Big Brother Africa: There’s something about Meryl!

THE debate is over.

Justice has been done. Or done in if you’re a Batswana.Peace, Motswana man.You were a headline writer’s dream! And let’s give props where it’s due.Would the spotlight have shone so brightly on Justice if (and IF is very important in this context!) Meryl had not jumpstarted Justice’s motor with THAT ‘interlude’? No debate! There’s something about Meryl! The girl’s always in the thick of things.And, heck we’re not even talking shower hour here – which I’ve not yet seen, but continue to hear about – or Kwaku.She set the cat among the already ruffled pigeons by using her Head of House status last week to save Bertha (will anyone ever feel safe again?), was nominated for eviction on Monday, and then had some housemates and viewers crying foul over food found stashed under her bed.Don’t know what it is, but Meryl generally seems to spark shock and awe.”Evict the criminal,” screamed one SMS on the alleged food heist.”It makes her look like she’s poor,” said another.Grrrrrrrrr (courtesy of Ofunneka’s foxy ringtone).People, people this is a game.Anyone remember Gaetano ferreting away eggs in the last BBA? Or the jokes that Stefan played? Or the actions of thug-life Alex? Apart from which, what about members of the nerd herd? Jeff eats 24/7, Ofunneka has a perennial midnight date with the fridge.Heck.Why can’t Meryl, if it was Meryl (the evidence is purely circumstantial!), take some of her food to the room? Puuhhleeeeze.I mean.Pass the Panados.BLING AND BLAH Code and Maureen have to be the house’s verbal equivalent of yin and yang: bling and bla(h)ng.Neither of them can finish a sentence.Code’s half sentences fade away into you-know-whaddi-mean; Maureen’s with blah, blah, blah …Early thoughts were that the Ugandan could be the Barbie of the house.But, dawg, Code is Barbie supreme, candy floss light.That man is not even in love with himself, he’s in love with some manufactured, made-in-Taiwan image of Code.Ever notice that he talks a lot, but says nothing.N-O-T-H-I-N-G.You-know-whaddi-mean? Damn.He flirts up Maureen, tells his buddy Max he feels for her but is a bit wary because she’s, you know, fragile.Still, he Lou Begas it up, circles Maureen and then Tatiana, does a soft-shoe shimmy around Bertha, but always slinks back to Maureen.They spend a night together on the lounge floor, then he cuddles up with her on her bed the next night.They kiss.Mistake, Maureen! Sweet lord.For Code it’s the stuff of locker room kiss-and-tell heaven.He confides in Max that she was his for the taking but he was unimpressed by her kissing so didn’t “go the whole hog”.The guys laugh and do a high-five.Later, Code seeks solace on Bertha’s lap, literally, blathering on about some high priest in the Bible who was beyond sin, but that there were still those who tried to tempt the holy man.At this point, vomit gromits started dancing in front of my eyes.He’s sure not any high priest without sin, unless there’s a high priest called Sod! But it seems Code went to Bertha for absolution, not resolution.After his heart-to-heart with Bertha, he toodles off to tell Maureen he “respects her”, but that THAT’S THAT.No more canoodling.He spends the next few hours seeking solace on Bertha’s shoulder, desperately trying to look pained.But barely hours later he all but starts to stalk Maureen – again.He sidles up to her on couches, follows her, hovers when she’s talking to other housemates …And it’s still going on.There I was waiting for Maureen to haul out her sharpest stilettos and fracture one or two of his guitar-playing fingers.But no, the girl seems to be playing along after a bit of initial standoffishness.Not the way to go.You gotta crack his code, girl.You-know-whaddi-mean.The dawg’s a dog.And hey, for the record, Maureen told Biggie during her diary room session that it WAS Code pushing for the full monty, but that SHE put the brakes on.STING IN THE TAIL Got to hand it to Bertha, one of the most savvy players in the house.I didn’t think she would save Meryl, but she did.Said she owed her one for saving her back the previous week.I’m sure it was a worst case scenario for Bertha – Meryl coming up for possible eviction.A classic Catch-22 situation.If she hadn’t saved Meryl, it would not have gone down well with Kwaku, Lerato and company.On the other hand, by doing so she’s made herself vulnerable on other fronts.But knowing Bertha, I’m sure she weighed the odds.And weighed them ultra-carefully.Game on! This week, Jeff and Maureen are up for eviction.Here’s how the Housemates voted: Code voted Jeff and Meryl Max voted Richard and Meryl Jeff voted Meryl and Lerato Richard voted Kwaku and Meryl Kwaku voted Jeff and Ofunneka Maureen voted Bertha and Meryl Bertha voted Jeff and Maureen Meryl voted Jeff and Maureen Tatiana voted Max and Lerato Ofunneka voted Meryl and Lerato Lerato voted Jeff and OfunnekaOr done in if you’re a Batswana.Peace, Motswana man.You were a headline writer’s dream! And let’s give props where it’s due.Would the spotlight have shone so brightly on Justice if (and IF is very important in this context!) Meryl had not jumpstarted Justice’s motor with THAT ‘interlude’? No debate! There’s something about Meryl! The girl’s always in the thick of things.And, heck we’re not even talking shower hour here – which I’ve not yet seen, but continue to hear about – or Kwaku.She set the cat among the already ruffled pigeons by using her Head of House status last week to save Bertha (will anyone ever feel safe again?), was nominated for eviction on Monday, and then had some housemates and viewers crying foul over food found stashed under her bed.Don’t know what it is, but Meryl generally seems to spark shock and awe.”Evict the criminal,” screamed one SMS on the alleged food heist.”It makes her look like she’s poor,” said another.Grrrrrrrrr (courtesy of Ofunneka’s foxy ringtone).People, people this is a game.Anyone remember Gaetano ferreting away eggs in the last BBA? Or the jokes that Stefan played? Or the actions of thug-life Alex? Apart from which, what about members of the nerd herd? Jeff eats 24/7, Ofunneka has a perennial midnight date with the fridge.Heck.Why can’t Meryl, if it was Meryl (the evidence is purely circumstantial!), take some of her food to the room? Puuhhleeeeze.I mean.Pass the Panados.BLING AND BLAH Code and Maureen have to be the house’s verbal equivalent of yin and yang: bling and bla(h)ng.Neither of them can finish a sentence.Code’s half sentences fade away into you-know-whaddi-mean; Maureen’s with blah, blah, blah …Early thoughts were that the Ugandan could be the Barbie of the house.But, dawg, Code is Barbie supreme, candy floss light.That man is not even in love with himself, he’s in love with some manufactured, made-in-Taiwan image of Code.Ever notice that he talks a lot, but says nothing.N-O-T-H-I-N-G.You-know-whaddi-mean? Damn.He flirts up Maureen, tells his buddy Max he feels for her but is a bit wary because she’s, you know, fragile.Still, he Lou Begas it up, circles Maureen and then Tatiana, does a soft-shoe shimmy around Bertha, but always slinks back to Maureen.They spend a night together on the lounge floor, then he cuddles up with her on her bed the next night.They kiss.Mistake, Maureen! Sweet lord.For Code it’s the stuff of locker room kiss-and-tell heaven.He confides in Max that she was his for the taking but he was unimpressed by her kissing so didn’t “go the whole hog”.The guys laugh and do a high-five.Later, Code seeks solace on Bertha’s lap, literally, blathering on about some high priest in the Bible who was beyond sin, but that there were still those who tried to tempt the holy man.At this point, vomit gromits started dancing in front of my eyes.He’s sure not any high priest without sin, unless there’s a high priest called Sod! But it seems Code went to Bertha for absolution, not resolution.After his heart-to-heart with Bertha, he toodles off to tell Maureen he “respects her”, but that THAT’S THAT.No more canoodling.He spends the next few hours seeking solace on Bertha’s shoulder, desperately trying to look pained.But barely hours later he all but starts to stalk Maureen – again.He sidles up to her on couches, follows her, hovers when she’s talking to other housemates …And it’s still going on.There I was waiting for Maureen to haul out her sharpest stilettos and fracture one or two of his guitar-playing fingers.But no, the girl seems to be playing along after a bit of initial standoffishness.Not the way to go.You gotta crack his code, girl.You-know-whaddi-mean.The dawg’s a dog.And hey, for the record, Maureen told Biggie during her diary room session that it WAS Code pushing for the full monty, but that SHE put the brakes on.STING IN THE TAIL Got to hand it to Bertha, one of the most savvy players in the house.I didn’t think she would save Meryl, but she did.Said she owed her one for saving her back the previous week.I’m sure it was a worst case scenario for Bertha – Meryl coming up for possible eviction.A classic Catch-22 situation.If she hadn’t saved Meryl, it would not have gone down well with Kwaku, Lerato and company.On the other hand, by doing so she’s made herself vulnerable on other fronts.But knowing Bertha, I’m sure she weighed the odds.And weighed them ultra-carefully.Game on! This week, Jeff and Maureen are up for eviction.Here’s how the Housemates voted: Code voted Jeff and Meryl Max voted Richard and Meryl Jeff voted Meryl and Lerato Richard voted Kwaku and Meryl Kwaku voted Jeff and Ofunneka Maureen voted Bertha and Meryl Bertha voted Jeff and Maureen Meryl voted Jeff and Maureen Tatiana voted Max and Lerato Ofunneka voted Meryl and Lerato Lerato voted Jeff and Ofunneka