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!

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., Charles Webster (082 331 7271), or Doug Borain (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 Crossways Pub) 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.

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

Dani Foster’s songwriting is the ‘real deal’; world-class, witty, stylistically and technically well-rounded and full of the resonance of honest human experience. She distils any combination of modern music styles, including unique African flavours, into a smooth acoustic artisanal blend. Dani She studied vocals and songwriting/composition at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford and at The British and Irish Modern Music Institute UK, Brighton Campus for four years. She earned a BA Honours Degree in Song-writing First Class, before returning home to South Africa and continuing her professional music career in Durban in late 2015. Whilst studying, she completed her Debut album, Open Spaces (now available on iTunes) at Northwind Recording Studios with award-winning producer Nik Fairclough. The album was launched in Durban, SA and Brighton, UK followed by a video launch with two music videos shot in Dublin, Ireland, with renowned arts videographer and director Cale Glendenning (USA). Dani recently completed independent tours throughout the UK and Europe and is currently working on her next EP, which she hopes to release as a series of live-in-studio videos.

 

8pm - The Lumberjax

Local lads, the Lumberjax offer the best of bluegrass and country music, featuring vocal harmonies that ring with that high lonesome sound of the mountains. The music is from another day and another time and is sure to pull at the heartstrings and entertain. The band consists of Craig Martens, Ron Gevers and Christo Loots.

 

9pm - The Lion & The Bear

Formed by AVADE members Ross Meintjes (vocals/guitar) and Ruben Thomas (bass/percussion/backing vocals) at the tail end of 2017, The Lion & The Bear is an acoustic duo whose sole purpose is to get the party going. The guys have maintained the energy of AVADE, but with the benefit of the more accessible acoustic format. The Lion & The Bear perform a variety of covers in their own unique style, as well as doses of original material. Blues/pop/funk/rock are the genres in which this duo thrives. Keep up to date with their busy performance schedule by following them on the following social media platforms:
Facebook: @LionBearBand
Instagram: @lionbearband

 

Come and join the fun at the National Alpaca Open Day on 5 May 2018 at Nirvana Farm, Old Curry's Post Rd, from 9am till 4pm.

 

Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

There will be lost of family fun, fresh produce and local crafts.

Roxanne Luxford in Grade 10 at Grace College placed 4th in her class at the Land Rover Durban Shongweni Derby this past weekend. Well done to Roxanne on this fine equestrian achievement!

 

News supplied by Grace College.

We had a positive and constructive meeting with a team of 7 personnel from NERSA on 14th February 2018 which was also attended by the CEO and one of the Directors of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business.

It was agreed that NERSA, together with ourselves as the End-User, would establish an End-User Forum in terms of the Electricity Regulation Act which will formalize our role as the End-User and give us more legitimacy and more legal clout to resolve our electricity supply issues.
We prepared draft Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Forum and submitted them to NERSA. They eventually responded with their version which was very similar to ours. These drafts are sufficient for us to develop as the Forum.

NERSA undertook to set the date for the first meeting and to invite all relevant role-players, especially Msunduzi and uMngeni LM’s, whether they want to attend or not. We are awaiting confirmation of the meeting date and will follow up with NERSA in this regard.

The Elec Task Teams Technical Portfolio has been following up with Msunduzi’s technical staff to discuss the current status and the plans going forward. Alas to no avail despite considerable efforts.

We certainly need to apply a lot more pressure on Msunduzi.

Hilton Residents are requested to continue saving electricity (and water for that matter) and to investigate alternative sources of energy such as solar and gas. This would be an opportune time to service generators in preparation for the colder months.
The process of trying to sort out our electricity supply is slow and not under our control, we have to wait for inefficient Government bodies & parastatals to respond. All this whilst winter fast approaches which will see the Hilton load spike, and as a result, stress the already stressed network leading to supply interruptions.”

 

News supplied by Hilton Ratepayers Association.

Dear Winterskloofers

 

You are invited to attend a gathering to discuss the way forward for the Winterskloof Conservancy.

 

 

Background:
The Winterskloof Conservancy was established in 2004, with the aim to integrate with the security initiative to deal with crime and grime by focusing on cleaning and greening our Valley. The focus has been on identification and treatment of invasive alien plants to control the infestations of our public spaces. The outcomes would be improved biodiversity (our life support systems, such as the indigenous and critically endangered mist belt grasslands and forests of Winterskloof, which will, in turn, improve the value of our properties and quality of life.

 

We live in the watershed of the Dorpspruit, which flows into the Msunduzi River and into the Mngeni River, essential to the health and well being of all those who live downstream in Pietermaritzburg and all the way to Durban. Our Valley is also a strategic corridor for the sustainability of the fauna and flora of the Midlands – fluvial (river); terrestrial and altitudinal corridors. The latter is essential for the migration of species to and from the warmer, lower areas up to the cooler, higher areas, which is becoming critical for adaptation to the impacts of Climate Change. Our Valley is thus an important area in terms of our life support systems.

 

This means that controlling alien invasive plants is a necessity and as a result, we have been supported by Dept. Environmental Affairs (DEA) via Wildlands Conservation Trust initially and then DUCT (Duzi-uMngeni Conservation Trust) to establish and maintain a small team of young men to identify and control the invasive alien plants which thrive in our Valley from 2011. The herbicides we use are provided by DUCT through the DEA Herbicide Assistance programme, which reduces our costs substantially. The Green Bobbies now have the experience and expertise to safely undertake this work in a self-managed manner, working 3 days per week. They also work on private property to help residents to control their invasive plants, reduce the seed load in the Valley and in so doing, supplement the Conservancy funds.

 

We are registered with Ezemvelo as a Conservancy and a member of the KZN Conservancies Association. We used to be a member of the now-defunct Midlands Conservancies Forum.

 

Challenges and Opportunities
This job creation initiative is now at the end of the DEA/DUCT contract, which means we will no longer have the wages of the Green Bobbies partly paid through the Working for Water programme. The Conservancy topped up these meagre wages to ensure our team is better paid. While they work on the invasive alien plants, they also collect litter and sort it for recycling. They also provide additional surveillance for the Security Initiative to proactively deal with crime. Their efforts have led to many crimes being thwarted and suspects detained.

 

We now need to find additional funding for the Conservancy to keep supporting the work and livelihoods of these men. We have approximately 3 months left in our bank account to:
• pay wages, UIF and COID fees
• ensure they are kitted out to protect them (personal protective equipment – PPE) while they work with herbicides and in difficult conditions;
• pay the Supervisor’s fuel costs so they can get around the Valley as needed and move their kit from the various stores used;
• pay airtime so that the Supervisor can communicate with the team members, the Conservancy, the Eagles, residents as needed.

 

The annual trail run organised by Penny Wheeler and her Conservancy team has opened our Valley to new people to discover the beauty and tranquillity which we treasure. It has also helped us to supplement the funds of the Winterskloof Conservancy and the Security Initiative, but not enough money is generated to make this a sustainable source of income.

 

We need to build bridges with Sweetwaters to ensure we share opportunities by looking for projects with mutual benefit. For example, our environmental education partnership with local schools with funding from N3TC through the Midlands Conservancies Forum.

 

Our recycling verge collection initiative was unsustainable, as not all residents want to separate their waste at source, while others support their children’s’ school recycling facilities (fundraising). To make this work, there needs to be sufficient material available for collection to be cost-effective. Much of the litter we collect on our verges is from the black bags put out on Fridays for landfill, which get torn open by animals. By recycling more, it will help to keep our Valley clean and to avoid the impacts from landfilling.

 

We facilitated an Illegal Hunting meeting with all stakeholders which led to the reporting protocol via SACAN with response from Hilton SAPS and the Honorary Officers. We need to do the same to work out how to manage the human-monkey conflict affecting our Valley and the rest of Hilton.

 

We also comment on development applications in the area, to ensure they are appropriate and to encourage more environmentally responsible projects. There are many environmental professionals who can assist to reduce the load of this essential work. If we do not participate, we have no right to complain afterwards.

 

Options:
• Close down the Green Bobbies Project;
• Get income from Security Initiative – add R30-50 per month for each household?
• Register as a Not for Profit/Public Benefit organisation to apply for external funding;
o Security initiative cannot apply, but Conservancy can;
o Claim the VAT from Security service provider expenditure to fund the Conservancy as we did initially with Wildlands partnership;
• Establish a broader Hilton Conservancies Forum which becomes an NPO-PBO and each Conservancy gets a proportion of any funding obtained;

Other ideas?

 

Thanks
Winterskloof Conservancy Committee

 

Pictured here; a scene from the annual Winterskloof Trail Run.

 

Are you interested to learn isiZulu? Do you want to improve your language skills?

 

‘I would be delighted to help you reach your goals,’ says Bridget McBean, qualified second language teacher, based in Hilton.

REGRETTABLY, WE WERE ADVISED THAT THE MEETING WAS CANCELLED.

The Mayor and municipal administration will present the IDP and Budget to the public and answer questions and take input from the community.

 

This is our opportunity to make our voices heard and let the municipality know how we would like the municipal budget spent, what projects to be prioritized and what the needs of our community are.

 

News supplied.

Mieke van der Merwe, a Grade 7 pupil at Laddsworth Primary School, took part in a Pure Model World photographic modeling competition in March 2018, in Pietermartizburg, and was crowned first Princess.

Erin Lane, in Grade 9 at Grace College, participated in the KZN Canoe Sprint Championship and the Canoeing South Africa’s Schools Sprints Championships during the school holidays.

 

In terms of KZN Canoe Sprint Championships Erin achieved the following:

4th 500m K1 Final

3rd 200m K1 Final

2nd 500m K2 Final

2nd 200m K2 Final

Placed 4th overall on the points table.

 

In terms of the South African School Sprints Championships Erin achieved the following:

5th 5000m K1 Final

5th 500m K1 Final

5th 200m K1 Final

6th 100m K1 Final

2nd 5000m K2 Final

2nd 500m K2 Final

2nd 200m K2 Final

2nd 100m K2 Final

5th overall on the points table.

She received 4 silver medals for 2nd place.

 

News supplied by Grace College.

The billing at Music in The Hills for this week is...

 

Mzilikazi Mabaso is a newcomer to the MiTH stage. His favourite pastimes include writing songs, poetry and short stories, singing, playing guitar and having a great time with friends. You can find his Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLBuIlxycdvhcsPeS4OC8-Q

 

David makes his MiTH debut at 63 years old, but has been playing the guitar since he was 16, having grown up with the music of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. He is a Paul Simon nut, but plays covers of a range of artists including the Beatles, Bee Gees, Crosby Stills and Nash, Creedence, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Cat Stevens, John Denver, and others. While he is not a performer, He has played at various community and family functions, and says he relishes the opportunity to play at MITH. His claim to fame is singing Tracy Chapman’s “Freedom Now” for late president Nelson Mandela at a function in the city in 1993.

 

8pm – Pyramid Scheme

A brand new collaboration, Pyramid Scheme sees the perennially popular Erin Fourie (pictured below), Charles Webster and his son Michael Webster team up to perform a rather eclectic variety of folk, rock and even pop covers re-imagined for the MiTH audience. With Erin (acoustic guitar) and Charles (acoustic guitar, bass guitar) on vocals and harmonies, and Michael (16) on percussion, MiTHites can expect surprising versions of songs by Nine Inch Nails, Paul Simon, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, and even Britney Spears.

 

9pm - Post Office Blues Band
The Post Office Blues Band hails from the MiTHty hills of the Dargle where they are the resident band for the widely popular Sunday afternoon Blues sessions at Il Postino Pizzeria. Led by quintessential bluesman, Skippy Kubheka (pictured on the left), this Blues Band is sure to have crowds on the edge of their seats with the best of Chicago Blues music. Skippy is joined by @Frik Els, Chris Melling and Christo JJ Loots to drive the hard thumping electric tunes that are sure to entertain.

 

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!

 

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., Charles Webster (082 331 7271), or Doug Borain (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 Crossways Pub) 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.

 

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