There is no knowledge that is not power

Driving to work this morning, I passed a sign by the road announcing a new security complex, called Dombeya Village. At first this seems refreshing, a break from the tradition of naming these complexes after Italian or Spanish towns, or Cape wine farms. Dombeya is a genus of indigenous trees, and quite lovely they are, with rounded furry leaves and masses of pink or yellow flowers in spring. However, their common name is drolpeer (Afrikaans for turd pear). So now I have to drive past Turd Pear Village everyday when I go to work. Pity the ignorants who will soon live there...

On another note, a woman we helped in the shop today made some nasty comments about the people who work in the coffee shop. She seems to have mistaken a bookshop for a library,in that absolute peace and quiet has to reign. Apparently, the shouts of "Two tall decaf lattes!" from the baristas are distracting and "actually quite pathetic", whatever that means. It's a busy mall; how can you come here to relax? Surely you should spend your Sunday morning at church/in the park/at an antiques fair/at home in bed/baking things? Personally I like the shouting: it makes the shop sound vibrant and alive. If I wanted quiet, I would have gone to work at a library.