The main event at our club this week was the IF Sponsored Trips played on Friday. Once again there was a threat of rain in the air, but we went ahead at 08:30 as planned. The format for this competition is that entered teams draw for opponents. The teams then play three skins of 7 ends. For each skin won two points are scored with an additional 4 points going to the overall winner. The fine mist turned to a light drizzle as the last teams came into the clubhouse.

Winners by a large margin were Fred Palmer, Dave Garrard and Mike Fairhurst. Second prize went to Beth Williams and Peter Bailie who were forced to play a pairs match when one of their team did not arrive. Sincere thanks to all the fellows at Investment Facilitators for their generous support over the last year.

Although activities are winding down a bit as we move towards the end of the year, we have a Chicken Run this Saturday, and the Quarry Spar Christmas Cup will take place on 20 December. An entry list has been placed on the notice board.

With the exception of Christmas Day, normal tabs-in games will be played during the holiday season.

Duties: 14 – 20 Dec: OOD: Margie Garrard. Tabs: Derick Hull. Duty Team: Fred Palmer. Teas on Sat 20 Dec: N/A – Quarry Spar Lunch. Biscuits: 16 & 18 Dec: Vince Seale & Gil van der Hoven.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Grace College announced the 2015 Heads of School at the final Prize Giving Ceremony on 2 December. The school congratulates them on their appointment and wishes them all the very best in their tenure as Heads of School.
Pictured: Mark Swanepoel (Deputy Head Boy), Ki-An Kambaran (Deputy Head Girl), Megan Tychsen (Head Girl) and Ross Perrett (Head Boy)

The new sectoral determination of domestic workers starting from 1 December 2014 to 30 November 2015 prescribes the minimum wages for domestic workers who work more than 27 ordinary hours per week.

In major metropolitan areas, domestic workers have an hourly rate of R10.95, the weekly rate is R476.68 and the monthly rate is R2,065.47.

Domestic workers who do not work in major metros have an hourly rate of R9.30, weekly R418.32, and monthly R1,812.57.

Minimum wages for domestic workers from December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2015, working 27 ordinary hours per week or less were also adjusted.

For those in major metropolitan areas the hourly rate is R12.40, weekly R334.74 and monthly R1,450.33.

Those not working in major metros would receive an hourly rate of R10.98, weekly R296.35, and monthly R1,284.09.

Article by Jean Allen HR Consulting.

There was great excitement earlier this week when the bulk of the St Anne's Matric pupils, after having written their final examination, English Paper 2, gathered around Annie in front of the Admin Block. In keeping with a longstanding tradition, they each released a helium-filled, bio-degradable balloon in the colour of their respective Houses, as a sign that their school years have come to an end.

News supplied by St Anne's Diocesan College.

FREE story hour for any children, with their care-giver or arrangement for drop-off 12.30pm to 1.00pm Wednesdays. Starting from tomorrow the 26th until Christmas.

Call to book or for more details call 'Hedgehogs' and Daisies Daycare on 033 343 2243.

Several local Hilton artists will be holding an Exhibition of some of their paintings on Saturday morning 29 November at the QUARRY CENTRE, near the Standard Bank and Cottage Framing Shop from 9am.

Both paintings and cards will be on sale at The Easel and Beret Art Exhibition.

Pictured here are two of the artists, Rob Bircher and Cristina Richardson.

St Anne's Diocesan College congratulates Matric Art students Jodi Hulley, Kirsten Wing, Caitlin Fleming, Julia Church and Julia Van der Riet for being selected to exhibit at the ANNUAL MATRIC ART KZN Schools EXHIBITION (2015 to be held at Hilton College). This is a real testimony to their dedication, hard work and talent.

Julia Van der Riet's Harmony of Logic is a pencil drawing of a lady transforming into DNA strands.

Julia Church's rationale for her piece Con Brio: "When I think of music, I think of it to be timeless, expressive, personal and most of all valuable. Its value is in terms of its emotional content, meaning and emotional release and not in terms of monetary value.

In this artwork, I have portrayed a barcode on the keys and this relates to the exploration of the way in which music has become, over the years, increasingly consumerist and money-driven. Music is more of a "business" than it ever used to be and I feel that the levels of fraud and corruption in the industry are what rob music of its essential purpose. The birds juxtapose this commercial notion in the sense that they are musical creatures and represent music in its most natural and simplest form. They are also portrayed in bright colors on actual wood in contrast to the cohesively structured black-and-white theme on the rest of the piano to express music's natural vibrancy and passion. "Con Brio" is a music term referring to music with vigor, spirit and color – the way in which I wanted my birds to appear. The title also plays on the word 'Con' which relates to the fraudulent aspects of the music industry such as piracy and copyright infringements."

Caitlin Fleming's, The shadow of strength: This work is made up of a series of 40 process drawings and reflects both the self and the other of anxiety as whole. In this work she explores the otherness of anxiety and how it shapes oneself into something unrecognisable, it shifts you into 'other'. The work displays a number of figures in various body positions, positions of defeat, shame, awkwardness, and discomfort. They display the emotions and turbulence of anxiety, the figure's face is usually covered, turned away or unrecognisable this is to highlight the fact that social anxiety does not choose its victims to a certain criteria but rather can randomly choose to torture and taunt anyone. The various techniques and materials are used to amplify the pain and the harshness of anxiety. For example, the vivid reds and the gauze represent the pain and frustration of anxiety. The use of the ink and glue technique emphasizes the uncontrollable nature anxiety as does the almost complete disappearance of some of the figures into the background of the paintings, underling the disappearance of oneself into other and how one is only left with a "shadow" of strength to fight it.

Hilton based horse-lover Belinda de la Mare has turned her equine passion into a business; we welcome to Hilton The Marvelous Horse Co. Filling a gap in the market for horse lovers looking for an assortment of essential as well as indulgent equestrian products including but not limited to riding gear, tack, clothing, gifts and horse themed decor items for your home.

Being a talented artist, Belinda has had fun drawing, designing and manufacturing an exclusive fabric range which has been made into cushions, lamp shades and even kitchen accessories. Her sketches are also available in block prints.

Backed by her husband Kevin's skills they have produced lovely horse shoe hooks and even a stylish towel rack for the bathroom. Even if you do not ride but love the Midlands lifestyle these useful hooks and rails will look great in your home!

The best part is that you will never again be at a loss for finding gifts for your horsey friends!

Visit The Marvelous Horse Co any weekday between 8.00am and 12.30pm, or in the afternoon by appointment.

You will also find The Marvelous Horse Co. at Hilton's POSH Market on Tuesday the 16th December 2014, from 9.00am until 3.00pm at Protea Hotel, Hilton.

Laddsworth Primary School hosted their annual Parent Appreciation Tea on the 12th November 2014, this event is held to thank our friends, parents and grandparents who go the extra mile.

If they stood side by side in a long line they would take up near on one kilometre in length, that says a lot about the support and commitment our Laddsworth parents show. We believe their care and generosity is a huge part of what makes Laddsworth the great school we believe it is.

Pictured L-R: Anushia Nzimande, Denisé Plaatjies, Trish Bullock and Dionne Bromley.

News supplied.

Thank you for all your support this year, we have had a wonderful year at Sue Tarr's.

For those of you who have not bought your Xmas presents yet - our shop is still bulging with presents for everyone. La Popote closes on Sunday the 21st but we will be open until 1pm on Wednesday the 24th for any last minute shoppers.

We will open again on the 13th January when La Popote opens and look forward to seeing you all.

Kind regards
Sue, Lindy and Sylvia

Grade 6 pupils from Laddsworth Primary School visited the Nelson Mandela Capture Site as part of their Social Science theme on Democracy. Learners walked through the museum and answered questions in their booklets which would aid their understanding of the time period and of the life story of Nelson Mandela.

A walk down the 'Long Walk to Freedom' pathway to appreciate the sculpture of Madiba's head by Marco Cianfanelli, ended their outing.

L-R: Luke Pellew-Jarman, Callum Ross, Luke Pieterse and Donovan Bornman.

News supplied by Laddsworth Primary School.

The Jaxx Roll on Wednesday was won by Ken Hooper, Rodney Braithewaite and Pam Spring. Vouchers from Dulcѐ's were won by Fred Palmer, Barry Best and Vernon Hickinbotham. The Sportsman's Prize went to Olga Hutt, Margaret Meek and John Aubrey. Thanks to our sponsors and to all the visitors who support our club. Well done to the victors.

On Saturday we played for the Surelink Trophy. This is a mounted genuine Lignum vitae wood. Winners were Thelma Mylne, Bill McQuade and Ingrid Oellermann. Shelly Brooks from Surelink graced us with her presence to present the prize. We truly appreciate the generous donation that Surelink gives us each year.

Those who have not yet enlisted for Bill's Bash this coming Saturday have missed the boat. All available places have been booked. Proceedings will kick off soon after 08:00 when teams will be drawn. Bowls will be followed by a super lunch provided by Bill Lambert. If the weather precludes play, the lunch will still go ahead.

Club events planned for December include IF Trips on 5th, Chicken Run on 13th, Jaxx Roll 17th and the Quarry Spar Christmas Cup on the 20th. Lindsay's vouchers and Lister prizes will played for on weekday tabs-in sessions.

Many of our neighbouring clubs will also be holding special Festive events. Check your calendars and go visiting during December.

Duties: 30 Nov – 6 Dec OOD: Jean Pluke. Tabs: John Pluke. Duty Team: Des Morrish. Teas on Sat. 6 Dec: Tom Hartley & Tony Francis. Biscuits: 2 & 4 Dec: Basil Fann & Dave Hammond.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Tyler Francis of Laddsworth Primary School played for the U13 KZN Inland Squad in a Quadrangular in Kimberley from 23-26 October 2014. This squad was then trimmed down to 13 players including Tyler who has been selected to play for the KZN Inland team at the CSA (Cricket South Africa) U13 Cricket Week taking place in Potchefstroom from 11-15 December 2014.

Pictured L-R: Tyler Francis is presented with his cap by Mr N. Barron, Treasurer of the KZN Inland Cricket Union.

News supplied by Laddsworth Primary School.

Claudia North, CJ Bergs and Amy Hewat of St Anne's Diocesan College spent two months on exchange in Australia; this is what they had to say about the experience on their return:

"Hearing of the mass 'Australian emigration' from South Africa we set out to see what all the fuss was about. As hard as the Aussies tried we were relentlessness in standing firm as proud South African St Anne's girls. The green and gold did not turn into the gold and green and boeri on the braai did not become shrimp on the 'barbie'. However, we did unfortunately fail in making an argument for why Masterchef South Africa was better.

I think this is what exchange was all about for us. Emerging ourselves in another country's culture and broadening our mindsets through the experience. From getting lost while visiting Sydney, discovering the beautiful Gold and Sunshine Coasts, to experiencing the 'Outback', and forming unbreakable friendships with our St Margaret's family. Over the two, unforgettable months we had a taste of what Australia has to offer and from what we saw it definitely out-shone its expectations.

Being paired with someone across the world may have been daunting but time only proved us wrong. We bonded over our shared passion for rugby, a good steak and our common rivalry against the Kiwis. We are proud that we can now say that we have Australian sisters.

Thus we will not be immigrating to Australia but we can safely say that Australia will always hold a part of our hearts."

Read the latest Hilton Ratepayers Association news here. The association has been very busy and say 'We apologize for not sending out a newsletter for August 2014. This was because there were many issues pending which we preferred to combine into a single newsletter.

This newsletter will deal with four main topics as follows: Town planning (Greater Hilton area), Hilton hospital, Water supply problems and Densification of the Greater Hilton area.'

A total of 166.4kg of bread tags, which is the equivalent of approximately 505 000 bread tags (over half a million loaves of bread), has been collected by Laddsworth Primary School over the past two years to donate to the QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA).

The Mack family were responsible for counting the bread tags and for donating prizes to the winning classes.

Pictured L-R Rowan Mack, Sipho Mdletshe of QASA who received the bread tag collection and Duncan Mack.

News supplied.

Hilltops Pre-School is expanding and the two new classrooms and toilet block are close to completion! It will house the 2015 Grade R class which is now open for registration. Also under construction is a brand new outdoor play space with obstacle course. The aftercare service will run until 17:30 in 2015.

The holiday club is running at the school until the 16th January 2015. Please contact Julie (072 207 0743) or Lauren (084 352 8908).

Hilltops has secured a fantastic Grade R teacher- Caitlin Hull.

Caitlin is a qualified teacher with a Bachelor of Arts and an Honours degree from the University of Kwazulu Natal, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Foundation Phase and Early Childhood Development from the University of South Africa. She did her internship year at Cowan House and taught Grade RRR at Fleming Pre-Primary in Johannesburg for three years, Grade 2 at Northern Park Primary School and Grade RR and R at Merchiston Preparatory School.

She is married to Phil and has two little boys, Malachi and Levi. She has five years of teaching experience and loves working in the preschool environment, seeing children grow and learn through doing, playing, discovering and problem solving. She is looking forward to bringing her experience to Hilltops and starting the exciting journey of building a Grade R class, helping to grow the school and getting eager little learners ready for 'big school'.

The 2 ladies who started Hilltops - Debbie Coombes and Angie Muggleton, are both mothers and dedicated teachers whose passion and love for children shines through in the work they do. Hilltops is a warm, farm-style school nestled behind the Rotunda Centre in the beautiful Hilton and Midlands surrounds. They take children from 18 months through to Grade R and operate on the government school term and holiday dates. The school is open five days a week until 17:30. (The regular school day finishes at 12:15 but there is an aftercare service).

Please visit their website www.hilltopspreschool.co.za for much more information on the school, or "like" their Facebook page which is updated regularly with pictures of the children's artworks and activities, school information and interesting bits and pieces related to preschool children.

Contact Debbie or Angie on 076 124 8440 or email them on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For information on the aftercare service, please contact Julie (072 207 0743) or Lauren (084 352 8908).