Celebs count down to 2016
From weddings to losing weight, 2016 – the Chinese Year of the Monkey – looks set to be a busy one.
|||Durban - New Year is a time for parties and personal stocktaking and some of KwaZulu-Natal’s leading lights have big things planned for New Year’s Eve and 2016.
From weddings to losing weight, 2016 – the Chinese Year of the Monkey – looks set to be a busy one.
Roxi Wardman
Regular gym sessions, a wedding, bigger premises for her Spoonful Eatery and “munch munch” more features on Roxi Wardman’s menu for 2016.
The life of the tattooed, pink-haired former train driver has been a whirlwind since becoming the latest Masterchef SA.
In June, Wardman opened her Spoonful Eatery in Windermere Centre.
The café has proven so successful that, within months, it outgrew its premises.
“Its really been a hectic year. I learned a lot of lessons in business and realised that I should have started off bigger, gone big from the start. We are in the process of getting new premises in uMhlanga but there is a lot of work to do before we can sign the lease,” said Wardman.
She plans to open the new Spoonful Eatery by March, just two months before her wedding to boyfriend, Byron Maclou, who proposed exactly a year ago on Tuesday. “I’m not really into wedding planning and I get really sidetracked, so we put it on the backseat and only today we realised it’s in four months, so we need to get going.”
Wardman says she will bake her own wedding cake.
The three tiers will consist of a cake in her favourite flavour, one in Maclou’s and the other will be “something really yummy”.
But before she tucks into that, Wardman plans to get into the gym, eat out less and live a healthier life.
As for her fans, she wishes them nothing but the best for the new year and says she hopes their dreams are fulfilled this year, as hers have been.
She says they should keep tabs on her via social media for news on the new Spoonful.
Logie Naidoo
Durban will be seeing less of eThekwini Municipality Speaker Logie Naidoo in 2016.
And that’s not only because his number one resolution is to lose at least 10kg, but because his son will join his sister at the University of Cape Town.
“The nest will be quiet without them, so I have to make sure I spend more time at home with Jeevie (Logie’s wife) or make sure she is included in my plans for all the functions I attend,” he said. Having his wife accompany him will serve a dual purpose, in that he will have company and someone to slap his wrist when he approaches the buffet table.
“With all the functions, events and dinners I attend, it will take a lot of discipline not to cheat, but I will be very strict and very careful about what I consume because I have realised I never used to be fat and as I get older, I need to be in better shape,” Naidoo said with a chuckle.
The diet will match his New Year’s resolution to take in the beautiful beachfront from the seat of his bicycle, which he says he has used once or twice in four years.
“What better way to enjoy the beautiful development on the beachfront?”
The upgrade of the Golden Mile, Naidoo believes, has been a development highlight for the municipality.
“In 2015 we faced a lot of challenges, but I am quite happy that the housing programme is on the go and although Durban has achieved every accolade you can think of, one which had evaded us was a clean audit and we achieved that in 2015.”
He believes 2016 will be the year of radical economic development for city projects like Cornubia, the Point Waterfront, at Virginia Airport and the Dube Trade Port continuing at full steam or starting in earnest.
Of his own contribution as speaker for five years, Naidoo said it has been challenging and, “hopefully on reflection, people will say that I have done a good job”.
With his wife, Jeevie, a social worker, Naidoo will ring in the new year at a party at a luxury resort after “a quiet” dinner with friends. For this special night, he bought a Madiba-style batik shirt while on a family holiday in Bali last week.
Hank McGregor
Having won his sixth world canoe senior marathon, Hank McGregor’s 2016 will be all about staying on top. “It’s one thing getting to the top and a whole new game staying there. This has been a long year and one of my best in paddling. Retaining the world title for the third consecutive year and sixth overall was fantastic and a dream come true.”
McGregor said it was an honour to be recognised in his own province with the KZN Sportsman of the Year award.
He may be on top of his game when it comes to paddling but the new dad jokes that it is only “when my wife and I get real confidence that we’ll have another, maybe in 2016, we’ll see”.
Becoming a father has been his greatest achievement and he looks forward to growing as a parent as his son grows.
“Like being a parent where every day is a new journey, paddling is the same; every race is a new race, it could be my last, I never know so it’s all about giving it my all.”
Mpumelelo Bhulose
This was a comeback year for Mpumelelo Bhulose, who graces screens as Muzi “Gxabhase” Xulu in the SABC’s Uzalo.
Referring to Uzalo being shot in KwaMashu, Bhulose said: “It’s been a great re-introduction and I get to showcase the craft I love and have been trying for years to show people. It could not have come at a better time or place.”
Having grown up there, he said, it was meaningful to tell the story in the township which shaped him and which was so often misunderstood by those who did not experience life there.
“It was a great influence to have grown up in KwaMashu and understanding that allows me to do a good job on Uzalo,” he said.
The role has Bhulose back into the spotlight, not only landing him on many a Facebook page as the “Man Crush” but for more meaningful reasons.
“Next year I will launch a project called Amasiko Ehlangena (Cultures United), which will bring kings, queens and other cultural leaders of all races in South Africa together into a socially cohesive space. “The event will be a platform to learn about and from each other, to understand each other’s cultures to eradicate tribalism, xenophobia and just the ignorance caused by not knowing anything about the next ethnic group,” said Bhulose.
It will also be an opportunity for crafters of indigenous artefacts to get organised, sell their products for what their “pieces of a culture” are worth.
“If there is no value in the things we make, which are part of our culture, our kids won’t follow suit and that will be a loss of the craft and history.”
Bhulose said it had been a 13-year road to the launch of Cultures United. This showed that if one did a good job and was committed, goals were achievable.
Mo Magic
It’s not to a magic wand that Mo Magic entrusts his destiny, but to the universe, and he encourages his fans to do the same in 2016.
“In pursuing one’s dreams, my attitude has been to do the best I can with the resources available, where I am, and trust the universe to handle the details. I’d advocate the same for others.”
The electronic engineer-turned magician has had an enchanted year realising his dream of sharing “the experience of magic with as many South Africans as possible via TV.
His show, Magic with Mo, has been a success and is in the list of 10 most-watched shows on SABC3.
“I’m thrilled that South Africans are tuning in each week for the magic,” he said.
Next year, he wants to take the illusions to audiences in live shows across South Africa. He lives with no regrets but aims for a better work-life balance in 2016.
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