times Hour is the go-to weekly digest on greater Sandton including fabulous food spots, luxurious lifestyle bits, first-hand travel tips, motoring notes, and world-class entertainment and so much more beyond the borders of greater Sandton. In this week’s episode [Edition 102 | Week 7] The Sandton Times covers an array of topical news as well as these interviews:
2023 STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS (SONA) with Director of the Political Futures Consultancy Daniel Silke
Daniel Silke is one of the most impassioned keynote speakers and top political economists in South Africa. His talent lies in fusing political and economic trends into extremely comprehensible but insightful live and recorded lectures. He has more than 15 years of experience giving insightful talks on political and economic trends in the world, Africa, and South Africa, as well as offering crucial strategic foresight for both major and small commercial enterprises. Daniel is frequently sought after by both domestic and international media outlets.
For more on Daniel Silke, visit his website.
LION’S BREATH EXHIBITION with Artist Ferdi B Dick
Ferdi B. Dick started his work as a 3D animator before switching to physically made sculptures using cutting-edge computational technologies, traditional lost-wax bronze casting methods, and crystal casting methods.
In order to give animals a voice through poses and postures, his work focuses on capturing their natural movements and feelings. A seven-piece collection of crying unicorns and bears, South African fauna, and an expanding collection of birds, dogs, and cats are just a few of the sculptures he has produced. Ferdi B Dick has participated in several group exhibitions both nationally and internationally, including in South Africa, Belgium, Spain, China, and Taiwan. Some notable highlights include showing at the Future Art Fair in Taipei, Taiwan in January 2020.
He has also had success in the realm of public sculptures, completing his first public sculpture in 2021, a 5-metre high Ox kicking up a splash, and 3 large tiger sculptures in 2022 in China. Recently, he completed an inflatable public sculpture of a 7 metre rabbit for the city of Taiyuan in 2023. He is currently working on a public sculpture for the city of Zhanjiang, China, featuring a massive 9-metre high stylistic whale with a water splash. The sculpture will be located in a prime spot in the new coastal CBD of Zhanjiang International Riverside.
His grandfather loved going to the Kruger National Park at every occasion and the lions were his favourite animal. One of his favourite things to do with Ferdi and the kids was to surprise them with an unexpected powerful growl. It was his way of connecting. The interesting thing about a lion when it growls, is that it sticks its tongue out and this reminds Ferdi of the posture in yoga called ‘lion’s breath’. The pose requires participants to stick out their tongue and make a loud growl sound to release built up emotions, tension, and pressure, repeating that sound over again in the releasing posture.
With Lion’s breath, Ferdi wanted to create a breathing space – a sort of reprieve from tension. He has not chosen to focus on any political and social issues as there is no shortage in South Africa and he thinks a lot of artists have explored this arena – it’s well documented. The Lion Breath Exhibition is more about letting go, creating a breathing space, to alleviate stress, and to heal from the daily routine.
Opposing the lion is the dog, playfully and interacting with the lion in a humoristic way, mirroring his action. The dog is his trademark character and always features as a theme in Ferdi’s artwork because he loves dogs, and dogs are ‘silly beings’ teaching humans to relax.
To further complement these pieces, the exhibition features a very modern and playful take on the sculptures by casting them in colourful crystal. The transparency, colour and brilliance plays around with the light, highlighting its form and making them a statement piece in any classic or contemporary home.
Lion’s Breath Exhibition details:
Dates: February 2 to March 11, 2023
Venue: Everard Read Gallery and Circa Gallery – 6 Jellicoe Ave, Rosebank
Entrance: Free Admission
Ferdi currently resides and works in Cape Town, South Africa. Discover more about Ferdi B Dick on his website.
VALENTINE’S DAY FLOWERS with Florist By Kylie Owner Kylie Kaiser
Former aviation instructor Kylie Kaiser used the career chaos as a result of the 2020’s pandemic to pursue her floral dream. Nothing says ‘I love you’ at Valentine’s Day quite like flowers. But an arrangement wrapped in money says a whole lot more, according to the latest gifting craze.
While red roses are the stock standard for Valentine’s Day, for example, it should not exclude other flowers, arrangements that tell a story or a narrative. This could be how a couple perhaps met, or the story of a stormy relationship that ended in unbridled romance, or a fairytale of love at first sight. While red roses always share deep love and passion, deeper meaning and personalised, creative interpretations of love could add deeper meaning to an arrangement. And it doesn’t have to break the bank, unless you decide to wrap those red roses in R100 or R200 notes.
Flower colour selection can be as important as the type of flower. She listed some of the more common characteristics associated with different colours of flower. Red embraces love, passion, desire, strength, courage while pink speaks to grace, gentleness, joy, admiration and love. Yellows share joy, friendship, happiness, hope and gratitude while white flowers communicate innocence, purity, truth, peace and sympathy.
Purple flowers denote royalty, luxury, power, nobility and dignity while hues of blue touch on themes of trust, peace, calm, stability and serenity. Orange delivers a dose of energy to an arrangement, exploding with feelings of enthusiasm, attraction, excitement, warmth and happiness. It is the thought that counts, so make it count.
A classic round bouquet of red roses is always a popular choice, but there are many other options to choose from as well. A cascading bouquet of pink and red blooms is a stunning choice, while a bouquet of loose stems arranged in a vase can be just as beautiful. If you’re feeling creative, consider making your own bouquet using a mix of flowers, herbs, and greenery.
For further information, visit the ByKylie flowers website.
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK with Model Giselle Niemand
Scouted by agents from Disney, Nickelodeon, Eugene Modelling Agency, Artistic Artists, and now, designer Mitch Desunia for his show at New York Fashion Week, Giselle Niemand’s career is only getting started, just as she breaks into her teens.
She balances working in the entertainment industry with completing her school work remotely in the digital age. The diligent young lady is naturally talented in acting, dancing, singing, and modelling, whether on the dance floor, the runway, or while holding the microphone.
2023 promises to be a major year for the youthful Giselle, with New York Fashion Week being the next big stepping stone in a promising career.
Follow her weekly engagements on her Instagram account.
Sandton Times Hour Music Playlist
- Jax Jones & Calum Scott – Whistle
- Robin Schulz feat. James Blunt – OK
- David Guetta x MistaJam x John Newman – If You Really Love Me (How Will I Know)
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