The rewards programme where you get 8% cash-back in your pocket

Posted on September 2, 2010 by That's Cape Town

Kashback rewards programme

We just been introduced to a fantastic rewards programme that we’re actually quite excited about. Usually, when someone mentions the words “rewards programme,” we immediately think of vouchers, earning points and miles, and having to spend your life savings to qualify for anything worthwhile. But not with Kashback.

Kashback was created to reward frequent guests who stay at hotels in the Chakela Hotels network. And reward Kashback does! A reward of 8% of the cash spent on your accommodation in your bank account in 30 days to be exact. Not to mention that the accommation rates are given at 15%discount with the Kashback card – and the 8% paid into your account is calculated using the original accommodation rate, not the reduced one.

All you have to do is pay a R250 annual membership fee, which will automatically be refunded in your first 8% payout, even if the 8% owed to you is less than R250.

How many times have you joined a rewards programme, spent an absolute fortune, only to be told that you only need to spend that same fortune another 49 times and you will get a free T shirt? We have, too many times. So to us, Kashback sounds like a breath of fresh air. Especially at a time when so many hotels are offering very low rates after the World Cup has left, this is way to save even more cash.

We like. We like a lot!

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Come on Province!

Posted on August 30, 2010 by That's Cape Town

This weekend marked the second time the Western Province Rugby Team were defeated in the Currie Cup tournament. Last week the Sharks beat Western Province 27-16 at the Shark Tank in Durban, and this week the Free State Cheetahs beat Western Province 29-24 at their home grounds, Newlands.

Unfortunately, Province have lost their position at the top of the Currie Cup log, and have slid down to second place with 50 points. The Sharks, who also won their match 48-30 against GWK Griquas on Saturday, lead with 54 points.

The win by the Cheetahs was a shock for Province. At the end of the first half of the match, the Cheetahs were leading by 12 points to 3. A try and conversion for Western Province shortly after the start of the second half earned province seven points and set them only two points behind the Cheetahs. However, any hope of Province winning the match was dashed during six minutes of intense play from the Cheetahs, where they scored 17 points from two converted tries and a penalty. Province managed to score another two converted tries, but this was not enough to secure them a victory.

The Currie Cup log after the weekend’s play:

Log as shown on www.supersport.com

What’s happened to Province’s winning streak? SA Rugby rugby seems to be going crazy at the moment, what with Province’s two week slump, the Springboks’ dismal performance in the Tri-Nations, and let’s not even get onto the Joost Van Der Westhuizen “gay rumours” published in Heat Magazine this week.

C’mon guys, let’s pull things together please!

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Pssst! The Mexican Shebeen Action Bar might re-open for Christmas!

Posted on August 27, 2010 by That's Cape Town

We were forwarded this letter by Budge, the man behind getting the Shebeen up and running this week. We thought you might like to take a look at this. We have some photographic evidence of some rather awesome parties at the Shebeen on our very blog… It seems that Budge and his team are offering a place to have corporate Christmas parties and end-of-year functions. Time to get your boss onto the fantastic vibe of this place!

Xmas Party !!!

No, you’re not seeing things !! That does indeed read “Xmas Party !!!”
Believe it or not, we are already receiving enquiries about this year’s Xmas Parties. And it’s not too soon to start thinking about it.
Now, do you want to have just another Xmas Party that you feel compelled to have each year because of Protocol or Company Policy….OR…, do you want to have a Xmas Party that everybody will have great memories of and be talking about for months to come and already looking forward to next year’s one???
But “Where…” you might ask, “… can one have a party in Cape Town for 200 plus people??” (apart from the CTICC which is totally unaffordable).
Well, have you heard of “The Mexican Shebeen Action Bar”?? ( See our physical address below, right in the heart of the Mother City.) We were one of the most successful venues for the duration of the World Cup. There was so much fun had by so many people, that many have come back and asked if we would not consider staying open.
So we have decided to stay open as a venue for Xmas Parties this year. (Just have a look at some of the attached photographs to see some of the fun times we had.)
So what’s the deal you might ask?
Well, we are offering the venue on the basis that it is taken by one company per night only, pre-booked and paid for, with 200 people or more. The price will start at R 150 000.00 and it will be fixed. So no extra or hidden costs afterwards. And this will include all your food and drink, (what you don’t consume you can take with you) and provide you with a fun-filled time of entertainment and laughter, including, the Mechanical Bull, (or The Funny Bucking Bronco as it became fondly referred to), a real live DJ, Dancing Girls as waitresses, Karaoke at your request and much, much more.
We will take the complete event off your hands so that you don’t have to do a thing. No decorating of the hall, no organizing of the music or entertainment…you simply tell us what you want, and we do the rest. Leave it with the experts.
And what’s more, we cater for Halaal. (We make the best Virgin Daiquiris in town!)
The entire venue will be yours. So for bookings, further information or enquiries, to make this your special, tailor-made, All Time Xmas Party, please contact me on 082 445 0908 or e-mail on: flockoff@iafrica.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers
Budge.
P.S. (Always a P.S.)
Now just in case you were wondering about that nasty old “Don’t Drink and Drive” motto that we should all be promoting and adhering to , we have something special up our sleeve for that as well.
You see, it’s like this…we have four hotels to suit everyone’s pocket for you to choose from…and you can spend the night at any one of these…and our valet service will take you there, to and from the party free of charge.
Starting for as little as R 700.00 per room for the night. Yes, that’s for two of you. And not only that…this includes a breakfast feast of note the following morning!!
So how’s that for a complete package!! Call now to make your arrangements.
Cheers
Budge

So people, keep this in mind when you’re trying to come up with ideas for your Christmas parties at work, instead of the usual wine farm or over-priced restaurant… We know we are :)

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The ghosts that haunt the Cape Castle

Posted on August 25, 2010 by That's Cape Town

Today, we were going to publish a post on the striking action, but then the horrendous train and taxi accident happened this morning, and what with the funeral for Fiona Coyne yesterday, the media censorship dilemma and rhino poaching in the news, we got quite depressed. So, to distract ourselves, we decided to write a post about a part of Cape Town that is quite alive (‘scuse the pun) with stories, legends and tales of the ‘undead’ …

  
The ghosts at the Cape Castle of Good Hope 

   

The Cape Castle is unmissable, especially if you take the Strand Street offramp from the M3 highway. The very name “Strand” means “Beach” in Afrikaans, and this street is named as such for good reason: Strand Street is where the waterline of the ocean began when the Castle was built. The sea water wold fill the moat surrounding the Castle, increasing the defense of the sructure. Construction of the Castle began in 1666, making this one of the oldest collonial buildings still standing in South Africa. The Castle lies in a star shape with five bastions.    

Ghostly occurrences began only as recently as 1915 when the spectre of a man stwo metres tall was seen on the ramparts. In 1947 the ghost was seen again, this time on a regular basis over two weeks, and jumping over the side of one of the castle walls and walking between Leerdam and Oranje, two of the Castle bastions.    

One of the bettwer known ghosts hanuting the Cape Castle is governor Pieter Gysbert van Noodt. This strict and militant man died on the 23 April 1728 during the hanging of seven soldiers who had been caught attempting to escape.Van Noodt had overruled the soldiers’ initial sentence and condemned them all to death for desertion. He did not attend the hanging, and one of the soldiers cursed him and requested he came and watched the excecution, which he did not. Later on, Van Noodt was found dead, having died of a heart attach. Those who found his body, seated at his desk where he had died, claimed he had “a look of horror upon his face.”     

The Lady in Grey is another famous ghost who haunts the Castle. Her ghost has not been seen since recent excavations, when a woman’s body was exhumed. Prior to this, the ghost appeared in the Castle, running through the property with her hands covering her face as she wept.    

A few centuries ago, A soldier hung himself using the bell-rope in the bell tower, which stands over the entrance to the Castle. Afterwards, the bell tower was walled-up, leaving the bell hanging from its original wooden beams, which it still does today. The bell, which was cast in 1697 by Claude Fremy in Amsterdam, sometimes rings of its own accord. A black dog also haunts the property and has been known to attack visitors and then disappear.   

For those that would like to go and explore the Castle, the necessary details are below. Unfortunately the Castle is not open at night, but drive past and you may see the 2 metre spectre jumping over the battlements!  

   

 Pricing:   

Adults:                                                          ZAR  25,00    

Pensioners (SA card holders only):       ZAR 15,00   

Children/Students(5-16yrs):                     ZAR 10,00   

Booked School Groups:                           ZAR  5,00   

   

Gates open:                                          09h00 daily (close at 17h00 as from 11 June to 11 July 2010)   

Key Ceremony                                     Monday-Friday (10h00 & 12h00)   

Firing of Signal Cannon:                   Monday-Friday (10h10 & 12h10), Saturday (11h00 & 12h00)   

     

Contact Details:   

Telephone:             +27 21 787 1260  

Tour Bookings:     +27 21 787 1249    Fax:                           +27 21 787 1089 

 
E-Mail:                    casteel@mweb.co.za
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The Athlone twin towers’ disaster and some umbrellas

Posted on August 23, 2010 by That's Cape Town

Yesterday, the Athlone cooling towers were demolished. The highly anticipated event has sparked quite a media frenzy and had Capetonians either excited or struck with grief over the towers’ death sentence.

We previously published a post about the best spots in Cape Town to watch the demolition, and it seems the favourites were the Pinelands sports grounds, UCT, Rhodes Memorial and the various on and offramps to and from the N2 around the towers.

There was a little ‘hoohaa’ from the general masses as the towers were brought down early. Those watching on the sports field in Pinelands were lucky enough to hear a count down to prepare themselves, and then unlucky enough to have their view blocked by the slightly more selfish members of the crowd, who put up umbrellas as it started to rain. This coincided with the demolition, so many people’s views at the site were blocked. As someone stated on Facebook this morning regarding their expereince of the demolition,

“A fairly accurate description of my view of the Athlone Towers blowing up: http://www.functionality.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/giant_umbrella.jpg”

Those standing further away were taken by surprise as the towers crumbled into dust as they did not have a countdown as forewarning.

According to News24.com, “The implosion took place earlier than planned after the blaster considered a number of technical factors and took the decision to go ahead in the interests of public safety.”

Well, whether you saw them crumble or not, whether you heard the rumble of the concrete falling to the ground or not, here is a great video of the entire demolition process thanks to ginaathanspr:

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When death is easier than living…

Posted on August 20, 2010 by That's Cape Town

One of the last images taken of Coyne, August 5th 2010. Photo: News24.com

The nation stands shocked today that one of our premier entertainers took their life earlier this week.

Fiona Coyne, 45, was the much loved presenter of the Weakest Link South Africa. She died on Wednesday morning at her house in Fish Hoek. Despite previous reports that she had been killed in a car crash, it was later reported that she in fact died in her home. Yesterday, it was further reported that she had taken her own life.

Coyne is unfortunately not the first South African celebrity to commit suicide. Others include:

Neil Aggett, an Apartheid activist who was reported as having hung himself in his cell after 70 days of imprisonment, but recently it has been suggested that it was more likely he died of as a result of torture. Aggett was killed on the 5th of February in 1982, aged 29.

Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer-prize winning photographer and member of the “Bang Bang Club” (a group of photographers who braved the areas no other journalists dared to during Apartheid) was found dead in his bakkie on the July 27, 1994. Four months after Carter won his award, he took his life by inhalation of carbon monoxide. He was 34.

Ingrid Jonker, an Afrikaans poet dubbed the “Sylvia Plath” of South Africa, who walked into the sea at Three Anchor Bay in Cape Town and committed suicide by drowning on the 19th of July 1965, at age 32.

Johannes Kerkorrel, an Afrikaans singer, songwriter, playright, performer and journalist hung himself on the 12 November 2002, in Kleinmond, Hermanus. The 32 year old was well known for his politically motivated music and cabarets, many of which were banned by the Apartheid government.

C. J. ‘Neels’ Oosthuizen (Doodler on zasucks), blogged under the name “Doodler” on the controversial ZA Sucks site, a blog dedicated to exposing the contemporary racism against whites in South Africa. The blog was closed down after Uhuru Guru’s, another blogger on the site, began receiving threats from members of the South African police. Oosthuizen was found shot dead in a police toilet in Randburg on the 15th of March 2010. He left behind a wife and three children. The blogger’s death has been ruled a suicide. There were no witnesses.

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Where to watch the Athlone Towers go down

Posted on August 18, 2010 by That's Cape Town

The implosion of the Athlone Towers on Sunday has everyone asking – “where are you watching?” In fact, it seems that most people intent on watching the event only know of one spot with a good view of the demolition site – Rhodes Memorial. If you look at the event on Facebook, it has over 8000 people attending, and another 2600 possibly attending. If the possibility of fighting with 10,000 other people for a spot to stand and watch the action doesn’t grab you, here are a few of the other spots in the neighbourhood where you can stand and watch these two famous ladies come down.

Firstly, the weather on the day is pretty important for two reasons: one: to see if the view is going to be hazy or clear, and two: to see which direction the wind is blowing to make sure you don’t get engulfed by a cloud of 50 year old dust.

A quick glance at the weather chart on Windguru.co.cz predicts that we’ll be dealing with the following conditions at 11am on Sunday morning (demolition is at 12):

Wind dir – NNW (that is the direction the wind is blowing FROM, just by the way)

Temperature – 14 Degrees Celsius (wrap up warm)

Wind Speed – 16 to 19 Knots (according to the Beaufort Scale, this means: “dust and small branches move; flags flap”)

Precipitation: 1.1mm/3 hours

Where to watch - a few suggestions as red stars (except the towers, which are the large star)

So, where are the best places to watch the towers go down? We’ve thought of a few other locations than Rhodes Memorial. If you want the best views however, you’re probably going to have to break the law, and the reason it’s against the law is probably because it is dangerous. So stick with the legal ones, for your and others’ safety. The wind is blowing in a north westerly direction, so if you are looking to stand close to the towers, make sure that you are not in a south easterly position to them, or you’ll probably be covered in a layer of dust.

  1. UCT Upper Campus, Rondebosch – There’s a reason those Smuts and Fuller residents enjoy getting drunk on the Upper Campus War Memorial: the view of the Cape Peninsula is incredible.
  2. Tennis Club at UCT, Rondebosch – The Tennis Club is pretty high up on the hill. The actual tennis club doesn’t have a view as there are trees in the way, but the road below that goes around the edge of Upper Campus has some good views in places.
  3. The Howard Centre – Pinelands – The Centre claims you won’t be able to see, but according to Cape Town Mag’s awesome article on the towers, the Howard Centre is a pretty good spot that’s close by.
  4. Newlands Reservoir , Newlands – We’re not sure if this will offer the best view thanks to the trees, but it’s a public area at a higher altitude.

We thought about viewing spots from the northern Suburbs, but with the rain and un-dramatic winds, the view may not be very clear, and the northern ‘burbs’ are quite far away from the towers. Also the high rise buildings in Town may have a view from the foreshore, but they are quite far away from the site.

If you have any suggestions, please let us know!

*An update: according to www.capetownmag.co.za,

“The City of Cape Town will allow a maximum of 4 000 people access to the Clyde Pinelands soccer field to watch the demolition free of charge, but will close the area once capacity is reached.”

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DOH! Just Jinjer frontman Ard Matthews arrested for driving under the influence

Posted on August 16, 2010 by That's Cape Town

Silly. When you’re famous and drink yourself over the limit, get behind the wheel and cause an accident, you’re pretty damn silly.

Early Saturday morning at approximately 4.50am, Matthews (35) was arrested on Buitengracht Street after having a ‘minor’ motor vehicle accident (he drove into the pavement with his bakkie).

After being detained for blood alcohol monitoring at the Cape Town Central police station, the singer was charged with drunken driving and sent to the cells. Matthews’ girlfriend, famous model Landie Swannepoel then bailed her man out of jail and drove him home. He was set to appear in a Cape Town court this morning.

Ard posted an apology to fans and a thank you to his girlfriend on his Facebook fan page and mentioned the post on his Twitter profile. His girlfriend has not updated her Twitter page since the accident.

We hope that this incident is a lesson learned for Ard and other Capetonians who feel it is acceptable to drink and drive. Catch a wake up call  - it isn’t.

* An update - According to Eyewitness News, Ard’s court date has been postponed with no future date set.

Photo of Ard Matthews - www.izimvo.com

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Some info about the Athlone cooling towers before they go down

Posted on August 12, 2010 by That's Cape Town

The cooling towers of the Athlone Power Station, with the airport in the background

Everyone in Cape Town knows the Athlone cooling towers. Positioned along the N2 Freeway, they are one of Cape Town’s most recognised (and grim) landmarks, accompanied by a hideous smell. Thanks to their being out of service since 2003, the areas surrounding the towers have been relieved of the stench (and yes, the smell was sewerage, we’ll get to that in a moment) and now, the famous towers are all set to be demolished to make Cape Town an even prettier place.

The towers were erected in 1962 as the cooling towers for a coal-power station in Athlone. In 2010, the Athlone Power Station is the last coal-power station in Cape Town. It was out of service from 1985 to 1994, but was back in service with a reduced capacity (meaning it generated less power) in 1995. From 1995 to 2003, the power station was used as a ‘plan B’ during peak times that the national grid could not cope with power demands. However, in 2003, the power station was shut down again, and this time for good. The towers needed a lot of maintenance because of their age, and the investment needed to fund the make-over wasn’t available.

The horrendous smell that always lurked nearby has been the topic of many rumours. Locals either believed that the smell was from the rotten water flowing through the towers or the nearby sewerage plant. Well, both rumours were correct; in fact the smell WAS from the water flowing through the towers seeings as it was reclaimed from the sewerage plant. Lovely. At least they were recycling.

So why are the towers coming down? Well, in 1993, they received a bit of a ‘facelift’ when reinforcement bands were placed around them to prevent collapse. Unfortunately for the towers, the harsh winter weather over the past 17 years (mostly the wind) have caused the bands to collapse almost completely on one of the towers. The bands on the other tower are likely to do the same. Without the supporting bands the towers are at high risk of collapse, and are a danger to the public.

Murray and Roberts will be carrying out a controlled demolition on the 22 August at noon. The demolition has been posted on Facebook as an event at Rhodes Memorial, a location with a fantastic view of the towers,  and has gone ‘viral’ with over six and a half thousand people attending.

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They’re at it again – SA Public Workers strike countrywide

Posted on August 10, 2010 by That's Cape Town

Photo: Werner Buekes, Sapa (news24.com)

Today, hundreds of thousands of workers from the public sector took to the streets all over the country. These protesters, all belonging to Cosatu affiliated unions and the Independent Labour Caucus, are demanding an 8.6% wage increase, as well as a R1000 housing allowance. If rejected by Government, a massive strike of over 1 million workers is likely. At present, Government is only offering a 7% wage increment and a R630 housing allowance.

The predicted strike date is yet to be announced.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) confirmed today that essential services were upheld as these public workers responsibilities could not allow them to leave their positions.

Jacob Zuma’s wages have come under scrutiny, as have other government employees, Directors General and Ministers.

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