2009
Kearsney College – Botha’s Hill

14-15 August 2009

Upbeat 2009 is a smorgasbord of events offering something for all tastes and all ages - laid back Jazz on Friday evening, fun cabaret with a powerhouse of talent on Saturday evening, and in-between the riotously funny-man of South African humour Mike Naicker, talented youth performing in 'Refresh' and Kearsney's musical ‘Return To The Forbidden Planet’; the likes of which hasn't been seen outside the West End!

I can't wait to see 'GIRLS BEHAVING BADLY'Four gorgeous girls turn up the heat with a fast-paced look at all the naughty girls' in music - from Diana Ross to Britney, Amy & Madonna. It's cheeky, it's fun and with stylish choreography and stunning costumes.You're sure to get to your feet as they belt out hits from Bette Midler, Pussycat Dolls, Gwen Stefani, & Tina Turner and even include my type of oldies from Billie Holiday, Connie Francis & Nancy Sinatra. It is Supper-theatre-style format so you can bring your own hamper or purchase from the Festival Food Court...(Shelly McLean, Marion Loudon, Janna Ramos-Violante and Elizabeth Perkins)

Now in its sixth year, UPBEAT FESTIVAL 2009 explores new genres of the arts, to include rhythm & song, bands & jazz, theatre, comedy & choirs, dance & magic, extreme stunts, art, photography & design exhibitions, international award winning ads, handmade crafts, as well as food & wine tastings.

Of added interest this year will be several exhibitions – mixed media art from the Highway community, photography, jewelery and contemporary objects d’art.

The FunZone has jumping castles, swings and a choochoo train for the littlies, to a climbing wall, 75m zip line, bungee trampoline and mechanical surfboard for bigger thrill-seekers. Between the shows there are various venues for relaxing, including the Coffee shop, food court and beer tent.

The Festival will also feature ‘Room 13’, an international initiative recently introduced to South Africa, in which learners are encouraged to explore their creativity, whilst learning business skills to assist in marketing their artworks.

Long term weather predicts clear skies and warm days so come and enjoy the day with us….

The full programme of events can be viewed on http://www.kearsney.com/
Bookings for the shows can be made either through Computicket
http://www.computicket.com/ / 083 915 8000 or
via the internet
http://www.computicket.com/web/festival/upbeat_festival_2009/1214395/
or Mrs Brigette Oakes in the music department (031 765 9659).

Subject to availability; tickets can be purchased on the day of the show from the campus Festival Box Office.

Pacemaker hangs from neck...

Just when I think I've seen and heard well almost everything...

Pacemaker hangs from neck...

Brajagopal Layek at home, holding the pacemaker.

Picture by Gour Sharma Barakar

An octogenarian in Burdwan wears his pacemaker next to his heart all right but not under his skin. He keeps the machine in a cloth bag that hangs from his neck, and wipes it clean once in a while.

The lean, bespectacled Brajagopal Layek was apparently so fed up with regular infections because of the instrument that he slit open his skin with a blade and prised it out. It’s been hanging over his chest for the past five months.

A pacemaker uses electrical impulses, delivered by electrodes in touch with cardiac muscles, to regulate the beating of the heart. The electrodes still travel from the pacemaker into Layek’s heart.

The 82-year-old resident of Barakar near Asansol said he was fine with this arrangement, but doctors were aghast.

The Asansol cardiologist whom Layek consulted said he was stunned by what he saw. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my 20 years as a doctor and took a snap of him on my phone. But what he has done is not acceptable,” said V.B. Gupta.

Cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar said Layek could contract an infection anytime. “He needs to change the pacemaker immediately and plant it properly far from the infectious area. It is his great luck that he has survived so long like this.”

Layek had spent Rs 1 lakh in 1995 to get the machine implanted at Christian Medical College, Vellore.

For the next 10 years, he was okay, but complications developed thereafter. “My pulse rate went down and I felt dizzy. Our family physician suspected that the battery life of the pacemaker had been exhausted and suggested I contact Vellore,” said Layek, a retired technician of the Damodar Valley Corporation.

Doctors at CMC replaced the old battery with a new one in May 2005.

The going was again fine for Layek, an amateur homoeopath, for the next one year. In November 2005, he visited Vellore for a routine check-up. In the summer of 2006, he developed rashes with itching and a burning sensation on the patch of skin under which the pacemaker had been implanted. “I used to scratch the rashes and the skin became rough above the pacemaker with a burning sensation,” he said.

Vellore doctors told him the machine might have got infected during the battery change. “They sterilised it and shifted it to my left chest. I returned and resumed normal life but only for two years,” Layek said. In October 2008, he again developed rashes, itching and a burning sensation.

“We became fed up with the repeated travelling to Vellore and decided to consult a cardiologist in nearby Asansol. The doctor suspected infection in the pacemaker and suggested an ointment,” said Layek’s elder son Ashish, 45.

But the problem persisted. The Asansol cardiologist then advised Layek to shift the pacemaker to his abdomen because the skin on the left chest was not accepting it. “We again contacted Vellore, which wrote to us to come for another operation. But my father refused to go,” said Ashish.

This February, Layek used a shaving blade he had sterilised to slice his chest and take out the pacemaker. He applied an antiseptic cream on the cut and put a plaster on it. The wound healed with time.