ADIL MORE’S DANCING EFFORTS PROVE TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
 
Metro FM’s Adil More last night (30 October 2008) became the third celebrity to be booted out of SABC 2's Strictly Come Dancing. Since the outset he was one of the weaker participants and regularly reprimanded for his lack of interest. His eviction also means that his dance partner (and rumoured love interest in the meantime), Robynn Soules will be heading back to Cape Town.
 
More & Soules came head-to-head in the dance-off with Gugu Zulu & dance partner Sarah Cooper. Despite the fact that Adil & Robynn was not the only couple that scored lowest with the judges, viewer votes saved 5FM’s Anele Mdoda & Brandon Eilers Le Riche and Garth Collins & Hayley Bennett from the dreaded dance-off.

THE SCORES

Viewers’ votes account for 50% of the final scores. As per usual, when judges’ scores and viewer votes were tallied, the two couples with the lowest combined scores had to perform their routines again during a dance-off.
 
After the dance-off, the judges’ final votes for which couple they wanted to keep in the competition were:
Tyrone Watkins: Gugu Zulu (“for going into overdrive”)
Salome Sechele: Adil More (“for delivering a technically more sound performance”)
Dave Campbell: Gugu Zulu (“for his determination”)
Head adjudicator Lillian Phororo also vouched for Zulu, immediately booting More out of the competion and back to Metro FM.
 
The judges’ scores (before viewer votes were added) were as follows:
Tessa van Duuren & Grant Esterhuizen: 30
Hlubi Mboya & Khutso Khunou: 29
Cindy Nell & Johnathan Broadway: 29
Rob van Vuuren & Mary Martin: 28
Gugu Zulu & Sarah Cooper: 28
Garth Collins & Hayley Bennett: 27
Adil More & Robynn Soules: 23
Anele Mdoda & Brandon Eilers Le Riche: 23

ANELE

It was a night for murderous passion versus grace and elegance, with couples having to perform either the Paso Doble or the Foxtrot.

An untimely ankle injury made the 100% commitment that 5FM’s Anele Mdoda proved to this competition problematic this week. Judges agreed that her Foxtrot lacked precision timing, her topline was all wrong and that there were too many errors with the footwork. She still managed to get a roaring response from the audience, despite the fact that everyone clearly prefers her to be the hot Latin Mama.

NEXT WEEK

...viewers can expect to be entertained by couples performing either a Salsa or a Viennese Waltz.

... making way for an even HOTTER LINEUP!

VIRGIN FESTIVAL POSTPONED

Virgin Festival - due to have taken place in December this year, has been postponed to early next year. This has been done in order to secure the huge international line-up more in line with what Virgin Festival stands for throughout the world - a line-up to make South Africans proud.

Virgin Mobile CEO Peter Boyd says four out of five of some of the hottest bands to ever grace SA shores are on track, but Virgin Moblie is still not entirely satisfied with the international line-up. “Some of the bands that South Africans kept asking for were simply not available at that time of the year.”

... are not going ANYWHERE!

As a platform for the Road to V winning band, three concerts presented by Virgin Mobile will still be taking place.

Maroon 5, One Republic, The Parlotones & Goldfish will rock the stage on:

13 December @ Coca-Cola Dome, Jhb

14 December @ ICC, Dbn

17 December @ Grand Arena at Grandwest, CT

They'll be lighting up the stage together with Road to V’s winning bands. The grand winner will still open the Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile when it goes live.

With international acts Maroon 5 and One Republic still coming to South Africa, existing ticket sales will still be honoured, only now the concert (on dates mentioned above) will be a curtain raiser for Virgin Festival 2009.

For those who’ve already bought tickets, don't stress!

Current ticket holders have three options:

1.    Hold onto tickets for next year’s Virgin Festival, as they will still be valid;

2.    Get a full refund from Computicket;

3.    Or attend the Virgin Mobile pre-show instead, which will be cheaper, so you will also be entitled to a partial refund of your original ticket price.

Virgin assures it's worth the wait!!!

"SAVE OUR SEABIRDS WEEK" - 03.11.2008 - 08.11.2008

BirdLife South Africa's Albatross Task Force works to reduce the number of seabirds caught in our fisheries each year. The force spends time out at sea, runs workshops for observers and industry, tests experiments to try to reduce the number of birds caught and also educate and raise awarnes among both fishermen and public. They are holding a Save Our Seabirds Week at the beginning of November. The week will involve school education programmes in conjunction with the Two Oceans Aquarium, public talks and will end with a gala dinner and auction event at the Two Oceans Aquarium. BirdLife SA is launching a national SAVE OUR SEABIRDS week from 3 - 8 November 2008, as part of the Save the Albatross Campaign. In collaboration with the Two Oceans Aquarium, SANCCOB and WWF’s SASSI and Responsible Fisheries programmes, there will be a week of public engagement and outreach.

THE PLAN

During this week, the main focus will be a school programme that will involve students visiting the Two Oceans Aquarium. Learners will have an opportunity to interact with and learn about the marine environment, specifically focusing on our seabirds and the need to conserve them. In addition, educators will be visiting schools along the Western Cape coastline, using the Two Oceans Aquarium Outreach education van, crammed with living examples from our coastal environment. The week also involves taking lessons into the classrooms of schools along our coast.

On 7 and 8 November, instructors from the Albatross Task Force together with the Cape Bird Club, will be hosting two separate days of sea scoping. Guides will be available to assist people in learning about our seabirds whilst viewing them from Cape Point Nature Reserve. This is a great opportunity to view pelagic seabirds that rarely seen, such as Shy Albatrosses and White-chinned Petrels. The only cost of this great opportunity is the entrance into Cape Point Nature Reserve. To book a place, or for more information on the sea-scoping events, contact The Albatross Task Force on (021) 419 7347 or albatross@birdlife.org.za.

On Wednesday evening, 5 November, at the Two Oceans Aquarium Auditorium there will be presentations on seabird conservation. Meidad Goren will describe at-sea conservation issues and the role of the Albatross Task Force. Dr. Ross Wanless, the newly appointed Global Seabird Programme Coordinator for Southern Africa, will give a presentation on one of the Southern Ocean’s most spectacular places, Gough Island, and on the conservation problems facing seabirds that breed there. The evening is open to the general public, and there is no entrance fee.

The week culminates with a gala dinner and wine & art auction at the Two Oceans Aquarium, with I&J’s predator tank setting the scene in the background. It will be a sit-down dinner with a keynote address by the highly acclaimed author, photographer and seabird conservation biologist Prof Peter Ryan. In addition to live entertainment there will be a range of items up for auction, including collectable artwork from some of Cape Town’s top, award-winning artists. This is the first time that this exciting annual event is being held, and we hope to raise R100 000 to support Albatross Task Force activities in southern Africa. Tickets cost R500 pp (or R5000 for a table of 10).

MORE INFO

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact the BirdLife SA marine programme office: (021) 419 7347; albatross@birdlife.org.za or visit www.birdlife.org.za