And so the BIG afternoon finally arrived. We were all seated in the Turfhall Primary School’s new hall, and what a hall it is! Absolutely fantastic.

And then the big moment. Out from behind the big cutain they came. The 3 Tenors ( Ronnie Theys, Faud Sawyer & James Benjamin), the lovely Shirley Sutherland and a very casual looking Marc Murray. But don’t let that fool you.

They took their positions. Ronnie Theys also did duty as MC and introduced all to the audience. And then they started. And as a member of audience said afterwards “What a surprise!”. Voices and stage personalities that many would die for/kill for. Literally! And between performances always a little treasure or two from Ronnie Theys.

In between we had a fantastic performance by the Turfhall “Nervous” School Choir. Their performance of the classical “Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do…” was absolutely breathtaking. Hats of to all the choir members.

And although seated to the side do not forget the performance of the pianist/organist/accompanist Marc Murray. There is a performer that is underrated.

And the audience was given the a lesson in classical/opera culture with regard appluading.  When appluading a gentleman you should shouted “Bravo!”, and when it is a lady performer you should shout “Brava!”.  So please take note of the finer nuances in life. Thank you Ronnie Theys, we see education is a family affair.

The afternoons performance ended just before 6:00pm and al agreed that it was the best R40:00 spent for a fine Sunday afternoon’s entertainment.

And then in the normal Newlands Lions tradition things changed. Partner-in-service Theresa Michaels (who else?) suggested that those interested follow her to a little coffee shop around the corner from the school for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake.

And so it was that 17 bodies descended on Tashreeqa’s Coffe Shop in Kromboom Gardens shopping centre on Kromboom Road. And what a surprised awaited us.

Let’s just say nothing was too much. Re-arranging the furniture to seat the mob! Taking our orders from the left, the right and the middle. Even from the side. The waiter was unbelievable.

Please note that we arrived past 18:00 on a Sunday afternoon. And from our understanding all menu items are available as take-aways or as a function menu.

Now for the food. There was wraps in all flavours. Beef or chicken pot-pies. Veggie, chicken or beef lasagna’s. Samoosa’s and springrolls. Stir-fries of different varieties.

And for those members that want to die by decadence there was choc-brownies, cheese cake and lemon meringue.

Tashreeqa’s is not licensed but that does not deter the staff from creating the most wonderful Mocktails. A fair number of Shirley Temples made their way to the table. I think it was the look and the glass that enticed the later takers!  They did not want to feel left out!

Best news of all was the bill. At a total of R849-00 for 17 people it worked out at an average of R50-00 per head. EXCELLENT value for money, wonderful food and certainly a deserving recommendation from all of us!

The question now is when is the next concert? Marc?

And the final word from our treasurer is that we made the sum-total of R4,999-00 and that he, the bean counter supreme, will add a single R1-00 to make it a nice round R5,000-00. We have to thank the management board of Turfhall Primary School for donating their share of the takings to the Newlands Lions fund-raising coffers.

 Thank you Turfhall Primary!

The funds generated at this function will be distributed between the school and the Lions Club of Newlands charitable causes viz., the Lions Food Project, the Cataract Surgery Fund which restores the sight of indigents and also support the Aged, Physically disabled and mentally disadvantaged at our Lions Fisher Centre in Grassy Park.

Tickets at R40,00 (Concessions R20,00) are available at the door or can be booked through the school on 021 691-9922 / 691-1023

Wine will be available for the drinking thereof during the evening. A cash bar will be available for those attending that is unable to consume “vino a la S’afrikin”.

The evening promise a good night’s entertainment.

The auctioneer, Viv “The Hat” Grater, is an old hand at this task, but an exceptionally skilled one. He is also extremely knowledgeable about wines, vines and the drinking thereof. We have not established in which of the three areas he is most skilled.

Spot prizes will be drawn throughout the evning and the prizes promises to be good. We have sent out our very own prize extractor the enimatable Pam “Prizes Please” Cottrell to get these from the unsuspecting business community!

All proceeds of the evening will be allocated to the Lion’s Fisher Centre.

Entertainment interludes will be provided by that very special surfer dude Deon “The Veteran” Bing!

Looking forward to seeing you there. Remember this is not so much about the wines but about raising funds to support those less fortunate at the Lion’s Fisher Haven.

This is what is in store for some "lucky" attendees at the 2010 event!

Exceptional point duty trainer!

And so the fateful day arrived, Sunday morning 5:30am on Valentine’s Day…..   After a year of absence the 3 Passes Cycle Tour was back on the Peninsula cycling calendar.

Club member had been busy for months arranging and cajoling fellow members, other organisations, service providers and the like to get in on the act. They also did things like distribute leaflets and posters. Collect prizes for the day. Arrange with Coca-cola to have the truck available on the morning.

Late entries and set up took place on the Saturday the 13th so it was up to the God’s. And what a beautiful day it turned out. Breathless, cloudless, perfect cyling weather!

Parking was ably managed by experienced “‘parking guard’tjie” Andy Holland, ably assisted by the “child labourer” Cyril Jacobson. Like always we have those members of the public that could do better but never volunteeer of their services to do so and those members of the public who know better. In the first category the impolite embarassment-to-his-family screaming / shouting /swearing imbecile and in the second category the guy that parked his Mini atop an embankment rejection sage advice from our parking master.

Entry sales went smoothly except for the occasional mismatch between prices quoted by us (the organiser’s of the 3 Passes) and the event sanctioner’s (PPA). Or the missing stickers (found later we hear).

The first group set off at 6:30am followed at 3 minute intervals by the rest of the 968 cyclists that took part on the day.

Music was provided by our very own cycling reporter on loan from kFM. Pity someone forgot to mention to certain other persons you will need to have an array of music CD’s available. But never fear the music was gladly accepted by all those left behind.

“Boerie” rolls, bacon & egg rolls and coffee went down a treat. Especially for those involved at the starting line when they finally got a chance to get away.

Sad points we take away from this year’s event. The traffic officer’s! At 5:30am there was the largest contingent of traffic officers and vehicles I have ever seen anywhere in the Peninsula our South Africa for that matter. And so early. And they promised so much at the time.

So why our dismay? Well some of our friendly men and women officer’s are more interested in standing in the shade on the side of the road than direct traffic. That is left to volunteer’s to sort out as was evident at the main circle in Fish Hoek. Or the fact that some of the motorcycle’d officers decided to provide the front group with a blue light cavalcade. Totally out of scope, un-called for and we believe totally illegal as well. Or cases where officer’s left there alotted post to move somewhere else because they thought it is a good idea. And then not render a service at the new point either.  Why are we sad about this?  Because we have to pay our friendly traffic officer’s R368-00 per hour for giving the communit this level of service. Total bill for the day comes to R23,000-00! A total rip-off considering this is a fund-raising exercise to support good causes such as the Lion’s Fisher Centre and the Foodbank of South Africa.

Will we do it again? We don’t know yet. But we will take a final decision on the matter in October of 2010.

Que sera, sera!