Fanta

Being on the early shift on the Monday morning after the Oscars is, I can reliably inform you, really great. By the time you arrive at the office at 6am the long boring bits of the whole award ceremony are over and you get to watch the last, most exciting categories. In the newsroom. As part of your job! Because that, without a doubt, is the news of the day and what everybody is talking about. How cool is that?
And then when your colleagues skulk in at about 9am looking a tad ragged as is generally the case on Monday mornings, a casual mention of the impressive eight Oscars notched by Slumdog Millionaire sparks a brilliant conversation that gets you well into the morning. Excellent!
That was for sure the best part of the day. Just before lunch time the entire newsroom was summoned to the boardroom where some guys from the IEC gave us a powerpoint presentation on the elections. It was interesting, but not terribly exciting stuff. Like, did you know, for example, that party representatives at polling stations are not allowed to wear clothes with any kind of party emblems, slogans or pictures. At least that it's visible. As news ed C-for-Serious pointed out, ANC underpants are not forbidden as long as they're covered up.
And then we were kindly supplied with lunch - toasted sarmies and a cold drink each. You don't get to order what drink you want, you just have to grab fast for the good ones or else risk being left with, say, creme soda. As I was eyeing the cans, working out my strategy I spied a new kind of drink on offer. The Fanta logo was familiar, but looked a bit strange as the usual bright orange design was a pale pink.
Now Fanta is a brand we South Africans all know. It's bright, been around since Mandela was kid and is that comforting dayglo orange colour that comes from a dye banned in the more developed countries. Like the UK, for example, where their Fanta orange looks like an insipid urine sample. And they don't even have Fanta Grape. You have to buy it at the Safa shops for like 9 quid a can or something ridiculous.
I noticed a while ago that Fanta was becoming one of those fancy drinks that's expanding and developing as they have put out new flavours. Fanta Strawberry, Fanta Pineapple and some others. So I was fascinated to see this new one. I was blown away. I CANNOT see it taking off. In fact I think it should be reported as abuse: Fanta Ruby Grapefruit. Gak!
It kind of takes your mind off the elections.