153rd Queen’s Plate Kenilworth Race Course - 11th January 2014

The running of the 153rd Queen’s Plate, sponsored by L’Ormarins Wine Estate since 2005, will take place at Kenilworth Race Course, Cape Town, on Saturday, 11th January 2014

 

 

Date: Saturday, 11th January 2014
Venue: Kenilworth Race Course, Cape Town
Time: 11h00 until 23h00
Dress code: Strictly Blue and White
Both Ladies and Gentlemen are required to dress in a manner appropriate to a smart occasion adhering to the dress code blue and white. Outfits should be elegant.
Ladies are encouraged to wear hats. Gentlemen are requested to dress in a suit or jacket. Casual wear such as t-shirts, jeans, shorts and sports attire are strictly forbidden.
Age Restriction: No Under 18’s
Food and Drinks: A variety of food and drink options will be on sale at the event
Parking: Parking is available on the in-field at Kenilworth Race Course off Wetton Road for all guests who have pre-purchased event tickets. Alternative parking is available at the Wynberg Sports Club.
Address: Corner of Rosemead Avenue and Wetton Road, Kenilworth, Cape Town
GPS Co-ordinates: -33.996675,18.484561

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Franschhoek Literary Festival 16 – 18 May 2014

The first Franschhoek Literary Festival took place in 2007 with two main objectives:

• To bring together a broad cross-section of mostly South African English-speaking writers and a few distinguished authors from overseas, aiming to present quality events that inspire and inform.
• To raise funds for local community and school libraries, for which the FLF Library Fund was established.

The Festival runs from Friday to Sunday during the third weekend in May, preceded by the Book Week for Young Readers. This is a time of low-season prices and the events take place in village venues within a few minutes' walk of each other, which creates a vibrant ambience in streets buzzing with book-lovers. FLF 2013 was the busiest and liveliest in the festival's seven-year history and many of the events were sold out in advance.

The emphasis is on informal discussions and spirited debates between several writers with a chairperson, or one-on-one conversations, and occasional talks. Starting at 10am and ending at 5pm, up to eight one-hour events run concurrently with half an hour between each. Fringe events include literary and publishers' dinners, book launches, writing workshops, a school spelling bee, wine writers' prizes and classical music concerts. In 2008 the FLF was honoured to host the Commonwealth Writers Prize events.
Porcupine Ridge Wines and the Sunday Times have funded the FLF for the past four years, and will continue. Click on SPONSORS for details.

FLF LIBRARY FUND

One of the main reasons for starting the FLF in 2007 was to encourage a culture of reading in the Franschhoek valley. This means that each seat you buy makes a contribution to the great cause of creating confident readers.
The FLF Library Fund:

• has donated several thousand age- and language-appropriate new books to schools, creches, a container children's library in Groendal and the village library
• employed a qualified librarian in October 2012 who has upgraded and helps to run three primary school libraries, with a fourth soon to be established
• helps to cover the cost of part-time library assistants
• continues to donate new books to these and other school and local libraries

Weekly visits to the upgraded school libraries by all classes for storytelling and to borrow books, as well as the excitement of author visits during the Book Week for Young Readers, are already improving local reading levels.

For further information or general enquiries about the Festival, email Sheenagh at help@flf.co.za

Summer Science Camp Cape Town

Holiday Programme

Plan ahead for next year when mom and dad has to go back to work – sign up for the CTSC Summer Science Camp and get four days packed with exciting activities and scienterrific fun!

Dates:  7-10 January 2014
Times:  9:00 to 13:00 daily
Ages:  8-12 years
Cost:  R632 per child (non-members), R480 per child (CTSC Members)

Cost includes all activities and Camp T-Shirt.
Space is limited so book today!
To book a space call 021 300 3200 or email gabi@ctsc.org.za ● Bookings close on 16 December 2013

How I Beat Eskom - No more ripping me off!

This is not only an article for people of Cape Town, but people of all corners of South Africa.
When I applied for Eskom to connect electricity from the electrical point on my yard to my house (about 30m) I was in shock when I finaly got the quotation about two weeks later. R17000.00 

Yes you read right, R17000.00. That was only for the connection and I was quoted another R575.00 per month for availability. That is a whopping R23900.00 for my first year without even turning on a light!  A lady about 3km from me is paying R100.00 per month availability. That to me was an eye opener on how Eskom could do and please as they seem fit. Why charge one person R575.00 per month and another R100.00 per month for availability in the same area?

I started to investigate Solar Panels. When I got quotations I was shocked to see what people charged and learned that there is a great demand for Solar Electricity.

So I did some homework and got myself Two Solar panels, Two Inverters, 6 Deep Cycle Batteries and a charger Controller.  I connected the batteries in parallel and that's it.

I now watch my Smart TV, run 14 11w lights and never turn my modem and Desktop Pc off. And my kid watches TV and play on his Xbox in his room.
Yes, I had to make some changes like getting myself a gas stove and gas geyser, but other than that we run a normal house hold without Eskom's ridiculous charges.

The Solar Panels comes with a 25 year guarantee and the deep cycle batteries should last 3 to 5 years.
 
You can easily add more batteries should you require more amps to run more apps..

The cost?  R12800.00

Feel free to leave a comment or to share this post.

Eminem - Cape Town Stadium Feb 2014

Great news for South African fans, Eminem is bringing his Rapture 2014 tour to SA, which is presented by Dainty Group in association with Primedia. They have secured two South African concerts, Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday 26 February 2014 and Johannesburg`s legendary Ellis Park Stadium on Saturday 1 March 2014. This is Eminem`s first visit to South Africa and the African continent. Fans get ready for Rapture 2014, a game-changing hip-hop event curated by Eminem, with ears tuned to the streets, and eyes locked on rap`s future. Eminem has handpicked the now, and the next, for the debut dose of Rapture. Over the coming weeks, Eminem will reveal the full line-up of Rapture 2014 in South Africa.
EMINEM: in a headline spot hot off the release of The Marshall Mathers LP 2, released on November 5, has sold well over 750,000 units and is billed as one of the hottest albums of the year. The Guardian said of his recent shows in Britain: "His stage presence is as potent as ever." A 13-time Grammy and Oscar winner, Eminem has sold 80 million albums, scanned 120 million singles and had 2.5 billion views online.

Venue: Cape Town Stadium - Cape Town, Western Cape Date: Wed 26 Feb 2014 9:00 pm
Tickets: Computicket

30 Seconds to Mars - Cape Town Friday the 13th of June 2013

Thirty Seconds to Mars have gone on to scale the heights of rock and roll stardom and are known for their energetic live performances and their fusion of different genres.

Although they found modest success with their self-titled debut, it was their second album, "A Beautiful Lie," which announced them as bonafide rock and roll superstars. Released in 2005, the platinum selling album broadened the band`s sound and garnered them frequent spots on MTV while also spawning two top 10 modern rock hits, "They Kill" and "Bury Me."

 "They Kill" set a record for the most weeks on the US Modern Rock Chart and the album`s success opened the doors to numerous successful tours and spots at major rock festivals such as Roskilde, Pinkpop and Download.

Venue: Grand Arena, Grand West - Cape Town, Western Cape
Date: Fri 13 Jun 2014 8:00 pm
Tickets: Computicket