TOTT 5 April 2018

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6 Talk of the Town ADVERTISING / NEWSDESK: (046) 624 4356 Find us on Facebook April 5, 2018 OPINION B i ke r s ride for hope IT is encouraging to hear that a group of about 20 Christian bikers have been travelling around South Africa to highlight the problem of farm murders, and that they will be in our area this weekend. There have been spikes of community concern over farm murders, the most notable one involving many South Africans on Black Monday in October last year, but the issue is pushed to the back of most people’s minds as we get on with the daily routine of our lives. It is only the families who have suffered brutality and loss of life, and the communities in which these incidents happen, who have it at the forefront of their minds. The mission and scope of the 911 Ride, as it is called, was to take their message out on the road, starting in Mpumalanga and journeying through all provinces to visit police stations, community policing forums, farmers unions and meeting with ordinary people to talk about the issue. The message of the 911 Ride is not confrontational but rather encouraging and appealing to people’s hearts. With a plan to visit 250 police stations on their current trip, they will deliver a letter to each one expressing their appreciation of the SAPS and their desire for safe communities in South Africa. They also want to collect the signatures of each provincial commissioner to present to the national commissioner at the end of their trip, and have been successful thus far, except for a disappointing response in the Free State where the commissioner did not even want to meet with them or receive their letter. Thankfully, that whenever there are people who disappoint us, there are others who shine like beacons of goodwill, like the Northern Cape commissioner who joined the group of bikers on their trip through his province and even provided a police escort. Response from the public has also been good, with groups of bikers joining the core group for part of the journey through each province. Local riders are expected to join the group when they come to our area. Any local bikers who want to join the group when they travel to Alexandria on Sunday can contact the numbers provided in our story on page 3. Part of their motivation for coming to Alexandria was because of the brutal murder of Riaan Scheepers in November last year – the first time our part of Eastern Cape was hit by a farm murder in many years. We hope that the efforts of the 911 Riders will help in some way in combatting the scourge of farm murders. Jon Houzet 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tide Guide Kind courtesy-SA Navy HIGH 0630 1842 0658 1913 0730 1951 0817 2 11 0 1031 ---- 0651 1917 0751 2002 0827 2036 L OW 0024 1242 0052 1311 0123 1346 0205 1445 0349 1732 0017 1300 0132 1352 0211 1427 GOOD CAUSE: The winners of the recent Sunshine Coast Hospice Bowls Fundraising Tournament, from left, Dennis Stirk, Phyl Taylor, Leonie de Villiers and Lynn Preston with Louise Cloete, back, of Vernon Cloete Investment Service, who handed out the prizes HAVE YOUR S AY Letters to PO Box 2871, Port Alfred - or e-mail to houzetj@tisoblackstar.co.za This is an open forum for readers to express their opinions. However, the publishers reserve the right to shorten letters. Those printed are not necessarily the views of Talk of the Town. Although noms de plume may be used, letters must be signed and have an authentic contactable address & telephone number. Talk of the Town reserves the right to not publish letters. Please limit letters to 250 words or less. Estate’s koi pond ‘disgustingly dirty’ I REGULARLY walk with my dog through the neighbourhood and I’m proud to be a Port Alfred resident. What a privilege. I have also seen many koi fish in their ponds and what a beautiful sight. But what a horrible “surprise” awaited me Emergency numbers Port Alfred hospital – (046) 604-4000 Police station – (046) 604-2001/2 Multi-Security – (046) 624-2508 Chubb Security – (046) 624-4810 Sky Alarms – (046) 624-2806 NSRI – 082-990-5971 Electricity (a/h) - (046) 624-1111 EMS (Emergency Medical Services) – 10177 Gardmed –082-759-2134 Holistic EMS – 063-460-0042 Fire Department – (046) 624-1111 when I walked past Riverview Waterfront Estate, where the pond is disgustingly dirty. The fish can hardly be seen in the sludgy water and there are spider webs all over the pond. Several times we have asked the security guards on duty to report it to their management and they told us they have, a few times, but to no avail. What an unsavoury advertisement indeed. I don’t care for the Riverview Estate itself, I care about the poor fish in such a filthy, unsavoury fish pond. KOI FAN SON RISEN: Church members gather for an Easter Sunday sunrise service at Kelly’s Beach Joyful sunrise Easter service ABOUT 40 people gathered at Kelly’s Beach at 6am on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ministers and members from various congregations came together for this event. As they awaited the dawning of a new day, Pastor Theo Snyman (playing his guitar) and his wife Marinda, led the folk in hearty chorus singing. Even though it was so early, the enthusiasm and excitement among those present was contagious. Streaks of sunlight began to shimmer over the sea as a cloud partly hid the sunrise from view. Then, the sun rose in all its brilliance above the clouds, bringing warmth and light to the onlookers. The rising of the sun in all of its majesty and splendour served as a symbolic illustration of the rising of the Son of God ... triumphant over death and Hades! “Early on the first day of the week certain women went down to the tomb where Jesus had been laid. They found it empty! Two angels appeared to them and said, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!’” (Luke 24:5, 6) NUWE LEWE VOLLE EVANGELIE KERK Hospice bowled over by fundraiser THE management and staff of Sunshine Coast Hospice thank Brian Waddington and the Port Alfred Bowling Club for hosting a very successful fundraiser. A great deal of planning and preparation goes into organising an event such as this and the hospice said they were extremely grateful to Brian and his team of kind volunteers for all their hard work, as well as the 72 players who took part. The winners of the competition were Dennis Stirk, Phyl Taylor, Leonie de Villiers and Lynn Preston. Special thanks went to Vernon and Louise Cloete from Vernon Cloete Investment Service for their sponsorship for the second successive year, as well as raffle winner David Pawson, who kindly donated his prize money back to hospice. ANGELA HIBBERT, FUNDRAISER AND ZELDA ELLIOTT, ADMINISTRATOR MADE BY ME: Amelia Downey handmade this bag for her sister at #upcycle Port Alfred on a mini “learn to sew” course. The bag has two zip p o c ke t s . She hand-painted the owl detail. All of the fabrics used were remnants or rejects. The braid and owl buttons were donated and 98% of the project was done without a sewing machine #upcycle project boosts team spirit MANY years ago women and children sewed together as they shared their skills and passions with each other. This “o l d - fa s h i o n e d ” support seems to be lacking in today’s society where many mothers feel isolated. Young people of both genders wanting to learn how to sew/knit etc, are limited by what their parents are able to teach them and, of course, time is a challenge for most parents. #upcycle Port Alfred operates on an oldfashioned system. No money is charged for lessons –it runs on “fa i t h ”. If you are looking for a place to collaborate once a week or, if you would like to donate your time to teaching others or if you have old buttons/thread/ fabrics/paints (even sewing machines) and you would like to donate to the project, please e-mail: castix777@gmail.com CAROL-ANN STIEKEMA
April 5, 2018 ADVERTISING / NEWSDESK: (046) 624 4356 Find us on Facebook Talk of the Town 7 Question: Tell us about your job. Answer: I am a credit clerk. Q: Why did you get into this line of wo r k ? A: This is a job that I always wanted. Q: Describe the most memorable moments that you have in this line of work? A: Serving people on daily basis is a memorable experience for me. Q: What do you do to unwind? A: I read the Bible. FA C E 2FA C E ... with Mhleli Tshawula Q: What is your motto in life? A: Never give up. Q: What makes you angry? A: Negative people. Q: What makes you happy? A: Fulfilling my goals. Q: What do you think about the youth in South Africa? Do you have any advice for them? A: They are too attached to social media, they must use those platforms to equip themselves with knowledge. Q: What do you like about Port Alfred? A: Quiet town. Q: If you could change one thing about Port Alfred ... A: I would love to see more local rugby clubs. Q: What is your favourite music? A: Gospel. Q: Name three people you would like to invite to dinner (can be someone no longer living but you wish you could invite to dinner)? A: Mimi Tshewula, Thandeka Tshewula and Sydney Hani. Q: Three wishes for South Africa. A: A non-violent nation, good driving on the roads and economic development. From delivering post to beer collecting BOB FORD FROM being a postman with Royal Mail in England to owning three properties in the United Kingdom and one in Port Alfred is the success story of popular local resident, Roy Bushell. But it has been a long, hard struggle to achieve this. Born in Zambia, but brought up in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, Bushell first made his mark in life as a golfer at a tender age. During his teen years, he represented the then Southern Rhodesian junior team for two years, captaining the side in his last year, playing off a scratch handicap. During those years, he played alongside the famous Nick Price, when he won the world junior championships. After leaving school, Bushell fought in the bush war in Zimbabwe, where he served in the army’s artillery regiment. Once the war ended and Robert Mugabe had taken over the country, Bushell moved to South Africa, where he worked for several years until he was retrenched. He then had to make a decision, and moved to England on an Irish passport and without much money or qualifications, in 2004. “I heard one could make good money by working for Royal Mail provided you were prepared to work hard,” he said. So he applied successfully for a postman ’s position in Swindon, Wiltshire, and spent the next nine years delivering post to up to 1000 properties a d ay. He explained that there were plenty of opportunities to work overtime and he took advantage of this to “make as many extra pounds as possible”. His days started at 5am and he often worked for up to 11 hours on a shift, covering up to 12km come rain, hail or snow. The bag he carried weighed up to 16kg and he would deliver up to 12 of these in a day. Ironically, there were many South Africans and Zimbabweans living on his daily route MEMORABILIA: Roy Bushell, who worked as a postman in Britain for almost nine years. He is seen here with one of a set of four volumes written by Sir Winston Churchill on the Great War Picture: BOB FORD in Swindon and he befriended many of them. Traditionally, as is the case of all postmen throughout the world, his biggest curse on his rounds was getting past residents’ dogs. “I remember having a close call with an Alsatian and a pack of five Jack Russells – they were the smallest, but the most vicious,” he smiled. Meanwhile, through sheer hard work and saving, Bushell had built up sufficient funds to buy three houses in England. But by 2013, he and his wife, Lee-Anne had had enough and wanted to return to South Africa. They sold one of their properties and settled in Port Alfred because they liked the town and its friendly people. “We haven’t looked back since then,” he said. His wife joined a local estate agency and Bushell got the spinoff from this as he often did repairs and maintenance on houses that were on the market. He still does so t o d ay. For the past 20 years, Bushell’s hobby has been to gather old collectables and military memorabilia for pubs he has always had in his various homes. Now, finally settled in Port Alfred and able to concentrate on this seriously, he has built himself a pub in his Smith Street home that most men would die fo r. Here he has been able to display his thousands of items, many of which have a story to tell. He has concentrated on collecting beer bottles (all still unopened), caps and ties. He estimates that he has about 300 bottles of beer from all parts of the world including China, Singapore, America, Canada, South America and most of the European count ries. Perhaps, the most special and unusual one he has in his collection comes all the way from Katmandu in the Himalayas. He also has a bottle of Lion beer brewed in 1974 especially to celebrate 150 years of Lion Lager in South Africa. All bottles still have their original labels. Over and above these, his library of books, all hard cover, amount to some 2500 and are mainly autobiographies. Among these are a set of four written by the famous British prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill, on the Great War. He said he bought these at a car boot sale while still in England, for the princely sum on £10. He has since been offered R18000 unseen by an antique dealer. SOME GONE, SOME REMAIN: A historical photograph showing various landmarks on Wesley Hill and what later became Muller Drive The hotel that vanished THE photograph for this week’s Serendipity is by far my favourite picture e v e r. Look carefully and see the Swans Hotel. A great family-owned vast estate, consisting of a hotel, stables, cottages and the like. Mr Swan, the owner, had a haberdashery shop in Wharf Street, in addition to this sprawling collection of Trading Hours Sunshine Coast Spar: Mon– Fri: 7:30am – 6pm Sat: 7:30am - 5pm Sun 7:30am - 4pm Valid: 6 - 8 April 2018 | E&OE | Tel: 046 648 1023 | While stocks last 2 FOR R15.00 R32.99 Each R79.99 Per kg R94.99 Each SERENDIPITY ... with Bev Young Naartjie 1kg Bag R9.99 Each buildings. They went all but bankrupt, and offered the entire place on auction. There is no following record after the sale. But the hotel vanished. R109.99 Each The only house I found there in 2000 was that lovely red brick house, similar to the one in Halstead Lane. You can see all the known and extant landmarks, the church, the back of the Grand Hotel and so on. It was also here that I found the stone reservoir and lieu-water channels. BRANDON SCHLIMPER Hearing Aid Acoustician In attendance at 29 Campbell Street on Wednesday 11 April 2018. Contact Sherrol at (043) 555 3277 for an appointment www.smarthearing.co.za
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TOTT 5 April 2018

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