The past month has been abuzz with activity in the new offices of The Month. We've moved into the Village Artisan in Franschhoek and once the packing and unpacking had ceased, the phone lines were in and the coffee had brewed, we set about putting together a snap-shot of life in the Franschhoek Valley and the people who live, work and play in South Africa's Gourmet Capital.
There's glitz and glamour to start with in our lead article on the inaugural L'Ormarins 'Time Trial and Concours 2010' where the “intoxicating blend of speed, drama, prestige and exceptional machinery” is captured by one of our local staff reporters. The glamour is continued with the Hospice Fashion Show (page 12) thanks to Tom Henning and Indian Summer respectively. On pages three and four we look at two proposed developments that are bound to raise some eyebrows and prove yet another draw-card to the many who flock to Franschhoek in search of something exciting to do or see. Local doctor, Tracey Garner sheds light on a slimming matter and Andrea Siedel answers a 'performance' related matter in our regular advice pieces on page five.
We travel to Vermaaklikheid for our travel article (page six) and discover that even though it's quite far from here, the people in the surrounding areas all know about Franschhoek (Question of The Month, page 24). Ed Flitters, our intrepid hiker and the regular contributor to the Hikes Page, is out of the country so we've chosen to cover what he would have tackled on foot, by car. The new feature on page seven is the first in a series that will systematically visit stops along the R45 Klapmuts Road, which is a hidden treasure on the edge of the Franschhoek Valley. If the picture of the smiling kid and the crocodile doesn't convince you, read the article!
A healthy property market is in the interests of everyone in the Valley and we're happy to share in the excitement of Doug and Dionne Gurr in our Property Pullout, where they chat to us about the Pam Golding Property Machine and the 28% increase in Pam Golding residential property sales for the period November 2009 to January 2010. On page 19, Samuel Seeff sings the praises of the sentimental effect of the World Cup but cautions that resultant sales may only be seen in 2011. The soccer/sport theme is continued on pages 27 and 28 and despite registering their first point, The Col'Cacchio-sponsored team remain bottom of the Franschhoek Soccer Championship league. The fact that pontoon-pullers in Malgas are offering to step in and help doesn't look like such a bad option after all.
We've interviewed a number of notable people this month, ripped chef Reuben Riffel (page 25), regenerative medicine authority, Professor David Williams (page 22) and strategic thinker, Clem Sunter (page 21) and even if you don't read the Publisher's Last Writes, do look at the competition for the helicopter flight on the inside back page (page 31), a paragraph or two may just earn you a magical flight over the valley and a stab at fame, if not fortune.
Finally, in 1957 the BBC news show Panorama ran with an April 1st story that suggested that a mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, would lead to the harvest of a bumper spaghetti crop for Swiss spaghetti farmers. Footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees duped many who later called the BBC wanting to know how to grow their own trees. To this the BBC replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”
While we take a slightly more disciplined approach to putting The Month together, than hoping for the best, we do hope that whatever it is that dupes you on April Fool's Day, it's good, clean fun and if it's any good, tell us about it.