8
www.thevillagenews.co.za
FROM THE EDITOR
28 October 2020
New HPP sets example for the region
The new-look HPP should serve as an example to all communities in the Overstrand of what can be achieved with the establishment of a Special Rating Area (SRA). Several processes to establish SRAs in the region have been ongoing for several years and, unfortunately, the impact of Covid-19 has led to the establishment of SRAs in Onrus/ Vermont and Kleinmond being postponed for a year. It is expected that these SRAs will start functioning from 1 July 2021.
Because the needs of different communities vary so much, SRAs are the perfect vehicle to cater to the individual needs of an area. While these needs may differ from one area to another, the one service all communities need is public safety. There is no denying that crime has a detrimental impact on all of us and we must all do whatever we can to help eradicate the scourge from our shores.
The different SRA processes have elicited serious debate by those who either support or oppose them. In short, an SRA is the establishment of a non-profit company that delivers additional top-up services to those offered by the municipality. These include, amongst others, public safety, cleansing services, maintenance of infrastructure, and upgrading of the environment. The cost of these services is recouped through a special levy that is payable to the municipality along with your monthly rates and taxes.
Llandudno near Cape Town is the perfect example of a suburb that has been able to drastically reduce its
crime rate after the establishment of an SRA. While the most significant expenditure is extensive monitoring, detection and prevention initiatives, the whole area benefits from the additional security monitoring. In much the same way the old HPP has served Hermanus with pride over the past two decades, the new HPP will do the same. With the assistance of Fidelity ADT as its public safety service provider, residents and visitors can look forward to greater peace of mind, especially along our Cliff Path.
NEWS WhatsApp or SMS your stories and photos to 083 700 3319
had alerted them about the prospect of finding gold further up the coast.
De Waal Steyn
This is where the wires got somewhat crossed. Shaka would communicate with Alphonso in Fanagalo/ Afrikaans, then Alf would translate in Italian to Lenny da Vinci, who scribbled shorthand notes in Latin for some reason. Deciphering and back-translating confused the captain, who spoke only Portuguese.
PUBLISHING EDITOR T: 083 700 3319
Hedda Mittner
CONTENT EDITOR T: 083 645 3928
E: hedda@thevillagenews.co.za
Raphael da Silva ONLINE EDITOR T: 074 125 5854
E: raphael@thevillagenews.co.za
Elaine Davie
JOURNALIST T: 084 343 7500
E: elaine@thevillagenews.co.za Taylum Meyer PRODUCTION MANAGER, PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN T: 084 564 0779
E: taylum@thevillagenews.co.za
Other SRAs must take note of what is happening in Hermanus and work together with residents to bring about similar organisations to the benefit of us all. And yes, there is a levy to be paid, but nothing worthwhile is ever free. This is the good NEWS – Ed.
Marco Polo’s Travels: The Kruger Millions
THE VILLAGE
E: dewaal@thevillagenews.co.za
Along with the resumption of cleaning services, the area should hold on to its reputation as a sought-after destination during what is expected to be a busy summer season.
By Murray Stewart murray.stewart49@gmail.com
W
ith this being the last edition of the month, we continue with the highs and lows of Marco Polo’s journey to the Far East via South Africa. Last time, Captain Vasco Diaz of the Santa Flatulata had sent Marco and three other crew members ashore to erect a Portuguese flag on the beach, and generally explore Richard’s Bay (Marco Polo’s Travels: The Zulu Encounter, 30 September).
Eventually he understood that great treasures beckoned from a bay to the north. He just couldn’t grasp why they thought it important that some Scotsman called Lawrence O’Marks had wagon-loads of precious wood for sale. With the logs they’d loaded in Nice Nè, the Santa Flatulata was barely buoyant as it was.
As you can imagine they were mighty relieved that their encounter with the fearsome King Shaka had not ended in slaughter. This would have severely hampered Marco’s mission – to find Pa and Kubla Cohen near a place called Xanadu, far to the east.
Now, the Fanagalo/Afrikaans word for wood is hout – very close to goud (gold), and it took a while for Marco to convince his captain that the simple positioning of the tongue created the slight difference between hout and goud, although the difference in reward was anything but slight.
Clutching the sacred vuvuzela presented to them as a talisman by the king, they braved the crashing surf and circling sharks, and paddled back out to the Santa Flatulata to inform their captain that the king
Lured by the shiny option, our captain decided to change course. Instead of turning east towards the island owned by Madame Gaskar, he headed north to find this Lawrence O’Marks bloke.
Anticipating the thrill of replacing timber logs with gold bars, our captain and the entire crew got severely sloshed. But the decision to deviate course had Marco in two minds. He relished the thought of finding the wagon-loads of gold that a certain Mr Kruger had apparently mislaid, but he desperately wanted to find Pa in the land of chopsticks and silkworms. The next day, once the crew members had shed their hangovers, the Santa Flatulata set sail once again with a steady wind from her rear. It was a short hop to Delagoa Bay, and on arrival Diaz was thrilled to see a Portuguese flag flapping proudly on the jetty. So there must be some Portuguese speakers in the area who could help locate the missing treasure, he thought. Now, this Lawrence O’Marks fellow was obviously a big cheese in the little settlement that bore his name. He owned the trading post, the hostel, the stables and the pole-dancing saloon, so the captain gave the entire crew shore-leave to mingle and make discrete enquiries about you-know-what. Well, birds of a feather don’t fall far from the tree, and the entire crew headed straight for the pole-dancing saloon. All except Marco. Anxious to find this gold, he went searching
the forested hills surrounding the settlement, and after a few hours he stumbled upon the gold-laden ox wagons hidden in a donga. From then on things moved quickly. Crew members were yanked out of the saloon, and the unloading of logs and on-loading of gold bars happened at breakneck speed. A storm was brewing and our captain wanted to outrun it. Sadly, he didn’t. The Santa Flatulata was still inside the shallows of the bay when the storm hit her. Overladen with gold bars, waves crashed over her decks, and she began taking on water. Terrified – and with the vuvuzela clamped firmly between his teeth – Marco leapt overboard, and clinging desperately onto a jettisoned log, he watched in horror while the Santa Flatulata gurgled forlornly as she slowly sank beneath the swells. Fortunately, all was not lost. That afternoon, Somali pirates, happily collecting the jettisoned Stinkwood logs, rescued the exhausted chap. But would they be heading east towards the fabled Pleasure Dome? Who will retrieve those Kruger millions in the shallows of Delagoa Bay, and was that the end of the vuvuzela? Information is sketchy, but stay tuned...
Charé van der Walt MARKETING & SALES MANAGER T: 082 430 1974
E: chare@thevillagenews.co.za
HERMANUS: SEVEN-DAY WEATHER AND TIDE TABLE Wed | 28 Oct Thurs | 29 Oct
Fri | 30 Oct
Sat | 31 Oct
Sun | 1 Nov
Mon | 2 Nov
Tues | 3 Nov
13°/15° Clear
15°/21° Clear
16°/25° Clear
16°/25° Partly Cloudy
17°/18° Some Rain
Nickey Jackson
SALES REPRESENTATIVE & DESIGN T: 079 408 7722
E: nickey@thevillagenews.co.za
ADMIN & FINANCE
E: admin@thevillagenews.co.za
MEMBER OF THE Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA 11 208 audited weekly circulation
15°/17° Some Rain
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
01:35 07:34 13:45 20:00
14°/15° Partly Cloudy
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
02:04 08:03 14:12 20:26
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
02:32 08:30 14:38 20:53
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
Proudly Sponsored By
Talisman Tool Hire WEATHER: www.yr.no / TIDES: www.tide-forecast.com
02:59 08:58 15:05 21:19
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
03:26 09:25 15:32 21:46
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
03:53 09:53 15:59 22:13
HIGH LOW HIGH LOW
04:21 10:21 16:27 22:41
De Bos Dam 99.85% Last week 100.25%
Weekly Rainfall 0mm Last week 0mm
