Quiz-Night with Tony!
Ushering in the festive season like - well - a boss. Friendly competition, fun and banter reigned supreme as Tony: quiz-master extraordinaire coaxed every bit of general knowledge from our 2015-tired brains.
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| Pretoria Chapter - The Social One |
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| Winning Team |
4 teams battled it out but for once we really were all winners !
Forging friendships and creating fond memories to last us until we meet again at the 2016 year kick-off bash - spoiler alert...beer will flow,
humans will slide !
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| Team: 'Not Sure' |
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| Team 'Big Bang' |
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| Team: 'Army Ants' |
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| Quiz-Master Tony - really a Master! |
The Largest Fossil Homonin find in Africa
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| Rick Hunter |
Stargazing at a campfire, admiring sweeping vistas from a mountaintop or simply catching the first glimpse of the ocean enroute to you favorite vacation, we have all pondered the origins and vast greatness of creation and us the created.
Little wonder then we had a full-house as we readied ourselves to learn of the adventures of Rick Hunter a caver cum budding anthropologist who helped uncover historic clues to these age old questions.
The historical and scientific value of the treasure chest Rick Hunter stumbled upon is literally priceless and will remain long after the considerable media awareness and trending have subsided.
We were entertained not only by a jam packed array of photo's and diagrams but also actual video footage of Rick squeezing his frame through a space normally reserved for std soccer ball - it left us gasping for breath, much like our contortionist host !
More info on Rick and Homo Naledi? National Geographic Wikipedia
Excitement builds at Mensa Pretoria !
On 7 October 2015 Mensa Pretoria celebrated the 2015 Annual General by electing the 2016 committee. Anticipation rose with the promise of challenges headed, in no uncertain terms, by the
2016 MENSA SA ANNUAL GATHERING.
Gratitude to Tim Knights who conveyed absolute charisma in facilitating the committee selection process and as such it is clear why he is a favourite among all Mensa chapters, turning a potentially tedious process into an all-together enjoyable one.
Check back soon for a a brief(enough) biography of the committee members and their portfolios.
Botanical Gardens Day Out
This year, on Saturday 24 January, Mensa Pretoria decided to try out a more informal setting with a wonderful venue inside of the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. It was a really lovely event where a jumping castle and child minder was provided for kids and informative and interesting past-times were presented by well-versed speakers.
The Speaker-topics were both linked to our out-and-about nature theme. We had a presentation on Bonsai crafting, a topic which even had the kids sit right up front at the tables. It was immensely interesting to see all of the different styles of crafting these trees as well as seeing what different types of trees turn into after several years of miniature pruning.
The presentation was also wrapped up by a live demonstration, where our speaker took a young tree and demonstrated how he was shaping it with special gauge wire, and cutting at the right nodules on the branches.
After the Bonsai session, we were fortunate enough to enjoy a presentation by the Ikebana society of Pretoria, lead by their chairperson who has received a special honour from the Emperor of Japan for her contributions and promotion of the Ikebana discipline in South Africa.
Ikebana is all about building floral arrangements which are seasonal and adhere to certain strict guidelines. I will now shamelessly paste a Wikipedia entry on the approach as I could not possibly explain the approach to this art better myself:
More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the idea of floral arrangement as a collection of particolored or multicolored arrangement of blooms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. Though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.
Another aspect present in ikebana is its employment of minimalism. That is, an arrangement may consist of only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalks and leaves. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolizeheaven, earth, and man and in others sun, moon, and earth. The container is a key element of the composition, and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction.
After these great sessions, BraaiBoy was on hand to serve up a tasty braai and everyone started settling down with friends new and old, to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
Now enough with the talking, have a look at some photos taken on the day.
To properly get into the swing of things, we would like to invite you to Mensa Pretoria’s Annual Year Kick-Off Function. What better way than to ease into the New Year with good food, good company and a lekker kuier?
The details of our Year Kick-Off Function are as follows:
- VENUE: Pretoria National Botanical Gardens Environmental Education Centre; 2 Cussonia Avenue, Brummeria, Pretoria. For a map to the venue, go tohttps://www.google.co.za/maps/place/pretoria+national+botanical+garden/@-25.736371,28.277512,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xdce8ac75d6f61010?sa=X&ei=JXWvVJDFN4blUpaegoAO&ved=0CJoBEPwSMA8
- DATE: Saturday, 24 January 2015
- TIME: 09:00 – 15:00
- CONCEPT: Picnic-styled lunch in the form of a braai. Mensa Pretoria will contribute towards your access fee to the Gardens, as well as the braaied meat and salads. Our very own BraaiBoy will take care of the braai and salads, so you only need to bring your own drinks/refreshments, snacks and whatever else you would like to munch on during the day.
- ENTERTAINMENT: We will have two speakers addressing us and giving a demonstration on Ikebana and Bonsai. For the little ones we have organized a jumping castle, as well as a child minder to help keep an eye on them.
- COSTS: For paid-up Mensa-members, as well as their spouses/partners/significant others and children, the costs will be R50.00 per adult and R20.00 per child under 12 years. Mensa Pretoria will sponsor the remainder of the costs, which will include access to the gardens, food and entertainment. If you would like to bring along more friends, they are welcome to join, but would have to book at the full price of R120.00 per adult and R80.00 per child under 12 years of age. Please note that booking is essential – you will not be able to gain access to the event without your booking having been confirmed.
- WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING ALONG: As this event will take the form of a picnic, you must please bring your own blankets and chairs. We are hoping for nice and sunny weather, so bring along your umbrellas and gazebos, if you have them. Remember to bring your own plates and cutlery, drinks and snacks.
- HOW TO BOOK: Please forward your name and membership number, as well as the name(s) of your +1 and additional guests (if applicable), to events.pta@mensa.org.za . You will receive a confirmation e-mail along with the payment details. Forward proof of payment to the same address once done. Please make sure that your full booking particulars and payment reach us by no later than Wednesday, 21 January 2015, to enable us to confirm the numbers to our suppliers and hosts.
Should you have any queries, you are welcome to contact me, or any one of your trusty committee members.
We are hoping to see all of you there!
Kind regards
Beverley and the Mensa Pretoria Committee
