UP AND OVER THE MOUNTAIN

It will be an early start for those athletes travelling from Gqeberha, Kariega, Port Alfred and other centres for the 2022 GBS Mutual Bank Mountain Drive halfmarathon in and around Makhanda on Saturday, September 17 (7am).

The 21,1km event gets underway at Graeme College’s Somerset field and follows a clockwise route through town towards Grey dam, continuing up and over Mountain Drive, through the industrial area and old golf course, past the military base and through the suburb of Oatlands North to finish back at Graeme.

The original route of this EP Athletics participation league race was in an anticlockwise direction, starting and finishing at the Albany Sports Club.

These days the organisation is in the hands of the Rotary Club of Grahamstown Sunset with assistance from Albany Runners, and the field will be sent on its way by a huge blast from the Lee & Enfield swivel gun of local battle reenactment specialist Basil Mills.

FUN IN THE MORNING SUN

A ‘proper’ spring day greeted participants at last Saturday’s parkrun in Makana botanical gardens, resulting in all of 113 runners and walkers gleefully taking to the roads and pathways of the hillside venue. Above them, action of a different kind was unfolding in the Monument at the Scifest Africa science and technology festival. On the day, both Judy Hockly and Nadia Czeredrecki-Schmidt reached their 50th parkrun, while five participants achieved personal best times (PBs). They are Samuel Hockly, Matthew Jarvis, Daniel Azianye, Colleen Duffy and Uzukhanye Ntantiso.

Parkruns are held at 8am each Saturday from the entrance to the botanical gardens in Lucas Avenue.

RIDING CLUB HOSTS SHOW

Show jumping, dressage, showing and equitation are on the programme for the Grahamstown Riding Club’s Settlers Show from September 23 to 25. Additional fun events include a grooms’ soccer match, power jump and fancy dress competition.

CARNIVAL AT AMAZWI

Music, dance, readings and a variety of stalls will be on the programme for the Amazwi heritage carnival at 25A Worcester Street from 9am on Saturday, September 24.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

A social media post by local school PJ Olivier last week had a humorous touch to it. It said that its Grade 10 and 11 accounting pupils visited the Volkswagen plant in Kariega (Uitenhage), forming part of their “cost accounting of manufacturing companies” classes. They ended the day with a “practical application” of cash budgets at McDonalds!

CRAWLING TO THE ORGANS

The third in the ‘organ crawl’ series entailing visits to local church organs takes place on Saturday, September 17 (2pm) when interested persons will visit the Rhodes University Chapel and the St Andrew’s College Chapel. There is no entrance fee, but donations will be welcome.

GOOD PLACING FOR CHOIR

The combined Diocesan School for Girls/St Andrew’s College chamber choir was awarded best non-Afrikaans song and placed second overall in the finals of the “Sing in Harmonie” competition in Cape Town on September 4.

PINK FOAM FOR CAR WASH

Local businessman Pieter Burger is at it again, raising funds for charity when his business We Wash It holds a charity vehicle wash day on Saturday, September 24 at its premises at 23 African Street. Supervising matters on the day will be the mother and daughter team of Tamara and Terrylynn Macay.

Previous charity wash days have proved very popular, with Burger and his staff washing cars, bakkies and SUVs.

The wash day on September 24 will be “Going Pink for Cancer Awareness”. Spot prizes will be handed out.

STUDENTS CONVERGE ON THE KOWIE

Boat racing and musical entertainment are the highlights of the Varsity Boat Race Festival on and around the Kowie River at Port Alfred from September 16 to 18. Competing for rowing honours will be crews from Rhodes University, Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town, University of Johannesburg and Pretoria University.

A FIRST FOR SALEM

Many a game of cricket and tournament have been held at Salem Sports Club over the years, but a first for the friendly rural village will be the staging of the Salem 8s cricket tourney on Saturday, September 24.

Besides the on-field action there will be a food stall, jumping castle, mini-train and cash bar. Competing teams include Salem 1 and 2, Southwell, Sidbury, Manley’Flats, Cuylerville, Willows and Port Alfred s Station Hill.

CLUB LEADERS

Jannie Coltman is the new president of Willows Cricket Club for 2022/23, and Xanephan May vice-president, following the election of office-bearers last week. The other committee members are: Chesley Daniels (secretary/public relations officer), Seviano Jasson (treasurer), Melville Daniels (additional member) and Antonio May (additional member).

Club captain is Seviano Jasson, vicecaptain is Tando Ngcete and manager Tony May.

BURGERS RAISE FUNDS

The Graeme College 1st cricket Xl holds a fund-raising burger evening from 5.30pm on Friday, September 23 at the Graemian Centre. A burger and chips will cost R70.

MONUMENTAL SYMPHONY

The Music Society of Makhanda presents the Nelson Mandela University symphony orchestra in collaboration with the Rhodes University orchestra at a symphony concert in the Monument on Sunday, September 25 (2.30pm).The orchestra will perform works by Mozart, Beethoven, Elgar, Mendelssohn and others.

UNDERPASS HAS A NAME

Thousands of people pass underneath the railway bridge in Milner Street each week, either on their way into town or headed for Settlers Hospital or the suburbs of Somerset Heights and Cradock Heights. Not many will be aware that the structure is named Wessel Jenner Underpass/Duikweg, named after former Mayor of Grahamstown (1971 to 1973), Wessel Johannes Jenner. He operated Belmont Dairy at 14 Belmont Road back in the 1960s and 1970s.

FOR TRAINING CAMP

Jaco Bosman of PJ Olivier Primary School has been selected to the Eastern Province Elephants U12 rugby squad to take part in a training camp and tournament in Riversdale.

ST ANDREW’S WINS SEVENS

The St Andrew’s College 7s rugby team won the First Choice Sevens rugby tournament hosted by Nico Malan High School in Humansdorp at the weekend. The Makhanda team defeated Paarl Boys’ High School 26-12 in the final.

JACOBS FOR GLENWOOD

Former Graeme College teacher and current Queen’s College senior deputy headmaster, Pierre Jacobs, has been appointed headmaster of Glenwood High School in Durban as from the commencement of the 2022 fourth term.

SHOE MERCHANT AND CHEMIST

Several streets in Makhanda are named after businessmen who lived in the then Grahamstown way back in the 1800s. Shepperson Lane was named after Ben Matthew Shepperson who was a merchant in the 1850s and 1860s, while Fletcher Street was named after William Fletcher, confectioner in High Street in the 1840s.

Daniel Knight, a shoe merchant in the early 1900s, according to the official listing of local streets, gave his name to Knight Street. Then there’s Coles Lane in the CBD, named after Francis H Cole, who was chemist and postmaster in the former Dold & Stone Attorneys building in the 1860s.