MISTY CLIFFS VILLAGE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER - February 2010
Editor: Tim Anderson

MISTY committee members receive an astonishing number and variety of communications from owners, residents and tenants. Many are helpful, some are helpless, and a few are, shall we say, not very shining examples of courtesy. All are welcomed; we don’t mind what comes in because it shows that our existence is known, that we are thought to be problem solvers (at least sometimes), and that generally speaking everyone cares very greatly about Misty Cliffs. This is actually rather remarkable considering that we have so few permanent residents.

Over the last few months your scribe has been asked many times why we refer to our unquestionably female occupier of the Village Association chair as the “chairman”, and not as the “chairwoman”, or the “chairperson", or the “chair.” The reason is quite simple: “chairman” is a unisex word and is correct English irrespective of politically correct fashion. In particular, those of you who have met her will have noticed that she is flesh and blood, clearly animate, and without doubt not a “chair” (nor was her male predecessor an inanimate piece of furniture).

If you doubt the merit of our attitude we would refer you to the esteemed Fortune magazine, and in particular to its 2009 list of the 50 most powerful women (in business, not necessarily elsewhere). Among them some female “chairmen” are included - the Chairman of PepsiCo is Indra, the Chairman of Kraft Foods is Irene, Chairman of Time-Warner is Ann, of Avon Products it’s Andrea, and of Viacom it’s Judy. And, media icon fanatics please note, Oprah Winfrey is chairman of her company.

Now let’s turn to less important matters:

Them monkeys

Just the other day Sylvia Foster of Scarborough Security Services (SSS) wistfully lamented that when the Fosters started the business at the turn of the millennium baboons were hardly ever seen, yet the experts maintain that the total number of baboons on the peninsula is decreasing. Something doesn’t add up right . . . That said, there’s no doubt that these pests (we are not natural-born monkey-huggers) are at last being brought under some semblance of control by the guys from Nature Conservation Corporation (NCC).

The main troops are being effectively herded by the monitors but inevitably the wily beasts will sometime break out, especially in the (summer) evenings when the tired monitors knock off at 19h00 when it’s still light and far from baboon bedtime.

A small number of solitary males are wandering around having lost their alpha status to more testosteronic youngsters. These chaps can easily elude the monitors. They are not necessarily known to be “problem” animals, and by the way, the problem chaps are now being effectively dealt with by, for starters, being darted and tagged or fitted with radio collars so that they can be identified or tracked. Later, following consultations with appropriate experts, they may be captured for relocation or euthanized (to date, only one). A few new troops are forming under new young males and this means some instability in the baboon social order. We’re advised that this is an annual event and always settles down after a month or two.

Deal with all unwanted visits from baboons by calling the baboon hotlines 071-588-6540 (all hours), 076-222-6661 and⁄or SSS on 021-780-1274. You may also SMS 076baboon1 and⁄or the Misty Clickatel number 082-948-9488 (which alerts our whole community). Shortly we will be issuing to all owners and residents some guidelines on baboon management and response.

You will be most pleased to learn that the fraught matter of sharing responsibility and cost of baboon management between the City, Cape Nature, and SANParks has been settled without violence or even toyi-toyi marching. Moreover, finance has been guaranteed through until July, and the NCC contract has been renewed. This is all very important because in the past a great deal of the baboon problem was traceable to lack of continuity (especially wages) for the monitors and their managers. Another development is the imminent reconstituting of the baboon Management Team (BMT) of which more in the next newsletter.

Fire management

A while back we got rather carried away with the notion of setting up something like a fire SWAT squad but realities have now re-attached our feet to the ground. So far as able-bodied manpower is concerned, well, we don’t really have any! Most of our owners are non-resident, and many let their houses, especially during the summer, to people who obviously shouldn’t be involved.

This reality also affects our idea of acquiring some basic equipment like a portable booster pump and some lengths of fire hose for wetting-down ground ahead of an approaching fire. Not only was the cost far higher than had been intimated to us, but we realized that physically managing a pressurized fire hose was not within the capabilities of whoever could be assembled from among residents. That said, we are still likely to acquire a few hand tools for fire-fighting and some essential protective gear - smoke goggles, gloves, etc.

Our planning therefore has gone to creating a really good firebreak (now done) and obtaining updated assurances from the City regarding water availability and the earmarking of a fire vehicle definitely able to negotiate Old Camp Road. We will concentrate on maintenance of the firebreak, if necessary funding a later haircut (as distinct from the comprehensive and expensive heavy clearing of a new or long-neglected firebreak). We remind you that the City does not regard our area as a major fire risk, and the frequency of funded break-clearing is set accordingly.

The most that can be done regarding water availability is to trust the assurances of City Water Services that all relevant reservoirs are kept filled, and that emergency staff are totally familiar with the procedures for concentrating all possible water resources to the fire site. We had a meeting with the Water and Fire seniors recently and we were given these assurances. However, what might be called the bottom line is the size of the water main along M65 main road. This is a 225 mm pipe and there is no prospect whatever of it being replaced by a bigger pipe within the foreseeable future. With a really heavy draw-off in Scarborough or further south there would not be sufficient water simultaneously available along Old Camp Road.

We have notified the Fire Department of the swimming pools along the road from which a mobile pump could draw if necessary. We had the idea of installing 5 000 litre water tanks but experience at Redhill had been that these plastic agricultural tanks simply melted in a fire, even when full of water.

The fire risk this season is not unduly high because a lot of alien clearing has been done around Redhill and the residents there had become considerably more fire-aware. All the same, we remind all house owners and intending builders that the best defence against fire lies in the design of the house, the materials used, and the clearance of vegetation on the “fire side” of the property.

It is interesting to look at the Firewise SA website which usually includes a recent educational video about some aspect and has links to various other gems of information. It is part of the government’s Working for Water project.

Crime

Happily, this remains at a low level in Misty, but there is absolute certainty that scouts are ever on the watch for windows accidentally left open, stuff left in cars, etc. Residents are urged to report anything or anybody unusual - strangers hanging around, unfamiliar vehicles, etc. Residents should be sure of obtaining the ID numbers of new employees, even if casual, as often is the case with gardeners. It is also most important overnight not to leave key bunches, wallets, laptops etc lying around in a different room from where you sleep.

In Simon’s Town a determined effort to exclude pedestrian hawkers had led to a marked drop in crime because some such hawkers are primarily crime scouts. This hardly applies in Misty but we are advised to discourage bakkie drivers selling compost or offering to clear refuse or repair electrical gadgets. Please take vehicle numbers and notify SSS of any such cruising.

The suggestion of having an additional foot patrol over the holiday season was not enthusiastically received by owners, although some thought it would be more useful during winter months because of the long nights.

Please note the new email address of SSS: scarb.security@gmail.com

We are participating in an incentive scheme for SSS patrolmen. Their performances are monitored and logged, and individuals thereby stand to receive a quarterly bonus which they clearly understand is from the residents of the areas they help to protect. The project has been extremely well received.

Owners are reminded that Misty is part of the Simon’s Town policing precinct. Despite being chronically short-staffed Simon’s Town has a highly jacked SAPS team with outstanding leadership; it also has a very active Community Police Forum, and Clive Gibson who runs the Scarborough neighbourhood watch attends the CPF meetings for Scarborough. We are looking for a more-or-less permanent Misty resident to liaise with Clive and/or attend the CPF meetings to input information from Misty about building activities, vagrants observed, hawkers noticed, and suspicious vehicles. A call to the Simon’s Town SAPS will lead to the prompt removal of vagrants or suspect hawkers. In any case, all break-ins etc should be reported to the SAPS as well as to SSS. The more the SAPS hears from us and takes account of our co-operation the more co-operation we will receive in return!

Note that if you have a burglary do not expect the fingerprint expert to arrive promptly. These SAPS experts are despatched from Cape Town, not from any satellite police stations. The service is desperately short-staffed and the guys come only when they can.

If you call the flying squad you MUST prefix the number with the area code - otherwise you’ll go through to a call centre in Johannesburg where the address you give will be meaningless to them.
Flying squad: 021-10111

Environment

We are routinely clearing gulleys and catchpits of blown or fallen sand, stones and rubbish, and we frequently attend to the weeds which continually pop up in Old Camp Road. For this we are grateful to the voluntary supervision of resident David Paterson - many thanks, David! - and soon also to the fortnightly assistance of Sam, the Turner’s gardener.

Some repairs are needed to the northern end of upper Old Camp Road where the effect of heavy vehicles continually parking on the seaward-side verge has severely damaged the gabion support structure. It may be necessary to close this lower section while repairs are being effected. We will endeavour to plant out the verge after the repair work has been completed, and also position some rocks to prevent heavy vehicle intrusion in future.

If you haven’t already noticed we’ve made a path from the upper bend of Old Camp Road to the cul-de-sac at the south end of the upper section of the road. This saves having to walk right round the loop and was especially provided for contractors to use so that they wouldn’t scramble up and down the slopes creating landslides and general erosion. This path does NOT give access to the upper reaches of the kloof and the mountain. You will see the notices erected at each end of the path.

From time to time there is good reason to complain about the taste of municipal water. We’re advised that the cause is “Geosmin”, a substance given off when algae dies, causing an earthy taste in tap water. During hot weather algae in our storage dams multiplies and although it is removed in the normal treatment process, traces of the taste and smell may remain. People with sensitive noses may detect Geosmin concentrations of 15 to 20 billionths of a gram per litre, and it is unusual to have the substance exceed 10 billionths (10 ng⁄l). At these concentrations Geosmin is completely harmless and the affected water is entirely fit for human consumption.

Internet access

Many owners, and especially their tenants, want Internet access much faster than that provided by a dial-up line. So we remind you again that the Parsonsons are hosts to a Skyrove Wi-Fi hotspot, which allows a speed of 4 Mb⁄s and gives you merciful independence from Telkom. From more houses than first expected it is possible to pick up the Skyrove signal without a local booster.

Thus, any PC or laptop that is Wi-Fi enabled can search for the Skyrove signal. Just open your browser, ie, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome. This will default you to a Skyrove portal page whereby you can get on line. If you don’t raise the Skyrove signal or it’s not clear then you’re out of range and will have to resort to Telkom or consult with Skyrove regarding a local booster. If you do get the signal you can then use a credit card or a pre-bought Skyrove voucher. Search for Voucher Vendors by clicking the “Find a vendor” link. The usage cost is 60c⁄Mb. It’s all very easy to do but if you need to you can call Amanda on 086-176-8377 who will talk you through the process. Alternatively: amanda@skyrove.com

Our website

Within the next couple of weeks all the updated information about building at Misty Cliffs will be on our website: www.mistycliffs.org.za This information includes detailed architectural and landscaping advice, recommendations for fire-proofing and baboon-resisting, lists of plants that will be happy in our microclimate, and samples of the form letters required to facilitate passing of building plans and appointment of contractors.

AGM

Our AGM will be held on Sunday 18 April at 10h00 in the Scarborough Community Hall, as usual. Fantastic refreshments (plastic coffee and old biscuits from last year) and the familiar uncomfortable chairs. We hope to entice a star turn to thrill the assembly as we acknowledge that nothing much happens these days without some iconic endorser; we’ll let you know. If you haven’t been to one of these gatherings before then now’s the time to discover for yourself how warm and sociable they are.

Committee: Please start pondering who you might propose for committee membership. Owners/residents: New blood is always needed, and BEWARE - critics of what the committee has been doing or not doing during the past year may well result in them being proposed (or even co-opted) for the committee. And please remember that only paid-up members are allowed to vote at the AGM. The constitutionally required documents will be circulated in good time.

Our address

We now have acquired a new and more convenient postal address. Please make a note of this, especially if you are about to rush off to mail your late subscrpition cheque.

P.O. Box 43977, Scarborough, 7975