“Thank goodness they’ve gone home!” was the first thing a local said as I stepped into his little shop last week.
And it’s true. We go on and on about how the holidaymakers are our bread and butter, how the place would not be the same without them (here’s wishing), how much we need them, but truth is they’re a right pain.
“For 50 weeks they ignore their properties, then when they’re here we’ve got to jump around to make everything perfect!” the fellow complained.
One hears stories of owners of service businesses – well most of the local businesses are in that line, aren’t they? – being expected to turn out on Christmas Day because the lawn needs cutting, the pool filter isn’t working or the flat needs a clean.
And then when they refuse, there are dark mutterings about “Natal Fever” and why we aren’t more grateful for the business.
In the week before Christmas I popped into the gym and found every single machine, bike, weight and lane of the pool filled to the brim.
The place was more like a brothel than a virgin.
Visitors drive 600km to the coast then spend their time in an air-conditioned spa.
Go figure, as they say in the classics.
Some enraged Vaalie who felt he’d been cheated of something was chewing out the poor little manager for who knows what, his family standing around looking only slightly embarrassed and the manager had to stand there and take it.
I know driving to work takes all of seven minutes and 30 seconds precisely, but I (and the other four bakkies trying to get some work done) resent dawdling behind some character driving at 30 km/h making it a 10-minute ordeal. As soon as they come over Van Reenen’s Pass, that casual elbow comes out of the window and the whole world must be on holiday.
Except for the working stiffs like you and me who have to keep them happy.
But memories fade fast, so every November we are vaguely aware that holiday season is about to start, but when it happens and half of Jo’burg and Benoni are seething up and down the coast, all the locals silently wonder “Haven’t you thought of going to Cape Town?”
We visited Brettenwood the other night for a very pleasant 70th birthday party.
I haven’t been in the estate since the early days, when buildings were few and far between and Brett Hulett confided in me in his usual blunt way, filled with expletives, that he wondered if he hadn’t made a mistake turning his farm over to development.
Well you needn’t have worried, old man, the place is jam-packed and looks as prosperous as all hell. I can’t believe that many houses and dams have fitted into that old farm.
That road past the estate is going to be a nightmare when the next housing estates – Zululami and Elaleni, et al – get going.
It’s a provincial road as far as I recall and getting Province off its backside to widen it is going to take some doing.
And then traffic lights for the intersection with the Salt Rock Road. Ayikho imali, I hear the cry.
Well, we raved on for years to get traffic lights for the Tiffany’s intersection and look where it’s got us!
The tailbacks are worse than ever.
We cannot fault Sanral and local government for giving in, finally, but couldn’t some thought have gone into the whole process?
The lights at the East end of the bridge aren’t necessary and just cause a jam, partly because the whole set haven’t been synchronised properly.
Michel de Rauville wrote to this paper some years back, saying the answer would be traffic circles instead of robots.
They work well in France and don’t rely on electricity (hello Eishkom!). But Province was having nothing of it.
Traffic circles were “against their policy”, they replied imperiously, and that was that! All I can say is, be careful what you wish for.
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We have successfully run a recycling depot at the Ballito Business Centre for a couple of years, which earned about R300 a month for the Orphan Fund.
There was seldom a problem – most people respected the signboard which stated that the bins were for paper and glass only.
Toward the end of last year and several times this month, huge amounts of waste have been dumped alongside the bins, most of it in the same orange-coloured plastic bags.
Last Friday evening, reader Mike Gahagan managed to take this photo of two men offloading their trash from this Mitsubishi bakkie, registration SNR491GP.
The registered owners say they sold the vehicle last year, but are unable to provide details. I am appealing to readers who might know who the present owner is, to let me know at 032 946 0276 or email bruce@northcoastcourier.co.za.
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