Late last year, we received an e-mail from Gustav Preller, a South African businessman in a previous life who has now turned to writing.  Gustav penned Icarus over Hong Kong and will be introducing his first novel to audiences in Hong Kong next month.

Preller, the grandson of Gustav Preller, one of the originators of the Afrikaans language, was born in Cape Town into a well known South African literary and artistic family. After an international career in business he has now turned his hand to writing.

Icarus over Hong Kongis set in Durban and Hong Kong and relates the story of a fall of an investment banker who lived the high-life in, amongst other, the city that we call home.  In it rookie trader Rorke Summers flies too high. High stakes, high bonuses, high living – in Hong Kong and Macau he is seduced by them all. He is caught up in triangles of passion, betrayal and death. And in the most feared triangle of all: that of the Chinese triads.

Pegasus Publishers has the following in their website:

Icarus Over Hong Kong

by Gustav Preller

Pages: 286

Imprint: Vanguard Press

ISBN: 978184386507 0

Was there no one who could help him? So many people, so orderly out in the sun, but he might as well have been alone deep inside Mrs Song’s alleyway. The blade would find him. He’d lie bleeding in the heat and the man would simply melt away.

Like the mythical young Icarus, rookie trader Rorke Summers flies too high. High stakes, high bonuses, high living – in Hong Kong and Macau he is seduced by them all. He is caught up in triangles of passion, betrayal, and death. And in the triangle most feared in the East: that of the Chinese triads.

All the while, on the trading floor, Rorke has to cope with his unrelenting job under the watchful eye of his boss, Quinn.

Will he find the middle way or will he meet the fate of Icarus? And whom does he choose: Vicky, the girl of his dreams back home, seductive Kristin, or the exotic Ling?

Icarus over Hong Kong moves at a fast pace between the trading floor, the casinos of Macau and the teeming streets of HongKong, exposing the money-driven world of investment banking as well as the dark world which exists beneath Hong Kong’s glittering veneer.

Bruce Fowler of the SA Association in Hong Kong (SAAHK) has kindly arranged for Gustav Preller to introduce his first novel to audiences in Hong Kong, as well as giving a talk about the time he spent in Hong Kong and how it inspired him to write this book.  He will also talk about his transition from a corporate life to the “lonely life” of a writer.

Catch Gustav Preller at The Foreign Correspondents Club (FCC) on Friday 25th February 2010

I picked up my copy of Icarus over Hong Kong at Bookazine at the Central Ferry Pier (HK$139.00)  My missus is very into Malcolm Gladwell these days so, as soon as I finish all 4 of his books (Eish!) I will get stuck into Icarus Over Hong Kong.

Belowe.

1995 Rugby World Cup winner and Springbok rugby player Marius Hurter (the most aptly-named tight-head rugby player in the world) spoke at the Gala Charity Premiere of the movie Invictus.

(Picture insert: Ms. Tembi Tambo, Consul-General: SA Consulate in Hong Kong/Macau)

This is Part 2 of his chat with Robbie McRobbie of the Hong Kong Rugby Union:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, the most aptly-named tighthead prop in world rugby… Marius Hurter!” 

This is how (HKRFU Head of Rugby Services) Robbie McRobbie introduced the 1995 Rugby World Cup winner and Springbok Marius Hurter.  The occasion was the Gala Charity Premiere of the movie Invictus at the  Grand Cinema, Elements Mall in Kowloon West (Hong Kong).

The looong evening started with a meet-and-greet at the downstairs bar/restaurant WildFire, part of Hong Kong’s Igor’s Hospitality Group.  Hong Kong RFU’s Robbie McRobbie kick-started events by asking the big man a number of questions relating to his experiences around Rugby World Cup 1995.  Marius aka. Shrek (watch the video for an explanation) responded by recounting his memories and some insights into his fellow-players, which were lapped up by the guests, especially those about Os Du Randt and (obviously the skollie/riff-raff in the 1995 Springbok squad) James Small, allegedly a minor-celebrity amongst the Robben Island prisoner population at the time!

Later, in the cinema lobby, he faced the local Hong Kong media, enticed by some strategically invited (and well-labelled with Invictus stickers) schlebs, also called pseudo-models in Hong Kong parlance.  The big man was clearly enamoured by the attention as the MC-lady translated his answers into Cantonese.  Then again, maybe he just loved her shoes!

Thanks to Elite Step Asia Limited, Howzit-HongKong.com was fortunate to be seated in Cinema 6 (some 600 folks attended the event spread between different cinema’s) with the VIP’s including, of course, Marius Hurter, HKRFU officials, sponsors’ representatives as well as the Consul-General of the South African Consulate in Hong Kong, the charming Ms. Tembi Tambo.

The extended  movie, that lasted until midnight, was clearly a hit with the South Africans in attendance who enjoyed the Souf Effrican eksent (South African accent) during the movie.  My personal favourite was Chester Williams’ (played by McNeil Hendricks) “I don’t think, because it influences my game.” 

Another hit with the guests was the seats that vibrated with heavy bass, especially when the SAA Boeing roared over the Ellis Park Stadium during the movie!   

Howzit-HongKong.com was lucky to capture Marius’ chat on the evening, albeit with a dinky point-and-click.  The evening was set in a busy, dark-ish bar, but enjoy Part 1 (Part 2 to follow):

I am hearing the words ‘2010 is Africa’s year’ all over the media these days. 

Of course the words refer to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup that kicks off in South Africa in June later this year.  People are hoping that a successful World Cup on Africa’s soil (a first in soccer history) will help dispel the notion that Africa is the so-called ‘dark continent’where poverty, corruption and indeed AIDS are all-pervasive and that nothing good comes out of Africa.  “TIA… this is Africa” said Leonardo DeCaprio’s character in the movie Blood Diamond.

The African Cup of Nations (ACN) that kicks off in Angola today, was supposed to be a curtain-raiser of sorts to the World Cup.  Another major sports event to help prove to the world that the faith put in Africa to host the biggest sports event in the world was the right decision.  That a group of ’terrorists‘ decided to use the ACN to further their own ideals, put a serious bump in the road toward SA 2010 (despite the South African President’s statements to the contrary). 

I read an interesting article in today’s South China Morning Post titled: “Cup of good hope.“  While David Smith, writing for the Guardian News & Media, could have been referring to the African Cup of Nation or even the Soccer World Cup, he was actually writing about the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

While the William Webb Ellis Cup indeed brought South Africans together in 1995, Africans also need the African Cup of Nations and FIFA World Cup to do likewise.  This time for the entire continent.

Ke Nako. Celebrate Africa’s Humanity

(Click on the scans to view larger in new tab)

(Ke Nako. Celebrate Africa’s Humanity is the official slogan of the 2010 World Cup)

While Invictus-mania has long since left the South African shores (it premiered on December 11, 2009), the Clint Eastwood-directed movie about former President Nelson Mandela’s role in the famous 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph will finally hit cinemas in Hong Kong later this month.  I saw the following poster at the newly opened (and half-finished) iSquare mall in Tsim Sha Tsui:

Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as (then Springbok rugby captain) Francois Pienaar starts at UA Cinemas on January 14, 2010.

Talking about Invictus-mania, here’s the release from SA’s Nu Metro cinemas, followed by the movie trailer on Zoopy.com:

His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.

The inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly-elected president Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa’s underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match.

Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Director: Clint Eastwood

Music: Roger Kellaway

Genre: Biography, Drama

Also from zoopy.com, the main actors in their character roles:

Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar:

Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela: