Message to Niall Horan:

One Day Until One Direction - Liam

Full Name: Liam James Payne

Birthplace: Wolverhampton, England

Birthdate: 29 August 1993

Interesting Information:

Liam always had two main extra-curriculum interests: music and sport. However, after he didn’t make his school’s running team he decided to focus more on music. And then, at the age of 14 he entered X Factor and soon joined Niall, Louis, Harry and Zayn to form One Direction. From then on his career has spiralled though his love of music hasn’t faltered. When he was younger, he was a sickly child because one of his livers didn’t work properly. But, in 2012 he received the good news that his kidneys were both working properly and so he is now perfectly healthy!

Why I like Liam:

Liam is sometimes known as the “daddy Directioner” because he is the most mature member of One Direction. I like this about him as he is able to be responsible, kind and protective at the same time. He also admits that he is very clumsy; I can relate to this because I’m also extremely clumsy. Liam is enthusiastic and humble which is a hard combination to balance and yet he manages to do this every day.

What South African food I would ask him to try?

Well, we have A LOT of delicious South African food and I hope Liam will get the chance to try at least one of these foods. If I had to prepare a menu of dishes for him to try I would start off by serving him bobotie (a curried mince dish topped with an egg backed to a crust), after that I would give him two koeksisters (this is basically the South African form of a doughnut soaked in syrup) and a small portion of Milk Tart (a cinnamonny topped baked custartd). Then, when he is feeling peckish before performing I would serve him a bowl of biltong and a few sticks of droëwors (the latter is a delicious dried sausage).

Two Days Until One Direction - Zayn

Name: Zain Javadd Malik (Stage name: Zayn Malik)

Birthday: January 12, 1993 (22 years old)

Birthplace: Bradford, England, United Kingdom

Interesting Information:

Zayn is of Pakistani and English descent and he and his family are Muslim. He has three sisters: Doniya, Waliyha and Safaa. He auditioned for X-Factor with the song Let Me Love You in 2010, when he was 17. He and four other contestants joined together and formed the world-renowned boyband, One Direction. In August 2013, it was announced that Zayn Malik and his girlfriend, Perrie Edwards from Little Mix, were engaged. He has countless tattoos, with one of his arms almost completely covered. On the 25^th of March 2015 (yesterday) it was announced that Zayn Malik was leaving One Direction for good, after taking a week-long hiatus from their current tour, On the Road Again.

Reasons to like Zayn:

I love Zayn because he is incredibly insightful and one can tell that he deliberates for a long while before he makes a decision. He has immense love for his bandmates, his fiancé, his other friends and family, and for his fans. He is caring, loving and kind and all the fans and I love him for that. He has written many songs on the One Direction albums and this just shows how talented he is. He has a beautiful singing voice and he is the only member who can hit all the high notes which give me chills. And on top of all of this he is absolutely gorgeous!

How I feel about Zayn leaving One Direction: 

Zayn leaving has been the most devastating thing that has ever happened to One Direction and to Directioners. Millions of us have been crying our eyes out ever since we found out (I even found myself shedding a tear or two during my Physics lesson today) and most of us feel like it is never going to get better. I am terrified that after this, the band is going to fall apart – either slowly, one by one, or altogether – either of which will break my heart. I am extremely upset that he’s leaving because this marks the start of the end of One Direction. This band has been a huge part of my life for years. It has gained me irreplaceable merchandise, unforgettable memories and lifelong friends and there was a small, naïve part of me that hoped it would never end. On the other hand, I am glad that Zayn is doing what’s right for him in order to put him in the right mind-set. If all of the stress and anxiety was too much to handle then it’s great he’s able to relieve himself of it. I just wish he’d been able to come to South Africa for the first time before leaving for good.

#AlwaysInOurHeartsZaynMalik

This blog post was written by Reabetswe Keebine (one of my awesome editors).

Follow her on Twitter: @rea_keebz

Three Days Until One Direction - Harry

Name: Harry Edward Styles

Birthdate: Harry was born on the 1st of February 1994

Birthplace: Worcestershire England.

Interesting Information:
When Harry was 16 years old he auditioned for the 2010 British X-Factor singing the song “Isn’t She Lovely?” by Stevie Wonder. When Simon Cowell and Nicole Scherzinger decided to put Harry in a band with Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson, Harry was the one who came up with the name One Direction. Harry’s celebrity girlfriends include: Caroline Flack, Taylor Swift, Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevigne. Harry’s star sign is Aquarius and he relates well to his star sign as he has an “outwardly expressive, extrovert” personality. In November 2014 his tattoo collection came to the amount of 56 tattoos.

Why  I like Harry:

I personally like Harry Styles’ uniqueness. Many people would beg to differ and say that everyone knows ‘his type’ and that Zayn is actually the ‘different’ one in the band. But I find Harry to be more unpredictable and spontaneous compared to the other boys. Often he is criticized on his tattoos or his hair and his styles but those are the things I love about him (Especially his style!) I think there is a huge side to Harry that nobody really knows, maybe it’s because he never lets anyone see it or maybe it’s because nobody ever really looks hard enough. Either way I think there is a lot more to Harry Styles than meets the eye.

If I could take Harry Styles anywhere in South Africa so he could get a true sense of our country, I’d take him on a road trip from Johannesburg, through the Karoo, through Cape Town, and down to Cape Infanta by Cape Agulhas because there is so much of South Africa to see so few people can ever really get a true sense of our country.

This blog post was written by Celine Cooper (she helped me out with the three fanfictions as well :) which is probably why you recognize her name).

Follow her on twitter: @CelineRose_xx

Four Days Until One Direction - Louis

Name: Louis William Tomlinson

Birthday: 24 December 1991 (Age: 23)

Birthplace: Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England

Interesting Information:

Louis auditioned for The X Factor UK in 2009, but was turned down, and returned in 2010 at age 19 to prove a point. He made it through the first couple rounds but was eliminated, and then joined with Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Harry Styles and Liam Payne to form the group One Direction. The group finished 3rd overall in the competition, and their rise to fame started from that moment. Louis has been a member of 1D for almost 5 years now, and has been a part of their 4 albums – him being a major writer for the albums Midnight Memories and Four. Louis is often known as “The Prankster” due to his love of practical jokes, and he has often claimed to be very immature. Louis is well known for his love of tattoos, he actually has about 33! Louis has recently split from his long-time girlfriend Eleanor Calder who he has been dating since 2011.

Why Louis is my favourite:

Louis is a very fun, jovial person and he always makes me smile with his little jokes. He often fools around in interviews and on stage, and I love this about him because it shows that he doesn’t take the whole ‘fame’ thing too seriously. Louis is also an amazing singer, and his voice is very soft and soothing which I love. Louis also contributes to charity – he plays in charity football matches and donates a lot of money and time to different organisations – which I find very inspiring. Louis also has a lot of public love for his family, and I absolutely adore that he loves his family.

My favourite 1D song:

Clouds from Four or Spaces from Four

This blog post was written by Kieryn Sutton.
Follow her on Twitter: @kie_sutton

Five Days Until One Direction

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
I can't believe that after years of waiting there are only 5 days until One Direction perform their first concert in South Africa. Every South African Directioner is biting his or her nails and counting down the days! So, in honour of this long-a-waited countdown I have decided to do a countdown of my own with the help of some awesome Directioners.

Here's how it's going to work:


Everyday from now until Saturday I will post a page of information about one member of One Direction.

Today is ..... NIALL!!



Name: Niall James Horan

Birthday: 13 September 1993

Birthplace: Mullingar, County Westmeath, Ireland

Interesting Information:

Niall has always loved performing. He began by singing in his school choir and after he received a guitar for Christmas he realized he had a talent for music. But, he didn’t just like performing for himself so he played gigs supporting other people e.g. Lloyd Daniels (an X Factor contestant). At the age of 16 Niall auditioned for X Factor; they accepted him into the official competition but although he made it through several rounds he was eliminated. He then joined Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne to form One Direction. The band soon became world-famous and are now on their fourth international tour. Niall is well known for his love of Nandos and football.

Why is Niall my favourite member of One Direction?

Niall and I happen to have the most things in common which is why he is my favourite member of the band. We both don’t like needles (though I’m more terrified of blood); we both believe that a girl doesn’t need to wear makeup to look pretty and we both love eating South African food (he like’s Nandos and I love biltong and Milk Tart).

If I could say one thing to Niall it would be:
I hope you’re visiting a game reserve whilst in South Africa; keep an eye out for rhinos for me please :)

Rhino Weekend

It's only the first week of March and already my schedule is pretty hectic. This weekend was no exception; however, it was certainly one that I will never forget.

Unlike every other weekend so far, this one seemed to have a theme: saving rhinos. For instance, although I spent Saturday morning doing homework the evening was quite different. I wore my Rhino SA shirt and rhino badge as usual but since I would be attending a formal event I wore a black jacket, pumps and black pants as well. The change from my usual jeans and t-shirt made me feel slightly older and more professional, so when we arrived at the Protea Archery Awards Ceremony I wasn't as nervous as I originally expected.


Once there we enjoyed the ceremony, applauded the archers who received their Protea colours and flushed with pride as they stood next to the South African flag. They all seemed to be very excited and those we spoke to were keen to explain their sport to us.

Just before the desert buffet opened I took off my jacket and walked onto the stage. There I congratulated the archers and thanked them for choosing Rhino SA as their charity. I then told them more about the problem of rhino poaching, wished them luck in Estonia and showed them a video depicting the life of one of the lucky orphan rhinos. After I had spoken to them, their team captain told us about the secret members of the team, their mascots Rhinny the Rhino and Papa Smurf. The stories that went hand-in-hand with the mascots were very entertaining. However, the event soon ended and when morning came around I had another rhino event to attend. This time my family drove all the way to Askari Lodge in Plumari Game Reserve. There we bonded with the other Rhino SA Champions, brainstormed various ideas and drew our hand prints around the sketch of a rhino. When we were finished with the first part of the day we were lucky enough to go on a game drive where we saw eland, giraffes, elephants, impalas, wildebeest, zebras and two white rhinos. Whilst we were taking photographs of the rhinos we noticed that their horns were cut off; we asked the game ranger and he explained that Askari had hired a vet to cut off their horns ao they would not be poached; these horns were then burnt so they would never fuel the illegal rhino horn trade.

All in all, this weekend was thoroughly enjoyable and I would like to thank everyone involved for the amazing experiences I had! I hope you all carry on spreading the word about the rhino's plight!

Good Luck!

Tomorrow is the day; after weeks of reading and discussing vairous South African Short Stories we are finally going to write the 3 hour English Olympiad! I hope all participants are inspired and ready to write essays and creative writing pieces that they'll be proud of.

If you haven't yet fallen in love with literature here is an amazing poem by GCINA MHLOPE; it's called IN THE COMPANY OF WORDS.

"It is truly marvellous, wonderful and comforting

To know that I have eyes to read

Hands that can write

And an enormous love for words

I am lucky to be speaking a few extremely beautiful languages

For I love words – language’s ancestor

When I’m happy, words define my happiness

When I’m sad and confused

Words turn into clay and allow me

To mould and remould my muddled up thoughts

Till I find inner peace in my soul

Had I to choose, between weeping and reading

I’d most definitely choose reading,

A good book

For I have proof, for aches and tensions

It works!

Countless times I’ve turned my back on pain

And found friends in characters from far off lands

Countless times I’ve defied anger

And caressed my nerves with an old comic book

Countless nights I’ve triumphed over insomnia

And had a heart to heart talk with my pen and paper

I come to my desk in the dead of night

I sit, without a clue as to how I wish to start

But then, before I know it, words of all types and sizes

Come rushing unto my finger tips

As I feel my whole body smile

I welcome them every single one of them

Like the good old friends that they are

When they start dancing in large circles around me

Throwing teasing wordy circles on my walls

I am convinced that I was not born to be bored

For how indeed can boredom even begin to penetrate

My timeless word circle

Now you see, why I’m so content

In the company of words"