By CHESLEY DANIELS On Saturday, Algoa Park Rugby 1st XV recorded an impressive 19-15 narrow win over host Rosebuds in a friendly rugby clash at the Alicedale Sports Ground. Algoa Park led 12-8 at halftime. The main game of the day was played in hot weather conditions in front of a large crowd in attendance and in front of a fantastic atmosphere. It was a beautiful day of rugby, and these two sides didn’t disappoint their supporters. The game was played in good spirit and was a competitive affair; both sides came out guns blazing and confronted each other heads…
Author: Rod Amner
By CHESLEY DANIELS St Marks Alicedale 1st XV narrowly defeated Paterson Lions by 6-0 in a low scoring friendly encounter in Alicedale on Saturday. The home side were 3-0 in front at halftime. The two arch-rivals came head to head in front of a large crowd in a sloppy affair in hot weather conditions. Both teams were ill-disciplined on the day, but the home side edged Lions in the end. St Marks bigger forwards dominated matters up front and took the game to Lions. Both teams were rusty and unfit as it was the season’s first game for both sides.…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Chesley Daniels Grahamstown Brumbies Rugby Club travelled to Kirkwood on Saturday in a friendly encounter. Brumbies 1st XV ran out 24-22 winners, while Kirkwood 1st Reserves won 27-0. The 1st XV encounter provided some exciting and competitive running rugby. The game was very tough and intense, with both sides confronting each other with their physicality. The home side went into the game as favourites and was full of confidence after their upset 44-33 win over Gardens in Uitenhage in a friendly encounter two weeks ago. But Saturday proved a different ball game with the young, exciting Brumbies…
By CHESLEY DANIELS The Grahamstown Cricket Board’s (GCB) League resumed the past week after a highly successful two-week T20 Competition. Once again, it was a competitive and exciting weekend of cricket, showing cricket is alive and well in the area. There were two centuries recorded: Buster Brotherton (137 – Salem 1st) and Greg Timm (107 – Kenton 2nd). There were also two 5-wicket hauls from the bowler’s side: Ross Pittaway (8/30 – Salem 2nd) and Adrian Reed (5/37 – Southwell 1st). GCB 1ST LEAGUE SALEM VS MAKANA SONA (SALEM) Log leaders Salem extended their lead at the top of the…
By CHESLEY DANIELS Chesley Daniels Sport is back in the stadiums! Last Friday, close to 2 000 athletes, staff, parents, and sponsors witnessed PJ Olivier High School’s highly-successful Inter School (Colours) event at their Sports Grounds. The big highlight of the day saw Bianca Schoonbee break two records in the 100m and 200m track events. The talented and exciting sprinter clocked 13.05 seconds (previous record 13.4 seconds) in the 100m and 26.88 seconds (previous 28.0) in the 200m. Both previous records stood since 1974. The U/19 sprinter worked extremely hard in preparing for the event. She also won the Best…
By GEOFF EMBLING, Democratic Alliance (DA) Ward 4 councillor Geoff Embling, DA councillor for Ward 4. Residents’ agitation is approaching boiling point, and at times their anger turns into hysterical pleas for water. Some households have not had water for weeks. Crucial water infrastructure, valves, in particular, have not been maintained over the years, and it is alleged that newly laid pipes are not properly ‘compressed’ by specific contractors. Water pipes are exposed to huge pressure, and compression entails compacting the soil over newly laid or repaired pipes rather than throwing loose soil back into the holes. A problem that…
By STAFF REPORTER Local photographer Harold Gess recently caught a juvenile Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus soliarius) burgling a meal from an unsuspecting Cape Robin-Chat (Cossypha caffra). The red-chested cuckoo), known as “Piet-my-vrou” after its call, is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in other birds’ nests, leaving the parasitized birds to raise the cuckoo chicks. The most common hosts are the Cape Robin-Chat, the Cape wagtail (Motacilla capensis) and the white-throated robin-chat (Cossypha humeralis). According to Wikipedia, “brood parasites are organisms that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite…
By STAFF REPORTER Police, in conjunction with the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, closed two houses for brewing “illegal alcoholic concoctions” in Makhanda on Tuesday, 1 February. At about 8 am, two houses in Hlalani were raided. The owners of the two outlets were fined for contravening the Eastern Cape Liquor Act 10 of 2003. Over 200 litres of the illegal brew were destroyed. Acting District Commissioner Brigadier John Lebok said: “Brewing of traditional beer is very common in South Africa, but these other illegal concoctions known as mshovalale are dangerous to the health and well-being of consumers. Police will continue…
By ROD AMNER Eleven of the 12 schools who communicated their situation through the Makhanda Circle of Unity Education Cluster had not received learner support supplied from the Eastern Cape Department of Education (DoE) by 1 February. The DoE failure to deliver textbooks and stationery at the start of the school year on Wednesday, 19 January, left most local schools in dire straits. Only one school, Fikizolo Primary, received stationery on 20 January after a struggle without books. “On the first three days of opening, we used books left from the previous year and also got some leftovers from another…
By ROD AMNER A Facebook post by Democratic Alliance (DA) Ward 4 councillor Geoff Embling has reignited long-standing grievances about the closure of Jamieson and Milner dams to the public. The dams and surrounding area are on municipally-owned commonage and were for decades a beloved recreational spot for Makhandans. However, the gate to the area has been locked with a thick cable since 2017. A sign prohibiting entrance and recreational activity of any kind was also erected at the time. One of two signs erected at Jamieson Dam in 2017. Photo: Rod Amner In 2020/2021, Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM)…