Category: News

Seven Plettenberg Bay based artists will open their studios to the public for one day in aid of charity on Sunday, April 27.  Visitors have been invited to view the process behind the creation of a diverse array of works in various artistic media. The studios are all located between Harkerville and the Crags. Abstract and figurative painting, ink drawings and paintings, whimsical ceramics and conceptual sculpture are some of the styles one can expect to see.

The Artists: Carol Nathan Levin and Charles Levin, Ruby Ovenstone, Donne Rundle, David Kantey, Robbie Leggat,and Myfanwy Balajadia-Bekker will be available all day to answer any questions regarding their work.

A live demonstration of a bronze pouring will take place at Robbie Leggat’s bronze foundry at 11:00 in Harkerville. This is the only bronze foundry in the area.

The public will have an opportunity to see the messiness of the creative process, to see how the artist comes to their conclusion. “We don’t see the mess in the finished product,” said Nathan Levin.  The artists’ work will be for sale at at a discounted rate as compared to gallery prices on the day. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Kids of Kurland Project (www.kidsofkurland.com)

Funds are always needed by this organisation to help to pay for additional teachers, a social worker and a special needs teacher at the Crags Primary School.

Tickets and maps can be purchased for R50 from Mungo Design at Old Nicks (off the N2) and The Shop (next to The Table Restaurant Plett’s Main Street). Visitors will be able to drive from studio to studio.

For further information, contact Ann Fermor on 082 452 8764.

-www.knysnaplettherald.com

The Wilderness Resort Hotel – one of the Garden Route’s oldest hotels – has reopened for business after a hiatus of nearly four years.

A company represented by Mossel Bay businessman and hotelier Albert Wiffen has bought the majority shareholding in the business, which began trading again on the 30th of March. The property was previously known as the Karos Wilderness Resort & Spa.

“The Wilderness Hotel has a grand tradition as a honeymoon destination and a family hotel, and it’s still got the old-fashioned charm that made it so popular for so many years,” said Mr. Wiffen.

“But it’s also a modern hotel with all the facilities you need – many of which were upgraded for the Japanese team, which used the hotel during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.”

The 158-bedroom property boasts a large restaurant, two swimming pools , a bowling green, a spa, two tennis courts, and a squash court – as well as a selection of banqueting halls and conference rooms (the largest of which can accommodate up to 300 delegates). The hotel is situated across the road from the historic, thatched Wilderness Anglican Church, which has a long history as a popular wedding venue.

Mr. Wiffen has taken on the role of CEO, while Leon de Kock has been appointed general manager, and Rudolf Kritzinger deputy-GM of the hotel.

“The Wilderness Hotel is situated almost in the very centre of the Garden Route – it’s about 45 minute’s drive to both Mossel Bay and Knysna, and a little less than an hour to Oudtshoorn in the Klein Karoo, so it’s perfectly placed for families who want to explore the area, and also for sports teams and businesspeople,” said Mr. Wiffin.

He said that the Southern Cape itself is the greatest attraction for the hotel.

“The Garden Route and Klein Karoo region is a Mecca for sport and adventures, and George – which is only about 10 minute’s drive from our front door – is one of the fastest growing cities in South Africa.

“The Wilderness is also situated on the western side of the Garden Route National Park – which stretches all the way to the Tsitsikamma – and it boasts some of the Park’s finest attractions, including some of its most popular short walks and trails.   “This makes it a must-see for a number of niche markets – like birders, for example.

“It would be difficult to find any village anywhere that offers the range of habitats that Wilderness does: with its beaches, wetlands, forests, grasslands and rivers, the bird list for the area contains at least 300 species, and you’re almost guaranteed some fantastic sightings of kingfishers, Knysna loeries, narina trogons, fish eagles, and many, many others.

“For mountain bikers, we’ve got the back roads in Wilderness, the Seven Passes Road from George to Knysna, and the fantastic trails just along the N2 at Knysna and Plett to explore – and there are many other interesting, scenic, and sometimes challenging routes in the area.

“And for golfers, of course, The Wilderness Hotel is central to more than a dozen of the country’s top courses – including Pinnacle Point in Mossel Bay, Oubaai and Fancourt in George, Simola and Pezula in Knysna, and Goose Valley in Plett.”

Mr. Wiffen said that the Wilderness Hotel is expected to appeal to a wide variety of guests.

“We plan to market it as an affordable but up-market destination, and as such we’re offering free accommodation to children under 10 years of age, and 50% discounts to children of 11- to 16-years old if they share with their parents. And this applies in most of our rooms – except the honeymoon suites, of course.”

The bedrooms are large and spacious: Standard rooms are fitted with twin single beds, Double rooms with king-size beds, and Double Xtra rooms with twin king-size beds. Each family room has four single beds.

“No doubt one of our biggest attractions will be our spa – which also opened this week, and which offers massages, manicures, pedicures, wraps, facials and a heated swimming pool,” said Mr. Wiffin.

“It’s about total well-being – and that’s quite a nice metaphor for The Wilderness Resort Hotel and the Garden Route and Klein Karoo as a whole.”

More information: www.thewildernesshotel.co.za Enquiries

The Wilderness Resort Hotel Leon de Kock 044 813 5020 Email: Media Enquiries: Interface by goji

mimi finestone mimi@gojipr.net 084 583 3144 Martin Hatchuel martin@barefootclients.co.za 084 951 0574

Plett Music Academy invites you to enjoy a spectacular evening of music with Dr Brad Liebl and Sylvia Schulman

Brad Liebl (summa cum laude from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) is an Associate Professor of Classical Voice and was Co-ordinator of that division at UCT from 1998 to 2003. In his 20+ years in South Africa, he has become well-known as an interpreter of operatic leading roles, Lieder and Oratorio.

In these capacities, he has graced the stages of Artscape (CAPAB), City Hall, the Baxter, Stellenbosch, Feather Market Square, Johannesburg Civic, Grahamstown, Bloemfontein, the Little Karoo and the Northwestern Province. In Germany he has sung operetta and Lieder, and in the USA he continues to guest as a principal performer in oratorio and opera. In 2003, Dr. Liebl received  a Distinguished Teacher Award from the University of Cape Town.(one of only four, university-wide for the year!)

Sylvia Schulman who received her secondary and tertiary education in Cape Town  spent 15 years in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and 15 years in the UK, mainly in Cambridge and Bedfordshire, during which she played all over the U.K. as soloist, accompanist and chamber music player, appearing at such events as the Cambridge Festival and the Harewood House Concert Series.

She gave concerts in London and broadcast for the BBC – she has also accompanied many international artists whilst overseas. In this country she appeared frequently with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra as soloist, gave solo, chamber music and broadcast  recitals with leading South African instrumentalists and singers, toured and worked extensively for CAPAB.

She has been living in Swellendam since November 2006 where she offers piano lessons, has been involved in Swellendam High School events including a Master Class, and has performed between 20 and 30 times in the area during this time.

 

 

Sunday 27th April 2014

A selection of Plett artists will open their private studios for a day, and visitors will be invited to enjoy a variety of specialized art media. The exhibition will take place across Plett and the Crags as visitors travel between the permanent studios of each artist. Expect to see abstract and figurative painting, ink drawings and paintings, whimsical ceramics and conceptual sculpture. South Africa’s well known sculptor, Robbie Legget, will give a live demonstration of a bronze pouring at his bronze foundry at 11am in Harkerville. This is a unique opportunity as there are few bronze foundries in the country.

In addition, Plett’s well-known artist and teacher, Muffin Balajadia Bekker, will be hosting local landscape paintings by her school studio artists. The selection of artists has been chosen to display a diversity of artistic media. The artists will be available to answer any questions regarding their work. The work will be on sale at a discounted rate as compared to gallery prices.

A portion of the proceeds of the art sales, as well as all the proceeds of the ticket sales, will benefit the Kids of Kurland Project.

This will help to pay for additional teachers, a social worker and a special needs teacher at the Crags Primary School.

Tickets and maps are available for R50 from Mungo Design at Old Nicks (off the N2) and The Shop (next to The Table Restaurant – Plett Main Street). For further information, contact Ann Fermor on 0824528764.

 

GOLF DAY

The Born in Africa and Masizame golf day was a huge success, with over 90 participants, on a beautifully sunny day in Plettenberg Bay! Thank you to everyone who took part and made it such an enjoyable event, with lots of laughs and many great prizes awarded. Our sincere appreciation goes out to Peter Adams for organizing the event, as well as to Toralf Nordbotten, Remi de Backer and Brenda Wall for their help in making the event a such a lovely success. Thank you to the following sponsors of prizes: Alan & Faith Tubbs, Bramon Wines, Enrico’s, Face to Face beauty, Golf 4 Balls, Goose Valley Club House, Goose Valley ProShop, Goose Valley Restaurant, Kingswood, Le Fournil, Le Med, Metamorphis, Personal Trust, Pezula, PNA, Robberg Seafood (Ernie & Janice Adams), Simola Golf Club, St. Francis Links, The Peppermill, Val & Brian King, Wimpy. And to our hole sponsors: Chas Everitt, Leroys garden services, I-build, Sanlam private investment, Plett medicine depot, Old Nicks.

SWIMMING DAY

The Born in Africa Learn to Swim Program has come to a close for 33 Wittedrift Primary students, each having received 12 lessons. Over the years, we have been able to teach more than 650 children to swim, starting with the basics of holding your breath under water and floating, to water safety and swimming strokes. This year lessons took place at Adventure Land and the learners absolutely loved every moment they could spend in the water. The program ended with a celebratory visit to the beach, where they were given a tour of the Sea Rescue base and operations, listened to a short talk and demonstration by local lifeguards and finally enjoyed the sand and sea.

Helping Hand celebrates national social worker’s day National social worker’s day in South Africa will be celebrated on 21 February. Once again, it puts the spotlight on the need for, as well as the acute shortage of, social workers in South Africa.

Solidarity Helping Hand is an organisation aiming to alleviate, prevent and help people to break free from poverty. In this process, the role of social services is considered to be invaluable.

Helping Hand holds the view that strong community networks are essential to pursue these goals. In any community where a registered welfare organisation renders services, the social worker is the main source of information to point out the real need in the community. Potential donors interested in making a contribution to assist in preventing, alleviating and breaking free from poverty will be able to address the real need by contacting the social worker in a community.

Since 2003, social work is considered to be a scarce skill in this country.  The new Children’s Act (No. 38 of 2005) came into effect in 2010. For this Act to perform optimally, 60 000 social workers are needed. At the moment, there are about 16 000 registered social workers in South Africa of which only about 12 000 actually work in the profession. These statistics emphasise the challenges faced by this profession.

Yet, despite enormous challenges, there are still social workers who consider social work to be a calling about which they are passionate and in which they find fulfilment. Marieta Kemp, director of the Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie (SAVF), is hopeful about the continued existence of this profession. According to her, social work is the proof that the impossible can sometimes be achieved. In this profession, success is measured in small building blocks.

If a social worker manages to improve the functioning of just one child or one family in his or her career, success has been achieved. Therefore, it is important to realise that a different measuring instrument is used for this profession. A social worker must be able to recognise and use small, positive building blocks in extremely chaotic circumstances.

A social worker who, despite facing huge challenges, still practices this profession is a person with exceptional qualities. This person would have the ability to convert relationships, usually born out of conflict, into positive alliances working together.

According to Marieta Kemp, the fulfilment associated with social work is immeasurable. In this profession, the social worker has the opportunity to apply all his/her talents and interests to maximum effect. In an office occupied by social workers, an atmosphere of compassion and camaraderie prevail that is found in few other professions.

Over the years, the occupation of a social worker has developed into an actual professional occupation. Social workers receive intensive training over a period of four years and are required to be registered with the South African Council for Social Service Professions if they are employed as social workers. The profession is subject to ethical codes that the social worker has to comply with.

In a country like South Africa where the need is increasing, it has become essential to expand the social work profession. Helping Hand wants to encourage prospective students with a passion for people to obtain a qualification in this exceptional occupation. Isabel Faurie Social worker, Helping Hand Isabel@helpendehand.co.za 012 644 4390

By late last year the municipality, which was bankrupted by the ANC, was no longer insolvent

BITOU TURNAROUND AN EXAMPLE OF “BETTER TOGETHER” DA GOVERNMENT

On Friday 31st January 2014, the DA Western Cape Provincial Parliament caucus visited the Bitou Municipality as part of the DA’s project Masisebenze (Let us work).

Fellow Cabinet members Ivan Meyer, Theuns Botha, Albert Fritz, Bonginkosi Madikizela and Dan Plato were accompanied by members of the Provincial Parliament.

The visit was conducted to review the investment & progress made by Provincial / local Government since the DA coalition took over in May 2011 and to launch our 2014 election campaign.

The opportunity was also used to consult with community leaders from the economic and social development clusters and to discuss sustainable, job based economic growth prospects.

The DA inherited a bankrupt municipality with a legacy of corruption and cadre deployment. By implementing strictfinancial management, the DA has brought the municipality back from a downward spiral and achieved an unqualified audit for 2013. By late last year the Municipality was no longer insolvent. The Municipality has even been able to give bursaries to 43 disadvantaged students who could not afford to study or were in need of financial assistance to complete their studies.

Water – The Municipality has maintained a successful Blue Drop status, indicating that it has a clean, reliable water supply and sound management. In addition the Municipality has again won the Wilson Award by the Water Institute of SA for the quality of our sewerage effluent in 2013. Plans have been implemented to increase theelectricity supply to cater for the needs of the second fastest growing town in South Africa. Four successful housing projects have been implemented in KwaNokuthula, Kurland, Kranshoek & Bossiesgif/Qolweni. Plans have been implemented for recycling and a new solid waste transfer station in Kwanokuthula.

Apart from the turn-around of the administration, the Western Cape government has assisted the residents in improving their quality of life and access to services. This is no small task due to the fact that the Bitou Municipality serves as transit point into the Western Cape. People are continuously moving in and out of the municipality making budgeting and planning for service delivery a challenge.

The DA-led government has made every effort to ensure the availability of excellent services. Health – a new dayhospital was built in KwaNokuthula that delivers quality health services to our residents including a TB clinic and a dentistry. The clinic in New Horizons is also currently being upgraded. In Education – Formosa Primary has been rebuilt and two further schools will be delivered in the next two years in Kranshoek & Kwanokuthula. Social services have been enhanced and roads upgraded. The Province will continue to invest more than R400m in Bitou over the medium term expenditure framework – over the next three financial years.

The DA visit to the area concluded with a very successful constituency meeting on Friday evening which was very well attended. The provincial leadership took the opportunity to inform the community of the successes at local and provincial level and to encourage people to ensure they, their family and friends are registered during the final registration weekend on the 8 / 9 February 2014.

Bitou Municipality is one of the best examples of how the DA has turned around a corrupt ANC regime and is creating opportunity and another success story in local government.

This municipality is proof that where the DA governs, it governs with the aim to create opportunity as one nation with one future.•

www.thegremlin.co.za