22nd Annual Parkhurst Village Fair - Sunday 1st October

It is time for the Parkhurst Fair again, only this year it is a little earlier. Last year the heavens opened around lunch time which washed out the rest of the day’s festivities. But we still managed to attract over 300 residents and visitors. This year, we are staging it almost two months earlier on SUNDAY OCTOBER the 1ST to avoid the Highveld Showers.

It is held in the field at Verity Park (bounded by 5th & 6th Aves and 12th & 14th Sts) where the library and recreation centre are located. The fun starts at 10am and goes on to 4 in the afternoon.
There will lots of interesting events for kids and adults:
q Pony Rides: from 10am-1pm
q Belly Dancing Display: 10 -11am
q Mime Show:11-noon
q Magician Show: noon-1pm
q Tony, The Pirate’s Roving Minstrel: 1-2pm
q Synups Light Rock Band: 2-3pm
q Tumblers (Kids Acrobatics): 3pm
q Derek Sasen: 3-4pm
q Kids Entertainment Stalls like Tombola, Fishing, Drop in Arts (where you can leave the kids for a while)

Survivor in Parkhurst

Parkhurst has a new celebrity - well he was always a kind of one already. In the Survivor SA series currently airing on MNET on Sundays at 6pm is resident and businessman NICO Hinnus. Nico and wife Joanne started the first of the Bistro cum Coffee Shops in Parkhurst when they opened Café Espresso in 4th Ave in 1998.
We wish him well and are holding thumbs for him and if it turns out he won, we are looking forward to a big winners party at the restaurant.

Tech Tip

The guys at Dial-A-Nerd would like to remind all Parkhurst residents that it will soon be lightning season and which keeps them busy repairing and replacing fried computers, modems and fax machines. So please, save yourself a lot of trouble and expense by unplugging your telephone lines when you hear a storm approaching and rather spend some extra money on lightning protectors.

For more info contact Dial-A-Nerd on 0861-4-NERDS (0861-4-63737) or by visiting www.dialanerd.co.za.

Street Signs

We would just like to remind residents that most of the signs for builders, satellite installers, painters, loans sharks, etc that spring up on the trees and street signs, are just about all illegal and are being removed by the PVRA and residents. If you see one, you CAN take it down. So help yourself.

The legal ones are those that have a City Council sticker on them, notices advising us of road closures (like the Walk The Talk ones) and the posters that are placed in the metal brackets that you see about 2.5 m up various light poles.

Kleen Bin

In the last Post, there was an article on Kleenbin who have a mobile cleaning facility that goes around after Pikitup have emptied our bins on Monday and cleans and sanitaises the bins for you. It costs R12 a week and it is a great boon to return from work and not have to worry about the smelly fly-infested bin sitting in the street.

I have also noticed that many of the bins also have broken lids and wheels. Kleenbin will repair these defects as part of their service.
Give them a call on 0860-177-177 to arrange a free bin cleaning and for more info. You can also visit their website on www.kleenbin.co.za.

CookBook Emporium

For those who like cooking and reading cookbooks, we have a great cookery bookshop on our doorstep in nearby Parktown North.
Nick Zehnder has a passion for cookery books and has been collecting them for a long time. And he has set up one of his outsbuildings in his house as a bookstore where can purchase second hand and new cookbooks.

If you want to browse around, contact Nick on rednez@iafrica.com or 083-267-0035 or 788-9442.

12th St Bridge Report Back

1) Work has started on the footbridge across the Spruit at the bottom of 11th and 12th Sts in Parkhurst. There seems to be a lot of digging and pumping going on as we go to press.

2) There is now a lovely new bridge which has replaced the causeway in Craighall Park that washed away 2 summers ago. The design of our Parkhurst bridge is the same as this one - so go and have a look when you walk your dog along the Spruit next time. It is located about 800m downstream of the 22nd St temporary crossing (See the Walk Later on in the Parkhurst Post).

Parkhurst’s Optician

Optometrist Janene Kleu took over the Opticien (that’s the French spelling) business in 4th Ave In January 2006. And she wasn’t slow in becoming involved in Parkhurst community life by helping out those who often can’t afford to get tested or buy frames.

She has spent several months testing all the kids at the Parkhurst Primary School for free and has some great deals on spectacles for the domestic staff and pensioners. We sent our maid to Janine and it only cost R550 for her bifocals - including the testing, frame and lenses.
If you can’t make an appointment during office hours, call her to make an after hours appointment.

Info: 011-447-4613/4232, janene@opticien.co.za 17-4th Ave (cnr 9th St), Parkhurst.

Prestige Dry Cleaners

There is a great Dry-Cleaning company in two convenient locations in neighbouring Craighall Park called Prestige Dry Cleaners. The main outlet is next to Flavor Café in Clarence Ave and the other is on the Pick n Pay level where the Planet Fitness Gym is located just off Jan Smuts in Lancaster House.

But they don’t just do dry cleaning. They do ALL KINDS: from Laundry - washing, drying, folding, ironing; Shoe Repairs; Dying and Tailoring.

And they have agreed to run a special to the end of November 2006, where if you bring in this copy of the Post, they will give all new clients a free load of 5 kg of washing (including drying, folding and ironing) - this is worth about R80
Info: Tel 011-447-4125.

A Walk Along the Braamfontein Spruit

Description: A pleasant 2 hours / 4 km circular ramble along the Braamfontein Spruit.

Access: The northern end of 5th Ave in Parkhurst just beyond the 22nd Street intersection.

Safety: There is a reasonably heavy usage of the area by pedestrians, dog walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers. But try and walk in a group and walk at busy times like 4-5pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Dog Policy: On the spruit, dogs should be on leads, but nobody seems to comply. However, this is the home of the horse riding River Rangers, so make sure your dog is on a lead when near the horses.

Water: The Spruit can be pretty polluted in the dry winter months. Use your nose as a guide.

The Walk: From the end of 5th Ave, walk through the little park following the path over a small bridge. Continue down to the Spruit and cross over using the concrete slab. When on the other side take the path leading diagonally off to the right towards a large path that runs under the electricity pylons. If you look to your right about 800 m further on you will see the new bridge across the Spruit that you will use to cross over on your way back.

Eventually the path approaches the houses of Blairgowrie. Cross over two small wooden footbridges onto the end of Bantam Dr. Walk to the other side of the road and pick up the path leading off down a small strip of park to the right.

Follow the path all the way along the river passing a large dam wall with an office development next to it. About 500m past the dam wall you will reach the busy Conrad Drive. If you want you can stop at Fratellis or The Manhattan Grill for something to eat or a drink.

At Conrad Drive, turn right and walk along the sidewalk over the road bridge and follow the path for about 300m until you reach the intersection of Buckingham Ave and Jan Smuts Dr. Turn right into Buckingham Ave and walk along the pavement taking the right forking Marlborough Ave.

Just past the fork, look for the Scout Hall on your right and go through one of the gates (they are usually open) and walk down to the bottom of the hill where you will rejoin the green belt on the other side of the Spruit near the dam wall. This is where you will probably encounter the River Rangers horses as they use this section for training.

Follow the path left as it winds its way upstream. The path will eventually bring you to an open area on the east bank of the old washed away causeway. You will have to walk up the hill towards Marlborough Ave where you will find the path continues parallel to the road past some trees to the new bridge.

Cross over the river via the new bridge and turn left onto any of the numerous paths which will lead you back to the crossing into Parkhurst and back to the starting point.

Watch Out For: Polluted water in the spruit, horses, busy traffic at Conrad Dr and Jan Smuts Ave, tramps living alongside the Spruit.

On the Way: The dam was built by Mr Rattray, an Irishman who developed Blairgowrie and Craighall Park. There used to be a large lake with boats for hire and it was a popular rural weekend picnic spot for the early residents of Joburg.