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