HERMANUS SOCIAL CLUB - May 2015
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal
human being to do the impossible.
~ Marion C. Garret ~
Reg no.2006/003084/08
Hermanus novice bowls day
I need to start by thanking our social secretary Liz for the weeks and weeks and
hours and hours of work, that went into the planning of our first novice bowls morning
which was an overwhelming success. A huge thank you also goes out to Dennis &
Rosemary Sutton, Doreen Meyer and Elsie McGeogh, for the time and effort they put
in to assist with the initial planning of the day.
The morning started with tea & coffee followed by a welcome from Blackie De Swart
(President of the Hermanus Bowling Club). In his address, he expressed his
excitement at having such a vibrant group of folk at the club for the day, saying that we had far surpassed
his expectations of a group of retired folk taking part in a “novice” bowls day.
After a short briefing to the skips of each team, members then moved onto the greens in their teams that
had been very carefully allocated. We had a turnout of 79 members of whom only 15 knew the game, the
rest all total beginners out to have fun and being instructed by the skip as to how the game is played. It all
started off with delightful but nervous giggles and then there was the seriousness with everyone now being
caught up in their games. The prize giving included half a trophy for the weakest link being the shortest
bowl of the day, spectacle cases for those needing glasses as they played the wrong bias, these to name
but a few of the many fun prizes. A trophy was also presented to the oldest female and male players of the
day each being in their 80’s. This was a hilarious end to a fabulous day. As a result of the enthusiasm and
many requests by the participants for more bowls games to be organised, it has been decided that this will
now become an annual event and hopefully from this the Hermanus Bowling Club may well consider a
novice bowls day on a regular basis for all our members. A meeting has been set up with the President and
the Captain of Hermanus Bowling Club to see whether this can be arranged. Needless to say the Bowling
Club may well have a huge influx of potential members. We will keep you informed of the progress of this
new initiative for our club.
OVERBERG LOWLANDS CONSERVATION TRUST The vision of this very worthwhile cause as taken from their Annual
Report 2013—2014 is as follows “To secure the long-term conservation and management of remaining lowland
vegetation through active partnerships thereby improving the overall quality of farms, sustainable
livelihoods, and landscapes in the Overberg”. Dr. Odette Curtis the Director and founder of this trust gave us an
outstanding and very interesting presentation at our last club meeting. Committee felt that we should reimburse her
not only for her travelling costs from Napier but also to compensate her for the time she afforded us in her extremely
busy schedule. A donation of R500 was handed over to Odette at the end of her talk. I will be attaching her January
2015 newsletter for those of you who may be interested. The website address is:www.overbergrenosterveld.org.za
All contact details are available on this website.
"My wish for your birthday is for you to
be happy and healthy. May the coming
year see your goals become a reality."
Wishing that each day
brings your renewed
strength, brighter times,
and a healthier,
happier you.
SAARP HERMANUS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
OYEZ OYEz ——— hear ye!! hear ye!!
BREAKING NEWS
Do you actually take the time and effort to read the Hermanus monthly newsletter that is
sent to you or is it merely “just another email” that is a waste of time? It has come to my
attention that members are still unsure of the difference between the SAARP Hermanus
Newsletter and the SAARP SOCIAL SERVICES NEWSLETTER.
On a monthly basis I write a newsletter to keep our Hermanus members updated on past,
present and future events within our SOCIAL CLUB. All too often I am asked, “when is the
next meeting” or “Who is the speaker” or “Where is the next outing”. It is for these reasons that you are
either emailed, posted or handed a hard copy of our Hermanus club newsletter ……
PLEASE READ IT
The other newsletter that you receive via email is that which is sent to you by our Director at Head Office
who by the same token spends hours writing this to keep the many SAARP members abreast of the goings
on within SAARP. He too gets quite frustrated to hear that the time put in to write this, is also not being
made use of. SO this is a humble request for all members to please take just a little of your time to
read the newsletters and place the dates of events in your diary, all this to save unnecessary phone calls.
Membership cards
When joining our SAARP Hermanus Social club a member is issued with a “business type” membership
card. A SAARP Hermanus membership number is issued to you as a registered member of the club. This
membership number never changes. This card is renewable on an annual basis in the month that the
member joined the club.
For example our social club membership card on the left, is due for renewal in
the month of September 2015. If not renewed it becomes invalid and the
member will then be removed from the data base and will no longer be allowed
to partake in any of the club activities. Furthermore, the directive from Head
Office is that the club membership card MUST be shown when signing the
register. It is becoming increasingly noticeable that members get irritated at
having to produce their card when entering the venue. Our committee has
discussed this matter in a very serious light and has decided to follow suit of
Hermanus Club membership
other social clubs in the country by implementing a R5 fine for any member that
does not show their club membership card at the door when attending the meeting. By showing the card,
the committee member on duty can remind you that your membership may have expired and is due for
renewal. ALL members are asked to have their membership card ready before entering the premises to
avoid congestion at the register table. Your cooperation in this regard would be hugely appreciated.
The second example is of a membership card which was issued to you by Head
Office via the postal service. This plastic card is only for safe keeping to prove
that you are a member of the umbrella body. Head Office uses your ID number
as the membership number. It is this card that you would be required to show
when making use of any of the benefits that the umbrella body offers its
members. The card cannot be used at the club meeting in place of the
Hermanus Social Club card. The membership of SAARP is a free lifetime
membership meaning that this card never expires unless you as a member
SAARP Senior Citizen Loyal card
request to be removed from the membership of the umbrella body. This card
may not be used for any of the discounts offered to Hermanus members in and around Hermanus.
Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion we have been experiencing with members at the club
meetings. If there are any further queries in this regard please do not hesitate to phone any of the
committee members for further clarity.
MEMBERSHIP - We welcome the following members who joined our club in April; Kevin Gildenhuys, Austen & Pat
Lewis, Jenny Veysey and Chris Van Wyk. I would like to encourage all our members to join us for the up and coming
winter month’s club meetings and outings.
Speakers have already been invited for the months of May, June and July. Each are extremely worthwhile
listening to, as they are all experts in their fields on which they will be presenting. The committee is very excited about
the enormous growth of our club over the last few months. Although the hall we use for our club meetings appears to
be full for most of our meetings there is still plenty of space to accommodate more attendees. It would be super to see
you all turn up on a regular basis. All too often we hear how sorry members are at having missed a speaker that was
both informative and interesting. Every effort is made to try and accommodate the many interests our members have,
with presentations covering a variety of different topics.
SOCIAL OUTINGS
Members are reminded that at all the outings there is a registration process that must be followed.
You are requested to personally check in on arrival, receive your name tag, to ensure that you are
present prior to your meal being cancelled.
21st May (Thurs)
It is movie time again. This is the only club outing of the year where you are invited to bring friends or family
members who are not registered club members. Please be reminded that when making a booking, you
book and pay for visitors at the same time in order for correct catering numbers for the lunch.
The movie will be held in the Municipal Auditorium followed by lunch. Soups, breads, dessert, tea and
coffee will be served at a cost of R80 pp. Time 10h00 for 10h30. Any persons arriving after the movie has
started will not be allowed to enter the auditorium and will have to wait in the reception area for lunch to be
served. At our last club meeting a decision was made to change the title of the movie “Love Actually” that
was advertised in last month’s newsletter. The reason for this is that too many of our members expressed
their concern that they had already seen this. PLEASE NOTE that the title of the movie to be shown is ….
“MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS” This is a British comedy. Mrs. Laura
Henderson may be a widow but she is by no means going to spend the rest of her days
playing bridge. The Windmill Theater becomes her game and the infamous showman
Vivian Van Dam becomes her partner and fiercest opponent. The Germans are bombing
London as Laura convinces Lord Cromer to allow her actresses to be nude. The cast
includes Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Will Young, Kelly Reilly and Thelma Barlow.
18th June (Thurs)
Would you believe it?
We are going to the much talked about Botrivier Hotel, a century old Cape
country hotel which is steeped with tales of yesteryear. This promises to fill
the imagination with some old inspiration. Historically the town has played a
role in the transport history of the country, mainly because of its location.
Serving as a trading post for the early Khoi and Dutch East India Companjie
and later as an outspan for cattle and wagons travelling over the gruelling Houw Hoek Pass. The station
was completed in 1912 and trains visited the town. Whatever, however, there was always something
happening here. Sadly this beautiful “old lady” gives a very negative connotation but this is not so. Recently
there has been a major turn around in that the wonderful folk who are now running the hotel are
passionately promoting it and the town both of which are steeped in history. There are many secrets and
stories that are told all of which will be presented to us on arrival over a welcome refreshment.. SO … this
day is for those of you who wish to dress up for the occasion, cowboy boots and hats and petticoats and
feathers. A winning prize will be given to the best male and the best dressed female of the day. Booking is
already at a premium and for this function we unfortunately have a cut off point at 80 people.
Lunch includes a choice of Mousaka or Bobotie, vegetables and finally followed by a scrumptious brandy
tart dessert. The club funds will be subsidizing each member for this outing.
Condolences
Philip Christiaan Bateman - 1945 - 2015 was one of the non-executive Directors on the SAARP Board,
since April 2011. He was the editor of the revamped A5 Bulletin, which, in its new format, was largely his
creation.
On behalf of the Hermanus Social Club committee and members, we wish to convey our deepest
condolences to his family and friends during this very difficult time.
Discounts
Members are reminded that discounts are available from both HI-Q and Autolek. These are only available to members
who have a valid SAARP Hermanus Club membership card which you will be asked to present together with your
driver’s license when making use of the above service providers.
SAVE YOUR PENNIES
CLUB MEETINGS - Guest Speakers
13th May - Weds - “Solid Waste Management and Recycling Initiatives in the Overstrand”
Johan van Taak is the Solid Waste Manager of the Overstrand. He will highlight what the law is, explain all
the facilities that the municipality has to make it easy to get rid of refuse and finally stress the importance of
recycling. The objective of the Overstrand Solid Waste Department is to provide all residents, businesses
and visitors in the region with a high quality, yet affordable waste management service which is equitable
for all and promotes the principals of integrated waste management, waste minimization and environmental
responsibility. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES include:- Waste Collection; Street Sweeping;
Public Drop-off Facilities; Recycling; Bush Chipping & Composting; Waste Disposal; Environmental &
Community Projects - Closure & Rehabilitation of old Landfill Sites - Baboon Proof Bins - Clean-up
Campaigns & Alien Bush Clearing. Come along and listen to what promises to be a very interesting talk.
10th June - Weds - “The Astronomy of the Egyptian Pyramids and Egypt Today”
Many of you may remember the outstanding presentation that was given to us in April
last year on the Somalian Pirates by Wolf Lange who is a Planetarium Presenter and
IZIKO Museum contractor. We have invited him to do the talk for the June club
meeting on one of his latest topics.
JOKEs OF THE MONTH
A young Law student, having failed his Law exam, goes up to his crusty old professor, who is renowned for his
razor-sharp legal mind. Student: "Sir, do you really understand everything about this subject?"
Professor: "Actually, I probably do. Otherwise I wouldn't be a professor, would I?"
Student: "OK. So I’d like to ask you a question. If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my marks as they
are. If you can't give me the correct answer, however, you'll have to give me an "A".
Professor: "Hmmmm, alright. So what’s the question?"
Student: "What is legal but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither logical nor legal?”
The professor wracks his famous brain, but just can't crack the answer. Finally he gives up and changes the student's
failing mark into an "A" as agreed, and the student goes away, very pleased.
The professor continues to wrack his brain over the question all afternoon, but still can’t get the answer. So finally he
calls in a group of his brightest students and tells them he has a really, really tough question to answer: "What is legal
but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither logical nor legal?”
To the professor's surprise (and embarrassment), all the students immediately raise their hands.
"All right" says the professor and asks his favourite student to answer
"It's quite easy, sir" says the student "You see, you are 75 years old and married to a 30 year old woman, which is
legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 22 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. And your wife's lover failed his
exam but you've just given him an "A", which is neither legal, nor logical."
~~~~~~
The last laughs on SERENITY ……..

Reporters interviewing a 104 year old woman: “ And what do you think is the best thing about being 104 years
old?” She simply replied “ No peer pressure”

The nice thing about being senile is that you can hide your own Easter eggs and have fun finding them.

Do you know how to prevent sagging? Just eat until the wrinkles fill out.

Have poor circulation; Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore; Can’t remember if I’m 85 or 92; Have lost all my
friends. But thank goodness I still have my driver’s license.
Committee Members
SAARP Hermanus - P.O. Box 2112 - Hermanus - 7200
TEL: (028) 316 2390
SAARP HERMANUS OFFICE HOURS: 08h30 - 13h00 Mon to Fri
Chairlady/Secretary:
Ingrid Green - email: [email protected]
Treasurer :
Rob Parry - (028) 316 1899
Membership Secretary/Vice Chair:
Cathy Gey van Pittius - 084 5101166
Membership Secretary/ Assistant
Christine Tait - (028) 312 4624
Social Secretary:
Elizabeth Gravenor - 082 0816889
Name Tag Coordinators:
Mavis Dalgleish / Derek Hopley - (028) 316 3690
Please do not hesitate to contact any one of us if we can be of assistance to you.
From the news desk until our June edition - Ingrid