Lynne and Zara of Happy Hills recently hosted a milestone birthday worthy of a memorable celebration, they have shared some news and photographs below.

'We had a 99th Birthday party at Purple Pear Cafe on the 9th of July. I have attached some photographs of the day and the decor at Purple Pear Cafe for an example of what we can do with functions. We do bookings at Purple Pear Cafe for day or evening functions. We love doing themed evenings and have already booked a few high teas (croquet and all),hens parties, kitchen teas, 50ths with live bands, djs and lots of fun and not to forget a couple of family birthdays and reunions.

Our Chef will customize a special menu for you and your FANTASTIC function. We also cater for children and can organise children's entertainment so that you and your family can relax and enjoy your evening/day at Purple Pear Cafe.

If you need anymore information please do not hesitate to contact me on 0332344469.' said Zara.

On Friday, 5 August, Jes Foord came to give a lecture to the St Anne's girls. Well-known in the area for her traumatic story, Jes was gang raped in front of her father while they were walking their dogs near Shongweni Dam in 2008. An informative talk on the best ways for young women to protect themselves, as well as conveying the important message that there is life after rape, the lecture was deeply inspirational for the girls.

Jes has turned her devastating story into one of hope, teaching an important lesson in the strength of spirit combined with the right attitude in achieving success and overcoming pain and difficulties. Her candid recollection of the events, together with her young age made her a figure the girls could easily relate to, and the impact of the message was that much stronger.

Jes has set up the Jes Foord Foundation, aimed at raising awareness and providing support to survivors of rape and abuse.

News submitted and photograph supplied.

On the 4th and 5th of August the KwaZulu-Natal Schools' Golf Championships took place at Victoria Country Club.  Hilton College won the Schools' Trophy by 11 shots which is a remarkable victory considering they have a very young team with only 2 boys in matric. Two of the Hilton College boys, Mike Ryan and Jarryd Edy, were selected for the KZN Schools' A team with Matt Lauryssen and Chris Saunders being selected for the KZN B team.

1.  Hilton College A
2.  Kearsney
3.  Westville
4.  Maritzburg College
5.  Michaelhouse
6.  Hilton B
7.  Clifton
8.  DHS
9.  Glenwood
10.St Charles

Pictured alongside are (L-R) Keagan Thomas, Keaton Bottriell, Tyrone Searle, Mike Ryan (Captain), Jarryd Edy, Chris Saunders, Matt Lauryssen,  and Thomas Hattingh.

Grace College matric pupil, Adrian Gorny, played in an ITF (International Tennis Federation) tennis tournament in Namibia during the July school holidays and gained world ranking points. He is now eligible to participate in major tennis tournaments around the world. Grace College wishes to congratulate Adrian on this outstanding achievement and wishes him well in living out his passion for tennis.

Picture alongside Adrian Gorny (Grace College Matric Pupil)

News and photo supplied August 2011

 

Cowan House MTB Super Classic 14th August 2011.  Enter on line at www.cowanhousemtb.co.za  Make sure you participate in this great family event in Hilton.  40km, 20km and 10km bike rides available as well as a KidZone area for the children.

News of bike race supplied by Cowan House.

Congratulations to Paige Phillips and Katy Polkinghorne who were both selected for the South African U16 Hockey Squad after their IPT tournament during the holidays.

News and Photograph supplied by St Anne's Diocesan College July 2011.

Songworks Music School in association with Yellowwood, Capital Music, Mother Nature's Nursery School, Electro Voice and Prosound Live presents The Winter Music Festival.

Where: The Yellowwood Café Howick

When: Sunday 24th July 2011 from 10.00am – 5.00pm

Following on from the huge success of The Summer Sunset held at Yellowwood Café last December, Tracy Stark's Songworks Music School is proud to present The 2011 Winter Music Festival. A jam-packed programme will run from 10.00am until 5.00pm as 40 performers take to the stage to entertain you with a selection of up-beat popular hit songs made famous by artists like: Atomic Kitten, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Phil Collins, The Eagles, Metallica, Adele, Randy Crawford, Nickelback, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, Demi Lovato, Taylor Swift, Dido, Janet Jackson, Bob Dylan, Brandy, Glee, M People, Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, 2 Plumb, Simon and Garfunkel, Eva Cassidy, Kate Nash, Mandy Moore, Paramour, Tracey Chapman, Alanis Morrisette Michelle Branch and Carlos Santana – there really is something for everyone! Young performers will be featured in the morning and the older members of the company will take the stage in the afternoon.

Songworks Music School in Hilton provides vocal training, guitar tuition and a professional recording studio facility. The school is run very much as a mini Fame Academy with the emphasis on giving students from 7yrs to the mid-20s (and beyond!) the chance to perform regularly in front of a live audience.

Twice a year, in July and December, Songworks stages professional quality concerts to showcase the talents of aspiring singers and musicians, all of whom come from Pietermaritzburg and surrounds. These unique concerts have already developed into 'not to be missed' highlights on the annual Midlands social and cultural calendar.WinterMusicFestival

This year's Winter Festival has been eagerly anticipated by all those who took part in or attended the 2010 Songworks concerts. The new-found confidence of these young people many of whom had never previously performed in front of a live audience promises to take their next appearance to a whole new level. You will not be disappointed!

The Festival will be held at the Yellowwood Conference Centre. The stage will be set up inside the venue to create a relaxed "Barnyard" type feel but if weather permits the audience will spill outside onto the lawns. Bring a picnic but please do not bring drinks. There is a fully-stocked cash bar available at Yellowwood for alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. There will be indoor seating but you are strongly advised to bring blankets and cushions to make yourself comfortable for an afternoon that promises to be hugely entertaining. Plenty of parking is available.

Professional live sound engineers will be on hand to provide the top quality sound that Songworks concerts have become synonymous with. This year Songworks is delighted to announce that they have entered into a sponsorship agreement with the professional live sound company Pro-Sound who have been South Africa's leading sound, lighting and AV specialists for many years. They were responsible for the installation of systems into many of the 2010 Soccer World Cup stadiums and Fan Fest sites in Durban, Cape Town and PE. They are also the South African distributor for Electro-Voice, recognised as a world-leader in pro-audio technology. The festival will be featuring the latest Electro Voice equipment and the sound promises to be superb.

If you missed the 2010 concerts but heard about them from friends then you know what a good time you missed. To whet your appetite in anticipation of this season's concert visit You Tube and look at tracystark1 for a taste of what's on offer. Gather up your family and friends and come along to enjoy a fabulous afternoon with Future Shock, People Get Ready, Who's That Girl, Lady Rock and Noise to Men.

A Word of Advice. Make a plan to stay until the end. The Finale promises to be sensational and there could be one or two surprise appearances from Special Guest Musicians helping us to close the show...

Tickets: R75 for adults, R50 for scholars and R25 for pre-schoolers are available at the gate on the day or in advance from: Songworks Music School Hilton 072 576 2794

Audiences at the Songworks concerts have been genuinely amazed and thrilled by the quality of the music they've experienced. Far from being amateur productions – all the months of hard work, determination and perseverance culminated in live music events that rocked the Midlands.

Some of the comments after the 2010 Songworks concerts...

From members of the audience...

"Thanks so much for the wonderful day on Sunday. What more could anyone want? A lovely day, sunshine a glass of wine and great performers!!

The atmosphere was great and everything was so well organised."

"Thank you for a glorious day. The performers and their families had so much fun and like you said, standing up and singing in front of a crowd for the first time must have been nerve racking and yet they never portrayed that at all. Can't wait for the next concert!"

"It felt like a young people's Splashy Fen"

From a performer...

"For the first time I feel we are a group, like a fellowship and we all care about and support each other. I stopped feeling nervous when I saw my new friends support me and cheer for me. I feel at home here. This is where I belong."

Chatting to local business people to discover what they did for 67 Minutes on Nelson Mandela's birthday revealed that Hilton gives 67 minutes and more! What a great way to respond to the call to share some selfless acts within your community!

The staff at Jewellery by Diana found out that somebody working at The Quarry is not well and have "adopted" this person. They have been ensuring that their colleague receives tea, lunch and physical help every day and especially on the 18th of July 2011. Their thinking is, you don't have to look far to give a Madiba like hand.

Sheldon at Business Soul Accounting has been involved in the support of Ndabezinhle Crèche in Imbutshane, Sweetwaters. This is an amazing story of a young lady, Nelly who has started a crèche in the community. These endeavours need as much support as possible and we will publish a focus on this creche soon.

Maurice at Maypers Bed and Breakfast recently heard about a charity organisation in Pietermaritzburg called "Tabitha Ministries", they are an orphanage with around 30 kids and also support many "child headed households" in Sweetwaters. For Madiba's birthday Maurice chose to pay them a visit, what a lovely experience, the kids were very polite and obviously happy in their surroundings where the care givers are doing a sterling job under trying conditions.

Maurice offered his services to help with any maintenance they may require and was put to work immediately. Tabitha Ministries have two or three projects all at the planning stage including converting offices to living areas for the care givers, renovating old lockers donated by the hospitals. These will be given to each child so they can store their own belongings and so foster a sense of ownership and pride. We are starting67helpinghands with securing the store rooms where the food is stored and will move onto the other areas in the next few weeks.

They have many other plans for the kids and any help will be received with open hands, they also need materials such as paint for the lockers, wood and plaster board for building partitions, wash hand basins, taps, showers etc. In fact any items which you may have been keeping in cupboards for "just in case" will be put to good use by the Ministry. Their contact number is 033 394 1079 and you can speak to Gail Trollip if this project feels like one you want to help.

Protea Hotel, Hilton also prepared and delivered meals to a needy community on Monday.

These are just samples of the extensive good deeds Nelson Mandela has inspired around the world by his example.

If you have a charity, crèche or another organisation operating in the Hilton area which you'd like to draw attention to please let us know and we will do what we can to highlight where assistance can be directed. Hilton is full of big hearted people, many of whom humbly give expecting nothing in return. To all our shy heroes, thank you for the positive impact you are making in our Hilton community.

The Viney's moved to Kwanyoni six years ago, falling a little more in love with their new home as each season turned. Patrick Viney happens to be a dab hand at construction and now, with two more accommodation options complete, the Viney's are able to share their stunning home with guests.

Their indigenous garden is a testament to the respect they share for nature. Besides occasional tidying the native plants have been left undisturbed to enjoy their habitat with little sprucing, except for the stern cutting back a certain adventurous freylinia bush receives each time it is cheeky enough to make an attempt to obscure the sumptuous views.

Rooms with a View at Kwanyoni says it all, the Mantis Room, the Cabin and the Reservoir room all gaze over the Umgeni valley across to the Karkloof mountains in the distance. A stay at Kwanyoni offers homespun comfort and if you book the Reservoir room, conversation.

The Reservoir room is an interesting concept; it was not built for the name, but is, in truth a reservoir that has been converted into a comfortable bedroom and en-suite with Rooms with a View at Kwanyoni's trademark vista, accessible from the bed and verandah. You will certainly leave armed with a story worth sharing at dinner tables in the future. How many of your friends have spent a night in a reservoir?

Rooms with a View at Kwanyoni  is the solution for visitors to Hilton who want to escape their bustling schedules knowing all modern amenities are a few minutes away. Breakfast, lunch or dinner is available in Hilton or you can visit a deli and the Viney's will set up an outdoor picnic for your mealtime.  After which you can take a walk around the garden or stride out and clock up a few kilometres exploring the extended property.

 For accommodation in Hilton visit Rooms with a View at Kwanyoni soon, let the big sky full of fresh country air fill your lungs, while your mind is calmed and your soul soothed with a hint of a simpler life.

Pictured above to the right 'Enjoy your picnic baset in comfort' and 'Resorvoir room construction'

Eco Education at Hilton Pre-Primary at it's best!

Wednesday the 3rd of August 2011 was Dad's night at Laddsworth Primary School, one of the vibrant educational facilities Hilton is known for.

We are pleased to share the images in a slideshow depicting Dad's enjoying time out of their own environments with their children, it is obvious that bonds are fortified, children are uplifted and parents are entertained by the effort put into these regular events. We applaud Laddsworth for their focus that reaches  beyond daily school life and thank you for sharing with the Hilton community.

Photographs below supplied. Photographer:Keri Maxfield

When you meet this gently spoken petite lady you will be forgiven for not suspecting that she is a real powerhouse, poised and ready to guide your business through communication challenges at all levels!

Gathering skills as a journalist, a farmer's wife teaching at a rural school where her language abilities found her drawn into a variety of negotiations amongst the local community, Desiray Viney mediated during 1994 conflicts in the Greytown area, went on to lecture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is now bringing a host of REAL communication skills and talents to local business.

REAL Communication Consulting - Research Educate Analyse Liaise - is offering a brand new tool for research, developed in response to the explosion of small businesses and global communication. This specialized tool tracks the benefits and effects of your communication.  You can contact Desiray to understand better how this tool can steer your business communications.

Beyond this unique research tool, Desiray's services include staff training, consulting to communication managers, facilitating workshops on better communication and can effectively manage your business's reputation building.

Hilton is fortunate to be home to a communication and media specialist of note, one who can style more effective communication between both 'customer and business' and 'management and staff'. When you are looking for a communication expert, support local and give Desiray Viney at REAL Communication Consulting a call.

Desiray Viney will present a Feature snippet at our HiltonVillage.co.za Business Network Meeting tomorrow.

Published August 2011

The Anglican Church in Hilton is to host a concert of organ and saxophone music by two well-known performers.

The Director of Music at St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, David Orr, returns to the midlands perform with popular saxophonist, Jeff Judge. Orr was previously on the music staff at St Anne's College in Hilton and the organist at the Anglican Church of Ascension.

The concert will feature solo music, popular Baroque pieces such as J.S. Bach's famous 'Air on the G string' arranged for soprano saxophone and organ, plus improvisations on well-known hymns and folksongs.

Orr and Judge have given over 20 performances together in the last six years in many major South Africa centres. They have also released several CDs. The concert is to raise funds for work on the Church of the Ascension's organ, a 1956 German-Romantic organ by Laukhuff installed in the church in 2007. According to Orr, it is 'one of Hilton's greatest musical assets.

On Friday, 22 July the St Anne's girls were given an informative lecture on Hydraulic Fracturing or Fracking, as it is generally known. From an environmental perspective, this is something of a lesser known evil. It is, however, a most disturbing and widespread practice by big oil companies and gas corporations around the world.

This scourge was brought a little closer to home by Craig Elstob and Nick Rivers-Moore, who showed the girls the Petrol Association of South Africa's map of proposed sites for this gas extracting method. Talking about the Karoo in particular, the girls were shocked that the intended areas extend through the Drakensberg and as close to home as Howick. An informative movie entitled Gasland showed how fracking has devastated the environment and the families who live in the areas around these pumps and drill sites. The primary concern is the contamination of our water with a potentially lethal, yet certainly toxic, chemical cocktail that is a by-product of the process. The girls have been enlightened through this informative talk, and will no doubt rally around the lobby groups to add voices to this worthy environmental and social cause.

News item and photograph supplied, thanks to St Anne's, a local private girl's school in Hilton.

Pictured alongside are Craig Elstob and Nick Rivers-Moore.

On Saturday 23 July Hilton College held its annual Grandparents' Day.  It was wonderful to welcome over 300 Grandparents to the school.  They had come from as far as Cape Town, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Zimbabwe, and there was even one set of grandparents from New Zealand.  The programme for the day was chapel followed by a scrumptious tea on the Centenary Centre lawn and then some of Music boys performing in the Theatre.  The day concluded with a superb lunch at the Fleur-de'Lys Club.

Photograph and School News supplied

Pictured above are Anne and George Williams with Clayton Prowse.

 

On the 24th June, 26 Hilton boys and 2 Hilton College staff members (Mr. Douglas and Mr. Venter) took off from King Shaka International Airport en route to a historic visit of Europe. It was the first overseas visit undertaken by the History Department at Hilton College and had primarily a World War 1, World War 11 and Cold War theme. Five countries were visited, namely Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and France.

Some of the places visited were The Mauthausen and Dachau concentration camps, Hitler's holiday home at the Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden, sites of relevance to the Nazi Party in Munich and Nuremburg, the historical and beautiful city of Prague, underground Nazi testing sites for Atomic Weapons in South Eastern Poland, the famous Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, various sites on the Somme battlefield (including Delville Wood where thousands of South Africans died in World War 1), the Normandy beaches (where the D-Day landings took place during World War 11), the famous Bayeux Tapestries, the Palace at Versailles outside Paris, the Eiffel Tower as well as many other places of great historical interest.

News and Photograph supplied.

Every cloud has a silver lining.... an expression that has been around for decades and one that makes more sense than you would imagine. The idiom is a metaphor for optimism in the common English language.

The phrase is as true today as it was the day it was coined. The cloud I am referring to is the global economic situation. The outlook isn't rosy, the Europe economy is in a shambles and people are questioning the future of the Euro which was hailed as the future when it was introduced to world financial markets in just 1999. America may possibly be heading into a 'double dip' recession and everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats to see what's going to happen.

What does that all mean for us? Well it means that our economy isn't doing as well as it could be either. People don't have the disposable income they had a few years ago and the banks seem loath to lend, and probably for a good reason. Even closer to home it means our housing market has slowed. The June FNB House Price Index shows slight acceleration to 2.6% year-on-year growth from a revised 1.8% in May. Adjusting the nominal growth rate with inflation, real house prices have declined at a rate of -2.5% per annum as at May 2011.

So, where's this silver lining?! I'm going to outline a few...

Your house price has dropped and so has everyone else's. Now, you may be wondering how this could possibly be a good thing... well it is if you are looking to trade up. Typically people generally sell their houses to buy a bigger one; it's the nature of the property ladder. Now, the hard part is getting your head around the fact that you aren't going to get the price you had hoped for your house. You are going to have to be realistic to sell but if you are able to do that then there is a good chance you will profit by buying up. How? Take a look at this example...

Let's say your home value is down 20 percent from R 1,000,000 to R 800,000. But don't forget that in today's buyer's market, higher priced homes are also dropping in price.

For argument's sake, let's say that a R 1,500,000 move-up home has also dropped 20 percent in value and now sells at R 1,200,000.

If you sold your home today for R 800,000 and purchased the larger house for R 1,200,000 the difference in price would be R 400,000.

But if you waited to recoup the 20 percent value on your home and sold it at R 1,000,000 chances are that same move-up home would also move up in price to R 1,500,000.

That's a R 500,000 price difference between the two homes.

So by selling today, you would actually save R 100,000.

Makes you think, doesn't it? The message is simple: sell realistically and buy realistically and you can make money from the current dip in the property market.

That's not the only glimmer of hope. The other is that a slower property market means you have the ability to differentiate your home from those around you if you want to sell. Generally buyers in this market are more astute and take longer over their searches – they do not feel as rushed to make decisions as the properties are on the market for longer. That gives them the opportunity to be more thorough in their searches; they get to more properties and look more carefully.

This has meant that sellers who are willing to take on board some constructive feedback and present their houses to the market better have a greater likelihood of selling their houses than those that don't. They also have a better chance of getting a higher price. This trend towards making properties more saleable has actually created a new type of business in the UK. There is a group of professionals that call themselves "home doctors" who specialise in going to sellers homes and fixing them to make them more attractive to buyers. Links to some of their web pages are at the bottom of the page.Declutter

According to the Telegraph it is a view echoed by Simon Buhl Davis, head of Interior Services, a department set up in 2008 by leading estate agent Savills in response to the recession-hit housing market. "Frankly," he says, "some properties are unsellable in their current state and would hang around in this market for a very long time, without a decent makeover."

It doesn't need to be a huge overhaul but a couple of subtle changes can make a huge difference. "The majority of houses that have been lived in for any length of time have a lot of clutter" says local Interior designer Lauren Scott she continues to add that "just decluttering and depersonalising a house make a huge difference to its appearance – get out a box for the old family photographs and little knick-knacks and put them away until you get into your new spot. It will make the place a lot more appealing to prospective buyers."

A little colour here and there can also lend a hand as well as a potted plant or two. The fact that there are small, cost effective ways of making a house that much more saleable has been identified by Avidity Real Estate who are the first local firm to offer a free interior design consultation to anyone who signs a sole mandate with them.

The fact is that if you are serious about selling your house and buying another there is a silver lining to the recession. So have an early spring clean, buff up and look on the brighter side of the property market!

http://www.clutterclinic.co.uk/

http://www.stageoneinteriors.co.uk/stagingforsale.htm

We hope you have enjoyed this, the second quarterly property focus which HiltonVillage.co.za will publish seasonally, penned by Andrew Morphew of Avidity Real Estate. We look forward to hearing your feedback.