Go 2 December 2021

12 GOT A NEWS STORY? Call our news desk on (043) 702 2125 or (043) 702 2046. Find us on Facebook 2 December 2021 GO & EXPRESS
Tribute to local virtuoso, Bruce Gardiner
Many will recall former UCT music department head’s flawless performances – more than 600
At about 3.30pm on
November 9, Bruce
Gardiner arose from
the stool in front of his
beloved Shimmel Grand Piano,
flicked the tailcoat of his dress
suit with the back of his hand,
bowed elegantly to his
appreciative audience and
departed this earthly stage to be
reunited with his beloved wife
Nell in heaven.
Thus one of East London’s
and indeed SA’s most
accomplished piano keyboard
virtuosos now belongs to the
ages.
Bruce died peacefully at
home a month short of his 89th
birthday and leaves behind his
medical doctor son, Ivor,
daughters Debra and Julia, eight
grandchildren, seven greatgrandchildren
and a multitude
of devoted fans throughout the
c o u n t r y.
His legacy will be
remembered here on the Border
for as long as the sound of the
great piano classics and lilting
keyboard melodies he so
flawlessly performed fill the
great auditoriums and, more
often, the humble church and
school halls in which he
performed.
Bruce was brought up in an
era of music when swing, big
bands and jazz were the order
of the day and if one listens
carefully to his popular music
renditions, one can detect the
influence of some of the great
popular keyboard artists of the
time such as Carmen Cavallaro
and Dave Brubeck.
He was born in the
picturesque little town of
Queenstown (now Komani) in
the north east part of the Cape to
Dr Ivor and Bernadine Gardiner
and was schooled at Queen’s
College, to which he returned
regularly throughout his life to
give fundraising concerts for the
REFLECTIONS
Charles Beningfield
school and citizens of the town.
A severe illness at an early age
prevented any meaningful
participation in robust sport so
his mother, a pianist in her own
right, encouraged Bruce to learn
to play the piano. He took to it
like a duck to water and of
course, the rest is history.
As a schoolboy he put his
amazing talent to good use by
playing at assemblies and at
raucous inter-schools rugby
matches where he could be
found at the keyboard of a
honky-tonk piano to the great
delight of the crowd.
In those early days, the
young Bruce was in great
demand too for concerts not
only in Queenstown but in the
surrounding towns as well.
But Bruce Gardiner was not
only a performer of the light
musical genre, he was a
classical pianist of note.
After leaving Queenstown
he proceeded to Wits
University, where he obtained
his music degrees, and then to
London where he spent a year
acquiring his performer’s
licentiate.
Armed with a number of
formidable qualifications, Bruce
returned to SA and took up a
position as head of the music
department at the East London
Technical College.
In his leisure hours he
entertained East Londoners at
INTO THE SUNSET: East London musician Bruce Gardiner with one of his vintage
Cadillacs Picture: SUPPLIED
numerous soirees and at various
venues and church halls in the
city, often in partnership with
long-time friend and a former
student Lloy Brent.
A much admired party trick
with which Bruce would never
fail to wow the audience on
musical occasions was to
produce a tiny toy piano which
he bought at Slater’s Toy Shop in
East London, on which he
would render impeccable
versions of intricate numbers
such as tico-tico to the utter
amazement and delight of
everyone present.
He spent many happy years
in East London at this time in his
career at his Tainton Avenue
home with Nell and his three
growing children until Nell fell
ill in the early 1970s and the
family moved to Cape Town for
specialised treatment.
Shortly before the Gardiner
family left East London, his
friend Donald Woods, editor of
the Daily Dispatch at the time,
unobtrusively solicited
donations from the city’s
business community to
purchase a grand piano for
Bruce in recognition of his
services to music and
education.
On the piano he had
inscribed: “To Bruce from the
citizens of East London.”
The instrument was
presented to Bruce on the last
evening of a series of farewell
piano recitals at the Guild
Theatre. It was still in his home
to the day he died and remained
a treasured memory for life.
Tragically, Nell succumbed
to her illness and in 1976 Bruce
took up the position as head of
the music department of the
University of the Western Cape,
where he became a revered
member of staff until he retired
in 1992.
During his sojourn in Cape
Town, Bruce became a South
African household name as the
featured pianist in the band
of Rollo Scott (also a former
Queen’s College pupil) on the
radio programme Over the
R a i n b ow, broadcast after the
6pm news on a Saturday.
His elegant style and
delicate touch enchanted
listeners all over the country in
the more than 600 shows in
which he appeared.
And for more than 30 years
he discarded academic
formalities when he entertained
guests in the beautifully
appointed “high tea” lounge in
the stately Mount Nelson Hotel
in Cape Town where he chatted
merrily with his many admirers
while his magical fingers
caressed the keyboard with
what he called: “the stuff they
like best” – a never-ending
medley of the great evergreens
from way back when.
And something about Bruce
that many people may not know
is that he possessed a collection
of vintage Cadillac motor cars
which were the pride and joy of
his life and which he personally
serviced and tuned up!
Bruce returned to East
London 15 years ago to live in a
cottage next to his son and
continued until very recently to
entertain local audiences and
being a highly respected
adjudicator for eisteddfods.
Few men can have left his
friends with more grace and few
can have left them with so many
happy memories.
So with incomparable Bruce
Gardiner at the piano keyboard
suffusing my lounge with lovely
old “down memory lane”
melodies including the
hauntingly beautiful and
appropriate evergreen, Ebb
Ti d e , I pen this tribute to a
much-loved Border musician.
On behalf of his legion of
admirers may I say: “Begone
now dear friend and may choirs
of angels sing thee to thy rest.
May your dear soul rest in
p e a c e .”
SUPPORTING WOMEN
COMFORT PACKS:
The East London
branch of the Union
of Jewish Women SA
(UJW) partnered with
Rotary Club Gately to
present 100 comfort
packs to
Masemanyane
Woman's Support
Centre, which will be
distributed by
Thuthuzela Care
C e n t re s
(TCC) in
Mdantsane,
Qonce and
Butterworth.
From left,
are UJW
member
Michelle
Rosenthal,
Rotary Club
Gately
member
Robbie
Muzzell,
TCC
c o o rd i n a t o r
Sibongile
Vutu and
Masemanyane
CEO Lesley
Foster
P i c t u re :
SUPPLIED
Let’s end a stressful year
with a ‘maca punch’
Maca is hardly known among
many, yet it is slowly being more
used in South Africa. When you
do see it, it is generally as a light
brown colour.
Maca is referred to as
‘Peruvian ginseng’ and this tells
us some interesting things. Maca
originates from a mountainous
area in Peru and it has effects
similar to ginseng.
This year has been stressful
and we need all the support we
can get, including the support
from ‘super foods’. Fortunately
maca is accessible locally in
powder form or in other
supplemental form from health
shops and pharmacies.
Maca has been touted as
improving libido, fertility,
memory, mental abilities, energy
and stamina. Stress tends to
decrease all of these aspects and
cause general imbalance in the
body. Maca is reputed for its
ability to balance the hormones
and to act as a useful adaptogen.
To help us face the new year
on a more balanced note, you
may find some use in maca with
its balancing effects.
Maca has some really well
known family members and these
FOOD HEALTH
Anastacia Sampson
include broccoli, cauliflower and
cabbage.
In Peru for many years, maca
has been utilized as a food and
medicine. Traditionally maca has
been used to boost warriors
before battle.
The root, which varies in
colour, is the main edible part.
Maca is now exported across the
world and enjoyed for its health
benefits, while research studies
are beginning to verify its claim to
fame as 'Peruvian ginseng'.
The flavour of maca is more
nutty and earthy, and perhaps not
appealing to many. However it is
easily added to breakfast
porridges, smoothies or any drink
or meal.
'Sporty' and active people
may find maca useful in
enhancing endurance and
performance.
Maca is nutrient dense and
best taken in small doses. It is a
power house in iron, copper and
vitamin B3. This is indeed a
'super food' and a great food to
end the year with and enter the
New Year with.
May you all you have a safe
and healthy New Year ahead.
BALANCED DIET:
The maca root can
have stress
relieving effects
Picture: VAHE
M A RT I R O S YA N /
C R E AT I V E
COMMONS