Right in the Old Village- House for sale or to rent

Eat beskuit on the deck, grow spinach in the garden, jump into your own
well...

Get the full and riveting story right here:
http://www.rentalscapetown.com/blog/?p=90

--
Greg Wood
rentalscapetown.com
+27834570487

August at Nurturing Fibres Natural Craft Studio- Ou Pastorie

Come along for a day of spinning and knitting at the studio.

 

A perfect opportunity to ask me questions -if you have any- about the Spaghetti Aran Beret pattern and to cast on the project, or to relax with friends drink coffee and continue with your project on your needles.

 

As always, spinning wheels are welcome.

 

A humble but wholesome menu of homemade chicken pie, Kombuis Crunchies, Coffee, tea, homemade ginger beer and homemade lemonade, erm..... homemande beer and organic wine will be on offer.

All organic of course.

 

We will be open from 10h30 to 16h30.

 

Please note: The studio is closed on Sundays and Mondays

 

I look forward to seeing you again.

 

Carle, dehningc@gmail.com

(Drive past the Philadelphia town turn off along R304 when travelling towards Stellenbosch/Durbanville away from the N7, for about 300m. See the Ou Pastorie/Nurturing Fibres sign board on your left. Follow the driveway down for a couple of hundred metres, keeping to the left.)

The Nurturing Fibres Studio opens on Saturday 7th August- Be there.

Hi everyone,

 

We are excited to invite you to join us for the opening of our Farm Fibre studio on the 7th August. We will be officially opening at 10h30 and will be celebrating for the duration of the day.

 

We will be serving tea, coffee, and other lovely goodies, so come on over!

 

How to find us.

Directions from the N1, traveling from Cape Town

From the N1 turn onto the N7.

Pass Morningstar turn off

Pass the Melkbos turn off

Pass the Engen Garage THEN

after 2km turn right to Philaldelphia this is the R304

Travel  for another 2km through the town of Philadelphia -dont blink! you will miss it!

First farm on the left after the town is our farm.

 

 

The trading hours for the studio will be 10h30-17h00, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

 

See you then!

 

Carle

De Malle Meul- Cooking Classes and Concert Schedule

Kontakbesonderhede : 021-972-1097 of 072 668 7901 of info@demallemeul.co.za

 

Vertonings

 

5 Augustus - STER (regie Stef Bos)

9 Augustus - Amanda Strydom

22 September - Afri-Frans

15 Oktober - Koos Kombuis

 

Kookklasse saam met Madelein Roets en Johane van Schalkwyk (van TUIS)

14 Augustus - Pasta, gnocchi en risotto

18 September - Bykosse is nie 'n bysaak

16 Oktober - Hoe gemaak met hoender?

20 November - Maak jou vriendin groen van jaloesie 

R 480.00 per persoon per sessie (sluit in: verrassingspakkie, notas en 'n voorskoot)

Valiant Swart cruises into town on Thursday: Blaas jou Vuvuzela

I know its short notice and it has been advertised around Philadelphia for a couple of weeks now but Swart will be playing at De Malle Meul on Thursday 24 June. That's tomorrow: soup, bread and sherry before the show at 19:00. R150 per head- I gather it will be a one man one guitar event. And to put you into an exuberant pre-concert state here's the Radio Kalahari Orkes. Similarities to Friday night in Philadelphia...

Dirty laundry: A rapid response from Philadelphia Police

Last week our 10 year old Defy Automaid washing machine broke down. The Defy service technicians came around to fix it but we weren't in so had to hide a key for them to get access (no washing machine calls for drastic measures). Whilst they were letting themselves in the Philadelphia SAPS patrol spotted them, stopped to investigate and made sure everything was in order at our house.

Thanks for your vigilance and taking the time to stop and check out the situation: Its good to know that you can rely on you know who... and our Philadelphia Village police.

Out on an oss

At the end of a good warm day, 37 or so C degrees there's nothing better than a trot through the wheat stubble. Miles, Francois and me were self-propelled. Rose and Renier went under horse power.

The full moon is coming up over the trademark yellow fields, us pedestrians are musing deeply round a little stagnant pond and the sporty horsemen are swishing and snorting their way back to us.

Ok, back on foot. The time has come to push the button.

Photographic Competition Closing Date Extended To 31 July 2009

Just under a month to get your entries in, no more pushing back of the closing date. The deadline is the end of July. The promises of entries have been earnest and there is almost a month to live up to to those promises. This is Philadelphia - creative hub of the Koeberg/Swartland region - not a suburban void of imagination like Hout Bay.

Now, get out your Kodak Brownies, Polaroids, Hasseblads and Samsungs and do the right thing.

More Nuwedorp plots on the way:? NG Kerk ponders latest offer.

Philadelphia is a unique and desirable place to live in, ask the residents. And judging by the frequent interest shown in the region, developers feel the same way. The most recent overture toward the NG Kerk, owner of the farmland surrounding the village, is an offer to purchase 3 to 3.5ha adjacent to and directly above the “Nuwedorp” for the purpose of residential development.

The Kerk has started to put out feelers to gauge the response to such a proposal. As in any property deal the owner can sell it to any buyer willing to pay the price. Community comment is called upon where there is an application to change the existing zoning or usage of the land in question: in this case converting agricultural land to residential erven. Always a controversial issue in a small town where development of any kind is felt all the more acutely; it is encouraging that the Kerk has sought the input of the residents at this early stage.

"Gedeelte A" depicts the land discussed.

Make your thoughts and ideas known by publishing your comments below.

Health, Herbs and Hints from The Philadelphia Village Grasshopper: Beat The Winter Blues

Anecdotes and Antidotes from our natural health specialist.

Beat the Winter Blues

The beauty of winter is in being able to snuggle up to the one you love and enjoy the warmth of each other and that of your home. Cold nights together with the extended darkness generally help promote deep sleep and if, like me you enjoy winter then you will spend time outside at play or work. Others, not as fortunate as to be blessed with my lust for life, may become stricken by the ‘winter blues’ as this time of the year places heavy demands on our immune system. Temperature changes from indoors to outdoors; vehicle, building ventilation and heating systems all foster a breeding ground for those intrepid germs and viruses. As a young man, I was a chef in the SANDF and whenever I felt a cold coming on, I would walk into the freezer room at a temperature of -17 degrees and I would breathe so deeply my lungs would burn from the cold. Then I would run to the oven and breathe the hot air and after doing this for most of the day, my fellow comrades would insist I was quite loopy. I never did establish if this was an effective treatment of the common cold but it made me feel quite resilient to colds or just full of hot air. As Pooh Bear said to Piglet one cold winter morning: “Sneeze on me and you’re dead”. It’s never more appropriate than now to practice preventative health and to build your immunity with supplementation to combat viral infections naturally. One point of view is that God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and not in a pharmacy, to be healthy and prosper, and it will serve us well to remember that the body needs good nutrition to heal and maintain good health.

Avoiding the Winter Blues is easier than you think if we just take the time to enjoy herbal tea made from simple home grown or acquired produce every morning or whenever it suits us. Here is an easy tea recipe that works for me:

Immune tea

· 1 Fresh slice of lemon 2mm thick.

· 1 tsp raw honey . See footnote (1)

· 4 Pelargonium pieces4 fresh mint leaves. See footnote (2)

· 10 drops of olive leaf tincture. See footnote (2)

Make this tea and drink it whenever you like and reap the benefit of good health. Then there is the more conventional but natural approach which involves taking supplements that are designed and bought over the counter at your favorite health store, SoWell, of course. Visit us and we will be able to advise you on products that not only suit your budget but also deliver great results.

Until next time, be healthy and stay So Well. Tel: 021 5566200 or 021 9818035

Grasshopper

Footnotes:

(1) Get the best raw honey on the planet right here in Philadelphia from the Dehning Apiary, Ou Pastorie, 0836986306, dehningc@gmail.com or from So Well, see (2) below.

(2) So Well Health Shop- Quality, owner-run health shop. Table View or CapeGate Centre. Tel: 021 5566200 or 021 9818035, juicer@telkomsa.net

Philadelphia Photographic Contest- Update

So far the response has been large in enthusiasm yet initially small in number. The Dehnings of the Ou Pastorie are certain to give us a pastoral peek at life on a small Philadelphia farm. And Neil Smith of the Nuwe Dorp to astound us with some slick pixel pushing.

The stakes are high: a bottle of highly unobtainable Baken St Beaujoulais, the entry deadline has been pushed back to the 15th of July 2009. Such indulgence will not be granted another time. Take heed, take pictures and send them to: greg@rentalscapetown.com

Epilogue: Comments, descriptions, background stories or original verse may accompany the photographic entries.

Published from my Nokia E71

Philadelphia Bugle Photographic Contest

No longer autumn, not quite the depths of winter. It seems that in the time it takes to pull a woolly jumper over your head that the rich brown freshly ploughed fields have turned green with young crop shootlets. Puddles to splosh through and the smell of wood fires in the early evening air are still a novelty, not the norm.

 

Get out your camera and capture your version of this transient time in Philadelphia in pixels (or on paper). The choice is yours: still life, scenery, an owl at 5am, laundry day, a face, a place, a hobby, a house, a visual ode to the cauliflower patch in your garden. The time has come to push the button.

 

The Rules:

 

2 photos per entrant.

Email entries to gargoyle@iafrica.com

Keep files below 1Mb per picture. If the file is large or the photo is on paper drop it off at The Klipdakhuis, 23 Baken St or at P. O. Box 88, Philadelphia.

You have a month, until the 30th of June 2009, to submit your efforts. 

 

The Prize:

 

A bottle of very limited edition 2009 Baken St Beaujolais. 

The Klipdakhuis Kombuis brings you Philadelphia Sourdough

40% Rye/60% Wheat Sourdough Bread

Makes 2 loaves weighing roughly 750g each.

Here is a recipe for a traditional sourdough bread whose biggest ingredients are time and patience. You will be rewarded by a dark, crusty loaf with an interior that has a wonderful mix of airy bounce, satisfying chewiness and  creamy, tangy  yeasty flavours.

And the thing about a bread made only with quality flour, natural yeasts, a bit of salt, water, time and heat is that living processes transform these simple substances into a nutritious, easy-to-digest wholefood.

Some special equipment and preparation is required for this bread; nothing fancy or expensive but essential to getting a perfect finished product.

A baking stone- the bread stands on this in the oven. Options available are natural terra cotta, granite or quartzite. It is important that no chemical sealants or lead-based glazes have been used on your stone.

• A water bottle with fine sprayer.
  
• A piece of stiff cardboard to assist in sliding the loaves into the oven.

INGREDIENTS

Flour- Use the best flour you can get, this is the very substance of the bread. I use Eureka Stone Ground rye and white bread flour. You can get their flour at the outlets shown here: http://www.eurekamills.co.za/distributors.php

Water- the other main ingredient. Not much you can do if you don't have a fresh mountain stream nearby but running it through a basic commercial filter should at least get the chlorine taint out of it.

Salt- Not just to release the flavour of the finished loaf but to condition the mix and provide some mineral nutrients for the fermentation. The dead white iodated crystals that take up shelf space in the supermarkets work but you are making something special here. Get a real unprocessed sea salt like Khoisan or similar.

Starter:

The engine that will drive your bread's rising process. Get this done a couple of days before you start baking.

50g rye flour

80ml tepid water

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey

 

Put the ingredients in a jam jar, mix together thoroughly. You should end up with a fairly runny paste rather than a dough. Cover with a loose fitting lid or piece of cloth and leave in a warm area. After about 12 hours the starter should be showing signs of life: slow bubbles followed by rising. Depending on temperature and time left to stand it can get a life of its own and climb out over the edges of the jar.

I took this one step further where I wanted to exclude commercial yeast from the process and create a wild yeast starter. Not only would I save a whole Rand spent on a yeast sachet but have the satisfaction that I had harnessed free-floating little organisms to work expertly on my bread.

 

If you want to go all primitive and do it this way then leave the yeast out of the above mix and catch some wild yeast.

 Leave the cover off the jar and let it stand for half a day or add a slice of unpeeled onion or potato to the mix. Be patient and don't get despondent; this is a slow and  suspense-filled waiting game.

After a 4 to 7 days the yeasts should be making their presence known. Congratulate yourself and take out the piece of potato or onion.  

*****

Sourdough:

Here we make the sourdough by adding the starter to the freshly made rye dough and allowing it to get this larger dough mass seething and rising.

480g rye flour

400ml water

80ml of starter as above

In some recipes for Italian breads this dough is known as the "biga". Add ingredients to a deep mixing bowl and mix using a mixer with dough hook or by hand with a strong spoon/paddle. Be thorough, making sure any dry flour at the base of the mix isn't left out.

Mix for about 6 to 10 minutes. The finished mix will be an almost runny batter rather than a solid, stretchy dough ball because of the lower gluten content of the rye.

Leave the mix in the bowl, cover and leave for 8 to 12 hours. The dough should rise to at least one and a half times its original height. Time taken is temperature dependent. At 25C and above it will bubble up steadily under its own steam. In winter you can help it along by placing it near the fire or other heat source or putting it in an oven that can be manipulated to maintain a low temperature. Don't let the mix get higher than about 35C- it could stress or kill the yeasts and dry out the dough.

 

The biga or sourdough

Important: make more starter using the residue of the old one and the same quantities of flour and water.

*****

The Final Dough

The addition of the wheat flour, last mix, and final maturation is carried out in this final stage before baking.

720g white bread flour

 400ml water

2 rounded teaspoonfuls of salt

80-100ml of starter

Add all of the ingredients to the sourdough and mix. If using a mixing machine us a dough hook. Most models of mixer will be operating at maximum capacity with this recipe. I'm not fond of electric kitchen appliances anyway and a better result is obtained by throwing the dough onto a well-floured surface once the ingredients have had an initial mixing by machine or spoon in the bowl. You will also get an arm and shoulder workout and develop a righteous appetite for the end product.

So, mixing or kneading, the idea is to get a stretchy, springy and creamy dough. Use flour generously on the counter and hands and fold, stretch and pummel your way through the metamorphosis.

Shape the dough into a round, sprinkle with flour, cover and leave to rise for 45min to 1hr. It should be about one and a half times its starting size.

Place the baking stone in the oven on a rack set in the middle of the oven. Turn on your oven to 240C. If you have a thermofan or other mechanism to speed and hotten up the heating process then turn it on. This bread needs to be cooked hot.

Divide the dough into two, Knock it down. In other words, knead and fold so that more air is introduced but the outer surface is never broken thereby conserving the gas bubbles within the mass.

Shape each dough portion. I make them round but you could do longer ovals. Place them on the cardboard (heavily floured) in such a way that you will easily be able to slide each of them from cardboard onto the baking stone inside the oven.  Cover.

Whilst the oven gets close to 240C let the dough rise again for 30 - 45min in a warm place.

Ready to go into the oven

****

Getting it Baked:

This is the easy bit. Quickly sprinkle some flour onto the baking stone. Now slide the dough onto the stone, one at a time. It gets easier with practice. Spray about 20 squirts of misted water over the bread.

Total baking time is about 40 to 50min; it will depend on your mix and oven.

 The bread will rise and darken quite dramatically in the first 15 to 20 min. Open the door and let off another 20 squirts over the bread and all over the oven.

After 20 - 25 min of baking the temperature can be decreased to 220C. Turn the loaves if they are cooking unevenly or spots are darkening excessively. The crust becomes a very dark brown almost rusty chocolate in hue. After 40 min the loaves will be nearing readiness: tap the crust and it should ring hard and hollowish. The base will do the same to a lesser extent.  Rather opt for a longer bake the first time around. A thicker, harder crust is the worst result of this bread being a bit overdone and you can cut the baking time to suit your precise taste next time.

A handsome pair of Philadelphia Sourdoughs

Remove the loaves and allow to cool for at least one-and-a-half hours.

I usually freeze one of the loaves once it has been left to cool for 6 hours and after wrapping in up well in a plastic bag. Or be generous and give the second loaf to a friend or relative. Only a deserving one, mind you.

Final word: look after your starter. Use the residue from your last mix, add flour and water, cover loosely and put in the fridge. You can safely leave it in cool hibernation for a couple of weeks. It may form a skin on its surface which can easily be lifted off. Take it out of the fridge the day before baking and re-energise with a bit of flour and water.

 Sunday, 17 May 2009

Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup….another, and another…

Philadelphia’s fly plague is relentless. No amount of flytraps hanging in the garden, Coopermatic devices, industrial grade electrical shockers, citronella candles and rolled up newspapers seems to diminish their numbers.

Municipal sewerage being used on fields near town appears to be the primary cause of this abnormal proliferation of pests.

The PBV’s corresepondence to the Health Department follows:

PHILADELPHIA BELASTINGBETALERSVERENIGING

PHILADELPHIA RATE PAYERS ASSOCIATION

 

PO Box/Posbus 62, Philadelphia, 7304

 6 Gerf Street, Philadelphia, 7304 / Gerfstraat 6, Philadelphia, 7304

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Per e-pos aan: reinhardt.avenant@capetown.gov.za.

 

Mnr Reinhardt Avenant

Brackenfell Gesondheidsentrum

Posbus 35

Brackenfell

7561

 

15 Mei 2009

 

Geagte Meneer Avenant

 

Insake storting van riool en vlieëprobleem Philadelphia

 

Namens die Philadelphia Belastingbetalers-Vereniging (PBV) stel ons hiermee op rekord dat die storting van riool op die omliggende landerye steeds ‘n ernstige vlieëprobleem vir die dorp en gemeenskap skep. Op Woensdag 6 Mei 2009 het die dagbestuur van die PBV ‘n vergadering met Subraad 7 se raadslid en bestuurder, mnre Claude Ipser en Dennis Smit, ter plaatse gehad en is die probleem weereens aan hulle uitgewys.

 

Desnieteenstaande bogenoemde vergadering wil ons die volgende punte direk onder die gesondheidsdepartement se aandag bring: 

 

1. Ons is van mening dat daar ‘n onbetwiste verband tussen die storting van die riool en die vlieëplaag is.  Hoewel daar al vir baie jare melk- en varkboerderye in die Koeberg bedryf word, was daar nooit ‘n vlieëplaag soos wat sedert die aanvang van die rioolstorting ondervind word nie.

 

2. Ons is van mening dat dit ernstige gesondheidsgevare vir die gemeenskap inhou. Buiten die private huishoudings ( huiseienaars sê hulle kan nie meer gaste vir ‘n buitebraai nooi nie), is hier openbare restaurante, soos die Wimpy, die Meul en Peppertree. Dié sake-ondernemings en ander wat in die toerismebedryf werk, word ernstig benadeel.  Eienaars ondervind ook weerstand met die verkoop van eiendomme.

 

3. Die vlieëplaag kos inwoners honderde rande per maand aan gifbespuiting en teenmaatreëls. Aangesien die eiers nou in die grond is, gaan die probleem nog vir jare voortduur selfs nadat die rioolstorting gestop is.  Hoewel die stadsraad bewus is van die gesondheidsprobleem, het hy die gemeenskap van geen raad voorsien vir die beheer nie en ook geen finansiële bydrae tot ons eie pogings gemaak nie.

 

4. Ons is teleurgesteld dat klagtes van inwoners nie na behore ondersoek en hulle deurlopend op hoogte van sake gehou word nie. Met ons vorige korrespondensie van Februarie tot Mei 2008 het ons verstaan dat die Stadsraad ons op hoogte sal hou van verdere stappe wat u neem om die probleem op te los.

 

5. Die oorsprong van die probleem is ons insiens dat die Stadsraad nie betyds beplan het vir die bou van rioolverwerkingsaanlegte nie, en dat dié swak beplanning op die landelike gemeenskappe afgelaai word sonder dat die verpligte gesondheidsregulasies behoorlik nagekom en gemoniteer word.  (Boubedrywighede is bv in Table View stopgesit omdat die rioolvoorsiening onvoldoende was.)

 

6.  Ons kan tot geen ander gevolgtrekking kom as dat die bepalings van die kontrak tussen die stadsraad en die kontrakteur (wat die riool op die lande gooi) a) gebrekkig is, b) dit ook nie na behore nagekom word nie, c)  en dat die voorwaardes ten opsigte van die monitering nie volgens die voorgeskrewe standaarde geskied nie. 

(Ons het talle ooggetuienis van hoe rou riool (nie verwerkte riool nie, maar nat, pap en stinkende menslike uitskeiding) op die R304 van die vragmotor afval en motors en die omgewing besoedel. Ons het ook van plaaswerkers verneem dat hierdie rou riool op die (Mesech-) landerye gegooi word sonder om verwerk of ingeploeg te word. Dat dit onverwerkte riool is, het ek persoonlik waargeneem Dinsdagnamiddag12 Mei toe die vragmotor dit op die R304 gestort het - en ek  hou dit steeds in ‘n plastieksak as u dit wil sien.)

 

7. Gevolglik versoek ons die Stadsraad om die onderhawige kontrak aan ons beskikbaar te stel, tesame met die moniteringsverslae sedert die kontrak in werking getree het.  Sou dit blyk dat die kontrakvoorwaardes en gesondheidsregulasies nie nagekom word nie, sal ons verplig wees om ons te beywer dat die kontrak opgeskort word.

 

Die uwe

 

Gerrit Boonstra

Voorsitter PBV

 

Gerfstraat 6

Philadelphia 7304

Kontak: (021) 9721326, 084-2054315, gboonstra@theweb.co.za

 

A.a.            Mnr. Deon Carstens, Philadelphia Boerevereniging

                  Prof. HC de Kock, KSKL, NG Kerk, Philadelphia

                  Mnr. Dennis Smit, Bestuurder, subraad 7

                  Mnr. Claude Ipser, raadslid,  subraad 7

                         

Development pressure, subcriptions, crime and security: Philadelphia Ratepayers' Association update

Philadelphia as a small, safe, tranquil, neat , prosperous , organised and pretty village is a common vision amongst all of us that have chosen to make our homes, work and  businesses here. Individual priorities, circumstances and tastes means there are many right ways to maintain this condition; and to direct inevitable growth and changes to our town so that its good qualities are enhanced rather than lost for good.

Your individual input is essential. Get involved, say something. 

Here's an update sent out by the Philadelphia Ratepayers' Association, Philadelphia Belastingbetalersvereniging (PBV) on the 10th of May 2009. We encourage you to leave comments on this blog. 

 PHILADELPHIA BELASTINGBETALERSVERENIGING

PHILADELPHIA RATE PAYERS ASSOCIATION

PO Box/Posbus 62, Philadelphia, 7304

 6 Gerf Street, Philadelphia, 7304 / Gerfstraat 6, Philadelphia, 7304

 

Gerrit Boonstra, (chairman-voorsitter), prof.Hennie de Kock (Vice Chairperson/ Onder-Voorsitter), Pieter Theron (Secretary/Sekretaris), Madelein Roets (Treasurer/Tesourier), dr. Renier van der Merwe, Klasie Afrikaner, Andries Afrikaner en Neil Smith, bykomende lede  

NUUSBRIEWE

Met die PBV se tweede Algemene Jaarvergadering op 6 November 2008 is die volgende lede gekies om op die Bestuurskomitee vir 2008/2009 te dien:

 

OU DORP: Madelein Roets en Renier van der Merwe

MEULENHOF: Klasie Afrikaner en Andries Afrikaner

NUWE DORP: Angela van Zyl en Hennie de Kock

HELE DORP: Pieter Theron en Gerrit Boonstra

Nadat Angela van Zyl (nuwe dorp) weens persoonlike redes uit die bestuurskomitee bedank het, is Neil Smith (nuwe dorp) verkies.

 

 

NAAM	POS	ADRES	SEL	E-POS	LANDLYN
Gerrit Boonstra	Voorsitter	Gerf 6	084-2054-315	gboonstra@theweb.co.za	021-9721326 (h)
Hennie de Kock	O-voors,	Hoofweg 7	082-851 8324	hcdk@telkomsa.com	021-9721601(h)
Pieter Theron	Sekr.	Pastorie-laan 58	082-338 7865	cancopy@polka.co.za	021-9721707 (h)
Madelein Roets	Tesourier	Louw	082-877-0440	madelein@direct-mail.co.za	021-9721743 (h)
Renier vd Merwe	Add. lid	Louw 1	072-8735-803	vsteenkamp@telkomsa.net	021-5571386 (w) 021-9721832 (h)
Neil Smith	Add. lid	Gerfstr 32	082-455-1889	njsmith@mweb.co.za	021-9721181(h)
Andries Afrikaner	Add. lid	Baken 8	geen	geen	geen
Klasie Afrikaner	Add. lid	Baken 7	geen	geen	021-9721705(h)

 

 

LIDMAATSKAP

 

The annual membership fee of R60 per person are now (over-)due.  You will receive an application form - the detail are  to make communication by  SMS and e-mail easy. If you don’t have a  copy of the Association’s  constitution, please  ask it.

If you have not renewed your annual membership, please do so urgently by contacting any committee member. We will gladly give information about the PRPA and our and projects.

Ons het verlede jaar afgesluit met 57 lede en wil graag hê elke huiseienaar en sake-onderneming moet lid word.

Begin Mei was daar heelwat lede van 2008 wat nog nie hulle lidmaatskap hernu het nie. Slegs lede sal ons NUUSBRIEWE ontvang en inligtingvergaderings kan bywoon.  As u nog nie aangesluit of hernu het nie, skakel asb. spoedig met enige van die bostaande bestuurslede.

 

 

ONTWIKKELINGSDRUK

Daar is aansienlike ontwikkelingsdruk in ons omgewing. Dit bedreig ons landelike leefwyse ernstig en vereis voortdurende waaksaamheid. Die volgende is van die mees onlangse gebeure:

 

* BOTERBERG – EERS WOONBUURT EN NOU MYNBOU

Die behuisings-aansoek word nog steeds deur die Provinsiale Regering oorweeg. Intussen het daar ‘n kinkel in die kabel bygekom deurdat ‘n mynmaatskappy aansoek gedoen het vir mynregte op dieselfde stuk grond! Die PBV het die inligtingsvergadering die Vrydagoggend voor Paasnaweek by die Peppertree bygewoon en as ‘n belanghebbende party geregistreer. Die dokumentasie vir beide bostaande sake is in die Poskantoor/Winkel te lees.

 

* NUWE VULLISSTORTINGSTERREIN OP BOTTELFONTEIN: 

Dié plaas Bottelfontein lê op die R302 (die Klipheuwel-Malmesbury-pad) ongeveer by die Klein Wolwedans afdraai, maar is sowat 7 km oos van ons dorp soos die kraai vlieg.  Die nuwe stortingsterrein sal eventueel die een by Vissershok vervang. Die saak sloer amper tien jaar en daar is wyd aanvaar dat die aanleg naby Atlantis sou kom. Net na die Paasnaweek het die minister aangekondig dat dit op Bottelfontein kom (misleidend word dit die Kalbaskraal-terrein genoem). Ons verneem daar is groot boere wat dit teenstaan.  U vereniging het ‘n brief gerig aan die minister om onduidelikhede op te klaar rondom die roete wat die vragmotrs sal volg.  Sou dit op die R304 deur ons dorp wees, ht dit ernstige implikasies.  Daar is ook ‘n moontlikheid van plakkers as die reëls nie streng toegepas word nie.

Hoewel die Bottelfontein-terreinstudies lank voor die PBV se stigting plaasgevind het, het ons dit opgespoor en bestudeer ons dit nou met ‘n vergrootglas. Ons het ook ‘n afksrif van die Minister se amptelike verklaring, met al die voorwaardes en motiverings.

 

*MALMESBURY AVIATION ESTATE: Ook hier het ons die vergadering bygewoon, as belanghebbende party geregistreer en ook skriftelik kommentaar gelewer. Die probleem hiermee is geraasbesoedeling. ‘n Gelisensieerde lughawe, sowat 20 km van ons soos die kraai vlieg, ook op die R302, maar nader aan Malmesbury, word beoog. Nie alleen word ‘n ontwikkeling vir 190 ligte vliegtuie beplan (wat oor ons koppe rondvlieg op besigtigingstoere) nie, maar met ‘n geteerde aanloopbaan  van 1,8 km lank, is die ware bedoeling blykbaar ‘n kommersiële lughawe.

 

* ANDER: Daar  is voortdurende planne van ontwikkelaars, soos bv vir huise op Tierhoogte reg langs die dorp, vir kleinhoewes op Klipvlei, ens. Dan is daar nog die behoefte vir sub-ekonomiese behuising in Meulenhof en die opruiming van die Fonteinehuisies. Ons sal lede op hoogte hou.

 MUNISIPALE SAKE :

Philadelphia is in die onbenydenswaardige posisie dat hy so klein en onbelangrik is, dat ons hard moet raas om die munisipaliteit so ver te kry om aandag te gee aan ons behoeftes.  Verlede jaar het ons skriftelike “woorde-oorlog”  ons nêrens gebring nie. Vanjaar is ons strategie om te onderhandel in plaas van dreig en eise stel.

Die Bestuurskomitee het op 6 Mei met Claude Ipser en Dennis Smit, onderskeidelik die stadsraadslid en die hoofamptenaar vir ons subraadswyk (7) vergader. Die sake wat ons onder hulle aandag gebring het, is:

* Die dorpsingang : a. ‘n voetgangeroorgang; b. verkeerskalmering op die R304 deur die dorp sodat voertuie gedwing word om stadig te ry; c. die dorpsingang se verfraaiing en die skep van ‘n eie identiteit.

* Hulp aan Meulenhof-inwoners om eienaarskap van hulle huise te kry, asook  die bou van nog sub-ekonomiese huise om die behuisingsnood te verlig;

* Die gebrekkige toepassing van gesondheidsreëls en die gevolglike vlieëplaag;

* Die vryskelding van rioolbetalings;

* Die dorpsnetheid, wat insluit die verskaffing van houers vir tuinvullis, bottels, plastiek, papier ens. vir herwinning, sook die gereelde skoonmaak en opruiming van strate, slote, oop ruimtes, ens.

* Toeganklikheid van munisipale amptenare om vinniger aandag te skenk aan probleme en om dienslewering te verbeter.

 

VEILIGHEID EN DIE SAPD:

 

Streng gesproke is dit nie ‘n doelstelling van die PBV nie, maar met die toename in inbrake het baie inwoners ons versoek om die leiding te neem om ‘n vergadering te reël om te bespreek watter maatreëls inwoners kan tref om hulself te beveilig en wat ons van die SAPD kan verwag.  Ons het samesprekings met die nuwe stasiebevelvoerder, kapt. Frederik Rossouw, gevoer en hy is baie gretig om die Gemeenskapspolisieforum (GPF) te laat herlewe. 

Hy is te vinde om ‘n openbare vergadering te hou. Die kernvrae is: (1) is  die SAPD bereid om die hele dorp op ‘n gereelde, vaste en gestruktureerde basis te patrolleer, verkieslik te voet en (2) kan daar ‘n wettige forum geskep word waarin die gemeenskap en polisie doeltreffend saamwerk om misdaad te voorkom én op te los, en (3) wat is nodig in terme van mannekrag en finansies om dit moontlik te maak? (4) Sou inwoners  ‘n Buurtwag stig, wat is die PBV se rol daarin?

 

 ANDER:

Daar is ander sake wat deurlopend aandag kry, waaroor in volgende Nuusbriewe terugvoer gegee sal word.  Enige lid is baie welkom om voorstelle te maak – veral as dit saamgaan met praktiese raad oor hoe dit uitgevoer kan word. 

Uit bostaande behoort dit duidelik te wees dat daar baie kwessies is wat namens die inwoners hanteer moet word. Die dorp het nie ‘n dorpsraad of betaalde amptenaar wat dit doen nie.

Alles wat gedoen word om ons dorpsake te beredder, word deur vrywilligers gedoen, heeltemal sonder enige vorm van vergoeding.  Ons beskik oor uiters beperkte hulpbronne in terme van mense met tyd, met kennis en die ywer. Nodeloos om te sê dat ons finansies beperk is tot elke lid wat jaarliks sy /haar ledegeld van R60 betaal.  Dit moet net een keer noodsaaklik wees om ‘n professionele kundige se hulp in te roep en al ons fondse is uitgeput.  Dit het ons nou eerstehands gesien met die hulpeloosheid van Malmesbury en omgewing se mense (hulle het nie eens ‘n Belastingbetalersvereniging nie) om ‘n ontwikkeling  te beveg wat deur die Arabiese Emirate gefinansier word.

 

DOEN DUS DIE REGTE DING EN SLUIT AAN AS LID.

 

Die kennisgewingbord op die poskantoor/winkel se stoep, behoort aan die PBV. Ons sal voortaan gereeld nuus en inligting daarop vertoon.

 

Mei 2009