Makhanda festival city
The city is renowned for its educational institutions, for being the national seat of the judiciary and for its cultural events
FASTER WITH OPTIC FIBRE
By now, many residents will have noticed newly arrived vehicles driving around town and parked here and there, much the same when Smhart Security arrived in town last year.
These latest vehicles belong to Herotel IGEN and Frogfoot, two companies that have just begun digging trenches across Makhanda (Grahamstown) for the installation of optic fibre for faster, reliable and more affordable Internet.
They may well be in your neighbourhood soon.
HANDCUFFS WAITED FOR HIM
During the early hours of last Thursday morning the Hi-Tec Security control room in New Street received an “alarm triggered” signal from a business in nearby Hill Street. An armed response team was dispatched to investigate, and the officers found that a burglar had forcibly gained entry to the premises via a side gate.
They spotted him, busy gathering his loot. When the intruder saw the officers he discarded everything, including his tools, and fled.
Meanwhile, the armed response officers radioed for backup and chased the suspect, who had clearly not been aware that the Hi-Tec offices were in New Street, around the corner.
The unsuspecting man turned the corner and ran right into the arms of waiting Hi-Tec members and their handcuffs, all the time chased by the original group of armed response officers. He was handed over to the SA Police Service.
Well done, Hi-Tec!
And still on the subject of “well done”, Hi-Tec personnel were out and about in the Park Road, Kingswood circle and Ayliff Street areas last Friday repairing potholes. Well done again, Hi-Tec Security.
IT WAS HOT, VERY HOT
Makhandans were subjected to extreme heat last Saturday, with temperatures reaching, and just exceeding in some cases, 40°C
no cool sea breezes up here in the hills! Then, the very next day it was on the cool and rainy side, with temperatures around the 19°C degrees mark. Talk about hot and cold!
RETURNING PUPILS
Last week the department of basic education announced a change of date for returning school pupils for the 2021 school year. Public school pupils were due to return on January 27, but because of increasing Covid-19 cases and deaths, the date has been adjusted to February 15. According to the latest basic education government gazette published last Friday, private schools can open a fortnight earlier than public schools.
SAYING GOODBYE
Dean Andrew Hunter and the Rev Claire Hunter of the Cathedral of St Michael and St George in Makhanda are moving to Cape Town. Parishioners and friends will drive down High Street on Sunday morning, January 31 (from 11am), pausing in front of St George’s Chambers to say a brief goodbye to the family.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Grahamstown, Ebenezer Ntlali, was the celebrant and preacher at a special diocesan Eucharist service on Sunday to give thanks for the ministry in the Hunters’ diocese and to bid them farewell. Due to level 3 lockdown regulations the service was streamed live from the Cory Room.
RUGBY ON RADIO IN RUGBY
Last Saturday’s Currie Cup semifinal between Western Province and the Sharks (hard luck, WP!) at the Newlands ground in Cape Town was the last professional rugby match to be played there. The Newlands complex is due to be demolished this year to make way for residential and retail properties.
The semi at Newlands reminded me of one Saturday afternoon in my mid-teenage years in Cape Town in the early 1960s when I had been tinkering on my cycle and popped along to the Caltex filling station at the corner of Hussar Street and Koeberg Road in the nearby suburb of Rugby, probably to “borrow” some oil and have the tyres inflated.
Well, the radio in the petrol pump attendants’ office was blaring away, belting forth live commentary of a rugby Test between the Springboks and another country at Newlands, less than 10km away as the crow flies from the suburb of Rugby. Wonder if that filling station is still there?
No, I’ve never actually been inside the Newlands stadium as such, but went to school in nearby Dean Street for two years, and passed very close to the one grandstand on Saturday afternoons in trains on my way to play soccer at various southern suburbs venues in Simonstown, Fish Hoek, Wynberg and others.
LEAVING
Fort England Hospital, on the southern edge of Makhanda, suffered a setback in recent weeks with the resignation of its last two psychiatrists, it has been reported. They will leave the psychiatric hospital at the end of February.
GARDMED STILL HERE
On social media posts last week, Gardmed Ambulance Service said it had more than 25 years’ experience, with its headquarters in Port Elizabeth and branches in Port Alfred, Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, Mthatha, Aliwal North and Uitenhage.
I immediately noted that Makhanda was not among those listed, and contacted MD Dave Gardner. He responded by saying it was an unfortunate slip-up and assured Makhandans that Gardmed “definitely still has the branch fully-operational” in the city.
Gardmed’s Makhanda contact number is 073-0656660.
PESKY LITTLE BLIGHTERS
For the past few months, Makhandans have had to put up with water supply problems, pothole problems, loadshedding problems and roaming cattle and donkey problems.
Now, to add to all our existing problems, we have an invasion of “millions” of mosquitoes with their stings leaving one itching and scratching for ages. I’m pretty sure there’s been a mad rush at supermarkets and chemists to buy anti-mosquito sprays, sticks and other forms of repellent.
SMUTS FOR PAKISTAN
Old Graemian Jon-Jon Smuts, whose parents Neil and Di Smuts still live in Makhanda, has been included in the Proteas squad to take on Pakistan, in Pakistan, in the upcoming T20 cricket series. The first of three matches is on February 11, followed in quick succession by matches on February 13 and 14.
LOOKING GRUBBY
George Street is one of four main entrances into Makhanda, and one would at least expect it to be in good nick and aesthetically pleasing, seeing it can be very busy at times. Besides the usual potholes, the verges are grossly overgrown and desperately in need of mowing.
CURRY ON NEW
The House of Curry at 45 New Street is a busy little establishment, well-known locally for its fine curries, curry powders, pies, samosas and other delights. It’s housed in one of those historic homes in New Street, and is instantly recognisable by the large wagon wheel affixed to its street-facing wall. Incidentally, the owner of the property back in the 1960s was MCB McLeod.
POTHOLES AND BENT SIGN
Anglo-African Street in the CBD is a handy little one-way thoroughfare leading from High Street to New Street. Towards the lower end of the street there are a few big, nasty potholes that require urgent attention from the municipality.
Then, further up and at its corner with High Street, there’s a street sign on the western side that is badly bent, and really poses a threat to the heads of pedestrians, and they do not necessarily have to be tall pedestrians.
Please attend to that, too, before you are on the receiving end of a large claim.
LONG AND TOUGH ROAD
The story titled “The Long Road” in last week’s column dealing with the Settlers Marathon between the then Grahamstown and Port Alfred led to a reader responding as follows:
“Your comments on the Settlers Marathon prompted a thought from my school days at Graeme College in the 1970s when a number of “Big Walks” were arranged as fundraisers for the school. The route was Grahamstown to Port Alfred, and covered a distance of 60km.
“I completed two of the events and received the commemorative tie, especially designed and awarded to finishers, on each occasion. I remember the agony that I was in on the latter parts of the course, as well as the many days it took to recover after the event.”
In Settlers Marathon terms it was referred to as the “down” run, but the route is anything but down all the way to Port Alfred. A belated “very well done” to all the boys who not only finished the Graeme walks, but who also took part but did not make it to the end!
A HILL NAMED STONE
The official list of Makhanda street names and their origins was compiled back in the 1960s by a former mayor of the city, Beatrice Rennie.
The list contains not only street names, but also names of squares, pedestrian lanes, fields and forts.
Stones Hill is a community – some call it a suburb – situated about 3km from the southern edge of Makhanda. Here’s the story of how its name came about, according to the list.
It was originally situated on the farm Mount Pleasant owned by an 1820 Settler named Mr Fuller, whose daughter married James Stone (admitted as an attorney in 1841) who was not an 1820 Settler nor a descendant. At first, Stones Hill was called Fuller’s Hill, but later it was named after James Stone.
While on the subject of hills, Hillsview Road on the southern side of Makhanda did not get its name from its good view of Sugarloaf Hill on the other side of town, as some people may think. In fact, its name comes from Mr CR Hills, a builder who constructed and owned the majority of the houses in this street, where Grahamstown’s first hospital was located.
Interesting stuff, hey?
SETTLERS MEMORIES
A Port Elizabeth resident and former Grahamstonian read “The Long Road” segment on the Settlers Marathon in last week’s column with great interest.
He said he still has a copy of the entry form for the 1986 “down” run, the year he ran his first Settlers. The entry form gave the entry fee as R6 and late entries R10, while T-shirts were given to the first 250 finishers. Entrants were also treated to a free supper on the Friday evening prior to the race.
The PE man remembers quite clearly winning a pair of running shoes in the lucky-draw at the prize giving in Port Alfred.
THE PET PLACE
A reminder to local residents that the SPCA Charity Shop at 31 High Street (next door to Suzi Q toy shop and across Cawood Street from the former Grand Hotel), is open and fully stocked, thanks to generous donations of all sorts of goods and items.
Talking of the Grand Hotel, who remembers Leon Reich?
HOT AND COLD
On page 119 of the Grahamstown 1966 Directory is an advertisement for the Grand Hotel in lower High Street, run under the personal supervision of Mrs S Keey at the time.
I suppose I shouldn’t have, but I chuckled when I read this line in the advert: “Hot and cold running water in all rooms.”
These days guests not only insist on modern, fully-tiled bathrooms with all the amenities, including hot and cold running water, when booking into hotels, but they also expect Wi-Fi connection, television sets with DStv availability, and room service at all hours!