The AA’s assessor visits anually to monitor and check on the standards of the Guesthouse. Nothing escapes Bev Balusik’s eagle eye! Here are some comments from her report submitted to the  board of the AA Quality Assurance:

Such seamless but thoughtful touches in all areas:

• a splendid, attractive notice board in main core public area
• guest internet station provided
• high attention to energy-saving measures including solar geysers, CFLs, solar garden lighting, water-saving shower roses, etc.
• generous provision of heating, a real plus for travellers including under-carpet heating
• complimentary bottled water & quality home-baked crunchies, Liz’s own muesli & a delightful easy-pour honey tube on breakfast tables
• breakfast room with LED DSTV
• easy instructions for complimentary internet access in rooms
• various menus, maps, evacuation & fire procedures in all rooms, quality paper holder, recycling info on waste bins
• generous DSTV in rooms
• fridges stocked incl fresh milk, and so on.

Really excellent & indicative of high levels of general efficiency.  The exceptional provision of guest comforts for both leisure & corporate guests and the high standards of personal yet professional service and hospitality continue to set this establishment at an exceptionally confident Superior level.

Where to stay after recuperating from surgical procedure?  Hotel or guesthouse?

We at Liz at Lancaster Guesthouse are fortunate to have hosted many patients who have been recovering after surgery at various Clinics within easy reach of Liz at Lancaster: the Rosebank Clinic, http://www.netcare.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=171 Wits Donald Gordon Medical Institute http://www.dgmc.co.za/   in nearby Parktown, Morningside Clinic http://www.mediclinic.co.za/hospitals/Pages/about.aspx?h=16  and the Milpark  http://www.netcare.co.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=161   

There are many advantages of staying in a guesthouse for post-operative care. Apart from the obvious advantage of lower rates at guesthouses as compared to hotels, there are many other pluses : the biggest being privacy and being able to recuperate out of the public eye.  With rooms opening out onto private enclosed courtyards guests can make the most of fresh air and secluded privacy. And during the day when business guests have all gone off to work they can venture further and enjoy a tranquil garden setting with sparkling pool, shaded areas and Joburg’s significant bird-life.  All units at Liz at Lancaster have intercoms to the main house and staff so there is 24/7 access to Liz, Catherine and Zac all of whom live on site. As a registered transport provider Zac provides on-site transport needs: airport transfers, drop-off and collection at the hospital and drives to any attractions or shopping destinations.  Many guests choose to have their breakfasts served in their rooms or in their patios – at the time of their choice.  Although Liz at Lancaster also provides healthy post-operative lunches and suppers, with fully equipped kitchenettes in all units, once guests feel strong enough, they really appreciate the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of being able to prepare their own light meals.  Walking in the area is completely safe with a 3 minute stroll to the shops at the end of the block, being an ideal distance for those wanting to do some gentle exercise. Here there is a coffee shop, hairdresser, 7.30-7 grocery store, chemist, etc. And finally, the caring and nuturing attitude of Liz, Catherine, Zac and Thandie counts for a lot when recovering from a medical procedure.

While we have hosted patients recuperating from a wide range of medical procedures, most of our ‘medical guests’ have been recovering from plastic surgery.  Over the years Liz at Lancaster has been fortunate to host patients from many of South Africa’s top plastic surgeons:  Dr. Saul Braun  http://www.drbraun.co.za/rosebank_medical_facilities.htm  and Dr Fayman http://www.doctorfayman.co.za/  who both practice at the Rosebank Clinic; from the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Institute , Dr Richard Stott; as well as Dr Peter Scott who works out of  the Morningside Clinic. 

Here are just two of the many letters of thanks from our medical patients:

June 2006

Thank you Liz for everything. I had a really relaxing time with you all. You run a lovely place and I will recommend Liz at Lancaster to anybody who is coming to SA in future. Thank you for the jigsaws – it will be a long time before I will be doing a jigsaw again!. Loved the peace and quiet – it contributed to my fast recuperation. Thank you.

January 2012

I have now settled back home and into the office as well.  I am healing superbly well with only occasional discomfort.  I wanted to thank you again for the warm hospitality that you accorded to me during my stay there.  It is not every day that I come across the kindness and personal touch with which I was treated – and this extended to Catherine, Zac, Marley [the lovable Labrador] and Rosemary. Thank you again, I look forward to my stay in April.

Gerald Garner who wrote Spaces and Places Johannesburg as well as Johannesburg 10Ahead, has recently started walking tour of Jozi’s inner city.  On 28th Jan a tour will leave from Mary Fitzgerald Square at 9 am. Billed to see the public art in Newtown, Turbine Hall, Chancellor House, the Anglo American campus, the Ashanti Hotel and Dogon apartments, Main Street Mall, Gandhi Square, The City Hall, Ernest Oppenheimer Park and, time permitting trendy Braamfontein. You will definitely need your walking shoes.  See www.joburgplaces.com

Cost R230 per person   To book email gerald@joburgplaces.com Tel 082 894 5216

The Market Theatre shows re-runs of older productions including the classic Woza Albert at the Barney Simon Theatre until 5th Feb.  This South African classic asks what would happen if Jesus Christ (Morena) came back to South Africa during apartheid. This lively satire of the absurdities of apartheid provides a showcase for the talents of two dextrous actors, who play a range of ordinary characters on the street.    Tues – Sat @ 20h15, Sun @ 15h15   Ticket prices: Tues – R66, Wed & Thurs – R90, Fri & Sat – R140, Sun – R100

Another re-run is Somewhere on the Border which runs until 12th Feb at the Main Theatre at the Market.  Exactly 25 years after the play first performed in Grahamstown, André Odendaal’s production opened at the 2011 National Arts Festival. Leon van Nierop concluded his review on Artslink saying “the play performs an open heart surgery on the South African psyche. It is timely, finely acted and forcefully directed. See it at all costs.”
Tues – Sat @ 20h00, Sun @ 15h00
Ticket prices: Tues – R66, Wed & Thurs – R95, Fri & Sat – R160, Sun – R120
Special: 11h00 performances @ R50 only from 10 – 13 January 2012

Following its success at three South African Arts Festivals and a tour of Holland, US playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s love story, Yellowman, is back at the Laager Theatre. Yellowman is a contemporary tragedy with the parts played by David Johnson as Eugene (Gene) and Mwenya Kabwe who won Fleur Du Cap for Best Actress for her role as Alma. Ticket prices: Tues – R66, Wed & Thurs – R90, Fri & Sat – R140, Sun – R100

There are two musicals showing at the Joburg Theatre. If ABBA is your thing then The ABBA Show is for you! – Showing until 5th Feb.     I heard P-J Powers being interviewed on her role as Dusty in You don’t have to say you love me; The Dusty Springfield Show.  Sounds like a fun production. On until the 12th February.  

At Pieter Toerien Monte Casino Main Theatre, Agatha Christie’s classic Whodunit is on until 26 Feb and the long-awaited production of  Broadway’s longest running musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera opens at Teatro Monte Casino on 31st January.

Straight from sold out seasons in Cape Town, the Grahamstown National Arts Festival and the Hilton Festival Gaetan Schmid’s comedy Body Language is showing the Old Mutual Theatre on the Square until 4th February.

Nice site on SA’s top jazz spots – all but 3 in Jozi . Gotta love Jozi! http://www.southafrica.net/sat/content/en/ca/business-tourism-top-10-detail?oid=417769&sn=Detail&pid=259797&Jazz-Venues

The dawning of 2012 with the various art exhibitions has crept up and taken me by surprise so I have missed a whole lot of openings.   

Jessica Webster’s exhibition Mainly Benoni. And Paintings opens at 12 pm today at Nirox Projects on Arts on Main

Showing at In Toto is She@Intoto a group show on women by women. The invite includes Georgia O’Keefe’s aphorism: ‘I feel there is something unexplored about women that only a woman can explore’.   Closes 28th Feburary so plenty time to visit.   6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St Andrews St Birdhaven

Closing on 28th January is John Phalane’s Malete an exhibition of his map art , currently showing at AOP at 44 Stanley Ave

Voice and Citizenship is a group show with a difference.  Showing at Artist Proof Studio at the Bus Factory in Newtown until 31st January, this exhibition depicts the visual journey that five Artist Proof Studio students and Cloudia Harwig their facilitator have undertaken over the last year as part of her masters study titled: ““The role of screen-print projects in enhancing awareness of active citizenship: a case study at Artist Proof Studio”.  The exhibition presents the processes, concepts and final artworks in the sequential stages that took place throughout the study. The screen-printed results present the different varieties of stencil-making techniques that screen-printing has to offer.   

Diane Victor’s exhibition at University of Johannebsurg Gallery finishes on Wednesday 25th Jan with a closing ceremony at 19.00

Anton Momberg’s show at Circa Gallery opened on 13th January and runs until 11th February.

Tinsel the fabulous store with jewellry designed by Geraldine Fenn and other award winning SA contemporary jewellers is moving at end January to Parkhurst . So visit them at their current location (until 31st January) in the Bamboo Centre in Melville. 

But still to open are:

Candice Breitz’s Extra! at the Standard Bank Gallery which runs from 8th February to 5th April.  

And it seems Goodman’s 2012 programme only opens on 2nd February with a Group Show Advance/…. Notice with a stellar line-up including works by Candice Breitz, Mounir Fatmi, Robert Hodgins, Sam Nhlengethwa, Sigalit Landau, Walter Oltmann, Willem Boshoff ,William Kentridge, Langa Moshekwa, Mikhael Subotzky, Kudzanai Chiurai ,David Goldblatt, Frances Goodman, Gerhard Marx, Hank Willis, Thomas Hasan & Husain Essop,Jodi Bieber, Kagiso Pat Mautloa, Kendell Geers, Kentridge and Gerhard Marx – many of the who’s who of contemporary South African art.  Closes 25th February.

The Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust runs tours to interesting places which are very varied on their offerings.  Many of these tours provide access to places that one cannot always get to independently.  Sadly however,  the guiding  style and information provided can be a little superficial and descriptive, with in-depth information often tantalizingly lacking. But enjoy the outings.  Here is the programme for the first quarter of 2011.

WALKING TOUR ‘MOUNTAIN VIEW – RIDGE ROAD’   SATURDAY AFTERNOON, 28th JANUARY   Along the peak of the ridge high above Hope Road and Louis Botha Avenue is a lovely and prestigious precinct of fine and historical homes. One of the first was designed by Baker and Masey in 1906 complete with Cape Dutch gables and magnificent garden. Robert Howden was the architect of the house at the east end of Ridge Road – very fine brick on a kopje. Hoogterp also chose to place his client’s house well back from the road to enjoy the magnificent view. Where the tennis court faced the road there is now a delightful pavilion – a flat-pack conservatory from Paris. We also visit the Cross Bath House which proves that a dream can be made to come true. A short excursion into Young Avenue and we return along Steyn Street under the Plane trees looking at the next generation of homes.
MEET               :      Val Hammerton and Flo Bird                                                                                                                                                        PARK               :       In Ridge Road – this is a boomed area so enter from Judith Road at the east end                                                  TIME                :       14h00                                                                                                                                                                                                 DURATION       :     Approximately 2½ hours
COST               :        R70.00 for members and R100 for non-members

WALKING TOUR “LIVING AMONGST THE STARS”  SATURDAY, 4th FEBRUARY
Johannesburg’s weather forecasting station, designed by Herbert Baker, was officially opened in 1905 in what is today known as Observatory. The property was donated by the Bezuidenhout family on condition that the land was used as an observatory for meteorological and astronomical activities. Robert Innes, a self-taught astronomer, was given the responsibility of establishing and running the Observatory. His home, known as Innes House, was also designed by Herbert Baker. Learn about the men and women who lived and worked on this site and the role they played in advancing science and technology in early Johannesburg.
MEET               :           Clare van Zwieten and Janet Hughes
PARK               :           Johannesburg Observatory, 15A Gill Street, Observatory
TIME                :           14h00
DURATION       :           Approximately 2½ hours
COST               :           R70.00 for members and R100 for non-members

WALKING TOUR ‘THE LIGHT HORSE REGIMENTAL MUSEUM’ SATURDAY, 11th FEBRUARY  Johannesburg’s oldest regiment, the Imperial Light Horse now the Light Horse Regiment – they wisely dropped the Imperial branding.   The two firebrands who started the regiment, Aubrey Woolls Sampson and Walter Karri Davies, decided there were three criteria: volunteers must be able handle a rifle well, they must be able to ride and they must be men.  Within the month they found themselves in battle against fellow Jo’burgers.   The regiment saw active service in all the wars that followed so there will be enjoyable tales relating to the paintings and trophies – funny rather than sad. After enjoying the memorabilia visitors are welcome to quench their thirst in the bar.
MEET               :           Dennis Adams, William Gaul and Heinrich Jansen
PARK               :           Regimental Headquarter, 9 Southway, Kelvin (from M1 north take the Marlborough Road off ramp and turn right into Marlborough Drive – R60.  Southway is on the left)
TIME                :           14h30
DURATION       :           Approximately 2 hours
COST               :           R70.00 for members and R100 for non-members

BUS TOUR ‘JEWISH  JOHANNESBURG’ SUNDAY AFTERNOON, 19th FEBRUARY Inspired by memories of Irving Lissoos Judge Ralph Zulman has offered to lead us around his favorite places which reveal the experiences and the role played by the Jewish community in history of Jo’burg. Today when so much emphasis is played on reflecting the demographics of our country we forget that a small community of Jews managed to play such an important part in the civic and cultural life of our city. Jewish architects shaped so much of the City Centre with an enthusiasm for embracing the Art Deco as well as the International Style and venturing into designing blocks of flats in lots of suburbs as well Hillbrow and in town. Mayors, theatre managers, entrepreneurs as well as the doctors and lawyers Jewish mothers    are supposed to prefer.
MEET               :           Judge Ralph Zulman
PARK               :           Sunnyside Park Hotel, 2 York Road, Parktown
TIME                :           14h00
DURATION       :       Approximately 2½ hours
COST               :           R145.00 for members and R175.00 for non-members

BUS TOUR ‘LINNWARE AND SUNLAWNS’ SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Sir Thomas Cullinan not only opened his factory at Olifantsfontein to produce refractories for Iscor, he was keen to promote a studio of ceramics.  William Morris said everything in the home should be both useful and beautiful, so The Ceramic Studio created bowls, dinnerware, vases, milk jug and tiles for bathrooms, kitchens and later post offices and even railway stations that upheld Morris’ dictum.   At Sunlawns, home of Pamela Cullinan, there is a wonderful range of the products of the first Ceramic Studio and the more commercially oriented Linnware which we’ll be privileged to see in the house and the garden. The tour passes the old Irene Post Office and the source of the clay at Olifantsfontein. .
MEET               :           Brigid Ward (herself a potter) and Flo Bird
PARK               :           Sunnyside Park Hotel, 2 York Road, Parktown
TIME                :           11h30 – PLEASE BRING A PACKED PICNIC LUNCH TO ENJOY IN THE GARDENS AT SUNLAWNS
DURATION       :       Approximately 5 hours
COST               :           R180.00 for members and R210.00 for non-members

‘ EMMARENTIA HIKE’ THE DAM, THE PIONEERS AND THE HISTORY In association with the Book Fair and starting from Marks Park SUNDAY MORINING, 4th MARCH  This is a serious hike around Emmarentia, during which we will be focusing on the history of the suburb as one of the original farms on which Johannesburg was established.  We will be visiting Louw Geldenhuys’ farm house, as well as that of his brother, Frans.  We will pay our respects at the family cemetery, and we’ll walk around the farm dam. Time permitting, we will call in at Jan van Riebeeck Park, a.k.a. the Rose Garden.  At some point, we’ll tip our collective cap to the iron-age pioneers who used this pass in their annual migration to the cooler grasslands of the south, and some of whom established their iron works on the northern slopes of Melville Koppies.  We return to the Marks Park Sports Club where refreshments will be available and the Book Fair will be in full swing.
MEET               :           Alex Parker and Ed Coogan
PARK               :           Marks Park Sports Club – entrance in Judith Road
TIME                :           9.00am – PLEASE NOTE EARLY STARTING TIME
DURATION       :        Approximately 3½ hours
COST               :           R70.00 for members and R100.00 for non-members
PLEASE WEAR SUNHATS, GOOD WALKING SHOES AND SUN CREAM.  CARRY WATER

BUS TOUR  ‘1922 STRIKE REVOLT ON THE RAND 90TH ANNIVERSARY’ SATURDAY, 10th MARCH
“It was a struggle of whites fought in the name of race, but largely turning upon the right to be heard, to have some control over the overweening power of employers. A struggle too for dignity.  A world of huge political funerals, defiance at the gallows, a last stand against overwhelming odds.”  The words of Jeremy Krikler in The Rand Revolt.  The fight wasn’t between white miners and black mineworkers; it was between white miners and their employer backed by the white government. We can’t cover it all, but we’ll visit the battle sites, see the bullet holes and lay flowers on the graves of men from both sides. Light refreshments are included
MEET               :           Winnie Job and Flo Bird
PARK               :           Sunnyside Park Hotel, 2 York Road, Parktown
TIME                :           12 noon – PLEASE NOTE EARLY STARTING TIME
PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING A PACKED LUNCH WHICH WILL BE EATEN ON THE BUS
DURATION       :        Approximately 4½ hours
COST               :           R145.00 for members and R175.00 for non-members

WALKING TOUR ‘ST PATRICK’S DAY IN PARKVIEW’SATURDAY AFTERNOON, 17th MARCH          
The wearing of the green will start with Kilkenny Castle and Major John O’Hara the man who gave Parkview all its Irish Street names. His house reflects something of strong character. With true Irish spirit he rose in wrath from his sickbed when he heard the Otto Beit money for the founding of a University had been given to Cape Town, called a protest meeting in the City Hall and promised Milner Park for the site of the University of the Witwatersrand.  We follow Kilkenny Road to see some old houses, homes of Jo’burg pioneers like Pritchard, Charles Greig, and move up to Wexford for the home of Orlando Leake. Some beautifully proportioned little houses, as well as some very eccentric ones and then come the Westcliff homes designed by Gordon Leith.
MEET               :           Raymond Cardoso and William Gaul
PARK               :           In Kilkenny Road near the corner of Wexford Road
TIME                :           14h00
DURATION       :         2½ hours
COST               :           R70.00 members and R100.00 for non-members

WALKING TOUR ‘ART DECO IN THE CITY’ SUNDAY MORNING, 25th MARCH Art Deco burst on Johannesburg with all the vigour and confidence of the economic recovery after the Great Depression. It is exuberant, even boisterous boasting curving balconies to match the gleaming bumpers of the automobiles and racing for the sky with towers and topped with flag poles. More restrained versions did appear, tamed by the Modern Movement and Le Corbusier, but streamlining and ship’s architecture only make the steel windows more elegant. Deco Moderne is perhaps the best description for these hybrids.  It’s the Jazz Age, ocean liners racing to cross the Atlantic – its fun and its still there. The buildings in Jeppe Street are certainly shabby, but the pavement life isn’t.  Starting with the elegance of London House and Howard House, the brass work in Maritime House (office blocks) the tour moves north past His Majesty’s and up to the residential buildings Anstey’s, Manners Mansions, Castle Mansions to Astor Mansions.
Wear good walking shoes.  Jo’burg pavements are dicey.
TOUR LEADERS:      Brian McKechnie and Clare Eisenstein
MEET               :           In Loveday Street on the corner of Main Street
PARK               :           Park in Loveday Street in front of the Rand Club.
TIME                :           10.30 AM – PLEASE NOTE EARLY STARTING TIME
DURATION       :        2½ hours
COST               :           R70.00 members and R100.00 for non-members

PLEASE NOTE THAT UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED ALL BOOKINGS CAN BE MADE THROUGH COMPUTICKET. YOU CAN BOOK EITHER AT A COMPUTICKET OUTLET OR ON-LINE.  FOR INTERNET BOOKINGS USE THE ADDRESS www.computicket.com  WHEN BOOKING TICKETS, PLEASE USE EXACT NAME OF TOUR AS IT APPEARS ON THE PROGRAMME WHEN PAYING CASH PLEASE ALWAYS ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE THE CORRECT AMOUNT. IT WASTES TIME IF TOUR LEADERS HAVE TO GIVE CHANGE
BANKING ACCOUNT DETAILS – NEDBANK PARKTOWN, PARKTOWN & WESTCLIFF HERITAGE TRUST, ACCOUNT NO 1944023011 BRANCH CODE 194405
FOR COMPUTICKET TELEPHONE BOOKINGS: (011) 340-8000
TOURS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
FOR QUERIES CONTACT OFFICE ON TEL NO (011) 482-3349 (WEEKDAYS 9AM – 1PM) OR SEND AN E-MAIL TO mail@parktownheritage.co.za
 

Wishing all Liz at Lancaster’s guests, friends and colleagues a very happy 2012. May it be a safe, happy, healthy and fulfilled year for you and your loved ones. And if the world is going to end on 20.12.2012, let’s live it up until then! 

From all the team at Liz at Lancaster

Dancing in the Street at the Barnyard Show will have a countdown into the new year.  31 Dec 2011 – 1 Jan 2012 @ 21h00
Price R 300.00
Venue Barnyard Theatre Cresta Shopping Centre
270 Beyers Naude Drive, Blackheath Ext 1
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Latitude: -26.131976396864605
Longitude: 27.973809242248535
Booking Information; The Barnyard Theatre Iris Pather 27112804370
iris@barnyardtheatres.co.za http://www.barnyardtheatre.co.za/

Want to celebrate with the family over New Year and don’t know what to do?  There are a couple of different options:

Jozi Carnival   The 2011 theme of the annual Joburg Carnival is Jozi my Jozi 125 celebrating the anniversary of the city’s existence.  It will take place on 31 December from 12pm and leaves from Kotze Street, moving across Nelson Mandela Bridge to Newtown.  

Laser show at Carnival City   On 31^st go along to Carnival City at 7 pm where their annual fireworks display will be replaced by a more animal-friendly but equally spectacular laser light show.  The show is free. Carnival City is situated on the intersection of the N17 toll road Snake Road (Heidelberg Road or R23) and Elsburg Road (R554) Johannesburg, South Africa

Nutcracker on Ice at Monte Casino   There are still tickets for Pieter Toerien’s  presentation of the  Imperial Ice stars in The Nutcracker on Ice at Monte Casino at 7.30 pm.