31 May 2017

31 May 2017

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

Bok fever in Bitou

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Photo: Gerhard van Huyssteen

Early-bird fans started gathering at Bitou Rugby Club yesterday to see the Springbok team in training action. The town has been gripped by Bok fever since it was announced that the national rugby squad selected Plett as venue for its training camp ahead of forthcoming clashes against France. We wish all players and officials a marvellous Plett sojourn - visit the photo gallery at www.cxpress.co.za for more images.

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NEWS & VIEWS

31 May 2017

Henk’s Little Travelogue: Australia/Tasmania/New Zealand - Part VII

Port Macquarie road-trip delights with views aplenty Itinerant contributor HENK BOLHUIS is currently exploring the wonders of Down Under with his wife Rentia, and will entertain CXPRESS readers for the next four weeks with his travel tales and images - turn to page 2 of the previous six editions at www.cxpress.co.za to catch up EAVING Sydney on March 31, we now head by car to Port Macquarie - a small town further north on Australia’s East Coast, a trip of roughly 400km.

The weather is beautiful, autumn has arrived, and the air is crisp as we speed northwards along the M1 through vast and densely-forested areas.

This part of New South Wales comprises several different national parks, such as Ku-RingGai, Marramarra, and the Brisbane Water National Park.

The latter actually lies just south of Gosford, a small town in New South Wales and about 1,000km south of the City of Brisbane, in Queensland.

We drive through the Central Coast area and past the town of New Castle, where the M1 changes to the A1, also called the Pacific Highway.

At Bulahdelah we pull off into one of the many attractive and clean rest areas along this long stretch of road, to get an excellent Aussie cappuccino and something to eat; then we’re on our way once more.

As an ex-traffic police officer, one thing that continuously strikes me is the excellent condition of the average motor vehicle on Australia’s roads - no ‘rust buckets’ or smoking diesel trucks. And trucks are plentiful - huge, modern monsters with lots of shining chrome.

Late in the afternoon we reach our destination of a beautiful time-share apartment just a few steps from the beachfront. Tonight we’ll turn in early as we have a full day ahead tomorrow, touring the town and the

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SHIPSAVER: Tacking Point Lighthouse was built after several craft were wrecked in its vicinity

surrounding countryside.

--After breakfast on April 1, we leave for a tour by car of Port Macquarie and the surrounding countryside. Located at the mouth of the Hastings River where it flows into the Tasman Sea, this attractive town of just under 50,000 people lies about 390km north of Sydney and about 570km south of Brisbane, the capital of the State of Queensland.

Its modern history goes back to 1818, when the first Europeans arrived - an expedition led by young British explorer John Joseph William Molesworth Oxley, who arrived surprisingly not by sea, but from the interior and named the place after Lachlan Macquarie, the Governor of New South Wales.

Oxley wrote in his diary: “The port abounds with fish; the sharks are larger and more numerous than I have ever observed. The forest hills and rising grounds abound with large kangaroos and the marshes shelter and support innumerable wild fowl.”

This fair description, gleaned from Wikipedia, in many ways still holds to this day.

Like Sydney, Port Macquarie first served as destination for British convicts and became a penal settlement in April 1820, housing as many as 1,500 prisoners. It closed its doors just over 10 years later, in mid-August 1830.

Driving through the town, we pass St Thomas’s Anglican Church; one of the oldest and few remaining convict-built churches in Australia, it was constructed between 1824 and 1828. Now classified by the National Trust of Australia, its original Walker Pipe Organ is the only one of its type in the Southern Hemisphere.

We drive south along the scenic coastal Pacific Drive past Nobby Head, our first stop being Windmill Hill Reserve with its spectacular ocean views truly a photographer’s paradise.

With Sea Acres National Park on our left, Lighthouse Road leads us to Tacking Point Lighthouse. The promontory was named Tacking Point in 1802

when ‘discovered’ by Matthew Flinders during his circumnavigation of Australia.

With shipping on the increase in the mid-19th century, this particular part of the coast proved to be extremely treacherous and more than 20 vessels were wrecked nearby.

After both the Black Joe and soon the steamer Sumatra had struck the rocks and floundered in 1823, a small navigational warning light was permanently installed on Tacking Point.

Instead of returning along the same route, we take Matthew Flinders’s drive southwards and later Oxley Highway (Route 856), crossing Pacific Highway into the Hinterland. This route takes us through the small town of Wauchope on the Hastings River west of Port Macquarie.

Just outside the town we follow an unmarked, long and winding gravel road that offers us yet more outstanding scenic views.

Once more I am impressed by the many well-maintained farms and large herds of cattle grazing peacefully in lush green meadows; everything looks prosperous and utterly peaceful.

When we pass a small herd of Angus cattle, we spot four large kangaroos sitting right among the cows - the first I have seen in the wild. Unfortunately, they are a bit too far away to be filmed.

Our host informs us that they are usually spotted early in the morning or at dusk, and that one needs to be on the alert constantly because they often dash out of the adjacent bush and jump across the road.

To be continued…

NEWS & VIEWS

31 May 2017

Opposition to oil exploration gains momentum as facts on negative impact emerge Interested and affected parties who wish to comment on the proposed seismic survey for oil and gas prospecting purposes along the S-Cape coast have two weeks to do so: deadline for comments, which was extended last month, is June 15 - YOLANDÉ STANDER reports PPOSITION against the planned project is growing with more than 1,100 locals and other interested parties having signed a petition in an attempt to stop the surveying in its tracks.

Local role-players have also streamlined the commenting process through an informative document highlighting the dos and don’ts of the process, as well as stressing the possible negative effects of the proposal.

The planned project is part of an application by Sungu Sungu Oil for an oil and gas exploration right in an area within the Pletmos Basin.

The company is currently doing an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a survey phase which involves 3D seismic activity in a target area located about 12km offshore and reaches up to 60km out to sea just east of Plettenberg Bay and just west of Cape St Francis.

These surveys typically involve using airguns that shoot loud blasts of compressed air through the

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water and into the seabed.

These reflect back information about buried oil and gas deposits.

Knysna businessman Ivan Keir, who several years ago was involved in opposing UK energy company OK Energy’s plans to explore for oil and gas off the coast between Mossel Bay and Plett, started the petition which has since been supported by more than 1,100 people.

He explained that he believed the survey’s possible harmful effects outweighed its benefits and could be devastating for the local coastal economy of largely fisheries and tourism. He added that this was over and above the damage to marine fauna and habitat.

He said the ecological impacts of seismic exploration included threats of injury to cape rock lobster, three globally threatened species of turtles, squid, numerous fish species, sea-birds, seals, and many species of whales and dolphins.

“Some may be able to

swim away from the seismic airguns, but others suffer death, infertility, loss of balance, deafness, bubble sickness, loss or displacement from habitat, disruption of communications, and even mass strandings have been recorded,” Keir said.

Local role-players who have compiled a document explaining the comment process agreed and added that the airguns could produce sound levels of about 280 decibels.

They further explained that for humans, sounds louder than 85 decibels could cause hearing loss.

Over and above this, the survey area bordered on several protected areas including the Tsitsikamma and Robberg marine protected areas.

Email comments to Wanda Marais of SRK Consulting (PO Box 21842, PE, 6000) at wmarais@srk. co.za and Google ‘Stop oil exploration off South Cape coast’ to sign the petition.

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NEWS & VIEWS

31 May 2017

‘Responsible government’ at the heart of new Bitou leadership plan After an overwhelming interest in the newly-formed coalition between the Active United Front (AUF) and the DA, members of the parties’ leadership gathered in Plett to share ins and outs of their agreement with the public - YOLANDÉ STANDER reports MONG those who joined Bitou mayor Peter Lobese for a media briefing at the council chambers on Monday May 29 were DA Western Cape leader and MEC of Human Settlements Bonginkosi Madikizela, DA constituency head in Bitou and Transport and Public Works MEC Donald Grant, and chairman of AUF Lindinceba Nkentsha.

Lobese recently announced that the AUF and the DA had entered into a coalition agreement with the DA after the relationship between his party and the ANC deteriorated to such a de-

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gree that their coalition was ended. Renewed coalition negotiations followed, which saw the DA become the new AUF partner in Bitou.

Madikizela said during the briefing that the new coalition was based on mutual trust, respect and common goals.

He added that fundamentals of the agreement was a zero tolerance to corruption, economic growth, service delivery - which offered value for money for residents and redressed imbalances of the past - and caring for the poorest of Bitou’s communities.

“I’m confident that this

will be a successful partnership. I see it as the beginning of good things to come with the best interest of the town at heart,” Madikizela said.

Nkentsha said he trusted the party’s new partners were as committed as the AUF was, and that he believed the relationship would stretch beyond the 2021 elections.

Grant agreed that the coalition was not just a “one-month wonder” as it was based on values, the number-one priority being caring for the people of Bitou.

He added he also believed, despite a challenging economy, that Bitou

could create a business climate attractive to private investment, which in turn would benefit the local economy.

Lobese said one of the aspects of the coalition he took very seriously was that of “responsible government”.

“My parents taught me that to be responsible means to look after the money. To make sure there is a roof over your family’s head, that they are warm, and their basic needs are met.

“Being a responsible government means, in the same way, looking after the public coffers,” Lobese said.

NEWS & VIEWS

31 May 2017

CXPRESS

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House that?! Bitou residents less than impressed by affordable housing plan By the time you read here, the opportunity for objections may be over - MIKE KANTEY shares a piece of his mind on the Erf 4367 development URING April this year, Willem de Kock Planning Associates in George and Metroplan of Port Elizabeth had together submitted a comprehensive plan to develop an 80-strong housing scheme for Erf 4367 in Plettenberg Bay - a fairly useless piece of land between the N2 and the top of Bowtie Road, next to the Shell petrol station.

With the support of the DA-led Bitou Municipality, recently returned to office with the help of mayor Peter Lobese’s Active United Front (AUF), the scheme is intended to meet the needs of those who earn a stable income of between R3,500 and R15,000 a month.

The proposed development is in line with what the Western Cape government’s DA leadership calls “affordable housing for ownership”, using the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP).

In their letter of motivation, proponents Metroplan refer to the principle of “spatial justice” as follows: “It will address an imbalance in housing provision of the past and will provide housing for those who were, and still are, unable to acquire housing in the open market in suitable locations.”

Access to the complex will be from the roundabout at the end of

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Bowtie Road.

Local estate agent Stephen Neufeld commented: “They are small houses and any future additions will be subject to [building control] approval. It is supposed to be subsidised housing for workers in our town - teachers, firemen, police officers, etc. - who cannot afford to buy elsewhere.

“As we know, there is also a drastic shortage of rentals, so there really is very little else available. This kind of development has to happen somewhere.”

Low-cost housing specialist Keith Lurie agreed. “This is the first such project in Bitou, and is the result of years of discussion and consultation. The need for freehold title as opposed to sectional title is important.

“I am afraid Bitou will need to look at constructing more flats in the future, and also ‘social housing’ - rental stock for those that cannot qualify for subsidy,” said Lurie.

“We cannot rely on private enterprise to provide this type of accommodation as they invariably push the price up to whatever the market dictates, and the wealthy buy everything.”

Almost inevitably, there was a slew of objections from more con-

servative residents, who voiced their opinions on the town’s most popular Facebook site, Plett in Stereo.

Local community leader Ina Olivier drew attention to “a number of concerns and solutions raised by various community members, that we suggest you include in your objection letters”.

Olivier continued: “Our opinion is not that we disagree with the housing integration process, but rather the facts and irregularities contained in the new proposal.

“The new proposal has not taken into consideration the adverse effects this development will have on the Plett community as a whole.”

Issues highlighted include “very small unit sizes, the high number of proposed units, changing of Bitou building regulations and bylaws, traffic congestion, increased municipal services and security concerns - these will leave future developments open to abuse within the CBD and surrounds”.

A long list of objections, too lengthy to enumerate, is also included. But it seems to this writer that the quintessence of the objections is that a social housing project is not welcome in the centre of Plett, but rather perhaps in Ladywood, opposite New Horizons.

PICTURE THIS: An example of a similar spatial housing scheme at Walmer Link in Port Elizabeth

As a sometime migrant, lowincome earner myself, I would welcome any project that guaranteed the long-term peace of mind on the part of the occupier.

• Although the deadline for

BUCO Plettenberg Bay

objections was on May 30, interested parties should still be able to obtain information regarding the proposed development at the municipal town planning offices at Monks View in Church Street.

Corner N2 & Rietvlei Road, Plettenberg Bay Tel: 044 501 3800 Fax: 044 501 3850

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31 May 2017

NEWS & VIEWS

BUSINESS

Investor Focus

31 May 2017 Malcolm Stewart – Investment manager at Michaelides Parker Wealth Knysna & Plett

Howzit, my China?

TOASTING A TREMENDOUS RELATIONSHIP: Malcolm Stewart shared this photo on the eve of CXPRESS’S 19th birthday on June 1 - and we feel particularly cheered, since these wishes come from our longest-standing contributor, if you consider that Mr Stewart started writing his Investor Focus column during the very first months of our existence in 1998!

EVISITING major factors influencing the Chinese economy goes a long way to put the global situation into perspective.

China’s First Wave: Manufacturing A mere 25 years ago, China’s exports were equal to half of that of France, and 25% of Japanese exports.

Today, China is the world’s largest supplier of manufactured goods. This brought massive competition to the world’s manufacturing industry, resulting in reduced prices and holding global inflation for several decades.

China’s Second Wave: Commodities In building its roads, dams, bridges and railroads, China became the world’s biggest importer of commodities. It imports 57% of the world’s iron ore and 50% of the world’s copper.

Countries with commodity-based economies underwent massive restructuring; some wasted the opportunity while others retained a lasting positive legacy.

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China’s Third Wave: Capital With the world’s manufacturing industries and commodity markets transformed, the third wave is expected to be the integration of China’s capital markets into the global financial system.

This will present many risks, but also a multitude of exciting opportunities. One will be able to participate in industries ranging from massive e-commerce to clean energy. Access will become easier - and China is currently facilitating this access.

Not unlike South Africa 20 years ago, China has laboured under strict capital controls, and these controls are gradually being reduced.

The current dark cloud that hangs over investing in China is the massive level of corporate debt on the balance sheets of their banks.

(Corporate debt is the loans from banks to companies, not to individuals.) It has reached the same level as was seen in Spain and Ja-

pan prior to the collapse of their banking sector.

The Chinese equity market is the second-largest equity market in the world, second only to the USA, and boasts the world’s third-biggest bond market.

As their financial liberation progresses, their economy will be subject to even greater global scrutiny and investors will learn that there are busts and booms in the investment world that we have never even thought of…

Then there is the massive pool of domestic savings that will be mobilised. Local Chinese will want to diversify their wealth, and the global investment scene will never be the same again.

Ironically, one can access their number one e-commerce company on the JSE! Naspers (which holds ±30% of Tencent - the world’s biggest on-line gaming company) reports figures that are beyond our comprehension, e.g. 800-million subscribers and over 600-million “chats” per day.

These are approximate numbers, but they serve to illustrate the changes that will eventually play out in the investment world.

For the immediate future, investing in China is not for sissies or retirees. There is, however, an ETF (representing an ETF) listed on the JSE. I would suggest that it makes for good reading, but also for the really brave at heart.

• Malcolm has been in the investment industry for nearly 50 years. He has written this column in CXPRESS for the last 19 years and is a specialist in managing retired wealth.

CXPRESS

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INTERVAL

31 May 2017

Facts from long ago - Part II

UESTION: Why are zero scores in tennis and squash called ‘love’?

Answer: In France, where tennis became popular, a round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called “l’oeuf,” which is French for ‘egg’. When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans mispronounced it ‘love’.

Q: In golf, where did the term ‘caddie’ come from?

A: When Mary Queen of Scots went to France as a young girl, Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scots game ‘golf’. So he had the first

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course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment.

To make sure she was properly chaperoned and guarded - while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her.

Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run...), she took the practice home with her.

In French, the word cadet is pronounced ‘ca-day’ and the Scots changed it into ‘caddie.

Q: Why do men’s clothes have buttons on the right while ladies’ clothing has

buttons on the left?

A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are righthanded, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left.

Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid’s right. And that’s where women’s buttons have remained ever since.

Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be ‘in the limelight’?

A: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the the-

atre, a performer ‘in the limelight’ was the centre of attention.

Q: Why do ships and aircraft use ‘mayday’ as their call for help?

A: This comes from the French word m’aidez meaning ‘help me’ - and is pronounced, approximately, ‘mayday.’

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called ‘pygg’. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as ‘pygg banks.’ When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig.

And it caught on!

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.

Those smart pills work EELING listless, I bought some expensive ‘brain-stimulating’ pills at the health store.

But it wasn’t until I got home that I read the label.

“This is just rosemary

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extract,” I complained to my husband. “I can’t believe I spent all that money for something that I have growing wild in the yard!”

“See?” he said. “You’re smarter already.”

INTERNATIONAL HAND SYMBOL FOR

Intercom repair dilemma Y friend’s son worked at KFC when he was in high school. One night while he was manning the drivethru, a customer told him the intercom wasn’t working properly.

My friend’s son then

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went about filling the order while a female coworker fiddled with the intercom. After making some fixes, she asked: “Is that okay now?”

“No exactly,” the customer replied. “Now you sound like a girl.”

The new wedding vows grandma overheard her five-year-old granddaughter ‘playing wedding’. The wedding vows went like this: “You have the right to

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remain silent, anything you say may be held against you, you have the right to have an attorney present. You may kiss the bride.”

A wife complains: “You never listen to me.

You only hear what you want to hear...”

Her husband replies: “Sure honey, I’ll have a beer.”

La Luna

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”

SOCIAL SCENE Photo: Lehanie Scholtz

31 May 2017

GOOSE WINES FLOW AT FAREWELL FUNDRAISER: A food and wine pairing was hosted at Tree Horse Farm earlier this month

by Grade 11 Oakhill students and their parents to raise funds for the school’s matric farewell.

Jenny Harrison of Finesse Wines, above, introduced 60 guests to the Goose Wines range produced by famous SA golfer Retief Goosen’s wine estate. Catering was done by Tim Woodford of Culinary Art Studio, supported by a bevy of extremely capable Grade 11 moms.

Organisers thank The Goose Wines as well as Simola Golf Estate, Beacon Island Hotel and Tops at Melvilles Spar for their support and for supplying prizes for the silent auction.

Complementing the delectable food and wine, both the venue and ambiance were top-notch and apart from raising funds, the evening will be remembered for a long time by all whom attended. Pictured at right from left are Louné Polson, Sarita Pretorius, and Marné de Klerk.

COMRADES AND QUIZZES AND TRASH TO CASH: Lehanie Scholtz of Knysna Marathon Club shared this pic of 12 of its 17 members who are about to tackle the Comrades in KZN on June 4, saying that the club is extremely proud to have such a large group braving SA’s most infamous ultra-marathon.

Pictured from left are Thembinkosi Malawu, Maryke Bredahl, Danie Brown, Sharon Brown, Wayne Kidd, Alfred Nise, Lewis Siyona, Lungisice Njadayi, James Ngxale, Phillip Nqayi, Marshall Richenberg and Marlon Mortlock. We wish these runners, along with Brendon Lillis, Wendell McCallum, Freddie Booysen, Gerhard Pretorius and Myles McShane who were not present when the pic was taken, all the very best for injury-free completion of Sunday’s challenge.

And if you read here and are keen to attempt a much less-strenuous trial, diarise Friday June 2, when Plett Bowling Club plays host to ‘The Complete Music Quiz’ from 6:30pm onwards. Entry at R480 per team of six max includes a wholesome supper, and all proceeds go to Plett’s Nippers and young martial arts students. Contact Barry Ricketts on 072 890 6238 or at barryricketts48@ hotmail.com to book your place.

Finally, on Saturday June 3, you’re invited to bring all non-essential goods cluttering your house and sell them for cash at Plett’s Market on Main Street from 10am to 4pm. Call Kat on 044 533 2805 (8am-12:30pm) to book your stand today.

LOCAL COLLECTABLES VALUED: On May 24 Vanessa Phillips, Kirsty Colledge, and Ian Hunter of Strauss & Co carried out valuations of antiques, memorabilia and collectables at The Grand Café and Rooms in Plettenberg Bay. A steady stream of people throughout the day brought along principally paintings as well as several items of silverware to be valued. At left, Neil van Hees of The Crags displays his painting by German artist Heinrich Rüter (1877-1955), which was valued by the able Strauss & Co trio. - Photo: Timothy Twidle

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People, places & events

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31 May 2017

CLASSIFIEDS

ON THE SOAPBOX

31 May 2017

Letters to the Editor

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

What a man. What a tremendous man...

Sir Roger Moore died at the age of 89 last Monday, and tributes have poured in for the kind and benevolent James Bond star from friends, family and fellow actors - and although the below account wasn’t sent as a letter to the CXPRESS editors as such, it sums up his gentleness and good humour quite perfectly, which is why we thought it apt to include this anecdote by MARK HAYNES, a scriptwriter from London who had a chance meeting with Moore at an airport when he was seven years old

As a seven-year-old in about 1983, in the days before First Class Lounges at airports, I was with my grandad in Nice Airport and saw Roger Moore sitting at the departure gate, reading a paper.

I told my grandad I’d just seen James Bond and asked if we could go over so I could get his autograph.

My grandad had no idea who James Bond or Roger Moore were, so we walked over and he popped me in front of Roger Moore, with the words “my grandson says you’re famous. Can you sign this?”

As charming as you’d expect, Roger asks my name and duly signs the back of my plane ticket, a fulsome note full of best wishes. I’m ecstatic, but as we head back to our seats, I glance down at the signature. It’s hard to decipher, but it definitely doesn’t say ‘James Bond’.

My grandad looks at it, half figures out it says ‘Roger Moore’ - I have absolutely no idea who that is, and my heart sinks.

I tell my grandad he’s signed it wrong, that he’s

put someone else’s name.

So my grandad heads back to Roger Moore, holding the ticket which he’s only just signed.

I remember staying by our seats and my grandad saying: “He says you’ve signed the wrong name.

He says your name is James Bond.”

Roger Moore’s face crinkled up with realisation, and he beckoned me over. When I was by his knee, he leant over, looked from side to side,

raised an eyebrow, and in a hushed voice said to me: “I have to sign my name as ‘Roger Moore’ because otherwise... Blofeld might find out I was here.”

He asked me not to tell anyone that I’d just seen James Bond, and he thanked me for keeping his secret. I went back to our seats, my nerves absolutely jangling with delight.

My grandad asked me if he’d signed ‘James Bond’.

No, I said. I’d got it wrong. I was working

BEST BOND: The charismatic Roger Moore - the charming story shared here has attracted 31,000 interactions and 9,000 shares on Facebook along with a ton of widelyshared screen grabs - Photo: The Independent Culture

with James Bond now.

Many, many years later, I was working as a scriptwriter on a recording that involved Unicef, and Roger Moore was doing a piece to camera as an ambassador. He was completely lovely and while the cameramen were setting up, I told him in passing the story of when I met him in Nice Airport.

He was happy to hear it, and he had a chuckle and said: “Well, I don’t remember but I’m glad you got to meet James Bond.”

So that was lovely.

And then he did something so brilliant.

After the filming, he walked past me in the corridor, heading out to his car - but as he got level, he paused, looked both ways, raised an eyebrow and in a hushed voice said: “Of course I remember our meeting in Nice.

But I didn’t say anything in there, because those cameramen - any one of them could be working for Blofeld.”

I was as delighted at 30 as I had been at seven.

What a man. What a tremendous man.

Account of puppy abuse on Knysna beach enrages readers The letter in your edition of May 17 regarding the abuse of puppies at Coney Beach in Knysna, refers [turn to page 11 of that issue at www.cxpress.co.za].

It’s just unbelievable that a so-called mother can sit there and watch her stupid children treat small puppies as described in the letter. What a pity that she was not identified.

Our concern is: are they safe and well and being looked after now, and do you need any donation to help? We are so dis-

tressed, so please advise if there is anything we can do to assist.

Mr and Mrs Cohen, Plett --Thank you for printing the lady from Grahamstown’s letter - by doing so you brought to my notice - and that of many other lovers of God’s precious voiceless creatures - the actions of this mean-hearted lady sitting on the rocks at Coney Beach, watching her daughters abusing two Jack Russell puppies.

They must be as mean-

hearted as their mother!

Hopefully and prayerfully the animal anti-cruelty league will step in and fine her. May God direct them where to find her.

In Jesus name I pray.

Thank you for printing my letter. May God bless you. Amen.

Dog Lover, Port Elizabeth (We appreciate the offers of assistance and prayers for the welfare of these pets, their abuse described in disconcerting detail by ‘Disgusted Knysna Visitor’. But as the author did

not procure any detail that could lead to the identification of the offending owners, no details in this regard could be shared with Knysna Animal Welfare Services (KAWS) and we can but hope that placement of the letter contributed to awareness of these occurrences. If you read here and have any information to share about animal cruelty offences, please contact KAWS on 044 384 1603 or Plett Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) on 083 287 9917. - Eds.)

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SPORT & ADVENTURE

31 May 2017

‘Forever Young’ sports cars gather in Wilderness HAT may have been a one-hit wonder for German rock group Alphaville in 1984 remains as a memorable tune and an appropriate sentiment for the MG Car Club, who gathered in Wilderness last weekend.

Using ‘Forever Young’ as title of the club’s newsletter and ethos for maintaining members’ ageing classics, they take to heart the parable of the reliable old hammer that has had three new heads and six new handles, but is still as good as new.

These cars are usually

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maintained in pristine shape thanks to the availability of newly-manufactured replacement parts, as well as pieces cannibalised from vehicles beyond repair.

The MG (Morris Garages) brand began in the 1920s as an economical open sports car based on rather mundane saloon mechanicals, but capable of providing exhilarating motoring and occasional racing successes.

Sadly, latterly, after its sale to two groups of Chinese investors, recent models of the brand have failed

COSY MOTORING: Knysna residents Bruce and Diane Henderson with the oldest MG in the country, an 850cc M type from 1929

to replicate its traditional popularity, and the older British-made models are the mainstay of the enthusiasts clubs.

Organised by the South Cape MG Centre, the recent four-day event based at Wilderness Hotel attracted some 70 vehicles and 135 participants. Activities included a fun run to Rheenendal, a treasure hunt throughout Sedgefield, and a number of accuracy and skills-related driving tests on the Wilderness village green.

Chairman of the Knysna-

Words & photo: Bob Hopkin

based centre Bruce Henderson explained that the concept of a dedicated MG club started early in the brand’s life, in 1930 on the site of the original factory in Abingdon in the United Kingdom.

Since then, global participation has grown to over 10,000 members, with 100 in the South Cape owning over 150 veteran cars.

Perhaps, as these exquisite little cars pass from owner to owner, restorer to restorer, they will yet prove that: ‘Yes, they want to live forever, forever and ever‌’

You’ve missed the Closing Sail?!

Despite rough seas churning up the Knysna estuary waters on Saturday May 27, nothing could deter members of Knysna Yacht Club from sprucing up their boats and coming out in force to sail past Commodore Allan Waterston, who saluted the cheery crews to mark the season’s Closing Sail.

Adorning flags for the Closing Sail on Knysna Lagoon are Emil Moeller, left, and Dereck Wheeldon who have been sailing partners for nine years. For Dereck and his wife Dawn, the sail had added significance, as they are leaving for the UK in June to set up home near their children. - Photos: Gigi Lewis

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