If only one Stilbaai citizen’s honesty can rub off on politicians
This morning Fredo had a humbling experience when he travelled to the town of Stilbaai to buy his Sunday papers. These papers, and even the daily papers, are often not worth-while buying – compared to what we were offered some years ago. They are as one would say...
It is worth looking after the genes of the old Saffron pear tree
Fredo has not visited Cape Town’s Company Gardens for many a year. A couple of years ago, he had a very good reason to go there – a tree planting involving a Saffron pear tree which has been developed from what is generally accepted as the oldest fruit tree in South...
What kept us sane during Covid in the Southern Cape
Three things kept Janey and Fredo sane during the past 18 months of lockdown! It was the ability to connect with the JEFF TOGETHER family on Facebook every morning and sometime throughout the day. Then was the special new meaning we could attribute to “eating out”....
When the good citizens of Stilbaai get “gatvol”
In Afrikaans there is a lovely word that describes the mood when you have really been pushed too far. We then say we are now “gatvol” and when we say that we normally mean it. Fredo thought about this description when he learnt about a dispute in one of Stilbaai’s...
Longing for the old election times
For those who have not noticed South Africa is in the grip of election fever again. Here in the Southern Cape this occasion is marked mainly by the application of lots of posters on lamp posts across the town – sometimes even on a fence pole on the country roads. This...
“Every community has its own Kareltjie”
The antics of the previous conscientious objector Carl Niehaus and specifically the special times that he is now spending in the company of the Nkandla crooner, Jacob Zuma, is constantly in the news. One of the political writers in the Sunday media converted Carl...
The ultimate survivor turns 90!
For Fredo there are a few reasons why the month of October is so significant! One of them is that it is the month in which the fruit trees in South Africa brings forth their blossom and signals the start of a new year’s harvest. More importantly though, for Fredo and...
Memories of June 16, 1976 – how do we recall this day and events that followed
For those who do not know South Africa is today celebrating or commemorating a very significant event in its unfolding history. On this day in 1976 the youth in schools in the Johannesburg area joined the fight against apartheid. They set in motion a chain of events...
West Coast here we come!
Fredo is going to explore the West Coast in July and, with Janey, we are going to find a couple of magical places to stay and contribute some memorable stories to our blog. Due to Covid 19 we have not been able to travel over the post year or so. On two occasions we...
Special links remembered as we say goodbye to Prince Phillip.
Few people realize how close the association and ties between the fruit growers of South Africa and the British Royal Family really is. This is now being highlighted again by the funeral service for Prince Phillip which was conducted with so much dignity over the...
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