MISTY CLIFFS VILLAGE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER - November 2006
Editor: Tim Anderson

YOUR scribe enjoyed a rare and blissful holiday north of the notorious Grape Curtain and returned to be deflated by the two-month-premature year-end persuaders in the retail emporia. One wonders which of these traders will dare to be first with posters on New Year's Day warning us of only 364 shopping days left before Christmas.

But, Hooray! There are compensations. By far the best of which is the Misty Cliffs year-end sociable pig-out at Lyn Mossop's pad - children and tenants are most welcome. We launched this event experimentally last year and despite the short notice and inconvenient date we were bowled over by its success. Wonderful - far-away names and mere plot numbers came to life as faces and personalities. What a marvellous buzz there was.

Don't miss this year's event. Same pattern but for most people a better date, 17 December. Stunning victuals (the solids anyway - the liquids are up to you). Dear Lyn has been a pro-caterer and you can be certain of happy bellies. This is the season of goodwill and the time to find your dreaded neighbour is warmly human after all. The Association will stump up for the food but obviously we need to know who and how many (including the bratpacks) are coming. Please phone or email Lyn and commit yourselves: lyn@mistys.co.za, 780-1051 (h), 082-557-4477.

We will also send out individual invitations but some folk are far off and not easy to reach so don't wait for the postman. Make a note that Lyn's place is Erf 41 on the beach; from the Scarborough side it is the seventh house and reached from the second driveway (which goes to several houses). Timing not critical but please don't pitch before 18h00.

Trees
While SANParks is busy denuding the mountain of trees we have been planting some more. To screen the rather raw gabion wall along the northern extension of Old Camp Road we've planted seven Cape Ash and seven Silver Oaks, both species indigenous. Tapped off our generous chairman's personal water supply we've installed temporary irrigation for the saplings to keep them happy while they get their roots down during the anticipated summer heat. It will take a couple of seasons before they start reaching higher but the effect should be well worth waiting for.

Rubbish bins
In complete disregard of its own stated delivery plan, baboon-proofed wheelie bins have been chaotically distributed by the Council. But never mind, it seems that everybody now has one and we're most grateful. If you've been missed out please phone Frank Johnson 021-786-3660, or his assistant Ashley (same number), or Municipal Solid Waste Management, 084-625-8046. This should get your refuse collection problems sorted out if you're having hassles. However, it is every owner's responsibility to secure these free bins against theft or abuse. Council will not replace them free! "Abuse" includes workmen co-opting people's bins for their junk and even for use as water containers and cement mixers. Keep your bin in your garage. Every bin has a distinctive ID number on its side so please note and record yours.

Bin contents will be collected every Tuesday morning by the official sub-contractor, Millennium Waste. Rubbish will NOT be collected unless it's in the bins. Garden waste will NOT be collected, although a small amount in the bins is acceptable. You are welcome to put an extra baboon-defying padlock on your bin but then please hang the key on a chain attached to the bin.

Having announced this happening we must say that we are not yet convinced that these bins are adequately baboon-proof, and certainly not so without padlocks. Also, several (maybe a lot) of the bins do not latch properly. This is easily fixed if you're handy with pliers and a hammer, but if you're not then do call Frank Johnson.

If you have tenants or visitors please make their use of your house absolutely conditional on them obeying the rubbish rules. If you have weekend-only visitors who will not be around to put out your bin on a Tuesday then please insist that they take their trash home. This is extremely important because bagged or unsecured trash almost instantly attracts baboons which then hang around waiting for more and often creating random havoc in the meantime. The mess is also horribly unsightly and unhealthy, especially when the infamous southeaster spreads it into other people's gardens. We designate ourselves as a "conservation village" and we really should live up to this.

Garden waste
If you employ a casual gardener or garden service please impress on him/them that trimmings and other detritus must be taken away, or bundled for you to take personally to the handy dump in Kommetjie Road. We are continually fielding justifiable complaints about garden refuse either thrown into the pleasant little valley where the mountain stream runs, or tossed onto the nearest neighbour's plot.

Crime
There has been a serious increase in crime in neighbouring Scarborough, including a break-in-related murder in Hilltop road. (Three suspects have been arrested and their bail hearing is imminent). The Police consider this an effect of the rapidly increasing population in the Redhill informal settlement, especially since electricity has been provided to sections of the area. There has been no concomitant increase in employment opportunities.

Obviously it's essential that every house has a properly-maintained radio alarm. (Alarms which rely on telephone lines are useless.) Our area is subject to quite frequent never-explained power outages and therefore it's important that every alarm system has a back-up battery in first class condition. Occupants are/should be advised not to admit casual labourers into houses, even if identified. The prime suspect in the murder just mentioned was apparently known to the victim.

We note that casual sightseers frequently drive up Old Camp Road out of curiosity, or to watch whales or to take photos. Unfortunately some houses that are not continuously occupied have been spotted as sites for casuals to sit and have sundowners and even take a dip in the pools. Anyone noticing such incidents should report it to one of your committee members or to Scarborough Security.

We fall within the Simon's Town SAPS precinct but we need to understand that Misty Cliffs is quite remote for them and quick response should not be expected. In the first instance it is always better to call Scarborough Security Services (24/7) on 780-1274. SSS will relay and/or attend to any other emergency.

We are presently investigating a cellphone-based personal security system which will simultaneously call several designated people. We'll keep you posted on this service.

NOTE: Several or maybe most of the official emergency numbers, including those listed in the Telephone Directories, are answered (if at all) by mindless operators who will not accept information but stubbornly insist on finding out all about you before they connect you (if they do) to someone who will listen to the details. That you may have bled to death by then does not seem to concern them.

DSTV
As those concerned will know only too well, the satellite relay equipment at the Crayfish Factory was unfixably damaged by storm-driven rain and salt spray. The equipment was insured and a claim was promptly made but is taking an inordinate time to settle. We're doing our best! The equipment is expensive but its replacement cost has been squeezed out of the DSTV fund. Improved enclosure and weather-proofing of the equipment should safeguard it against the next big storm. Several more owners have expressed interest in the service; anyone else interested should contact Leon Morris at 780-1256.

New houses
We have decided as a policy that in future whenever we learn of impending building work we will notify all potentially affected neighbours so that they have an opportunity to investigate in whatever way they may think fit.

Please note that no building work, including material alterations, can be commenced before the Council has approved the plans, and the Council is implacably committed NOT to consider plans at all until the MCVA committee has pre-scrutinized them in terms of the relevant approved Guidelines. Architects and designers can be supplied with the Guidelines and are invited to discuss proposals with our retained architectural advisors before they go to the trouble of preparing working drawings for submission.

A house is to be built on Erf 8 for the van Jaarsveld family. Sketch plans are presently being reviewed.

Environmental issues
Many thanks to Schalk Visser for our heading picture of a pair of African black oystercatchers (Swarttobies); these birds (which don't eat oysters) are a severely threatened species and easily frightened away by vehicles, dogs, etc. It's great to have a few pairs hanging around our area again.

We're continually clearing weeds and detritus from the roadway and stormwater channels on the mountain side. Weeds grow very quickly, however, and poisoning cannot be carried out when it's wet or windy; if you think we're being slack, we are not - we're waiting for suitable conditions! In places a lot of ugly weeds have been allowed to grow alongside the road as they provide shade for the large number of tiny indigenous seedlings which have been planted. Once the seedlings seem to have taken a firm hold we will take out the shade-weeds.

We intend adding a clause to the building Guidelines suggesting (only) that where driveways are paved, the paving colour should match or harmonize with the road surface colour.

Parking
With our new but narrow road it is vital that ALL property owners provide parking for two cars off-road as required by the Council. We will be making contact with property owners where this provision has not yet been effected. New building plans need to take this requirement into account when designs are being developed.

We ask that owners take the orderly parking of cars into account particularly when entertaining guests or using contractors so as not to inconvenience other owners. There have been several instances of owners being unable to leave or access their properties because of obstruction by thoughtlessly parked vehicles.

Money ! (what's that?)
We do understand, albeit reluctantly, that certain owners can rationalize their refusal to contribute towards the operating expenses of your Association, notwithstanding the useful and often very important work that it does and which we often draw attention to in these newsletters.

Naturally we are disappointed, but so be it. However, we should mention that there are other owners, who do contribute, who are extremely resentful of this situation.

There are also owners who DO contribute, but take a while to get around to it! We know their spirits are willing because we have records of their eventual payments. Just in case any of you have a suspicion of being among "They Of Poor Memory", would you mind checking your records please?

Without sufficient financial support we may not be able to continue the conservation and environmental maintenance work that we do to beautify the area and make Misty Cliffs a pleasant place to live and a maximally appreciating property investment.

Baboons
Love them or hate them, they are certainly of interest and concern to us. By the way, Jenny Trethowan, the "baboon lady", who became seriously and mysteriously ill following an incident of baboon poisoning, is steadily recovering although she's not yet up to resuming her popular "walking with baboons" educational tours.

There have been two extra monitors on duty recently, with the task of getting all of the Scarborough and Misty Cliffs baboons down into the Reserve. They seem to have done that successfully and we can now review something of what's been happening. The most surprising development has been the appearance in this troop of a new male, named William, who comes from the Kommetjie (Slangkop) troop, and who has taken over as the Alpha male of "our" troop. The previous Alpha male of the troop, who the monitors now call Moby because the large scar across the top of his nose apparently looks like a whale's blow-hole, is still around but seems to have accepted that he's been ousted and so just hangs out on the fringe of the troop. Besides his 'blow-hole' scar, he has wounds on his shoulder and elsewhere from his fights with William.

While all of this was happening, our old friend Split Lip also got involved in the fighting and was observed to have his right (second) lip badly torn, and acquired for himself his own break-away troop of about six animals, including a female missing her right hand and wrist who has been with the Groot Olifantsbos troop for some time. The monitors now call him (Split Lip) Al Pacino because of the drooping look of his split lips and cheeks. So from two weeks ago or so, Al Pacino has been around in one part of Scarborough or Misty Cliffs with his small troop while the larger troop has been in another part, with Moby and William wildly fighting each other, as many observers reported. Now, both troops are down in the Reserve, but have remained separate.

The next target is to get the two troops to re-unite. However, the additional monitors have been taken off and the remaining two may not be able to keep Al Pacino and even his small troop from coming back to Scarborough and Misty Cliffs. All observations of any baboons (or monitors) anywhere at all would be very much appreciated. Many thanks to Graham Noble for assembling this useful information.

Baboon Fund being developed
Your Association contributes every month to the cost of the monitors who control the Slangkop troop who are resident in the Scarborough/Misty area and are managed by Graham Noble and Jenny Trethowan. A business plan has been developed to maintain this surveillance to protect the baboons while minimising the raiding of properties in our area.

Because of the shortfall in subscription income we will be unable to continue financing the Village Association contribution funds for much longer. However, we are pleased to report that a Misty Cliffs Baboon Protection Fund has been started with a donation of R3 500 from one of our owners.

All donations would be valued either as one-off amounts or as monthly contributions. The business plan has been specifically developed and independently funded and managed for our area so you can be confident that any donation will be used only for the protection of the Slangkop troop and any other that enters Misty Cliffs.

If you mail a cheque please address it to Box 22709, Scarborough 7975. Particularly if you make an Internet payment please make sure (as with subscription payments) that you give an adequate source reference, including the word "baboons" so that there's no confusion with subscription payments.

MCVA Committee Contacts:
Doug Tunbridge, chairman: 786-3842, 083-250-3452.
Lyn Mossop, treasurer: 780-1051, 082-557-4477.
Leon Morris: 780-1256, 082-415-3343.
Richard Court: 780-1444, 083-376-9933.
Schalk Visser: 881-3024, 082-414-8333.
Tim Anderson: 674-2834, 072-128-2319.