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SEPTEMBER 2010
Hi Everyone,
National Arbour Week is the 1st week of September, and this year’s common tree of the year is the Acacia Xanthophloea (Fever Tree, Koorsboom) and the rare or uncommon trees are Rothmania Capensis (Cape gardenia, Kaapse Katjiepiering); Rothmannia globosa (Bell gardenia, Klokkies-Katjiepiering); and Cladostemon kirkii (Tonga-kerrie, Tongakierie).
Other ‘world’ holidays coming up are World Ozone Day 16 Sep, World Tourism Day 27 Sep, and World Egg Day 08 October (I can not make this up!).
The Hilton Arts Festival is in 3 weeks time and Hilton will be bursting at the seams. I’ve already purchased tickets to the flagship production of Swan Lake. If you know and like the Trockadero de Monte Carlo, fondly known as the Trocks, this looks like it’s much along those lines. There doesn’t seem to be much other dance this year but there’s a bonanza of music choices from Nibs van der Spuy to DieselVanilla to the ever popular Christopher Duigan and his Concert Series. Also, there’s plenty of free music too at the SAB Marquee. I’m also looking forward to tasting the food of some of the new food stalls (Heinz will be doing take out that weekend, I think!).
There’s also the Hill2Hill Cycle race, from Hilton to Hillcrest. Yup, another 05h00 wakeup on Sunday the 19th so our cyclist guest can be ready for his 06h00 start around the corner at World’s View.
The Hilton Protea has just re-opened and will start festivities off with a Wine & Food Tasting Festival on Friday 17th. For our weekend guests before they go home, the hotel does a Sunday buffet, which looked very generous last Sunday when we dropped by to check it out. Although they have only 1 restaurant, there will be light “Terrace menu” available in addition to their regular menu. And for the city slicker in me, there’s finally a smart bar in the village. Yeah!
Head’s up for the last weekend in September, it’s the annual Garden and Leisure Show at the Royal Show Grounds. New plants to indulge in…..
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, go well and keep safe.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
AUGUST 2010
Hi Everyone,
Happy Women’s Day – that’s us on the right, on the phone,  
carrying papers, and trying to get where we need to be in
high heels nochal!
Balaboosta, someone has said, is Yiddish for “perfect housewife.” Quibblers will say it’s a Yiddish corruption of the Hebrew term “baal habayit,” meaning the master of the house, or boss. You decide.
Hilton was pretty quiet during the World Cup but it’s been hopping with the UCI BMX International Championships this past week. Lots of little people competing on scary looking tracks with blood chilling blasé-ness. Lots of big people competing on scary looking tracks with blood chilling reckless-ness.
B&B owners are trying to persuade Café Lindsay, in the Lower Quarry Centre, to open Monday – Thursday nights for dinner for our business travellers. We’ll keep you notified when the good news happens. Porcelli’s has re-opened, in town, on Friday and Saturday nights only, at the Essence Café in the Wetherly shopping complex. They are known for the freshness of their ingredients, especially seafood. And it’s currently BYOB.
Spring is trying to do its thing here: jasmine is beginning to bloom, little leaves are popping out of plants that look dead, and the weeds are starting to take over again. The temperature has gotten above 15F during the day – hallelujah from my thankful toes! Our oranges are ripening nicely and the monkeys have decided to let us share (think my chilli spray is helping them with this decision).
Since oranges and naartjies are now in season, you might be interested in this fragrant green tip: When you are cooking something in the oven, place a bunch of orange or naartjie peels into a dish and cook until they go hard. Set aside and next time you’re ready to get a braai or fire going, light them as you would a regular firelighter! Kira Dusterwald at the Springfield Project 90 Club.
Head’s up: National Arbour Week is the 1st week of September and this year’s common tree of the year is the Acacia Xanthophloea (Fever Tree, Koorsboom). To read more about it or how to get involved, check out the WESSA website. For Christmas shopping, yes, Christmas shopping (all those Mid-mas dinner adverts have reminded me), shop online with the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, go well and keep safe.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
JULY 2010
Hi Everyone,
04th of July is Independence Day for the US of A and I would love to say we’re having a BBQ but we’re not. And don’t even think I’ll be drinking Budweiser! Perhaps I will find a bottle of Californian wine or bubbly to celebrate with.
No, perhaps just Californian wine and then, splurge on a French bubbly for Bastille Day , 14th July. Life is good!
As with the rest of the nation, we’ve been watching an unholy amount of soccer. Thank goodness, USA vs Germany didn’t have to happen! And no, we haven’t had World Cup visitors to impress with our hospitality but there’s been plenty of good stories about SA.
“South Africa Scores! You may go for the soccer, but don't miss the elephant watching, bungee jumping, beachcombing, vintage shopping and gallery hopping”. New York Times 06 June 2010
“South Africa Rolls Out the Ubuntu in Abundance” Huffington Post 15 June 2010
So, business has slowed down and winter has settled in. More time to read, re-think and plot for the business and the garden. I’ve recently finished ‘Going Green’ by Simon Gear (yes, that Simon Gear of the weather reports), published by Penguin Books 2009. Some interesting websites I have looked at:
EcoSolutions, Conservation in full Flight http://www.ecosolutions.co.za/
In keeping with the philosophy of sourcing food as close as possible, many of you know our bacon and pork sausages come from Dargle Valley Pork Products, where they raise their own little piggies so they know exactly what goes into them. None of that mysterious white stuff sizzling out when you cook up their bacon! They will deliver to you via courier or if you’re in Jo’burg, you can check with Cheese Gourmet in Linden 011-888-5384 (hint, hint Marg and Winston!). Otherwise, contact Caz directly at
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or 033-234-4159. If you would like to look at their product list, I’ll be happy to forward it to you first.
A year ago, Heinz finally got tired of buying ready ground coffee when we ran out of beans (which we bought in Jo’burg), we finally sourced Terbodore Coffee Roasters, just north of Howick. Marian sells her coffee at selected outlets nationally or you can also contact her on 083-551-3004 or
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and see which store is closest to you.
The next big event in the PMB is the UCI BMX Championships at the Royal Agricultural Showgrounds, starting Thursday 29 July. So, if you’re coming down, remember us! Warning: we won’t let you sleep with your bikes in the rooms but the garage is part of the security system and I’m happy to move my car out to accommodate your bikes.
Half the garden has been flattened by frost – oh well, frost happens. Despite the cold weather, our oranges are ripening nicely but it’s the usual battle with the monkeys. I’ve taken to brewing a chilli mixture which I spray on the oranges, which seems to keep the monkeys away. Of course with Hilton’s mist and rain, application has to be fairly frequent. Anyone have a better solution?
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, go well and keep safe.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
JUNE 2010
Hi Everyone,
Did you celebrate World Wine Day yesterday, 02nd June? We raised a glass, or 2, to our guests who have stayed with us – thank you.
Comrades went by in a whoosh, starting with the 04h00 porridge and toast making ritual. The porridge stuff gags me but obviously all those athletes swear by it. We hosted a post marathon breakfast on Monday, fuelled with schnapps and coffee – ok, it was mostly coffee - with 2 past South African winners (we were very honoured) and a runner from Brazil.
Crafts in the Park just ended and Art in the Park in PMB starts today, but if you’re unable to attend, check out some of the following websites:
http://juliaforman.com/
http://sharleenboaden.com/
http://www.usisicraft.co.za/
http://www.zulululutrading.co.za/
http://www.sareal.co.za/default.aspx
Reporting back on the new Durban airport:
- it’s just over an hour’s drive (and I stick to the speed limit 90% of the time)
- the signage is confusing (heard that the traffic flow was planned only after the buildings were completed!?)
- the parkade is expensive and located on the domestic end of the terminal
- domestic and international flights come into the same terminal and
- it’s all quite small!
Aside from the fast food court, there is a Mugg & Bean, a Cape Town Fish Market, and a wine tasting bar on the check-in side. Airside, there’s a Wimpy’s, Fego Caffé, and a Rhapsody’s Pub & Grill (with a smoking lounge). The old airport, south of Durban, has been mothballed although Kulula tried to buy it but was thwarted by ACSA.
We still do not have any bookings from World Cup guests but we’re not worried. We think South Africans will continue to work and maintain the economy while pulling out their hair caused to the extremely long school holidays.
I have a copy of a World Cup Security Brief – if you would like a copy, please contact me and I’ll forward you a copy.
Here at the B&B, we now have Venetian blinds, which are quite nice – we hope you will agree. The drive up to gate has now been paved in concrete, so no more spinning wheels in the gravel when the gate opens up – yeah! Why didn’t we do this before? My spinach and chilli plants have made it past 4 weeks – double yeah! The vervet monkeys have been eating my freesia bulbs (is that normal?) and testing our oranges to see if they’re ripe (they are still very green on the outside). A homeless man has started to ‘harvest’ our granadillas by the front gate - well, the monkeys now have competition!
Heinz had a great holiday in Germany, travelling from Stuttgart to Flensburg, up on the Danish border, as well as in-between, and is back safely and I am back to peeling potatoes…..
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, go well and keep safe.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
MAY 2010
Hi Everyone,
Get the margarita recipe out, it’s almost Cinco de Mayo (05th of May)! A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day but it’s really the anniversary of the Battle of Puebla. So, have plenty of tacos, chili, fajitas, Margaritas, Daiquiris, Tia Maria, and, of course, tequila!
With the World Cup almost upon us, the UK Conde Nast Traveller magazine has been exploring South Africa for their readers. If you would like to read what international travellers find interesting and will be on the outlook for (also if you’re driving around during the school holidays, this might be useful), click here.
Out and about in Hilton: At the B&B, we are busy with replacing the blinds with Venetian blinds, which hopefully are more user friendly. I’ve planted out spinach and chilli plants and will see if this batch makes it beyond 2 weeks. The municipal land around us has been cleared of Bugweed but Wattle and Eucalyptus trees continue to stand – bit of a wreck looking at the work.
The last 10 days have been pretty horrific as far as electricity is concerned but the good(ish) news that it should be completely under control in 2 months and the municipality actually has the money for it! The water people have acknowledged that they need to stop capex (hint, hint, in the areas where there’s no tax base) and start maintaining what infrastructure they do have or it might turn out to be capex in the long run.
The city of PMB continues with its painful curatorship with daily exposures of corruption and inaptitude. The curator has already received death threats if he continues to do his work. The new mayor has gone from 9 bodyguards to zero and has replaced the 2-finger-typing secretary with someone a little more au fait with a keyboard. Perhaps the pendulum is beginning to swing the other way?
The next event in PMB is Car in the Park, mid-May. Diarise for a look-see if you’re around the 15th/16th May. We continue to receive requests for rooms for the Comrades but we’ve been full since November. Last number I read, there are approximately 23,000 runners this year. Yikes, sounds like a squash!
The new Durban airport opened without any hitches. I’m going to the airport next week to pick up a friend and will report back if it’s user friendly or not. No, I don’t believe everything I read!
And head’s up, 02nd June is World Wine Day. Need I say more?
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, so well and keep safe.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
APRIL 2010
Hi Everyone,
The chocolate Easter eggs and hot cross buns have settled on my hips. Hope your Easter was calm and uneventful and full of ham and marshmallows (not together). Since it’s just the 2 of us for Easter Sunday, I made pork vindaloo instead and we had heartburn just as if we over indulged in a huge ham!
Guests have been asking about how the World Cup is affecting our bookings and we answer: Not! Some interesting info…
CapeInfo (why isn’t the SA Tourism doing this, we ask) has been conducting surveys on World Cup visitors: the largest group of visitors are coming from the USA (when did we, Americans, find out about soccer!?), 80% are male and the largest age group to be expected are between 20-29 (oh, lager louts here they come!). A very high 87% rate crime and personal safety as their top concern when it comes to visiting; cost was cited by 50% of respondents. Only 32% of all the visitors will be visiting Durban while a full 50% will visit Cape Town and 62% will see Jo’burg. To read more, visit www.capeinfo.com
And from South African Tourism Update 30 Mar: “The Brits are loading up with stab-proof vests, soccer teams are paying billions for private security and the South African government has spent R10 billion to fight crime ahead of the Soccer World Cup. Even Interpol will be involved – controlling terrorism operations.” To read more: http://www.tourismupdate.co.za.
Closer to home, the Michaelhouse/Hilton College Rugby Match at Hilton is Saturday 05 June. If you’re coming down, we still have space, give us a shout!
The Protea Hilton Hotel is racing to completion, so there’s another option in the village if you’re fed up with B&Bs. Read “Not another B&B. Ever.” about one man’s displeasure with B&B owners who want to go to bed at 8pm, dealing with cramped parking areas, and not having a proper shower! Click here to read the column http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes.
However, for you B&B aficionados, we do take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, travel safely and keep well.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
MARCH 2010
Hi Everyone,
Just in time to remind you of the Cansa Shavathon Saturday 6 March at your local shopping mall. Click here if you need more information.
The long weekend is coming up – Human Rights Day Sunday 21 March – is also the weekend of Michaelhouse/Hilton College Rugby Match at Michaelhouse Saturday 20 March. If you’re coming down, we still have space, give us a shout! The return match at Hilton College is Saturday 05 June.
Hilton has finally had some summer weather and I have been doing some homework for the garden. Random Harvest Nursery, www.rhn.co.za, has a great newsletter on indigenous gardening and those who live in Johannesburg, can visit them too.
Petal Faire Nursery in Pretoria, www.petalfaire.co.za, has less than regular newsletters but interesting when I do receive it – Leonie is having her Rare Plant sale 05-07 March, where she always has unusual things to nurture.
For something completely different, try Going Green’s Trench Transformation for disposing organic garden and kitchen waste – wacky but it looks like it works. And tongue firmly in cheek, American garden gadfly Billy Goodnick offers up his top 5 crimes against horticulture. Quite a giggle.
Despite all the hard work this year, we still did not make it on to the Condé Nast Traveller’s Hotel Gold List for 2010 but like Avis, we try harder.
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling. Also, you can now follow us on twitter http://twitter.com/hiltonbnb
If we don’t catch you before you leave on Easter break, go safely!
Till we meet again, keep well.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
FEBRUARY 2010
Happy Chinese New Year!
Hello Everyone,
Sunday, 14th February delivers a double whammy this year – Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year. Did you know red underwear’s also auspicious for Chinese New Year – find out why!
In anticipation of torturing my German husband through potato withdrawal, I’ve been checking out Chinese recipes to celebrate the New Year is style. Luckily, as I’m a procrastinator, I have 2 weeks to do so – yes, it’s celebrated in earnest for 3 days but 14 days later, at the first full moon of the new year, it is also kosher to have another pig-out. For a classic Cantonese menu, check out NYC’s Shun Lee's menu.
If you were born in 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 or 2010 - you were born under the sign of the tiger. Like the Tiger, you are one of the most caring and thoughtful signs in the Chinese zodiac. You have a lot to say on the best way to right society's wrongs, and quite capable of defending children, friends, and loved ones against all enemies.
Emily Dickinson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth II, Jay Leno, Hugh Hefner, Dylan Thomas, Karl Marx, Marilyn Monroe, Marco Polo, and Beatrix Potter, are just a few famous people who were born under this sign. (Note: Tiger Woods was born in December 1975. He missed the Year of the Tiger by a long shot.)
You’re a Tiger if you were born between the following dates (remember the Chinese follow the lunar year):
- February 17, 1950 to February 05, 1951
- February 05, 1962 to January 24, 1963
- January 23, 1974 to February 10, 1975
- February 09, 1986 to January 28, 1987
- January 28, 1998 to February 15, 1999
- February 14, 2010 to February 02, 2011
But let’s not get too parochial.
The New York Times has come out with their 2010 travel wish list and South Africa has made it! But more interesting sounding to me are: from madding crowds of Amalfi and Cinque Terre, the Italian peninsula of Gargano sits on the Adriatic; on the southern edges of Montenegro is an unusual land formation: a powdery, eight-mile-long beach called Velika Plaza (Long Beach); Istanbul has been named the 2010 European Capital of Culture (a designation it shares with Essen, Germany and Pecs, Hungary). Click here to read about the rest and decide yourself.
And don’t forget wild and wonderful Mardi Gras, aka Fat Tuesday, is the 16th February this year – so better plan on pigging out before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday.
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and to wish all our guests safe travelling.
Till we meet again, keep well.
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
JANUARY 2010
Hello Everyone,
We trust everyone had a safe and fun time during the silly season and were dragged home only by their short and curlys.
We had a week’s respite from guests after Xmas (not that we don’t love you all but you know how it is…). So, we had a grand time slumming around the house in pj’s (me) and unshaven glee (Heinz – just so there’s no confusion).
I spent some time looking into more green-cleaning recipes, cleaning up gardening mistakes (both mine and the former owners), and trying new recipes out on poor Heinz.
After reading much about the Copenhagen Climate Conference, we thought we needed to calculate our own carbon footprint and thought you might interested in doing the same.
The top sites for Carbon Footprint Calculators:
An Inconvenient Truth
Carbon Footprint
World Wildlife Fund
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/pestcontrol.html
A local site http://www.90x2030.org.za/default.asp produces Carbon footprint reduction toolkits for schools and households and these are downloadable from their website.
Latest Improvement: Thank you Alex, upon your suggestion, we have replaced the shower nozzle with one which swivels, so people need not to get up and personal with the taps.
Full dates: Midmar Mile 13/14 Feb (reminder to Mike for Anthony: 14 February is Valentine’s Day) and Comrades 29/30 May (thank you Bruce for filling our rooms with your fellow runners - South Africans, South Americans and Australians will staying with us this year).
We take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and wish you get everything your heart wishes for 2010. Take care and drive safely.
Till we meet again, keep well
Warm Regards,
Heinz and Rosalind
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