A different view on current affairs & history
The large dwelling at the S-Bend on the road to Humewood was erected in 1894/5 for the Harbour Manager, RH Hammersley-Heenen, resident engineer and general manager of the South African Railways. When first built, the house had a beautiful position next to rocks and sand and close to the sea. It was only with the construction of the breakwater in the 1920s, that the beach expanded as sand accumulated against the obstacle.
Main picture: House given the Welsh name Lanherne
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We have become inured to the sight of decrepit Pontiffs being trundled out onto the Vatican balcony probably held up by a steel brace on wheels hidden by their baroque robes. It was hard to tell if they were sentient or dead. Such a sight confronted rock fans – some as young as 50 – for the sell-out final concert of Genesis on the 26th of March. With a combined age of 214, the O2 Arena in London was appropriate as it looked like Phil Collins needed O2. Thank god all the musical instruments are wireless these days so we wouldn’t have the embarrassing sight of Collins with his walking stick tripping over a cable and doing his hip in on his way to his chair on stage. One could palpably sense the tension in the audience – will he make it. He was like Capt Tom Moore who got the world to follow him during lockdown as he zimmered framed his way across his garden 100 times. To the audience’s relief, Phil made it to his chair. Many rockers of old used the microphone and its stand as a supporting act. Who can forget Freddie Mercury imperiously colonising the stage with his phallic half mic stand. Phil Collins also used his mic stand as a supporting act but more in the walking stick sense.
Whilst not the greatest fan of Genesis and Phil Collins, it is difficult for me to gainsay his influence. He is one of only three musicians who have sold more than 100 million albums. The others are Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. There are many others in the Rock and Role of Geriatric Honour Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.
At 78 we have the spritely Rodger Daltrey Who still sings My Generation. I’m not sure if it’s the Beat Generation anymore or rather the retirement home and false-teeth-glue generation. I think it’s time for This Song is Over. Also at 78 we have Jagger whose sensuous child-bearing lips will soon become drooling lips. What about the sylphlike Debbie Harry and her bewitching lips? She is now 76 and while her lips can still do a stage act all on their own, she is not quite so sylphlike and performs as Platinum Blondie. Robert Plant is 73 and it is a competition between the Stairway to Heaven and the #MeToo movement catching up with him and sending him to prison for sex with underage groupies, a perfectly natural Rock and Roll phenomenon of the time along with loads of drugs and eccentric behaviour. Then again what has changed.
Among the real oldies, we have Cliff (over the hill) Richards, the Peter Pan of Rock. Unfortunately, he is a wrinkled Shadow of his former self. Joining him on 81 is Tom Jones who used to wear pants so tight that you could see if he was circumcised. Now It’s Not Unusual that he has to wear a strap on, sort of like a bodybuilder’s or a ballet dancer’s posing pouch. We also have a relative youngster in Paul McCartney at 80. He is now Sir Paul or perhaps Sore Paul, what with his cranky hips, but still manages to headline at Glastonbury.
What have we got to look forward to? What about a snappy Goodbye to U2 at O2 – Bono is a pensioner at 61 after all. Or maybe Cher (75 going on 42) appearing in her gilded Botoxed plastic sarcophagus at Las Vegas. By the way, when will Boy George drop the boy bit – he is 60 you know.
This farmhouse must be one of the oldest houses in the Port Elizabeth area being constructed shortly after the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. Moreover, it is still in use by descendants of Henry Lovemore after 200 years, thus garnering the record of the longest occupation by the same family. That said, the original house with a thatch roof was burnt down in May 1822 possibly taking its replacement – the current house – out of contention as the oldest house.
The bulk of this blog on this house is a verbatim extract from a lengthy article entitled Memoirs by Jessie Allen nee Lovemore who was raised in this house during the 1860s. This is indicated by the use of italicised text to indicate that it is derived from this article.
Main picture: Painting of the Bushy Park Residence in 1884 by Hannah Margaret Dicks
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Jessie Lovemore was born and raised on the Lovemore’s Farm at Bushy Park. Her father, Charles Lovemore, was the son of Henry Lovemore, the original Lovemore owner of this farm. In writing her memoires, Jessie has left an invaluable depiction of life of one of the prominent families in the nascent Port Elizabeth. Most of her reminiscences cover her life in Port Elizabeth which she was forced to leave when her husband took up sheep farming in the Middleburg district.
Main picture: Children of Charles & Margery Lovemore circa 1879, L-R Back: Charles, Walter, Alfred & Harry, L-R Middle Hector, Florine, Jessie, Mary & William L-R Front Ian & Sinclair
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In the era prior to World War Two, coastal towns such as Port Elizabeth were inundated with holiday makers. Their accommodation was not a luxury five star hotel with three hot meals per day. At best it would be accommodation in the house of relatives in the city. This is what my maternal grandparents experienced every Christmas vacation not for one week but for four weeks. Many indigent farmers from upcountry would arrive by ox-wagon. Even so, most would camp somewhere along the coast. This blog takes a surreptitious peak at family and friends camping at Bushy Park beach in the 1930s.
Main picture: Charlie, Billy & Ivan Clark at Bushy Park beach
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In 1854 an enthusiastic scheme was started to build a rival port to Port Elizabeth. The Eastern Province Herald of the 6th June 1854 carried details of a prospectus issued by a Port Elizabeth firm offering sites for sale at Colchester located at the mouth of the Sunday’s River.
Main picture: Colchester
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Officially this homestead is not accorded such a nomenclature. Nor is it recognised as one of the houses which existed prior to the arrival of the 1820 Settlers. The reasons why such houses still exist – Draaifontein House is another exemplar – is due to the location outside the town environs itself but this house is unlikely to survive the tender mercies of the property developers ad infinitum as civilisation encroaches upon it.
Main picture: Buffelsfontein by EC Moore
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Probably the most overused phrase in the limited ANC lexicon apart from ‘provincial (or similar) structures’ or ‘loyal cadres’, is the phrase, ‘turnaround strategy’. I was reminded of this by a newspaper report of 2 March on the Limpopo State of the Province Address (SOPA) debate that ended as a shouting match when the corrupt ANC and the immature EFF were literally at each other’s throats. The Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) had revealed to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that documents relating to R1.1 billion in irregular expenditure had disappeared from the agency’s offices in Polokwane. A dog ate my homework moment. So what’s new: the massive irregular expenditure, the loss of documents or the excuse?
The RAL was ordered to sort their document mess out and present a ‘turnaround strategy’!
Now we have the Post Office which has admitted to having a R8 billion hole in their finances. The old Post Office never shot the lights out. It wasn’t like the Royal Post Office where a letter posted in the morning would arrive with the afternoon postal delivery. Nevertheless, ours was reliable, cheap and secure. Only the most urgent documents were delivered by courier. Although the long downward process started early on, this really got kickstarted by the complete shutdown by strike action of the Jet Park warehouse hub for months in 2014. In mid-March the Post Office presented to Parliament its latest turnaround strategy in a hopeful document entitled, Post Office of Tomorrow. Humph!
The public are sick of these interminable turnaround strategies which begin with the appointment of a new Board, a completely new suite of executives with their completely new office suites, who in turn appoint, without the mandated recruitment processes, a coterie of fools, family members, bae’s and ben10’s, people they owe favours to and some just for luck to make up numbers. Few are qualified to do the job or are indeed interested. They make a lot of promises and initiate some grand unthought-through and overpriced projects while they skim and take backhanders in Louis Vuitton handbags. When it soon turns to guano, the turnstile strategy kicks in. It’s out with the old and in with the new while the newly jobless are buffed up, retreaded and redeployed elsewhere in the state machinery to continue their work of destruction and corruption.
Rinse and repeat.
From “Memories” by the Lionel Cripps, C. M. G.
Published in Looking Back Volume IV No. 1
The first sight I had of Africa was when we passed Cape Verde, with its white sands and a quivering heat to match. I felt drawn towards it by an attraction that, up to now has never waned; not a bad start for a youngster who had great longing for adventure in the half empty continent!
Main picture: 1872 Watercolour entitled View of Port Elizabeth from the hill behind the cemetry by Oliver Lester in 1874 in NMM AM
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Of all the nationalities in the world, I can count the Germans as being an integral part of all aspects of my life from my father-in-law being German, my best hiking buddies, my best running friends et al. Notwithstanding their integrity and hardworking character, they were cast for many years as bogeymen due to the World Wars and the policies and practices of the Nazi Regime.
Main picture: The Liedertafel after it was set ablaze by an enraged mob
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