Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2020 från go! Platteland

From the moment Platteland came into being, the idea behind it has been to show the world our South African dorpies and their remarkable people. These are places we know well. Perhaps you grew up in a platteland hamlet with only one shop, or maybe you have family in a village somewhere and visit from time to time. Either way, it strikes a chord – evident in the way we react when we see a painting by artist Willem Pretorius from Rosendal in the Free State. We’re not talking about whitewashing here, showing only a picture-perfect idyll while trouble brews beneath the surface; but we’re also not talking about a place that’s staggering like the rand after a Jacob Zuma cabinet reshuffle. The towns and people we’ve come across over…

Dear Johann and Irma Coetzee of Henley-on-Klip. I’m sure you must be thrilled that your letter to the editor was published in the latest Platteland magazine. Such an achievement, and I really am so sorry that you were reduced to tears so often. Hopefully you had some tissues in the car with you. Being an ex-Joburger (and now proud Richmond “inkommer”) whose parents stay in the DA-controlled municipality of Midvaal, I know exactly where your quasi-English countryside village of Henley-on-Klip is located. Compared to where you live, the Karoo and its dorpies must be quite a shock. No manicured green pavements, pretty houses supported by families making lots of money, and heaven forbid no townships with RDP houses in view at all. You see, besides being in one of the…

A fully revised and updated edition of The Story of Gardening, Penelope Hobhouse and Ambra Edwards’ classic book on the fascinating evolution of gardening, has just arrived in bookshops. This 512-page tome – with more than 400 photos – starts with the gardens of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Persia, followed by the wonderlands created during Islamic rule, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Then there are the European flower and English landscape gardens, and the creations of the Chinese, Japanese, Americans, and Modernists like Piet Oudolf. Honestly, we can’t think of a better Christmas gift than this book for someone with green fingers. The book is published by Pavilion and costs R490 at selected bookshops.…

As the land issue rages on and all the politicians take turns having their say about the matter, we tend to forget about the unsung heroes of the agricultural sector: the farmers and their workers who, in spite of drought, slights from government and general insecurity, forge ahead and keep ploughing, sowing and trusting that the rains will come. With the recently published For the Love of the Land, journalists Ivor Price and Kobus Louwrens, also the founders of the website Food for Mzansi (foodformzansi.co.za), pay homage to the heroes of South African agriculture. In 32 personal essays, the two compilers and a diverse group of farmers from all over the country share their realistic, complex stories of heritage and land. Some have survived expropriation and forced labour, others write…

GAUTENG The Wanderers Christmas Market, Illovo 1 – 8 December Do your festive shopping at this market, which offers all kinds of locally made gifts. Place The Wanderers Club, 21 North Street Hours 09:00 – 19:00 Contact thewanderersclub.co.za The Wanderers Christmas Market 083 230 5420 EASTERN CAPE Back to Earth Night Market, Port Elizabeth 4 December A festival of gifts, merry music and food trucks, with plenty of parking. Entrance is free. Place Old Grey Sports Club, 2 Lennox Street Hours 17:00 – 20:00 Contact Back to Earth Night Market 083 572 1858 WESTERN CAPE Santa’s Fair, Strand 4 – 28 December Drop in to find a lovely selection of handicrafts, decor, and things to eat and drink. Place Cnr Broadway Boulevard and Da Gama Street Hours 09:00 – 19:00…

MENU STARTERS Basic flatbread (and variations) Loaded hummus Double-cream tzatziki MAINS Country-style pork & port terrine with pistachios Pan-fried trout fillets with lemon, dill & apricot butter sauce Fennel, celery & Granny Smith apple salad Green on green salad Panzanella (bread salad) DESSERT White tiramisu with brandy Basic flatbread Makes 2 large, 4 medium or 8 small breads Preparation time 10–15 minutes, plus rising time Cooking time 7–9 minutes YOU NEED 2 cups (300 g) stoneground white bread flour 2 teaspoons (10 ml) instant dry yeast 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar ½ teaspoon (2,5 ml) fine salt ¾ cup (200 ml) lukewarm water 1 tablespoon (15 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl and drizzling salt flakes, for sprinkling THIS IS HOW Mix the flour, yeast, sugar…

Verlorenvlei, West Coast More than 25 years ago, I drove down from Johannesburg to the West Coast to visit friends at a place called Verlorenvlei. I had never heard of it, but the name struck a romantic chord – and I was not disappointed when I saw the vast expanse of water and rocky outcrops surrounding the estuary. It was a paradise for waterbirds and other wildlife. Pelicans arrived in droves and the place teemed with spoonbills, grebes, ducks of all descriptions, gallinules, egrets, herons (even a breeding pair of Goliath herons), cormorants, darters and many more. Verreauxs’ eagles nested alongside the vlei, and fish-eagles and kingfishers could feed on the abundant fish. Cape clawless otter families lurked in the shallows, duikers and steenbokkies would come to drink at night.…

It just had to be painted… My daughter, Eileen Matthee, is a Grade 8 pupil at Witteberg High School in Bethlehem. Since the age of five she has been attending art classes with local artist Lynette Schuld, who has walked an incredible road with her and nurtured her love of drawing and painting. She also exposed her to various mediums and techniques, and fostered her talent. Eileen was so inspired by the cover of your Spring 2018 issue that she made a painting of it. This cover attracted the attention of everyone in our family and, along with Eileen’s great love of animals, it made for an image that simply had to be painted. Moreover, she received an A++ symbol and a Merit Award at the Eisteddfod for the painting.…

Champion Tree, champion food When Ina Paarman had her modern test kitchen built in Constantia on the Cape Peninsula in 2006, she told the builders there would be hell to pay if any of the majestic old trees on the property in Main Road died or was damaged. The Paarmans were so serious about the matter that they tied “fine labels” ranging from R100 000 to R1 million around the trunks of the most important elderly giants. One of these trees, a cork oak (Quercus suber) – yup, the one that got the fat R1 million label – has since been declared a South African Champion Tree. This only came to Platteland’s attention during our visit to Marietjie Coetzee in Albertinia, when we got hold of a complete list of…

Writer and translator Kirby van der Merwe, who lives in Aurora in the Sandveld, stayed at the Karoo Boekehuis in Calvinia from mid-October to mid-November 2019 to work on his latest novel. On the Saturday of the Rugby World Cup semifinal between the Springboks and Wales, he came across this scene at the shop next to the hotel: a dustcoated black Ferrari 308… with roof racks and spotlights! “I don’t know who the owner is, because the rugby was on at the time,” Kirby says. “But it made me think of a cowboy who rode into town on a horse with no name and stopped in at the saloon to quench his thirst.” Platteland wonders where the owner was headed by the time the final match was played between South…

Here at Platteland we often roll our eyes at people who are obsessed with apps, but if you enjoy gardening and plants and you haven’t downloaded the gardening app Candide yet, it’s time to make a plan. This app connects you to an international community of gardeners. We love the new plant feature called Plant ID – you simply take a photo of a flowering plant, herb, shrub or tree and the app will identify it and supply a brief overview of the species, origin, preferences, growing methods, problems, uses and much more. Candide is free to download from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store – just type “Candide” in the search box. CONTACT candidegardening.com hello@candide.co.za…

Five years ago, we tackled the great trek from the city to the Karoo. We had fantasised about the tranquillity and the good food and the friendly people, but encountered something else, something I like to call the New Karoo. It is the same, yet different. Just the other day, Jeanne, who lives on the other side of town, told me about her former neighbour Tannie Bettie, who had a clay oven in her back garden and would sometimes pass a warm loaf of bread across the fence as they swapped news. But then people from the city bought Tannie Bettie’s property. They demolished the clay oven and for six weeks they drilled through a layer of rock so they could install a swimming pool. Here, where the worst drought…

Camino Francés (French Way) There are seven Camino routes, but the French Way is the most popular by far. The full route starts in Saint Jean-Pied-de-Port in France and runs across northern Spain. This tour starts in Sarria and covers the final 115 km to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela – far enough to qualify for a compostela, a certificate to prove you walked the Camino. It’s an easy route and the daily distances aren’t too taxing (the longest day is 25 km). Beginners are welcome. Platteland says: You’ll see several authentic Spanish towns along the way, eat traditional fare and meet pilgrims from all over the world. Crossing the Hill of Joy to Santiago de Compostela on the last day is a highlight. Dates: 3 – 12 April…

People often phone Helen for advice – some have loved ones who have already been diagnosed, others are worried because someone is behaving strangely. Her advice is always to go to a psychiatrist immediately. “Many people would go to a GP, but the first stop has to be a psychiatrist, who can direct them to other channels for a proper diagnosis and to rule out physical problems.” Helen further recommends: • People with dementia need a managed world. Routine is extremely important and calming to them. “The tragedy is that some are often left in a chair in front of the TV. It is important to understand that people with dementia will eventually lose initiative. Given the chance, they will stay in bed all day.” • Motivating and loving someone…

YOU NEED moss (available at Builders) succulents of your choice (it is economical to buy punnets of six at nurseries) florist’s wire a Christmas tree of your choice – we made this one lights and ribbon THIS IS HOW 1 Place the moss in a bowl of water for about 1 hour. 2 In the meantime, assemble your succulents. Use plants with different colours and textures. 3 Remove the moss from the water and press it to remove excess moisture. 4 Remove one succulent at a time from the punnet and carefully shake the excess soil (but not all of it) from the roots. Now twist a handful of moss around the soil-and-root ball. Use enough moss, because the water it contains will be the plant’s major source of moisture…

Platteland is pleased as punch with a free practical guide recently released by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that will teach you everything you need to know to start a community-run nursery. A Practical Guide for Community-run Nurseries: Growing Indigenous Plants for Restoration offers an overview of the skills and expertise required to manage this kind of labour-intensive nursery, and will help you master the 10 basic principles of cultivation. The myriad full-colour photos show you exactly how to sow or propagate indigenous plants. The main aim of such community-run nurseries is to create jobs in rural areas and re-establish indigenous plants on land that has been cleared of alien invaders. • To download the 48-page guide in PDF format, free of charge, visit wwf.org.za, click on “Our…

GAUTENG Kamers/Makers, Pretoria 3-8 DECEMBER The 200+ creatives who make jewellery, decor, music, skincare products, food and much more have all been hand-picked. This is a cash-free event; all credit and debit cards will be accepted. Place Cornwall Hill College, Nellmapius Drive, Irene Hours 09:00 – 17:00 Cost R70pp at plankton.mobi or R100 at the door (you get a shopping bag, magazine, and water bottle that you can refill at the water stations free of charge); R70 for students and pensioners; free for under-18s (without the shopping bag and magazine) Contact kamers.co.za WESTERN CAPE Apricot Festival, Prince Alfred Hamlet 16 DECEMBER Bring boxes and baskets to pick apricots (R35/kg), with proceeds going to Vyeboom Daycare Centre. There will be stalls, a cycle race and entertainment for the kids, tractor rides,…

Share: A Century of South African Community Recipes by Errieda du Toit Remember those humble little booklets with select recipes from the community with which schools, associations and clubs raised funds yonks ago? Errieda du Toit studied 150 of them as inspiration for this fun homage to the genre. Her take is more modern and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but the sweet and savoury pastries, one-pot wonders, world food and nostalgic dishes made for sharing are as good as ever. It’s perfect for the Christmas stockings of home cooks, cookbook collectors and anybody who is curious about traditional South African food. Good news: Platteland will feature a dinner-club menu from Share in the Autumn 2020 issue (on shelf from 2 March 2020). R350 Struik Lifestyle 011 327 3550 penguinrandomhouse.co.za WIN 1: Share…

Ben and Sunel Ferreira Owners of Brothers Coffee Can you believe it, the second-best coffee roaster in South Africa lives just outside Great Brak River?! Earlier this year, Ben kicked coffee grounds in the eyes of a few top contenders when he was announced runner-up in the A Shot in the Dark Competition (and the winner of the section in which all 43 participants had to roast exactly the same green beans to create the best flavour profile). These days, Brothers Coffee is one of the most popular stops on the Fragrance Route. Ben and his wife, Sunel, a hairdresser, are such caffeine addicts that they often spent their holidays in countries where coffee is grown, mostly during the 10 years they lived in Uganda and then three years in…

The 15 km Haarkapper Hiking Trail in the private Phillipskop Mountain Reserve runs in a figure of eight over the Kleinrivier Mountains to the village of Tesselaarsdal and back. Besides the 750 plant species already recorded along the trail, the magnificent Erica aristata, or the Pride of Hermanus, also grows here. This erica only occurs in the mountain range between Stanford and Hermanus – you will find it nowhere else on earth. “Summer is erica season and, along with the proteas, they colour the hiking trail in countless shades of pink,” says reserve owner Chris Whitehouse, who tends to the 245 ha trail with his wife, Anna. “Each season brings its own blooms in different colours, and each season captivates in its own way.” In beautiful clear weather, says Chris,…

“We enjoy growing our own organic vegetables and decided to build a greenhouse to protect our seedlings until they're strong enough to be transplanted,” says Minette, who has been running a chef school on a smallholding outside Krugersdorp for 25 years. “Just last week I transplanted spinach, tomato, pumpkin and kale seedlings.” For this project they decided to use only reclaimed material, along with building materials left over after they finished building their house a few months ago. “We believe in the three pillars of recycling: upcycle, recycle and repurpose, so we only buy at auctions and scrapyards,” says Minette. They did not follow a building plan, but let themselves be guided by the materials they had. “Our only expenses were five days of labour and a polycarbonate side panel,…

If you were lucky enough to grow up with fruit trees in the garden, you’ll know that shop-bought peaches and apricots never taste quite the same. The harvest from my mother’s garden in Calvinia included blushing Elberta peaches, sweet Kakamas cling peaches, rosy apricots and a crop of plums so heavy that some branches would break under the weight. This was before the drought in the Hantam came to take my mom’s trees, one by one, like a raptor that had discovered the chicken coop. But in the abundant years, the drying racks on the sunny side of the house would groan under the weight of halved peaches and apricots, and there was simply no room to squeeze in another piece of fruit. My mom also made fruit rolls: she…

What’s the most trouble you’ve ever found yourself in? Mine is the time I caused a fire that almost reduced a town to ashes – a conflagration in the middle of the busiest weekend the place and its residents had ever seen. But let me start at the beginning. About 15 years ago, not quite burnt out but with wings singed, I left the city and limped into a Free State town to find a quiet place to lick my wounds and wait until I could face life again. This is what dogs do, and people who were born When Frederik de Jager retreated to a small Free State town to lick his wounds, he hoped to reignite a spark in his life, not to set the place on fire.…