Friday 24 July 1970
Storm brings havoc at Hermanus: Gale force winds pounded
the Hermanus coast on Monday night causing widespread damage. Telecommunications
were interrupted and isolated the town and late on Tuesday morning repairs were
still being carried out on the telephone lines and telex lines. No contact
could be made with other centers. Shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday night the wind
reached a frightening speed and people ran for shelter. The Moffat Hall had
part of its roof blown off. The area around the hall is littered with broken
asbestos sheets. The roof which blew off covered the small municipal library
for the people of Mount Pleasant.
Halfway round the world in 30 days: Our Bergsig (Caledon)
resident, Jacob Hendricks, has returned home from her flight to Britain and the
Continent on which she went a month ago with a group of friendly travellers and
says “Shall I ever forget my first sight of London, its vastness is unbelievable
with its row upon row of red roofed houses.
A Bicycle made for two: Two Hermanus School boys with
a fine spirit of adventure have designed a tandem bike. They are Gerard Franken
(17) and Gerhard du Plessis (15). At the beginning of this year these two boys
first though of making a double bike. They had many teething troubles but
through perseverance eventually came out tops. Said Gerard Franken: “Our bike
goes faster and is much nicer to ride on.” One of his pals then chipped in and
with a smile said: “The girls love riding on a tandem.” Due to the initiative
of these two boys, the total cost of the bike, which was made solely of 2nd
hand parts, was no more than R10. They started a new craze and already there
are four tandems doing the rounds in Hermanus. Others who have bikes are Leon
van Wijk (17) and Johan Havenga (15). During school holidays these boys have
explored the coastal area and on one of their strips went as far as the Strand –
via Betties Bay. This trip took them only seven hours. No doubt we shall see
many more tandems here in the next few months.
