September was a busy month for The Care Bear Project and we were thrilled to have two of our knitters, Joyce and Mary, with us as we handed out 105 bears to the excited children of Sbukosezwe Creche in Sweetwaters.

 

You can help us by visiting our website www.carebears.co.za and sign up to be a Bear Buddy.

 

Your regular monthly commitment means the difference to our knitters being able to pay school fees, or put food on the table, or even just to be able to pay for a little more electricity, things we take for granted!

 

News supplied by The Care Bear Project. 

In conjunction with the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Commerce, members of the team will be attending a presentation by Msunduzi next week, and we will keep residents updated on outcomes. !

The technical specialists have had constructive discussions with technical representatives of the electricity supply authorities. These have dealt with both short and long-term options for resolving local and regional supply problems. Details of these approaches will be made available. !

The Task Team is currently of the opinion that the cooperative approaches adopted to date are the most likely to achieve successful outcomes, particularly at technical levels. Various options for legal confrontational approaches have been discussed and could be implemented if required. !

Many of the failures of supply in Hilton are due to vegetation encroachment onto power lines. Information is being gathered, and Cllr Craig Millar has met Msunduzi/uMngeni staff, coordinated and compiled maps identifying problem areas and arrangements are being made to clear these by the Municipalities. !

In addition to the technical aspects of keeping Hilton’s lights on, the Task Team are also looking into off-grid solutions such as solar etc

 

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
• Residents can ease the situation by economising on electricity use (geyser timing switches etc)
• Please check your verges and properties - do you have vegetation encroaching on power lines? Please send address details to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so that we can arrange to clear the vegetation. DO NOT UNDERTAKE CLEARING - there is a risk of electrocution around the power lines
• Become a member of the HRA - membership is R300 per annum. If we are to act with authority as an association, we must have the support of residents.

 

CONDOLENCES

OUR condolences on the recent passing of Fraser McAllister.

Fraser was the treasurer of the Hilton Town Board before it was incorporated into the uMngeni Municipality. He gave of his time, as did others, freely and voluntarily without remuneration, such that the Hilton area under their jurisdiction was run efficiently and effectively and returned annual balance sheets that were always in the “black”. Our sympathy to Colleen, James, Morag and family on their loss.

HILTON AC PIPELINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT

This project is now nearing completion. As community liaison for the project, the HRA undertook to prepare a ‘snag list’ for WK earlier this year, so that pertinent issues are resolved before the contractor leaves the area, and to this end called for emails from the community. Thank you for the responses and photographs detailing the issues experienced. WK have been attending to the snags, zone by zone, and most of these should be resolved. However, this remains a work in progress, and your input as residents remains invaluable. If you have a snag or an issue that has not been attended to, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - the problem, and the address. !

PRESSURE PROBLEMS?

A few households have noticed a drop in water pressure. The new system will provide between 3 and 6 bar of pressure, in accordance with international standards. Standardised lower water pressures will mean the system remains stable, and reduce water losses. However, a few residents are unable to use gas geysers etc where pressure is too low. This problem could be related to a small tweak in the system, so if you are experiencing extremely low pressure, please email Heather Morkel

 

WATER LEAKS - PLEASE READ THIS !

 

1. Dial the number for UMDM - 0800 864 9111, report the location of the leak and the telephonist will give you a reference number, which will always begin with ‘UMDM’. If they cannot because the system is down, please take a name, record time of call etc. This holds the municipality accountable.
2. If you need to escalate the matter, please report the leak to the Department of Water & Sanitation. They have implemented a “War on Leaks” programme and are very proactive. Call the Hotline on 0800 200 200 or visit https://www.dwa.gov.za for water saving tips and email address.
3. If you are having difficulties with either, please call Heather Morkel - 082 871 6915, who will contact the Councillors and/or municipal manager.
Water losses are a collective problem, and as residents we will bear the consequences in future.

HRA MEET AND GREET !

Members of the committee will be at the Quarry Shopping Centre on Saturday. We look forward to seeing you, providing details of why you should become a member, and assisting wherever we can. Congratulations to newly elected Chairman, Trystan Banger.

 

Yours sincerley,

Within 24 hours of their Speechcraft graduation two of our Grade 11 pupils headed valiantly to the local Toastmasters evening at Victoria Country Club as guests. They both participated amongst adult speakers and were each awarded with honours on the evening. Milan Comley earned ‘Best Table Topics’ and Karma Nel the ‘Bouquet’ trophy for being the best um/ah counter on the evening.

 

Pictured L-R: Melisizwe Mtshali (Best Speech – Inexperienced Speaker), Nicki Varty (Star of the Month), Milan Comley (Best table topics – Impromptu), Karma Nel (Bouquet Award), Ruth Varrie (Best Evaluator) and Terence Talbot (Best Speech of the Evening).

 

News supplied by Grace College.

 

 

Head Boy of Grace College, Carl Brann, gave a moving speech which acknowledged the strong foundations built as a result of the high quality staff who he dubbed the ‘Construction Crew’. Carl received The Leadership Award, the Sologuard Cultural Award and was runner up to Dux Scholar.

 

Grace College’s Head Girl, Rochelle Van Wyk spoke about the incredible growth amongst her peer group over their years together and both Heads declared the Class of 2017 to be well prepared to complete their finals and take on new challenges and adventures in 2018.

 

Congratulations to all the prize winners and especially our Dux Scholar of 2017; Rochelle Van Wyk, who also received the Headmaster’s Award.

 

Picture: Mr Vincent Luksich (Headmaster at Grace College with Rochelle Van Wyk (Dux of 2017).

Giving us at least one week's notice means we can organise our production schedule to package your chosen dish into one of your own casseroles.

 

Otherwise we can also do the large 10 person foil size to suit your larger numbers.

 

No added preservatives. No MSG. Just good, honest food you can trust.

 

News supplied by The Cookhouse. 

Grace College Grade 10 pupil, Nikhil Gopal, has been selected to play in the SA Schools Golf Team again for 2017. He will travel to Pretoria two weeks from now to compete in a tournament and we wish him success.

 

Pictured L-R: Nikhil Gopal (SA Schools Golf) with Mr Vincent Luksich (Headmaster at Grace College).

 

News supplied by Grace College. 

Time: 7pm, entry R30, bring your own booze. Food and soft drinks are available for sale. Musicians who want to play at MiTH, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Bill Pocket cell 076 684 7647 or Charles Webster cell 082 331 7271 or Doug Borain cell 072 340 7034

 

DIRECTIONS TO MiTH:

Take the N3 to Hilton, take the Hilton turnoff and go South into the Village (away from Hilton College). Travel 5,2km along Hilton Avenue (past two sets of traffic lights and Old Main Brewery) and keep going straight as Hilton Avenue turns into Dennis Shepstone Drive. At the 5,2km mark, Knoll Drive will be on your right – the entrance to MiTH is the *second* entrance on your left into The Knoll Historic Guest Farm.

 

7.00pm – 7.30pm – OPEN MIC

 

7.30pm – 8.00pm – LUCILLE CORNELIUS

 

Lucille Cornelius has been performing since the age of 12. She is a singer, songwriter and musician. She has her roots in gospel music, having been part of two internationally televised album recordings. Her love for rock music, however, was developed from her father who was a very popular drummer, vocalist and original music composer in the 60's and 70's. She has performed with Steve Fataar and members of the Reals at iZulu Theatre, and at the Playhouse with the band Track. She is currently recording her debut EP and will be performing in Philippines next year at the International Hot Air Balloon Festival alongside Niki West and other international artists.

 

8.00pm – 8.50pm – MATT GARDINER

 

Matt is a young musician born and bred in Pietermaritzburg - but already deeply embedded in local music. It has always been a dream of his to turn his passion for music into his career. He began playing guitar towards the end of his junior school years when he watched his father playing, and was eager to learn. He began his music career by partaking in musical productions at his school, Maritzburg College. He moved on to opening for the likes of Matthew Mole, Prime Circle, Desmond and the Tutus, Just Jinjer, Majozi and Plush. He describes his music as Indie Folk with a slight Rock undertone, with a few of his influences being Mumford and Sons, Matthew Mole and John Mayer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEyu5lOPqXY&app=desktop

 

9.00pm – 10.00pm – CALICO SA

 

Calico SA have a mixture of influences - from funk, to blues and indie, to alt-rock, and even a bit of grunge, but are definitely rooted in rock. They plan to cover all these genres in their set with covers from: The Black Keys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Biffy Clyro, Cage the Elephant and Incubus. They will also be doing a few originals, which have a mixture of sounds from fuzzy soft rock, to blues and grunge with a touch of funk. We look forward to having these lads back at MiTH.

 

ABOUT MiTH:

 

MiTH is a semi-open mic music club. An opportunity for musicians to share the joy of their music with a friendly audience which includes fellow musicians – who have all “been there” too. (Non-musicians welcome too!) Whether you’re a newbie looking for your first opportunity to perform publicly, or a more experienced / mature musician simply looking for people who are as passionate about music as you are – come along and join us!

Visit www.mith.co.za for more details and directions.

 

News supplied by MiTH.