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GET<br />
LOWVELD<br />
IT<br />
Loving life<br />
Tribute ‘Birdie’<br />
Mboweni<br />
Local poet<br />
learns to fly<br />
&<br />
Chic<br />
comfortable<br />
Celebrate<br />
GIRL<br />
POWER!<br />
WIN!<br />
A MEAL<br />
AT TOPOLINO’S<br />
IN HAZYVIEW<br />
SHOPPING, PEOPLE AND LIFESTYLE IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD<br />
AUGUST <strong>2020</strong>
GET IT<br />
Editorial<br />
Phone 013-754-1600<br />
<strong>Lowveld</strong> Media<br />
12 Stinkhout Crescent, Mbombela<br />
Facebook Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong><br />
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Website getitmagazine.co.za/lowveld/<br />
Editor<br />
Mellissa Bushby<br />
mellissa@getitlowveld.co.za 084-319-2101<br />
Layout<br />
Geraldine Reyneke<br />
Subeditors<br />
Jess Steyn • May Nel<br />
Sales<br />
Yulandi Jansma 081-458-6034<br />
yulandi@getitlowveld.co.za<br />
GET IT NATIONAL<br />
National Group Editor and<br />
National Sales<br />
Kym Argo<br />
kyma@caxton.co.za 082-785-9230<br />
Facebook and Instagram:<br />
Get It National Magazines<br />
Distribution<br />
Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> is distributed free of charge.<br />
For a full list of where to find a copy, phone<br />
Monya Burger on 083-555-4992<br />
Published by CTP Limited<br />
Competition rules<br />
The judges’ decision is final. Prizes cannot be<br />
transferred or redeemed for cash. Competitions<br />
are not open to the sponsors or Caxton<br />
employees or their families. Get It Magazine<br />
reserves the right to publish the names of<br />
winners, who will be contacted telephonically<br />
and need to collect their prizes from Caxton<br />
Northern branch within 10 days or they will be<br />
forfeited. Prizewinners names are published on<br />
our Facebook page monthly.<br />
CONTENTS<br />
WHY DON’T YOU...<br />
02 Curl up and tune in... or do a virtual workout<br />
06 Keep boredom at bay with a book a day<br />
WISH LIST<br />
08 Spend time with the family, enjoy scrummy tapas<br />
or become an influencer<br />
PEOPLE<br />
10 Tribute “Birdie” Mboweni on her passion for people<br />
14 Celebrating <strong>Lowveld</strong> women<br />
BEAUTY & FASHION<br />
22 Va-va-zoom!<br />
24 Comfort + glam = fab home wear<br />
HEALTH<br />
26 The power of purple<br />
FOOD & DRINK<br />
30 Red wine and slow food<br />
34 Five-ingredient dinner ideas<br />
40 Compli-mince to the chef<br />
ART & DECOR<br />
42 Making your home office a stylish, workable space<br />
GARDENING<br />
44 Peas, posies and the <strong>Aug</strong>ust garden<br />
COMMUNITY<br />
48 Navigating poetic shores<br />
TRAVEL<br />
54 A blooming marvellous Namakwa retreat<br />
WIN<br />
56 A delicious meal to the value of R600 at Topolino’s in Hazyview!<br />
AUGUST <strong>2020</strong><br />
COVER LOOK<br />
Tribute “Birdie” Mboweni<br />
Photographed by Katlego Mokubyane<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 01
A hot date!<br />
Yoga. A wine course. Or some<br />
jolly good shows on the<br />
small screen. All your<br />
options for <strong>Aug</strong>ust<br />
02 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Curl up and tune in to Showmax<br />
In the mood for crime? Comedy? Drama? Look no further than our picks of<br />
the best shows and movies this month.<br />
We’re kicking off with a local film directed by Oliver Hermanus. In<br />
The Endless River, a young waitress welcomes her husband home to the<br />
small South African town of Riviersonderend after his jail sentence. When the<br />
family of a foreigner living on a nearby farm is murdered, the waitress and the<br />
grieving widower begin gravitating towards each other. Trapped in a cycle of<br />
violence and bloodshed, the two form an unlikely bond seeking to transcend<br />
their mutual anger, pain and loneliness.<br />
When Detective Felicity Dill is killed in a car bombing, her sister, Allegra Dill, an<br />
investigator working for a senator, returns home to San Bonifacio to find the<br />
killer. In the process of her investigation, she uncovers a web of corruption in<br />
the small Texas town. Briarpatch (S1) is an artistic, interesting mystery crime<br />
series based on the Ross Thomas novel of the same name.<br />
Vida (S3) returns with the two Mexican-American sisters, Emma and Lyn, who<br />
couldn’t be more different or distanced from each other. Circumstances force<br />
them to return to their old neighbourhood, where they are confronted by<br />
the past and shocking truth about their mother’s identity.<br />
In the Reckoning (S1) the murder of a teenager and the hunt for a serial<br />
killer in a suburban town sets two fathers on a course of mutual destruction<br />
that will reverberate through their quiet community. Explore the darkest<br />
corners of the male psyche through the eyes of two fathers, one of whom is<br />
a serial killer.<br />
It’s time, once again, to wreak some hilarious havoc on the spacetime<br />
continuum as Future Man (S3) debuts its final season to wrap things up. Josh<br />
Futturman, a janitor by day and a gamer by night, is recruited by mysterious<br />
visitors to travel through time to prevent the extinction of humanity.<br />
Hard-hitting cop show Bosch (S6) is back. The run of shows sees Harry<br />
playing a key role in trying to save his city after a medical physicist is executed<br />
and the deadly radioactive material he had with him goes missing. Finding<br />
himself at the centre of a complex murder case, a messy federal investigation,<br />
and an impending catastrophic threat to Los Angeles, Bosch must act as<br />
domestic terrorists threaten the fate of Los Angeles.<br />
The hit mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows (S2) is a look into the<br />
daily (or rather, nightly) lives of three vampires who’ve lived together in New<br />
York for more than 100 years - plenty of time to get on each other’s nerves.<br />
With the Whisperer War upon them, the collective communities must come<br />
together and possibly sacrifice all they have to find a way to silence the<br />
Whisperers once and for all. Otherwise Alpha will ensure they face a certain<br />
doom... The Walking Dead (S10) is the definitive zombie show, having won<br />
77 awards globally.<br />
I May Destroy You is a British comedy-drama television series set in London<br />
where gratification is only an app away. Arabella is a carefree, self-assured<br />
Londoner with a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy and a burgeoning<br />
writing career. But when her drink is spiked with a date-rape drug, she must<br />
question and rebuild every element of her life.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 03
Netflix... for a great night in<br />
The crime comedy-drama Good Girls (S3) revolves around three<br />
mothers who upend their seemingly cosy lives and descend<br />
into the world of crime to pay their family bills. Now they return<br />
to face the consequences of last season’s high jinks. The show is<br />
dark, a little outlandish - and in its best episodes, it’s gripping!<br />
The world as we know it has ended in The Rain (S3)... When<br />
a virus carried by rainfall wipes out almost all humans in<br />
Scandinavia, Danish siblings Simone and Rasmus take shelter in<br />
a bunker. Six years later, they emerge to search for their father, a<br />
scientist who left them in the bunker but never returned. Along<br />
the way they join a group of young survivors and together set<br />
out on a danger-filled quest through an abandoned Scandinavia,<br />
searching for any sign of life.<br />
After an excruciatingly long wait, the fantasy comedy drama<br />
Lucifer is back for season five. Throughout the series, Lucifer and<br />
his allies take on a wide array of supernatural threats – but they’ll<br />
be facing perhaps their most unique challenge yet this season.<br />
Good news Lucifans... the show has officially been renewed for<br />
season six!<br />
In Secret Origins, the scene is set in Madrid 2019 where a<br />
serial killer is spreading chaos. Anonymous people with no<br />
apparent connection are being murdered while imitating the<br />
first appearances of the most famous superheroes. It is up to<br />
two detectives to put together the pieces of a game with which<br />
they’re completely unfamiliar.<br />
Vegan made easy<br />
Whether you’re thinking about taking the plant-based plunge or just<br />
want a refresher on why being vegan is amazing for your body, we’ve<br />
got you covered. Join plant-based nutrition leader and creator of<br />
The Seed Blog Tammy Fry for a virtual workshop. Get the low-down<br />
on vegan hacks, bust those all-too-common myths, learn how to meal<br />
plan for a family, get some recipes and much more. <strong>Aug</strong>ust 8 at 10am.<br />
Tickets are R50 and will be available via Quicket.co.za<br />
Release your inner superhero<br />
Grab your sidekicks and capes for the Wonder Woman Justice League<br />
virtual run. Whether you’re a single runner suffering from cabin fever<br />
and creaky legs or a family wanting to put some loving distance<br />
between one other, this fun-filled day of physically distanced running<br />
/ walking will take place in your neighbourhood... all while giving<br />
back to those who need it most, especially children! With distances<br />
of 2.5km, 5km, 7.5km and 10km, there’s something for every hero, big<br />
or small. It’s all happening on <strong>Aug</strong>ust 9, tickets from R190 a person,<br />
which include a Wonder Woman medal, T-shirt and button badge.<br />
Details: justiceleagueseries.co.za or on Facebook - Justice League Series.<br />
Stuck inside. Bored out of your mind. Desperate for things to do. You need<br />
The Self-Isolation Activity Book. Written by Ian Doors, a man who<br />
says he’s spent all his time alone in his apartments long before you all<br />
started, it’s filled with quick and easy activities... games, mental exercises,<br />
colouring-in, handy hints and kitchen / pantry food and drink tips...<br />
everything you need to survive your time inside. Orion, R240.<br />
04 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Record breaking concert...<br />
and you’re invited!<br />
Who said you can’t have a great deal of fun watching a live<br />
stream concert at home? No standing in long queues, eight feet<br />
tall people blocking your view, getting pushed from all sides,<br />
using signals to communicate or being so far away you can<br />
barely see the artist on stage. Not for us. Instead, we’ll be getting<br />
a front row seat for a COVID Secret Session live stream concert<br />
by local legendary rock band, Prime Circle. Not only will they<br />
produce a world-class show but they aim to set a record<br />
globally for the most tickets sold for a live stream rock concert!<br />
It’s on <strong>Aug</strong>ust 8 at 7pm. We’ll be there... join us! Bonus: Ten per<br />
cent of the money raised will be in aid of charity. Get your ticket<br />
for R120 from Computicket.com or head over to their Facebook<br />
page @PrimeCircle to keep updated.<br />
Time<br />
to wine down<br />
Wine lovers... this is your chance to<br />
sip, sniff and swirl your way through an<br />
edutaining Local is Lekker wine course by<br />
the Tops at Spar Wine Show. Wine educator<br />
Cathy Marston will take you on a humorous,<br />
interactive journey that’s more like a wine club<br />
than a wine course! Think interesting wine<br />
theories, practical tips and guided wine<br />
tastings. Four online Zoom sessions (each<br />
with its own theme) of an hour will<br />
take place over two weeks. R295.<br />
Details: wineshow.co.za/<br />
courses/<br />
Try a virtual workout... we’ve found exercise classes made for your living room<br />
Fortunately, there are tons of top-notch ways to<br />
work out at home. To help you get going, we’ve<br />
rounded up the best online exercise classes you<br />
can do right from your living room, whether<br />
you’re craving a serious muscle burn or fun and<br />
a fast sweat. After all, a little self-care and stress<br />
relief are exactly what we need in these anxietyinducing<br />
times.<br />
• Join yoga and meditation pro Chelsey Mcluckie<br />
on the mat for a group Yoga Zoom class twice<br />
a week. She’ll show you how to calm your mind,<br />
balance your body and breathe properly, all<br />
through mindful movements. Her classes are<br />
suitable for everyone, regardless of age and<br />
fitness levels. R70 a drop-in, R110 a week. Details:<br />
chelseymcluckieyoga.co.za/online-yoga-classes/<br />
• Think you have to be an uber-fit celebrity, athlete<br />
or dancer to even consider a Pilates class? The<br />
truth is, you don’t need any previous exercise<br />
experience. So, we’re opting for an online class<br />
with the instructors from My Pilates. They offer<br />
various levels you can choose from... think a<br />
refreshing mind-body workout which emphasises<br />
proper breathing, correct spinal and pelvic<br />
alignment as well as a focused concentration on<br />
smooth flowing movement. Classes are from R349<br />
a month. Details: mypilates.co.za<br />
• If you’re serious about burning the calories from<br />
last night’s banana bread, then you should join a<br />
Zoom class with the trainers from Thrive. Choose<br />
between a 45-minute move, power or flow class<br />
targeting four main areas with each workout -<br />
upper and lower body, cardio and core. No need<br />
for any fitness equipment, you can just jump right<br />
in for R50 a session! Details: thrivefitness.co.za<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 05
Book club<br />
A book a day keeps boredom<br />
at bay. Add a glass of wine and<br />
you’re in for a happy <strong>Aug</strong>ust.<br />
In a tiny Italian village, life in the 1950s is a daily<br />
pageant of small human dramas. There are<br />
lippy signoras and earthy farmworkers. There’s<br />
a coffin-maker, a silkworm farmer and those<br />
who catch frogs for the town’s local delicacy -<br />
frog risotto. Then there’s Pistola, a teenage boy<br />
in love with his second cousin, Teresa, a girl<br />
who’s sadly, destined to marry the village thug.<br />
Don’t you already know Loves and Miracles of<br />
Pistola is going to be a magnificent read? Even<br />
more so, when you discover that to escape<br />
his heartache, young Pistola accepts the offer<br />
of a lifetime... to travel to South Africa to work<br />
on the trains. In lively Johannesburg, he and a<br />
group of compatriots are trained as stewards<br />
and taught to speak English - and Afrikaans. It’s<br />
not all work, mind you. The Italians set up home<br />
in Hillbrow and go partying in Sophiatown<br />
with the likes of Miriam Makeba. When Pistola<br />
falls for the spunky Malikah, a political activist,<br />
the apartheid police watch every breath of<br />
their passionate, illicit relationship. It’s written<br />
by the wonderful Hilary Prendini Toffoli, who<br />
lives in Cape Town and is known for her social<br />
satire and investigative features. Just brilliant!<br />
Penguin, R280.<br />
So many of our favourite authors this month. Book Club’s going to<br />
be great. Jeffery Deaver (love!) has just released his latest thriller, The<br />
Goodbye Man. After witnessing a shocking suicide while pursuing two<br />
armed fugitives in the wilderness, Colter Shaw’s investigations lead him<br />
to go undercover in the Foundation - a cult that promises to transform<br />
people’s lives. It’s a cult led by a charismatic leader who commands<br />
terrifying loyalty from his followers, a cult that may have only one way to<br />
escape - with your life. Harper Collins, R408.<br />
From the outside, the house in Lakeview Terrace looks perfect. And the<br />
Bigelows seem like the perfect family. The respected surgeon father. The<br />
glamorous, devoted mother. Two beautiful children. A perfect family<br />
in a perfect house, living their perfect lives. But perfect surfaces can<br />
hide dark undercurrents and behind closed doors lies a very different<br />
story. Teenager Zane and his younger sister, Britt, are terrorised by<br />
their violent father and dysfunctional mother. Too afraid to speak out,<br />
Zane does his best to protect his sister and counts the days until they<br />
can finally be free. Until the night when their father’s temper takes<br />
a horrifying turn for the worse, the perfect façade is exposed for the<br />
lie it is, and Zane and Britt manage to escape. With the help of their<br />
aunt, they rebuild their lives, creating new families and putting their<br />
past behind them. But can a past like that really be put aside? Under<br />
Currents, by Nora Roberts, is a great winter read, perfect for a Sunday<br />
on the sofa in front of a fire. Little Brown Book Group, R239.<br />
06 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Do you remember how your heart just swelled when you read The<br />
Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry?. Well, it’s time for an encore. Joyce<br />
Rachel’s Miss Benson’s Beetle is a story about a tiny insect, an exciting<br />
adventure and a deep, unexpected friendship. It’s the story of Margery<br />
Benson, whose life ended the day her father walked out of his study and<br />
never came back. Forty years later, abandoning a dull job, she advertises<br />
for an assistant, someone who will join her on an expedition to the other<br />
side of the world to search for a beetle that may, or may not, exist. Enid<br />
Pretty is not who she had in mind. But together they will find themselves<br />
drawn into an adventure that exceeds all Margery’s expectations,<br />
eventually finding new life at the top of a red mountain. Penguin, R310.<br />
Isn’t it irritating when you watch a<br />
series and someone says ‘the book<br />
was sooo much better’. Well, trust us<br />
when we tell you that when it comes<br />
to Little Fires Everywhere, the book<br />
is, indeed, so, so, so much better. This<br />
magnificently written story revolves<br />
around two families - a free-spirited,<br />
enigmatic artist and single mum, and<br />
a journalist who, with her husband<br />
and four children, lives the perfect<br />
life, where everything is strictly under<br />
control. How these women influence<br />
their own and each other’s children,<br />
and how Celeste Ng captures the<br />
angst of being an adolescent,<br />
makes for a powerful, thoughtful<br />
read and a book that’s completely<br />
unputdownable. Little Brown Book<br />
Group, R288.<br />
Twelve years<br />
ago, a child went<br />
missing. She was<br />
six years-old when<br />
she disappeared.<br />
Now she’s home.<br />
Knocking on the<br />
door. But why<br />
won’t she answer<br />
any questions?<br />
Where has she<br />
been? How did she<br />
find her way home?<br />
And who is she? SK<br />
Barnett’s Safe is a<br />
thrilling read, with<br />
twist after twist<br />
until the very last<br />
page. Penguin, R260.<br />
This is, quite simply, the most exceptional wine we could wish<br />
to enjoy this <strong>Aug</strong>ust. Elegant and complex, Glenelly Lady May<br />
is all blackberry and cassis, dark cherry and spicy plum, with<br />
dense, age-worthy tannins. R520 from glenelly.co.za<br />
Two strangers are driving across<br />
America. Cait - whose job is to<br />
transport women to safety. Rebecca -<br />
who’s trying to escape something. Out<br />
of respect, Cait never asks questions.<br />
But what if Rebecca’s secrets put them<br />
both in danger? There’s a reason Cait<br />
chooses to keep on the road, helping<br />
strangers. She has a past of her own,<br />
and knows what it’s like to be followed.<br />
And there’s someone right behind<br />
them, watching their every move. Read<br />
Jessica Barry’s Don’t Turn Around with<br />
the lights on bright! Penguin, R310.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 07
Wish list<br />
Travel, food and a touch of glam this <strong>Aug</strong>ust<br />
Tapas for real foodies<br />
Tapas with Liam Tomlin is the most<br />
heavenly book imaginable. It’s a<br />
book to drool over, to sit for hours<br />
earmarking recipes and planning gettogethers.<br />
It’s all about the style of<br />
food Liam likes to cook and the way<br />
he likes to eat... with lots of different<br />
tastes, textures and cooking styles. It’s<br />
crammed with inspiring, exceptionally<br />
styled photos of food you just long to<br />
re-create.<br />
What this isn’t, is a book for scaredy-cat<br />
cooks. Or for those with timid taste<br />
buds. It kicks off fairly safely with potato<br />
and chorizo tortilla, but before long it’s<br />
all braised pig’s head with bacon and<br />
egg, and sautéed frogs’ legs with wild<br />
mushrooms, parsley purée and truffle<br />
dressing. The Basic Recipe section<br />
includes walnut tuile and duck liver<br />
parfait and bao buns, for heaven’s sake.<br />
Delicious? Yes. But basic? Maybe not<br />
so much. You need a certain amount<br />
of skill and dedication - and time - to<br />
follow many of the recipes. Of course<br />
there are loads and loads of dishes<br />
that are less daunting... the tomato tart<br />
with Parmesan catalan, basil and olives<br />
is time-consuming but delicious; the<br />
pancetta-wrapped prawns with crab<br />
and spring onion risotto is possibly our<br />
favourite recipe from the book.<br />
Liam, an Irish chef who worked in<br />
restaurants around the world before<br />
moving to Cape Town where he’s<br />
opened restaurants including the<br />
original Chefs Warehouse 10 yearsor-so<br />
ago and more recently Chefs<br />
Warehouse Maison in Franschhoek,<br />
describes his way of cooking as<br />
being focused on technique and on<br />
extracting as much flavour as possible<br />
to create tasty and well balanced<br />
dishes. This is the second edition of<br />
his book - the first, self-published,<br />
was only available at his restaurants.<br />
An exceptional buy for a real foodie.<br />
Penguinrandomhouse, R399.<br />
08 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20<br />
We’re wearing summer<br />
A starfish. A pineapple. A<br />
flamingo, ocean wave and sea<br />
turtle. Five gorgeous images that<br />
have us longing for summer. With<br />
the new, limited edition range at<br />
Pandora we can wear summer all<br />
year round. Actress Millie Bobby<br />
Brown co-designed this bold and<br />
colourful range, saying “All the<br />
symbols I chose are my absolute<br />
favourite parts of summer and<br />
each charm holds a fun memory<br />
or meaning to me.“ The Pandora<br />
Me range - four dangle charms<br />
and an earring sold as a single<br />
stud - is a limited edition, available<br />
only until December this year.<br />
Charms from R239, buy online from<br />
pandora.net/en-za/collections/<br />
pandora-me<br />
Compiled by KYM ARGO
From Soweto to Milan<br />
So you want to be an influencer?<br />
A luxurious life flitting from one<br />
fitting room to the front row on<br />
fashion week. And, with a lot of<br />
hard work, you can, says Kefilwe<br />
Mabote, one of South Africa’s leading<br />
fashion influencers. In Kefilwe<br />
Mabote Influencer de Luxe, candid<br />
autobiography-cum-guide, she<br />
reveals the secrets of her success...<br />
from her humble beginnings in<br />
Soweto, all the way to the world’s<br />
fashion capital, Milan. With loads<br />
of really useful, practical tips and<br />
real-world tools for building your<br />
digital brand, it’s an inspiring read,<br />
written by an ordinary township girl<br />
who had a goal... and went for it.<br />
Human & Rousseau, R280.<br />
Top of our wish list... to travel with the family<br />
Trying to keep up with can we buy wine, can we walk in the park, can we travel, is<br />
exhausting. But we’ve found one rather special travel option we think will work -<br />
just be sure to time your arrival before our 9pm curfew.<br />
Tintswalo Lodges has introduced a self-catering option for families and<br />
friends... exclusive-use, self-catering options are available at three of the lovely<br />
Tintswalo properties.<br />
With a choice of a safari or a coastal breakaway for a group of up to 10 people, the<br />
self-catering options are available at the Manor House at Tintswalo Safari Lodge<br />
in the greater Kruger area, the Tintswalo Family Camp in the Welgevonden Game<br />
Reserve in the Waterberg, and Tintswalo at Boulders Boutique Villa in Simon’s Town.<br />
The Manor House at Tintswalo Safari Lodge in the Manyeleti Private Nature Reserve<br />
has spacious lounge and dining areas and deep, shady patios that are ideal for<br />
relaxation. The traditionally styled private villa has five bedrooms with en-suite<br />
bathrooms, two with outside baths for indulgent soaks under starlit skies. Welcoming<br />
children of all ages, the family-friendly destination comes with a swimming<br />
pool and rolling lawns protected by game fencing, overlooking a waterhole that<br />
offers excellent game viewing 24/7.<br />
Tintswalo Family Camp Welgevonden in the malaria-free Welgevonden Game<br />
Reserve in the Waterberg ranks among SA’s largest private game reserves and<br />
boasts a great variety of game, including the Big Five. There are five spacious,<br />
freestanding luxury units, a main lodge with lovely lounges where fireplaces<br />
keep things cosy, a swimming pool with poolside loungers and a viewing deck<br />
overlooking the waterhole. It’s child-friendly and protected by electric fencing<br />
against predators and dangerous game to allow children the freedom to enjoy<br />
the outside areas.<br />
With unobstructed views across Boulders Beach and its world-famous resident<br />
colony of endangered African penguins, Tintswalo at Boulders Boutique Villa<br />
boasts a unique beachfront location. With luxurious suites, open-plan lounges with<br />
fireplaces, a TV room, outdoor terraces, and a wind-protected courtyard with a fire<br />
pit, as well as a sea view pool on the top deck, this is indeed a luxurious getaway.<br />
The rate is R25 000 a night deal for 10 people, with a minimum stay of two nights.<br />
The lodges are fully serviced and all health precautions and safety protocols are fully<br />
complied with. Safari options also include two safari activities a day, a safari vehicle<br />
and the services of a guide, as well as a private chef, housekeeping, laundry and<br />
Wi-Fi. Excluded are food and beverages and gratuities.<br />
Details:<br />
021-773-0900 or tintswalo.com<br />
Look out for<br />
Coach Blue, which<br />
is about to land on<br />
the fragrance scene.<br />
All lime oil, absinthe<br />
and grapefruit, black<br />
pepper, cedar leaf<br />
and amber, wrapped<br />
up in a gentlemanly<br />
blue bottle. Gorgeous.<br />
From R970, at Woolies,<br />
Clicks, Truworths and<br />
Dis-Chem.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 09
Destiny’s<br />
child<br />
Soulful singer-songwriter, Tribute “Birdie” Mboweni’s love of music is surpassed<br />
only by her passion for human environmental interaction. This originates from<br />
her early years growing up in Cunningmore near Bushbuckridge, where she was<br />
born and raised, before moving to Mkhulu.<br />
10 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20<br />
Text: MELLISSA BUSHBY<br />
irdie’s musical passion<br />
first came to light<br />
from around the age<br />
of eight. Reserved<br />
and rather shy as a<br />
child, fellow church<br />
congregants<br />
recognised her<br />
talent and encouraged<br />
her to sing, boosting her confidence.<br />
“All I wanted to do was sing, so I looked<br />
for opportunities to be on stage,” she<br />
smiles. “How I ended up pursuing<br />
music as a career is something that<br />
was led by my just wanting to be on<br />
stage, wanting to perform. Everything<br />
else happened all on its own. I think<br />
of myself as a soul singer, although I<br />
grew up listening to different genres,<br />
including neo-soul. This influenced the<br />
kind of music I created when I finally<br />
started writing my own songs.”<br />
Apart from singing, Birdie is an<br />
accomplished academic and<br />
conservationist, and is currently an<br />
anthropology PhD candidate at the
Tribute “Birdie” Mboweni. Photographer: Katlego Mokubyane<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 11
University of Queensland in Brisbane,<br />
Australia, which keeps her quite<br />
busy. Since she can remember, she<br />
has been involved in conservationminded<br />
programmes, which is partly<br />
what led to her love of conservation<br />
and the environment. Birdie studied<br />
ecotourism at TUT before expanding<br />
into nature conservation, later<br />
becoming a lecturer in the field.<br />
“I went on to do my work integrated<br />
learning at De Hoop Nature Reserve in<br />
the Western Cape, under CapeNature.<br />
Upon completion, I worked on Dassen<br />
Island as a field ranger, one of the<br />
most beautiful experiences of my life.<br />
Armed with enthusiasm, a telescope,<br />
notebook and a tally hanging around<br />
my neck, I was doing the weekly<br />
(penguin) moult count and a count<br />
of all the birds found in colonies all<br />
around the island (cormorants and<br />
pelicans). The privilege of living in<br />
South Africa and connecting with<br />
myself and nature is one I do not take<br />
lightly,” says Birdie.<br />
Birdie’s favourite place in the world at the moment is Mapungubwe National<br />
Park and Cultural Landscape<br />
“Music eclipses<br />
so many things,<br />
surpassing the<br />
barriers of language<br />
and bringing culture<br />
and heritage to the<br />
fore”<br />
Working in the conservation sector,<br />
she realised that there is an emphasis<br />
on the preservation of nature and<br />
people are generally a foreign agent.<br />
“I became interested in humanenvironment<br />
interactions; particularly<br />
how these play themselves out in<br />
protected areas in post-apartheid<br />
South Africa, given the country’s<br />
history of the removal of and the<br />
exclusion of black communities from<br />
places that then became protected<br />
areas and the conservation enterprise.”<br />
Birdie sees her music as one way of<br />
imparting an educational message<br />
relating to her studies. “I hope to<br />
promote a positive self-identity among<br />
Photographer: Ofentse Pilane<br />
12 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
African youth,” she muses. “Through<br />
the use of our beautiful languages and<br />
the telling of our own stories, in our<br />
own way, I aim to make my music a<br />
channel to communicate what I have<br />
learnt through my research. Music<br />
eclipses so many things, surpassing<br />
the barriers of language and bringing<br />
culture and heritage to the fore.” This<br />
is evident at Birdie’s performances<br />
when the audience interacts on<br />
a completely different level. She<br />
incorporates different cultural aspects<br />
into her music, bringing something for<br />
everyone and uniting them in the joy<br />
of song, accentuating her love of the<br />
happiness and prosperity of people.<br />
“My life is ruled by<br />
serendipity, so I<br />
really don’t know<br />
what the future<br />
holds”<br />
“I care about the well-being of others,”<br />
she says. “I care about access and equal<br />
opportunities. This is largely why I<br />
am interested in the kind of research<br />
I am pursuing. It is important to me<br />
that we understand how these things<br />
Photographer: Blunt Moya<br />
are connected, and how they play out, even in the sector<br />
that I am in.” Birdie laughs as she says that she is actually<br />
extremely shy... “But I tend to speak a lot when things that I<br />
am passionate about come up!”<br />
When asked what the future holds, this multifaceted<br />
woman muses on what destiny has in store. “I generally<br />
do not have these long-term projections when it comes<br />
to my life,” she laughs. “There is just so much to learn<br />
and experience out there, and there are so many things<br />
I am grateful for. I look back on two of my favourite<br />
performances, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in<br />
2016, and the Atlantic Music Expo in Cabo Verde in 2017,<br />
which I thoroughly enjoyed. My studies, the people I have<br />
met along the way, the places I’ve been to...”<br />
Birdie worked on Dassen Island as a field ranger<br />
Birdie’s favourite place in the world at the moment is<br />
Mapungubwe National Park and Cultural Landscape, and<br />
there is still so much more to see, so much to still look<br />
forward to. “My life is ruled by serendipity, so I really don’t<br />
know what the future holds,” she smiles, her beautiful<br />
dimples flashing. ”All I know is that I want to continue to<br />
travel the world, see all the beauty out there, and find ways<br />
to keep doing all the things that I am passionate about!”<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 13
WOMEN<br />
IN POWER<br />
BUCO Nelspruit is a bastion in the <strong>Lowveld</strong>, and there are few<br />
people who haven’t wandered the aisles looking for a specific<br />
product, and come across their friendly and helpful staff<br />
members. In honour of Women’s Day, we catch up with a few<br />
of these intrepid individuals, and find out just what goes on<br />
behind the scenes in this well-known hardware store, that<br />
was once thought of as “a man’s world”.<br />
Mariet Erasmus<br />
Mariet might be of slight build, but looks can be very deceiving. There is simply no<br />
challenge that she will shy from. She is the person who must make sure that the<br />
pay-point side of the company runs like clockwork, every task is always done with<br />
her own personal touch. “I cash up with the cashiers, ensuring everything balances,<br />
reporting to the bookkeeper and financial manager.” She is also the person who<br />
ensures that the floats are packed correctly and that there is always enough<br />
change for the cashiers. “It keeps me busy, and I love being busy. ” She started<br />
at BUCO approximately two and a half years ago, and has gone from strength<br />
to strength since, making herself valuable not only to the company, but to her<br />
beloved customers. Her energy is palpable, and it is easy to believe Mariet when<br />
she says she loves the challenge of her job. “I love to solve problems and will not<br />
give up until there is a solution. For example, one of our biggest headaches can be<br />
when the cash up does not balance, I will sit there until I can honestly tell myself<br />
that I have exhausted all possible avenues regarding where a mistake could have<br />
slipped in.” Mariet believes that at BUCO there is a great sense of belonging. All of<br />
her co-workers agree that her sentiments could be directed right back at her. She<br />
is always friendly and one of the first to arrive and last to leave in the afternoon. It is<br />
a passion for Mariet that as a BUCO family member, she enjoys giving back to the<br />
<strong>Lowveld</strong> community and would love to be even more involved with the various<br />
community projects that the company supports, especially those focusing on the<br />
younger generation.<br />
Khanyisile Mkhabela<br />
At first glance the glamorous Khanyisile<br />
reminds you of a beauty queen. For<br />
her, it is all about interacting with<br />
customers and knowing they go home<br />
with big smiles and with the correct<br />
product to suit their individual needs.<br />
“It is very important to me that our<br />
customers leave here happy with an<br />
understanding of what they have<br />
bought.” One of her favourite memories<br />
at BUCO is when a customer overpaid<br />
his invoice, and she immediately gave<br />
back the excess money. “He was very<br />
surprised and could not stop smiling,<br />
and it is incidents like that which make<br />
it worthwhile, knowing because of how<br />
he was treated here at BUCO, that he<br />
will return.” Just like the rest of the team,<br />
Khanyisile is very driven. “I started as a<br />
student and soon after got promoted<br />
to a cashier.” She was recently advanced<br />
to a supervision and administrative<br />
position on a part-time basis. “I would<br />
love to be promoted to the debtors’<br />
department, and am working hard to<br />
achieve that.”<br />
When asked if she would ever change<br />
jobs with someone else at BUCO, she<br />
laughs and without hesitation says<br />
she would love to exchange jobs with<br />
someone in finances. It is obvious that<br />
Khanyisile enjoys interacting not only<br />
with customers, but also with her coworkers.<br />
“For me BUCO is simply the<br />
best, amazing. It is such a professional<br />
company and I cannot wait for what my<br />
future holds.”<br />
14 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Hanka Beukes<br />
The moment you meet Hanka you are overwhelmed by her<br />
bubbly and outgoing personality. With an infectious laugh the<br />
first thing she tells you is that she simply loves her job at BUCO<br />
Nelspruit. “How can I not? It is everything in one; personal<br />
interaction with both customers and my co-workers, the thrill<br />
of sales, and also the telephonic aspect of it. It is a different<br />
environment every day, and I love our loyal customers who<br />
keep coming back. We all know each other by name here.”<br />
Hanka’s day kicks off early by turning on the switchboard, and<br />
from the moment it is on, the phone does not stop ringing.<br />
While this might have irritated any other sane person, this<br />
simply puts her in that great mood for the rest of the day. She<br />
is a people-pleaser and everyone usually turns to her to calm<br />
down the odd irate customer who occasionally pops up. “I<br />
try to handle each situation individually and my first aim is<br />
to calm everyone down. Coffee and a friendly smile get you<br />
much further than antagonising someone.” To Hanka it is the<br />
appreciation that everyone at BUCO Nelspruit receives from<br />
the branch manager, Pottie Potgieter, who really makes them<br />
such a close-knit family. “I remember the one day he called me<br />
into his office simply to thank me for everything I do for the<br />
company, and that really made me feel very appreciated and<br />
proved to be an inspiration to give even more to BUCO.” She<br />
loves the family vibe at her workplace and the caring nature of<br />
her colleagues. “I would never (in capital letters) switch my job.”<br />
Besides her real job, Hanka is also the unofficial caterer at the<br />
company and has a reputation of not only being a great cook,<br />
but also being an ace at organising events and making things<br />
look pretty.<br />
Antoinette McDonald<br />
Antoinette grew up in the BUCO culture. When asked to explain<br />
what that culture means, she answers without hesitation: “family,<br />
loyalty and professionalism”. She elaborates and explains that even<br />
though BUCO Nelspruit is a business, it focuses on the family culture<br />
and that they aim to make all new customers part of that<br />
close-knit family. First-hand understanding of this motto is what<br />
makes Antoinette excel at her job in customer services and working<br />
with the internal sales representatives. The challenge of keeping<br />
customers happy by providing quality products is what really<br />
excites her. “I honestly love keeping customer projects going, and<br />
really aim to help even more to improve our customer service.” It is<br />
obvious that she lives for her job, and laughs that she often knows<br />
more about her customers than she does about her friends. “Our<br />
customers are more than just business to me, and I take pride in<br />
the fact that I give my all to make them happy.” Antoinette’s job<br />
description might not officially state enthusiasm and energy, but<br />
that is what she brings to the table. She simply jumps in and does<br />
something herself; from fielding endless phone calls to running<br />
around BUCO with a trolley and handpicking products to please<br />
customers, to sourcing materials that an individual customer might<br />
need. She has many long-term goals for herself, one of the biggest<br />
being to get the stock sorted in such a way that she immediately<br />
knows where what is kept. When asked if she would like to switch<br />
jobs for one day with someone else at the company, she vehemently<br />
shakes her head and firmly says no. “I love my job and I know and<br />
understand my own challenges.” Antoinette’s charm and passion<br />
obviously rub off on her performance and one of her favourite<br />
memories at BUCO Nelspruit is the day she made her first two million<br />
sales for one month.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 15
Mariaan Neethling<br />
Mariaan’s official job description might read Personal Assistant<br />
to the Branch Manager at BUCO Nelspruit, but she is also the<br />
HR Assistant to the Regional HR Partner. She comes across<br />
as an extremely driven person who keeps updated with the<br />
comings and goings of the company, but her passion lies with<br />
the charity work BUCO does. “I am so fortunate to be part of a<br />
company that gives back so generously to its community.” One<br />
of her favourite projects is the school initiative where she always<br />
gets involved first-hand. “BUCO Nelspruit often assists not only<br />
the local schools in town, but also some very disadvantaged<br />
ones in rural areas. What I love most is that everyone here really<br />
cares about these projects, and the development of children<br />
has always been close to my heart.” Mariaan says it is especially<br />
during these difficult Covid-19 times that her manager, Pottie<br />
Potgieter, has gone out of his way to assist several businesses<br />
which were struggling financially. She admits she is a little<br />
bit of a perfectionist who can be very strict to maintain the<br />
best possible standard, but she loves working with the staff.<br />
She admires the way that BUCO Nelspruit’s management<br />
encourages growth within the company. “It is not just about<br />
having worked myself up, it is also about how much my selfconfidence<br />
has grown.” For Mariaan the fact that the BUCO<br />
culture stands for caring, is a very important factor as to why she<br />
loves her job so much. “As a branch we are driven, yet so familyorientated<br />
at the same time!” She firmly believes that is why the<br />
company is the best in the country. Her biggest challenge is to<br />
remain objective regarding staff matters as everyone feels so<br />
much like family to her. “I have to really get my head into that<br />
mode when there is the odd employee issue.”<br />
Sanet Nel<br />
Sanet has climbed the BUCO ladder for 20 years with hard<br />
work, commitment and zeal, and plans to do the same for<br />
the next two decades. She is the Inwards logistic manager,<br />
a bit of a Jill of all trades, and assists many with their<br />
responsibilities, be it marketing or ensuring that the buying<br />
function is working correctly. And taking the BUCO family<br />
motto just that little bit further, Sanet met her husband<br />
at the company. “Yes, we literally are a BUCO family,” she<br />
laughs.” One of the biggest reasons Sanet has been at BUCO<br />
Nelspruit for such a long time, is the fact that she believes<br />
that it is not only a building company in trade but also builds<br />
lives, friendships and relationships. “One of my own greatest<br />
challenges is to keep up with the things happening out<br />
there in the world, and to adapt to those challenges and<br />
then to prioritise between work and family.” She says one of<br />
her biggest dreams is to see that the company continues<br />
to grow in the way it has done up to now, and that it<br />
carries on with providing such opportunities to women in<br />
a generally male-dominated world. She also loves the way<br />
that energy flows between customers and everything at<br />
BUCO. “Sometimes it feels like a living breathing thing.” She<br />
adds that this adrenalin and energy feed her soul and in turn<br />
she will always try to give her best to stay with that energy.<br />
Sanet’s favourite BUCO memories include the many awards<br />
they have won, but most specifically how the team manages<br />
to turn every challenge into an opportunity. “I love working<br />
with my co-workers.” Sanet was recently one of only 10<br />
women to be nominated for the Celebrating Women in the<br />
Building Industry award.<br />
16 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Franciska Oosthuizen<br />
“I can sum up my job in one word: interesting.” Franciska started<br />
as a sales coordinator at BUCO Nelspruit in January. “I enjoy the<br />
daily challenges that working with both customers and sales<br />
representatives.” She is new to the <strong>Lowveld</strong>, but says she is already<br />
so fond of not only Mbombela, but its people. “I love working at<br />
BUCO and how the people operate as a team. You never feel like<br />
you are alone, but have several shoulders to lean on. Here you<br />
are not just a number, but very definitely a beloved member of<br />
such a driven team.” Franciska has a soothing demeanour and it is<br />
obvious why the BUCO customers adore her so much. “Yes, I do<br />
aim to stay calm and friendly no matter what,” she admits. “My goal<br />
is simple: ensure the customer is happy and returns to us on a<br />
more regular basis.” She laughs that it is often the small things that<br />
make it worthwhile in what can often be a stressful environment.<br />
“At the moment I am dealing with cement orders. Yes, cement!<br />
The demand for cement is very high, but we aim in our vision to<br />
assist every single customer.” She says what makes her day is when<br />
she can tell customers she has found some bags of cement, the<br />
joy on their faces makes it worthwhile. “That is what we are here<br />
for: to please.” One of her passions, that slots in perfectly with the<br />
BUCO motto of giving back to the community, is to work with<br />
disabled learners from local schools. “I love how we work hand-inhand<br />
with these schools to improve those children’s lives.” Franciska<br />
has already surpassed her own personal target for the month, she<br />
is extremely passionate which rubs off on her work. She enjoys<br />
meeting new customers and making them part of the BUCO family.<br />
“I am a people’s person and love how I get to work with customers<br />
and so many friendly colleagues.”<br />
Marié Deichmann<br />
Stock controllers generally have a strong sense of right and<br />
wrong, and a good work ethic. Marié is no exception and<br />
laughs that hers is often the most hated position. “I have to<br />
count stock and capture and update the system so the stock<br />
correlates with what is on the system.” When asked if she<br />
would then rather exchange jobs with someone else for a day,<br />
she simply smiles and answers with a firm no. She says she<br />
tries to be very thorough in her job and that the grass is not<br />
necessarily greener on the other side. “I understand my job and<br />
love both the challenging and good times.” One of her most<br />
memorable achievements was when she managed to keep<br />
their three-month counting cycle at 100%, an accomplishment<br />
not often repeated in this industry. Marié says it was only<br />
because she worked hard and gave her all. “What you see is<br />
what you get, I have no front to maintain and even though I<br />
push my colleagues to work hard, I will give that back twofold.”<br />
When asked to describe BUCO in three words, Marié does not<br />
hesitate and says: “successful, competitive and professional”.<br />
Almost the exact same words her co-workers use to describe<br />
her. She says her biggest challenge is to ensure that the actual<br />
stock and the stock on the systems correlates, and praises the<br />
branch manager, Pottie Potgieter, for always providing an ear<br />
to listen and a shoulder to cry on. “It is very comforting for an<br />
employee to know that your manager always has some kind<br />
of advice to give, that is what makes this team so strong.” Marié<br />
says she loves it when the target for the day was achieved.<br />
“I am very goal-oriented with most things in my professional<br />
and personal life. When we reach our targets at work I feel<br />
extremely satisfied and proud of the team.”<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 17
Louise Duvenage<br />
Even when given the opportunity to be at home Louise simply<br />
could not do it. “I have to work and stay busy, and could not be<br />
a stay-at-home housewife as the hustle and bustle of customers<br />
was calling me.” As the head of the paint department at BUCO<br />
Nelspruit, Louise does everything from orders to customer<br />
care to stock count, and she loves every minute of it. What she<br />
enjoys about the company is the opportunity given to grow<br />
and test your wings in all departments. “I actually started out as<br />
the head of the tile department, and was given the opportunity<br />
to develop my skills and creativity as the HOD of the paint<br />
department.” Louise adds that she loves the fact that every day<br />
presents a unique set of challenges and the opportunity to<br />
learn something new. She is not the kind of person who can sit<br />
still, and will easily jump in her vehicle to travel to a customer’s<br />
house to go assist on site. “I love to add that personal touch of<br />
assistance.” According to Louise, she enjoys working at BUCO<br />
Nelspruit as she can relate not only to like-minded people, but<br />
also because it is nice to “work for success, and this passionate<br />
company is very successful”. She still has many plans to move to<br />
other departments and learn to grow even more so she does<br />
not stagnate in one position. “I love to assist new employees<br />
to grow in themselves and their jobs, it is such a passion of<br />
mine.” She takes this role as mentor very seriously and gives<br />
back her knowledge freely. When asked what goals she has as<br />
a BUCO employee, she says she would like to go and assist the<br />
larger community by physically getting involved with projects<br />
to share her skills. “I would really like to expose the younger<br />
generation to the wonderful work environment I have.”<br />
As long as you have dreams, there is hope.<br />
Rose Dladla<br />
Rose has an unassuming air about her, yet her kind nature shines<br />
like a beacon in the dark. In her gentle voice she says she loves<br />
her job as tea maker and general cleaner at BUCO Nelspruit,<br />
where she has been employed for eight years now. It is Rose who<br />
ensures customers walk into a sparkling restroom when they visit.<br />
As a grandmother herself she knows exactly how to prioritise<br />
time and explains that might be her best attribute. “I know not<br />
to waste time and work economically to ensure I give my best<br />
before I move on to my next chore.” Rose’s day starts by cleaning<br />
the restroom, then doing dishes and cleaning the offices. Her<br />
co-workers think of her as a little mother bustling about. “Yes, they<br />
feel like family to me, and it is my duty to look after them,” she<br />
shyly admits. It is obvious that Rose takes a lot of pride in her work<br />
and she insists that she works in such a way that nobody can<br />
point a finger at her and tell her it was not good enough. “I always<br />
do my best.” Rose says her favourite part of working at BUCO is<br />
the fact that she knows her co-workers will always be there for<br />
her. “You know, if I had to get into financial trouble, for example, I<br />
know that these people will be there for me, to look after me and<br />
help me out.” She hates being away from work and seldom takes<br />
a day off sick. “If I am sick or not at work, they always ask where I<br />
was and that they missed me!” Rose feels very strongly that this<br />
company is the best shop in town. “BUCO is always full of people!”<br />
she exclaims. Her most memorable moment as an employee was<br />
her most recent birthday. “Ah, these people love me, I cried so<br />
much. They had a big cake for me, I will never forget it.” It is also<br />
Rose’s responsibility to make sure there are adequate stocks of<br />
cleaning materials and to ensure they are stored safely, away from<br />
food and drinks.<br />
18 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Anne Handley<br />
The moment an employee surpasses their one-decade mark at<br />
a company, you know you are dealing with a professional. Anne<br />
has been part of the BUCO Nelspruit family for 13 years and this<br />
shows in her in-depth knowledge of this <strong>Lowveld</strong> company and<br />
its extended family members, namely the customers. As the sales<br />
representative coordinator, Anne works with both the reps and<br />
their customers, and this includes invoicing and coordinating.<br />
“I try to get to know them on a personal level and to then just<br />
provide good service to the best of my ability.” Anne’s coworkers<br />
agree that she is one of those people who will always be<br />
friendly and supportive, no matter what the circumstances are.<br />
“I really feel like I have grown as a person in this company over<br />
the years, and got to really enjoy my job.” From invoicing and<br />
quotes and getting orders ready, to picking stock to ensuring<br />
the reps know what needs to be delivered and where, she has<br />
it all covered in her quiet and confident way. “Yes, there are<br />
always a lot of ordering of special orders placed and buy-outs,<br />
but I do enjoy the pressure of it all, I enjoy my job.” Anne loves<br />
the interaction with the clients. “Once you get to know the<br />
customers on a more personal level, understanding their needs<br />
and what they want becomes so much easier.” She adds that<br />
that is one of the biggest reasons that she always strives to go<br />
that extra mile for them. “In the end, by making the extra effort,<br />
it simply makes my own job so much easier.” Despite being a<br />
self-proclaimed introvert and reserved person, Anne’s quiet and<br />
caring nature and obvious enjoyment of her job have made her<br />
a favourite, not only among her co-workers, but also among the<br />
BUCO customers who without fail will seek her out not only for<br />
her knowledge of products, but also for her genuine concern.<br />
Rachel Venter<br />
There probably is not much that Rachel does not know about<br />
the building industry. She cut her teeth as an employee on the<br />
then Laeveld Bou, before it became BUCO Nelspruit, and was the<br />
only woman for a very long time among an all-male staff. Being<br />
the only female in such a male-dominated world simply made<br />
her more determined to succeed and to be first when it came to<br />
sales and performance. “I used to love that challenge, and today I<br />
still enjoy anything that my job throws at me,” Rachel laughs. She<br />
was recently promoted to handle all the direct special orders, and<br />
says this gives her a new kind of job satisfaction and that she is<br />
very happy with this new position. According to Rachel, despite<br />
being an old hand at this, she still learns something new each and<br />
every day and grabs at challenges with both hands. Co-workers<br />
often arrive at work to find this dedicated woman already hard at<br />
work behind her computer. “I take pride in my workplace, and try<br />
to give back the ethics of success, the best that BUCO Nelspruit<br />
gives to me.” Rachel says her job is not something she does to<br />
earn an income, but something that gives her personal joy. “I love<br />
<strong>Lowveld</strong>ers, I would move back to sales just to see more of them!”<br />
Rachel is one of those people who will go out of their way to<br />
ensure the customer receives the best possible care and service at<br />
the company. “I have a Portuguese customer in Mozambique who<br />
does not speak English, so we have a system of pictures to figure<br />
out what his order is, and so far it has worked well for both of us,”<br />
she laughs her infectious laugh. Rachel says everything at BUCO<br />
is special to her, and that there is not specifically one moment<br />
that stands out, she simply loves going to work in the mornings.<br />
“I have always given my best in everything I do, especially in the<br />
workplace.”<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 19
WOMEN<br />
in leadership<br />
Nasima Bhayat<br />
Sohela Surajpal<br />
Megan Palmer<br />
Kirsten Garbini<br />
20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20<br />
Hannah Chapman<br />
Innocentia Tshikomba<br />
Brenda Archdeacon<br />
Dineo Pact was started over a year ago out of a belief<br />
that the world of work has changed and so can we.<br />
We have all been submerged in toxic cultures at<br />
some stage of our careers and Dineo Pact believes<br />
that there is a better way. Perhaps you have learnt<br />
difficult lessons, and you’re exploring new ways of<br />
doing things that honour people, their skills and their<br />
potential, and perhaps you believe that learning is<br />
the new working. Dineo Pact catalyses sustainable<br />
transformation in leadership, management and most<br />
importantly, in how you and your team go about<br />
bringing your best work to the world. As a company of<br />
professionals and associates, they offer performance<br />
consulting, leadership coaching, bespoke design of<br />
transformational learning journeys, digital learning<br />
development and online learning in several key areas:<br />
• Listen like a leader: Learn these life-changing skills<br />
• Develop a leadership coaching habit: Align and<br />
develop your team’s ability moment by moment<br />
• Build team resilience (an online game for teams)<br />
• Leadership cohesion sessions: Two-hour facilitated<br />
innovation and strategic activation sessions<br />
• Agile skills for the new world of work: Stop, think and<br />
make an impact<br />
• It’s me in the mirror: Self-awareness and the BLM<br />
movement unpacked.<br />
The newest online course was launched on July 27:<br />
Get up close and personal with your money. Discover<br />
and repair the dark side of your money habits and<br />
redesign your relationship with money forever. Sign<br />
in and complete this course in your own time as you<br />
discover your financial blind spots; why you spend<br />
when you should save, and how you justify poor<br />
budgeting. Learn how to see money as evidence of<br />
your energy and ability to create value. In just one year<br />
our work has made an impact with three blue-chip<br />
financial companies, a food producer, an NPO, a forestry<br />
company, and a university. We have clients in Sydney<br />
and Ottawa, and we are set for success. Let Dineo<br />
Pact help you to learn with imagination and create<br />
excellence. Solid processes, exceptional impact.<br />
Details<br />
066-246-4779 or kirsten@dineopact.co.za
Elan Healthstyle<br />
Having known each other and worked together<br />
as associates for a number of years, it was a<br />
natural progression for Carike Camphor and<br />
Allison Blair to join forces. The pair sparked a<br />
keen interest in each other’s work acumen<br />
and approach to health, and initially used to<br />
joke about having their own practice. Neither<br />
was unhappy, but both felt that something<br />
was missing in the conventional approach to<br />
health and wellness. This is known as integrative<br />
medicine, and is a fairly new concept to the<br />
medical field. Patients are tired of the traditional<br />
blanket approach, and want more value.<br />
Allison’s focus began to shift and started to<br />
centre on aesthetic procedures, and she soon<br />
realised that when her patients got their physical<br />
confidence back, they also wanted to feel better,<br />
causing her to investigate the concept of antiageing<br />
and integrative medicine. Carike, who<br />
has always had a soft spot for children, found<br />
that as a result of her focus on child health, her<br />
direction started to incorporate moms and<br />
antenatal medicine. When an opportunity to go<br />
on their own presented itself in 2018, they were<br />
apprehensive but leapt at the chance. Starting<br />
from scratch wasn’t easy, especially with the<br />
added nightmare of renovating and decorating,<br />
and the odd criticism they occasionally face<br />
simply spurs them on to improve even more.<br />
With this positive approach, their venture has<br />
flourished, and Elan Healthstyle now not only<br />
incorporates Allison and Carike, but a team<br />
of physiotherapists, led by Dirkie Coomans.<br />
Because there wasn’t a practice in Mbombela<br />
that focused specifically on women’s health, the<br />
duo wanted to create a space where women<br />
are not judged, but understood. With Allison’s<br />
interest in non-invasive cosmetic procedures<br />
and Carike’s keen interest in children’s health,<br />
including antenatal, the focus towards women’s<br />
health was a natural development.<br />
WOMEN<br />
Allison Blair and Carike Camphor<br />
in health<br />
Women are complicated, our health changes<br />
as we age. Different health screenings are<br />
more prudent at some times than others and<br />
women often feel scared to discuss these with<br />
doctors - not to mention hormonal health! Also,<br />
sexual health is very seldom properly addressed<br />
in mainstream medicine. Elan Healthstyle<br />
encompasses all of the above - a woman can<br />
come and have her wrinkles taken care of with<br />
her annual screening and other health woes.<br />
In a nutshell, made by women, for women.<br />
Details<br />
013-590-7345 or hello@elanhealth.co.za<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 21
Promotion<br />
Va-va-zoom<br />
With more and more of us working from home, and most of our meetings being<br />
virtual... via Skype, FaceTime or Zoom, Mopani shares its tips to help you look<br />
professional, but not overdone.<br />
Get the basics right. You’ve cleansed and toned, but a<br />
quick wipe with a good micellar solution will ensure<br />
your face is clean, fresh, with no oily patches. Mopani<br />
suggests Bioderma Sebium H20 Purifying<br />
Cleansing Micellar Solution. R275 (500ml).<br />
If you haven’t had time to wash<br />
your hair, or if it’s just looking a<br />
little flat and needs some<br />
volume, a spray of dry<br />
shampoo foam works wonders.<br />
Marc Anthony Grow Long<br />
Volumizing Dry Shampoo<br />
Foam’s our fave. R169,90.<br />
Make<br />
sure you prep<br />
with a good<br />
primer, which<br />
blurs lines, hides<br />
open pores and<br />
stops shine. Essence<br />
My Skin Perfector<br />
Tinted Primer is a<br />
great product at a<br />
great price. R94,90.<br />
Choose a light<br />
foundation (to avoid looking<br />
overdone). , Clarins Skin<br />
Illusion Natural Hydrating<br />
Foundation, which gives<br />
good coverage with added<br />
beauty benefits, R495.<br />
If you suffer from oily<br />
skin, or an oily T-bar, a<br />
light dusting of Estée<br />
Lauder Double Wear<br />
Stay in Place Matt<br />
Powder Foundation<br />
SPF10 (R695) is a great<br />
add-on. Only use it<br />
where needed, or as a<br />
foundation on its own.<br />
22 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Promotion<br />
Last, but never least, are your<br />
lips. We’re torn here. Since<br />
you’re looking natural and<br />
unmade up, Mopani suggests<br />
a light natural shade, like<br />
Clinique Even Better Pop Lip<br />
Colour Foundation, R310. But<br />
then... no masks. So you could<br />
rock those lips with a<br />
fire-engine red Clarins Joli<br />
Rouge 742, R355.<br />
Keep your eyeshadow soft and<br />
natural, but then add lashings<br />
and lashings of mascara. We<br />
recommend Maybelline The<br />
Rocket Volume Express Mascara.<br />
It’s inexpensive (R119,90) and<br />
smudgeproof (perfect if the Zoom<br />
meeting bores you to tears).<br />
Visit the Mopani Salon<br />
situated in the Crossing<br />
Centre store for a manicure<br />
to give your hands and nails<br />
the treatment they deserve.<br />
Book your manicure during<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust and receive a FREE<br />
brow wax and tint! Contact<br />
Antoinette on<br />
082-920-6086 or Rozanne<br />
on 082-561-7926.<br />
Too much screen time?<br />
A few drops of SafyrBlue Eye<br />
drops will get rid of redness<br />
quickly. Apply a light concealer<br />
afterwords, like Elizabeth Arden<br />
Stroke of Perfection Concealer<br />
(R299,90). A handy tip: apply with<br />
warmed fingertips - it gives<br />
better coverage<br />
than a brush.<br />
Talking eyes... We all know that your<br />
brows frame your face so make sure<br />
yours are perfect. Ensure you’ve got a<br />
good pair of tweezers, like Mavala<br />
Tweezer Claw Deluxe Gold plated<br />
(R199,90), on hand and use a good<br />
eyebrow pencil. Mopani suggests<br />
Estée Lauder Micro Precision eyebrow<br />
pencil (R460), this dual ended tool features<br />
an ultrafine smudge resistant brow<br />
pencil complete with a spoolie brush<br />
for grooming and shaping<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 23
Home wear<br />
Our <strong>Aug</strong>ust equation. Comfort + glam = exactly what we’re after<br />
Fleece joggers and trainers for the school run. Casual luxe<br />
for an evening Zoom session with friends. Worldwide<br />
there’s chaos and uncertainty and lives have been turned<br />
upside down. So this month we want to snuggle down,<br />
be safe, stay warm. Does dowdy fit the brief? Not a<br />
chance. Here’s what we’ll be wearing during what’s often<br />
the coldest month of the year. • We may<br />
be staying indoors, but do we still<br />
want to sparkle? Hell, yes! This black<br />
knit has just enough shimmer<br />
to keep us happy. Bonus... it<br />
qualifies for free delivery. R499<br />
from woolworths.co.za • Soft,<br />
luxurious and perfect to slip<br />
on over wide leg soft pants or<br />
a pair of leggings. This light grey<br />
longline cardie is a blend of<br />
merino and alpaca wool, so it’s<br />
super soft. R1999 from Trenery at<br />
Woolworths. • Are they slip-ons?<br />
Are they slippers? Who cares...<br />
we’re wearing these Fuzzalicious<br />
from Ugg, with long sheepskin<br />
uppers, lining and insoles... toes<br />
as warm as toast. R1699 from<br />
superbalist.com • You want<br />
glam and comfy? These wide<br />
leg pants fit the brief. High rise,<br />
elasticated waistline, soft Milano<br />
knit, they’re comfy enough to<br />
lounge around in at home, glam<br />
enough to wear going out. We’d<br />
rate them an essential buy. R1299<br />
from woolworths.co.za • A simple<br />
white trainer. Perfect. We love<br />
these Chelsea creeper plimsolls<br />
from Cotton On. R249 from<br />
superbalist.com • You’re planning<br />
a go-nowhere-do-nothing<br />
Sunday. These cuffed track pants,<br />
with elasticated waistband, are<br />
perfect. And if, by chance, you’re<br />
suddenly inspired to go for a<br />
walk to work off lunch, they’re<br />
good for that too. Plus... it’s a<br />
two-for-one buy, so a great deal.<br />
R220 for two pairs, online from<br />
woolworths.co.za<br />
24 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 25<br />
Compiled by KYM ARGO
POWER<br />
OF PURPLE<br />
Greens tend to hog the limelight, but filling your plate with purple foods<br />
may be a very smart choice right now. They’re really incredible for your health.<br />
Compiled by: RIALIEN FURSTENBERG<br />
26 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Registered dietician at Nutri & Flora, Dr Florence Malongane lists a few of the<br />
health benefits of purple fruit and veggies.<br />
Grapes<br />
Rich in antioxidants and nutrients such as potassium, calcium, iron, folate,<br />
magnesium, selenium, vitamins A, C and B6, among other benefits.<br />
Red grape skin is very high in resveratrol, which accounts for many<br />
health benefits such as supporting heart health, cholesterol level<br />
management, prevents signs of ageing and other skin problems, offers<br />
antioxidant support and helps the body’s ability to manage healthy<br />
blood sugar levels.<br />
Blueberries<br />
Similar to grapes, blueberries are rich in dietary fibre, calcium, copper,<br />
iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, sodium, zinc, vitamins A, C<br />
and various types of vitamin B. Not only do they protect against heart<br />
disease and cancer, but help with digestion, deliver healthy antioxidants,<br />
improve skin health, promote healthy bones, support healthy blood<br />
pressure and boost brain function.<br />
Blackberries<br />
A single serving of blackberries<br />
provides about half your daily<br />
recommended intake of vitamin C!<br />
Even more impressively, they’re very<br />
high in fibre and are a great source<br />
of vitamin K. Other benefits of this<br />
superfruit include the improvement<br />
of oral health, a healthy heart<br />
and bones, full of antioxidants, an<br />
immunity booster, have anti-cancer<br />
properties and improve brainpower,<br />
including cognitive and motor<br />
function.<br />
Eggplant<br />
They’re packed with vitamins C, K<br />
and B6 and an ample amount of<br />
potassium, manganese and fibre.<br />
This vegetable (technically a fruit)<br />
also contains antioxidants that help<br />
promote heart health, control blood<br />
sugar levels, reduce cancer risk,<br />
improve cognitive function and aid<br />
weight loss.<br />
Red cabbage<br />
Packing more vitamins (C, K, A),<br />
dietary fibre, and other nutrients in<br />
a standard serving size than many<br />
other foods, this single plant can help<br />
improve the function of your immune<br />
system, fight chronic inflammation,<br />
and even improve blood clotting.<br />
Ancient Romans apparently used<br />
cabbage to restore their bodies after<br />
heavy alcohol consumption. Try<br />
munching some red cabbage the<br />
morning after!<br />
Figs aren’t only delicious, but they’re also a great way to get fibre, calcium, potassium<br />
and magnesium, all of which are nutrients many of us don’t regularly get enough of. They<br />
have many potential benefits, including promoting digestive and heart health, along with<br />
potentially helping manage blood sugar levels and promoting healthy skin.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 27
Beetroot<br />
That bright red root isn’t just a looker. Beets<br />
and beet greens are loaded with life-giving<br />
minerals, including magnesium (which has lots<br />
of benefits, including Alzheimer’s prevention),<br />
potassium (which aids heart, kidneys, muscle,<br />
nerve and digestive functions), copper, iron,<br />
and phosphorus, an essential mineral aiding<br />
cell function throughout the body - and it’s<br />
good for bones and teeth, too. Beets are also a<br />
great source of vitamins A, B, and C, as well as<br />
healthy fibre.<br />
Red onions<br />
Not only are they pretty and colourful on<br />
your plate, but they could also help give<br />
your body a health boost. Why? Because red<br />
onions are packed with vitamins and minerals,<br />
including folate, thiamine, calcium, magnesium,<br />
potassium, manganese and vitamins C, K and<br />
B6. Other benefits include that they may stop<br />
cancer cell growth, control diabetes, help<br />
ease arthritis, cure sore throats and help with<br />
constipation.<br />
Black rice (also known<br />
as purple rice) - an<br />
antioxidant-rich grain that<br />
has a nutty flavour profile<br />
- has more anthocyanins a<br />
gram than blueberries and<br />
has been found to reverse<br />
the effects of alcohol on<br />
the liver! Organic black<br />
rice, R84.95, Wellness<br />
Warehouse.<br />
Grow your own<br />
Purple cauliflower? No... it’s not some experiment gone wrong.<br />
The purple colour is caused by the presence of anthocyanins (an<br />
antioxidant), which can also be found in red cabbage and blueberries.<br />
It packs a bit more flavour, and cooks a little faster, than its white cousin.<br />
This cauliflower is a great source of vitamins C, K, B6 and fibre. Because<br />
it’s not always available you can grow your own. Shop for the seeds<br />
online for R24.99 from Woolworths.<br />
28 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
NATURAL ORIGIN<br />
Shop your Clarins favourites at clarins.co.za<br />
NEW<br />
CHOOSE 3 SAMPLES AT CHECKOUT<br />
FREE DELIVERY FOR ORDERS OVER R750<br />
15% DISCOUNT FOR GET IT READERS ENTER<br />
PROMO CODE GET20 AT CHECKOUT<br />
Valid until 31 October <strong>2020</strong>, one redemption per person.<br />
& Clarins Aromaphytocare<br />
Effectiveness, sensoriality and well-being.<br />
18118
RED WINE<br />
SLOW FOOD<br />
30 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20<br />
&<br />
Lamb shank and oxtail and a bottle of<br />
smooth, luscious red. We’re loving winter<br />
Slow-braised Karoo lamb shank<br />
(Serves 4 - 6)<br />
Warm up with a hearty meal of slow-braised Karoo lamb<br />
shank... rich and delicious, cooked until the meat falls<br />
off the bone. The recipe was shared by Spier Hotel... it’s<br />
winter food at its best. Serve it with a bottle of Spier<br />
Creative Block 3. Subtle, perfumed notes of blackcurrant,<br />
blackberry, raspberry, pomegranate and mulberry are<br />
followed by spicy flavours of black pepper and coriander...<br />
it’s a silky, rich mouthful.<br />
You’ll need:<br />
30 ml (2 Tblsps) vegetable oil; 4 medium-large lamb<br />
shanks, trimmed of excess fat; 1 large white onion, diced;<br />
2 large carrots, peeled & finely chopped; 6 garlic cloves,<br />
finely grated; salt and freshly ground black pepper, to<br />
taste; 500 ml (2 cups) beef stock; 375 ml (1.5 cups) good<br />
red wine; 4 large tomatoes, chopped; 30 ml (2 Tblsps)<br />
tomato paste; 4 sprigs rosemary; 4 sprigs thyme;<br />
5 bay leaves<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Heat the oil in a large, wide<br />
oven-proof pot over medium-high heat. Brown the shanks<br />
on all sides, then remove from pot and set aside. Add the<br />
onions and carrots to the pot and fry over medium heat<br />
until softened, then add garlic and cook for one minute.<br />
Return the shanks to the pot and season generously with<br />
salt and pepper. Add stock, wine, chopped tomatoes,<br />
tomato paste and herbs. Bring to a simmer, then cover<br />
the pot with a lid. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 ½ - 3<br />
hours, or until the meat starts falling off the bone.<br />
Remove shanks from pot and set aside. Discard bay<br />
leaves and herbs from the sauce and place pot on stove.<br />
Simmer sauce over medium heat until thickened to your<br />
desired consistency. Add the shanks and serve warm with<br />
(optionally) herbed pap and vegetables.<br />
You can order Spier Creative Block 3 online for R179 from<br />
shop.spier.co.za
Oxtail with green olives and orange<br />
Winter is the time to bring out full-bodied reds, best enjoyed by the fireside or with heart-warming<br />
comfort food. New Roodeberg Reserve, a blend of the finest wines in the cellar, is the perfect<br />
freezing-day food companion... think meaty casseroles, roasts and game dishes. An intense and<br />
richly textured wine, its intricate layers of red plum, blueberries, crushed herbs and tobacco leaf<br />
with hints of dark chocolate are rounded off by soft, silky tannins. The wine infuses rich flavour<br />
when added to hearty winter dishes like this one, from foodie Elmarie Berry.<br />
You’ll need:<br />
2,5kg oxtail; olive oil; 2 onions, diced; 2 Tblsps soy sauce; a few sprigs fresh rosemary; 4 bay leaves; 1<br />
glass Roodeberg Reserve; 1 cup beef stock; finely grated rind of 1 orange; 200g pitted green olives;<br />
200g button mushrooms<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat the olive oil and fry the onion until soft. Spoon it out and add oxtail<br />
to the hot pan. Fry until golden brown. Add the cooked onions, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, wine,<br />
stock and orange rind. Place in the oven and bake for 3 to 4 hours. Check on it and add extra liquid<br />
if necessary. Add the olives and mushrooms and bake for another 1 hour.<br />
Roodeberg Reserve Red 2017 costs around R165 a bottle, and can be found at selected Pick n Pay<br />
stores, or ordered from kwvemporium.co.za<br />
Compiled by KYM ARGO<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 31
Chocolate fondant with Lindor<br />
We’re fond of a good Pinotage... the FAT Bastard Pinotage is a great<br />
choice. This deep ruby red, medium bodied wine is all lush dark fruit<br />
with hints of chocolate and mocha. Perfect to serve with one of our<br />
favourite desserts... a rich chocolate fondant. This one, created for FAT<br />
Bastard by Sam Linsell, is a wonderful way to end a winter meal.<br />
You’ll need:<br />
200g dark chocolate, chopped; 100g salted butter; 1 tsp good quality<br />
instant coffee granules or ½ tsp espresso powder; 2 free-range eggs;<br />
2 free-range egg yolks; ½ cup (110g) caster sugar; ¼ cup flour; 4 white<br />
or milk chocolate Lindt Lindor balls or 3 x squares from a slab; cocoa<br />
for dusting<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F and grease 4 dariole moulds or<br />
ramekins ( each with an approx capacity of 250ml / 1 cup). In a small<br />
pot melt the butter, coffee and chocolate until smooth. While it’s<br />
melting, using an electric beater, whisk the eggs, egg whites and sugar<br />
until pale and fluffy - about five minutes. Add the chocolate mixture<br />
and flour and briefly mix until well combined. Divide the mixture<br />
evenly between the four moulds and lightly press the Lindt Lindor<br />
balls/squares into the mixture in the middle. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes<br />
on a baking tray until they’ve puffed up and are firm on the top. Gently<br />
scrape a knife round the edges to loosen and tip out onto plates to<br />
serve hot.<br />
This makes 4 generous fondants, so you could quite easily make 6 to 8<br />
much smaller ones. Just reduce the cooking time down to 12 minutes<br />
and halve the quantity of Lindor chocolate you add to the middle.<br />
FAT Bastard Pinotage can be ordered for around R120 a bottle from<br />
shop.fatbastardwine.co.za<br />
After-dinner coffee<br />
What was the worst thing about lockdown? Not<br />
getting our daily Starbucks fix. Even though we’re<br />
now able to pop down to our nearest Starbucks,<br />
we’re delighted that Starbucks At Home has<br />
just been launched. The same premium, instant<br />
coffee in a choice of medium and dark roast<br />
coffees we’re used to... as well as a variety of<br />
coffee beverages. An add-on to the existing<br />
range (we’re already fans of the Nescafe Dolce<br />
Gusto by Starbucks capsules), the new range<br />
is available in multi-serve tins and single-serve<br />
sachets. You’ll find them at stores including<br />
Checkers, Pick n Pay, Spar and Makro as well as<br />
convenient online platforms such as Pick n Pay<br />
Online and Takealot.<br />
32 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Nothing beats finding that<br />
perfect Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
One that’s structured and<br />
accessible enough to drink on<br />
its own, but also pairs perfectly<br />
with a weekend pizza, a posh<br />
pasta dish, or a good old<br />
braai. Hello De Krans Basket<br />
Press Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
2018. You’ll smell cassis, ripe<br />
berries, fresh prunes and cedar<br />
spice; you’ll taste soft plums,<br />
mulberries and dark cherries.<br />
Really well priced, it costs<br />
around R76 a bottle and you’ll<br />
find it at your local wine store<br />
or order online - dekrans.co.za.<br />
Martin Melck Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon pairs perfectly<br />
with Ouma Annatjie Melck’s<br />
Marinated Beef Pot Roast. For<br />
the recipe - click here<br />
Every wine tells a story<br />
Every wine tells a story. This is the motto at<br />
Muratie, the historic estate tucked away<br />
in the beautiful Knorhoek Valley north of<br />
Stellenbosch. Established in 1685, Muratie<br />
is one of the oldest farms in South Africa,<br />
rich in history and heritage. And with this<br />
age comes a myriad fascinating tales of the<br />
many extraordinary characters from the farm’s<br />
colourful past, which have been proudly<br />
commemorated in the naming and labelling<br />
of Muratie’s wines. All the Muratie wines have<br />
been named after these remarkable characters,<br />
each wine with its own enchanting story<br />
described on the back label. Buy the wines,<br />
read the labels, enjoy the history.<br />
The Muratie Martin Melck Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon Family Reserve 2016 (named after<br />
the great Martin Melck who was a major force<br />
in the wine and brandy industry for more than<br />
20 years) boasts four-and-a-half stars in Platter’s<br />
<strong>2020</strong> SA Wine Guide. It has an intense ruby-red<br />
colour in the glass, opulent and polished, with<br />
the blackberries, currants and plums almost<br />
crème de cassis-like in their intensity. Even<br />
after the last sip, this red wine, with its lingering<br />
finish, will be remembered for a long time. It<br />
costs R460 a bottle and is only available at the<br />
estate or online.<br />
Muratie Martin Melck Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
2015 is classically styled and restrained. Aged<br />
for 20 months in French oak, it’s a full-bodied<br />
wine and will reward cellaring for at least<br />
another six years. Also a four-and-a-half star in<br />
the Platter <strong>2020</strong> guide, it costs R200 a bottle,<br />
and you’ll find it at wine merchants or online.<br />
Muratie Ronnie Melck Syrah Family<br />
Selection 2015/2016 (named after Ronnie<br />
Melck who, when asked to single out his<br />
favourite wine, always answered, ‘the wine in<br />
my glass’, which was often a Shiraz). A robust<br />
statement wine produced in extremely limited<br />
quantities (only 2200 bottles, each individually<br />
numbered), it’s described as expressive,<br />
intriguing and unharnessed. Rich concentrated<br />
blackberries, red currants and cherries burst<br />
onto the palate, while hints of black olive,<br />
pepper, smoke and bacon add savoury appeal.<br />
It’s only available at the estate or online for<br />
R530 a bottle.<br />
Ronnie described Muratie wines as ‘humble,<br />
honest and full of integrity, with quality being<br />
the only answer’, and the Muratie Ronnie<br />
Melck Shiraz 2016 certainly delivers on all<br />
those fronts. It’s an intensely red wine with a<br />
violet edge, offering rich floral and berry notes<br />
with hints of green peppercorns and gamey<br />
nuances, supported by a sweet spiciness with<br />
a vanilla, crème brûlée aftertaste. You can buy<br />
it at wine boutiques or online for R190 a bottle.<br />
Details: muratie.co.za/wine/buy-wine.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 33
DINNERS<br />
Working from home certainly has its perks, but somehow the day slipped right<br />
through your fingers and now you’re facing the dinner time rut. Luckily, these<br />
easy, five ingredient dinner ideas are ready to swoop in and save the day!<br />
Compiled by: RIALIEN FURSTENBERG5INGREDIENT<br />
34 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Chef Jackie Righi-Boyd, owner of Dolci Café, Craighall Park.<br />
Chef Jackie Righi-Boyd’s<br />
prawn pasta<br />
(Serves 2)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
1 crushed garlic clove; 5ml finely<br />
chopped chilli (or less if you’re not<br />
a spicy food fan); 100ml olive oil; 14<br />
uncooked prawns, de-veined and<br />
peeled; 350g spaghetti (or pasta<br />
of your choice)<br />
Method:<br />
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium<br />
heat. Add garlic and chilli - be careful<br />
not to burn - and fry for about three<br />
minutes. Add the prawns and cook<br />
until pink. Season with salt according<br />
to taste.<br />
In a large pot, bring water to a boil<br />
over medium-high heat. Stir in 1 tsp<br />
of salt. Add pasta and cook until al<br />
dente. Drain off excess water. Plate<br />
pasta, top with the prawns and garnish<br />
with parsley.<br />
Chef Fortunato Mazzone’s<br />
Pesce all’ Aqua Pazza<br />
(fish in the crazy water)<br />
(Serves 6)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
6 fillets of fresh white fish (hake works<br />
brilliantly); half a tin peeled chopped<br />
tomatoes; 125ml pitted black olives; 2<br />
cloves garlic, diced; 125ml dry white wine<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat oven to 180°C. Place fish fillets in a<br />
baking pan drizzled with olive oil. Season<br />
and top with tomatoes, olives, garlic,<br />
wine and mix well, making sure to coat<br />
everything. Place in the oven for 12 to 14<br />
minutes, turning the fish halfway through.<br />
Place fillets on a plate and top generously<br />
with the sauce from the pan. Add a spritz<br />
of olive oil.<br />
Serve with boiled baby potatoes doused<br />
with Maldon salt, olive oil and chopped<br />
Italian parsley. You can also add sautéed<br />
spinach seasoned with garlic.<br />
Chef Fortunato Mazzone, owner of Forti Bar & Grill, Time Square.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 35
YOUR NEW BEST<br />
FRIEND IN THE KITCHEN<br />
Cooking doesn’t have to be complicated. That’s why Jamie’s 5 Ingredients<br />
- Quick & Easy Food is sure to become your go-to in the kitchen. Every<br />
recipe uses just five key ingredients, ensuring you can get a plate of food<br />
together fast - finished and on the table super-quickly after minimal handson<br />
prep, with the oven doing the hard work for you. With more than 130<br />
recipes and chapters on chicken, beef, pork, lamb, fish, eggs, veg, salads,<br />
pasta, rice and noodles, as well as sweet things, there’s plenty of quick and<br />
easy recipe inspiration to choose from. penguinrandomhouse.co.za, R445.<br />
The recipes in this book delighted us so much we just had to share a few<br />
with you.<br />
Chicken pot pie<br />
(Serves 4)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
2 onions; 600g chicken thighs, skin off,<br />
bone out; 350g mixed mushrooms; 1<br />
bunch of fresh thyme (30g); 400g puff<br />
pastry (cold)<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Place a<br />
30cm non-stick ovenproof frying pan<br />
on high heat, with a smaller non-stick<br />
pan on a medium heat alongside.<br />
Pour 1 Tblsp olive oil into the larger<br />
pan. Peel and roughly chop the<br />
onions, adding them to the larger pan<br />
as you go. Roughly chop two-thirds<br />
of the thighs, finely chop the rest,<br />
and add to the onion pan. Cook for<br />
six minutes, or until golden, stirring<br />
occasionally.<br />
Meanwhile, place the mushrooms<br />
in the dry pan, tearing up any larger<br />
ones. Let them toast and get nutty for<br />
four minutes, then tip into the chicken<br />
pan and strip in half the thyme leaves.<br />
Remove pan from the heat, add a<br />
pinch of sea salt and black pepper,<br />
then stir in 1 Tblsp red wine vinegar<br />
and a cup of water.<br />
Working quickly, roll out the pastry<br />
so it’s 2cm bigger than the pan,<br />
then place it over the filling, using a<br />
wooden spoon to push it into the<br />
edges. Very lightly criss-cross the<br />
pastry, then brush with 1 tsp olive oil.<br />
Poke remaining thyme sprigs into the<br />
middle of the pie. Bake at the bottom<br />
of the oven for 15 minutes, or until<br />
golden and puffed up. Easy!<br />
WIN!<br />
We know you’d love<br />
a copy of Jamie’s book, so<br />
we’ve got two copies to give<br />
away. To stand in line to win, like<br />
our Get It National Facebook page,<br />
like our post, tag a foodie friend<br />
and you’ll be in the draw.<br />
Entries close <strong>Aug</strong>ust 30. Ts<br />
& Cs apply.<br />
36 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Lemony zucchini/ baby marrow linguine<br />
(Serves 2)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
150g dried linguine; 2 mixed-colour zucchini/ baby marrows; ½ a bunch of fresh mint (15g); 30g Parmesan cheese;<br />
1lemon<br />
Method:<br />
Cook pasta in a pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving a cupful of the cooking water.<br />
Meanwhile, slice the zucchini/ baby marrows lengthways, then again into long matchsticks with a knife or julienne<br />
peeler. Place a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat with 1 Tblsp olive oil, then add the zucchini/ baby<br />
marrows. Cook for four minutes, tossing regularly, while you finely slice the mint leaves, then stir them into the pan. Toss<br />
the drained pasta into the zucchini pan with a splash of the reserved cooking water. Finely grate in most of the Parmesan<br />
and a little lemon zest, squeeze in all the juice, toss well, then taste and season to perfection with sea salt and black<br />
pepper. Dish up, finely grate over the remaining Parmesan and drizzle with 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil before tucking in.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 37
Meltin’ mustardy beef<br />
Although very easy to prepare, you have to start early as this is slow cooked for<br />
four hours. But it’s worth the wait!<br />
(Serves 6)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
900g beef shin, bone out (ask your butcher for the bone); 500g carrots; 2 onions,<br />
125ml Worcestershire sauce; 2 heaped tsps wholegrain mustard<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat oven to 160°C. Place a large shallow casserole pan on high heat, with<br />
a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat alongside. Dice the beef into 5cm<br />
chunks and toss with a generous amount of black pepper and a pinch of sea salt,<br />
then dry fry in the hot frying pan with the bone for eight minutes.<br />
Meanwhile, wash and trim the carrots, chop into 5cm chunks, and place in the<br />
casserole pan with 1 Tblsp olive oil. Peel and quarter onions and break apart into<br />
petals, straight into the pan, stirring regularly.<br />
When meat is nicely coloured, tip it into the casserole pan, then stir in<br />
Worcestershire sauce and mustard, and cover with 800ml<br />
boiling kettle water.<br />
Cover, then cook in the oven for<br />
four hours, or until the beef is<br />
meltingly tender. Loosen<br />
with a splash of water,<br />
if needed. Taste,<br />
season to<br />
perfection,<br />
and serve.<br />
38 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Sticky lamb chops<br />
(Serves 2)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
6 lamb chops, French-trimmed (600g total); 200g baby rainbow carrots; 8 cloves garlic; 3 oranges; ½ a bunch of fresh<br />
thyme (15g)<br />
Method:<br />
Score fat of the lamb chops, season with sea salt and black pepper, then line them up, like a rack, and sit them<br />
together fat edges down in a large shallow casserole pan on medium-high heat.<br />
Leave for five minutes to render and crisp up. Trim and add the baby carrots (halving any larger ones) and the<br />
unpeeled garlic cloves alongside, turning the carrots regularly.<br />
Gently turn the chops onto their sides, to cook for two minutes on each side, or until golden but still pink in the<br />
middle. Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler to peel strips of zest from one orange. Sprinkle them into the pan with<br />
the thyme sprigs, and toss together for just 30 seconds to get the flavours going. Remove chops to a plate to rest,<br />
then squeeze the juice from all three oranges into the pan.<br />
Let the juice bubble and reduce until sticky, quickly toss the lamb chops back in with their resting juices, then hey<br />
presto, time to dish up.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 39
Compli-mince<br />
to the chef<br />
Give mince a makeover with this magnificent recipe from rising culinary star, chef Ruth<br />
Marovatsanga. We’ve also got a few nifty mince tips up our sleeves to share...<br />
When 27-year-old Rutendo Ruth Marovatsanga<br />
scooped up the coveted Young Star Chef of the<br />
Year Award at the One&Only Reaching for Young<br />
Stars project in 2018, little did she realise it was<br />
the start of what was to become the culinary<br />
adventure of a lifetime.<br />
As part of her prize, Ruth jetted off to Dubai to<br />
take up an intense mentorship experience at the<br />
One&Only The Palm and the One&Only The Mirage<br />
in Dubai.<br />
Her time in Dubai included a spell working in<br />
various restaurants under the wings of executive<br />
chefs and she further built up her culinary<br />
experience in 12 bars and restaurants, one of these<br />
being the three Michelin star restaurant, Stay, with<br />
chef Yannick Alléno.<br />
Ruth barely had time to unpack her bags before<br />
she flew off to the US to take up a six-month<br />
work experience opportunity at Winslow’s<br />
Tavern, a highly-rated restaurant in Cape Cod,<br />
Massachusetts. This top heritage restaurant,<br />
housed in a historic building, is run by South<br />
Africans, chef patron Phillip and Tracey Hunt.<br />
‘My <strong>2020</strong> plan includes increasing my knowledge<br />
in the front of house aspect of a restaurant<br />
and paying more attention to food and wine<br />
pairing. Now I’ve gained sufficient experience<br />
and knowledge about the food, it’s time to<br />
also understand the wine and service side of a<br />
restaurant. Within the next few years, I want to be<br />
a restaurant manager who can roll up her sleeves<br />
when the commis chef doesn’t show up for duty,<br />
as well as a chef who can easily recommend a<br />
wine to pair with the food.’<br />
If Ruth had the opportunity to cook for five famous<br />
people, she’d make beef Wellington for Gordon<br />
Ramsey; southern fried chicken for Michelle and<br />
Barack Obama; something sweet - maybe a toffee<br />
pudding - for Jamie Oliver and chicken biryani for<br />
Alex Guarnaschelli, the executive chef at New York<br />
City’s Butter restaurant.<br />
Ruth shares her favourite mince recipe with us.<br />
From<br />
exceptional<br />
burgers to her<br />
own terrine recipe,<br />
Ruth’s cooking<br />
up a culinary<br />
storm.<br />
40 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Chef Ruth’s terrine<br />
This works really well for a light lunch<br />
and can be prepared three days ahead<br />
and stored in the fridge. Simply bring it<br />
to room temperature before serving.<br />
(Serves: 8)<br />
You’ll need:<br />
350g rindless streaky bacon rashers;<br />
250g chicken livers; 300g minced<br />
pork; 450g minced beef; 1 large finely<br />
chopped onion; 2 cloves crushed<br />
garlic; 5ml dried oregano; 2.5ml ground<br />
allspice; 115g unsalted melted butter;<br />
120ml dry sherry; salt and ground black<br />
pepper according to taste<br />
Method:<br />
Preheat the oven to 180°C.<br />
With the back of a knife, stretch the<br />
bacon rashers. Use them to line the<br />
terrine dish or other ovenproof dish,<br />
leaving the rasher ends hanging over<br />
the sides.<br />
Finely chop the chicken livers and mix<br />
with the minced pork, minced beef,<br />
onion, garlic, oregano, allspice, and<br />
melted butter. Stir in the sherry and<br />
season with salt and pepper.<br />
Spoon the mixture into the dish and<br />
fold the ends of the bacon over the<br />
top. Cover tightly with foil or a lid,<br />
then stand the dish in a deep roasting<br />
tin. Fill the tin with enough hot water<br />
to reach halfway up the sides of the<br />
terrine dish. Cook in the oven for 90<br />
minutes, then remove and cover with<br />
fresh foil. Place a weight on top and<br />
leave to cool, chill for up to 24 hours,<br />
then turn out and cut into slices.<br />
Serve with warm crusty bread or toast,<br />
topped with gherkins.<br />
Tips for jollying up your mince<br />
It always pays to keep mince on hand. It’s your budget-friendly bestie, ready to<br />
help out with quick-and-easy meals. Think cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese (kids<br />
love it!) and bobotie. From Italy... lasagne, from SA... vetkoek with curried mince.<br />
There are also sausage rolls and burgers, chilli con carne, tacos, meatballs and<br />
meatloaf. All you need is a kilo of mince, with chopped onions, garlic, salt and<br />
black pepper, oregano, basil and coriander - and you’re already halfway there!<br />
We found these five great tips to master mince.<br />
1. By swapping to a leaner mince, traditional recipes can become healthier. For<br />
classics like spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie and chilli con carne, a lean mince<br />
is the best choice. For burgers and meat loafs, mince with a higher fat content<br />
helps to achieve the right texture.<br />
2. Looking for a simple way to spice up your beef mince? Just add dry onion soup<br />
mix. Loaded with onions and a variety of other spices, who knew a little packet<br />
could pack so much punch?<br />
3. If you like the salty, tangy flavour Worcestershire sauce gives your meat, why not<br />
try substituting it for soy sauce? If the soy sauce is making your meat a little too wet,<br />
just add a few bread crumbs or... peanut butter! Think of it like beef satay.<br />
4. To brown mince correctly, you should only put some of the mince in the pan<br />
at a time, not all of it. Adding too much mince at once reduces the temperature<br />
inside, meaning it won’t brown. It also causes all the beef’s liquid to be released,<br />
making it turn grey and tough.<br />
5. Browning meatballs before baking them gives extra flavour, and coating them<br />
in a tomato sauce as they cook helps keep them nice and juicy. Meatballs, along<br />
with a bowl of spaghetti, a glass of red... and dinner’s served!<br />
Compiled by: RIALIEN FURSTENBERG<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 41
Make it work...<br />
a stylish home office<br />
For many of us, working from home is a new situation, and it’s one that’s probably<br />
going to be around for a while. Whether you’re looking for some temporary solutions to<br />
home office space, or thinking long term, here are some workable options.<br />
Accessorise your desk with a Manikin<br />
Man (he’s like your own little work<br />
colleague), and a set of pencil pens,<br />
R99.99 and R50, both from Typo.<br />
Details: cottonon.com/za<br />
Keep track of the (over)time<br />
with this Country Road Della<br />
desk clock (R449). And if you<br />
do end up working late, you’ll<br />
need a good desk lamp...<br />
this one is stylish and functional,<br />
(R1099). Both from Woolies.<br />
Here’s a dual purpose<br />
buy. Use this matte black<br />
planter on a wooden<br />
stand on the corner<br />
of your desk to keep<br />
pens, pencils, rulers and<br />
stationery while you’re<br />
working from home,<br />
once you’re back at<br />
your office, plant it up<br />
with something green<br />
and lovely. R250 from<br />
Woolworths.<br />
We really like this slender writing<br />
desk from Houtlander. It’s great<br />
as a work station, but then will fit<br />
happily elsewhere in the house.<br />
R8500 from houtlander.co.za<br />
Yes. We know it’s a drinks<br />
trolley. But now, you’re going<br />
to use it as a spot to keep<br />
your storage boxes of papers,<br />
files and whatnot. No longer<br />
working from home... you’ve<br />
an elegant spot to keep the<br />
gin! R1699 from home.co.za<br />
42 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Another desk lamp...<br />
elegant LED lamp,<br />
R299 from woolworths.<br />
co.za<br />
Keeping notes of the rules and<br />
regulations is a full time job! A4<br />
recycled notebook, R99 from<br />
Typo. Details: cottonon.com/za<br />
Stylish Noah<br />
magazine rack,<br />
R495 from<br />
weylandts.co.za<br />
If you’ve had to set up in the corner of a sitting<br />
room or dining room, this wicker screen is<br />
fabulous. Pop it up in front of your work station<br />
and... you’re off duty. R3999 from home.co.za<br />
For ideas, inspiration and exceptional office buys, pop into your closest Weylandts, or visit their online site. Great<br />
home office set-ups... desks and office chairs, and really stylish shelving options too. Perfect if your home office is<br />
here to stay. Details: weylandts.co.za<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 43
44 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20<br />
Compiled by KYM ARGO
Peas<br />
v&<br />
posies<br />
Veggie of the month<br />
Heirloom sugar snap pea Cascadia is a cool<br />
season vegetable for sowing this month. It<br />
produces unusually sweet, crunchy, edible<br />
pods which are perfect for eating straight<br />
off the bush or adding fresh to salads, but<br />
equally delicious steamed, sautéed, or stirfried.<br />
It’s an easy-to-grow vegetable for<br />
beginners, is a compact vine type, and has<br />
extra disease tolerance to powdery mildew<br />
and mosaic virus. The 7cm to 9cm long, dark<br />
green pods are a produced in abundance,<br />
almost smothering the plant. Be sure to plant<br />
it in a position that receives full sun and has<br />
well-composted soil. For good germination,<br />
soak the seeds overnight before sowing.<br />
Space the plants about 20cm apart, and<br />
keep the soil moist during germination. Pods<br />
should be ready for harvest 60 days from<br />
germination. Depending on the garden’s<br />
micro-climate, Cascadia can be germinated<br />
indoors in seed trays, or sown direct into the<br />
soil. Order online from gropak.co.za<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 45
This month we’re planting...<br />
Geranium Marcada in hanging baskets and containers. If, like us,<br />
you’re longing for sunshine and summer, Marcada’s dazzling<br />
magenta flowers are just the tonic you need. This is a stronggrowing,<br />
semi-trailing geranium that spreads up to 45cm,<br />
spilling flowers prettily over the edges of pots and<br />
baskets. It grows and flowers well in cool, as well as<br />
hot, conditions and is drought tolerant, needing<br />
to be kept drier than other geraniums. Being selfcleaning,<br />
the dead flowers drop off easily, so there’s<br />
no need to trim. Details: ballstraathof.co.za<br />
Garden tasks for <strong>Aug</strong>ust<br />
Fertilize spring flowering annuals<br />
with a liquid fertilizer for flowers.<br />
Increase watering as the temperature<br />
rises.<br />
Wait until the last frost has passed<br />
before sowing summer annuals and<br />
perennials like marigolds, alyssum,<br />
cosmos, Californian poppy, gaillardia,<br />
sunflowers and zinnias.<br />
Fork compost round summer<br />
flowering perennials, fertilize and<br />
water well.<br />
Prune winter flowering shrubs and<br />
neaten evergreen shrubs with a trim.<br />
Clean and weed pathways, driveways<br />
and treat and fix wooden furniture<br />
and garden benches.<br />
Sow spring vegetables like lettuce,<br />
peas, cabbage, spinach and Swiss<br />
chard into trays or small pots and<br />
keep them in a warm, sheltered area<br />
that’s protected from frost.<br />
Prevent snail and slug damage by<br />
using organic snail bait like Ferramol<br />
and eradicate aphids with an<br />
organic insecticide.<br />
Whether you have a large garden or a tiny apartment, you can (and<br />
should) grow herbs. They’re easy to cultivate and it’s hugely rewarding to<br />
be able to pick a few fresh leaves to use when you’re cooking.<br />
Jane’s Delicious A-Z of Herbs is a beautifully illustrated, handson<br />
guide to growing and using herbs. There’s info on more than 80 of<br />
them... planting and growing, medicinal and culinary uses, as well as<br />
healing properties. Sunbird Publishers, R292 from Exclusive Books.<br />
46 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Our indoor plant for <strong>Aug</strong>ust...<br />
While it’s still nippy outdoors, enjoy the spring fragrance of<br />
Lavandula Stoechas indoors. Besides being very pretty, the scent is<br />
also a natural stress reliever... so whenever you walk past the plant,<br />
rub its leaves to release the delightful fragrance. Stoechas flowers<br />
are unlike other lavenders. The bracts on top of each bloom<br />
resemble bunny ears, or the open wings of a butterfly. Grown<br />
indoors, Stoechas lavender needs bright light and can take some<br />
morning sun. Let the soil dry out moderately between watering<br />
and snip off dead flowers to encourage more. In warm, bright<br />
conditions, such as a patio or living area, it may flower for up to<br />
three months. After flowering, you can lightly trim it, then plant in<br />
the garden - choose a spot that receives full sun and has soil that<br />
drains well. Details: plantimex.co.za<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It Magazine 47
Bilkis Moola<br />
48 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Navigations<br />
along poetic shores<br />
A spell of six years has passed since the publication of Bilkis Moola’s first anthology,<br />
Wounds and Wings: A Lyrical Salve Through Metaphor. Her personal navigation weaved<br />
between her home town, Volksrust, and Mbombela where her professional profile<br />
as an educator shifted to a promotional position as a senior education specialist who<br />
presently works for the Mpumalanga Department of Education.<br />
Bilkis’ first anthology was received throughout South Africa<br />
and launched her poetic persona. Recognition for her poetry<br />
soon reached an international platform where she has been<br />
published in In So Many Words: A Collection of Interviews and<br />
Poetry from Today’s Poets and Indiana Voice Journal in the<br />
United States. Her poetry has been published in India in<br />
Glomag Monthly Online Poetry and Prose Magazine, Women<br />
Poets: Within and Beyond Shores and Verses in Racism, Resistance<br />
and Refugee Crisis.<br />
In the In So Many Words collection, an evocation of her<br />
interior world is revealed. She says that she began writing<br />
seriously in July 2011. While she might have dabbled in<br />
creative writing and poetry as an adolescent, Bilkis says she<br />
did not commit to any literary genre as she regarded her<br />
efforts as mediocre and insufficient for development.<br />
She scribbles images or<br />
lines spontaneously when<br />
inspiration beckons<br />
When asked on her favourite writers who serve as her<br />
significant inspirations, she states that Sylvia Plath’s difficulty<br />
with relationships and grievous crusade against depression<br />
embody the Achilles heel in her poetry. Plath’s suicide two<br />
weeks after the publication of her novel The Bell Jar, at the<br />
age of 31, reached its 50th anniversary while The Bell Jar that<br />
was originally published under the pseudonym Victoria<br />
Lewis has sold millions of copies globally. The woman who<br />
endured self-torment and would have been 85 today,<br />
tragically did not survive to realise her immense contribution<br />
to literature as well as her impact on the lives of millions of<br />
people.<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust 20 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> 49
The attempt for personal affirmation<br />
launched Bilkis’ identity as a poet. She<br />
describes the writing of poetry as an active<br />
pursuit to document the observations<br />
of her interior and external landscapes.<br />
The appreciation of a breathtaking dawn<br />
or the glimpse of a magical sunset finds<br />
expression as the sensory and emotional<br />
arrest of images onto paper.<br />
With regard to her published books,<br />
Wounds and Wings: A Lyrical Salve Through<br />
Metaphor is an anthology of poetry that is<br />
structured in three parts. The analogy of a<br />
caterpillar’s transformation to a butterfly<br />
reflects the parallel process of personal<br />
transformation. Each stage of transition<br />
Maymoena Arnold and Fouzia Sibda at the launch of Bilkis<br />
Moola’s Wounds and Wings: A Lyrical Salve Through Metaphor<br />
at Timbuktu Books, Cape Town<br />
William Wordsworth’s expression of “heightened perception” invigorates<br />
the poet’s voice when scenically located while the poetry of Gerard<br />
Manley Hopkins galvanises her use of alliteration. “Preludes” by TS Eliot<br />
in her now tattered copy of his Collected Poems 1909-1935 is her most<br />
beloved possession.<br />
Bilkis explains that she has an eclectic selection of favourite writers.<br />
Authors who inhabit her popular fiction shelf are Dan Brown and Gillian<br />
Flynn. She refers to Karen Armstrong for reference on world religion<br />
and Alain de Botton is her chosen contemporary philosopher. Malcolm<br />
Gladwell’s “cultural commentaries and intellectual adventures” as<br />
depicted in his introductory biographies, satiate her thirst for non-fiction<br />
while David Nicholls’ One Day and Us appeal to her escapades for the<br />
throes of love and the pitfalls of romance.<br />
When asked when she does most of her writing, Bilkis says she reserves<br />
Monday afternoons and evenings for the structured composition of her<br />
poetry. Nevertheless, she scribbles images or lines spontaneously when<br />
inspiration beckons. This occurs for her, most often before falling asleep<br />
when she will rise from her bed to note the thoughts floating in her<br />
mind.<br />
Bilkis explains that she separated from her ex-husband at the end of<br />
October 2010 after four years of an emotionally, verbally, psychologically<br />
and physically abusive marriage. Her divorce was finalised in February<br />
2011. The effects of divorce are traumatic and result in the processing of<br />
deep pain, the recovery of self-worth and the struggle to acquire a fresh,<br />
empowered identity with the need to face the future without bitterness<br />
and with positivity and hope. Writing poetry served as a refuge. The<br />
expression of emotion transferred through images upon paper allowed<br />
a catharsis to occur as healing materialised from the processing of<br />
experiences and feelings.<br />
The attempt for<br />
personal affirmation<br />
launched Bilkis’<br />
identity as a poet<br />
reveals the series of changes and events<br />
that emerge from introspection and unfold<br />
as a sequence of discovery and growth.<br />
This anthology is an exploration of the<br />
emotional pastures and wastelands that<br />
encompass the intimacy of celebratory and<br />
tragic human experiences as articulated<br />
in the figurative expression of poetry. Ebb<br />
and Flow of Love is Bilkis’ second anthology.<br />
The online launch of her new collection of<br />
poems was unveiled in June and can be<br />
viewed on YouTube.<br />
The progression of themes in Ebb<br />
and Flow of Love is artistically sketched<br />
along the spiritual path of essence,<br />
reminiscence, luminescence, translucence<br />
and transcendence. Each melody is a<br />
rhapsody of the poet’s song. “She bowed<br />
before words - her reigning monarchy of<br />
revelation where her fortunes hold dear”,<br />
captures her essence while, “In memory,<br />
the past exists - a canvas in the mind’s<br />
eye of wonder and woe” is reflective of<br />
reminiscence. “Like the flower from the<br />
Greek for tending towards the sun” is<br />
symbolised in a heliotrope that reflects<br />
luminescence while translucence is<br />
evoked in a stream of water that flows<br />
and floats, an arousal of a heart kindled by<br />
the sensation of prose. Transcendence is<br />
captured in the poem:<br />
50 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
The Ebb and Flow of Love<br />
The ocean spreads before his gaze<br />
where he rests his eyes.<br />
The sea serenades his fortunes<br />
calm and bountiful -<br />
swept by the sky’s shade of blue,<br />
grey’s brush of cloud and sunset’s<br />
golden hue.<br />
Twinkle, twinkle little star<br />
beckons his memory -<br />
destiny’s waves flow in tides<br />
lit by moonlight’s glow and<br />
sunshine’s gleam.<br />
His feet rise to reality<br />
from the dream of his gaze -<br />
where he rests his eyes.<br />
He will return -<br />
to the sea where his wish is<br />
kissed,<br />
calm and bountiful -<br />
to rest his eyes,<br />
his fortune is met in<br />
the ebb and flow of love.<br />
Sheereen Moola and<br />
her daughter, Bilkis<br />
Bilkis concludes her navigation along<br />
poetic shores with the rendition of her<br />
poem:<br />
Weeds Are Beautiful Too<br />
Surreal wisps scattered -<br />
in the breath of final moments<br />
as the gentle breeze of life<br />
extinguishes heartbeats that fluttered,<br />
fluttered and raced -<br />
throbbed,<br />
raced and throbbed<br />
crushed underfoot<br />
then was no more.<br />
“Weeds are beautiful too,” he said<br />
as he departed<br />
to which she replied,<br />
“Roses have thorns” .<br />
Details<br />
Contact Bilkis on 084-516-0101 or<br />
at bilkismoola@yahoo.com<br />
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A blooming marvellous<br />
NAMAKWA RETREAT<br />
Intimate, hidden, isolated retreats are those worth<br />
exploring right now. With now-you-can-travel-now-youcan’t<br />
regulations, self-catering options for families wanting<br />
to get away for a while are the way to go... if not now,<br />
then as soon as we can. One we think is marvellous is the<br />
Naries Namakwa Retreat in the Northern Cape. This<br />
privately-owned 6000ha farm, dedicated to conservation<br />
and sustainable living, is situated between Springbok<br />
and Kleinzee. A beautiful and romantic hideaway, it’s well<br />
positioned for exploring the greater Namakwa region - from<br />
the Richtersveld in the north, to the shipwrecks in the west as<br />
well as, in season, the wild flowers. Perched on the top of the<br />
Spektakel Mountain, its views of the spectacular Namaqualand<br />
landscape, and the dramatic sunsets over the Atlantic seaboard<br />
some 60 kms away, are unsurpassed. As a retreat, it offers space,<br />
peace and tranquillity... and three excellent accommodation<br />
options. There are classic rooms in a Cape Dutch-style Manor,<br />
as well as self-catering cottages, and, for a real spoil, luxurious<br />
Mountain Suites - domed, exclusive, thatched units built into<br />
the magnificent granite boulders, each with a view of the<br />
plains below. Besides the Wildflower Tours in season, there’s<br />
also Orange River rafting, hiking, birdwatching, stargazing and<br />
game viewing. Or you can just relax next to the swimming<br />
pool. Naries, accessible from Springbok via a 27 km tarred road,<br />
is one of the Cape Country Routes properties, so you know<br />
it’s going to be excellent. Rates from R1210 a person sharing.<br />
Details: capecountryroutes.com<br />
There are three options at the reserve... each as lovely<br />
as the other. Stay in the Cape Dutch-style Manor...<br />
... or the luxurious Mountain Suites... domed,<br />
thatched suites built into the granite boulders...<br />
Compiled by: KYM ARGO<br />
... or the lovely self-catering cottages - perfect for a family<br />
wanting to isolate from the stress of the city for a while<br />
54 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20
Spoil<br />
<strong>Aug</strong>ust<br />
Want to win?<br />
Of course you do!<br />
To enter, simply send<br />
your details to<br />
competitions@getitlowveld.co.za<br />
to reach us by noon<br />
on <strong>Aug</strong>ust 28.<br />
Situated at the vibrant Perry’s Bridge Tourist Centre in Hazyview, Topolino’s Italian Restaurant is the ideal place<br />
to kick back and relax en route to Kruger, whether for a casual pizza/pasta lunch or dinner, or simply to enjoy<br />
a casual vibe and wonderful dining experience. Topolino’s prides itself on its legendary wood-fired pizza, and<br />
delicious classic Italian pasta options. There are also various vegetarian dishes available. Breakfast is served over<br />
weekends. Our <strong>Aug</strong>ust Spoil is a lunch or dinner to the value of R600, which includes all beverages!<br />
NOTE: Due to current legislation (up to and including <strong>Aug</strong>ust 15, <strong>2020</strong>), no alcohol can be served and<br />
the kitchen closes at 18:30pm and the restaurant closes at 8pm.<br />
56 Get It <strong>Lowveld</strong> <strong>Aug</strong>ust 20