Midlands resident, Jacqueline Kalley, has just released two new books for gardeners. Previously Jacqueline co-edited the award-winning Veld, Vlei and Rose Gardens: An Inspiration for South African Gardeners published by Otterley Press in 2011.

The gorgeous new book, KwaZulu-Natal is My Garden provides a fascinating insight into the differing ways in which people choose to use their space, whether it be tiny or stretching across the countryside; high in the mountain regions, in the superb gardening conditions of the Midlands, or dreaming in the coastal warmth; gardeners with little cottages or grand mansions collectively organising their surroundings according to location, soil diversity and climatic conditions – and their personal preference. Thirty-eight gardens have been selected to show something of the wide spectrum of gardens in the province; their stories inspire, entertain and educate. Beautifully illustrated, these gardens and their relationship to the homes on the properties are ample proof that KwaZulu-Natal is indeed our Garden Province.

Eric Cornhill is the chief photographer of this lavishly illustrated book.

Retail price for KwaZulu-Natal is My Garden is R395 with trade discount for booksellers

Also available now is The Essential Garden Notebook, another Otterley Press production.

Gardeners dream in the poetry of colour, design and fragrance. They think in words such as romantic, lavish, or scented. Gardening in reality, is very hard work, requiring forethought and planning, the all-important budget and, sometimes an aching back. This Gardening Notebook is the essential extension to your garden tools – a mini reference book that cleverly interweaves Phyl Palframan's gardening thoughts together with practical tips on how to achieve the desired results. It also provides space for your personal observations and so becomes a record of your gardening aspirations. The illustrations are beautiful, whimsical and remind one of all the joys that gardening can bring.

The Essential Garden Notebook is priced at R150.

You can order via email, fax or snail-mail using one of the addresses detailed below;

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

FAX +27 0867198397 OR

POST Otterley, 5 Wimbledon Gardens
18 Frances Staniland Road
Montrose
Pietermaritzburg 3201
South Africa

The end of August saw a trip to the PMB Botanical Gardens. The day dawned bright and sunny with a nip in the air, but soon warmed. Many birds were flying around at the entrance to the gardens and some of us got confused with all this activity, happily following our leader towards the toilets, thinking she was showing us more birds! We had a successful trip where we saw Cape Batis and Red- backed Mannikins, and when we reached a magnificent Coral tree espied Olive, Amethyst and Collared Sunbirds flitting around in the branches. Around the picnic area were lots of Olive and Kurrichane Thrushes, Black Flycatchers, Glossy Starlings, African Palm Swifts, a White-bellied Sunbird and a Cardinal Woodpecker.

The end of September meeting was a well-attended evening meeting with a number of new faces. To make people laugh is an art, and Mike Spain with his talk on ''Birding! Where, Why and How?" had it in spades. He invited audience participation while telling us that you can't make a birder, the bug has to bite. His hilarious snippets of how novice birders identify certain birds, totally ignoring the where, why and how made us all laugh.

October saw two short Birding courses by Dr David Johnson which were very well attended and most interesting and informative. The Howick courses were on Warblers, Flycatchers, Beak Design, Brood Parasites and Nests.

An evening talk by Sonja Kruger on Bearded Vultures – Wilderness Dependent was held in October. Sonia had just returned from a conference in Spain where the future of the Bearded Vulture was discussed. She explained that the greatest threat to this handsome bird is human development, and in Spain they have been studying the impact of wind farms on the Bearded Vulture. Research is now being done in South Africa because the Lesotho government is allowing a private group to put up a wind farm right in the middle of a breeding area. This will be disastrous for the vultures as there are only about 110 breeding sites in the Drakensberg and adjacent mountain areas and the mortality of the juvenile birds is high. With the appearance of wind farms the death rate will surpass the birth-rate. Another threat to the Bearded Vultures are power lines that kill mainly juveniles as they fly with their heads down looking for food. They don't see the power lines and certainly won't see the wind turbines.

Luckily the weather gods came out to play after a week of rain and the sun made a majestic appearance for our trip to Mbona. We arrived and made our way to the top of the forest area to be greeted by howling winds. The huge trees shielded us from most of the gale, and one group made their way up hill while the other group set up their chairs in a sunny patch and waited for the birds to come to them. There was great excitement when one group spotted a Bush Black-cap. Lovely forest birds began to emerge - a pair of nesting Purple-crested Turacos, a nesting Forest Weaver and a nesting African dusky Flycatcher. Black Saw-wings, Cape Batis, Brubru, Puff-back Shrike, Rock Martin and a Red-fronted Tinkerbird were some of the most memorable birds seen.

November saw us at the Karkloof Country Club for Dr George Hughes "Sea Turtles – Dynamic Survivors." An animated crowd filled the dining room at the Karkloof Country Club to listen to well-known turtle expert Dr George Hughes give a most interesting talk on the turtles of the world, concentrating on the South African coastline and the Indian Ocean. With an excellent slide show Dr George explained the life cycles and survival techniques of these fascinating animals, as well as customs and superstitions surrounding turtles. Recently his work was recognized by the International Sea Turtle association and he received a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Our much anticipated End of Year Braai at Hilton College Lapa was planned for 8th December. However, with all the recent rain the road to the Lapa became impassable and sadly the whole day was cancelled at the last minute

"Wishing a peaceful and joyous Christmas to all our members and friends, good health and happiness in the New Year!"  BLKZNM Chairman and Committee.

News and picture kindly provided by Birdlife KZN Midlands

Above - Red-chested Cuckoo chick in a Cape Wagtail's nest..
This year's noisy bird that everyone loves to hate! Photo by Chris Theron

Members of the Meander Quilters' Guild were treated to the sight of 15 beautiful quilts at their November meeting.

At the beginning of each year, the chairlady issues a challenge to members to create a quilt or wall hanging based on a theme.

In 2013 the challenge was based on two foliage wall hangings which Moira Ryder designed. Each month she provided block designs for members to use. The quilts on show were all based on these designs with unique colours and composition chosen by the makers.

All the wall hangings were displayed at the November meeting and members were asked to vote on which was their favourite.

Denise Webber's wall hanging (main picture) won the vote, closely followed by Peggy Frayne's house quilt (below). That's not to say that all the others were not gorgeous!  See Meander Quilters Guild gallery for more  pictures.

This was a great challenge and everyone who participated said how much they had enjoyed being "stretched" to think about different techniques and colour choices.

Pictures and article kindly provided by Meander Quilters Guild

Howick Pre-Primary School will be closed from 5 December 2013 to 14 January 2014 inclusive. We take this opportunity of thanking our parent body, for their support and commitment during this year.

A special thanks to Steve Tidbury (Howick General Maintenance), for his constant help with maintenance, especially the hours of work spent on our large 'Treehouse Adventure Structure' - a work in progress. You've certainly helped make 'her' safe and extended 'her' life span. Many more children will have the pleasure of playing in our 'Treehouse' for years to come.

To the many others who have given of their time to attend our work parties, we are truly grateful for all your help and encouragement.

Wishing all our littlies and their families a wonderful holiday season, Blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. Farewell and best wishes to our Class of 2013.

The Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club would like to confirm that their Cabaret and Prize Giving will be held on 7th December. Please make sure you book for this fantastic club event.  Club members are requested to provide a plate of eats.

Forthcoming Events
Monthly Tabs-in Power Drive Trips Competition sponsored by the Lawn Mower Shop postponed from 27th November will now be played on Wednesday, 4th December.

New Christmas Competition: Tabs In Power Drive Ladder sponsored by the Lawn Mower Shop Open to all bowlers will take place over the following dates in December – Saturday 7th, Wednesday 11th, Saturday 14th and Wednesday 18th December. Individual, cumulative shots to count. The more games you play, the better your chance of winning.

A Christmas Draw for a bottle of Sparkling Wine open to club members only will be done on 7th, 14th and 21st December. You must be present when the draw is done to win.

The club's Christmas Party will take place on 14th December. Members are requested to place their names on the list by 7th December do indicate their attendance at the party.

Club Refreshments

7th - 13th John Withers

Tab Duties

5th - 11 Dec: B. Burden

Social Bowls
Every Wednesday and Saturday, tabs in by 1:15, play 1:30, dress Whites
Every Tuesday morning, tabs in by 8:15, play 8:30 dress casual.
Visitors most welcome.

Regular free coaching. Enquiries to John Withers 033 2395376, Hilary Williams 033 3303992, Barry Bedworth 033 2395445, Graeme Cameron 033 3303457

A most successful Carol Service was held at Howick Prep School in aid of the Howick Hospice. The Howick Prep School Senior Choir, Dinky Choir, Guitar Groups, Recorder Groups and Drama Group were all involved on the evening.

Howick Hospice had this to say "Thank you so much to Howick Prep for hosting such a delightful carol service in aid of Howick Hospice which raised a fantastic R2702.50. We are most grateful for all your support and generosity."

Cornerstone Satellite University Campus enjoyed a very successful launch of the 24th campus in Howick, South Africa and the first in Kwazulu Natal.

The breakfast presentation was well attended by local media representatives, school principals, local pastors as well as a representative from the local municipal council. The CLC concept was well received by all and everybody was excited about the vision, the values and value proposition it offers to the people in the community.

Cornerstone was originally established in 1970 by missionaries Don and Eva Aeschliman and registered in 2001 as an independent Private Higher Education Institution offering its own accredited programmes. Cornerstone embraces the core values of respect, integrity, excellence, unity and creativity and commits to teaching methods that accommodate diverse learning styles, educating students with Head, Heart and Hands knowledge.

Cornerstone Institute is a community of learning committed to a Christ-centered, biblically-shaped worldview, preparing students to function as critical citizens, ethical leaders and qualified professionals in a global context. They offer a University Culture, fully accredited programmes, state of the art technology, a modern learning environment, stimulating discussion forums.

Cornerstone would like to thank all of those who attended the presentation and look forward to offering an accessible, affordable and high quality tertiary education to the people living in the Natal Midlands.

Howick businesswoman Shân Cade spent 8 full days recently training all staff members at a large logistics company in Johannesburg on "developing a sustainable business mind-set."

This thought process is highly important to any business, regardless of the size, and gets people thinking about the job – how to manage risk, cost, continuity of service and consistency, resulting in excellent customer service.

Imagine the value of every team member thinking sustainable business on a constant basis – the cost savings would be great and customer relationships would strengthen.

Each workshop, covering a variety of business related topics like communication, using control tools, teamwork, leadership, non-conformance, among other topics was 4 hours long and 2 sessions per day were held.

Although this was exhausting the results have been really rewarding – people have implemented change right from the 2nd day. Below is just some of the wonderful feedback Shân received.

"Team work, caring, respect, neatness of utmost importance in the work place."

"Just coming to work with the right attitude makes everything right."

"Today's lesson was an exciting one, I've learnt to appreciate my managers and my job and also look at where I can improve my services to my clients."

"Having a strong "thinking" workforce is a MUST in any work environment."

Further information on workshops contact: Shân Cade – 078 801 0896 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Amber Valley Care Centre residents are having a whale of a time at the moment. They were entertained by Holly Edmunds who is studying music, with flute as her major, and wanted to practice while at the same time entertaining our residents. Holly is pictured here below in the left hand side photograph.

As Christmas approaches, there is the need for Christmas cards and tags as well as decorations. The Care Centre residents who do crafts, with some of the Amber Valley residents, were very busy over the last few weeks making cards and tags, some of which they took to give to family and friends and the rest were sold for funds to buy more crafting materials.

They made little Angels and Father Christmases for the Christmas trees in the Centre. These were made from polystyrene, cardboard and bits of material. Pictured below on the right, Beryl helps Anne to put together her second Angel of the afternoon.

Another project was to use fabric paint to beautify some white cotton cloth. These will be used as place mats at the dining room tables, or in some cases as tray cloths. The patterns painted were flowers, leaves and geometric designs. The picture top left, shows two of our artistic residents busy at work.

Click here to read more about Amber Valley Care Centre.

The Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club Cabaret and Prize Giving Day held earlier this month was a great success. Lots of frivolity, music and laughter. Congratulations to all winners of the various yearly club competitions.

Thank you to: Peter Bright, Elaine's Fabrics & Curtains, The Cookhouse, Hair Zone by Marti, Tim Waring & Brian Ellison for the contributions towards the Raffle.

Thank you to Hilary Williams and co-helpers for organizing the "Christmas Party" another fun and successful event.

Winners of the Chicken Day sponsored by Halfway Toyoto / Giovision was John Withers and team, lucky chicken Petra Stubbs, congratulations and thank thanks to Greendale Spar for the donated chickens. Winner of the Sparkling Wine was May Blackford, well done.

Forthcoming Events:
Fourth and final leg of our Power Drive sponsored by The Lawn Mower Shop, will be played on Wednesday 18th December. Dress whites, tabs in by 1:15, play 1:30

We will be holding a "Bring-and -Braai" on the 29th December at 9:30am all members, families and friends are welcome.

Our President and committee wish to send you their Christmas and New Year greetings to all our members, member families and friends of our club and fellow District players who have supported our club over the past year. May you all have a peaceful Christmas and all good fortunes in health and happiness in 2014. We would like to extend these wishes to all our sponsors for their support and kindness during the past year and we hope to continue our good relationship in 2014.

News kindly supplied by Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

Karin Nelson, a Qualified Bird Guide and Ringer, will be ringing birds in Pam & Bill Nicol's Riley Crescent garden during the morning of Wednesday 18th December. Please note that this is strictly WEATHER PERMITTING and requires no rain or wind. Anybody who is interested may come along to learn about birds and see them in the hand from about 8:30am. Please bring a chair, and tea and biscuits will be provided.

Bird ringing in South Africa is a research tool that produces insight into bird populations, distributions, movements and migration, longevity and behaviour.

The co-ordinating body for bird ringing in South Africa is the South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING). Bird ringing involves the trapping, identifying, applying of an individually numbered metal ring, taking accurate measurements and weights, recording and submitting this information to SAFRING, and most importantly safely releasing, birds.

If you don't know the address please phone 033-330-2947 for directions.

News kindly provided by BirdLife KZN Midlands

Glorious mountain views provide a country fresh start to your day at the Drakensberg Sun Resort, previously known as Drakensberg Sun Lifestyle Resort. Only 4 ½ hours from Johannesburg and 2 ½ hours from Durban, the Drakensberg Sun Resort offers a host of indoor and outdoor activities to keep the whole family, and even business travellers, entertained.

The resort is well known for the Drakensberg Sun Hotel; however, the Resort also comprises of Self catering chalets and self catering Apartments. The chalets consist of 2 bedrooms and can accommodate 4 adults and 2 small children. The apartments are situated within the hotel complex and consist of 2 bedrooms accommodating 4 adults and 2 small children; 1 bedroom accommodating 2 adults and 2 small children.

There are excellent conferencing venues available for corporate gatherings or even private functions. Each conference is tailored to your specific requirements and can include outdoor events and team building activities. Our chef will be delighted to customise your menus to your chosen theme.

In August 2013 refurbishment and structural upgrades of the timeshare chalets began. The results will be that of a fresh, new, luxurious mountain haven. Drakensberg Sun Resort Chalets will become the most sought after mountain retreat in KZN. The Restaurant, Bar and Hotel rooms are also undergoing refurbishment.

Facilities at the resort include:
• Spoilt Green Eco-Spa, situated at the Drakensberg Sun Resort, this unique Spa focuses on relaxation within a space that is beautiful, calm and serene.

• Try your hand at trout fishing, equipment available for rental and licences available at entertainment centre.• Horse Riding: Feel the wind through your hair with either a beginners or advanced horse ride through the mountains.

• Hiking Trails: Our 4 on-site hiking trails include the Blue Grotto, Fern Forest, Cleo's Pool and Cascades.

• Canopy Tours: Experience nature like never before as you slide through the forest canopy and enjoy a unique birds-eye view on the world around you. Set within the magnificent Blue Grotto Forest, the Drakensberg Canopy Tour® is guaranteed to take your breath away. The forest is home to over 150 species of birds including the rare Bush Blackcap.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Drakensberg Sun Resort for further information. We look forward to hearing from you! Contact: 036 468 1000 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ActionCOACH SA's black tie awards at River Meadow Manor, Irene in Pretoria was the culmination of another two years' commitment to ensuring business owners reach beyond their expectation and become the best they can be as they rise through levels of competency.

Of the 16 national awards presented, ActionCOACH KZN brought home four.

Patrick Greenaway, a master coach and the KwaZulu-Natal franchisee, was presented with the 2012 and 2013 Client Retention award. Coach Trevor Clark took the 2012 ActionMAN title for embracing the ActionCOACH 14 Points of Culture; and Olivia Schaffer was judged the 2012 Business Development Manager of the Year

"Our business, like most others, is a relatively simple - 'get a client' and 'keep a client', said Harry Welby–Cooke, the ActionCOACH SA master licensee, in his address to an audience committed to improving business standards .

"However, you only get to keep clients if you continue to add massive value and they see a return on investment."

In this regard Greenaway continues to move the bar for the rest of the South African team.

The ActionCOACH process provides business owners, with short-term assistance and long-term training through a mentoring approach. Hundreds of thousands of clients and seminar attendees worldwide will attest to the power of the programmes.

In the last year there has been a national 59% growth in the total group revenue; a 39.8% growth in the average revenue per coach and an 18% net growth in the number of coaches.

ActionCOACH was founded in 1993 by entrepreneur and author Brad Sugars.

The Cookhouse by Nicolsons is now introducing...  Bastian's Homemade Ice Cream! 

Jonty Nicolson learned how to make his famous yummy ice creams from his mum when growing up on the farm in Zululand.  They have been such a hit at Nicolson's that we decided to start selling them from The Cookhouse!

Our Patrons' favourite flavour is the Horlicks Ice Cream so that's our standard flavour currently BUT From the 1st December The Cookhouse will also be presenting a Christmas Themed Ice Cream .... Cranberry, Nut & Cinnamon Nougat Ice Cream !

You are welcome to place orders for Christmas Ice cream ahead of time so that you have enough for all your year-end parties

KINDLY NOTE :
The Cookhouse Shop will be closing at 13h00 on the 24th Decmeber  and will be closed on the 25th & 26th DECEMBER 2013 & 1st January 2014.

Always feel free to give us a call though on 079 144 6982 to discuss orders.

Asclepias woodii (Wood's Asclepias), a member of the Milkweed family, is listed as Vulnerable in the SANBI Red Data List. It is a KZN Midlands endemic which reappeared on the hill recently after not being seen for nearly 100 years.

Kate Fennell, Friends of Beacon Hill committee member said "It's always such a treat to find new things flowering on the Hill, especially a rarity such as Asclepias woodii"

This is an extract from a presentation Kate did on the plant recently:
"What pollinates the plants? Chafer beetles. The beetles are agile, fast-flying and hairy. Importantly, they do not damage the flowers when feeding. Asclepiads with similar features share chafer pollinators. Because bees are uncommon in grasslands, chafers fulfill the role of large bees."

Join the regular Beacon Hill walk on the last Sunday of each month to see some of the 106 species of plants which flower in this special piece of grassland.

The Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club have an exciting few weeks ahead.  On the 27th November 2013 we look forward to the Power Drive, sponsored by "The Lawnmower Shop". Tabs to be in by 1:15, play 1:30 and dress Whites.

Prize giving for 2013 will be held after bowls on Saturday 7th November starting at 6pm at our club. There will be a Cabaret Show performed by members of our club to start off the evening and a Sing-along after the Prize giving. All members past and present are most welcomed to join us with partners. Please bring a plate of eats for the evening, thank you.

Club Duties:
Refreshments: 30 Nov - 6th Dec, Colin Burden

Tab Duties:
Bernice Burden & Lyn Zadrazil 28th Nov - 4th Dec.

Social Bowls:
Every Wednesday and Saturday, tabs in by 1:15, play 1:30, dress Whites
Every Tuesday morning, tabs in by 8:15, play 8:30 dress casual.
Visitors most welcome.

Free coaching takes place on a regular basis. For any enquiries please contact: John Withers - 033 2395376,
Hilary Williams - 033 3303992, Graeme Cameron 033 330 3457, Barry Bedworth 033 2395445

Tree gifting was started by Jenni Rowe in Cape Town about six years ago when she wanted to give the families of four directors that were killed in a plane crash a gift that they could treasure and remember them by. The plane crash was in Pretoria and Jen was in Cape Town. From this small gesture the tree gifting idea started to grow!

David Earle, Howick businessman and partner in Tantallon Guest House & Cookery Studio, had known Jen from Pietermaritzburg University and joined her in developing the Tree Gifting concept soon after her initial launch. The whole concept of the tree gifting is totally environmentally friendly. From the compostable bags, to the inks to the chip-wood pot and starch paper, all are bio-degradable. Any paper used is 100% recycled, and acid-free. The hearts attached to the boxes are from invasive trees and hence we get them out of the ecological system. Indigenous trees like Yellowwood, Wild Olive, Cape Ash, Berg Cyprus and Assegai are used. Lemon, Orange and Kumquat can also be provided. David currently sources the trees from two local nurseries in Pietermaritzburg and Dargle.

Their story has been amazing and some really excited people have received a tree for a birthday, Christmas or just to say I love you and thinking of you. The joy is that you don't have to be in the same city as to whom you sending the tree. David provides door to door delivery within KZN and you can contact him for information on delivery across South Africa.

Tree gifts are becoming a popular corporate gift option. These are boxed in the size of a 1l wine box and are therefore easily transported. It's a great idea for a conference or to give to clients or customers at the end of the year to say thank-you for their continued business and support. The Tree can be accompanied by a personalized message from you and can include your company's logo on the message. These Tree Gifts packs cost from R95 per gift.

If you would like more information contact David on 071 6830732 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Howick Pre-Primary's little one's put on their year end concert, a Musical entitled 'Rock around the Flock' at Howick Preparatory School Hall recently. What a delightful display of enthusiasm and a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. Well done to the stars of the show and of course the dedicated staff who put together the show.

Also at the Pre Primary this term is Splashy Fun Day. As the name portrays: lots of fun activities such as water play, slippery slide, coat yourself in goo and other activities which, the teachers know to be good clean child friendly fun. Of course a hot summers day will be welcome, as much as we are loving the Spring rains.

The Grade R children are looking forward to a trip to the KwaZulu Natal Museum. This is a theme related educational visit on dinosaurs and the children will also enjoy the natural history exhibitions.

Educate & Fascinate an Educational Presentation, is a fun, interactive, professional presentation by a Durban based company and this time is all about Christmas. The children have such fun with this interactive presentation, reinforcing our philosophy, that learning is fun.

They also look forward to their Grade R Graduation. This is both a proud moment and a sad moment as staff and parents congratulate the school leavers and bid them farewell from Howick Pre-Primary School. Many of the graduates re-visit the school and proudly tell of their progress at big school and beyond.

The Grade R Sleepover is a very exciting annual event for all the Grade R Learners and is a huge sacrifice for all the teachers. The children come to school in the evening, have pizzas for supper, fun and games with bicycles and torches, watch a DVD or two and then camp in their classrooms with their teachers – oh boy! Up early for breakfast and then home all exhausted. This is just some of the fun, growth and inspiration in the final term of the school year.

After all that, the Staff deserve a well-earned year end break, time to refresh and look forward to a very exciting new beginning, in 2014.

Splashy Fun Day