4.3 Reading

Durban businessman Glen Billson, a judo expert, threatened to teach the British upstart a lesson and challenged him to a “fight till the death”.

Bullimore’s anti-apartheid stance was well known. When he returned to Britain he started a disco which attracted mainly black customers. The club was known as the Bamboo Club and it was a landmark in Bristol.

Bullimore told people he had decided to leave South Africa because the people “didn’t like me getting friendly with blacks.”

Last week, his West Indian wife Lalel was seen on national television telling viewers that she had never given up hope of him being found alive.

It wasn’t the first time she had to worry about her husband. Twice before his yacht had been wrecked in bad seas.

He was once almost killed when his yacht hit rocks near the port of Brest. The wreckage of his boat washed around him while he clung on to the rocks.

In another incident, his yacht flipped and a crewmate was killed.

But his latest skirmish was definitely the worst. Bullimore had only a bar of chocolate and a cup or two of fresh water. He tried to inflate his rescue raft but was stuck in a submerged section and every effort to get to the raft saw him plunge metres below icy waters.

He was fast losing hope of being rescued and was preparing himself for death when he heard banging noises from outside. The Australian Navy came to his rescue.

The Navy was helped in its rescue by satellite location beacons fitted to all vessels that competed in the race. Skippers had been trained to activate the beacon when they ran into trouble.

In all three rescues in the Vendee race of Bullimore, and of Frenchmen Thiery Dubois and Raphael Dinelli – the emergency switches were activated.

Bullimore was the last of the three competitors rescued, but the most grateful.

“I’ve been in some bad situations before, but this was the hardest. I think if I had words to describe it, it would be a miracle. An absolute miracle”.

Refer to text 2: Discussion

Tony Bullimore told people he had decided to leave South Africa

because the people “ ___________________________________” .

(Fill in the missing words).

What do you say? Fill in the speech bubble! Discuss these reactions. How should we react to other cultures?

[LO 1.6; 2.1.6; 3.8.1; 3.8.2; 5.1.4]

Assessment

LO 1

LISTENING The learner will be able to listen for information and enjoyment, and respond appropriately and critically in a wide range of situations.

We know this when the learner:

1.3 identifies features of oral texts (structure, language, tone, register, etc.) that make them appropriate for different purposes and audiences;

1.6 listens actively, considering other points of view, and responds with sensitivity to ideas and suggestions;

1.7 dicusses the social, moral and cultural values, attitudes and assumptions in oral texts, and comments on what is included and excluded (e.g. “Is the moral of the story true for all circumstances? What circumstances are not covered in this story?”).

LO 2

SPEAKING The learner will be able to communicate effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.