Courtesy of the Phantom of the Opera Programme 2012 (Pieter Toerien Monte Casino)

A few weeks ago a guest staying at Liz at Lancaster & who is a musical-aholic, told me he had seen ‘Phantom of the Opera’ SEVENTEEN times – in NY, London and now the night before at Monte Casino, his 2nd time in SA. And he thought it was the best performance he had ever seen. I had never seen Phantom so on his recommendation and with high expectations, I went with a friend (also a Phantom novice). We were completely bowled over. Apart from that wonderful music, the stage sets and costumes were just amazing, but most gut wrenching of all was Johnathan Roxmouth’s rendition of the Phantom. Just an extraordinary performance. Really don’t miss it if you can help it. It’s been extended until 3rd June.

But the saga does not end here … I have always wondered what ‘natural honey’ is .. Is there any other kind?? This seeming contradiction has always niggled in the back of my mind (yes, I lead a sad life I know when these are the mysteries of life for me.) And then, seemingly unrelated to all this, conversation over the dinner table a few nights back, led, amongst a whole lot of other equally interesting topics, to a discussion on food irradiation. The consumer I learnt, can identify those products which have been treated by irradiation by looking for the word ‘radurized’ on the food label – a completely new word for me. Buying honey in the supermarket a few days later, I of course examined the label to see, lo and behold, that this product is ‘radurized’. Now I know that honey is one of nature’s few products that never spoils so why would you irradiate honey?? So I begin to think I understand what ‘natural’ honey might mean. And of course I am now on the hunt to track down some ‘natural’ honey (and also to find out why you would irradiate honey in the first place). On Saturday I am ambling through the stalls at the Craigpark Open Day, enjoying the sublime warm autumn day, the festive atmosphere and the laid back sense of community connection, when I spy some unlabelled bottles of honey on a stall table. I pounce on them and as I start spluttering with excitement thinking about all the questions I want to ask, Roy says to me ‘No dear, it’s not irradiated .. is that what you were going to ask?’ So here is the oracle who can answer all my questions about the mysteries of honey. It turns out that honey is irradiated to get rid of the harmful effects of the pesticides that have been used on the plants from which the bees have gathered their nectar. And if an area is pesticide free, there is no need to irradiate the honey. In the Cape where there are badgers, (who love honey nearly as much as Pooh Bear), this is called ‘badger friendly’ honey. So now at last, Liz at Lancaster provides guests with natural unradurized honey, made by bees which have fed off the nectar of citrus trees at Hilton in the Natal Midlands.

Like Hannibal in the A-team .. I do so love it when a plan comes together !

CraigPark Residents’ Association  

The CRA is driven by an amazingly energetic and hard working Committee – one the most pro-active, effective and visionary Residents’ Associations in Joburg.  These extraordinary people carry out their portfolios with commitment,  passion and hard work. To name but a few: Ryan Roseveare (Chair); Wendy McAllister (Vice Chair and Communications), Paulette Malcomess (Civic Affairs and Environment); and Bianca De Roland Phillips (Town Planning), Mack Rogan (Traffic), & Sue Harris (Community Affairs).  They and others on their team have been leaders in managing refuse collection, town planning  & environmental aspects, and work tirelessly for our neighbourhoods at issues  ranging from potholes, to security, to domestic watch training sessions. For more on their work  see www.cra.org.za.  There are also regular updates on community issues on   http://www.facebook.com/craigparkresidentsassociation.

South African woods,  a quick lesson in making cheese and finding the perfect honey

The really very special mix of Craighall Park was particularly evident at Saturday’s event. While Craighall Park is very much a suburban neighbourhood, there are also many small owner run businesses located along Jan Smuts and in several local shopping centres such as The Colony, The Lancaster, 9 Grafton Ave, and the Valley Shopping Centre.  Seeing many of these owners at their stands on Saturday, brought home to me what a sense of locale and community we have in Craighall Park.

Fabulous aromas wafted from various food stalls offered by the likes of Casalottis (fabulous thin based pizzas), the Market Place (tasty home cooked food), Fatima’s great samoosas (yum – wish I’d brought some home with me), Steers fast food,  (consistently good), Hodges family run restaurant in the Colony, Helen’s cakes, (great croissants and muffins too), lamb on the spit from Mannie’s excellent Craighall Park Meat Supply (also make wonderful chicken thigh kebabs); and many more. And I even learnt all about cheese from Pepe who makes goat’s cheese (right here in Lancaster Avenue) using non-pasteurized milk which he gets from the goats kept by Onderstepoort Veterinary  Faculty near Pretoria. 

I bought vegetable seedlings (bok choi and swiss chard) from Danielle at the Vegetable Club (which is holding a vegetable competition next Saturday 12^th down at the REEA Foundation) and I treated myself to a wonderful handmade wooden pen made from Leadwood by Frans Joubert.  Frans uses all sorts of Southern African woods – Tambotie, Wild Olive, African Blackwood, African Red Ivory – to make his pens and pencils. Great presents!    And of course I found the perfect honey. See  http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/like-pooh-bear-i-have-searched-for-the-perfect-honey-pot  

Two local residents had tracked down Peter Rattray, the great great grandson of William Rattray who developed the townships of Craighall and Craighall Park. Peter hand-drew a  map of the old Craighall Park with a key to the sites of yesteryear, which created a lot of interest.   I have written briefly on the history of Craighall Park http://lizatlancaster.co.za/blog/exhilarating-air-of-peace-and-calmness-accommodation-in-craighall-park and there is more information on http://www.cra.org.za/index.cfm/p/pages.history-overview.htm.  Given William Rattray’s strong Scottish connections it was fitting that there was a wonderful pipe band which added to ceremony and atmosphere of the day on Saturday.

So well done to all the people who worked so hard to make this such a success with special mention to Wendy and Bianca. 

Tickets R120, R150, R180, R230

From 1906, Johannesburg’s southern suburbs were connected to a waterborne sewage system which was gravity fed through a network of huge underground sewers to a Council-owned farm at Klipspruit, in an area of what was to become Soweto. The northern suburbs however, up until the mid 1930s, relied on French drains, open tanks and external lavatories with a bucket system.  (Many of the sanitation lanes which provided access for the horse- drawn sanitation carts still survive in suburbs like Parkview). When, in 1931, the Johannesburg City Council decided to implement a sewage system for these northern suburbs (north of Johannesburg but south of Sandton), they chose four sites in valleys that would allow gravity sewers to run from suburbs in the catchment areas of the rivers of the Witwatersrand.  Neutral names (ie non suburb-specific) with classical connotations were chosen: 

• Antea Works on the west dealt with sewage and industrial waste from Industria and drained via the Klein Jukskei into what is now New Canada and Fleurhof Dams.  
• Bruma, in the east of Joburg, is now a shopping centre and lake (which it seems is now so polluted that is near reverting to its origins as a sewage plant) Bruma took domestic waste from the eastern suburbs of Observatory, Sandringham etc. into the main Jukskei River valley.
• Cydna, now the Melrose Bird Sanctuary, on the north-east of Johannesburg, served Houghton, Oaklands, Orchards, Norwood, Melrose and Illovo, draining into the Orange Grove Spruit which later joins the Sandspruit (which rises at a point near Louis Botha Ave) and eventually, the Braamfontein Spruit.  
• Delta constructed to serve the suburbs of Parktown, Emmarentia, Auckland Park, Greenside, Parkhurst, Parkwood etc., was located on the small Delta Stream flowing into the Braamfontein Spruit. (This info from Jane Carruthers’ research on Delta Sewage works).    

Delta was unique in two respects: the main works were housed in a single building (which is also a good example of Johannesburg Art Deco and now houses the Environmental Training Centre) and the method of sewage disposal was experimental at that time.

It was not too long before it became clear that these sewage plants would not cope with the needs of Johannesburg’s rapidly increasing population. By the end of the Second World War expansion of Bruma, Cydna and Delta was not viable as they were surrounded by housing.  So  the City Engineering department needed to look at establishing a larger plant to the north of what is now Sandton.  However Northern Disposal works (at Diepsloot), with its huge pipeline which required both bridges and tunnelling to keep its gravity-feeding at the optimum, took a long time to build.  (The luxury gated community gets its derogatory nickname of D[r]ainfern from its proximity to and outlook on this massive pipe-line.) It was only in 1959 that the Northern Disposal Works began to accept any volume of sewage from the other treatment plants. Delta finally closed at the end of June 1963.  …

DELTA NOW

…… And now Delta Park home is used extensively by dog-walkers, horse-riders, (yes … horse riding in the middle of a Joburg suburban neighbourhood), joggers, mountain bikers, bird-watchers (there are well over 180 species on the Delta birding list), families with young children – there is a fabulous playground area, worshippers at the many small independent church meetings held on a Sunday (we can hear the drums and singing from Liz at Lancaster), and conference delegates, trainees and attendees at educational programmes run from  the Environmental Centre. And yes, sadly there are many homeless people who live along the banks of the river. 

For more information on Delta Park see http://www.deltaenviro.org.za/deltaacc.htm

From Gingko’s newsletter: 

With February being the month of love, we thought we’d put together a programme that would celebrate some of the world’s greatest love songs. Michèle Corbin (soprano) and Donato Somma (tenor) will perform a wonderful selection of operatic, traditional Napolitan and more contemporary works to the accompaniment of pianist Susan Harrop-Allin.

Works include (among others) the beautiful Libiamo from Verdi’s La Traviata, Morrcone’s Nella Fantasiamade famous by Sarah Brightmanand more recently by Il Divo, the fabulous-for-singing-in-the-shower-on-your-own O Sole Mio,

We’ll be serving a special array of typical Italian street food, including antipasto platters, bagnacauda with grissini & raw veg for dipping, loads of different but equally delicious bruschetta, polenta fritta croccante otherwise know as polenta chips with muffaletta to dunk them in, popcorn w garlic & parmigiano and then luscious strawberries with balsamic glaze and tiramisu for dessert!

The concert is R100.00 per person. Book your table soonest as seats are limited as you know! Email Catherine@gingko.co.za. You’re welcome to come earlier for lunch and simply stay on, or plan on a late lunch accompanied by some of the world’s most delightful music.