25 May 2016 by CXpress

25 May 2016

Published every Wednesday by CXpress 2006 (Pty) Ltd - PO Box 1449, Plettenberg Bay 6600 - 6 Park Lane, Plettenberg Bay - Tel: 044 533 1004 - Fax: 044 533 0852 Email: editor@cxpress.co.za / advertising@cxpress.co.za Web page: www.cxpress.co.za Printed by Group Editors

FREE Photo: Dave Reynell

Shark sightings Knysna reader Dave Reynell captured this beauty last weekend and wrote: ‘The conditions are absolutely perfect on Robberg for spotting so-called great whites at the moment. I took a stroll on the mountain and managed to get a few nice pics of four of them swimming up and down between the beach and Kanonkoelkop, just past the Gap. At 3m to 3.5m in length they’re not big daddies, but big enough to scare the hell out of you if snorkelling…’ Sightings have also been reported at Central Beach, so keep an eye out for these amazing animals, as well as the whales that are slowly returning to our shores.

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NEWS & VIEWS

25 May 2016

The first name on the cenotaph - and a brief history of Knysna’s Barnard brothers ‘In an attempt to stimulate the historians among your many readers, I’ve put together a short piece on two Barnard brothers, Edward and John, who served in the First World War’, writes GAVIN NEFDT - a Joburger with his history and heart in Knysna and Plett OW many of us walk past a war memorial or statue, look at the names and wonder what the history behind each name is? This is the case with the cenotaph in the centre of Knysna, where the first name that appears is that of Adam Edward Barnard. He was the second eldest son of John William Frederick and Eliza Janetta Barnard of Old Place, Knysna, and went to war aged 16, together with his brother, John William Frederick, who was two years older. They were members of the South African Infantry, 3rd Regiment*, and embarked in Durban for France. The two brothers were part of the Allied forces who fought and survived the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916 (from July 15 to September 3), and the South African Brigade was later deployed in Belgium and formed part of the 9th Scottish Division, as members of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade. It was here, in Belgium, that the famous tunnels were dug under German positions and then stacked with explosives, which were then set off. According to the famous author and later member of parliament, Deneys Reitz (of Commando, Trekking On and Adrift on the Open Veld fame), the biggest of these explosions was heard back in London! The general area around Ypres was totally devastated by the war, and it is here that Adam died of his wounds on May 4, 1918. He lies buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Poperinge, West-Vlaanderen [see photo]. His elder brother, John, was wounded in the left arm, but survived the war, later marrying Daisy Jessie Taylor, sister of Fred Taylor, who owned a cattle farm along George Rex Drive. The house was the first one located on the righthand side of George Rex Drive, on the way to The

SET IN STONE: Adam Edward Barnard’s grave and, below, the entrance to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Flanders

MEMORY SERVES: The cenotaph in Knysna’s Main Street Memorial Gardens, where Adam Edward Barnard’s name tops the list of war heroes fallen during WWI and WWII Photo: Philip Caveney

Heads, and has since been demolished. Fred’s cattle kraal was situated where the golf club is today. John later farmed on the

Rheenendal Road and also owned land at Knoetzie. Interestingly, there used to be a concrete pathway across the first set of rocks

in front of the largest castle, which bore his initials, but this pathway was unfortunately cemented over at a later stage. John led an interesting life and ended up for a short period in a mental institution in Grahamstown, suffering from shell shock, from which he apparently recovered. He eventually died early in the 1930s while undergoing the umpteenth operation to his arm at the Johannesburg General Hospital. He was commonly called ‘Johnnie Blikarm’, as he had metal pins put in his arm to keep the fragmented bones together. The medical prowess of the doctors of those days left much to be desired as the silver - a semi-precious metal and therefore not sterile - used caused gangrene, which ultimately led to his death. Had the arm been amputated at the shoulder, he would not have had the medical complications. John and Daisy had six children: Ruth, the first born, followed by Thora**, Mona, Edward, Dulcie, and finally, Noel. John’s mother, Eliza (born Thomas), died in Knysna three weeks short of her 100th birthday. * The gravestone could be incorrect as the 3rd Regiment was in fact drawn from men coming from the Transvaal and Rhodesia, and Adam and John were from the Cape (1st Regiment). According to the list of those buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, members of the 1st Regiment were also interred there. ** Thora (née Barnard), who passed away a decade ago, was the author’s mother. Do you know more? Should there be any avid historians out there who can cast more light on this period or on the Barnard family, please feel free to contact CXPRESS by email at editor@cxpress. co.za.

NEWS & VIEWS

25 May 2016

Heads roll as Bitou goes after corrupt employees Bitou Municipality is following through on threats that action would be taken against officials found guilty of, among other transgressions, electricity theft, with a senior official being found guilty during a disciplinary tribunal recently - YOLANDÉ STANDER reports

AWAITING FATE: Communications manager Kholiswa Ndudula Masiza contributed to Bitou’s R9-million losses suffered through electricity theft - Photos: Bitou Municipality

SERVED: Mzwandile Namntu was charged with regard to dereliction of duties

UP, UP AND OVER THE TOP: Tanya Wildeman awarded herself salary and car allowance increases without following municipal policies

HE theft relates to the illegal bypassing of electricity metres after the municipality, during an independent investigation last year, found that municipal employees contributed to more than R9million in losses. Last week the chairman of the tribunal delivered his guilty verdict against Bitou’s communications manager Kholiswa Ndudula Masiza following a lengthy disciplinary process. “There has now been a request for the representing and opposing parties in the matter for written submissions on evidence in aggravation and or mitigation, before deciding on

an appropriate sanction in this instance,” municipal spokesman Manfred van Rooyen said. He added that other officials who had faced similar charges had already been dismissed. The municipality launched an internal investigation into massive electricity losses highlighted in AuditorGeneral Kimi Makwetu’s report in 2014 and found that 47 municipal officials had not purchased electricity for extended periods some up to five years. A municipal team, along with independent electricians, auditors and the local police, then carried out a sting operations on prop-

erties identified and found that about 40 of them had electricity metres which had been tampered with. In the meantime, Bitou had also taken action against other employees allegedly involved in fraudulent activities. Last week, arbitration proceedings started in the matter between Bitou Municipality and former manager of human resources Tanya Wildeman - also the wife of former mayor Euan Wildeman - following her dismissal over what has been labelled “gross dishonesty in November last year”. Van Rooyen said Wildeman awarded herself salary notch increases and increases to her car allowance without following municipal policies and legislative framework. Arbitration proceedings were also started against Isreal Futshana, one of two officials dismissed over corruption relating to the unlawful sale of government houses. Lulamile Klaas, the other official, still has to bring a condonation application to proceed with the arbitration relating to his dismissal. Action against the two came after claims that municipal employees illegally sold government houses to KwaNokuthula residents. Van Rooyen said last week another senior official - Mzwandile Namntu, manager of the multipurpose centre in KwaNokuthula - was also served with serious charges relating to the contravention of procurement policies and dereliction of duties. Van Rooyen added that he had been placed on precautionary suspension until the disciplinary tribunal in this matter was concluded. Garden Route Media

CXPRESS

NEWS & VIEWS

25 May 2016

A Team tightens the noose on crooks CE crime fighters the Plett Watch (PW) ATeam had a busy weekend, managing to assist in apprehending several alleged criminals. On Sunday afternoon a vigilant PW member noticed three men walking from Entaa into Maplin Drive, looking into properties as they went along. PW’s John Stewart reported that the A-Team intercepted them in Hanois Crescent and asked them to leave the area. The team had no grounds to apprehend them, but recognised them as a group of known opportunistic criminals. Shortly thereafter the A-

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The previous night at around 9:30pm, the ATeam responded to a call from the Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association control room about a panic alarm activated in Meeding Street. Stewart said that two PW members as well as patrol units from Smhart Alarms and ADT responded. “The homeowner reported hearing a loud banging as if someone was trying to break through his back gate. This property and neighbouring holiday house were both secured and nothing untoward or out of place was found. As everybody was leaving one

PW member heard a noise coming from an adjacent building site.” When response members entered the property via Odlands Drive, they found evidence of forced entry into a basement storeroom. “Plett Watch members then caught a suspect red-handed while stealing building supplies and power tools. The police was called and the suspect handed over. Despite several attempts to obtain police confirmation about both incidents, the SAPS spokesman did not respond before going to print. Yolandé Stander Garden Route Media

Notice Board AY 23 was the last day of voter registration for the Local Government Elections on August 3. Visit https://goo. gl/QF9Ruz where you can enter your ID number to check on your registration status, voting station information and ward number. • YouTube sensation Suzelle DIY will be making a headline appearance at this year’s Plett MAD (Music Arts Drama) from June 24 to July 18. Her July 12 DIY

M From

Team was informed that a group of men fitting their description had allegedly been involved in an armed robbery at the Plett landfill during which a local was robbed of his cellphone. “The response members apprehended three suspects outside The Clean Shop and detained them until police arrived,” Stewart said. When they were searched, police found what is believed to be the stolen cellphone as well as knives and tik pipes. It was believed that five suspects were involved in the robbery and that two of them were still at large.

demo is scheduled as part of the Food Film Festival. See www.pletttourism.com for further information. • Plett Surf Lifesaving Club holds its AGM on May 26 at 5:30 for 6pm at the clubhouse. Call 083 304 5087 with queries. Readers are also invited to the 13th AGM of Bitou Training tomorrow at 5pm in the DRC hall in Marine Drive. • Plett SAPS has postponed its liquor licence holder session to June 28.

WAKE-UP BREAK: The tired but friendly Australian team DashRunStopShop of Symon Rurik, Owen Jones, Samantha Gash and Andy Turner smiled for the CXPRESS camera while waiting for lattes at Beacon Island KwikSpar on Day 3 of Expedition Africa, which saw 54 international teams compete for the coveted title that was finally claimed by Knysna outfit Team Featherbed Painted Wolf in an incredible finishing time of three days, 12 hours and 33 minutes - check out www. kineticgear.org for pics and results - Photo: Esther de Villiers

NEWS & VIEWS

25 May 2016

CXPRESS

Former Plett local Emma Durden wins international award POCKET DOC: Dr Emma Durden whose book ‘Pocket Jack’ is set in Plett - lived in the beautiful bay from her pre-teen years until matriculating at Wittedrift, and often visits her resident family from her base in KZN

HE late great Brian Durden was one of the first contributors to CXPRESS when the paper was founded in 1998, and the humour he shared with our young publication at the time - and for many years until his passing in 2007 - is always fondly remembered. Then, seven-odd years ago, we reported on the launch of his daughter Emma’s first book, so knew then that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. With this history in mind, we were delighted to last week get word from Marilyn Durden, Plett resident of many years, to inform us that their talented daughter, now Dr Durden, had just received an international award, due for collection in the States later this year. But let’s rewind a little to when Emma was a girl, which is when Marilyn says the Durdens moved to the

Garden Route. “Emma grew up in Plett from the age of 12 and matriculated at Wittedrift. She returns home often from Durban, where she has worked in various fields in theatre, since she graduated from Rhodes University. “She is the author of ‘Pocket Jack’ - a children’s book about Plett she wrote some years ago and which was reviewed in CXPRESS at the time.” Back to the present day: Dr Emma Durden is programme manager of Twist Theatre Development Projects, and heard earlier this month that she had been selected as recipient of the Chicago-based Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Award for Leadership in Community Based Theatre and Civic Engagement. This prestigious international award is given to

those individuals or theatre organisations that help facilitate communities in creating theatre that reflects their constituents and to those who develop lasting relationships with those communities. Emma was nominated for this award for her outstanding work with Twist Projects, and her history - spanning over 20 years - of working with theatre, health and education. The award fits well with the work that Emma has facilitated through her role in research, teaching and practice, in South Africa and further afield. On hearing news of the award, Emma said: “It is amazing to receive an international award for the work that we do in KZN. It is a province rich with storytellers, and I have enormous respect for the dedication and talent of the community theatre groups that I work with, as well as the professional theatre makers, the activists and others who make this work both meaningful and possible. “As much as my name is on the award, it would not be possible without all of those with whom I work, and so I thank them as well as the ATHE for this recognition.” Emma will be travelling to Chicago in the USA to receive the award later this year, after completing a series of new projects, including a documentary film on nurses trained to prescribe anti-retroviral drugs. We congratulate this prolific product of Plettenberg Bay on her awesome international accomplishment.

CXPRESS

BUSINESS

25 May 2016

Investor Focus

Malcolm Stewart – Investment manager at Michaelides Parker Wealth Knysna & Plett

Are you damaging your investment returns? VER the long term, it has been shown that equities provide the highest return for investors, and yet investors are not reaping the full benefits of these returns. Unfortunately, investor behaviour is the major reason. The average investor has not been able to tolerate the volatility that equities involve, resulting in them not only holding lower than necessary equity exposure to meet their goals, but also switching out of their equity holdings at the worst possible times. An eye-opening study covering the entire US mutual fund industry showed that the average US equity investor experienced only a 3.79% return over a 30-year period (1985-2014), compared to 11.06% p.a. from the S&P 500 index. This 7.27-percentage point over 30 years if achieved would have resulted in seven times more capital for the investor. In 2000 when the index returned 16% over the previous 20 years, the average US investor’s return was only 5% p.a. Why aren’t investors getting good equity returns? The study found it had little

to do with which equity unit trust or ETF the investor had chosen. Rather, after examining 20 years of investor behaviour, it was concluded that it was due to panic... Investors switched out of their equity funds and into other investments that were seemingly better performing, In 16 out of the 20 years, they typically chose a sound alternative. However, during the four years in which they were wrong, they got it badly wrong, wiping out all of the previous years’ gains and often more. It is no coincidence that the four ‘bad’ years were those which saw extreme market falls, such as 2008 and 2002, engendering panic and irrational behaviour among investors. The study also found that the average US investor only held an equity fund for 3.3 years - too short a period to benefit from equity returns. Another disease suffered by investors is ‘recency bias’ - a tendency to give too much weight to recent experiences when forming a view of the future. The final disease is loss aversion - also called Prospect Theory, in that people

value similar-sized gains and losses differently. The pain that they experience from a particular loss weighs a lot more in their minds than the joy they experience from a similar gain. This natural bias against losses makes it harder for investors to weather downturns in the more volatile equity markets. Clearly the solution is to avoid panic/fear when bombarded with bad news. This is easier said than done. There are two possibilities; firstly, make sure you have a seasoned professional to hold your hand, as it’s easier to fight against human nature when you have good support. The second remedy for these diseases is to ensure that you are always invested in sound, well-run companies. No matter what the economy is doing or what the media is screaming, these companies will continue to grow and make good profits over the long term. • Acknowledgement is due to Prudential for research used in this story. Malcolm has been in the investment industry for over 40 years, and has written this column for the last 17 years.

PROMOTION

25 May 2016

CXPRESS

25 May 2016

Stretching those old retirement dollars... S HIRLEY and Abe, a retired couple from New York City, living in Miami Beach, are getting ready to go out to dinner. Shirley says: “Abe, darling, do you want me to wear this Chanel suit or the Gucci?” Abe says: “I don’t care.” A few minutes later Shirley says: “Abe, should I wear my Cartier watch or

INTERVAL

We welcome back Treknet to our pages this week!

my Rolex?” “Your choice,” Abe says. A few more minutes pass and Shirley asks: “Abe, love, shall I wear my five-carat pearl diamond ring or my six-carat round diamond ring with the baguettes?” Abe replies: “Shirley, I really don’t care what you wear, but if you don’t get moving, we’re going to miss the Early Bird Special.”

Being a little baby turtle baby turtle was standing at the bottom of a large tree and with a deep sigh, started to climb. An hour later, he reached a very high branch and walked along to the end. He turned and spread all four flippers and launched himself off the branch. On landing at the bottom in a pile of soft, dead leaves, he shook himself off, walked back to the bottom of the tree and with a sigh started to climb. About an hour later, he

again reached the very high branch, walked along, turned, spread his flippers and flung himself off the branch. Again, he landed on the bottom, shook himself off, went to the bottom of the tree, sighed and started climbing. Watching these proceedings from the end of the branch were two birds. The momma bird turned to daddy bird and whispered: “Don’t you think it’s time we told him he was adopted?”

Treknet, by Gavin Thomson and Dave Gomersall, right, has been published for more than a decade. Featuring best friends Boet and John, and the cast of Wiseman the shark spotter, Koos, Mr Williams, Debbie, Sannie and Brak the dog, Treknet has appeared in all the major provinces throughout South Africa and beyond, including Namibia, Australia, Austria and Norway, where it appears weekly and is called ‘Helt ebbe?’ In 2013, Treknet was turned into a live action 13-part TV show on kykNET and was nominated for two awards. Last year, to celebrate their 10th year, Gavin and Dave compiled a few of their favourite comic strips into their first collection called ‘The Tales from Treknet’, available at all Wordsworth Bookshops and other independents for R49.95. In the next five editions, we have one copy of the comic to give away to a lucky reader weekly - see details below.

Singing happy birthday FTER much convincing from her husband, Tammy finally agreed to call an old family friend to sing her happy birthday. It was only after she finished singing that the voice at the other end of the line informed her that it was the wrong number. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Tammy said, embarrassed. “It’s okay,” the voice replied, “you need all the practice you can get.”

Win a copy of the 10th anniversary special collectors edition of Tales from Treknet by answering the following question: What is the name of Boet’s dog? To find the answer go to the Facebook page THE OFFICIAL TREKNET FAN PAGE… Like it, and keep up to date with daily cartoons and news. Answers can be emailed to editor@cxpress.co.za or faxed to 044 533 0852 by latest May 30. Please include your full name, physical address and contact details. (The first correct answer received will be the winner.)

PROMOTION

25 May 2016

CXPRESS

Read CXPRESS online @ www.cxpress.co.za

25 May 2016

CLASSIFIEDS

ON THE SOAPBOX

25 May 2016

Letters to the Editor

CXPRESS

Email: editor@cxpress.co.za - Fax: 044 533 0852 - PO Box 1449, Plett 6600

Thank you for giving our boys the good stuff

GEELBEKFUL OF BUFFALOS: Plett Primary’s U/9 rugby boys had fun on the field, on the beach, and around the braai during a recent tour to Jeffrey’s Bay

Just so you know: Loving Liseen gave Danny his ‘forever’ home Thank you so very, very much for having published the appeal on behalf of Danny in last week’s edition of CXPRESS [read it on page 11 of the May 18 edition at www.cxpress.co.za]. We are all so thrilled that the unthinkable didn’t have to happen. Just before your paper hit the streets, Liseen Beukes told me she wanted to “give Danny a chance”… So the wonderful news is that this deserving boy has now become a member of a loving family, has had friends’ dogs come over to play in the ample and fenced-in yard, sleeps next to Liseen’s bed, and is already loyal to and protective over his new family! I thought you may wish to include this happy follow-up to last week’s appeal - surely your readers will breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Danny is loved, very much alive and truly secure! Much love and many, many thanks for continuing to be the voice of those unable to speak for

themselves. Michelle Moyes, Plett (We actually received the wonderful news of Danny’s adoption moments before printing the last edition, when it was impossible to pull the letter from the page and replace it with the new story of two long-legged, athletic girls in need of a home... After happily living on a farm the owner of Dixie, 20 months, and Milly, 11 months, had to move to a flat, where there’s no room for them to roam. The girls have now been at PAWS for two months and, while easy to handle, friendly and sociable, they are becoming frustrated at being confined to an area way smaller than that to which they were accustomed, the excess energy recently being expressed in rough play that sometimes leads to fights. We’d love to help find a foster home for both girls, together or separately. Of course, adoption would be first prize! Phone PAWS on 083 287 9917 if you can help. - Eds.)

LIFESAVER: Liseen Beukes gave Danny a second lease on life when, mere weeks before, his kennel-stressed behaviour combined with the absence of adopting new parents may have forced the good people at PAWS to consider a very different outcome to his fate

Cutting across cultural and language barriers, the Blue Buffalos spent a night of team building in Jeffrey’s Bay - and it was glorious! Who are they? The Blue Buffalos are Plett Primary School’s U/9 rugby boys, of course. Jeffrey’s Bay Primary hosted a tournament two weekends ago and several of Plett Primary’s rugby and netball teams played against various schools from the Eastern Cape. The U/9 team might not have won their games, but team spirit was victorious, indeed! After their matches on Saturday, the boys and many of their parents stayed over at Seaview Resort, where they were treated to a won-

derful meal made possible by various wonderful Plett people: braai packs from Mike’s butchery and garlic loaves from Kally’s Bakery off Piesang Valley Road, lovely salad from the BI and rolls from KwikSpar. A generous Plett Mowers granny supplied enough cool drinks for a full rugby team… and off they went. By 9pm it felt like midnight, and after a long day the boys crashed with grins on their faces. Huge thanks go to coaches Deon, Jacques, Vic and Jaco for their commitment to the boys. The same goes for boys and computers - garbage in, garbage out; good stuff in... great stuff out! ‘Grateful Mom’, Plett

The long and short of Robberg Beach

Veteran Plett beach-walker Peter Hatz popped in at CXPRESS recently with a hand-drawn map - here expertly translated into an eye-catching graphic version by our design guru Sandi Smith - to share his findings on the exact distance from the Beacon Island rocks to Robberg Beach end. Said Peter: ‘Because I’m forever traversing that beach, I’ve often been asked about its exact extent. So I walked it with my measuring wheel and found it to be 4.32km on the dot.’ He added that the bit from Central to the start of Robberg Beach was 640m. Exactly. So there you have it.

Thoughts on clean audits and the alleviation of congested traffic For the benefit of Knysna ratepayers, town councillors - and the mayor who loves to boast about Knysna’s clean audits - here is an extract from an article entitled ‘Clean audit won’t fix roads’, which appeared in a national newspaper recently. “Ratepayers must start looking at the overall performance of their municipality and not base their opinion as to its competence only on audit outcomes - which do not adequately reflect the quality of service delivery. “This was the advice of experts in local government taking part in a discussion at Wits University’s Public Affairs Research Institute. “Among the issues discussed was the obsession of

local government politicians with achieving a clean audit report for their municipality irrespective of the quality of life of their citizens.” The article continues with some eye opening statements. Then, there have recently been some discussions on how to alleviate the traffic congestion along Knysna’s main road. One suggestion was to turn Waterfront Drive and the main road into one-ways. May I throw in another suggestion? How about doing away with parking on Main Street? This would create two lanes in both directions, and there is ample parking in the various facilities off the main road. ‘Richard of Knysna’

CXPRESS

SPORT & ADVENTURE

25 May 2016

S-Cape takes silver at Tuna Nationals HE Southern Cape Deep Sea Angling Association Tuna Angling Team won silver at the Tuna Nationals out of Simons Town from May 9-14. The anglers were captain Connie Garstman from Knysna Deep Sea Angling

OWLS South Africa is making a concerted effort to involve younger players in the sport of lawn bowls, and the Western Cape Education Department are also encouraging schools to adopt the game as a school sport. The folk at Plettenberg Bay Bowling Club are thrilled and very fortunate that Wittedrift High School has supported such a move. On Friday May 20, 18 Wittedrift students had their first of what will become weekly lessons on the bowling green. Qualified coaches led by

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The SADSAA (SA Deep Sea Angling Association) team took the lead on Day 2 with a few good Yellowfin and good catches of Longfin, building a commanding lead that they kept until the end, thereby comfortably taking the gold. Crause hooked a very good Yellowfin on Day 1

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WHADDA WHOPPER: Captain Connie Garstman of Knysna Deep Sea Angling Club and the record-breaking Yellowfin he landed off Simons Town

but ran out of time. On the last day both Crause and Lammers lost Yellowfin to the sharks - the inevitable hard luck stories. The Tuna Nationals is usually hosted in Cape waters and the fishing is typically done about 40 nautical miles off Cape Point. The conditions were incredibly smooth and calm for Cape waters and all four days were fished, whereas normally the anglers are lucky to get two or three days. This year trolling was not very productive and then Yellowfin mostly get caught on bait. Hundreds of Blue sharks made baiting very difficult as they would simply bite the bait lines off - a good sea, but trying and frustrating angling conditions. The team thanks Southern Cape Deep Sea Angling Association and the individual clubs for their sponsorship, as well as hosts Cape Boat and Ski-boat Club at Rumbly Bay for a very well run tournament.

Wittedrift students set the tone in national move to get youngsters on the greens

SENSATIONAL SPECIALS

Includ

Club, Maurits Lammers from George Deep Sea Angling, and Ewald Crause of the Mossel Bay Yacht and Boat Club. Garstman caught the biggest Yellowfin tuna of the tournament, weighing in at 78.95kg on 10kg line. It is also his personal best catch, and betters the existing Southern Cape record of 77kg set by John Hughes all of 12 years ago. What made this catch more remarkable is the fact that he managed to land the fish in 1 hour 45 minutes, where a fish this size usually takes considerably longer to land. He caught it on the first day of the tournament, giving the team a significant head-start. The team stayed in the running with decent catches of Longfin tuna and the odd smaller Yellowfin to keep the scoreboard ticking over. On the last day, they caught enough Longfin to push the Western Province team out of second place into third.

ONE DOWN! The joy of having discovered a brand new sport is clear on the faces of these Wittedrift students, pictured with coaches and facilitators of the inaugural training session at Plett Bowling Club last Friday - Photo: Owen Calverley

Graham Morris took the students through their first

steps on the green - frustrating moments at times when a simple-looking game can be so difficult, and exciting times when there was clear improvement throughout the session. The club, led by president Rodney Hill, is excited at the prospect of not only developing an appreciation for the game in the community, but also of a youth team which will grow and one day compete at national level. Owen and Sharon Calverley, team managers for the Eden District U19 squad, came from Mossel Bay to be present for the inaugural session. They have seen such developments throughout SA and are extremely excited at the prospect of a growing pool of talented bowlers among local youngsters.