NEIGHBOURLY NOTES
E-mail Rob Knowles at knowlesr@tisoblackstar.co.za or fax (046) 624-2293 or drop in at 29 Miles Street from 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday
AFTER all the excitement of the Universities Boat Race, the Kenton Rotary Fisherman’s Feast and the Kenton Rhino Run last weekend, this coming weekend is a little quiet on the entertainment front. However, building up to the weekend we have a few items of general interest including the screening of the film, Peterloo, by the Kowie Museum and the Lower Albany Historical Society as a fundraiser for the Kowie Museum. The show will take place at the Don Powis Hall at Settlers Park at 9.30am for 10am today (Thursday). Also today, the evening will be full of fun at the Port Alfred High School Hall when the pre-primary children put on their annual show. Saturday sees the Sports Shooting Club carrying out sport and hunting shooting. Then, on Sunday, it’s time for Music at the Mill, where Historic Bathurst puts on a concert at Bradshaw’s Mill featuring local musicians and singers. The show starts at 2pm.
For more details on these and other events in the area, see our Diarise This section, below.
THE steps leading from Stocks Avenue upward to Southwell Road has been a pet peeve of mine for a while, mainly because that is the way I walk every day. The amount of refuse scattered around, some in burst-open plastic bags and some loose along with the thick overgrown bush made up mostly of alien bushes and trees, was cleared away recently. Although the area now resembles a scene of devastation and needs to be tidied up, it is a far more pleasant walk then it used to be and is now completely exposed to pedestrians walking along the new pavement alongside the R72, making it a safer path to travel. Now, I’m not certain if the municipality did this or whether it was the residents but, either way, well done. I accept that, if this was the municipality’s responsibility they should not be thanked for simply doing their job (and, thanking people for doing the job they are employed and paid to do is a general South African habit). Yet, after so long, it is a good thing that someone eventually got the message that the state of the area was unacceptable and did something about it.
THE Sanral R72 Road Works Project is proceeding at pace at the moment, mainly due to the strict deadline given to the contractors to complete the task (end of October 2019). However, it is evident that there is still a lot of work to accomplish and, after several missed deadlines in the past, one wonders if there is enough time to complete as scheduled. Having said this, the pavements are looking good, and the new kerbing is welcome and should make the road look a lot neater. Still, it is difficult to establish what was going through the engineer’s mind when they broke up some of the road they had already laid in order to extend the pavement (a subject we covered a few weeks back). The problem is that trucks still park along the road but, having lost some part of the road to pavement, the truck drivers simply park on the pavement. The decision to install robots at the bottom of each hill begs the question whether trucks will be able to stop at them, specifically going downhill, often at speed. Furthermore, trucks will have no run-up to the hill to get out of town which may also cause problems. We really don’t need any more accidents in the area. And, apparently, street lights are to be installed all along the road so it could look like the middle of the day driving through town at night. While this is all well and good, just a thought; in the not too distant past, when the lights were proposed along the Nico Malan Bridge, it was said that the electricity costs would be too high to be borne by residents. LEDs were proposed that time and they use minimal electricity. So, who will pay the electricity bill for the new street lights?
CONGRATULATIONS and happy birthday greetings to everyone having a special day in the week ahead, especially to Su Reed, Glenda Jakins, Norman Whale, Van West, Dawn McQuillian, Sven Herselman, Alan Gunn, Di Menin, Leon Erasmus, Liezl van Zyl, Warren Bowdler, Rob le Roux, Sandra Wiblin, Aidan Sparrow, Ryan Axe, Tippin Crisp, Michael Armstrong, June Tapson, David Foulkes, Hendrik Smit, Priscilla Mike, Judie van Wyk, Jenny Dalgety, Judy Boland, Robert Atkinson, Douglas Meyer, David Painting, Tony Brown, Winston Bagley, Gavin Came, Isobel Meyer, Raymond Morgan, Tisha Marshall (turning 101 on September 22), Jack Elliott, Shirley Waters, Leonie Scheepers, Jane Bladen, Elene Daubermann, Jarred Moss, Robin Hyde, Bruce Frederichs, Christo Paul, Lucille Louw, John Haywood, Noeline le Roex, Pat Fischer.
THERE are many businesses and organisations celebrating an anniversary at this time of the year. Congratulations to all and we wish everyone all the very best for the future, especially The Kowie Striders, Kowie Key, Re/Max Kowie, IPC (Bathurst), Marko Polo, Coastal Blue Star.
THE blatant act of sabotage at the Saudi oil fields has thrown the world economies into turmoil and halted oil production there, leading to a world-wide shortage of oil and the inevitable consequence of higher oil prices. Since the attack last Friday (September 13) oil very nearly crossed the US$70 per barrel mark. The attack highlights the planet’s reliance on using fossilised carbon as a fuel (or to make plastics) and the vulnerability of supply. US President Donald Trump believes it was the Iranians, and they certainly have a reason to force a breaking of sanctions against their exportation of oil but, as yet, the perpetrators have not been officially identified. With last year’s in brackets to compare against, the Rand was trading at R14.69 to the Dollar (R14.66), R18.30 to the Pound (R19.32) and R16.22 to the Euro (R17.13). Gold was trading at $1,504.95 per fine ounce ($1,203.40), Platinum at $939.32 per ounce ($804.00) and Brent Crude Oil at $64.41 per barrel ($78.95).
SPECIAL thoughts and prayers are with all those folk who are not well, having or have already had tests, operations and treatments. “Sterkte” to Roy Potter, Andrew de Vries, Jenny Groenewald, Zelda Neethling, Marian Eaten, Martin Bekker, Brenda Shelton, Suzanne Wyllie, Malinda Coertze, Dave Young.
OUR sincere condolences to the family and friends of Fred Glisson who passed away on September 12. Also to friends and family of Dr Allan Edward Russell who passed away on September 13. May you, along with everyone else who has experienced loss recently, be at peace remembering the good times.
WEDDING anniversary greetings to everyone celebrating another year and may joy and contentment continue to be yours, especially to the following couples, Craig and Penny Robertson, Christopher and Jill Japp, Andrew and Tonia Walker, Godfrey and Kathy Elms, Sean and Jackie Elms, Ian and Haruyki Currie, Robey and Christy Pretorius, John and Janet Basson, Wim and Wilma Slieker. THOUGHT for the week: “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly”. BEST regards as always, The Team.