Graham Street Guys

Pines & Panes

2006-10-23T20:29:00.000+02:00

We live in the new South Africa, the rainbow nation, as evidenced by the cooking at 3 Graham Street. In an effort at reconciliation, a certain unnamed digsmate added a WHOLE pineapple to a sweet and sour mince dish.....mmmmm?!

Well it was certainly sweet, but left a sour taste in the mouth (mainly because the pineapple had been left for ripening on the window sill from a young age and was almost ready to be consumed by the carnivorous pineapple eaters (?!) in the house). See Figure 1 and note the large pineapple chunk on the right next to the fork.

In other news, PG Autoglass finally came to fix our lounge window - the picture below shows the after effects of a swift Bruce Lee-type motion which left a gaping hole and not much pain.

What a week (and it's only Wednesday!)

2006-10-11T21:56:00.000+02:00

Digs has been crazy this week! Our normally self-disciplined, staid and respectable Dean of the digs (wait for it!) did an all-nighter on Monday! Gasp! Shock! Mayhem! Cost! This cataclysmic event has led the Chaplain to surmise that Armageddon is well on its way, and notices are about to go up round digs advising people to prepare for the Rapture! Not only that, but the Chaplain himself (also one of those staid, respectable types) reportedly was seen creeping in to the house at midnight! What he had been up to, no one but his trip knows...as they were with him in this nocturnal rambling... And thus, even those responsible for keeping the digs accountable have been led astray. And in contrast, to balance out these shocking events, it is rumoured that Douglas Philip Hobson attended his early morning lecture on Monday! Can this be? Such radical repentance? Surely not... Though perhaps this is merely scientific proof of that ancient principle of balance... (what was it the Chinese call it? Something starting with a Y...) - it makes sense, after all. Dean does an all-nighter, so Doug gets up early - perfectly understandable. Even Fred was up by 10 am this morning! Seems like it's time for the Warden to step in order this private digs before all of us are called before the elders...

An Ode to Nathan

2006-10-05T07:26:00.000+02:00

Alas, even though winter is changing into spring here in grahamstown a cold chill seems to still remain in the digs of 3 graham str. For our most beloved of digsmates has departed to foreign lands - Oxford University - to pursue another life, and no doubt, to find other digsmates.

But we can all hold onto the memory of seeing Nathan at his farewell, which was attended by almost every person in grahamstown. Speeches were told for approx 4 hours of how great nathan was (which made all of us men in the room desperately insecure). With words like “since I met nathan iv finally found what im looking for”, and him being described as “the perfect man” (note, no names were mentioned here) we can hardly underestimate the impact this man has had on our lives. In fact, a young lady i spoke to even told me of how before she knew nathan she saw him hold the door open for a large group of first year ladies, who after walking through did not even acknowledge or thank him. nathan however smiled kindly carried on his way. Below is a picture of the farewell.

To cope with his departure we have decided to set up a Nathan Shrine in his old room. Ralph describes this as a “Diana-type shrine, so flowers and other memoribilia can be placed there by grievers.” Those of you who wish to remember nathan and all he was to you can come and find peace here. An angel comes and stirs this bed sheets and whoever jumps on the bed first gets a Nathanite anointing imparted – academic, music, spiritual gifts, etc. Classical music is played 24-7 in the shrine and Dean is busy composing "Like a Rose in the Wind" as a farewell tribute.

Some of nathan's old memorabilia which he left behind will soon be auctioned off as well. Items such as his old chemistry laboratory coat, bicycle helmet, deo cans, etc will be going at a starting bid of approx R150 000. The money gained will go towards engraving a monument of nathan's face on signal hill.

A strange thought has begun to enter our minds as to whether or not nathan was actually a real person or not. The bible describes how we should “not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.” With his impeccable character, unwavering love and incredible gifts we are beginning to doubt his mortality, and are becoming increasingly convinced of his infalibility. Oxford concise dictionary gives one definition of an angel as “a person of great beauty, kindness, or virtue” - who can argue that nathan was not all of these? For this reason we are becoming convinced that nathan might have actually been an angel in disguise as a human. (For those of you who disagree with our theology on this issue you obviously never knew nathan.)

This picture is an example of what we mean. Note the angelic smile and his eyes like flaming fire. The position of his right hand seems to indicate he is bestowing some sort of blessing on Jon; who looks humbled in nathan's mighty presence.

Jokes aside, if you visit our digs these days you will feel a certain emptiness that seems to linger in the air. Nathan is sorely missed in our digs, and no doubt across GHT as well. 3 Graham str has seen many occupants pass through its doors, but this was one man who has left a lasting impact on its history. We felt privileged and deeply touched to have lived with him. Surely, who could have asked for a better digsmate?

DIGS NOTICE

2006-09-18T20:11:00.000+02:00

This notice appeared on our digs notice board this week, posted by our chaplain:

"Self-flagelation day - Wednesday, 8pm in lounge!! ("Bring and whip")."

we'll leave it to our reader to comment...

2006-09-14T14:20:00.000+02:00

due to popular demand we have had to post more detailed descriptions of each digsmate. the following are the guys of 3 graham str in their most shining hours.

FRED

2006-09-14T13:58:00.000+02:00

hi, im fred. i have a guitar biologically attached to my waist and and am able to play the same 4 chords continuously for up to 3 hours.

DEAN

2006-09-14T13:52:00.000+02:00

hi, im dean. i have an identity crisis and think that i am actually a saxophone. when i grow up i want to be just like kenny g.

JAMES

2006-09-14T13:35:00.000+02:00

hi, im james. altho i have many different identities - jimmy, munich, etc. - im actually a keith green lookalike in disguise. note the hair net and dumbfounded look as a ploy to conceal my real identity.

NATHAN

2006-09-14T13:31:00.000+02:00

hi, im nathan. im a concert pianist, flutist, and cellist. i speak 12 languages. i know anything about everything. i did my chemistry masters in 9 months. and im off to oxford univ now to do my doctorate.

DOUG

2006-09-14T13:27:00.000+02:00

Hi, im Doug. im the thing that goes bump in the night.

RALPH

2006-09-14T13:22:00.000+02:00

hi, im ralph. i lived in the bush up until about a year ago. then my digsmates found me and taught me about how to use things like cell phones, computers and microwaves. occationally though i get home sick and have to spend the odd night sleeping in a cave in the wild. (for photos of cave see Ralph's blog - peace-on-all-borders.blogspot.com...)

WELCOME!!

2006-09-12T18:36:00.000+02:00

i know... you can hardly believe that 6 such awesome guys can all be found together in the same photo. Welcome to the men of 3 Graham Street, Grahamstown, South Africa. From left to right are james (our warden), fred (our IT dept), ralph (our chaplain), dean (the dean), nathan (the VC), and doug (our cook). Please note the incredible cultivation of facial hair in this photo. This was season we believe the Lord took us through as a digs. It bonded us together as men like never before. We became one; just as many hairs together make one beard, so our many beards together made us into one digs.