By CHESLEY DANIELS On a rain-affected weekend in the Grahamstown Cricket Board (GCB), Sidbury beat Cuylerville while most of the games were rained out. Station Hill remains firm on top of the GCB 2nd League log standings, while Salem occupied the first position on the GCB 1st log. Vincent Mains hit his first century (122) for Swallows before rain stopped proceedings against Kenton. Ashwill also took seven wickets for Kenton in the same match. GCB 1ST LEAGUE Sidbury vs Cuylerville Struggling Sidbury were back to winning ways on Saturday after suffering a few back-to-back defeats. Sidbury stunned Cuylerville, who are…
Author: Rod Amner
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Park Road recorded 14.1mm for the week 25 November to 1 December. Slightly less, 12.6mm, fell in Cathcart Street. Jim Cambray notes that Park Road rainfall for November was 124.1mm – “quite good”, and above the average of 80.7mm and also above the mean of 66.2mm. His lowest November rainfall was 6mm in 1994 and the highest was “a wonderful 286.5mm in 1996, which once again highlights the fickle rainfall we experience”. “Now we await good rains as a parting 2021 end-of-year present!”
By ROGER ROWSWELL Rainfall in November hasn’t turned out as previously expected. It was hoped that we would have got more. However, we have received better rainfall in November than in any other month of the year. Total for the month was 124.5mm; the LTA is 83.9mm, and LT Med 64.3mm. The highest and lowest rainfall recorded in Darling St over the last 36 years was 259.7mm (1996) and 11.5mm (1994). Rainfall over 100mm in November is not unusual as it has occurred ten times to date, of which six of those was more than 150mm. There is still a…
By ROD AMNER Newly-elected Sarah Baartman District Municipality Executive Mayor Mzimkhulu ‘Scara’ Njadayi has died after collapsing at the municipality’s premises on Wednesday 1 December. According to the SBDM Municipal Manager Ted Pillay, Njadayi’s death followed the first council meeting. “It is with profound sadness and shock that we inform you of the sudden passing of the Cllr Mzimkhulu (Scara) Njadayi.” “On behalf of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, we send our condolences to the Njadayi family, his colleagues in the African National Congress (ANC) and all political leaders across the length and breadth of this country.” Further details will…
By Associate Professor MAREN SEEHAWER In his recent inaugural lecture as Professor of Science Education at Rhodes University, Prof Kenneth Mlungisi Ngcoza, preferably addressed by his clan name Mthembu, made explicit that poverty should not only be understood in terms of economic means but also as the absence of education. Mthembu’s lecture, ‘From Poverty to University: Journeys, Challenges and Opportunities’, contained stories about offering ‘hands-up’ and ‘second chances’ in education. Despite the event taking place in an auditorium and digitally on Zoom, Mthembu conveyed his stories in the spirit of traditional Ubuntu storytelling, where people would gather around a fire,…
By STAFF REPORTER Entries of previously unpublished or commercially unproduced scripts are open for the Distell National Playwright competition from now until 28 February 2022. The announcement comes after the earlier postponement of the competition, brought on by the pandemic, making it impossible to rehearse or stage the winning script. Now that Covid constraints have been eased, the project is back on stream. A panel will choose five finalists, all of whom will receive a cash prize of R5 000 and the opportunity to develop their script for final adjudication, working closely with an established industry mentor. The 2022 finalists…
By ANELITHA FANDESE For newly-inaugurated Professor, Kenneth Mlungisi Ngcoza, Rhodes University was once “a faraway promised land never to be reached”. Prof Ngcoza was born and raised in Makhanda, and his passion for education stems from his background. In an inaugural lecture titled ‘From poverty to University: Journeys, Challenges and Opportunities’, Prof Ngcoza said that although poverty commonly refers to lack of food, lack of access to education can also be seen as poverty. He spoke of his childhood experiences and the sacrifices that his parents made. He also alluded to the division between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ in…
By MALCOLM HACKSLEY In the University of the Third Age’s (U3A) last meeting for the year at 10 am on Thursday 2 December, Pat Irwin will recount the curious story of Elizabeth Salt – she of the monument in High Street. Eskom permitting, Pat will be illustrating his account with images. Another piece of good news is that when the U3A meets again in mid-January, speakers shall have a lapel microphone – a great advantage for those of us whose ears are no longer as sharp as once they were. Already there is the start of a queue of speakers…
By ROD AMNER Vaccination rates in Makana are very pleasing, but demand has dropped significantly, according to the Head of the Makana Health Department, Mohamed Docrat. In Makana, an impressive but puzzling, 105% of the targeted population over 50 years old has been vaccinated, according to statistics released to Grocott’s Mail on Tuesday 30 November. And 84% of 35-49 year-olds have received the jab. Docrat says the numbers are slightly skewed because some of the vaccinations credited to Makana were administered in Ndlambe (Port Alfred, Kenton and surrounding areas). Makhanda acts as a distribution centre, and some vaccines were distributed…
By ROD AMNER Three men stole cash, cellphones and perfumes from Foschini in High Street at 9.20 am on Sunday before escaping in a Nissan bakkie. The three men stormed into the clothing store shortly after it opened on Sunday, 28 November and threatened the three employees while demanding money. At least one of the men was armed with a firearm, according to South African Police Services (SAPS) spokesperson Majola Nkohli. The suspects stole an undisclosed amount of cash, cellphones and perfumes before escaping in a Nissan bakkie. Police are investigating a case of armed robbery. Nkohli said the SAPS urged…