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IN A major blow to decades of tradition in Nelson Mandela Bay, the annual Shakespeare Festival held in the open air at St George's Park has been moved indoors because of vandalism and cable theft.
Organisers said yesterday that the venue for the celebration of the festival's 40th anniversary with the play Antony and Cleopatra had been changed to the city's Opera House instead of the Mannville Open Air Theatre.
Veteran actress and director Linda-Louise Swain said the staging of the play at the park would have been ideal to celebrate the anniversary.
"We've had the play in the park for 40 years, with one or two of the productions going to the Boardwalk and the Opera House. It's quite disappointing because this is our 40th year and it would have been so nice to have it at the park.
"But thankfully the Opera House was available and the financial side was good so we could get the venue.
"Hopefully [the municipal parks department] are going to get the lighting and the cables fixed and we can have the play in the park again next year with more secure premises.
"But right now it can't be helped - it's just one of those things,” Swain said.
Production head Rocky Mann said even though the cables and wiring had been fixed at the park the show was "especially technical” and the possibility of thieves nabbing the new cables could not be ruled out. "We really wanted to stage the play in the park, even though we've always had problems with the cables because they are on the outside.
"A second problem is that the thieves cut the cable inside the wiring and it costs money to replace. We can do that but I fear that once we replace it, they're going to come and cut it again. If they do steal it and the play is running, the performances can't go on.”
Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said: "Cable theft remains a major problem for [the municipality] and we often call on the public to expose the thieves by either contacting our safety and security services or the SA Police Service.”
He said the yet-to-be-established metropolitan police force would help in the "safeguarding of our assets”.
The play will be directed by acclaimed Port Elizabeth-born director Themi Venturas, who acted in one of the first Shakespeare productions in the park, 39 years ago.
Venturas said audiences could expect a "different and modern” approach and "a combination of all the circumstances we are living in right now played out on stage”.
Antony and Cleopatra opens on February 14 and will run until February 19 in the main theatre of the Opera House.
Performances will be held from 7pm every night, with a 3pm matinee on Sunday, February 19.
South Africa is to build a R1.6 billion pharmaceutical plant to produce the ingredients for antiretroviral medicines, used in the treatment of HIV and Aids, government announced on Friday (02/10/2012).
Kotze case postponedThe case against murder accused Johan Kotze and his three alleged accomplices was postponed in the Modimolle Magistrate’s Court on Friday. (02/10/2012)
Black lawyers association supports judges codeThe Black Lawyers Association has come out in support of draft regulations before Parliament proposing that judges disclose their financial interests, according to a report on Friday (10/02/2012).
Metro acts on Kabuso ReportIN the first decisive action over the controversial Kabuso Report, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has terminated the leases of the Van Stadens and The Willows beach resorts, as well as that of two floors it rents in property magnate Yusuf Jeeva’s Kwantu Towers.
Zuma’s East Cape bonanzaPRESIDENT Jacob Zuma yesterday announced bold plans by the government to boost the Eastern Cape economy with multibillion- rand investments for the province’s anchor industries - the automotive, ports and agricultural sectors.
Cops probe Jeffreys Bay estate agency fraud caseIN A dramatic day for the Jeffreys Bay estate agent fraternity, the national office of Jawitz Properties forcibly closed the offices of well-known local estate agent Renette Block in an unfolding scandal over missing money.
Back to class for teachers after four weeks of chaosTEACHERS’ union Sadtu announced yesterday it had indefinitely halted its go-slow protest, which caused widespread disruptions for four weeks.
Godongwana escapes missing millions probeFORMER economic development deputy minister Enoch Godongwana has escaped a parliamentary probe over millions of rands of missing union money by stepping down as an MP.
Knives out for WayileTHE knives are out for Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Zanoxolo Wayile as members of the ANC in the city are calling for the first citizen to be ousted.
Bitou council fires top officialBITOU municipal manager Lonwabo Ngoqo was dismissed yesterday after being found guilty in December on four counts of misconduct.
Henning case postponedTHE bail hearing of Chanelle Henning murder accused and former police officer Andre Gouws has been postponed to next week.
Mother sheds tears of relief as child returnedWHEN the mother of kidnapped baby Kgosietsile Morobe walked into a Hillbrow creche yesterday morning and saw her child she broke down and sobbed.
View moreECO-TOURISM is set to bring more jobs and revenue to the Garden Route, with the planned relocation and expansion of a small Mossel Bay wildlife sanctuary. The proposed R6-7 million move follows on the acquisition of Jukani Sanctuary by the respected Primate Resort company, which already owns Monkeyland and Birds of Eden in The Crags, near Plettenberg Bay.
Fireman wins wrongful dismissal caseA former Limpopo fire chief has won a lengthy court battle against his dismissal, according to a report on Tuesday (07/02/2012).
ANC councillors killed in crashTHREE ANC councillors died instantly and others were seriously injured when the minibus taxi they were travelling in overturned on the R72 road in Alexandria at the weekend.
Sports Minister in sex scandalMarried Minister of Sport Fikile Mbalula - who last night celebrated his 40th birthday with a lavish party in Pretoria - is embroiled in a nasty spat with a former lover.
Kabuso report: Why heads should rollHERALD reporter Brian Hayward explains in a nutshell the most controversial issues exposed in the 175-page forensic report.
Secrets brought to light from lettersTWO projects singled out by Local Government MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane when he finally made public the Kabuso report yesterday are laid bare in secret letters to political bigwigs and confidential special investigations attached in the report’s annexures.
MEC vows to 'clean up the rot'AFTER a turbulent fortnight in Nelson Mandela Bay politics, mayor Zanoxolo Wayile and his boss, Local Goverment MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane, came out guns blazing yesterday, vowing to clean up the rot which has pushed the city’s administration to the brink of collapse.
Another attack at festering ArlingtonANOTHER knife attack has occurred at Arlington Waste Disposal Site. The attack, which took place on Saturday afternoon, comes amid calls by the DA for an investigation into the chaotic state of the site and questionable swopping of contractors.
Schoenies otter takes fishing lessonsIT’S one of the iconic wild animals of the metro’s open spaces, but it’s not often seen - certainly not clambering onto the rocks right under your feet. But that was the experience of fishing buddies Gavin Curtis and Stuart Duckenfield who were trying their luck with light tackle and pilchards at Schoenies yesterday (August 10 2011).
Cause and effect of climate change explainedSO HOW to communicate the complexity and magnitude of climate change to youngsters from a little school in Zwide? The kids, in grades six and seven at Mzimhlophe Primary School, were given the answer to this question during their visit to the SA Marine Rehabilitation and Education Centre (Samrec) yesterday (August 03 2011).
R1.5-million farming venture will fit Eastern Cape to a teaTHE Eastern Cape government has set aside R1.5-million to kick-start an expanded honeybush tea industry that could be ramped up to produce a turnover of R100-million a year and hundreds of new jobs. The good news follows on the results that have emerged from a study of the honeybush industry, commissioned by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) on behalf of the provincial economic development and environmental affairs department.
Snowed-in guards airlifted to safetyNINETEEN stock-theft guards stationed on the top of the Drakensberg have been plucked to safety as heavy snow presses in on their lonely outposts. The guards are housed alone or in pairs in 10 shipping containers, at key points along the Lesotho border with the north-eastern Eastern Cape, in the Rhodes area.
Algoa Bay the best monitored in all of AfricaALGOA Bay is now “the best monitored bay in Africa” with millions of rands worth of equipment installed below the surface measuring a wide range of environmental conditions. That was the proud revelation yesterday (July 28 2011) from SA Environmental Observation Network (Saeon) co-ordinator Shaun Deyzel, who was speaking at a marine science symposium hosted by SA National Parks, at the Addo Elephant National Parks.
Mantis in new Nigeria dealPORT Elizabeth based tourism group Mantis Collection has announced a bold expansion into West Africa with a landmark, multi-million US dollar deal signed in PE yesterday (July 25 2011) to roll out a sumptuous suite of boutique hotels in Nigeria. Mantis founder Adrian Gardiner signed the deal at Shamwari Townhouse in Summerstrand with highly respected Nigerian businessman Nze Chidi Duru, who is the chairman of Abuja-based Grand Towers Plc. The Nigerian company has interests in the pension, banking, retail, communications, IT and hospitality sectors.
Surf event sets greening benchmarkBILLABONG Pro J-Bay is setting a benchmark for international surfing contests with a comprehensive programme to protect the local environment and combat global climate change.
Karoo farmers take their fracking probe to Jo'burg oil summitA SMALL Karoo farmers’ association is so concerned about fracking, and damning new evidence out of the US, it is funding the R10000 bill demanded for a four-day oil and gas conference in Johannesburg, to allow one of its members to attend.
Swell job for man with decades of experienceWITH the small waves prevailing yesterday (Sunday July 17 2011) for the Billabong Pro J-Bay, all surfing mojos are focused on the second week of the contest and the swell that, it is hoped, will still set things on fire. The man with un-paralleled expertise in this department is contest director Eric Stedman, 54, who has been scanning synoptic charts, fiddling with barometers and assessing wind direction since he was a grommit back in East London in the 1960s. It also helps that he began surfing Jeffreys Bay 43 years ago.
New official whale watching operator launch in the bayALGOA Bay’s first boat-based boat-based whale-watching operation in a decade has been officially launched - and already some exciting sightings are being reported. Lloyd Edwards of Raggy Charters, the company awarded the boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay, said yesterday (July 14 2011) he spotted the cow and calf pair of southern right whales off Algorax earlier this week.
Unique source of Bay waterHOW many cities in the world can say they get their water from a World Heritage Site? Very few, I bet. Yet, that’s the case with Port Elizabeth and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and in fact the Gamtoos River Valley vege farmers.
Super surf contest starts at J-BayTHE latest edition of one of the great global surfing contests, built around an iconic right-hand point break, was launched in Jeffreys Bay last night (Wednesday July 14 2011).
Bayworld raggies returned to the oceanTHE biggest baddest pair from Bayworld’s de-commissioned aquarium, two bulky raggedtooth sharks, were released yesterday (July 26 2011) back into the sea. It was a sad day for the oceanarium, where they have lived for nearly two decades, inspiring awe in hundreds of thousands of visitors - but it is good news for the species, as the pair are now part of a research project aimed at securing our waters as one of the few safe havens in the world for raggies.
Unique study of great whitesA UNIQUE study into the abundance, distribution and movement of great white sharks in Algoa Bay, sponsored by the metro, has been launched. There has never been a fatal shark attack in Algoa Bay, but the metro has committed the R800000 grant as a pro-active step, taken in line with their marketing of Port Elizabeth as “the watersports’ capital of Africa”, researcher Dr Matt Dicken explained yesterday (June 21 2011).
Dairy farm could close soonBUSHY Park Dairy Farm, a flagship “proudly Port Elizabeth” business and a much-loved feature of the metro for the past 20 years, is facing closure. The shock news was confirmed yesterday (June 21 2011) by managing trustee Puffer Hartzenberg, who was responding to unconfirmed reports about the matter.
Refurbished Skead book publishedA NEW book aimed at celebrating our natural heritage and guiding sound future conservation policy has been published in Port Elizabeth. Historical Incidence of the Larger Land Mammals in the Broader Western and Northern Cape (including the Eastern Cape as far east as Sundays River) is a complete re-furbishment - with summaries, maps, illustrations and two new chapters - of the original work of the same name by legendary naturalist Dr Jack Skead, who died in 2006.
Co-op sponsors two farmers on US missionTWO Karoo farmers have flown out of PE on a ground-breaking mission to the US, to get the low-down on fracking, in the country where it all began.
Link Refit to electric cars proposalIF WE CAN link Refit with electrical motorcars - then we could really be onto something. Speaking to The Herald yesterday (June 14 2011), department of environmental affairs deputy-director general for climate change, Peter Lukey, said the scheduled launch this month of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariff (Refit), will likely lead to significant positive change.
Exciting reforestation project underway in TranskeiAN UNUSUAL re-forestation and carbon sequestration project is underway in the heart of the old Transkei, where savage erosion is a common feature. The R7600000 project is being run as a partnership between the Congress of Traditional Leaders’ of South Africa (Contralesa), the national department of environmental affairs and a Johannesburg-based company called Carbon Worx.
Green electricity programme set to launch this monthGOVERNMENT will this month launch the long-awaited Refit programme that will make funding available to pay private energy entrepreneurs who will generate their own green electricity and sell it to the grid.
EC investment boost to counter climate changeEASTERN Cape economic environment MEC Mcebisi Jonas yesterday announced significant new green economy investment to boost green economy skills in the province.
Branch recalls fascinating careerFOR world-renowned reptile and amphibian expert Dr Bill Branch, who retired this week from Bayworld after 32 years employment there - it all began in 1969, on the shores of a lake in East Africa.
EC leads climate change battleTHE Eastern Cape government has declared its intention to lead from the front in the war against climate change, with a landmark multi-benefit project agreement signed at the Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference in East London yesterday (June 08 2011).
Climate change conferenceEVERYONE change - a milestone Eastern Cape climate change conference, featuring senior political leaders and climate change experts, is set to start in East London today (Wednesday May 8). The Eastern Cape Climate Change Conference will focus on the strategy document that has been prepared by local role-players, and will look towards the UN’s Cop17 summit, the international climate change indaba in Durban in December
'Plenty of power for smelter,' says CDCBLACK-out fears notwithstanding, there is more than enough electricity for the megawatt-hungry Coega manganese smelter, according to the Coega Development Corporation (CDC). CDC communications’ chief Senzeni Ndebele was responding this week to concerns expressed about the power demands of the smelter and how this will affect Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality residents and existing businesses.
Motherwell eco-schools big recipientsTWO Motherwell “eco-schools” were the recipients this week of tens of thousands of rands worth of equipment and furniture to help them learn better. The 26 maths and reading software packages, 100 desks and 200 chairs were donated by ABB after the power and automation giant participated last year in a Wessa eco-schools’ workshop in PE.
Pollution plume off the beachfront raises concernsA STRANGE-looking plume of discoloured water has been appearing sporadically in the bay between Shark Rock Pier and Humewood Beach, resulting in a number of calls from concerned residents, Following an initial report on May 20 by Humewood resident Elize Pretorius, and then disappearing for several days, it reappeared again this week, prompting further calls.
Put the environment on agenda of new councils Concerns over Ngqura oil leak 'unfounded'CONCERNS have been raised that the oil and gas exploration rig in Port of Ngqura could be leaking oil into the bay. Both the Norwegian company that owns the ultra-deepwater drilling rig and the harbour authorities have rejected as unfounded the concerns raised by environmental group Ocean Messengers.
Ball of fire not the beginning of the end.Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Was it a comet hurtling to Earth in delayed fulfillment of Harold Campling’s doomsday prophesy? Well, no. In fact, it was the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle Endeavour, catching the last rays of the setting sun.
Ngqura a fish magnetTHE Port of Ngqura has become an extraordinary magnet for marine life, and could point the way to an important new role for harbours, according to Bayworld marine biologist and shark specialist Dr Matt Dicken.
Stately emperor pays family a flying visitTHERE are moths and there are moths - and then there is the pine tree emperor, one of the giants of the insect world. Gorgeous yellow in colour and “easily the size of a man’s hand”, one of these moths swooped into a Seaview home the other night.
Endangered forest clearing probedA SWATHE of critically endangered forest and new generation legislation formulated to combat climate change are at the centre of a confrontation in Deer Park. The forestry department has slammed as “reckless and malicious” the clearing of the area, which is over 100m long by on average 4m wide.
Male in search of good life turns up at beachfrontHE WAS a prickly customer - but in the end he came quietly. It was Patrick Mange, the cleaner and gardener at beachfront flatblock Bandle, next to the Beach Hotel, who found him.
EC operators performs strongly at IndabaTHE Eastern Cape has fared well at the Indaba tourism conference and expo in Durban, taking gold in two different categories in the main Welcome awards and only just falling short in the Eteya emerging tourism operators’ awards. The Welcome Awards winners are both from PE and are both family-owned businesses: the Plantation, the wedding, functions’ and accommodation venue on the Sardinia Bay road, and Economic Cars and Bakkies, the 20-year-old Walmer-based car rental firm.
NMMU microscope a global break-throughNMMU has been catapulted into the forefront of nanoscience research with the arrival of a state-of-the-art custom-built microscope from Japan. The high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) is the first of its kind that has been sold commercially outside of Japan and the last of a suite of four electron microscopes, costing a total R90-million, that have arrived in the past week from Tokyo manufacturer JEOL and a second manufacturer in The Netherlands.
'Port guards like the Stasi'FOREIGN tourists yesterday compared guards at the Port Elizabeth Harbour to the dreaded Stazi security police of East Germany, following an incident in which their driver was manhandled, forcibly detained and then bundled off to Humewood Police Station. The incident happened yesterday morning as the tourists, a group of five Russians and a Belgian, were about to enter the harbour at its southern entrance, headed for a day diving excursion in Algoa Bay with local dive company Expert-Tours.
How to rejuvenate Baakens River ValleyI WAS chatting to permaculture activist and leading member of Transition Network PE Naomi Suzane the other day, and she came with a great idea of how to secure, rejuvenate and celebrate the Baakens Valley. We kicked her idea around, and this is how it turned out.
Dad's call following son's deathSIMON Swart started drugging in his early teens and he had been through 15 rehabilitation centres before he died, alone in his room in a backpacker lodge in Central, a fortnight ago. But there was much more to this young man.
Nuclear moratorium callTHE concern group challenging the Thyspunt nuclear reactor has called on government to place a moratorium on all nuclear development in South Africa until the full extent of the Fukushima disaster is known. The call by the Thyspunt Alliance - a broad coalition of residential, cultural, environmental, tourism, fisheries, business and surfing interests in the Oyster Bay, St Francis, Humansdorp and Jeffrey’s Bay area - co-incides with the 25th anniversary of Chernobyl, the historic nuclear melt-down in Ukraine.
Major show jumping event scheduled for PEPORT Elizabeth has been named as a host city for a world show-jumping championship qualifier event, sparking great excitement in the show-jumping fraternity, and the promise of an energising mid-Winter injection of tourist revenue. The event will be attracting the country’s top jumpers, so it is being celebrated in horsey circles - but it is much more than that, event co-ordinator Tanya Radke said yesterday.
Oceanarium seals readied for departureHOW do you transport eight seals to Pretoria? That’s the preoccupation right now of Bayworld’s oceanarium team, as the relocation of their animals moves ahead.
Chumming fines co-incide with issuing of whale permitNELSON Mandela Bay Municipality has issued four fines to marine tourism operator Lloyd Edwards related to the controversial chumming incident off Humewood Beach last month. The issuing of the fines at the Port Elizabeth beach office on Friday co-incides with the issuing this week of the long-awaited boat-based whale watching (BBWW) license for Algoa Bay - to Edwards.
Farewell (for now) to Bayworld oceanariumBAYWORLD’S oceanarium is set to close at the end of this month to prepare for the de-commissioning of the 43-year-old dolphin pool and the transfer of 24 penguins and nine seals to Pretoria Zoo. It’s all part of “operation stop the bleed” in which Port Elizabeth’s much loved museum and oceanarium complex has had to make some tough decisions in order to deliver, hopefully, long-term bounty.
Get out the Karoo, farmers tell ShellANGRY residents of the Middleburg area have called for Shell to “get out the Karoo” after the company failed to guarantee the security of their water if fracking goes ahead. Addressing Shell representatives at a hall in Middelburg’s Grootfontein Agricultural College in a hall packed with farmers in T-shirts saying “Don’t Frack with our Karoo,” members of the audience asked repeatedly if the multi-national could “guarantee no risk to our water”.
Radio activity comtamination concern surfaces around fracking planKAROO anti-frackers are calling for the authorities to take note of the latest findings in America that fracking could be contaminating drinking water supplies with radio activity. The findings stem from an investigation by the New York Times and were reported in that newspaper on Friday. The findings include that waste water produced by fracking wells often absorbs radio activity from naturally occurring minerals underground like uranium.
Nieu Bethesda farmers count flood costsIT COULD take some farmers in Nieu Bethesda a decade to get back to where they were before the flood that hit them Saturday. That’s the word from the mountainous catchment area north of Graaff-Reinet, where well over 100mm of rain fell in 24 hours, flooding the Gats River and all its tributaries, flattening stock fences, stripping roads to bedrock and bursting farm dams.
Gwen Bisseker, would egg yolk remove the green tinge from blonde hair, or would it add some sparkle by producing pretty blue copper sulphate crystals?...
The Struggle 10 February 2012 2:09 pmCde Lulu Johnson's deployment as chairman of portfolio committee - Agriculture, Forestries ...
The Struggle 10 February 2012 2:03 pmClearly the ANC Nelson Mandela Bay Regional Chairman, Cde Nceba Faku ran the municipality as his own backyard. He has enriched himself. The ANC in the region cannot continue be led by a self-centere...
BrandGat 10 February 2012 10:47 amLooks like Lloyd Edwards is being set up here,and the someone is being lined up to get the required permit! dirty tricks again?...
BrandGat 10 February 2012 10:24 amSo what`s new in the new South Africa!...
BrandGat 9 February 2012 1:17 pmTo all those in the''Struggle" it continues on and on because now you struggle to be ''King of the Hill', every one wants to be top dog so knives come out and the struggle continues,until you end up d...
dokhotelo 8 February 2012 10:41 pm...and by the way. Malema had very efficient accountants so they can explain in plain hyerogliphics how a poor man with only a miserable salary of Prez of the Youth Fleague can metamorphose his money ...
dokhotelo 8 February 2012 10:32 pmPeSter: I am an authentic astronaut too!!!....Your statements don't hold, because they are biased. You might not be approving corruption, but, unless I read The Vuvuzerald from another planet, every d...
PStir 8 February 2012 11:08 amI AM an independent accountant, I do my own taxes and 50% and 9 days are over-the-top and far-fetched, if you don't want water, electricity (when they are available) or your nice house then go without...
mastermindPE 8 February 2012 10:35 am@PeSter - you will get the shock of your life when you realise you work only 9 days out of every month for yourself, the rest of the month - you work for the trough of the snout gobblers and gravy qua...