AUGUST 2017 Why Fish Hoek for the next article you may or may not ask? Well, I shall tell you in either event. It is just logical. It just makes sense. It is the next Bay after Simon's Town working your way towards Cape Town. It is the next "main" place to stop and have a cappuccino. It is the next place that I have proof of my ancestors walking those streets! How awesome is that. Now, if you look at the picture above to the left, behind the bushes, there is a park. According to information which I have gleaned during my research, there was a block of flats (apartments) built there called Villeria Flats. The importance of these Flats is that my great grandfather lived in No. 5 Villeria Flats. Right there! A long long time ago before and in 1933. Having said this, one could imagine that my grandfather and his siblings (those that had not yet married) also lived there. Living in the town from 1921 was a young lady called Cedryl Greenland whose father had turned his holiday home into their permanent residence. In either event, this young lady was employed as an assistant to a chap who started a newspaper called the Fish Hoek Echo. She wrote articles under the name of "Dolphin". In 1963 (when I was 2 years old) she took over running the paper completely. On her death (in 1985) her friends commissioned a local sculptor (Ernest Lodge) to produce the above statue of three dolphins. Now, if you think about it, if she was there from 1921 onwards, who is to know - perhaps my grandfather and his brothers and sisters knew her. Perhaps my great grandfather knew her. Maybe they chatted, over a cup of tea, about articles which she had written. The beach itself. What can I say about this? The above picture is pretty self-explanatory. On hot summer days the beach is full of people, which can be rather unpleasant especially if you just want to sit quietly and absorb the beauty of the sea.
That walkway never used to be there. In fact, high tide, way back when in 1818, used to wash over the area where the railway line is built. Can you see the slanting layers of brick on the sea side of the wall? What is amazing about this is that under the sand below the wall is a V-shaped trench filled with interlocking concrete blocks. This prevents the sand from building up on the walkway. Pure genius!! I believe I shall stop this blog now and if you have in fact read the entire blog post - I thank you. I would simply love it if you let me have any comments you have the urge to share. Until next time ....
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