Neighbourly Notes – 13 April 2017

Date:

STANDING TOGETHER: Residents of Kenton and Ekuphumleni gathered on the R72 in solidarity with the nationwide #ZumaMustFall protest last Friday. Picture: LOUISE CARTER

TONIGHT is the night when Jeanne “Flame” Harris-Metter gives her final performance in South Africa. Her show, The Last Cabaret, will be held at the Don Powis Hall in Settler’s Park and begins at 7pm. Flame will be travelling back home to Las Vegas in June and is looking forward to getting involved in costume design and wardrobe, choreography, comedy and producing – things she has previously been involved with. We wish her the best of luck in her new ventures and want her to know that we will miss her.

IT’S time for the event of the year, taking place from tomorrow through to Sunday – the Royal St Andrews Easter Festival presented by Amazing Events. Read the front page story for details, as well as our web and Facebook pages for more information on the events and their start and end times. This should be a great boost to the town, attracting many visitors and stimulating local businesses. Well done to the Royal St Andrews and Amazing Events for stimulating our local economy.

DON’T forget the craft market at West Beach tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, or the Easter Egg Hunt at Red Leaf Nursery on Saturday morning. There is also the Bushman’s River Mouth craft market and car boot sale from 8am to 2pm, as well as the SPCA crafter’s market at the Port Alfred library lawns from 8am to midday. And, for those living in Boknes, there is the “Rommelverkoping” at the Daniel Scheepers Hall.

THE National Day of Action saw political parties united against the presidency of Jacob Zuma, and demanding he step down as president. The action was planned following Zuma’s “midnight cabinet reshuffle” that saw the rand plunge on the international currency markets. The protest was attended by thousands in major cities but the national bus drivers’ strike may have kept many intending to join the protest, away from the action.

AS a result of last week’s protest, Zuma, who was addressing a crowd at the memorial service for fallen SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani on Monday, said that people must refrain from making political statements at funerals and memorial services. Does anyone else see the irony of the president’s statement? He also said that calls for his resignation were proof of racism. How he concluded that when people of all races and political opinions, many within his own party, have called for him to step down is a mystery still unsolved. Perhaps the president should look at the news stories once in a while (not necessarily SABC news, of course).

HAPPY birthday greetings and all good wishes to everyone enjoying a birthday in the week ahead, especially Debbie Ford, Karen Wilson, Jon Houzet, Kian Swanepoel, Arthur Beresford, Odette Gailey, Des Cooper, Eleanor Taai, Lesley Stevenson, Cecile Welgemoed, Barry Rudman, Nicholas McCreath, Jaida Ball, Leanne Swart, Gerhild Scholz, Julia Jamieson, Bruce Findlay, Alexandra Albers, Colwyn Holshausen, Laela Cannon, Di Gruneberg, Sonai Owsley, Chene Vosloo, Emma Alberts, Kyra Colyvas, Jillian Tyson, Jaylon Alexander, Clair Meiring, Rory Gardner, Steven Minaar, Christo Kok, Inke Sap, Angelique Timm, Herman Purdon, Bernard du Plessis, Merle Barnard, Lesley Futter, Gillian Rautenbach, Slade Proctor, Buddy Brownlee, Norman Abbott, Brenda Carthew, Peggy Mager, Erin Brits, Etienne Mouton, Kirstie Ganter, Caitlin Bessinger, Joyce Webb, Sherine du Preez, Neil Chemaly, Tracy Mills Willemse, Sue Bradfield, Maartje Verhaak, Dina Pusilewicz, Sonia Nginase, Fanie Behrens, Phillip Swanepoel, Kelly van der Merwe, Terry Lansdell.

AND a special birthday wish to Sally-Anne Odendaal who celebrates her half century this week. May you have many more.

ALSO, it’s probably a good time to wish President Zuma a belated happy 75 – and twenty sixteenth, four-and-a-half –birthday for yesterday.

FURTHER success and congratulations to the following businesses celebrating another anniversary and may these lead to many more, especially Independent Property Consultants (Van der Riet Street), LP Gaz (Bathurst Street), Wiggles and Wags (Beavers Complex), Petticoat Lane (at their new premises in Pascoe Crescent) and the Presbyterian Church which is celebrating its 29th anniversary in Port Alfred.

WE all know that the latest cabinet reshuffle has had a dramatic effect on our local currency, but the repercussions are far greater than the rand in your pocket being worth less overseas. Firstly, any imports to the country will now cost more, and this includes many of our basic food items (we are currently having to import maize due to the drought we experienced last year and, to some degree, are still experiencing), as well as oil imports which affect transporting goods around the country. However, the downgrade by ratings agencies Standard and Poor’s, followed by Fitch and Moody’s, will have long-lasting consequences for our economies. Many multinational companies are ordered by their boards to withdraw from countries with a negative rating, so we will have to wait and see what will happen in the next few months. Whatever happens, rating downgrades are absolutely not a good thing and will hurt the poorest of our people in the short-, medium- and long-term. With last year’s figures in brackets to compare a t the time of going to press, the rand was trading at R13.75 to the Dollar (R14.72), R17.18 to the pound (R20.97) and R14.57 to the Euro (R16.75). Gold is $1273.78 per fine ounce ($1 259.64) with platinum at $970.90 per ounce ($969.60). Brent crude oil is trading at $53.62 per barrel ($43.17).

SPECIAL thoughts and prayers are with all those folk who are not well, who are having or have already had tests, operations and treatments. “Sterkte” to Roy Potter, Andrew de Vries, June Hart, Linda Hulley, Dot Fetherstonhaugh, Ben Kember, Myrna Keet, Barbara Tee, Brenda Shelton.

IT was sad to hear of the death of Ontlametse Phalatse who passed away on Tuesday night at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, outside Pretoria. The 18-year-old was one of two South African girls living with a rare genetic disorder. Her doctors predicted that she would only survive until her 14th birthday.

WEDDING anniversary congratulations and good wishes for many more great years ahead to all couples, especially Colin and Louise Wiggett, Robert and Marjorie Sparks, Peter and Doffie van der Byl, David and Adele Steck, Hendrik and Margarite Smit, Stuart and Shannon Hawkes, Helgard and Erica Janse van Rensburg, Colin and Sandy Maclachlan, Stephan and Angela Drennan, John and Lodene Pohl, Thomas and Bonny Blaine and Hettie and Chris Fourie.

THOUGHT for the week: “Happiness is having dreams; success is making those dreams come true”.

BEST regards as always,
The Team

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