Netcare Western Cape 20

Summer Holidays are here and all of us are excited to grab our towels and bathing suits and head for the beach or the swimming pool. The sun is our friend and we are all ready to tap into its energy to recharge our body, mind and spirit.

The skin is the biggest organ and our armour keeping our bodies safe from the outside elements. A healthy skin ensures a healthy body. Skin can differ in texture, colour and other specific and zonal properties. Protecting the skin should be a daily routine. Limit sun damage and exposure prior to and after any treatment to prevent exaggerated inflammatory responses. Skin is exposed to visible light (HEV), Infrared Rays (IR), uVA and uVB. These rays penetrate to different depths of the skin where it may produce harmful effects such as:

• Erythema and actinic damage (sunburn) • Stimulate pigmentation • Aggravate allergies • Cellular oxidation • Premature aging • DNA damage • Photosensitivity • Eye damage • Skin cancer

Solar protection can be formulated with physical, chemical and biological filters, which will either reflect or absorb the rays, or block the free radicals from the oxidative stress. Increasing the presence of the heat shock proteins (HSP) can effectively protect the collagen networks and promote type 1 collagenesis, which ensures the elasticity, flexibility and consistency of the skin. UVA increases the presence of collagenase which is the enzyme that degrades fibres and weakens tissue.

Photoprotection depends on:

• Skin type (dry, oily or sensitive) • Skin colour - lighter skin needs higher protection factor • When the perception of radiation is lower - at sea, mountains or windy, cloudy days • Facial area needs higher protection as skin is thinner and more sensitive to radiation • Season of year • Pharmacological photosensitising treatments • Medical aesthetic treatments that can sensitise the skin

These factors should be considered when choosing a sunscreen. A sunscreen which incorporates all three of these aspects and maintains an optimum balance between efficacy and cosmetics. The Mesoptroech sunscreen range from Mesoestetic provides an excellent selection of sunscreens that address most of the factors mentioned.

Safety tips:

• Apply sufficient quantity sunscreen, 30 minutes before exposure (2ml/cm2) • use a sunscreen with a minimum SPF 50 on the face • Reapply after every two hours, especially after drying off with a towel after swimming or sweating • Avoid midday hours 11:00 to 16:00 • Make sunglasses your favourite accessory • Wear a hat

Sunscreen should be part of your daily skin routine, whether you go out into the sun or stay indoors. Some research shows that even prolonged exposure to cellphone, computer and television screens can lead to premature skin aging and pigmentation.

Our skin is our most precious garment as we wear it everyday. It’s a life investment.

THe comPANY’S GArDeN

THE HEART OF CAPE TOWN’S PARKS

The public section of the garden has been enjoyed by visitors for the sheer beauty of its flora and the allure of its historic setting since it was proclaimed for public use in 1848. It is abutted by numerous important landmarks, including the lodge house for the slaves who built large parts of the historic city, the present day Houses of Parliament, the Iziko SA Museum and Planetarium, St George’s Cathedral (which is the seat of the Anglican church in SA), the National Library of SA, the SA National Gallery, the Great Synagogue and Holocaust Centre and Tuynhuys, which is used by the President on State occasions.

Other attractions include:

• Historic statue • A well stocked fish pond • Grassy lawns and benches • A herb and succulent garden • Restaurant - The Garden Tea Room • Local arts and crafts along the avenue • A rose garden designed and built in 1929 • An aviary - a great favourite with children • Botanically and historically valuable trees • The oldest cultivated pear tree in South Africa circa 1652 • Delville Wood Memorial Garden, which commemorates the World War 1 battle at Delville Wood in France, in which a predominantly SA force of more than 3 000 soldiers was reduced to 755 survivors by German forces In May 2010 a visitor’s center was opened in the renovated Victorian House in the garden center which would be of educational and informational benefit to residents and tourists who visit the garden.

This venue provides a comprehensive overview of the early history of the Cape of Good Hope and the development of the Company’s Garden. It also provides information on an ongoing basis of developments within the garden as the display has a capacity to be regularly updated and additions made and information on the many facets of the garden and how they developed. The landscape of the garden is unique in that it is the only example of how two different landscape styles have been overlaid to produce the garden as it exists today - the two styles being the Dutch ‘produce garden’ grid pattern and the later Victorian informal style known as ‘Victorian Romantic’ which was influenced by the 17th century English landscape style.

The combination of these two types of design,give the garden a unique heritage. The garden also plays an important role in the connection of cultures and continents and this is also elaborated on within the display.

Address - Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town (at the top end of Adderley Street) Opening Times - Summer: 07:00 - 19:00, Winter: 07:00 - 18:00

Arderne Gardens is a picturesque park situated on Main Road in Claremont, Cape Town and is open to visitors throughout the day. There is no entrance fee.

ArDerNe GArDeNS

FINEST COLLECTION OF ExOTIC TREES

The 4,5 hectare garden contains one of the richest collections of exotic trees and shrubs in South Africa, with more than 300 magnificent trees including giant Norfolk Island Pines. City Parks works with the FOTA (Friends of the Arderne Gardens) to maintain and improve the gardens.

The park forms part of the original Stellenberg estate, which was acquired by Ralph Henry Arderne (1802-1885) in 1845. He named it The Hill, and began to collect trees, shrubs and perennials from around the world.

The Ardennes had intended to create a garden containing the representatives of all the flora of the world, and sourced many of their trees and shrubs from Australia and New Zealand, by trading them for local plants with passing ships. The original Maynard’s Villa was the home of financier James Maynard from 1836 until his death in 1874. After it was damaged by fire, Maynard’s Villa was rebuilt by Maynard’s nephew, William Farmer. It remained as a family home until Farmer’s daughter, Enid Bernard, died in 1949. It was then sold to the municipality who demolished the dilapidated house, but preserved the grounds as a public park.

The Hill was sold in 1914 and subsequently subdivided: a portion of 4,5 hectares was registered in favour of the Council of the City of Cape Town in July 1928. It was this section that became known as Arderne Gardens in 1961.

Arderne Gardens

Inside the park:

• Benches • Duck and fish ponds • A Japanese garden • Exotic trees and shrubs • Giant Norfolk Island Pines • Shady glades and romantic nooks • A cherished venue for wedding photographs

mAYNArDVILLe PArK

MAGNIFICENT GREEN GEM

Maynardville Park is managed by the Maynardville Park Action Committee (MPAC), a public-private partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Wynberg community. The MPAC envisages Maynardville Park a sustainable and dignified civic park of local and metropolitan significance, which provides recreational and cultural opportunities to all. Not only does Maynardville have sweeping lawns, planted with mature trees, for leisurely recreation and a famous open-air theatre, but it also hosts carnivals, fairs, markets, motor shows, wedding receptions, religious gatherings, etc. Many trees in the park are a legacy of a once fine Victorian garden established at a time when collecting exotic trees was fashionable amongst the elite of Cape Town. The Maynard/ Farmer family commissioned a horticulturist from Kew Gardens to landscape the garden in the style of the day.

Some interesting trees that can be seen include the diagonally trunked Mediterranean Cork Oak (Quercus Suber), which is a perfect tree for the beginner tree climber; three fine conical shaped Swamp Cypress (Taxodium Distichum) from the Southern uSA; and the pale and elegant Lemon Scented Gum trees (Eucalyptus citriodora) in the library car park which are magnificent by day and ghostly by moonlight. Crush a leaf before you leave.

One of the charms of the parks is the Krakeelwater, which resurfaces in Maynardville, broadening at one point into a pond. A large flock of Cattle Egrets roosts on the island. Other birds common to the area are Egyptian Geese, Moorhens, Hadedas and Sacred Ibis, Red-knobbed Coots and Reed Cormorants. A wooden bridge crosses the stream where a short stretch of it can be seen in its natural state. The gates to Napoleon’s tomb once stood at the park entrance nearest Carr’s Hill, after being relocated from St Helena, but has long since been returned.