WEEKEND OF 31 JANUARY 2009
Friday evening we were invited to Debbie and Mark Derry for a braai. This was really a get together of Meghan Derry’s friends: Lara Odendaal; Lara Swanepoel; Meghan; Amber Zeelie and Ally Giddy.
I bought some filet and braai rolls and we packed a few cold drinks. We had the braai on their front stoep. Hannes and Jacqui; Alex and Lynne; Jacques and Franelie the Derry’s and ourselves. It turned out to be a stunning evening out, Alex did all the braaing. Debby had made a few delicious home made breads and a salad. We did not stay late but enjoyed being there, chatting and watching our children’s interactions.
The following morning (Saturday) I drove to Linton Grange to run a 15kay race. I had been at a planning meeting for our marathon on Thursday evening. Bruce, Peter, Bradley and Paulette had been an inspiration to me to run a race. I receive these regular emails from Bruce telling me of upcoming events. I have not run a race since the Knysna half last year. However I have been doing some running in the mornings. During the December school holidays I was going down to the beach and doing a run and swim.
I arrived at the school for entry in plenty of time, entered the race, pinned my numbers to my now well worn running vest and lined up for the run. Going to a race like this is like a walk down memory lane. There are so many familiar and friendly faces. People greet each other with warm handshakes and often a little amazement at seeing one another still active in the sport.
We set off at 06.30 along Cape Road, past Macro and turned left under the freeway. We then turned right and did a loop before heading back up to Cape road. I ran with various people: Chris Jansen, Hennie, Camelis, Derek Hoshe, Dean and other chatty and friendly people. Geoff seemed to be in pain as I passed him walking I could see that his calf muscle was swollen. Leslie passed me looking strong. Jock was there supporting Liz and the rest of us Achilleans.
I did not plan to push myself but hoped to be able to run the whole way without stopping to walk. I kept a steady pace and as we approached the 5kay to go mark I realised that I still had plenty of energy so upped the pace slightly. I found myself pulling away from the bunch and passed a few people. Ernie Verral commented that we would finish in under 90 minutes. I don’t run with a watch as I used to find myself checking my time instead of enjoying the exercise. I was surprised to pass Theresa. The following day I saw Theresa at the beach and she commented that I should enjoy it while I can as my ability to pass her will be short lived.
In the final stages I ran alongside Elaine who is an Irish lady doing Volunteer Teaching in SA for two years. She assists at a variety of schools and will be returning home in two months. Malcolm Figg was as surprised to see me as I was to see him at a race. Danny Voster, who used to run with the MPRG many years ago has kept up his training and finished with me.
This was a great run for me. I had finished strongly and felt no aches or pains. And I was more than happy with a pace of under 6 minutes a Kay. I remember a young lady saying that the day she had to run at 6 minutes a kay she would give up running. I certainly will not give up the running even if I cannot maintain any particular pace. I loved the people and the exercise and hope to take part in many more races this season.
I had to be at work and left soon after I finished.
Saturday afternoon I had determined to complete my Income Tax forms. I logged onto Efiling and after a lot of stress and worry finally managed to complete and submit my forms on line. I then tried to do Barbara’s Mill Park Play School efiling and this turned out to be even more stressful. Finally I gave up as we were expecting Charles and Ingrid for supper and bridge. Ally had been at a Gala and returned having had a successful day. Ally won the 100m butterfly as the only 11 year old girl to take part she also beat some of the boys. She did really well in the 200m freestyle as well as the other events that she took part in.
For supper I made what Charles later referred to as Potato Pizza’s. Baked potato with a variety of toppings: Bacon, spinach, mushrooms and cheese. I made a simple salad and this made a wholesome supper. Barbara put the bridge table outside and we sat under the stars playing. We had not played bridge for many months but it did not take us long to get back into the swing of the game.
Sunday morning I again tried to do MPPS efiling but still had no success. Ally was the drummer in the youth music group at church. Jonathan gave a report back on his trip to the Willow Creek church. Bronwyn was the speaker and her sermon revolved around the way that James describes Jesus’ preaching in the synagogue and how the people listening were amazed.
We had decided to go to Nippers and then to the Biathle at Happy Valley. Neither were easy as the Herald cycle closed off the road and we ended up with walking from Second avenue to Happy Valley. Ally did very well and won her race. I had three other adults with me and came fourth. This was our first Biathle of the season. We headed back to Nippers where I was able to greet the people there, pay off some debt and order a chafe vest. Today the Herald cycle tour was on and we had a bit of trouble getting to both Nippers and the Biathle.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
SUMMERSTRAND NIPPERS CARNIVAL SUNDAY 25TH JANUARY 2009 AT KINGS BEACH.
SUMMERSTRAND NIPPERS CARNIVAL
25 JANUARY 2009.
I had been away quite a bit before this carnival. I had been at Wildcliff the previous week. And the week of the carnival I had spent three days in Johannesburg. This was quite hectic for me as I like to be able to work on teams and communicate the as much as possible to the Nippers in the week before a Carnival.
Saturday morning I had a wonderful 15kay run with Ben Carver and some other people we met that morning. After the run we swam out to the buoys at Hobie beach. I rushed off home for a shower and change and then back to the beach for the Level Test. Here we had 6 U10's going through their paces with a few U12's and one U14. Many of these youngsters battle with the sea swim and they like the comfort of having an adult with them as they swim. So I also had a few swims as well. A couple of us were stung by Bluebottles.
I had to go into the office to try to catch up with some of my admin work that I had missed out on being away as much as I had. I had planned to collect an army tent for the scorers but on Saturday morning we discovered that it was no longer available.
Saturday afternoon we met at Kings beach to set up the sprint and the flags arena's. Michael was there to lend a hand as were a number of parents (John, Clint, Donald, Warren, Dion, Deon). Sunday morning I was up early as I had agreed to meet Ben for a run again. I took our Scooter as Barbara would use my car and Jacqui used the bakkie. After the run I drove over to Kings beach and we started the set up of the Tent and taking the boards onto the beach.
Before we even start to talk about this carnival it is important that we acknowledge the hard work that organisers and officials put into the event. Everyone is a Volunteer. People who seldom receive recognition are the officials who no longer have a personal interest or a child in Nippers, but still spend a whole day on the beach. Thank you! Also Supporters, Parents and others who assisted in any way however small: your contribution is valuable and this is truly a case of Many Hands Make Light work!
Nippers started to arrive and we soon had a good team of Nippers for the day's activities. The weather looked perfect. It was a stunning PE “Day in Paradise” with a cool westerly flattening out the small swells. The U10's started off with Individual Malibu and I was surprised how well some of the newer Nippers did. We then moved over to the Flags where a set of heats were run. We had a small team of 4 girls and a substantial team of about 10 U10 boys. Each one of them took part in almost all the events. Malibu, Body Board, Long Run, Sprints, Team Sprints, Taplin & Surf swim,.
The day remained sunny throughout. The wind swung from West to South East but this did not affect the events too much except that the last few water events became difficult as sections would be directly into the wind and the Nippers were being pushed to the left as they went out to the buoys. For parents it was a day of drama as we watched our Nippers in some thrilling finishes. Also we witnessed some real bravery as Nippers who would not normally take part in water events went out despite their fears and misgivings.
Last Nipper in the water today was Caitlin Rogers who took part in the Iron Nipper contest. Caitlin has been an example of vasbyt for many years. She does not win races but steadfastly enters the event.
I know that I repeat myself but Nippers is a sport for the brave and those with heart. Flags is an incredible event for building character as those who are eliminated have to return to their team mates with a gracious manner. I watched the U12 girls flags finals and I was delighted to see how well they took defeat. Often with a smile and a spring in their step they would accept that they had been eliminated and as soon as they joined their team mates they would engage in conversation that did not excuse their failure to continue.
If you as a parent or supporter felt tired and frazzeled after this day on the beach, then how much more would the Nippers feel exhausted. And how much did they whinge? I heard very few complaints. And while we have a bit of time to sit and watch, the nippers use up the breaks to swim and surf.
Our team of U10's need to be propped up with some swimming ability. For the next carnival we should have Alexia Vaughn who took part in a few of the water events as a fun exercise as Lexie does not have a Level test yet and did very well in these events. We did not score well in the final tally were beaten by Kings beach and by Plett. The U12's and the U14's did very well today and they pulled us through to an overall win.
A couple of lessons: we should have a pack of black bags and hand to each of the clubs who are there as we tend to generate a huge amount of rubbish and it is not fair to leave this for someone else to clear for us. Also we did not have a table and chairs for the scorers. People like the scorers, starters and catchers have a non stop job moving from one event to another and don’t have time for a meal break. We should have someone to ensure that they are properly catered for.
I received these two notes which indicate that the admin and work that goes into an event like this is worth the effort:
“Thanks for organizing a great day and perfect weather. I am sure most of the kids batteries were pretty flat by this arvi and parents pretty frazzled. Summies has an awesome team spirit and i am wondering why it took me so long to finally get my SLA.
Have a great week and c ya Sunday”.
Thank you for a great day! AGAIN FOR ALL THE SUPPORT TO OUR CHILDREN ! Much appreciated!
Thank you for the life skills you and your team are teaching our children –
Congratulations! WELL DONE!
Thanks Peter. Great day on Sunday. Jaryd thoroughly enjoyed himself. Thanks 4 the encouragement and support. Much appreciated.
Thanks again for these e-mails. And ditto to all those who made everything possible on Sunday!
We’ll see you and yours on Friday for bring and braai starting around 6.30pm.
Lv Debbie
Results
East London 153 Points
Plett 458 points
Kings Beach 813 Points
Summerstrand 899 Points
I am not sure if I have missed it perhaps, but have you informed everybody that EC Champs has been brought forward to 28 Feb/01 March? If not, perhaps you can let everyone know in this week's email?
Well done, coaches!
Regards
Lee
Note from the seniors:
WATER & ELECTRICITY – SAVING PLEASE
We are requesting that all members use the water & electricity wisely as the costs are spiraling out of control. We need each & every member to get involved in this cost saving exercise.
GIRLS NIPPERS….This applies to you. Use those showers sparingly. A quick shower to clean off.
Level tests: If you are interested in taking part in Carnivals and in the East Cape Champs next year then you have to have qualified for the Level Test in your age group.
To qualify for a level test:
You need to swim a 400m in a pool either with a swim coach, a responsible adult or a Nippers Coach. Please phone me if you need help in this regard.
A copy of your Birth Certificate.
A competed indemnity form.
We need you to bring these documents to Nippers urgently if the Nipper is to compete in the next Carnival.
Please contact Liesl or Juan Nel at 0824428784 or sales@intertown.co.za to confirm that your Nipper has been entered for the next level test in two weeks time.
Marking of clothing: Please mark all clothing and kit. Every weekend we find Unmarked clothing lying around on the beach or in the change rooms.
25 JANUARY 2009.
I had been away quite a bit before this carnival. I had been at Wildcliff the previous week. And the week of the carnival I had spent three days in Johannesburg. This was quite hectic for me as I like to be able to work on teams and communicate the as much as possible to the Nippers in the week before a Carnival.
Saturday morning I had a wonderful 15kay run with Ben Carver and some other people we met that morning. After the run we swam out to the buoys at Hobie beach. I rushed off home for a shower and change and then back to the beach for the Level Test. Here we had 6 U10's going through their paces with a few U12's and one U14. Many of these youngsters battle with the sea swim and they like the comfort of having an adult with them as they swim. So I also had a few swims as well. A couple of us were stung by Bluebottles.
I had to go into the office to try to catch up with some of my admin work that I had missed out on being away as much as I had. I had planned to collect an army tent for the scorers but on Saturday morning we discovered that it was no longer available.
Saturday afternoon we met at Kings beach to set up the sprint and the flags arena's. Michael was there to lend a hand as were a number of parents (John, Clint, Donald, Warren, Dion, Deon). Sunday morning I was up early as I had agreed to meet Ben for a run again. I took our Scooter as Barbara would use my car and Jacqui used the bakkie. After the run I drove over to Kings beach and we started the set up of the Tent and taking the boards onto the beach.
Before we even start to talk about this carnival it is important that we acknowledge the hard work that organisers and officials put into the event. Everyone is a Volunteer. People who seldom receive recognition are the officials who no longer have a personal interest or a child in Nippers, but still spend a whole day on the beach. Thank you! Also Supporters, Parents and others who assisted in any way however small: your contribution is valuable and this is truly a case of Many Hands Make Light work!
Nippers started to arrive and we soon had a good team of Nippers for the day's activities. The weather looked perfect. It was a stunning PE “Day in Paradise” with a cool westerly flattening out the small swells. The U10's started off with Individual Malibu and I was surprised how well some of the newer Nippers did. We then moved over to the Flags where a set of heats were run. We had a small team of 4 girls and a substantial team of about 10 U10 boys. Each one of them took part in almost all the events. Malibu, Body Board, Long Run, Sprints, Team Sprints, Taplin & Surf swim,.
The day remained sunny throughout. The wind swung from West to South East but this did not affect the events too much except that the last few water events became difficult as sections would be directly into the wind and the Nippers were being pushed to the left as they went out to the buoys. For parents it was a day of drama as we watched our Nippers in some thrilling finishes. Also we witnessed some real bravery as Nippers who would not normally take part in water events went out despite their fears and misgivings.
Last Nipper in the water today was Caitlin Rogers who took part in the Iron Nipper contest. Caitlin has been an example of vasbyt for many years. She does not win races but steadfastly enters the event.
I know that I repeat myself but Nippers is a sport for the brave and those with heart. Flags is an incredible event for building character as those who are eliminated have to return to their team mates with a gracious manner. I watched the U12 girls flags finals and I was delighted to see how well they took defeat. Often with a smile and a spring in their step they would accept that they had been eliminated and as soon as they joined their team mates they would engage in conversation that did not excuse their failure to continue.
If you as a parent or supporter felt tired and frazzeled after this day on the beach, then how much more would the Nippers feel exhausted. And how much did they whinge? I heard very few complaints. And while we have a bit of time to sit and watch, the nippers use up the breaks to swim and surf.
Our team of U10's need to be propped up with some swimming ability. For the next carnival we should have Alexia Vaughn who took part in a few of the water events as a fun exercise as Lexie does not have a Level test yet and did very well in these events. We did not score well in the final tally were beaten by Kings beach and by Plett. The U12's and the U14's did very well today and they pulled us through to an overall win.
A couple of lessons: we should have a pack of black bags and hand to each of the clubs who are there as we tend to generate a huge amount of rubbish and it is not fair to leave this for someone else to clear for us. Also we did not have a table and chairs for the scorers. People like the scorers, starters and catchers have a non stop job moving from one event to another and don’t have time for a meal break. We should have someone to ensure that they are properly catered for.
I received these two notes which indicate that the admin and work that goes into an event like this is worth the effort:
“Thanks for organizing a great day and perfect weather. I am sure most of the kids batteries were pretty flat by this arvi and parents pretty frazzled. Summies has an awesome team spirit and i am wondering why it took me so long to finally get my SLA.
Have a great week and c ya Sunday”.
Thank you for a great day! AGAIN FOR ALL THE SUPPORT TO OUR CHILDREN ! Much appreciated!
Thank you for the life skills you and your team are teaching our children –
Congratulations! WELL DONE!
Thanks Peter. Great day on Sunday. Jaryd thoroughly enjoyed himself. Thanks 4 the encouragement and support. Much appreciated.
Thanks again for these e-mails. And ditto to all those who made everything possible on Sunday!
We’ll see you and yours on Friday for bring and braai starting around 6.30pm.
Lv Debbie
Results
East London 153 Points
Plett 458 points
Kings Beach 813 Points
Summerstrand 899 Points
I am not sure if I have missed it perhaps, but have you informed everybody that EC Champs has been brought forward to 28 Feb/01 March? If not, perhaps you can let everyone know in this week's email?
Well done, coaches!
Regards
Lee
Note from the seniors:
WATER & ELECTRICITY – SAVING PLEASE
We are requesting that all members use the water & electricity wisely as the costs are spiraling out of control. We need each & every member to get involved in this cost saving exercise.
GIRLS NIPPERS….This applies to you. Use those showers sparingly. A quick shower to clean off.
Level tests: If you are interested in taking part in Carnivals and in the East Cape Champs next year then you have to have qualified for the Level Test in your age group.
To qualify for a level test:
You need to swim a 400m in a pool either with a swim coach, a responsible adult or a Nippers Coach. Please phone me if you need help in this regard.
A copy of your Birth Certificate.
A competed indemnity form.
We need you to bring these documents to Nippers urgently if the Nipper is to compete in the next Carnival.
Please contact Liesl or Juan Nel at 0824428784 or sales@intertown.co.za to confirm that your Nipper has been entered for the next level test in two weeks time.
Marking of clothing: Please mark all clothing and kit. Every weekend we find Unmarked clothing lying around on the beach or in the change rooms.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Johannesburg 22 January 2009. Julia Braatvedt Choc Chip Biscuits.
The organisation that I work for is known as JDG. This is the Joshua Doore Group. Morkels is a division of this organisation and I started with Morkels in June 1984 as a manager of the PE Main Street (now Govan Mbeki Avenue) shop. This was a new store opening at the time. I worked as manager of this shop for around 3 years and then moved to the North End shop where I was the manager also for about 3 years. The then Regional Manager, Cliff May, resigned and I was given the task of RM for the Garden Route area.
This meant the shops in Oudtshoorn, George, PE and Uitenhage. This was a great time for me but then Tony Ashton who was running the East London shops resigned and I had this region added to mine. I think that I botched up some of my decisions and Arthur Flemix (my GM at the time) changed my job title to Regional Credit Manager and Johan Claassen become the RM in my place. Botha DuPlessis was the Regional Personnel manager but under Johan this did not go well and he resigned and took up a contract position with both the University and the CCMA. For a short while I was appointed to the postion of PM but when to opportunity came I moved back to Retail Regional. Justin Strydom became our PM. And then after Justin resigned some years later to join the RMI (Retail Motor Industry) as a HR consultant we had Lynne Vogel join as PM. Our division became part of the Western Division under Johan Sadie and I moved back to RM when Johan Claassen moved to JHB for a promotion.
Again I had a bit of a tough time operating under a elderly man (Norman Daniels) but when he left I did exceptionally well working for Joahn Sadie. For a short while this changed and I worked under Glen Phillips but when JDG took over Morkels he resigned to open a Bottle Store in Port Shepstone. And I moved back to work under Johan Sadie. In 2007 JDG decided to split finance from Retail and I became the Regional Finance Manager once more. I had to do a lot more travel as the Border Transkei was once more part of my region. Around this time Johan Sadie took a Regional Position and Martin Labuschane became my GM with Belinda Deyzel operating as Divisional Credit Manager and my immediate superior. Early in 2008 Joahn Sadie resigned and opened a Pie Shop. we saw him in the middle of the year when we had a super with him and his wife Poppie. He was having all kinds of trouble in the business. Early in 2009 Johan became extemely depressed and was booked into hospital for sleep therapy and I hear that they will sell of fhte pie business.
My position as Regional Finance lasted for a year from September 2007 to October 2008. JDG decided to completely split Retail and Finance and I applied for the position of GM in the Eastern Cape. I was interviewed by Corrie Neven who would become my new senior.
In the position of GM Finance I was asked to attend a meeting in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 January 2009.
Nicci and Stefan were also in Joahnnesburg as they had launched the Little Pink Book (Gauteng) on Tuesday 21st January and had a big function at the Indaba conference hotel. Susanne Braatvedt went to see what was going on and reported to me that it looked like a very fancy party. Some important Celebrity people were there including TV people, the top make up artist in SA & the "You" magazine. Nicci and Stefan had stayed with Keith when they were first in Joahnnesburg to set the whole function up.
Nicci has a way of attracting people as she tells me she asks people: "Would you like to become involved in the Little Pink Book" rather than asking them to sign up for advertising. She had good response and the whole function was sponsored and all they had to pay for were the flight tickets. Unfortunately while they were there they discovered that a "Friend" from Knysna / George area was trying to copy their idea by producing something similar there but without consulting them. I spoke to Nicci after she returned to Cape Town and by all accounts this was a huge success and now she has a tight deadline for the publishing of the final product.
I was also able to stay with Keith and Susanne rather than staying in an hotel. After work, Susanne picked me up from the Randburg Contact Centre and took me to their home in Bryanston where I have stayed before. I met up with their long time maid, Ellen. Nils was off at a camp in Sterkspruit. He completed his Matric at St Peters in 2008 and had enrolled at Rhodes for this year. Julia has two more years to go at St Peters and is in Grade 11 this year. Edmund has four years of school left and is currently in Grade 9. He is three years ahead of Ally who is in Grade 6 this year. Edmund was also off at a camp somewhere.
Julia had to go off to Waterpolo training. Julia loves the sport and plays for her school, for Gauteng province and even was in Trials for the South African team. The pool "Wahoo" is located at her school and is a huge commercial aquatic centre. Susanne & I dropped Julia at the pool and then after a short stop off at the Spar went home where I met their friend Claire who was also staying with them for a while. Claire had been in a car accident and in a coma as a result. while she was in a coma a curator sold off her house and left her destitute. she took then Curator to court and won but lost on appeal. Keith is assisting Claire to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Susanne made the supper and Keith & I went to fetch Julia from her Waterpolo training. Susanne made us a delicious supper of lamb, potato, butternut and gem squash. Keith showed me his album of his climb up Mount Mera with his friend Peter Hey. It was a three week trip taking two weeks to climb up and then just four days for the (short cut) climb down. Mt Mera is within striking distance of Mt Everest which is in the background of many of the photo's.
I was reading a collection of thillers and went to bed after a coffee and choc chip biscuit that Julia made. Julia gave me this recipe as a swap for my crunchie recipe.
Julia Braatvedt's choc chip biscuits.
This meant the shops in Oudtshoorn, George, PE and Uitenhage. This was a great time for me but then Tony Ashton who was running the East London shops resigned and I had this region added to mine. I think that I botched up some of my decisions and Arthur Flemix (my GM at the time) changed my job title to Regional Credit Manager and Johan Claassen become the RM in my place. Botha DuPlessis was the Regional Personnel manager but under Johan this did not go well and he resigned and took up a contract position with both the University and the CCMA. For a short while I was appointed to the postion of PM but when to opportunity came I moved back to Retail Regional. Justin Strydom became our PM. And then after Justin resigned some years later to join the RMI (Retail Motor Industry) as a HR consultant we had Lynne Vogel join as PM. Our division became part of the Western Division under Johan Sadie and I moved back to RM when Johan Claassen moved to JHB for a promotion.
Again I had a bit of a tough time operating under a elderly man (Norman Daniels) but when he left I did exceptionally well working for Joahn Sadie. For a short while this changed and I worked under Glen Phillips but when JDG took over Morkels he resigned to open a Bottle Store in Port Shepstone. And I moved back to work under Johan Sadie. In 2007 JDG decided to split finance from Retail and I became the Regional Finance Manager once more. I had to do a lot more travel as the Border Transkei was once more part of my region. Around this time Johan Sadie took a Regional Position and Martin Labuschane became my GM with Belinda Deyzel operating as Divisional Credit Manager and my immediate superior. Early in 2008 Joahn Sadie resigned and opened a Pie Shop. we saw him in the middle of the year when we had a super with him and his wife Poppie. He was having all kinds of trouble in the business. Early in 2009 Johan became extemely depressed and was booked into hospital for sleep therapy and I hear that they will sell of fhte pie business.
My position as Regional Finance lasted for a year from September 2007 to October 2008. JDG decided to completely split Retail and Finance and I applied for the position of GM in the Eastern Cape. I was interviewed by Corrie Neven who would become my new senior.
In the position of GM Finance I was asked to attend a meeting in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 January 2009.
Nicci and Stefan were also in Joahnnesburg as they had launched the Little Pink Book (Gauteng) on Tuesday 21st January and had a big function at the Indaba conference hotel. Susanne Braatvedt went to see what was going on and reported to me that it looked like a very fancy party. Some important Celebrity people were there including TV people, the top make up artist in SA & the "You" magazine. Nicci and Stefan had stayed with Keith when they were first in Joahnnesburg to set the whole function up.
Nicci has a way of attracting people as she tells me she asks people: "Would you like to become involved in the Little Pink Book" rather than asking them to sign up for advertising. She had good response and the whole function was sponsored and all they had to pay for were the flight tickets. Unfortunately while they were there they discovered that a "Friend" from Knysna / George area was trying to copy their idea by producing something similar there but without consulting them. I spoke to Nicci after she returned to Cape Town and by all accounts this was a huge success and now she has a tight deadline for the publishing of the final product.
I was also able to stay with Keith and Susanne rather than staying in an hotel. After work, Susanne picked me up from the Randburg Contact Centre and took me to their home in Bryanston where I have stayed before. I met up with their long time maid, Ellen. Nils was off at a camp in Sterkspruit. He completed his Matric at St Peters in 2008 and had enrolled at Rhodes for this year. Julia has two more years to go at St Peters and is in Grade 11 this year. Edmund has four years of school left and is currently in Grade 9. He is three years ahead of Ally who is in Grade 6 this year. Edmund was also off at a camp somewhere.
Julia had to go off to Waterpolo training. Julia loves the sport and plays for her school, for Gauteng province and even was in Trials for the South African team. The pool "Wahoo" is located at her school and is a huge commercial aquatic centre. Susanne & I dropped Julia at the pool and then after a short stop off at the Spar went home where I met their friend Claire who was also staying with them for a while. Claire had been in a car accident and in a coma as a result. while she was in a coma a curator sold off her house and left her destitute. she took then Curator to court and won but lost on appeal. Keith is assisting Claire to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
Susanne made the supper and Keith & I went to fetch Julia from her Waterpolo training. Susanne made us a delicious supper of lamb, potato, butternut and gem squash. Keith showed me his album of his climb up Mount Mera with his friend Peter Hey. It was a three week trip taking two weeks to climb up and then just four days for the (short cut) climb down. Mt Mera is within striking distance of Mt Everest which is in the background of many of the photo's.
I was reading a collection of thillers and went to bed after a coffee and choc chip biscuit that Julia made. Julia gave me this recipe as a swap for my crunchie recipe.
Julia Braatvedt's choc chip biscuits.
- 300 ml Cape Flour
- 1 Mil bicarb
- 2 mil salt
- 125grams of butter
- 50 ml firmly packed brown sugar
- 125 mil white sugar
- 1 X Egg beaten
- 5ml vanilla
- 100 mil cooking choc chopped
- Mix flour, salt and Bicarb
- Cream the butter and sugars until light & fluffy
- Add Egg and Vanilla
- Beat well
- Stir in the dry ingredients and chopped chocolate.
- Drop tea spoons onto the greased baking tray
- leave room for spreading
- Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 Degrees
- Cool....Makes about 30 biscuits.
And this is the Recipe for Cruchies which I gave to Julia
Mix together
Two cups oats, One cup sugar, one cup flour and one cup coconut
125g (half a small block) of BAKE margerine, melted together with two table spoons of syrup and put in one tea spoon of Bicarb when it is nearly melted.
Mix into the dry ingrdients and press the mic\xture firmly into a glass baking tray.
Put this into an oven at about 140 Degrees for about 45 minutes.
Take it out and while it is still fairly warm cut into biscuit size and then leave to cool. Should make about 5 X 8 or 5X 9 = 40 to 45 biscuits.
Thursday at the JDG Contact centre was a real bore. We looked at how the follow up , trace, granting of credit etc was done and hung around for the day. I tried to get an earlier flight but it looks like I will be spending a day at the airport.This evening Claire told us about her efforts to sort out the debt that had piled up while she was trying to sort out her court case. Road Accident Fund seemed okay, Vodacom were reasonable, Netstar refunded her but Nedbank did not even grant her the time of day. I advised Claire to see the National Credit Regulator 0860 627 627 or the Ombudsman 0861 662 837 to apply for Debt Review or for Debt Counselling.
Susanne made us a delicious supper of stewed beef, rice and vegetables cooked in a special dutch sauce. Julia showed me her scrap booking that she had taken time to create showing pictures of her family and various activities since she was a baby. Keith showed me a number of pictures of his Game farm in Clarens in the Free State. He leases some of the land for cultivation to a neighbour and has Game on the farm for their own pleasure. They employ a manager to run the day to day activities.
While I was in Johannesburg, Barbara was opening her school. The first day was Wednesday 21st Jan 2009. today Barbara brings in the New Mom's and has a tea and introduces the children to the school. Benita Barton and Michelle Elfic were two moms who are also running friends. Then Thursday was the first day of school. Barbara now takes the Bigger children. One Mom arrived without confirming her booking for the year. She had not completed an application form. Barbara decided to not turn her away but this means that she has 29 children alltogether with Suzanne Gendall taking the Littlies and Barbara and Gloria with 20 children in her class.
Friday 23rd: Susanne & I dropped Julia at school and then took me to the Randburg office where we met Corne who took a small group of us to the Airport. I spent the entire day at the airport as BA refused up change my booking. I felt like Tom Hanks who acted in a movie about a man who spent a year in an airport. I alternated between coffe, reading, walking around with my bags over my shoulder, sleeping on a bench and staring out the windows at the comings and goings of airplanes.
Saturday morning I met up with Ben Carver for a run. We were joined for a short while by Adrienne, Susan, Gerald & Maryna. They all turned around at the Engen next to the beachfront spar. Ben and I continued up Walmer Boulevard, up to the airport and back via Strandfontein road. IN Admiralty Road we heard a voice behind us. It was a young lady (Martie) from Pretoria who had met Adrienne. Adrienne had suggested that she join us. So we Ran together as far as the Summies Club where we also met up with Elmarie and ran back together. As we approached Hobie beach we found two women with Champagne and muffins. It was a celebration of one of their Birthday (Caroline). we wished he the best and went off for a swim.
As we came in from the swim, Ben elected himself as guardian of the Muffins while the girls had a dip. I had to leave as I had a bit of a rush. After a shower and change I headed back to the beach for a Nippers Level Test. There were 6 U10's and 2U12s there. We took them through their theory and then Paul Lynch tested them. The two U12's really struggled with the swim. So we took both of them out for a second swim and they passed their test.
I had to spend some time in the office to try to catch up on some work. Later that afternoon Michael & I went to Kings beach where we teamed up with some parents to set out the Arena's for Sunday's Carnival.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The first rule of life
The best things in life aren't things.
The first rule of getting what you want
Ask for it.
The first rule of how to have a successful product
Be first, best, or different.
The first two rules of self-improvement
It will be difficult.
It will be worth it.
The first rule of how to overcome procrastination
see Nike's first rule
Nike's first rule
Just do it
The first rule of comfort zones
If you don't strech your limits,
you will set your limits.
Walt disney's first rule
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Yoda's (of star wars) first rule
Do or do not; there is no try.
The first rule of lines
If you change lines, the one you just left will start to move faster
than the one you are now in.
Bob Hope's first rule of successful aging
Die young at an old age.
The first rule of computers
Back up your files.
Donna Reed's first rule
When you handle yourself,use your head;
when you handle others, use your heart.
Thomas Jefferson's first rule of dealing with anger
When angry, count to 10 before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.
Dr Benjamin Spock's first law
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you know.
GAUTENG JOKE
Gauteng Metro policeman pulled Sipho's car over and
told him that because he had been wearing his seat belt
he had just won R5 000, in an Arrive Alive safety competition.
Sipho could hardly believe his luck.
"What are you going to do with your cash?" asked the traffic cop.
"Well I guess I'm going to get a drivers license," Sipho answered..
"Oh, don't listen to him," yelled Dipuo in the passenger seat.
"He tries to be smart when he's drunk."
This woke up Rodger in the back seat who took one look at
the cop and moaned, "I knew we wouldn't get far in a stolen car."
At that moment there was a knock from the boot and Zakes' voice said,
"Are we over the border yet?"
The cop fainted.
The best things in life aren't things.
The first rule of getting what you want
Ask for it.
The first rule of how to have a successful product
Be first, best, or different.
The first two rules of self-improvement
It will be difficult.
It will be worth it.
The first rule of how to overcome procrastination
see Nike's first rule
Nike's first rule
Just do it
The first rule of comfort zones
If you don't strech your limits,
you will set your limits.
Walt disney's first rule
If you can dream it, you can do it.
Yoda's (of star wars) first rule
Do or do not; there is no try.
The first rule of lines
If you change lines, the one you just left will start to move faster
than the one you are now in.
Bob Hope's first rule of successful aging
Die young at an old age.
The first rule of computers
Back up your files.
Donna Reed's first rule
When you handle yourself,use your head;
when you handle others, use your heart.
Thomas Jefferson's first rule of dealing with anger
When angry, count to 10 before you speak; if very angry, a hundred.
Dr Benjamin Spock's first law
Trust yourself. You know more than you think you know.
GAUTENG JOKE
Gauteng Metro policeman pulled Sipho's car over and
told him that because he had been wearing his seat belt
he had just won R5 000, in an Arrive Alive safety competition.
Sipho could hardly believe his luck.
"What are you going to do with your cash?" asked the traffic cop.
"Well I guess I'm going to get a drivers license," Sipho answered..
"Oh, don't listen to him," yelled Dipuo in the passenger seat.
"He tries to be smart when he's drunk."
This woke up Rodger in the back seat who took one look at
the cop and moaned, "I knew we wouldn't get far in a stolen car."
At that moment there was a knock from the boot and Zakes' voice said,
"Are we over the border yet?"
The cop fainted.
WILDCLIFF PETER, RON, STEFAN, IAN & JENNY 13 TO 18 JANUARY 2009.
Wildcliff trip Ron, Stefan, Ian, Jenny & Peter.
Tuesday 14th to Sunday 18th January 2009
Stefan had said how keen he was for another Wildcliff trip and this is how we came to arrange this outing. Jacqui and her two children; Emily and Annabell were staying PE for two months and would be travelling to Cathy’s wedding on the 8th February. Ally had a week of intensive swim training and this is how I came to invite Ron to accompany me. I had planned to leave on Wednesday afternoon but Morkels head office called me to an urgent meeting regarding retrenchments in Johannesburg on the Friday 16th.
Ron & I managed to leave the office early on Tuesday afternoon and we were on the road to WC by about 15.00pm. We stopped off in Plett at Ena’s flat for tea and to collect some of Ena’s Rusks as well as her recipe for the Rusks. It was a brief stop and we headed off for Heidelberg where we filled up with Petrol. We reached WC by about 20.00pm.
Ian was not there as he was working in Johannesburg with Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank. Ian tells me that he works with Structured Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions. Jenny had made us some Spinach Pies but we had had a toasted sandwich in Heidelberg and were too tired to eat anything more.
Keith, Paula, Abigail and Bryce are the managing family for the next two years. Keith is ex US Air Force and has spent the past twenty years travelling all over the world including Texas, Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a practical person and runs the operations of WC. Paula is a researcher herself and spends time in the field. The two children are aged about 10 and 8 and Paula is home schooling them. Right now they are staying in the Weavers Nest but plan to move to the White House as soon as the cabinets have been built and the water solar heater is installed. The new name for the White house is Xairu. See the bottom of this story for an explanation of the word Xairu.
Wednesday morning Ron & I woke up early and packed some snacks in to the backpack. Peanut butter sandwiches, apples, bananas and crunchies. I like to be able to boost my sugar and energy level at fairly frequent intervals or else I find I become tired quickly. It looked like it would be cool and overcast today. We walked south along the South Ridge road with the Heron house on the right. We found the first tortoise that I have seen on WC. I phoned Jenny to find out if they had seen any Tortoises and she confirmed that they had found one and released it near to the Talari house. This tortoise must have walked all the way up the hill as, when I described the tortoise, she said that it sounded just like the one they had released.
Ron & I continued along the ridge road until we were almost at “Kallie’s” dairy farm. We then turned left following what looked like the spoor of two spooked buck. We entered Plattekloof at the end of the stream and then took a leisurely walk up the kloof. We stopped for a snack and continued up stream. I explained to Ron that we would be looking for a kloof coming into Plattekloof from the left.
After about 3 hours Ron spotted the inlet from what I believed to be the Peterkloof. I marked the entrance with bright orange tape. This section was very overgrown; however Ron used his machete to clear the entrance to the kloof. The Peterkloof starts off fairly narrow with lots of overgrowth but is easy to negotiate. We reached the waterfall where the kloof veers to the right. We had left a strapping here before and this made it easy for Ron & I climb up and above the falls.
A huge tree has fallen down and blocked off the stream. This fallen tree has taken a number of other trees and branches with it in its fall and this made climbing upstream quite tricky. As we reached the next waterfall I discovered a Baboon skeleton. I took out a plastic packet and gathered up as many of the bones that I could find. Bryce is in charge of the Bone collection and I thought that he could make use of this to add to his display.
Ron and I decided that the next waterfall was too tough to try to climb and headed off to the left. We rounded the boulders and hiked over and above the stream. At the top we were able to see into the kloof but not down to the top of the falls as the growth was too dense. We continued up until we came to a fence. At this stage we were now quite clear as to the source of the Peterkloof and decided to walk back to the Fynbos Road.
The Protea growth was thick and tall and we had difficulty in pushing our way through the brush and it was only by looking ahead to the Hammerkop that we were able to find our direction. However as we emerged from the really thick stuff we realised we had been looking at the wrong peak and had to head off to the west of the way that we had been heading. From here the route was not as difficult and we finally reached the Fynbos road.
Both of us were exhausted and the thought of a cup of tea and a sit down was quite inviting. Back at Talari we relaxed for an hour and then realised that the afternoon had plenty of daylight left so decided to walk up the Wilderkranz Kloof. This afternoon we met the team of Builders; Jackson and his son. They were busy in the house working in the chimney as well as building a trench for the flow of water at the back of Talari. There were a number of Baboons running around the Oak Tree Meadow but we walked past them and they carried on with their business and did not disturb us at all.
We walked along the old aquaduct and then past the pipe that crosses Wilderkranz stream and down into the Kloof. The water level was particularly low and it was relatively easy to stay on the left hand side. It seemed like a long walk up to the first little falls but when we reached the pool Ron spotted the webbing that Stefan & I had tied to the top of the falls some time ago. What Stefan had done was to tie the strapping to a log that was wedged into the rocks but a heavy rainfall must have dislodged the log and the webbing was still tied to the log.
We untied the webbing and I swam across the pool with it so that I could try to tie it to aid hikers in climbing to the top of this waterfall. I climbed up quite easily and forced the webbing under a rock and was able to secure it. Unfortunately the webbing was too short to reach the pool at the bottom. Ron had also swum across and was using the webbing that was still fastened to the left hand side of the falls to help him up. The webbing must have frayed and snapped as he was hauling himself up and he splashed backwards into the pool. Fortunately he was not hurt.
This gave me the opportunity to use this section of webbing for lengthening the strapping that I had just secured. When we were finished the webbing lay in the middle of the water flow. I am sure that this will not last as this nylon webbing is not strong enough to survive the constant battering of water. On our way back we filled the water bladder that I carry in my backpack from the spring that flows into the Wilderkranz stream. This water is, in my opinion, probably the best drinking water that you can find anywhere on WC.
This afternoon we had enjoyed two stunning walks and were really exhausted. Jenny made us a supper of turkey and vegetables. I added some sausage that I planned to use as fillers for the next days sandwiches. Jenny went out for supper (to Keith & Paula).
Thursday morning, after a really good night’s rest, we were a little more relaxed and left the house at about 08.00am. We walked straight up the Fynbos road and up to Ena’s Falls.
Keith and his team of Freek and Aubrey passed us as they were in the process of making repairs to the Fynbos Road where the road is a thin type of soil that does not bind and as soon as there is a rain the whole road just washes away. We suggested humps in place of troughs and Ron advocated the use of logs which are in abundance below where the pine forest has been cut. Aubrey has recently moved to Heidelberg to be with his family. He has been working in Cape Town where he was a Code 14 Heavy Duty driver doing both long and short distances. He had been introduced to Wildcliff by Jackson.
At the top of Ena’s falls we walked down to the pools and there had a swim. It was interesting to see all the little creatures in the pools. A researcher, Zolt, had given us a talk on the smallest of small creatures that live in the rivers. Today we had remembered to charge phones and were able to take a few pictures. I tried to send to Barbara but did not seem to have too much success. I need reading glasses to see small stuff and am not much good with a phone except for phoning. Having a phone is an advantage in some respects but Ron found himself being interrupted a number of times by calls from business partners. After this most refreshing swim (it was going to be a hot day) we carried on up onto Ackers farm and over to the Karoo Lookout ridge. It was becoming really hot and there was little or no breeze. Ferns seem to have overgrown on this jeep track and this is to me a clear indication that this area is no longer being harvested as it was two years ago when I first walked this road.
From the Karoo Lookout we could see for many kilometres to the north of the Langkloof both East and West and across to the mountain range in the north. After a short snack and some photography, we retraced our steps back to the neck at Ena’s Falls. As soon as we crested this neck we could feel the cool breeze coming from the West. I had a plan to map a trail from the sign leading to Ena’s Falls Viewpoint to the pools below the falls. I had orange tape and led a pathway down to the pools where I again had a swim.
This is not a difficult path but it will be made a little safer by adding some strapping to the section where the hiker has to clamber down some rocks. From here we had the task of finding a trail down to the Klipspringer Pools (Bumslide Pools) below where the water pipe had burst. We were tired and not keen for more rock climbing so avoided the rock face of the broken pipe and headed downwards in an easterly direction.
It was here that we found the “field of King Protea”. This field is West Facing, has lots of water in a sloot. At this time of year (January) it seems that the King Protea are in full bloom. As we descended into the kloof we came across a number of Pine Trees which we either cut down using a lopper or the Machete or else, if the tree was too strong, we Ring Barked the tree. The foliage is thick and it became difficult to see where we were going with rocks and vines impeding our progress.
Down in the kloof we wallowed in the cool stream, enjoying the refreshing break before our ascent back to the Fynbos road. We had one of our toughest climbs of the day out of the kloof. We did not hike up at an angle but rather straight up and I think that this was just too much for us. We walked down the Fynbos road to where there is a pathway down to Rain Frog dam. We walked this track to the end of the pipe where Ron filled his water bottle. We tried to find the trail leading down to Rain Frog dam but, while we did not have success in finding the actual trail, we kind of bundu bashed and made our way to the dam.
As we walked, I wondered to myself if the sloot to the right of us would have any water as an alternative source for Rain Frog dam. When we finally reached home that afternoon at about 16.00 we were both ready for our tea and a couch. Jenny suggested watering the chestnut trees and other plants on the dam wall. I was able to persuade her that we should do this when the sun had settled a bit more. By time the watering of the trees and garden had to be done we had had time to recover and the sun was not as fierce as it had been earlier.
We found the trees that had to watered and then decided, as the level of the pond had dropped quite considerably, to fill the pond with the garden hose. We left the hose running all Thursday night and by Friday evening it had filled to its optimum level. At the Weavers Nest we found Abigail and reminded her of her duty to water the Keurboom and Yellow Wood trees. The hose was just long enough to water the saplings around the house but the Gladioli that are now planted in the newly painted water trough need to be watered by bucket.
Jenny made us a supper of Roast Chicken and vegetables this was finished off with a desert of Christmas Pudding and Ice Cream. Simply delicious! Hanna (a GIS Mapping researcher) joined us for supper. Hanna is a Texan who will be at WC for another 6 months and then will be marrying her fiancé who is in the US army. I could not last out for much longer and excused myself for a good night’s rest.
Ron did not sleep well as he was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion and dehydration. Stefan was on his way from Cape Town that afternoon and had agreed to pick up two volunteers; Diego from the Basque region of Spain and Elodie from France. http://wildcliff.org/research They had left CT airport at about 19.30 and only arrived at WC after 23.00. I was long fast asleep and did not hear Stefan come in.
Jenny & I had decided to leave for George at about 07.00am. I had to catch a flight to Johannesburg for the meeting regarding retrenchment of staff. We passed Albertina where I made my compulsory stop for Gekervde Biltong. Jenny dropped me off at the airport where I obtained my ticket and sat down for a meal at Dulce’s. I ordered a coffee and a Chicken Curry Tremezinne. This is a meal in a pita bread and quite delicious. Ally often orders this but always brings half of the meal home for a second helping later in the day. I was unable to finish my meal but did not have place for a take away box.
The flying time from George to Johannesburg is 1hour 40minutes. Dawn had given me a book voucher for my birthday and I had one of the books that I had bought with me. It was a book of short thriller stories and by the end of the flight I had slept and read the time away.
John Baatjies (also 25 years service with Morkels) collected me at the airport and we took a route through the city centre. I have not been through Johannesburg city for many years and could still recognise many places and street names from the time when we lived in Johannesburg and I worked in the family business at Gaynors which was a division of Giddy’s.
I was not a good student and when I failed my final year (B.Com) at Wits University, I started a part time job at Gaynors with the intention to study part time. I only completed my degree many years later. I first of all worked in Doornfontein where the warehousing and administration took place. Then later, as the Johannesburg branch of the business was shut down, I worked as a manager of the only remaining shop in Bree street.
This was a busy time of life as I would sell an appliance, load it up in the El Camino truck and whisk it off to the customer’s home. We also sold a variety of appliance spares. It was quite a good business but not what I saw as my future and so when the opportunity arose I accepted a position as accountant in Port Elizabeth where the head office of Giddy’s was located. Eventually; Gaynors, Bree Street, was sold to Richard Beukes who was the group accountant of Giddy’s in Port Elizabeth.
Shortly after moving to PE I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara. I and a few friends were living in a Communal house and Barbara needed a room. From this our romance blossomed and when I was called up to National Service for three months at the Namibian Border we decided to marry before I was killed in action. Barbara stayed at home with her parents until I returned.
We lived in a flat in Kabega for the first while, Nicci and then Jacqui came along and we decided to move to the beach where we found a flat in Cathcart road (Cathcart Gardens). We bought this two bedroom flat for R15 000. I had bought a motor Bike and used this to commute. Michael was born and when the opportunity came to move into the family home in Mill Park Road, we snapped it up. At about this time I left the family business of Giddy’s. I had spent the last number of years as a salesman in the Newton Park shop and was ready for something new.
My parents; Ena and Allan moved from their flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, to a home that they built next to the Anglican Church in Plettenberg Bay. My father continued with his interest in Giddy’s which was at that time being run by his partner and army buddy, Rocky Ridgeway. In the Mid ‘80’s the business was sold to Rusfurn and then later Rusfurn was taken over by the JD Group.
Barbara left SA Eagle insurance where she had been a secretary and found a new job as a PA at Blasting and Excavating where she worked for Basil Bartlet until she resigned in the late 1990’s. We have now lived in Mill Park for over 25 years. After leaving Giddy’s I spent a year as a “travelling salesman selling chemical products and then spent another year as a Regional Credit manager at Lewis Furnishers.
I had put an application in with Morkels and when they called me for a second interview I was delighted and accepted their offer without hesitation. I managed the Main Street shop for three years, the North End shop for a further three years and then moved to a regional position. I have now worked in a variety of regional positions at Morkels for 25 years.
Morkels has been through a management buy out from Federale Volksbeleggings, a take over by Profurn and then a take over by JDG. Right now I am in the process of moving from the Morkels brand to the JDG Financial services division and if all works out I will receive my first promotion in nearly 20 years. Barbara and I had decided to stay in PE rather than accept transfers and promotions.
Back to my meeting in Johannesburg: John drove me out to Hillfox in the West Rand, where the JDG training and meetings facilities are housed. We were handed the retrenchment letters that we had to take back with us on Monday and then Sue Lewis (HR Executive) explained how we were to handle the communication. After the meeting John drove me back to OR Tambo airport where I met up with Ian and we were able to sit together for the return flight home.
This kind of trip is exhausting to me and I had a bit of a dull headache. Jenny met us at the airport and we drove back to WC together. Jenny had spent a good day shopping in the George Mall where she had purchased a number of research books and some of the essentials for WC. Jenny had also bought us a supper of Sushi for the road. I think that Jenny enjoys spoiling “her men” with delights like this.
Stefan and Ron had made us a delicious Pootjie on the braai. It was late and while we had supper Stefan and Ron related their day’s activities. Ron had started off the day not been feeling that good but by about 09.00 had recovered enough to walk up the fynbos road.
Stefan wanted to explore the ridge which he and I had seen from the West side of the Wilderkranz Kloof. They walked up the Fynbos road and then down and along the ridge towards the Doghead Rock. They tell me that they marked the trail well and that Stefan had made liberal use of the Loppers. They finally reached the Wilderkranz stream and walked and swam down the valley until they reached what is now called Bryce Canyon. Here they walked up the hill and back to Fynbos road. I make this sound quick and easy but the day’s activity took them to 19.00pm. I think that this hiking trail should be called Stefan’s Loop. This had been a 10hour hike for them. Nevertheless they had waited up until we arrived back from our travels.
Saturday Morning. This would be our last day of the short holiday. We warmed up some of the Pootjie for our breakfast. I wanted to get going as soon as possible but Ian wanted to set out a planned route. We decided to find out if there was any water in the sloot that lies to the West of Rain Frog Dam. Ian then wanted to see the Wilderkranz Kloof at about the area where the first Little Falls were located from above on the East side of the kloof. Finally Ian wanted to find the water pipe on Fynbos Road where Freek and Aubrey were repairing a section of the road.
We set off at about 8 or 9am and walked up through the wattles to Rain Frog dam and over the dam wall to where we found these two sloots that would lead down to the Oak Tree Meadow. Both of them were dry and therefore this would not be an alternate source of water for the houses of WC. We then headed uphill through where Tom Ambrose’ teams had cut the pines and wattle and then over to the East of the Wilderkranz valley. As we walked this route we found a trap which we assumed to be a Leopard trap.
We continued down until we found what we thought to be a lookout point. From here we could see the top of Sunshine Falls. This is the second falls after the Little Falls as you work your way up from Oak Tree meadow. We could not see into the kloof itself as it is simply too dense with trees and foliage. We carried on up and found another lookout point. From this vantage point it appears that with some assistance from webbing we may be able to climb down into the kloof. Ian spotted a few Wattles below us. Ron immediately headed down into this valley and begun chopping the first of three trees down. I took an easy little tree and Stefan, being the youngest of us, was given the task of the biggest tree. Ron slung some of the webbing around a stump and this aided Stefan in his trip down and back up again. We should carry some Garlon poison with us to make these efforts of ours a permanent solution.
From here we walked up to the Fynbos road, found the pipe on the road and settled down to a snack. While we relaxed on the road we saw Diego and Elodie walking up towards us. We all greeted and introduced ourselves and then walked up to Ena’s Falls. At Ena’s Falls we made our way down to the Burst Pipe rocks and then down through this kloof to the bottom Klipspringer pools. Ian, Stefan & I had a swim. The weather was not that warm and the water quite brisk. Still a lovely swim.
Ron & Stefan had looped a section of webbing for the climb up. This certainly made this climb a lot easier and the researchers will have no trouble reaching these otherwise tough sections of the valley. By putting the webbing in place we also are able to save the grasses as we tend to pull on grasses to help us up the steep hills. Shortly after this Stefan and Ron headed down the fynbos road to Talari, following Diego and Elodie.
Hennie, the water pipe man from the Heidelberg coop arrived with Keith and surveyed the pipes to see how best the broken pipe could be mended. I also showed Hennie where there were other sections of broken and leaking pipes up above Ena’s falls. We located the source of the water where the pipe starts as well as the valve where the water can be turned off altogether. It is not advisable to turn the valve off completely as this could result in the PVC pipe collapsing and being destroyed in the process. The low water level means that only 1/3rd of the inlet pipe is being fed. Perhaps we should consider building a small weir here,
There was a brisk wind coming up the valley from the south west and Ian was able to find a sheltered spot behind a couple of huge boulders. He plans to ask one of the contractors if they will be able to build a small stone hut for overnight hikers. This will be a two man hut with the very minimum basics. It will have to survive storms, wind, fire and baboons. Hennie’s team fitted a new escape valve just above the broken pipe and he also fitted a tap just below where Ian is considering the stone hut.
Ian was due to give a presentation on Biodiversity and his guests were already there and waiting. The next day was Ian’s birthday and he had invited Bob & Wilma plus all the volunteers for a braai. Ian and I walked down at a brisk pace. We reached Talari at about 17.30 and after a shower and a cup of tea I was beginning to feel human again. This had been a long day’s hiking of 8 or 9 hours.
Jenny had set up a presentation area in the lounge which I almost destroyed when I walked past carrying my backpack in front of me and did not take enough care when walking over the wires. I tripped, the projector crashed down but fortunately did not break. Ian then gave us a very interesting presentation on the subject of Biodiversity and why it is of importance to study the biodiversity at both Cloudbridge and at Wildcliff and to monitor the changes.
Bob and I did the Braaiing while Jenny prepared vegetables. Paula had made a most delicious bread. I would have been happy to have this alone but all the food was so inviting that I could not resist sampling a bit of everything. We had a desert of mixed Melk Tert and Christmas pudding. While my birthday had been a few weeks earlier I was spoilt with gifts from both Jenny (a rechargeable torch) and from Paula a (home made braai sauce).
This was my 5th night away from home and I was looking forward to getting back to my family. There was such a festive and active conversation going on that after two attempts to interrupt and bid everyone a good night I finally went off to bed. I set the alarm for 04.00am and awoke just before that on Sunday Morning. Ron also woke up and we decided to pack and go. We were on the road at about 04.30 and made our first stop in Plett at the Shell garage where we bought a coffee and toasted sandwich. The road was relatively empty and we were back home before 10.00am. This is probably the quickest time that I have driven between WC and PE.
18TH January is Ian Giddy (079 538 2444) and Ian Spence (044 5333 1657) Birthday. I spoke to Patrick who was at the Hogsback for a three day conference. He told me of how he driven from Durban and taken the road from Kokstad to Matatielle to Queenstown and that this was a really easy tar road with no traffic and this avoided the congestion of places like Mthatha and Butterworth. I will probably take this route when we go to Durban for Nippers Nationals in April.
I phoned Ian Spence to wish him a happy 93rd birthday. While he had suffered a bit of a health setback recently, on his birthday he had a “drinks party” and was able to swim in the pool. Ian Giddy had also had recent health problems. He had discovered a cancer while being examined for a Kidney stone. Doctors have been able to remove the cancer and Ian is presently going for blood tests which should have been forwarded to his doctor in NY but this process seems to have been less then successful. However Ian seems to be very strong. He is back working as hard as ever at the operations of the two reserves, the consulting work that he does and was hugely active as we walked and climbed and swam in some difficult trails at WC this weekend.
Stefan had left WC at about 05.30. He travelled the on the N2 to about 10kays before Swellendam where he took a left turn to Barrydale. This may have been a bit of a mistake as the route was about 40kays longer then going through Swellendam and Ashton. Stefan reports it to be a stunning pass with deep cliffs and ridges. This road is tarred all the way to the N1. He saw little or no traffic and the drive took him about 30 minutes longer than normal.
It was good to be home. As soon as I had unpacked, I dressed for Nippers. Barbara, Ally & I drove down to Summerstrand. A strong west wind was blowing and there were some ultra huge swells that ended up crashing onto the shallows of the beach. The sand had begun to build up and there were not as many rocks as we have experienced over the past number of weeks.
After a short warm up run we took the U10’s through their paces in the water. First a swim and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the u10’s made it through the dumpers and swam out to where the coaches were waiting. We then put them on Body Boards and again a number of these youngsters braved the waves and paddled out to the coaches.
I have started to find a sense of team spirit developing in the U10’s. We now have more than a team of just one u10 girl. At the Plett carnival Marion was the only girl in the U10 Nippers team. And the boys are becoming more confident as they become used to the ocean. What really helps, at this level, is the increased number of parents who stay and contribute both in the water, on the beach and in other ways. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group.
The U10’s should be pleasantly surprised when they are at Kings Beach next week for the Carnival. The swell is not nearly as big and the waves are easier to negotiate. We ran though sprints and baton changing for team selection purposes. Lynne and I went through the criteria for the Nippers doing their first Level tests. We have a small group of u10’s going for a level test on Saturday and we should have over 20 X U10’s competing in the carnival next Sunday.
Xairu:
Dear Peter,
Thank you for visiting www.openafrica.org and posting your comment/request.
The information on the route, and thus the name can be found within the
route background information at the following link:
http://www.openafrica.org/route/xairu-blue-crane-route
But to answer your question directly I have copied the information, see
below:
"Xairu" (pronounced with the 'x' as a click sound made by flattening the
tongue on the roof of the mouth and then removing it) means "paradise" in
the old language of the San people who used to inhabit the area.
Please feel free to post any requests or comments on our site again. Thank
yoU!
Kind Regards
Jolene du Plessis
Open Africa
Tel: +27 21 683 9639
Fax: +27 21 683 8013
Cell: +27 72 015 9978
Email: jolene@openafrica.org
Website: www.openafrica.org
Tuesday 14th to Sunday 18th January 2009
Stefan had said how keen he was for another Wildcliff trip and this is how we came to arrange this outing. Jacqui and her two children; Emily and Annabell were staying PE for two months and would be travelling to Cathy’s wedding on the 8th February. Ally had a week of intensive swim training and this is how I came to invite Ron to accompany me. I had planned to leave on Wednesday afternoon but Morkels head office called me to an urgent meeting regarding retrenchments in Johannesburg on the Friday 16th.
Ron & I managed to leave the office early on Tuesday afternoon and we were on the road to WC by about 15.00pm. We stopped off in Plett at Ena’s flat for tea and to collect some of Ena’s Rusks as well as her recipe for the Rusks. It was a brief stop and we headed off for Heidelberg where we filled up with Petrol. We reached WC by about 20.00pm.
Ian was not there as he was working in Johannesburg with Rand Merchant Bank and Standard Bank. Ian tells me that he works with Structured Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions. Jenny had made us some Spinach Pies but we had had a toasted sandwich in Heidelberg and were too tired to eat anything more.
Keith, Paula, Abigail and Bryce are the managing family for the next two years. Keith is ex US Air Force and has spent the past twenty years travelling all over the world including Texas, Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a practical person and runs the operations of WC. Paula is a researcher herself and spends time in the field. The two children are aged about 10 and 8 and Paula is home schooling them. Right now they are staying in the Weavers Nest but plan to move to the White House as soon as the cabinets have been built and the water solar heater is installed. The new name for the White house is Xairu. See the bottom of this story for an explanation of the word Xairu.
Wednesday morning Ron & I woke up early and packed some snacks in to the backpack. Peanut butter sandwiches, apples, bananas and crunchies. I like to be able to boost my sugar and energy level at fairly frequent intervals or else I find I become tired quickly. It looked like it would be cool and overcast today. We walked south along the South Ridge road with the Heron house on the right. We found the first tortoise that I have seen on WC. I phoned Jenny to find out if they had seen any Tortoises and she confirmed that they had found one and released it near to the Talari house. This tortoise must have walked all the way up the hill as, when I described the tortoise, she said that it sounded just like the one they had released.
Ron & I continued along the ridge road until we were almost at “Kallie’s” dairy farm. We then turned left following what looked like the spoor of two spooked buck. We entered Plattekloof at the end of the stream and then took a leisurely walk up the kloof. We stopped for a snack and continued up stream. I explained to Ron that we would be looking for a kloof coming into Plattekloof from the left.
After about 3 hours Ron spotted the inlet from what I believed to be the Peterkloof. I marked the entrance with bright orange tape. This section was very overgrown; however Ron used his machete to clear the entrance to the kloof. The Peterkloof starts off fairly narrow with lots of overgrowth but is easy to negotiate. We reached the waterfall where the kloof veers to the right. We had left a strapping here before and this made it easy for Ron & I climb up and above the falls.
A huge tree has fallen down and blocked off the stream. This fallen tree has taken a number of other trees and branches with it in its fall and this made climbing upstream quite tricky. As we reached the next waterfall I discovered a Baboon skeleton. I took out a plastic packet and gathered up as many of the bones that I could find. Bryce is in charge of the Bone collection and I thought that he could make use of this to add to his display.
Ron and I decided that the next waterfall was too tough to try to climb and headed off to the left. We rounded the boulders and hiked over and above the stream. At the top we were able to see into the kloof but not down to the top of the falls as the growth was too dense. We continued up until we came to a fence. At this stage we were now quite clear as to the source of the Peterkloof and decided to walk back to the Fynbos Road.
The Protea growth was thick and tall and we had difficulty in pushing our way through the brush and it was only by looking ahead to the Hammerkop that we were able to find our direction. However as we emerged from the really thick stuff we realised we had been looking at the wrong peak and had to head off to the west of the way that we had been heading. From here the route was not as difficult and we finally reached the Fynbos road.
Both of us were exhausted and the thought of a cup of tea and a sit down was quite inviting. Back at Talari we relaxed for an hour and then realised that the afternoon had plenty of daylight left so decided to walk up the Wilderkranz Kloof. This afternoon we met the team of Builders; Jackson and his son. They were busy in the house working in the chimney as well as building a trench for the flow of water at the back of Talari. There were a number of Baboons running around the Oak Tree Meadow but we walked past them and they carried on with their business and did not disturb us at all.
We walked along the old aquaduct and then past the pipe that crosses Wilderkranz stream and down into the Kloof. The water level was particularly low and it was relatively easy to stay on the left hand side. It seemed like a long walk up to the first little falls but when we reached the pool Ron spotted the webbing that Stefan & I had tied to the top of the falls some time ago. What Stefan had done was to tie the strapping to a log that was wedged into the rocks but a heavy rainfall must have dislodged the log and the webbing was still tied to the log.
We untied the webbing and I swam across the pool with it so that I could try to tie it to aid hikers in climbing to the top of this waterfall. I climbed up quite easily and forced the webbing under a rock and was able to secure it. Unfortunately the webbing was too short to reach the pool at the bottom. Ron had also swum across and was using the webbing that was still fastened to the left hand side of the falls to help him up. The webbing must have frayed and snapped as he was hauling himself up and he splashed backwards into the pool. Fortunately he was not hurt.
This gave me the opportunity to use this section of webbing for lengthening the strapping that I had just secured. When we were finished the webbing lay in the middle of the water flow. I am sure that this will not last as this nylon webbing is not strong enough to survive the constant battering of water. On our way back we filled the water bladder that I carry in my backpack from the spring that flows into the Wilderkranz stream. This water is, in my opinion, probably the best drinking water that you can find anywhere on WC.
This afternoon we had enjoyed two stunning walks and were really exhausted. Jenny made us a supper of turkey and vegetables. I added some sausage that I planned to use as fillers for the next days sandwiches. Jenny went out for supper (to Keith & Paula).
Thursday morning, after a really good night’s rest, we were a little more relaxed and left the house at about 08.00am. We walked straight up the Fynbos road and up to Ena’s Falls.
Keith and his team of Freek and Aubrey passed us as they were in the process of making repairs to the Fynbos Road where the road is a thin type of soil that does not bind and as soon as there is a rain the whole road just washes away. We suggested humps in place of troughs and Ron advocated the use of logs which are in abundance below where the pine forest has been cut. Aubrey has recently moved to Heidelberg to be with his family. He has been working in Cape Town where he was a Code 14 Heavy Duty driver doing both long and short distances. He had been introduced to Wildcliff by Jackson.
At the top of Ena’s falls we walked down to the pools and there had a swim. It was interesting to see all the little creatures in the pools. A researcher, Zolt, had given us a talk on the smallest of small creatures that live in the rivers. Today we had remembered to charge phones and were able to take a few pictures. I tried to send to Barbara but did not seem to have too much success. I need reading glasses to see small stuff and am not much good with a phone except for phoning. Having a phone is an advantage in some respects but Ron found himself being interrupted a number of times by calls from business partners. After this most refreshing swim (it was going to be a hot day) we carried on up onto Ackers farm and over to the Karoo Lookout ridge. It was becoming really hot and there was little or no breeze. Ferns seem to have overgrown on this jeep track and this is to me a clear indication that this area is no longer being harvested as it was two years ago when I first walked this road.
From the Karoo Lookout we could see for many kilometres to the north of the Langkloof both East and West and across to the mountain range in the north. After a short snack and some photography, we retraced our steps back to the neck at Ena’s Falls. As soon as we crested this neck we could feel the cool breeze coming from the West. I had a plan to map a trail from the sign leading to Ena’s Falls Viewpoint to the pools below the falls. I had orange tape and led a pathway down to the pools where I again had a swim.
This is not a difficult path but it will be made a little safer by adding some strapping to the section where the hiker has to clamber down some rocks. From here we had the task of finding a trail down to the Klipspringer Pools (Bumslide Pools) below where the water pipe had burst. We were tired and not keen for more rock climbing so avoided the rock face of the broken pipe and headed downwards in an easterly direction.
It was here that we found the “field of King Protea”. This field is West Facing, has lots of water in a sloot. At this time of year (January) it seems that the King Protea are in full bloom. As we descended into the kloof we came across a number of Pine Trees which we either cut down using a lopper or the Machete or else, if the tree was too strong, we Ring Barked the tree. The foliage is thick and it became difficult to see where we were going with rocks and vines impeding our progress.
Down in the kloof we wallowed in the cool stream, enjoying the refreshing break before our ascent back to the Fynbos road. We had one of our toughest climbs of the day out of the kloof. We did not hike up at an angle but rather straight up and I think that this was just too much for us. We walked down the Fynbos road to where there is a pathway down to Rain Frog dam. We walked this track to the end of the pipe where Ron filled his water bottle. We tried to find the trail leading down to Rain Frog dam but, while we did not have success in finding the actual trail, we kind of bundu bashed and made our way to the dam.
As we walked, I wondered to myself if the sloot to the right of us would have any water as an alternative source for Rain Frog dam. When we finally reached home that afternoon at about 16.00 we were both ready for our tea and a couch. Jenny suggested watering the chestnut trees and other plants on the dam wall. I was able to persuade her that we should do this when the sun had settled a bit more. By time the watering of the trees and garden had to be done we had had time to recover and the sun was not as fierce as it had been earlier.
We found the trees that had to watered and then decided, as the level of the pond had dropped quite considerably, to fill the pond with the garden hose. We left the hose running all Thursday night and by Friday evening it had filled to its optimum level. At the Weavers Nest we found Abigail and reminded her of her duty to water the Keurboom and Yellow Wood trees. The hose was just long enough to water the saplings around the house but the Gladioli that are now planted in the newly painted water trough need to be watered by bucket.
Jenny made us a supper of Roast Chicken and vegetables this was finished off with a desert of Christmas Pudding and Ice Cream. Simply delicious! Hanna (a GIS Mapping researcher) joined us for supper. Hanna is a Texan who will be at WC for another 6 months and then will be marrying her fiancé who is in the US army. I could not last out for much longer and excused myself for a good night’s rest.
Ron did not sleep well as he was suffering from a bit of heat exhaustion and dehydration. Stefan was on his way from Cape Town that afternoon and had agreed to pick up two volunteers; Diego from the Basque region of Spain and Elodie from France. http://wildcliff.org/research They had left CT airport at about 19.30 and only arrived at WC after 23.00. I was long fast asleep and did not hear Stefan come in.
Jenny & I had decided to leave for George at about 07.00am. I had to catch a flight to Johannesburg for the meeting regarding retrenchment of staff. We passed Albertina where I made my compulsory stop for Gekervde Biltong. Jenny dropped me off at the airport where I obtained my ticket and sat down for a meal at Dulce’s. I ordered a coffee and a Chicken Curry Tremezinne. This is a meal in a pita bread and quite delicious. Ally often orders this but always brings half of the meal home for a second helping later in the day. I was unable to finish my meal but did not have place for a take away box.
The flying time from George to Johannesburg is 1hour 40minutes. Dawn had given me a book voucher for my birthday and I had one of the books that I had bought with me. It was a book of short thriller stories and by the end of the flight I had slept and read the time away.
John Baatjies (also 25 years service with Morkels) collected me at the airport and we took a route through the city centre. I have not been through Johannesburg city for many years and could still recognise many places and street names from the time when we lived in Johannesburg and I worked in the family business at Gaynors which was a division of Giddy’s.
I was not a good student and when I failed my final year (B.Com) at Wits University, I started a part time job at Gaynors with the intention to study part time. I only completed my degree many years later. I first of all worked in Doornfontein where the warehousing and administration took place. Then later, as the Johannesburg branch of the business was shut down, I worked as a manager of the only remaining shop in Bree street.
This was a busy time of life as I would sell an appliance, load it up in the El Camino truck and whisk it off to the customer’s home. We also sold a variety of appliance spares. It was quite a good business but not what I saw as my future and so when the opportunity arose I accepted a position as accountant in Port Elizabeth where the head office of Giddy’s was located. Eventually; Gaynors, Bree Street, was sold to Richard Beukes who was the group accountant of Giddy’s in Port Elizabeth.
Shortly after moving to PE I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara. I and a few friends were living in a Communal house and Barbara needed a room. From this our romance blossomed and when I was called up to National Service for three months at the Namibian Border we decided to marry before I was killed in action. Barbara stayed at home with her parents until I returned.
We lived in a flat in Kabega for the first while, Nicci and then Jacqui came along and we decided to move to the beach where we found a flat in Cathcart road (Cathcart Gardens). We bought this two bedroom flat for R15 000. I had bought a motor Bike and used this to commute. Michael was born and when the opportunity came to move into the family home in Mill Park Road, we snapped it up. At about this time I left the family business of Giddy’s. I had spent the last number of years as a salesman in the Newton Park shop and was ready for something new.
My parents; Ena and Allan moved from their flat in Killarney, Johannesburg, to a home that they built next to the Anglican Church in Plettenberg Bay. My father continued with his interest in Giddy’s which was at that time being run by his partner and army buddy, Rocky Ridgeway. In the Mid ‘80’s the business was sold to Rusfurn and then later Rusfurn was taken over by the JD Group.
Barbara left SA Eagle insurance where she had been a secretary and found a new job as a PA at Blasting and Excavating where she worked for Basil Bartlet until she resigned in the late 1990’s. We have now lived in Mill Park for over 25 years. After leaving Giddy’s I spent a year as a “travelling salesman selling chemical products and then spent another year as a Regional Credit manager at Lewis Furnishers.
I had put an application in with Morkels and when they called me for a second interview I was delighted and accepted their offer without hesitation. I managed the Main Street shop for three years, the North End shop for a further three years and then moved to a regional position. I have now worked in a variety of regional positions at Morkels for 25 years.
Morkels has been through a management buy out from Federale Volksbeleggings, a take over by Profurn and then a take over by JDG. Right now I am in the process of moving from the Morkels brand to the JDG Financial services division and if all works out I will receive my first promotion in nearly 20 years. Barbara and I had decided to stay in PE rather than accept transfers and promotions.
Back to my meeting in Johannesburg: John drove me out to Hillfox in the West Rand, where the JDG training and meetings facilities are housed. We were handed the retrenchment letters that we had to take back with us on Monday and then Sue Lewis (HR Executive) explained how we were to handle the communication. After the meeting John drove me back to OR Tambo airport where I met up with Ian and we were able to sit together for the return flight home.
This kind of trip is exhausting to me and I had a bit of a dull headache. Jenny met us at the airport and we drove back to WC together. Jenny had spent a good day shopping in the George Mall where she had purchased a number of research books and some of the essentials for WC. Jenny had also bought us a supper of Sushi for the road. I think that Jenny enjoys spoiling “her men” with delights like this.
Stefan and Ron had made us a delicious Pootjie on the braai. It was late and while we had supper Stefan and Ron related their day’s activities. Ron had started off the day not been feeling that good but by about 09.00 had recovered enough to walk up the fynbos road.
Stefan wanted to explore the ridge which he and I had seen from the West side of the Wilderkranz Kloof. They walked up the Fynbos road and then down and along the ridge towards the Doghead Rock. They tell me that they marked the trail well and that Stefan had made liberal use of the Loppers. They finally reached the Wilderkranz stream and walked and swam down the valley until they reached what is now called Bryce Canyon. Here they walked up the hill and back to Fynbos road. I make this sound quick and easy but the day’s activity took them to 19.00pm. I think that this hiking trail should be called Stefan’s Loop. This had been a 10hour hike for them. Nevertheless they had waited up until we arrived back from our travels.
Saturday Morning. This would be our last day of the short holiday. We warmed up some of the Pootjie for our breakfast. I wanted to get going as soon as possible but Ian wanted to set out a planned route. We decided to find out if there was any water in the sloot that lies to the West of Rain Frog Dam. Ian then wanted to see the Wilderkranz Kloof at about the area where the first Little Falls were located from above on the East side of the kloof. Finally Ian wanted to find the water pipe on Fynbos Road where Freek and Aubrey were repairing a section of the road.
We set off at about 8 or 9am and walked up through the wattles to Rain Frog dam and over the dam wall to where we found these two sloots that would lead down to the Oak Tree Meadow. Both of them were dry and therefore this would not be an alternate source of water for the houses of WC. We then headed uphill through where Tom Ambrose’ teams had cut the pines and wattle and then over to the East of the Wilderkranz valley. As we walked this route we found a trap which we assumed to be a Leopard trap.
We continued down until we found what we thought to be a lookout point. From here we could see the top of Sunshine Falls. This is the second falls after the Little Falls as you work your way up from Oak Tree meadow. We could not see into the kloof itself as it is simply too dense with trees and foliage. We carried on up and found another lookout point. From this vantage point it appears that with some assistance from webbing we may be able to climb down into the kloof. Ian spotted a few Wattles below us. Ron immediately headed down into this valley and begun chopping the first of three trees down. I took an easy little tree and Stefan, being the youngest of us, was given the task of the biggest tree. Ron slung some of the webbing around a stump and this aided Stefan in his trip down and back up again. We should carry some Garlon poison with us to make these efforts of ours a permanent solution.
From here we walked up to the Fynbos road, found the pipe on the road and settled down to a snack. While we relaxed on the road we saw Diego and Elodie walking up towards us. We all greeted and introduced ourselves and then walked up to Ena’s Falls. At Ena’s Falls we made our way down to the Burst Pipe rocks and then down through this kloof to the bottom Klipspringer pools. Ian, Stefan & I had a swim. The weather was not that warm and the water quite brisk. Still a lovely swim.
Ron & Stefan had looped a section of webbing for the climb up. This certainly made this climb a lot easier and the researchers will have no trouble reaching these otherwise tough sections of the valley. By putting the webbing in place we also are able to save the grasses as we tend to pull on grasses to help us up the steep hills. Shortly after this Stefan and Ron headed down the fynbos road to Talari, following Diego and Elodie.
Hennie, the water pipe man from the Heidelberg coop arrived with Keith and surveyed the pipes to see how best the broken pipe could be mended. I also showed Hennie where there were other sections of broken and leaking pipes up above Ena’s falls. We located the source of the water where the pipe starts as well as the valve where the water can be turned off altogether. It is not advisable to turn the valve off completely as this could result in the PVC pipe collapsing and being destroyed in the process. The low water level means that only 1/3rd of the inlet pipe is being fed. Perhaps we should consider building a small weir here,
There was a brisk wind coming up the valley from the south west and Ian was able to find a sheltered spot behind a couple of huge boulders. He plans to ask one of the contractors if they will be able to build a small stone hut for overnight hikers. This will be a two man hut with the very minimum basics. It will have to survive storms, wind, fire and baboons. Hennie’s team fitted a new escape valve just above the broken pipe and he also fitted a tap just below where Ian is considering the stone hut.
Ian was due to give a presentation on Biodiversity and his guests were already there and waiting. The next day was Ian’s birthday and he had invited Bob & Wilma plus all the volunteers for a braai. Ian and I walked down at a brisk pace. We reached Talari at about 17.30 and after a shower and a cup of tea I was beginning to feel human again. This had been a long day’s hiking of 8 or 9 hours.
Jenny had set up a presentation area in the lounge which I almost destroyed when I walked past carrying my backpack in front of me and did not take enough care when walking over the wires. I tripped, the projector crashed down but fortunately did not break. Ian then gave us a very interesting presentation on the subject of Biodiversity and why it is of importance to study the biodiversity at both Cloudbridge and at Wildcliff and to monitor the changes.
Bob and I did the Braaiing while Jenny prepared vegetables. Paula had made a most delicious bread. I would have been happy to have this alone but all the food was so inviting that I could not resist sampling a bit of everything. We had a desert of mixed Melk Tert and Christmas pudding. While my birthday had been a few weeks earlier I was spoilt with gifts from both Jenny (a rechargeable torch) and from Paula a (home made braai sauce).
This was my 5th night away from home and I was looking forward to getting back to my family. There was such a festive and active conversation going on that after two attempts to interrupt and bid everyone a good night I finally went off to bed. I set the alarm for 04.00am and awoke just before that on Sunday Morning. Ron also woke up and we decided to pack and go. We were on the road at about 04.30 and made our first stop in Plett at the Shell garage where we bought a coffee and toasted sandwich. The road was relatively empty and we were back home before 10.00am. This is probably the quickest time that I have driven between WC and PE.
18TH January is Ian Giddy (079 538 2444) and Ian Spence (044 5333 1657) Birthday. I spoke to Patrick who was at the Hogsback for a three day conference. He told me of how he driven from Durban and taken the road from Kokstad to Matatielle to Queenstown and that this was a really easy tar road with no traffic and this avoided the congestion of places like Mthatha and Butterworth. I will probably take this route when we go to Durban for Nippers Nationals in April.
I phoned Ian Spence to wish him a happy 93rd birthday. While he had suffered a bit of a health setback recently, on his birthday he had a “drinks party” and was able to swim in the pool. Ian Giddy had also had recent health problems. He had discovered a cancer while being examined for a Kidney stone. Doctors have been able to remove the cancer and Ian is presently going for blood tests which should have been forwarded to his doctor in NY but this process seems to have been less then successful. However Ian seems to be very strong. He is back working as hard as ever at the operations of the two reserves, the consulting work that he does and was hugely active as we walked and climbed and swam in some difficult trails at WC this weekend.
Stefan had left WC at about 05.30. He travelled the on the N2 to about 10kays before Swellendam where he took a left turn to Barrydale. This may have been a bit of a mistake as the route was about 40kays longer then going through Swellendam and Ashton. Stefan reports it to be a stunning pass with deep cliffs and ridges. This road is tarred all the way to the N1. He saw little or no traffic and the drive took him about 30 minutes longer than normal.
It was good to be home. As soon as I had unpacked, I dressed for Nippers. Barbara, Ally & I drove down to Summerstrand. A strong west wind was blowing and there were some ultra huge swells that ended up crashing onto the shallows of the beach. The sand had begun to build up and there were not as many rocks as we have experienced over the past number of weeks.
After a short warm up run we took the U10’s through their paces in the water. First a swim and I was pleasantly surprised to see how many of the u10’s made it through the dumpers and swam out to where the coaches were waiting. We then put them on Body Boards and again a number of these youngsters braved the waves and paddled out to the coaches.
I have started to find a sense of team spirit developing in the U10’s. We now have more than a team of just one u10 girl. At the Plett carnival Marion was the only girl in the U10 Nippers team. And the boys are becoming more confident as they become used to the ocean. What really helps, at this level, is the increased number of parents who stay and contribute both in the water, on the beach and in other ways. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group.
The U10’s should be pleasantly surprised when they are at Kings Beach next week for the Carnival. The swell is not nearly as big and the waves are easier to negotiate. We ran though sprints and baton changing for team selection purposes. Lynne and I went through the criteria for the Nippers doing their first Level tests. We have a small group of u10’s going for a level test on Saturday and we should have over 20 X U10’s competing in the carnival next Sunday.
Xairu:
Dear Peter,
Thank you for visiting www.openafrica.org and posting your comment/request.
The information on the route, and thus the name can be found within the
route background information at the following link:
http://www.openafrica.org/route/xairu-blue-crane-route
But to answer your question directly I have copied the information, see
below:
"Xairu" (pronounced with the 'x' as a click sound made by flattening the
tongue on the roof of the mouth and then removing it) means "paradise" in
the old language of the San people who used to inhabit the area.
Please feel free to post any requests or comments on our site again. Thank
yoU!
Kind Regards
Jolene du Plessis
Open Africa
Tel: +27 21 683 9639
Fax: +27 21 683 8013
Cell: +27 72 015 9978
Email: jolene@openafrica.org
Website: www.openafrica.org
FUNDISA EDUCATIONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT
Here is a really good way to save for the education of a CHOSEN child.
What you do is visit a branch of ABSA or Nedbank
Ask for an application form
You will need the ID or Birth Certificate of the chosen child.
Then save at R200 per month -= R2 400 per annum and as long as the child eventually uses the fund for education at a recognised tertiary education insitution such as a university then the fund earns a bonus of 25% = R600 pa.
The fund name is Fundisa.
There are a few conditions but this sounds like the best way to save for your child. And even if that particular child opts out of tertiary education the fund can be used to for another child and you will still have the benefit of this bonus.
What you do is visit a branch of ABSA or Nedbank
Ask for an application form
You will need the ID or Birth Certificate of the chosen child.
Then save at R200 per month -= R2 400 per annum and as long as the child eventually uses the fund for education at a recognised tertiary education insitution such as a university then the fund earns a bonus of 25% = R600 pa.
The fund name is Fundisa.
There are a few conditions but this sounds like the best way to save for your child. And even if that particular child opts out of tertiary education the fund can be used to for another child and you will still have the benefit of this bonus.
Monday, January 19, 2009
RUSKS RECIPE. ZOE GIDDY PASSED ON TO ENA GIDDY JANUARY 2009.
RUSK RECIPE January 2009.
This Recipe was originally passed to Ena Giddy by her sister in law; Zoe Giddy who is the wife of David Giddy. David is Allan Giddy’s younger Brother. David, Zoe and their children; Hugh, Jonathan and Allison all live in Australia. Ena has been making these rusks for many years and it is one of my real treats in the morning. I was worried that if I did not secure the recipe that it may be lost to our family. So on the way to Wildcliff on 12th January 2009 I stopped at Ena in Plett. Ron Pask was with me and we had a cup of tea and Ena gave me this recipe and a box of Rusks to take with me.
Step One
Flour Mixture
1 X Kilogram self Raising Flour
300g Bran Flakes
I X Cup Raisins
1 X Tea spoon Baking powder
2 X Tea Spoon Salt
Step Two
Melt 500Grams of Butter
Mix in two cups of sugar.
Step Three
Beat two eggs and 500 mil Buttermilk
Add to the Butter mix into the flour Mixture
Step Four
Bake at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes.
Cool and Cut into rusks
Step Five
Dry in oven until crisp: Be careful as you don’t want wet rusks nr do you want to burn them.
This Recipe was originally passed to Ena Giddy by her sister in law; Zoe Giddy who is the wife of David Giddy. David is Allan Giddy’s younger Brother. David, Zoe and their children; Hugh, Jonathan and Allison all live in Australia. Ena has been making these rusks for many years and it is one of my real treats in the morning. I was worried that if I did not secure the recipe that it may be lost to our family. So on the way to Wildcliff on 12th January 2009 I stopped at Ena in Plett. Ron Pask was with me and we had a cup of tea and Ena gave me this recipe and a box of Rusks to take with me.
Step One
Flour Mixture
1 X Kilogram self Raising Flour
300g Bran Flakes
I X Cup Raisins
1 X Tea spoon Baking powder
2 X Tea Spoon Salt
Step Two
Melt 500Grams of Butter
Mix in two cups of sugar.
Step Three
Beat two eggs and 500 mil Buttermilk
Add to the Butter mix into the flour Mixture
Step Four
Bake at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes.
Cool and Cut into rusks
Step Five
Dry in oven until crisp: Be careful as you don’t want wet rusks nr do you want to burn them.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
SUMMERSTRAND NIPPERS 2009.
We will run a Nippers Group on Tuesday 16th at Summerstrand 09.00am to 11.00am.
Marking of clothing: Please mark all clothing and kit. Every weekend we find stuff lying around on the beach or in the change rooms.
I have a T shirt that I found on the beach with J Zeelie name and I have a chafe shorts which I found on the beach last weekend.
Sunday: This was quite an experience for those who were there on Sunday.
The beach took on a new shape and with the extreme low tide we had to contend with rocks in places which made surfing quite dangerous.
In the both the U12 and the U10 group we had a few first timers who slotted in quite nicely.
The U14’s went out for a few long paddles on the Malibu boards and Clint sent them to the Pollock Rocks and back.
We did quite a bit of beach work and ended up with U10’s challenging the U14’s at Flags. Real fun!!
Level tests: If you are interested in taking part in Carnivals and in the East Cape Champs next year then you have to have qualified for the Level Test in your age group.
To qualify for a level test:
You need to swim a 400m in a pool either with a swim coach, a responsible adult or a Nippers Coach. Please phone me if you need help in this regard.
A copy of your Birth Certificate.
A competed indemnity form.
We need you to bring these documents to Nippers urgently if the Nipper is to compete in the next Carnival.
The carnival program for this season:
29th November: Plett results: see letter attached.
25th January --- Carnival hosted by Summerstrand.
7th March -- East Cape Champs hosted by Summerstrand.
3 April --- Nationals in Durban.
Letter from the Parade Hotel in Durban.
Hi Peter
Would you kindly chat with the club members and establish if anyone else is going to be booking at Parade Hotel.
We have only had 10 bookings and I will soon need to release the rooms to two other clubs who are on the waiting list.
Also kindly ensure that they email me at info@paradehotel.co.za with their exact requirements i.e. booking name, dates in and out and number in family/group.
Brenda Lee
Manager, Parade Hotel
Peter
Sunday 14th
082 550 3174
Please phone me if you need any more detail or information.
You can be proud that your children take part in a tough sport like Nippers!
Nippers builds character; muscle and fitness; and a healthy respect for the ocean and its everyday whims.
Today we had a good turnout of Nippers and coaches to enjoy a session on the beach.
We started off with a warm up, run and exercise session.
Then the U14’s decided to head out on Malibu’s again. Today was different as there were some HUGE swells and crashing shore breakers. And a few really brave U12’s elected to join the U14’s. Ally, Ali, Caitlyn, Christie, Daniel, Hampton and a few others joined the U14’s for a long paddle from Pollock towards Hobie, around Bird Rock and back.
This was further than many of the youngsters had ever been. Don’t think that they were not fearful to start off with. But they managed to overcome this nervous anticipation and completed the exercise. Then the U14’s once more took to their Malibu Boards and paddled off to the Pipe to join the surfers there.
The U10’s and U12’s did some Body Board work and some of them were Severely Dumped by those crashing shore breakers. Yet we saw no tears and they were soon back in the water with boards surfing and enjoying the sea. We also did a long run and some flags exercises.
This a good workout for a young body between about 8 to 14 years and an even better workout for us mom’s and dad’s who try to keep up with the Nippers. Thanks to both coaches and parents who brought children to Nippers today and to those who selflessly assist on the beach, Tuck Shop, admin and in other ways.
Sunday 28th: the cage will be open for anyone wanting to use craft or the facilities. This will be an unsupervised session. 11.00am.
Sunday 4th January: This will be another less formal session but there will be coaches and supervision. 11.00am to 13.00.
Thursday 8th January: we will have a meeting for the committee, coaches and other people wanting to assist in the organisation of the Summerstrand Carnival to be held on Sunday 25th Jan. The meeting will be at Peter’s house: 23 Mill Park Road: 18.30 Sharp.
Sunday 11th January will be the opening of the new year’s official Practice Sessions. 11.00am at Summerstrand.
Peter
082 550 3174
21.12.2008.
This evening we had a chat (committee meeting) about a whole range of Nippers Stuff.
Here is a brief summary:
Level Tests: Liesl and Juan will be contacting Nippers who are still to complete their level test.
Carnival 24 / 25 January 2009
Venue: Kings Beach
Proposal to hold the carnival over two days to be discussed with East Cape Office.
Once finalised: Program to be issued.
Beach Preparation: we will need a full team of parents to assist with setting up arena’s. Time & date depends on two or one day carnival.
Preferable to have two water arena’s. To decide.
Two Flags arena’s essential. Must have starters, catchers and scorers for each arena.
Try to find a Tent for the scorers (army type tent)
Tuckshop and Catering: outsource
Toilets: Kings beach public toilets. Toilet Paper.
Catering for officials: only outside the club volunteers and safety officers to be provided with a meal voucher.
Entry Fee: R10.00 per nipper. List to be provided on the day.
Safety Officers: refer to Rule 1.4.6: In Nipper Competition no water events may be held unless there are at least 10 safety Officers with rescue torpedo buoys in attendance. Kings beach to be requested to supply their Rubber Duck.
We will need a Security Guard if the event is over two days.
Officials: Brian, Dave, etc; Scorers: Rose, Charlene, Hannelie, Claire.
First Aid: refresh the kit.
Bins
Next meeting regarding the Summerstrand Carnival to be held at Clint & Claire on Thursday 15th at 18.30pm.
Other:
Clothing shop will be open Sunday 11.1.2009. All Nippers to be properly Kitted out with Black Speedo costumes, Chafe Vests, tight shorts if they chafe on their legs, Scull caps: this includes Micro Nippers.
We will also have Baggies, T shirts etc for sale.
Sunday 11th and Sunday 18th will be trails for the Carnival. NB at this carnival all Nippers with the required Level test will be included in the events. At East Cape and Nationals there are LIMITED entries allowed for certain events and teams will be selected on merit and ability and not on Participation.
Sponsorship DVD – Donald.
Calendar of Upcoming activities:
Sunday 11.1.2009: Trails and times for Carnival Team Selection. All Nippers wanting to acquire a Level test to talk to Liesl and Juan Nel: Must supply ID book and Swim confirmation plus sign and indemnity form.
Thursday 15th: Carnival Planning meeting at Clint’s house.
Sunday 18.1.2009: Trails and times for Carnival Team Selection
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th: to confirm if the Carnival will be held over one or two days: Kings Beach. Program to follow.
Nippers Nationals and Accommodation: Coaches will be asking Nippers who will be taking part in the Durban Nationals Competition. Parents to advise children and Parents to arrange own accommodation.
Friday 13.2.2009: 100 club for all parents and Nippers: 6pm – 100 club cash draws as well as Lucky Dip Draws: Supper at R15.00 per person will be a Beef Pootjie concocted by our famous Naked Chef.
Sunday 15th February: Last day for Level Tests for East Cape Carnival.
Sunday 22nd February : Redhouse River Mile --- Summies to be there is force: Parents and Nippers alike. Last year Matthew won himself a Motor Bike!
Saturday 28th February: Cut off date for Nippers Level Test to take part in the Nippers Nationals in Durban.
Saturday 7th March: East Cape Nippers Competition hosted by Summerstrand
Friday 3rd April: Nippers Nationals in Durban.
Marking of clothing: Please mark all clothing and kit. Every weekend we find stuff lying around on the beach or in the change rooms.
I have a T shirt that I found on the beach with J Zeelie name and I have a chafe shorts which I found on the beach last weekend.
Sunday: This was quite an experience for those who were there on Sunday.
The beach took on a new shape and with the extreme low tide we had to contend with rocks in places which made surfing quite dangerous.
In the both the U12 and the U10 group we had a few first timers who slotted in quite nicely.
The U14’s went out for a few long paddles on the Malibu boards and Clint sent them to the Pollock Rocks and back.
We did quite a bit of beach work and ended up with U10’s challenging the U14’s at Flags. Real fun!!
Level tests: If you are interested in taking part in Carnivals and in the East Cape Champs next year then you have to have qualified for the Level Test in your age group.
To qualify for a level test:
You need to swim a 400m in a pool either with a swim coach, a responsible adult or a Nippers Coach. Please phone me if you need help in this regard.
A copy of your Birth Certificate.
A competed indemnity form.
We need you to bring these documents to Nippers urgently if the Nipper is to compete in the next Carnival.
The carnival program for this season:
29th November: Plett results: see letter attached.
25th January --- Carnival hosted by Summerstrand.
7th March -- East Cape Champs hosted by Summerstrand.
3 April --- Nationals in Durban.
Letter from the Parade Hotel in Durban.
Hi Peter
Would you kindly chat with the club members and establish if anyone else is going to be booking at Parade Hotel.
We have only had 10 bookings and I will soon need to release the rooms to two other clubs who are on the waiting list.
Also kindly ensure that they email me at info@paradehotel.co.za with their exact requirements i.e. booking name, dates in and out and number in family/group.
Brenda Lee
Manager, Parade Hotel
Peter
Sunday 14th
082 550 3174
Please phone me if you need any more detail or information.
You can be proud that your children take part in a tough sport like Nippers!
Nippers builds character; muscle and fitness; and a healthy respect for the ocean and its everyday whims.
Today we had a good turnout of Nippers and coaches to enjoy a session on the beach.
We started off with a warm up, run and exercise session.
Then the U14’s decided to head out on Malibu’s again. Today was different as there were some HUGE swells and crashing shore breakers. And a few really brave U12’s elected to join the U14’s. Ally, Ali, Caitlyn, Christie, Daniel, Hampton and a few others joined the U14’s for a long paddle from Pollock towards Hobie, around Bird Rock and back.
This was further than many of the youngsters had ever been. Don’t think that they were not fearful to start off with. But they managed to overcome this nervous anticipation and completed the exercise. Then the U14’s once more took to their Malibu Boards and paddled off to the Pipe to join the surfers there.
The U10’s and U12’s did some Body Board work and some of them were Severely Dumped by those crashing shore breakers. Yet we saw no tears and they were soon back in the water with boards surfing and enjoying the sea. We also did a long run and some flags exercises.
This a good workout for a young body between about 8 to 14 years and an even better workout for us mom’s and dad’s who try to keep up with the Nippers. Thanks to both coaches and parents who brought children to Nippers today and to those who selflessly assist on the beach, Tuck Shop, admin and in other ways.
Sunday 28th: the cage will be open for anyone wanting to use craft or the facilities. This will be an unsupervised session. 11.00am.
Sunday 4th January: This will be another less formal session but there will be coaches and supervision. 11.00am to 13.00.
Thursday 8th January: we will have a meeting for the committee, coaches and other people wanting to assist in the organisation of the Summerstrand Carnival to be held on Sunday 25th Jan. The meeting will be at Peter’s house: 23 Mill Park Road: 18.30 Sharp.
Sunday 11th January will be the opening of the new year’s official Practice Sessions. 11.00am at Summerstrand.
Peter
082 550 3174
21.12.2008.
This evening we had a chat (committee meeting) about a whole range of Nippers Stuff.
Here is a brief summary:
Level Tests: Liesl and Juan will be contacting Nippers who are still to complete their level test.
Carnival 24 / 25 January 2009
Venue: Kings Beach
Proposal to hold the carnival over two days to be discussed with East Cape Office.
Once finalised: Program to be issued.
Beach Preparation: we will need a full team of parents to assist with setting up arena’s. Time & date depends on two or one day carnival.
Preferable to have two water arena’s. To decide.
Two Flags arena’s essential. Must have starters, catchers and scorers for each arena.
Try to find a Tent for the scorers (army type tent)
Tuckshop and Catering: outsource
Toilets: Kings beach public toilets. Toilet Paper.
Catering for officials: only outside the club volunteers and safety officers to be provided with a meal voucher.
Entry Fee: R10.00 per nipper. List to be provided on the day.
Safety Officers: refer to Rule 1.4.6: In Nipper Competition no water events may be held unless there are at least 10 safety Officers with rescue torpedo buoys in attendance. Kings beach to be requested to supply their Rubber Duck.
We will need a Security Guard if the event is over two days.
Officials: Brian, Dave, etc; Scorers: Rose, Charlene, Hannelie, Claire.
First Aid: refresh the kit.
Bins
Next meeting regarding the Summerstrand Carnival to be held at Clint & Claire on Thursday 15th at 18.30pm.
Other:
Clothing shop will be open Sunday 11.1.2009. All Nippers to be properly Kitted out with Black Speedo costumes, Chafe Vests, tight shorts if they chafe on their legs, Scull caps: this includes Micro Nippers.
We will also have Baggies, T shirts etc for sale.
Sunday 11th and Sunday 18th will be trails for the Carnival. NB at this carnival all Nippers with the required Level test will be included in the events. At East Cape and Nationals there are LIMITED entries allowed for certain events and teams will be selected on merit and ability and not on Participation.
Sponsorship DVD – Donald.
Calendar of Upcoming activities:
Sunday 11.1.2009: Trails and times for Carnival Team Selection. All Nippers wanting to acquire a Level test to talk to Liesl and Juan Nel: Must supply ID book and Swim confirmation plus sign and indemnity form.
Thursday 15th: Carnival Planning meeting at Clint’s house.
Sunday 18.1.2009: Trails and times for Carnival Team Selection
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th: to confirm if the Carnival will be held over one or two days: Kings Beach. Program to follow.
Nippers Nationals and Accommodation: Coaches will be asking Nippers who will be taking part in the Durban Nationals Competition. Parents to advise children and Parents to arrange own accommodation.
Friday 13.2.2009: 100 club for all parents and Nippers: 6pm – 100 club cash draws as well as Lucky Dip Draws: Supper at R15.00 per person will be a Beef Pootjie concocted by our famous Naked Chef.
Sunday 15th February: Last day for Level Tests for East Cape Carnival.
Sunday 22nd February : Redhouse River Mile --- Summies to be there is force: Parents and Nippers alike. Last year Matthew won himself a Motor Bike!
Saturday 28th February: Cut off date for Nippers Level Test to take part in the Nippers Nationals in Durban.
Saturday 7th March: East Cape Nippers Competition hosted by Summerstrand
Friday 3rd April: Nippers Nationals in Durban.
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