We started an epic game of Monopoly last friday.

The banker - that's me - gave Leigh-Ann R150 000 because rehab is very expensive.
Mabale received R2100 because she's a P.D.I.
And Sias received R300, because he was an Apartheid spy, and received plenty of money during the days of Apartheid.

The board pieces play a crucial role in this game. Leigh-Ann is quietly confident with her iron, but isn't saying anything. Mabale isn't too happy with her General Louis Botha statue, because she isn't sure who he was. And Sias is rather satisfied with his wheelbarrow, because he comes from a family of farmers. 

Will this tense game of Monopoly continue today? Nobody really knows at this stage.

It's Spring, and Thabo, Sias, Damon and I have taken the plunge... We've weighed ourselves and publicly announced the numbers, with the aim of losing a few before the 1st of December. Here's the latest...

Thabo
20 July: 70kg
27 July: 71kg
03 Aug: 71kg
10 Aug: 71kg
17 Aug: 71kg
24 Aug: 72kg
31 Aug: 73kg
10 Sep: 73.5kg
14 Sep: 73kg
21 Sep: 73kg
28 Sep:
05 Oct:
12 Oct:
19 Oct:
26 Oct:
02 Nov:
09 Nov:
16 Nov:
23 Nov:
30 Nov:
(total 3kg gain - which is a good thing, because he's super-skinny)

Gareth
20 July: 88kg
27 July: 86kg
03 Aug: 86kg
10 Aug: 85kg
17 Aug: 85kg
24 Aug: 85kg
31 Aug: 86kg
07 Sep: 86kg
10 Sep: 85kg
14 Sep: 85kg
21 Sep: 85kg
28 Sep:
05 Oct:
12 Oct:
19 Oct:
26 Oct:
02 Nov:
09 Nov:
16 Nov:
23 Nov:
30 Nov:
(total 3kg loss)

Sias
20 July: 92kg
27 July: 92kg
03 Aug: 93kg
10 Aug: 92kg
17 Aug: 92kg
24 Aug: 93kg
31 Aug: 93kg
10 Sep: 94kg
14 Sep: 93kg
21 Sep: 94kg
28 Sep:
05 Oct:
12 Oct:
19 Oct:
26 Oct:
02 Nov:
09 Nov:
16 Nov:
23 Nov:
30 Nov:
(total 2kg gain)

Damon
20 July: 130kg* (132)
27 July: 130kg*
03 Aug: 130kg*
10 Aug: 128kg
17 Aug: 128kg
24 Aug: 129kg
31 Aug: 130kg*
10 Sep: 129kg
14 Sep: 130kg
21 Sep: 131kg 
28 Sep:
05 Oct:
12 Oct:
19 Oct:
26 Oct:
02 Nov:
09 Nov:
16 Nov:
23 Nov:
30 Nov:
(total 1kg loss)

* This is according to our scale in the studio, which only goes up to 130kg. He clocked it. Upon being weighed at a local butchery (!) it was revealed that his actual weight is 132kg.

Former union leader, and now provincial premiere, Mbazima Shilowa, is on the run. Children are after him, claiming he is their father. Shilowa has started using tinted windows, but that’s proving to be inaffective, because he has “Gauteng Provincial Legislature” painted in the side of his car.

Cape Town president Helen Zille has called on the government to scrap exchange controls completely, because her Cayman Island account is just about to mature.

Osama bin Laden’s son is getting divorced. His wife wasn’t happy because there were very little family get-togethers. She hadn’t even met her father-in-law yet. “What, is he ashamed of me?", were her last words.

And in your finance – a bird in the hand, is there because it can’t fly, buy a new one.