DistrictMail 19 April 2012

Fire

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Thursday, 19 April 20122 NEWS | NUUS

Elderly woman dies inSouth Street fireILLANA FRANTZ

SOMERSET West resident Thiry Anthea Hum-phreys (72) was caught in a blaze at her homein South Street, Somerset West, on Friday (13April).

The firewas first spottedbyaneighbourwhowas walking her dogs at the time.

I spotted smoke coming from the chimney,and I found this strange. I knew there was anold lady with pets living there, so I phoned thefire department, says the neighbour, who pre-fers to remain anonymous.

She then spotted an officer from Securite,whowasrespondingtoacalla fewhousesaway.Sheinformedhimofhersuspicionsandhewentto investigate.

The officer contacted the security com-panys control room,whichalsoalerted the firedepartment.

In the meantime I managed to get two guyspassing by to help me, says Franslou Levittfrom Securite. We broke the door down, andalsobrokesomeof thewindowssooxygencouldget in and the smoke could come out.

We tried to go inside and help the woman,but the smoke was too overwhelming. We didmanage to rescue two Jack Russells.

Humphreys succumbed to the fire; after fire-fighters contained the raging flames, her bodywas found in one of the bedrooms.

Humphreys and her family moved to Somer-set West in the 1970s. She first worked at FirstNational Bank in Harare, and later for Stanic,adivisionofStandardBank.According to closefriend Veronica Meldrum, Humphreys lovedflower arrangements and decorating cakes.

She was a caring person who always helpedothers, Meldrum says. She had a lot of hard-ship in her life, but lived in such a manner thatyou would never say.

Humphreys is survived by her sons An-thony, living in Zimbabwe, Robert, living inThailand, and David, who lived with her; shelost her husband Joseph in 1995. No photos ofher survived the fire.

According to a police report, the cause of thefire is still being investigated.

The family have expressed their heartfeltthanks to the community for their assistance.) A number of Somerset West residents

have come together to assist the family. If youhave anything to spare blankets, duvets, pil-lows, clothing (for three men), food or matt-resses please phone Cheryl Hacker on072 226 9721 or email [email protected].

Rescue workersat the scene inSouth Street,Somerset West,where ThiryAnthea Hum-phreys lost herlife after a firebroke out in herhome.

SOMERSETWEST

PHUKET

Thankful after tsunami scareILLANA FRANTZ

TWO Helderberg couples who were on holi-day in Phuket during last weeks tsunamiscare say theyre immensely relieved thewarning didnt turn into disaster.

After an earthquake struck off the coastof Indonesia on Wednesday last week, a tsu-nami warning spread across the globe, in-cluding to coastal locations in SA such asCape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

Lisa Kruger of Pentravel Somerset Westsays images of the 2004 Boxing Day tragedyran through their minds when they were in-formed of last weeks tsunami scare. Wewere all very relieved that the events of lastweek did, in fact, turn out just to be a bigwave, as described by the Indonesian gov-

ernment. As Phuket is such a popular desti-nation with South Africans, we consideredourselves lucky thatweonlyhad twogroupson holiday in Phuket.

Kruger says that within 20 minutes of thewarnings reception Pentravels operatorsin Phuket had ensured them their clientswere being evacuated to higher ground asa precautionary measure.

One of the couples, who were due to flyout on that day, were given an extra nightsaccommodationatnoadditional charge.Un-fortunately their flight home had to be re-routed via the Seychelles, but we were veryrelieved that the airline could accommodatethem as quickly as they did.

The other couple were not affected at all,and are still enjoying Phuket.

SIR LOWRY'S PASS

Shop assistant shot by robberAN employee of a shop in Sir Lowrys Passwas shot in the leg amid a business robberylast Thursday.

Police found the wounded shop assistantwhen they arrived at the scene at 21:30. Theofficers were told that two men had walkedin and robbed the store of cash, airtimevouchers andcigarettes.Actingquickly, thepolicenabbedonesuspect shortly thereafter

and charged him with business robbery,pointing a firearm and attempted murder.A gun was confiscated, and some of the sto-len items were recovered.

The suspect appeared in the SomersetWest Magistrates Court on Monday.

Anybody who can shed light on the caseis urged to phone detective warrant officerHannes Niemand on 021 850 1344.

Thursday, 19 April 2012 NUUS | NEWS 3

YOUNG AT HEARTDon't miss the much-lovedAlbert Frost Trio at Bertie's

Moorings this Sunday.Page 21

PENSIONERSSupport the ACVV HuisSoeterus morning tea

fundraiser this Saturday.Page 5

FAMILIESConsider adding a memberto your family and giveRusty a home and asecond chance to live.

Page 16

ACTIVITIES

INDULGENCEFollow Gerrit's step by steprecipe to prepare a deliciousroasted kob with onion crust.

Page 19

Face of the HelderbergFinal countdown

Enter now: The last week of the year-longDistrictMail andKodak ExpressSuperfoto photo competi-tion has arrived. The competition has been running since May 2011, and will conclude at theend of this month. This means you have one more opportunity left to enter your favourite photosand stand a chance to win a R500 Kodak voucher. You can enter in the categories of children,nature, pets and action. Be sure to mark the back of your photo with the date and place taken,as well as the category and your name, telephone number and email address. Drop your entriesoff at the Kodak Express Superfoto outlet at Somerset Mall or Waterstone Village Centre, or bringthem to the DistrictMail office at 37 Mynhardt Street, Strand. No more entries will be acceptedafter 13:00 on Wednesday 25 April. This photo of the Helderberg Nature Reserve by Jan Pelseris one of the entries already received for April's competition.

KOOS and Katinka Roux from Hillcrest Avenue, Somerset West, remember how they losthalf their home and furniture in last years Helderberg mountain fire. At 06:50 on Sunday17 April 2011, they received a call from a neighbour informing them that their house wasburning. Having spent the night at their sons in Welgemoed, they rushed back. For thefirst three months after the fire, they rented a fully furnished house while cleaning andrestoring what was left of their home. The couple lost valuable antique furniture, andpaid dearly to have the salvageable items restored. page 7

CRIMINALS have struck another Somerset Westliquor store. The latest incident happened at theHelderbosch Spar Tops Liquor Store at 20:00 onWednesday last week. According to a police re-port, four well-dressed men entered the store af-ter closing time. They used large pavementblocks to break windows and gain access to thepremises. Earlier this month thieves used thesamemethod tobreak into twoother stores Aro-ma at Waterstone Village and Vergelegen LiquorStore. During the latest burglary, alcohol to thevalue of R15 000 was stolen. A black Mini Cooperand an unidentified silver vehicle were used inthe crime. page 4

NEWS SUMMARY

NEWS 113 VIEWS 810 LIFESTYLE 1450 BUSINESS 5159 SPORT 6064


Sake voor die hof) n Man (20) van Macassar hetWoensdag 11 April in die Somer-set-Wes-landdroshof verskyn opn klag van aanranding met diedoel om ernstig te beseer. Hy isop 20 Februarie in hegtenis ge-neem n hy Ashley Baartmanmet n piksteel aangeval het. HyisopborgtogvanR300vrygelaat.Die saak is tot 14 Junie uitgestel.) Nog n Macassar-man (68)

het Donderdag 28 Maart in dieSomerset-Wes-landdroshof op nklag van diefstal verskyn n hyop 22 Februarie in hegtenis ge-neem is. Hy het na bewering sydogter se kaste in haar Macas-sar-huis met n koevoet oopge-breek. Sy het n interdik teenhomgekry. Sy saakkomweerop

26 Mei voor.) n Man (27) het Donderdag

28 Maart in die Somerset-Wes-landdroshof op n klag van dief-stal verskyn n sekuriteitshek-ke in Macassar gesteel is. Diesaak is tot 26 April uitgestel.) Twee mans het Woensdag

11 April in die Somerset-Wes-landdroshof verskyn op klagtevan die besit van perlemoen.Hulle is met ongeveer 3 400 per-lemoen op die N2 gevang.

Een van die beskuldigdes (27)is van Khayelitsha en is vryge-laatopR10000borgtog.Die twee-de man (30) van Gugulethu isvrygelaat op R5 000 borgtog. Diesaak sal weer op 12 Junie voor-kom.

SOMERSET-WES

Cause of fire still unknownILLANA FRANTZ

ONE year after the raging fire wreakedhavoc on the Helderberg mountain, au-thorities have still not determined thecause.

Theblaze,whichbrokeouton themorn-ing of Saturday 16 April 2011, destroyed 13structures, including the StraightwayHead Country Hotel and six chalets on thepremises; the home of the Roux couple; agazebo in Hillcrest Avenue; staff quarters;the house of Noel Newton-King in Kingsk-loof; and the home of the Burkes at the topof Parel Vallei Road.

As the blaze intensified and reached itspeak between 12:00 and 14:00 on that day,29 vehicles and 200 firefighters battledwith the fire.

Three helicopters and three fixed-wingbombers,aswellasaspotterplanetodirecthelicopter operations, were called in. Off-duty firemen were also called back.

A total of 450 firefighters, along withmembers of the Helderberg Fire Preven-tion Association, the police, Metro Police,Law Enforcement, Traffic Services, Disas-ter Management and CapeNature, wereamong those battling the inferno over thatweekend.

Other organisations, such as Helder-berg Crime Watch, the Somerset WestCommunityPoliceForumand local neigh-bourhoodwatches,assisted invariousoth-er ways.

The fire was brought under control lateon Saturday night. Helicopters withdrew,while 90 firefighters with 17 vehicles re-mained on guard duty.

The firewaseventuallyextinguishedonthe Sunday (17 April 2011) afternoon.

But despite the immensity of this fireand all the teamwork it took to extinguishthe blaze, authorities are keeping mum onany progress in determining its cause.

Theo Layne, spokesperson for the Cityof Cape Towns Fire and Rescue Services,saysthematterisstillunderinvestigation.

The fire is still a subject of ongoing in-vestigation,andassuchtheCitysFireandRescue Services cannot divulge any infor-mation regarding the incident.

In an article published in DistrictMaillast year after the incident, chief fire offic-er IanSchnetlerwasquotedassaying, Wewill consider all the evidence and do anin-depth investigation into thecauseof thefire.

When contacted on Tuesday, Schnetlersaid: This matter is in the hands of legalentities and we are unable to provide youwith any further information in thisregard.

He did not want to divulge who the par-ties involved in this legal matter were.

Helicoptersbattled for twodays toextin-guish the flames on the Helderberg af-ter a devastating fire broke out on 16April 2011.

British petitionBRITISH expat pensioners and passport hold-ers who reside in SA are called upon to addtheir signatures to a petition that aims to endthegovernments frozenpensionpolicy.Atotalof 100 000signaturesareneededby8Septemberbefore it can be submitted for discussion. Visitwww.epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petition/16387.

Inbrekers teiken SW drankwinkelsDRANKWINKELS in Somerset-Wes blykdeesdae die teiken vir inbrekers te wees.

Daar is onlangs vir die derde keer van-deesmaand by n drankwinkel in Somerset-Wes ingebreek, toe diewe op Woensdag 11April om 20:00 op die De Helderbosch Kwik-spar Tops-drankwinkel toegeslaan het. Lui-dens n polisie-verklaring het vier netjies ge-

klede mans na bewering sementblokke, watvir sypaadjies gebruik word, geneem en diewinkelvenster stukkend geslaan.

Dieselfde modus operandi is skynbaar intwee ander inbrake - by die Aroma-drank-winkel in Waterstone Village en die Vergele-gen- drankwinkel - gevolg. Die inbrekers ryluukse motors en steel slegs duur wyne, s

konstabel Suzan Jantjies, woordvoerder virdieSomerset-Wespolisie.Sys nswartMiniCooper en n ongedentifiseerde silwer mo-tor is in die laaste inbrake opgemerk. Drankter waarde van ongeveer R15 000 is in dielaasteinbraakgebuit.Niemandisnoginheg-tenisgeneemnie.Skakel a.oAlfonsovanderMerwe by 021 850 1344 met inligting.

SOMERSET-WES

HELDERBERG FIRE


Building a brighter futureNIKITA SYLVESTER

PUPILS and staff members ofRusthof Primary School in Strandare anxiously awaiting their newschool building.

Weve waited very long for this,and we are extremely excited, saysprincipal Godfrey Julies.

According to Bronagh Casey,spokesperson for education MECDonald Grant, the Rusthof Pri-mary development is part of theWestern Cape Education Depart-ments replacement school pro-gramme, which falls under theprovinces infrastructureplanan-nounced in 2010. The three-yearplan included, among otherthings, replacing the buildings of 20schools that had been built with in-appropriate materials.

In most instances, these struc-turesaremadefromwoodenorchip-board materials that were built dur-ing the apartheid era, says Casey.

The new building for Rusthof Pri-mary School will cost between R25-and R30 million, and will be built onthe schools sports field.

Pupilswillremainwheretheyarewhile thebuildingsare constructed,and will move into them once theyhave been completed. The currentschool building will then be demol-ished to make way for a new sportsfield.

The new school will be a double-storey with a more modern design,

says Julies. It will consist of about32classroom,with specialisedclass-rooms for needlework, technology,et cetera.

He says Rusthof Primary is setnotonlytogetanewschoolbuilding,but also a school hall and library which it never had before as wellas a new media centre.

And Julies says these new facili-tieswilldomorethancreateanenvi-ronment conducive to education they will also offer many other op-portunities.

We can then also use our schoolhall for indoor sporting activities,he says.

In the past two years the educa-tion department has built eight new

schools; in the20122013 year it plans to completea further 13 schools.

Once these schools have beencompleted, the department willhave succeeded in building 21 re-placement schools in the province.

This exceedsouroriginal target,and means that 23 000 pupils willhave the opportunity to learn in amore suitable and safe environ-ment, where quality teaching andlearning can take place, saysCasey.

Construction for the new RusthofPrimary School buildings are set tobegin next month.

Work is expected to be completedwithin the next two years.

Grade 4 pupil RoberthaMiles and school principal Godfrey Julies showwhere the new school building will be built.

HerfsteeACVV Huis Soete-rus in die Strandbied nherfstee as nfondsinsamelings-projek aan.

Geniet Saterdag21 April om 09:00 nkoppie tee en ver-versings by HuisSoeterus.

Danil de Kocksal die gassprekerby die geleentheidwees.

Die tema vir dieoggend is Vroue metwoema,passie enhu-mor.

Koste is R75 perpersoon. Almal wel-kom. Besprekingsby Huis Soeterus:0 021 853 7423/52tussen08:00en17:00.

STRAND

STRAND

OncologytalkTHE HelderbergCancer SupportGroup will meet atthe GVI Oncologypractice at ArunPlace1on25Aprilat17:30.

Sanmar Mac-Robert, clinical die-tician at VergelegenSpecialistNutritionCentre, will presenta talk on the role ofnutrition duringcancer treatment.Book your seat at0 021 851 2255.

ARUN PLACE


HELDERBERG FIRE

HELDERBERG FIRE

Hope after devastationDELIAH BRINKHUIS

THEIRhomewassurrounded.Throughakitchenwindow they watched helplessly as the flamesslitheredthroughvegetation,orangetonguesrav-enously making their way towards them.

Minutes later, firemen were battling the rag-ing inferno as Buks Nel and his daughter ranfromtheHillcrestRoadhouse.

This is how Nel recalls themorning of 16 April last year,when the Helderberg experi-enced one of the worst fires inits history. Although no liveswere lost, 13 structures in up-market Somerset West wererazed by the fire, spurred onby a strong southeaster.

Its a miracle our housesurvived, says Nel, whobuilt the double-storey homein 1970. It was devastating,he says, shaking his head.

The fire swept through his property at the topof Hillcrest Road. Firefighters prevented their42-year-old home from being gutted, but the in-ferno raged its way to the adjacent Kingskloofestate on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain.

A house, believed to be that of the Newton-Kings, was burnt. Its understood that renova-tions were completed a few weeks ago.

Nel says all residents were allowed to returnto their properties about three hours later.

I didnt know what we were returning to but our home was safe, he says with a relievedsigh. Firemen had stayed there throughout thenight. Its because of their effortless dedicationthat we are still here today.

Four days later, smoke was still surfacingfrom the ground as theroots of trees smoulderedon beneath.

Nel guides DistrictMailthrough his garden, show-ing evidence of the tragicfire. Lifeless pine trees tow-eramongrobusteucalyptustrees.Afewscatteredyoungfynbos plants are seen. Hisolive tree patch, he says,used tobehisasylum.Theirskeletons stand barren; twoblackened tree stumps thatserved as seats remain.

We stop at a burnt pine tree. The black gianttowers over us; two branch-like shapes pointingupwards like a guardian angel reaching to thesky.This,Nelbelieves, is evidenceof themiracleof his homes escape from the harrowing fire.

Sometimes our lives need to be spring-cleaned as a reminder of the mercy thats be-stowed upon us, Nel says.

The burnt-out pine tree in Buks andRoss Nel's garden stands like agiant guardian angel.

Ross Nel, wife of Buks, harvestsspinach. She says the soil seemsmore fertile after the fire.

Be preparedILLANA FRANTZ

ONE year after the devastating fireraged on the Helderberg Mountain,plans for a disaster management planare in the pipeline.

Sandy Webster, a Hillcrest Road res-ident who played a crucial role in lastyears operations, says the SomersetWest Community Police Forum (CPF)and the City of Cape Town have beendiscussing the matter.

On Saturday 16 April last year, theday the fire broke out, Webster recallsseeing a plume of smoke from herhouse at about 10:00.

She drove to her mothers house,which has a better view of the moun-tain.

About 15 minutes later, I was unbe-lievably shocked to see this massivefire. It made us all sit up and take note,as it spread very rapidly.

At this stage, Annetjie Robertson,secretaryof theSomersetWestCPF,de-clines to go into the specifics of the dis-aster management plan, as it is still be-ing drafted.

She stressed, though, that the planwill require the involvement of theSomerset West community.

I have also heard of the intentionto remove the forest low down in thenature reserve, says Webster.

Sheagain expressedher gratitude toall the firefighters, pilots and rescueworkers who assisted during the fire.


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'n Jaar van helingILLANA FRANTZ

KOOS en Katinka Roux van Hillcrestweg,Somerset-Wesonthounogmetafgrysehoehulle die helfte van hul huis en besittingsin verlede jaar se brand verloor het.

Sondagoggend 17 April 2011, omstreeks06:50, het die Roux-egpaar n oproep vanbure gekry dat hul huis brand. Hulle hetby hul seun in Welgemoed oornag, maarhet dadelik teruggehaas.

Ons was eers kwaad, maar later dank-baar, want dinge kon veel erger wees. Ditgaan nou goed, maar die eerste ses maan-de n die brand was moeilik, s Katinka.

N die brand het die groot skoonmaak-proses begin. Hulle het vir drie maanden gemeubileerde huis gehuur terwyl hul-le hul huis restoureer het.

Die duurste item wat hulle verloor het,is die Persiese mat wat sy 20 jaar geledein Jerusalem gekoop het. Sommige itemswas so oud soos 200 jaar. Antieke meubelsen skilderye moes ten duurste restoureerword. Die laaste werk word nou aan hulbadkamer en studeerkamer gedoen.

Baie trane het gevloei en n mens hetsoms mismoedig geraak. Ons is steedsbaie gesend, want n mens kan n huisvervang, maar nie n lewe nie. Meubels in die Roux-huis l in puin.

Katinka Roux in haar huis een jaar n die brand.

n Bord en kershouerwat gebrand het, ge-bruik sy nou as versie-rings in haar huis.

HELDERBERG BRAND

HELDERBERG FIRE

Nature is healingJAMEY THOMAS

THE vegetation and crops thatsuffered severe damage duringthe rampant fire that engulfedthe Helderberg last year areslowly but surely growing back.

Wine farms Peter Falke,Ernie Els and Lourensford wereunaffected by the fire, whereasUva Mira, Bilton, HelderbergFarmandSteilteProteasufferedimmense damage.

At Helderberg Farm about100 ha sustained damage. Mostof the damage was in the reservearea; luckily the farm had justfinished harvesting before thefire started.

According to one of the own-ers, Wimpie Obermeyer, the fireclaimed most of the farms for-estry. Some of the trees werechopped down and could be soldas wood, but most of them couldnot be rescued. With the neces-sary TLC we are slowly noticingpatterns of growth.

Biltonalso lost about 100 haofforest, while Steilte Proteas lost75% of its crop. Owner Jan vanSchalkwyk says staff have im-proved the farms infrastruc-ture and nursery, and fixed theirrigation system.

We took this chance to start

anew. Of the 75% of our cropclaimed by the fire, 20% couldnot be revived.

The rest was pruned andnurtured, and new protea cropswere planted as well. Althoughgrowth is slowly picking up, itis estimated that due to the se-vere damage caused by the firea new harvest will be ready bynext year November.

He adds that the farms fieldsare very dry because the fireburned away the top layer of thesoil. We are battling with soilerosion, which makes the plant-ing and growth of new proteasnearly impossible, says VanSchalkwyk, who has also prop-erly insured the farm.

Dan Swart, chairperson of theWineryCrimeForum,saystherewas minimal damage to vine-yards, and that in most casesthey should not have difficultyin recovering.

However, there might be adecrease in yield since theclouds of smoke could have aneffect on the quality of grapes,says Swart.

Owen Wittridge, manager ofthe Helderberg Nature Reserve,says he cannot offer a responseat this stage due to a pendingcourt case over the fire.

Thursday, 19 April 20128 VIEWS | MENINGS

Who's toblame forthe blaze?AYEARagoon16Apriladevastat-ing fire swept through the Helder-ber, changing many peoples livesforever.

One wouldve thought that bynow investigations wouldve es-tablished who was to blame, andwho will pay for the millions ofrands damage.

But to date no one has beenfound guilty, and all the authori-ties are willing to say is that therewill, at some stage, be a court case.

This is, to say the least, shock-ing and unacceptable.

Someonehastobeheldaccount-able for the terrible losses experi-enced during this runaway blaze.People losthouses,businessesandjobs, and thousands of rands werespent trying to contain the fire.

Who will pay for all of this? Willit be the taxpayers, or will justicebe done?

Meanwhile, fingers are beingpointed left, right and centre, andaccusations are still doing therounds as to how this fire started.

Unless it isestablishedwhat thecause of this fire was, who was toblame and who will be held ac-countable for thedamages caused,many people will be unable to findclosure on this tragedy.

`Do you dare to differ?'IM A 30-year-old qualified jour-nalist, and I ended up on thestreets as a result my own abuseand nasty habits.

Bethatas itmay,we(streetpeo-ple) have the tendency to blameand shame anyone around us,even those who reach out a help-ing hand. We complain about thegovernment, we accuse even theclergy for being corrupt, we saythat this isnt right and that isntright, but yet we dont even havea foot to stand on.

I got kicked out of my parentshouse because of my own wrong-doing. It is something I will regretfor the rest of my life. Reconcilingis not an option they dont wanta person like me around.

Nevertheless, after leaving thecomfort of my family home I be-camea lunaticbeastalwaysplot-tingsomecrazy idea togetmoney.

Humansingeneral,destituteornot, are very manipulative crea-tures. As I studied and made myassessments of street life, I cameacrossaseriousandalarmingfact:forsomepeoplewhohavebeenliv-ing on the streets for a very longtime, it is nearly impossible to bereintegrated into society.

The trick is to apply your mindand body.

For some homeless people it isregardedasaskill tobeg,sincenotjust anyone has the ability to begfor money. Some are happy to beliving on the streets.

However, there are still someof us (homeless folk) who areproud of ourselves, and still at-tempt to groom ourselves. Hencethequestion,doyou liveonstreet,or do you live off the street?

Another thing that comes tomind is that there is vast diver-sityonthestreet.Somecomefromhumble backgrounds, or wereonce very successful but lost eve-rything. It must be understoodthat the homeless do not chooseto live on the streets in mostcases something had to have hap-pened for them to be stuck in thissituation.

Still, I see that in the past fewweeks your publication, District-Mail, has featuredanumberof ar-ticles regarding the homeless. Ilive at the Somerset West NightShelter and there is absolutelynothing wrong with the generalday-to-day running of the place.Maybe a little office politics,

which doesnt really concern me.However, I enjoy and am grate-

ful for the food they provide mewith, because just a couple ofmonthsagoIwaseatingoutofgar-bage bins. I prefer the hot showerI take at the shelter over the bathI take in the Lourens River. I amgrateful for the warm bed I get tosleep in at night rather than theconcrete slab I used to sleep on.

Besides everything I have beenthrough, I can say that the nightshelter is the restorer of Kings,provided that you abide by therules. Ive been brought up in aloving and prosperous environ-ment, and the shelter has taughtme to appreciate everything inlife.

Im educated, and I have rea-sonably above-average IQ some-thing that wasnt given to me bymy parents but made possible byall the knowledge I obtained frombeing homeless and other home-less people.

According to me and the entirecosmos, I hereby declare thathomeless people are people too.

Do you dare to differ?

XAVIER CAPES

AFTER the stoning of Jorrit deVries on 21 March, Metrorail wasinformed (DistrictMail 29March).

Michelle from Metrorail calledJorrit to arrange a meeting at11:00 on 27 March, at the housewhere we were. About 10 minutesafter that call, she phoned back tocancel, because they had some-thingelse toattend toat that time.

Michelle then rescheduled for14:00 on the same day, and Jorritagreed to the meeting. The timecame and went, and no one let usknow that they were not coming.We tried to phone Michelle, butno luck. At 16:00 we got a hold ofher and at that time Jorrit wasvery disappointed.

Michelle then offered trans-

port forJorrit toget to theairport,and for someone to meet us there.

Thetransportwasscheduledtopickusupat 19:00, andonourwayto the airport we asked the twovery nice gentlemen if they knewwho from Metrorail would bemeeting Jorrit and myself at theairport.

They knew nothing, but con-tacted Michelle to ask her.

The gentleman then informedus that no one would be meetingus at the airport, because the per-son was at the airport at 17:00.This is where we raised our eye-brows, because they knew wewere only to be fetched at 19:00,sowhywouldsomeonebewaitingfor us at 17:00?

Eithersomeoneislying,orthey

have bad communication skills.

LORAINE V/D MERWE

Metrorail reponds: Regionalmanager of Metrorail WesternCape, Mthuthuzeli Swartz, reiter-ates that his office made repeatedattempts to meet with Mr De Vries.Unfortunately they were unable tosynchronise their dairies to facili-tate a meeting. Metrorail nonethe-less assisted with the provision oftransport for Mr De Vries over aperiod of 24 hours to various desti-nations and ultimately droppedhimat theairportas requested.MrSwartz and his management teamwish Mr De Vries a speedy recov-ery;Metrorailsdoorremainsopenfor further engagement.

`Raised eyebrows' over Metrorail

District

MailEDITORIALCOLUMN

BRIEWE

Stuur jou sms na

32465Begin die smsmet diewoordMENSE en tikdan jou boodskap.

S jou sS jou s)Wil net dankie s aan MOOIComplete Services wat ons 40steverjaarsdag baie spesiaal ge-maak het. Enigiemand wat nfunksiewilhoukontakvirMOOIvir die beste pryse en dienste.

) Da Gama-bult se parkeer-area in Da Gamastraat lyk reedsdie afgelope drie weke soos nstortingsterrein. Hoe is ditmoontlikdatgeenmunisipalebe-ampte dit nog gesien het nie? Ditis jammer dat daar oral so ngroot agteruitgang in Strand tebespeur is. Pieter Joubert

) To Cerenus Pheiffer (birth-day 22 April); Valerie Swartz andEslinMeyer (birthdays 24April):enjoy and God bless. Love, Royand Lynette Louw

) You can come walk yourdogs and fish to your hearts con-tent at the Strand beach. All arewelcome. You are safe from thepolice; you dont get fines. It hasbecome a real paradise for dogsand fishing. Beach lover

)Wanneer gaan aandag ge-gee word aan die seemuur wat telaag is enverbrokkelmet gevaar-like trappies na die Strand? Baieword bestee om n elke stormsand te verwyder. MM

) I wonder who cares that mysmallgardenisbeingusedbyoth-er peoples pets (cats) as a smellypublic toilet?

) DamemetdiewitNissanLi-vina wat elke oggend so jaag envier motors gelyk verby steek inBroadway by Caltex, jy gaan ie-mand se dood veroorsaak! Milin-dadeVilliers,mede-padgebruiker

) To my godfather Keith vanReenen: happy birthday. Loveyou lots, Baylah

) Veels geluk aan ons pragti-ge dogtertjie Nikita Miles methaar verjaarsdag op 21 April.Mag ons Hemelse Vader jou nogvele jare spaar. Ons is baie liefvir jou, van Mammie, Daddy,Mickayla, Shanice en Robertha

) The flower that blooms in atimeofadversaryis themostrareand beautiful of them all.Nicoleen Isaacs

) Thanks for all the prayers.Micaela Jordaan got her goldmedal. All 11 got it in the group,House of Song. Thanks to Frank-ie Lekas and family. WP did verywell in the SA ChampionshipShow Case. Granny Rina wasthere to support them. Thanks,Granny

S dankie, geluk,jammer, lief jou....

EK wil graag kommentaar lewerop die brief Pets arent Pests in dieDistriksPos van 12 April.

Laat ek begin deur te s, myviervoet-kinders is my hart sepunt en my man s baie keer ekis liewer vir my kat, as vir hom!

Ek voel die diere-eienaars is teblameer as die diere hulle nie kangedra nie, want dit beteken diediere word nie gedissiplineer nie.

Nee, nie slaan nie, net n hardestemtoon kan die ding doen.

Disgladnie nplesieromnabu-re se honde se konstante geblaf teluister nie. Die eienaars staanbuite en gesels, maar hulle maaknie hul diere stil nie. Die hondeblaf tot laatnag sonder einde.

As n hond blaf, beteken ditdaar is fout en die eienaar moetgaan ondersoek instel, en die

hond daarna stil maak. Dan nie?Ekisheeltemalvrdieelektrie-

se bande wat blaf verminder: nee,nie vir die hond se nek nie, maarvir die hond se eienaar. Elke keerwat die hond blaf, kry die baas nskok. Dalk sal dit hom help om syagtersteweteligentekykwatfoutis! (Dit sal n goeie spotprentjiemaak, n.)

MOEG-GEKLA

Skoktoestelle liefs vir honde-eienaars

Thursday, 19 April 2012 MENINGS | VIEWS 9

Dank virgholfdagse foto's

DIE AanhouwenWerk en Versor-gingsentrum virVolwasse Gestrem-des s hartlik dan-kie aan Laurettevan der Merwe, watsonder betaling, dieaksiefotos by hulonlangse gholfdaggeneem het.

Sonder haar spe-siale bydrae sou hulherinneringe vandie dag nie naasten-by volledig geweeshet nie.

LINDA NIE-MOLLERBESTUURDERAANHOUWEN

JammerDEON en Rita Hoff-man vra hiermeeom verskoning in-dienonsenigietsne-gatief teenoor Koe-rieGrahamensyge-sin ges het.

Lof vir N-ICUVergelegenDIE Mediclinic Vergelegen se N-ICU-per-soneel en dokters se lof word al vir bynadrie weke besing deur n pasint vir diebesondere diens wat hulle lewer.

Prof.C.J.SwaneveldervanStellenboschis baie kritiek n n massiewe hartaanvalop 22 Maart.

Ten spyte van sy fluktuerende toestandkan hy nie ophou om hulle te bedank ente prys vir die uitstekende, foutlose diensen versorging wat hulle vir hom lewer nie.

Ditwordookhoogdeurdie familiewaar-deer.

CARIN SWANEVELDER

Prof. C.J. Swanevelder by sy seun Jus-tiaan, wat tans in die buiteland woon.

Grootmens-Afrikaansas die kroos `slaap'PARTYKEER moet n mensversigtig wees wat jy s voorjou kinders!

Die ander aand, toe ons vasonder die indruk was dat onskroos al diep in droomland is,sit ek en my vrou in die kom-buis elk met n glas wyn enneem uiteindelik ons kanswaar om oor dinge te skerts engesels wat ons nie saans aandie etenstafel kan doen voordie hele gesin nie.

Natuurlik het dit gepaardgegaan met n paar aweregsewoorde nou nie vloekwoor-de in die lelike sin van diewordnie,maarietwatgelaaideterme. Grootmens-Afrikaans.

In die middel van die ge-sprek, hoor ek n klein stem-metjie uit die kamer. Aggenee! s ek. Marleen is wak-ker!Hetsygehoorwatonsgeshet? Ek hoop nie so nie, smy vrou.

Op my tone sluip ek na haarkamer toe,versigtigomSimonnie ook wakker te maak nie.Ek loeromdiedeurkosyn. Ja,Marleen?

Ek hou nie van die woordewat jy en Mamma gebruik

nie, betig die negejarige kindmy prontuit. Dis nie goed virmy developing oortjies nie!

Developing oortjies? Goeiehel!Ekis jammer,mylief,onshet gedink jy slaap al. Ek belo-we ons sal nie weer nie.

Nog voor ek haar soen, is syalweer weg saam met KlaasVakie se sandjies.

Ek stap terug kombuis toe.Waar was ons laas? fluisterekvirmyvrou,watdikvandielag is.

Marleen het gelukkig niedie volgende dag die insidentonthou nie, maar van nou afsal ons beslis meer versigtigwees . . .

RUBRIEKBRIEWE

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Facebook?www.face-book.com/districtmail

Thursday, 19 April 201210 VIEWS | MENINGS

`Think twice' about court dutyI REFER to your editorial StoneStunned (DistrictMail, 29 March),in which you encourage members ofthe public to stand up against crime.

I offer the followingas anexampleof what actually happens when onetries to be a responsible citizen.

Two years ago to the month, in2010, a taxi driver attempted to driveme off the road near Camps Bay. Ireported the incident to the police atthe time and was summoned to ap-pear in the Cape Town MagistratesCourtat09:00onThursday29March.

To ensure I arrived on time I leftSomerset West at 06:30 on the ap-pointed day, arriving in Cape Townat 08:30 after being held up on the N2

due to two accidents.I sat in sub-zero air conditioning

from 09:00 to 11:00, by which time Iwasfreezing.Prisonerswhocameupfromthecells also through thedoorby which I was seated from Polls-moor prison in leg irons, were filedpastmeasIwaited. I felt intimidated.The two prison officers sat fiddlingwith their cellphones and jokingthroughout the proceedings.

At 11:00 the magistrate rose totake her coffee. At this point I wastold by the clerk of the court that thecase to which I was to bear witnesswouldnotbehelduntil theafternoonsession, if at all: probably it wouldbe deferred to another day as it was

markedfirst. First, she claimed,usually meant the case would not beheld on the day stated!

I pointed out to the clerk of thecourt that I had come a considerabledistanceatmyownexpenseandatthelaws request. In the spirit of publicdecency Ihaddonewhatwasrequest-ed of me as a law-abiding citizen.Now, after a day in a freezing courtroom, I must return on yet anotherday, deemed fitting by the court.

I would certainly advise yourreaders to think twice before offer-ing to be a state witness!

ISOBEL M ROBERTSSUNHILL CLOSE

LETTERS

`We have not forgotten your efforts'DEAR members of the fire-fightingservices at Strand, Somerset Westand Cape Town, as well as all the vol-unteers:

It is now a year since that terriblefire in the Helderberg Nature Re-serve and the surrounding areas.

This note is to say many thanksfor what you did on that Saturday,as well as the days following, and toremind you that we have not forgot-

ten your tireless efforts.Many people lost property on that

day, but thank you for helping tominimise that loss.

To be evacuated and to walk backto ones house three hours later is anexperience that I wish on nobody.

In our case the fire jumped theroadandwent throughourproperty.

When we got back there the housewas still standing despite a totally

burnt-out surrounding garden.I still say it was a miracle. But a

miracle made possible by your menand women, your helicopter pilots,volunteers and others.

We praise you for your greatwork. We thank you.

God bless you.

BUKS AND ROS NELSOMERSET WEST

Puik diens byMicrotronics!EK wil baie graag vir Microtro-nics in die Strand bedank vir dieongelooflike diens en bystandaan my gelewer met die installa-sie van n skottel en alles watdaarmeesaamgaanbymyhuis indie Strand.

Die eienaar, Mike Rademan,het my werklik tegemoetgekomen ek kan steeds nie glo dat daarnogsulkemensedaarbuite isnie.Dit word opreg waardeer en ekmaak sover ek kan dit aan almalbekend!

Baie dankie weer eens.

MARIETTE CONRADIESTRAND

Caring vet in trying timesTO Dr Karin Wilson and her team ofTeva Veterinary Clinic, Schaapen-berg Road, Somerset West:

I want to thank you so, so muchfor all that you did for my belovedNicky. You just gave so much of yourtime and energy to help him duringhis illness, and this did not go unno-ticed. There are just no words that I

can find to express my thanks forwhat you and your team did.

I also want to thank you so muchfor the flowers you sent me; they aretruly beautiful.

Thank you once again.

MARJE NELLSOMERSET WEST

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Modelvlieg-opeDIE jaarlikse Time Freight Boland OpeKampioenskap vir radiobeheerde vliegtuievind weer op 21 en 22 April plaas.

Die land se beste vlieniers sal in die ver-skillende kategorie wat van 1,5 m vlerk-span-vliegtuie tot enorme 3 m vlerkspan-vliegtuie wissel meeding.

Die klem by vanjaar se kampioenskap isop vliegtuie wat n presiese skaalmodel vandie regte een is, en hoe hulle die vliegtuigin die lug kan hanteer.

Almal is welkom om die kampioenskapbytewoon.Eetendrinkgoedsal tekoopaan-gebied word.

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KLAPMUTS

Helderberg secures mayco attentionPETER FORD

THE City of Cape Town should, ide-ally, replace 100 km of old watersupply pipelines annually, but be-cause of budget constraints it cur-rently only manages to replace50 km.

So said deputy mayor Ian Neil-son in a presentation to the JointRatepayersForum(JRF) inSomer-

set West on 11 April.Neilson holds the finance portfo-

lio in the mayoral committee.In his presentation, Neilson

dealt broadly with the compilationof the Citys budget, as well as itsallocation.

He answered queries raised by anumber of JRF members about theequitable application of revenueand the Citys policy in determin-

ing and trying to meet acceptableservice standards.

He noted that the Helderberg asa region is unique in being repre-sentative of the demographics ofthe entire metropolitan area. In ad-dition to a comprehensive graphicslide presentation, he answeredmany questions relating to localproblems.

Many matters were dealt with in

a meeting lasting about two hours.The participants were generallywell satisfied, and concurred thatthe series of meetings with mayo-ral committee councillors is of dis-tinct benefit to all the sectors of theHelderberg.

During May, councillor GrantPascoe (tourism, events and mar-keting) will meet members of theJRF in Somerset West. Deputy mayor Ian Neilson.

JOINT RATEPAYERS' FORUM


D te: n d y 2 2 @ 1: 0 Fr d y 0 y 20 2 :a Wed es a 01 1 0 & i a 4 Ma 1 @ 10 0025 A r l p iT I t r , M So eVenue: he n e change Somerset all, m rset West

Viewing: From Thursday 03 May 2012 till Start of Auction

In o s ct n m s W t-h u e Au io So er et es

We are changing our Auction days to Tuesday 10:00 and Fridays 10:00

St k od inin room ui e, L styl i in room Tabl Ch i 2p Oak C ner Displa Unit, in wo D g S t og e D n g e & 6x a rs, c or y Kingsize B se wi h a tr Oak val ou d a le, O k Gla ron ed Di lay Ca i et I b ia B lla t M t ess, O R n T b a ssf t sp b n , m u a

law Kidn hape Cof ee T ble, 3-T er St el Disp y C b ne , it tudded - ater C ch,& C ey S f a i e la a i t Wh e S 3 Se ou S ede D ble Bed w th rawers, Whi e 2-D or Tv a inet, 12-Seate a d Din ng om Table, u ou i D t o C b r C rve i ro Pi k R cli er/Laz oy, 2p - ea er L at er Lou ge ite, Le ther O f e Cha s n L ts M re...n e n yb c 5 S t e h n Su a f ic ir a d o o

a 0 u 0Date: S turday, 21 April 2012 @ 11: 0 & Sat rday, 28 April 2012 @11: 0Venue: The n erchang , Somerset Mall, Somerset West I t e

o u 9 2 S f i .Viewing: Fr m Th rsday 1 April 012 till tart o Auct on

uia Arm air, B ac -Se ter Couch, mbuia Riempies A m Chair, Per i a p t &Imb Ch l k 2 a I r Red s an C r e s Ru e , ton Heater, L gstyle of e Tab , Defy ashing c ine, Single to en Ba e nn rs Sal Gas o C f e le W Ma h Que s& ttres Sets Framed irro & Oil on C nv , Bedside edes als Pin Bedside Lamps, Vacuum Ma s , M rs a as P t , e

Cleaners, Oil Heaters Colo r v s, l Filin & tionary inets B P ma Stan , u T Stee g Sta Cab , lack las d,Mic ave , Ass rted boo s Co ter t nds Pi B okcas , s orted Sm lls o s More. . row s o k , mpu S a , ne o es A s a and L t .

Lose anything at the mall?SOMERSET Mall, which hasaccumulated a vast amountof lost property through theyears, is calling on people to goaround and put in a claim forgoods they may have lostthere.

Of course, people will have

to prove in some way that theydo indeed own the things theyclaim to.

Anything that hasnt beenclaimed after three months(from 1 May to 31 July) will bedonated to a local charity, amall spokesperson says.

LOST AND FOUND

Send diary entries to:[email protected]

Weekly deadline:Monday, 12:00

We would like to invite ourregular diary advertisers tosend us pictures of theirevents for inclusion in ourSocial or Diary section.

DistrictDiary

Thursday 19 AprilStrand:) The Helderberg New Muslim

Support Group meet every first andthird Thursday of the month in theIqra Community Centre in Ham-mond Street at 19:30. New Muslims,wantingtolearnaboutIslamorolderreverts. An evening of learning,sharing, support and sisterhood.Women only. Laura Pisto-rius: 0 021 854 5959.) Die Strand Biblioteekvriende

bied n gratis boekherstel-kursusvan 09:00 tot 12:00 in die biblioteek-saalaan.Slegs20mensekanaanvaarword. Skakel die biblioteek op0 021 850 4173 vir besprekings.) Die Ruimte Sentrum in Mill-

straat verkoop weekliks heerlikedruiwe teen R37/4,6 kg. BestellingsMaandae vir aflewering op Donder-dae. 0 Christina: 021 854 8234.

Vrydag 20 AprilStrand:) DieNG-Strandseplaasmark el-

ke Vrydag. 0 Elise: 083 414 8734.Somerset West:) The Genesis Creation Story

Flower Show in the Hottentots-Hol-landNGChurchhall inGordonRoadfrom 09:00 to 16:00 and tomorrow (21April) from 09:00 to 14:00. An entryfee of R20. 0 Kim Zimmer-man: 021 852 2656.

Saturday 21 AprilSomerset West:) The Newberry House Middle

School is moving to new premises(also on Lourensford Wine Estate)early in the second term. Join theopen day 10:00 12:00. 2 [email protected] or 0 021 847 1585.) The 1st Somerset West Girls

Brigadehostsabreakfast fundraiserat Church Street Methodist Church08:00 11:00. A full-house breakfastfor only R28 will be sold on the samepremises as the car boot sale. Cas-sandra: 0 076 593 9737 or Ar-lene: 072 697 3724.) The Western Cape Watercolour

Groups monthly meeting at 14:00 inthe library hall. Local artist, JohannBurger, will demonstrate icon paint-ing techniques. Entry fee R10 formembers and R20 for visitors askedat the door. 0 DianeWhite: 021 851 2520.Stellenbosch:) Join the Stellenbosch Hiking

Club on a 17 km hike. To make abooking contact Linda du Toit0 021 887 1548.

Sondag 22 AprilStellenbosch:) Besoek die Blaauwklippen Vi-

neyards Family Market om 09:00 enneem deel aan die Vineyard DoggyWalk ten bate van die HelderbergDieresorg-vereniging. Toegang isR20 per persoon met n hond en R10per persoon. 0 Hugo: 084 608 6325.Somerset West:) Somerset West Music Society

hosts their Flute Baroque Trio at16:00 in the library hall which fea-tures Bridget Rennie-Salonen(flute), Angela Paynter (cello) andGrant Brasler (harpsichord). Non-members R55/students R30.

0 Essie Koekemoer: 021 856 1847082 850 6954.Gordon's Bay:) The Gordons Bay Lions Clubs

carboot sale on themunicipal sportsfield in Roos Street 09:00 12:00. Theerection of food stalls will cost R100and the cost of any other stall is R30.Free togeneral public. For enquiriescontact 0 076 801 9620.

Maandag 23 AprilSomerset-Wes:) Die Aanhouwen-werksentrum

vir volwasse gestremdes in Dum-merstraat bied Maandag- en Dins-dagoggende tweedehandse klerever-kopings van 08:00 tot 13:00 aan.0 Linda Niemller: 021 851 3798.

Tuesday 24 AprilSomerset West:) TheHelderbergSmallBusiness

Club (SBC) will host a meet, greetandnetworking functionat theErin-valeEstateat18:00.Thepresentationwill cover topics such as our chang-ing world, shift happens, the busi-ness challenge, leadership implica-tions and predictability to drivetrust. Cost for non-members R100,chamber members R20; no chargeforSBCmembers.Bookingsonorbe-fore Thursday 19 April. Call Chantalvan Schalkwyk: 0 021 948 9800.

Woensdag 25 AprilStrand:) n Snuffelmark sal van 12:30 tot

13:30 in die NG Kerk Lourensrivierse kerksaal plaasvind. Tweedehand-se klerasie, kombuisware, snuiste-rye en baie meer sal te koop aange-bied word. 0 MargueriteKies: 021 854 8046.Somerset West:) Join the Hottentots Holland

Branch of WESSA (Wildlife and En-vironment Society of SA) for a two-hour walk at the Helderberg NatureReserve at 19:00. A torch and com-fortable shoes will be helpful.0 Freya Brett: 021 852 8831.

HHH class of '82: The 1982 mat-rics of Hottentots Holland HighSchool are trying to track down alltheir classmates fora reunionon27October. They are planning, amongother things, a morning visit to theschool, where the former pupils canenjoy a trip down memory lane to their old classrooms or for some, the manyhours they might have spent sitting outside the principals office. You will get theopportunity to take photographs with long lost friends in the quad where you spentyour break times. Then, to finish off the day, a gala evening will give the matricsof 82 the chance to mingle with past teachers, friends and partners. Mail2 [email protected], join the group on Facebook (HHH class of 82 30-year reunion), or contact Pauline de Klerk (neMcMaster) on0 083 631 4889.This photo, showing the class prefects, was taken by DistrictMail at the end of 1981.

REUNION

Thursday, 19 April 201214 ALGEMEEN | GENERAL

Sponsors neededfor solo cyclistTHIS Saturdays Cyclingfor Life Challenge will see25 teams of cyclists battleit out for 12 hours to clockup the most kilometres and raise the most money for Helderberg Hospice.

But while all the othercyclists at this indoorevent at De Hoop PrimarySchools activity centrewill take turns to ride be-tween 08:00 and 20:00, onelone cyclist has chosen tobattle leg cramps and sad-dle sores on his own.

Andrew Dietrich, chairperson of Som-ersetWestRoundTable andacyclistwithastringofmajorracesonhisCV,willplaythe lone wolf for the full 12-hour ride. Heis allowed a three minute break everyhour, but must spend the rest of the timepounding the pedals.

At last years Cycling for Life event,Andrew was in one of the winning teamswho rode a distance equivalent to that be-tween Cape Town and Bloemfontein. He

decided to take on thesolo challenge thisyear as a token of ap-preciation for theoutstanding serviceHospice provides tothe Helderberg com-munity.

He is looking forsponsorship for hishours in the saddle; itwill all go to Helder-bergHospice.Heasksany companies or in-dividuals interested

in contributing to his ride to contact himat [email protected].

The public are invited to join Andrewand the other riders on Saturday to lendtheir support to these intrepid cyclists,who face an endurance challenge set totest their stamina and strength all day.

Music, good food and Funtasia fun fairequipment will ensure a great day out forthe whole family.

Contact Patricia McNaught Davis on021 852 4608 for more information.

Andrew Dietrich.

Christmas comes earlyCOTLANDS was given the makings of a verymerryChristmaswhenSomersetMalldonatedfestive dcor it no longer needed.

The mall last year replaced its traditionalgreen, gold and red decorations with crystalchandeliers and woven hearts, made by theCape Town Society for the Blind.

Somerset Mall management found no usefor the old dcor, and decided to donate it toan organisation that could use it to make adifference in the lives of the community.

Cotlands which cares for young childrenin need by providing psychosocial, educa-

tion and healthcare services through resi-dential and community programmes wasthe ideal candidate.

Somerset Mall is proud and honoured toshare the spirit of Christmas with the chil-dren of our community, says Mandy Bel-lamy, general manager of the mall.

We admire Cotlands for their tenacityand passion, and for adding such immensevalue to our community.

The Christmas dcor will help Cotlandsgive numerous children, and their families,the experience of a joyous Christmas.

The Christmas decorations were handed over by Somerset Mall's marketing managerAnnelize Kotze (left) and general manager Mandy Bellamy (right) to Cotlands directorMonica Buitendag (second from left) and fund development manager Cindy Lucas.

Thursday, 19 April 2012 FOKUS | FEATURE 15

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Going Green

SomerStrand takes a clean standSOMERSTRAND College pupilsand staff members were disap-pointed when, once again, theyhad to give up holiday time toclean the road to their school.

Thirty bags of rubbish and 12bags of garden refuse werepicked up by pupils and staff.

It is demoralising for our pu-pils to see how their environ-ment is destroyed by irresponsi-ble people, says principal An-schen du Plessis. We prideourselves on teaching our learn-ers to look after our planet. Thesaddest part of this is that theseincidents seem to occur almostevery school holiday!

She says everyone at theschool was relieved when thenearby rubbish dump was madea recycling and garden disposalfacility, but were dismayed todiscover later that people hadstarted using Gustrouw Avenue,a quiet road in front of theirschool, as an illegal dump.

Late lastmonth,DuPlessis ex-plains,aschoolemployeenoticeda car dumping rubbish on an ex-

isting heap of rubble there. Theworker took down a detailed de-scription of the car, as well as theregistration number, and it wasimmediately reported to the po-lice by the school secretary.

Du Plessis says there is also aproblem with paper and plasticbags blowing in from the recy-cling facility and getting stuck inthe schools trees and fences.

Not only do these unsightlydecorations devalue the affected

properties, they also pose a dan-ger to theanimals inthehabitat.

Du Plessis worries over therise of illegal dumping aroundGordons Bay, and the healthrisks associated with these sites.

AseducatorsandresidentsofGordons Bay, we care! Not onlyabout our immediate environ-ment, but about the planet. Theonly way we can ensure our chil-drensrighttoacleanandhealthyfuture is to remain vigilant.

Pupils of SomerStrand College put in some hard holiday workto clean up the road in front of their school.

River gets somespa treatmentSITTING alongside a river, engag-ing in good family conversation,eating a delicious picnic, enjoyingthe dappled shade, listening to thegentle sound of the passing water,admiring the sight of litter allaround you

Something wrong with that im-age? Youre not the only one whothinks so: students of Parel ValleiHighSchoolgaveuparecentFridayafternoon to help clean up LourensRiver.

Theytackledthesectionrunningparallel to the Riverside Centre,searching the ground around theriver and occasionally harvestingtrash from the soil. Some of themwere knee-deep in the water, fish-ing for litter while trying to dodgecrabs and other river inhabitants.

In the hour and 30 minutes theywere there, they managed to collect38 black bags full of rubbish.

Itwassuchagoodfeelingto lookback afterwards and see how wehadimpactedontheriver, saysPVpupil Emma Boonzaier. It lookedso much better, and we could resteasy knowing that the animals liv-ing in and around the river werenow happier and safer.

The clean-up was truly a pleas-ant experience, despite the occa-sional rain shower that caught us.There was a smile on everyonesfaceasweworkedandtalked, some-times giggling at the stuff we found.All in all it was fun, and it felt goodto help the environment. We willdefinitely be scheduling anotherclean-up for the near future.

PV pupils collected bags full of garbage at Lourens River.

Boland Bonsai vergaderDIE Bolandse Bonsai-klub verga-der eerskomende Saterdag inStellenbosch.

Die vergadering by dieOemf!-restaurantsal toegespreek

word deur Willem Pretorius oordie 11de Bonsai-konferensie vanAsi en lande om die Stille Ose-aan.

Hy sal ook fotos wys van sy be-

soek aan Japan en die bome vanTakamatsu en Kyoto.

Daarna sal daar n besprekingoor bome wees.

Die vergadering begin om09:00.

Navrae: Marie-Louis du Ples-sis. 082 715 0856.

Thursday, 19 April 201216 PETS | TROETELDIERE

Looking for loving homesPETPALS is calling on people toreachinto theirheartsandadoptanadult animal.

Please consider adopting adultpets they are not as taxing and en-ergetic as puppies or kittens, andthey sleep through the night, aspokesperson says.

What you see is what you get,

so you dont need to ponder whatthe pet will be like as an adult. Res-cued adult pets are also more likelyto bond very closely to their newowners, as they have not had thebest start in life.

Still set on a little one? PetPalsnearly always has rescued kittensand puppies available for adoption.

If you are looking for a puppy or akitten, please contact us.

All you need to do is fill out anadoption form (find it at www.pet-pals.org.za)payanominaladoptionfee. To arrange a meeting with yournewbest friend, contactYolandaon021 854 6317 or 083 411 0738, orAzanne on 073 180 2050.

Bruno: A few years ago, PetPals found Bruno tied to a treewith only a few metres to move around. Since then, he's hadto change homes three times and he's now back at PetPalsfor a fourth time. This labrador-sized dog, who has been steri-lised and vaccinated, desperately needs a loving home; he'scurrently staying in the kennels, and he's confused and un-happy. Bruno is used to children and other dogs a femalecanine companion would be his first choice, though. Brunois energetic and can jump over walls and fences, but he onlydoes this to be close to humans and not to run away, thespokesperson says. For his own safety, he needs to stay ona property where there are boundary walls of 1,8 m in heightat least. Should you find it in your heart to foster Bruno,or togivehimthestabilityof thepermanenthomehedeserves,please contact us straight away as we are desperate.

Simply red: This family of cats, found atthe Arabella Hotel, was taken to the Her-manus Animal Welfare Society. After amonth at the shelter they still hadnot foundhomes, so they were transferred to PetPalsfor longer-term care in March. The familyof three are all gingers, the spokespersonsays. DaddyCatand theboyarevery lovingand affectionate, but Mommy Cat is still abit wary of people. All three of them havebeen sterilised. Please consider makingone or more of them part of your family.

Give Rusty a lifelineTWO-YEAR-OLD Rusty, afriendly and well-behaveddog, is living on borrowedtime.

Currently staying at theHelderberg Animal WelfareSociety, he was due to be putto sleep before the weekend,but the process has been de-layed while the society dealswith the over-full kennels so hes been given a short re-prieve, anda littlemore timeto find a home.

Rusty is a very mellowboy with zero aggression,and gets along well with allotherdogs,evenun-neuteredmales, a society spokesper-son says. He is totally non-confrontational, and walkswell on a leash.

Hehasbeenable to climbrather high fences, but sincehis camphasbeen filledwithother dogs he has not at-tempted a climb in a verylong time, the spokesper-son says of the perfectlyhealthy dog.

It is sad that Rusty has toleaveduetothelimitedspacein the public shelter, butdogs that have been there forlonger, or which have a ten-dency to climb, are alwaysconsidered first for euthana-sia, the spokesperson adds.

If anyone would like toopen theirheart andhome tothis wonderful dog, pleasecontact Helene on0 073 354 4915 to arrange ameet and greet.

Rusty, a two-year-old maledog, is in urgentneed of a lovinghome.

Community carePETPALS was recently in-volved in a collaborative com-munity project in the MorkelsCottage informal settlement inthe Strand.

Various groups and organisa-tions came together last Fridayafternoon to help both the resi-dents and the animals of thesettlement.

Duraline painted the commu-nitys crche, while the King-dom Light Church handed outBibles, clothes, and bread (spon-sored by Werda Bakery) to the

residents. The station managerof Radio Helderberg covered thehappenings live for the stationsHome Run programme.

While PetPals also handedout gifts, such as cold drinks(sponsored by Appletiser) forthe children and pet food for thepet owners, its main activity onthe day was to dip the townshipdogs.

PetPals expresses its sincereappreciation to every single vol-unteer who was involved in thisshared project.

Liezie from Liezie's Art & Photography captured these imagesof the special day, free of charge.

Heartbroken about her missing YorkyNORA Mager from Somerset West isdesperatelysearchingforherbeloveddog, Oscar, that went missing on 27March.

The 14-year-old Oscar disappeared

at about 18:15 on 27 March from No-ras home at 19 Tharina Street, Vander Stel.

He is a grey-silverYorkshireTerri-er and has no teeth.

Anyonethatmightknowwhathap-pened to Oscar or where he might bekept, must kindly contact his owner,Nora, on 084 600 5592 as soon as possi-ble.

Thursday, 19 April 201218 FEATURE | FOKUS

Bring onthe beardsBOT Rivers winemakers are in their fi-nal days of preparation for this yearsBarrels & Beards Harvest Celebration.

The celebration takes place this Sat-urday, and promises to be a fun-filledevening for wine lovers of every palate.

Toasting the end of harvest, produc-ers from this winelands pocket will pa-rade their precious wines and bursts ofpost-harvest beard. During this manictimewe focusall oureffortson thevinesand wines to ensure that only the finestquality is harnessed in each bottle ofwine, says Cap Classique winemakerMelissa Nelsen of Genevieve.

This leaves us with very little timefor self-pruning and -pampering.

Other wine producers set to flaunttheir whiskers and wines includeGabrilskloof, Boutros, Barton, Mare-manna, Goedvertrouw, Wildekrans,Beaumont, Eerstehoop, Feiteiras, Riv-endell and Luddite. Not only can yourub shoulders with our fine winemak-ers and barrel-taste the youngest winesand some all-time favourites from eachwinery, you also get to vote for the bestand boldest beard in the valley, saysSebastian Beaumont,

Theevent includesasumptuousfeastfeaturingaLudditepigonaspit; artisanbreads baked by Beaumont Estate;goats cheesebyAnysbos;andanumberof hearty side dishes.

Die Stoepsitters, will keep the viberolling with live, foot-stomping music.

The Bot River Barrels & Beards Har-vest Celebration takes place at The OldShed at Anysbos Farm in SwartrivierRoad, Bot River, at 17:00. Tickets costR150, which includes a complimentarytasting of the latest wines; a souvenirwine glass; and the dinner.

Tobookorfindoutmore,mailNicoleneHeyns at [email protected].

A weekend of Wellington winesATTENTION all wine lovers: the firstwinetasting weekend away for 2012 willtakeplacealong theWellingtonwineroutefrom 25 to 27 May.

Members of clubs Winederous District-Mail and Eikestadnuus, Goblets & Gour-mets and Wine Explorers are all welcometo book for this weekend; guests may alsojoin the celebration of good living.

AtacostofR1 775perperson, the luxuri-ous weekend includes:

two nights accommodation at Val duCharron

daily breakfasts at Val du Charron seven winetastings two dinners lunch at Doolhof.A deposit of 50 % needs to be paid by 25

April to secure your place. Proof of pay-ment must be sent to Bjrn van Oort at2 [email protected]. Please donot pay a deposit before your place hasbeen confirmed.

There are only a limited number ofrooms available, with space for a total of26 people, so be sure to RSVP as soon aspossible; numbers need to be finalised by25 April.

For more information contact Bjrnvan Oort on 021 981 021 or 084 511 1806.

Vergelegen: new and improvedNIKITA SYLVESTER

YOU know, as you drive down the shaded,winding roads with the breathtaking viewof theHottentotsHollandmountain growingcloser, that youll soon end up at one of Som-erset Wests gems: Vergelegen wine estate.

The first eye-catching attraction as youenter the premises is the new winetastingcentre, which has become the main gatewayto theestate, playingakeyrole inwelcomingvisitors.And itsmerely thebeginningof thejourney to new and improved.

Explaining a little background, Vergele-gen managing director Don Tooth says that,when current owner Anglo Americanbought the estate in 1987, the existing build-ings underwent low-key refurbishing forhospitality use. The estate soon developeda reputation for excellent service and re-ceived numerous awards, but the appear-ance and structure of some of its offeringsbecame somewhat dated.

Vergelegen took into account the historyof the farm and designed accordingly, butwith a new, fresh approach that suits con-temporary tastes, says Tooth.

While the exterior of the buildings ac-knowledges the history, interiors offer afresh, light-filled experience.

To reach the second new attraction, visi-tors have no option but to stand in awe ofthe latest enhancement of the Vergelegengardens: the redesigned and replanted herband vegetable garden, adjacent to the newlybuilt winetasting centre and Stables bistro.

Vergelegen offers visitors 17 diverse gar-dens that cover 10 ha of the magnificent es-tate.Thentheres thatsecondattraction.The

Stables bistro has a more family-orientatedstyle that iscomfortableandrelaxed,yet stillsophisticated.

Itstandsonthesiteof theoldhorsestables,which were adapted to house the former giftshop, winetasting centre and interpretivecentre. These three long, narrow buildingshave been joined and linked by low-key, flatroofstoformonesinglebuildingforthisnew,informal-yet-stylish restaurant.

In both buildings the focus is on bringingthe outside in. Features such as near-invisible glass doors and sliding shuttersmaximise theviewsandenjoymentofVerge-legens surroundings.

And the new executive chef at the Stables,28-year-old Alicia Giliomee, brings a love ofgood food and a wealth of experience to hernew post in Somerset West.

What a privilege to now be part of such

a lovely property as Vergelegen, she says.It is a destination of note rich in history,natural wonder and wine excellence. Inshort, the sum of all the senses: the beauty,nature, wine and food.

Her vision for the Stables, she says, in-cludes contemporary, relaxed dining; en-couraging the chefs to be as self-sufficientas possible by harvesting the estates freshfruit and vegetables; and offering guestsnourishment for heart and soul. The menuis contemporary, with a focus on fresh andwholesome ingredients, stylishly served. Itcaters for all tastes youll find everythingfromaheartybreakfast toachildrensmenu,not to mention the finest steaks and seafood.

Formoreinformation,or tomakereserva-tions, contact Vergelegen on0 021 847 1346,or pay a visit to the estates website atwww.vergelgen.co.za.

Light-filled Stables, Vergelegen's bistro-style restaurant, offers views of the Hotten-tots Holland mountain and the estate's gardens.

Char-grilled steak paired with Vergelegenwine at the Stables restaurant.

Vergelegen's managing director, DonTooth, explains the new facilities.

This is the view of the herb and vegetablegarden from the new winetasting centre.

Thursday, 19 April 2012 LEEFSTYL | LIFESTYLE 19

Heel geroosterdeKabeljou in uiekorsGERRIT RAUTENBACH

Bestanddele:1 heel kabeljou (of ander braaivis), gevlek1 wit ui, fyn gekap1 rooi ui, fyn gekap1 knoffelhuisie, fyn gekap100 ml olyfolie50 ml sojasous20 ml Walker Bay Fish spice20 ml Walker Bay Safari BBQ spice5 ml Walker Bay Garlic & Herb blend10 ml vars tiemie en roosmaryn, fyn gekap2 ml borrie2 ml mosterdsaadGrowwe sout en peper na smaakBedien 4 6

Metode:Maaknvuurmetgoeiekolesoosvirskaaptjoppies

braai. Terwyl die vuur nog hoog brand, skink vir joun yskoue glas Pinot Noir/Chardonnay-versnit. Ndie derde sluk wat jou rustiger sal laat voel, maaljyaldiedro speseryegoed fynomnMasala tevorm.

Gooi dan die olie, sojasous, knoffel, Masala en dieversnipperde vars kruie bymekaar in n dieperigebak.Menggoedenjysalsiendatdiepaprikaenborrieveroorsaak dat die sojasous en olie n stabiele emul-sie vorm. Skep so ses eetlepels van die sous uit innapartebakkievoordat jydieuieenknoffelbywerk.

Nou ja, nou gaan kyk jy eers weer n slag of diekole al reg is. (Ek hoop jy het nie vergeet om die roos-ter skoon te brand en eergister se ou skaapvetjiesaf te borsel nie.) As die kole lyk of hulle tjoppies kanlooi, stel jy jou roosterhoogte op die regte hoogte. Disnou twee bakstene in hul breedtes bo-op mekaar.

Hierdie is harde, warmmaak-werk en dis tyd omweer daai glasie wyn vol te maak. Staan terug en kykhoe lekker kom alles bymekaar terwyl jy jou keelafkoel. Ja, jy verdien dit.

Hier kom nou die groot geheim. Vat die gevlektekabeljou (as jy twee voorberei het, vat die kabelons)en vou hom binnekant buitentoe. Dop hom om. Metander woord sorg dat die twee velkante binnekantis en die oop vleiskante buitekant (ek weet dis n vis,maar ek reken mens praat seker maar van n vis sevleis, of nie?) Hoe ook al, ek is seker jy verstaan.

Di binneste-buitentoe vis sit jy nou in die toe-knyprooster. Begin verf die kant wat bo l goed toemet die uie-sous. Bedek hom soos met n kombers.Draai die besigheid versigtig om en doen dieselfdeanderkant. Nou skuif jy vuur toe en sit vir ta op diekole. Moenie, ek s weer, moenie die rooster styf toe-knyp nie. Braai so een minuut en draai rooster sag-gies om (ons wil nie h die uiekombers moet afvalnie) terwyl jy net die twee kante van die rooster vas-houomtekeerdatdieheleboksemdaaisnieuitfoeternie. Terwyl kant twee ook vir so n minuut braai,lig jy die boonste kant van die rooster so versigtigop soos n laaitie wat op sy tone uit die koshuis wilslip. Dis om te verseker die vis brand nie vas aandie rooster nie.

Na daai minuut is die kabeljou nou weerskantegesel. Draai dus weer terug na kant een en los homnouvirtweeminuteterwyl jyweerdieroosterversig-tig oplig en dalk saggies die vis loswikkel as hy dalkwil-wil lyk of hy sou wou vassit. Vat ook daai bakkiemet die sousie in sonder uie en drup-drup so bietjiedaarvan op die vis. Draai om en braai kant twee ooktweeminute terwyl jydrup-drupmetdiesousie, sluk-sluk aan die lekker koue wyn en kwyl-kwyl van dielus vir vis. Herhaal proses nog twee keer. Net voorjy klaarkry, draai so ekstra knerts growwe sout enswart peper oor albei kante. Nou is daai outjie regom geet te word.

Om die vis af te haal is nogal n gedoente. Maakdie rooster oop gebruik verkieslik n rooster waar-van die deksel heeltemal kan af en sit n bord bo-oordie vis, maar sorg dat ta aan die een kant is en niein die middel nie. Draai die rooster en bord om sodatdie vis in die bord eindig. Nou vou jy hom oop enhy gaan mos nou velkant boontoe l. Dus vat jy nogn bord en herhaal die proses (toemaar jy het mosgebraai, iemand anders gaan skottelgoed was) sodatdie vis uikant (of vleiskant, dan) boontoe l.

Siedaar, smaaklike ete.Eetmet lekker groenslaai,gegeurderysofroerbraai-groente.Ofsommeraldrie.En nog n glas ietsie kouds. Jy sal proe die uie smaakna braai en die vis is n verbastering tussen braai,gerook en gestoom. Dis omdat die uiekombers aandie buitekant baie vog aan die vis gee en die vel watbinne-in is keer dat die ui-vog en die vis se vog ver-damp of weg braai. Hoe ook al, dis lekker!

Heel geroosterde Kabeljou in uiekors.Foto: Lizel van der Merwe

Gerrit Rautenbach is 'n plaaslike skrywer metpassie vir reis, lekker kos en wyn.

Kos vir die siel HRAA meeting postponedTHE AGM of the Helderberg Resi-dents Action Association hasbeen postponed to Wednesday 23May at 19:00 and will still be held

in the Somerset West library hall.For more information contact

Peter Ford on0 021 852 3678 or at2 [email protected].


Thursday, 19 April 201220 LIFESTYLE | LEEFSTYL

DistrictSocialsSend all social photos to:[email protected]

Colour your emotions: The Duck Pond @Welmoed Wineswill open an exhibition by artist Isa-Dora at 18:30 for 19:00on21April. This oil-on-canvas artist aims to evoke emotionswithout relying on the human form; her large paintings arerich in colour, texture and diversity. See for yourself, andenjoy a glass of Welmoed wine. A menu is available, andbooking is essential.For enquiries and bookings, call Char-lene or Ronel at The Duck Pond on 0 021 881 3310.

Unieke talente kombineer: Die kunsuitstalling From Paris toPop, kombineer die unieke kunstalente vanAnita vanZyl, VernonFourieenMariekePrinsloo-Rowe.DieuitstallingopenWoensdag2 Mei om 18:30 by Lanzerac Manor House in Stellenbosch.Passievolle motiveringspreker Elsabe Aldrich sal die openingbehartig. Die kunswerke kan ook daagliks van 3 tot 13 Mei tus-sen 10:00 en 16:00 besigtig word. Vir verdere inligting, skakel082 415 5609.

Learn an iconictechniqueTHE Western Cape WatercolourGroup holds its next meeting inthe Somerset West Library hall onSaturday at 14:00.

Local artist Johann Burger willtalk abouthis experiences inmon-asteries in Karelia, Transylvaniaand Bulgaria, and he will demon-strate the icon painting tech-niques he studied during his trav-els there.

Work by Johann Burger is cur-rently on display at the LiebrechtGallery, 34 Ouidhuis Street, Som-erset West.

The meeting and demonstra-tion are open to everyone. The en-try fee, which includes refresh-ments, isR10 formembersandR20for visitors.

The group is seeking new mem-

bers, and membership is open topeople of all abilities and ages.

For more information phoneDiane White on 021 851 2520.

Johann Burger.

Alzheimer'sawarenessLIVEWELL SUITES in Somerset Westinvites everyone to join for a morningof sharing and learning about Alzhe-imers and dementia.

The guest speakers set to shed lighton the conditions are:) Dr J Ludwick-Erwee, psychia-

trist in Somerset West, who will in-form you about dementia, the burdenof the disease, its pathology and whatone can do to slow down the process.)Madre Fraenkel, occupational

therapist at Livewell Suites, who willenlighten you about various therapiesavailable in dementia care.) Sanmare MacRobert, dietician at

MediClinic Vergelegen, who will tellyou more about a healthy diet for peo-ple with dementia.) Jill Robson, director of Alzheim-

ers SA in the Western Cape, and Ja-nine de Villiers, support-group leaderin the northern suburbs.

The meeting takes place at LivewellSuites, 41 Lourens Street, SomersetWest, today (Thursday) from 08:30 to11:30.

Entrance costs R30; the money willbe donated to Alzheimers SA.

If youre interested in going, pleaseRSVP to Celia on0 021 851 6886, or at2 [email protected].

Mondigwording: AlrichWayne Frans het op 6 April sy21ste verjaardag met 'n ge-sellige partytjie met familieen vriende gevier.

Soon to be wed: Erinn Mat-thews and Christopher Steynare excited to announce theirengagement. Their weddingis on 8December at the ElginCountry Club.

Marital bliss: Hedda Mapa and Samuel Aston recently gotmarried.

Wedding bells:Emile Middleton, onlyson of Johan Middle-ton and David Venterof Somerset West,marriedMichelleDan-iels only daughter ofChristianandYolandaDaniels from Strand,at the St. NicholasCatholic Church inStellenbosch on 25February.

RegstellingVERLEDE week seDistriksPoshet be-rig dat die 21ste verjaardag van Tiffa-nyFairbairnbyAnchrizelRestaurantin die Strand gevier is. Die restauranthet egter van eienaars verwissel enhandel tans onder die naam LeoniesCoffee Shop.

WEDDINGS

VERJAARDAG ENGAGEMENT

Did you know we'reon Facebook?

www.facebook.com/districtmail

Don't forget our website:www.districtmail.com

Thursday, 19 April 2012 VERMAAK | ENTERTAINMENT 21

Albert Frost to lift the Sunday bluesALBERTFrost is oneof themost accomplishedguitarists in South Africa.

He has proved himself in the blues genrewith success in bands like the Blues Broers,in his capacity as a solo artist, and with histrio. Performing with Arno Carstens, hebrought out two rock albums Another Uni-verseandHelloGoodbyeBoys thatwonSamas.

His strength is in his live performances andcollaborations with numerous artists, includ-ingArnoCarstens,KarenZoidandRobinAuld.

At the moment he is producing the new BluesBroers album, Out of the Blue.

Albert Frost continues to tour the countrywith various acts. He recently reinvented him-self with a solo show that incorporates a looppedal, enablinghimto showcasehis considera-ble ability with both acoustic and electricguitars.

The Albert Frost Trio will hold you capti-vated on Sunday at Berties Moorings at 18:00.

Entrance is free. Albert Frost.

Let's get classical: The SomersetWestMusic Society presents an eveningof baroque music played by a trio of ex-pert musicians on Sunday. The trio,made up of Bridget Rennie-Salonen onflute, Angela Paynter on cello and GrantBrasleronharpsichord,willplayanenter-taining programmeof French, Italian andGerman baroque greats, featuring com-posers such as Frescobaldi, Ortiz,Qantz, Rameau and Blavet. They starttheirperformanceat16:00 in theSomer-set West Library hall. Entrance costsR55 for adults and R30 for students. Formore information, get in touchwithEssieKoekemoer on 0 021 856 1847.

The blues MeisterTHE main feature on stage at Cest la Viethis weekend is the Natasha Meister BluesBand, which is set to perform on Saturday.

At only 20 years of age, Natasha Meisterhas made a huge impact on SA audienceswith her bluesy Motown voice, phenome-nal electric and acoustic guitar skills andsong-writing ability.

Natasha will astound you with heramazing talent, and the band is sure to puton a show of note from 20:00 to 23:00, aspokesperson says.

This feature will be preceded by the usu-

al jazz and blues open mic session with theCest la Vie Trio tonight (Thursday) at19:00. Friday sees the weekly karaokeevening from 20:00.

Cest la Vies popular Wurstzipfel HouseBand will ensure a fantastic afternoon inthe beer garden on Sunday; theyll kick offtheir performance of a range of musicalstyles at 13:00.

There is no cover charge for any of theseevents. Cest la Vie is situated at the Oude-huis Centre, Main Road, Somerset West.

To find out more phone 0 021 851 8504.

Natasha Meister.

Pebblemania hits Bertie'sRICHARD Pryors PebblemanProject, a powerful four-piece rockoutfit, is getting ready to blow youaway.

Back in the conceptual stage,Pryor knew he needed some excep-tional band members to make ithappen, so he found some out-of-this-world musos to work with.

WithPryorhimselfonguitar,hisoriginal songs are brought to lifewith the help of the talented andcreative forcesofJesseJordon,RobStemmett and Kevin Gibson.

No prisoners are taken whenJesse The Pitchman Jordan pullshis three-octave voice from theback of his throat. He locks you inbut never throws away the key, aspokesperson says.

Ricker The Picker Pryorstands right beside him, injectingfretboard-shredding carpel tunnelsyndrome into a display of guitarwizardry thats guaranteed to keepyouguessinguntil thefinalpinchedharmonic stops squealing.

Sitting thunderously on his

throne at the back, Kevin The EmoCowboy Gibson uses huge shardsof solid sharp astral fragmentsmade up of splintering snare drum.Cymbals flay the stage as he wieldshis weapon of drum destruction.

Rob TheGatekeeper Stemmettlurks tall in the back with basslinecatatonia, gluing thepiecesback to-gether that Kevin pulled apart,

while building rock-solid founda-tions for great stories to unfold.

This is pure 70s hard rock witha modern progressive twist, a highdose of musical instrumentationand a good smattering of smokyblues.

Theyll be at Berties Mooringson Saturday; the show starts at21:00, and entrance is free.


Thursday, 19 April 201222 ENTERTAINMENT | VERMAAK

Thursday, 19 April 201248 FEATURE | FOKUS

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Making memories last a lifetimeTHE newly established natural burialground in Stellenbosch aims to transformthe difficult task of laying your loved onesto rest into a bearable and almost pleasantexperience.

Legacy Parks launched the eco-friendlycemetery, South Africas first natural burialground, inAugust lastyearontheWiesenhoffarm and nature reserve near Stellenbosch.

Legacy Parks is a more natural alterna-tive to traditional cemeteries, burials or cre-mation, and a safer, more tranquil place forfamily members to remember their lovedones in an environment where preservingthe legacy is a central concept, says LegacyParks CEO Willie Fouche.

People now have the option of leavingthis world in an earth-friendly way.

Plant life and existing indigenous treescreate a natural habitat for wildlife, includ-ing zebra and springbok, to flourish, makingLegacyParksWiesenhofunique in theworldof eco-cemeteries.

Bodies are returned to the earth in theleast artificial way caskets are made frombiodegradable materials such as wicker, andburial sites are marked organically with en-graved stone markers or a tree planted byrelatives. People of all religionsmaybebur-ied at Legacy Parks, Fouche says.

He adds that a full-time maintenanceteam, ledbyahorticulturalist, is responsiblefor the upkeep of the site.

The park is much more than just a placewhere people are laid to rest: when a familybuys a burial right or takes out a LegacyParks policy, underwritten by Sanlam, theybecome a member of the park. Members canenjoy various benefits such as 4x4 trails,mountain biking, picnicking, bass fishing,

hiking and bird and gamewatching.

On-site facilities includea coffee shop and a deckacross a picturesque dam,where commemorationservices can be held.

A special area of theburial ground is dedicatedto babies, miscarriagesand stillbirths. This areais called Twinkle LittleStar,andissetoutarounda beautiful yellowwoodtree. Parents can place aflat engraved stonemarker under the treewith a personal messageengraved on the stone. This helps many par-ents in their mourning process, and in yearsto come they will always have a place to visitand remember their special child.

Legacy Parks and Doves Funeral Homeshave put together an extensive, all-inclusivepackage for families. There are two packageoptionsone fornormalburial, andtheotherfor ash burial. The packages include all thefuneral costs, suchas for the coffinanddeath

certificates, and theuseof thevenueandbur-ial rights at Legacy Park.

Doves also offers a variety of natural cof-fins, from untreated pine coffins to wickerand sea-grass coffins. These are 100 % biode-gradable, and dont have plastic handles orplastic linings. They speed up the reincorpo-ration process into the earth, and becomefood for the tree that the family has planted.

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Thursday, 19 April 2012 FOKUS | FEATURE 49

When you need to knowCEMETERY offices such as those of the Cityof Cape Town keep records and registers ofburials.

These registers are invaluable for theamount of information they offer. The bigblackbookrecords thedeceasedsname,age,date of death, date of burial, cause of death,place of death, mortician, officiating minis-ter, cemetery, plot number, depth at whichthe body is buried, and religious denomina-tion.

Tombstone inscriptions are not necessa-rily as accurate as the registers themselves.

For example, the number of names on theheadstone might not match the real numberof people buried in the plot. In cases of stillbirth, and during epidemics, these peoplesnames were not engraved on tombstones,and sometimes the only evidence that theperson ever lived is in these books and onthe plot cards. These records are also help-ful when a death notice cannot be found.

Farm and rural cemeteries records arehoused at local municipality offices. Manyburial registers for the churches are nowhoused in various archival repositoriesaround the country, but not necessarily inthe province of their origin.

The Anglican Church records are housed

at the University of Witwatersrand, and theMethodist Church at Cory Library in Gra-hamstown.

Ancestry24 has an ongoing project to digi-tise as many internment registers as possi-ble, as well as photograph hundreds of thou-

sands of tombstones.Consider contributing images via the

Ancestry24 website (www.ancestry24.com)or via email to [email protected].

Source: Ancestry24


Thursday, 19 April 201250 SCHOOLS | SKOLE

NOTICE OF TENDER CLOSING DATE EXTENSION FOR TENDER NO RFP-2012-10: PROVISION OF CATERING SERVICES FOR A

PERIOD OF 12 MONTHS

For further details please contact: Masixole Barnes Tel: 021 413 8856 Fax: 086 763 7415Email: [email protected] Tender EnquiriesAll enquiries must be forwarded to the above email and copied to [email protected] before 30 April 2012. SARS will respond to all enquiries by email. RFP documents may be accessed and downloaded from the SARS website: www.sars.gov.za

NB: The results of the RFP process will be uploaded on the SARS website and may be accessed and downloaded from the website.

RFP

2011

2-10

The tender closing date in respect of the tender RFP-2012-10 is hereby extended to Monday April 30, 2012 at 11am. The bid specifications for this tender have not been altered or amended. Sealed tenders with Tender No. RFP-2012-10: Provision of Catering Services for a Period of 12 Months clearly endorsed on the envelope, must be deposited in the SARS Tender Box, Ground Floor, South African Revenue Service (SARS) offices, 22 Hans Strydom Avenue, Cape Town. Bids may only be submitted on the bid documentation provided on the SARS website www.sars.gov.za, accompanied by an official quotation on your letterhead.

Get aheadstartHELDER-BERG Pri-mary Schoolwill host anopen day forthe 2013Grade R andGrade 1 pu-pils onThursday 19April. Theevent takesplace from18:30 to 20:00.

To bookphone Chris-ta Mller on021 850 7543 /021 855 1482.

Newduties:BeaumontPrimary

DistrictMail 19 April 2012

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