Come say hello to our little friends this weekend at Dingo's Farm and Reptile Park!! Fun for all ages, it warms everyone’s heart - no matter how tough your week has been!

More about Piggly Wiggly Midlands

Networking. Connecting. Encouraging. Join Women in Business at The Darling Dachshund on Tuesday next week to meet other women in business. Guest speaker: Mayor Chris Pappas.

To book: https://forms.gle/gTvSTbafMxQQKBbL9

This past week has been a lot more relaxed at the club with only two events taking place, namely the Monthly 2-4-2 Competition sponsored by J Leslie Smith and Dr Alan Sara which was played on Tuesday and the first round of the club nominated mixed pairs competition.

RESULTS
The 2-4-2 competition where most players entered into the spirit of the season and wore red was won by Colin Burden and Arlene Molloy. The Plate event was won by Mike Crause and Mark Schraader. Our thanks are extended to the sponsors for the eats and the generous prizes.

Missing from Photo: Lisa Nagel and Bernice Burden. Included were ladies who were being coached that same morning.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS FOR FEBRUARY
Friday, 25 February: Nominated Trips sponsored by Woodstone Craft Cafe. Start time 09h00. Please be at the club 15 minutes before start of play. Entries to be in before Thursday, 24 Feb.
Saturday, 26 February: ‘Host for Hospice’ Event. Ladies Trips starting at 11h00. Entry fee includes High Tea. Wonderful prizes to be won. Enter your team asap by contacting Lisa on 084 586 6984.

We thank all our sponsors for their continued support. This is really appreciated.

All registered players are welcome to participate on tabs in days and in all our sponsored competitions.

Coaching by registered coaches will recommence this week. Phone/Whatsapp 071 164 3162

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

We are giving away R4000! Want it?

The Rotary Club of Hilton and Howick is launching its 100 club and has 100 tickets to sell for R100 each. Funds raised will be used to support Love Howick in its community building initiatives.

1st prize: R4000, 2nd prize: R1000, 3rd prize: R500

The first draw will take place at: Legacy Coffee Co., 1 Dicks Street, Howick on Thursday 3 March At 5.30pm

Get your ticket to win one of three fabulous prizes!

Tickets available from Love Howick, Colin Hall (Rotary) on 082 920 6306 or message the Rotary Club of Hilton and Howick Facebook page for help.

Join us for coffee and a toastie and an evening of fun and excitement!

There are a lot of myths and mistruths about hearing aids - one of them being that hearing aids will make everything too loud.

While this was often true with analog hearing aids, with digital signal processing, hearing instruments can be tailored to meet your individual needs better than ever before!

If you’re in need of a hearing screening, a comprehensive hearing test or a new hearing aid, contact Butlin Hearing at one of our two branches located in Howick and Pietermaritzburg. Call Claire in the Howick office on 033 330 3966, or Mark in the Pietermaritzburg office on 033 342 2330 to find out how we can be of assistance to you.

Butlin Hearing - welcome to the world of sound!

'With our heads in the blue sky and our feet planted firmly on the ground, we’re changing the world without ever forgetting to be kids.

This is Our Generation.' ~ our generation

Now in stock at Nuts About Books & Toys in Howick, KZN Midlands you will find the OUR GENERATION dolls and of course... Scented Stationery, because everybody loves those gorgeous fragrances!

The 49th edition of the aQuellé Midmar Mile crowned two first-time champions on Sunday as Stephanie Houtman and Connor Buck emerged victorious in the elite races.

Just a week ago, Houtman wasn’t even planning to compete but made the last-minute decision to head to the famous KwaZulu-Natal dam for the event.

It was Tory Earle who took an early lead in the women’s race, reaching the 400m and halfway points in front. But Houtman steadily worked her way to the front by the 1200m mark and powered ahead to win in 19 minutes 37 seconds.

Finishing 13 seconds back was her TUKS training partner Samantha Randle, with 17-year-old Mykae Forrest hot on her heels in 19:51.

“It was a good race. I was actually really happy with it,” said an elated Houtman afterwards. “Towards the start it was very bundled, everyone was on top of each other and then towards the first buoy everyone started spreading out and I started finding my rhythm and I just went for it.

“A week ago I wasn’t actually going to come but then Wayne [Riddin] persuaded me to come and just to see what happened. So we decided to fly down yesterday and come and swim.”

The men’s race saw two-time defending champion Michael McGlynn taking an early lead before 19-year-old Connor Buck took control. Buck reached the 400m mark in front and simply extended his considerable lead from there.

By the time he reached the finish in 18:18, he was a remarkable one minute and 20 seconds in front of McGlynn who took second spot. 16-year-old Ross Paterson then just edged out Ross Hartigan for third spot in a frantic sprint for the line, finishing in 19:41.

“I didn’t expect that at all,” admitted Buck afterwards. “Obviously to take the win I knew I would have to build up a bit of a lead in the beginning. I had a good start, I knew I had a lead so I just didn’t look back. I had no idea the lead had built up to that much.

“If you told me 10 years ago when I did my first Midmar that one day I would be standing here as a champion, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you.”

McGlynn, who has recently recovered from Covid and a chest injury and wasn’t able to train as planned, was full of praise for Buck.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect,” he said. “I know what I can do when I’m in shape. Obviously I would have loved to win, but it’s the first time I’m not disappointed with second. I’m okay with that. Today second was the best that I could do so I’m happy… I got out in front in the beginning but Connor was just better prepared than me so well done to him.”

Earlier in the day, Kelly Wynne-Jones emerged as the surprise winner in the girls 13 and under category. Visiting from England, this was the teenager’s first time swimming the aQuellé Midmar Mile and she took wrong line, ending up on the bank well down from the official finish area. But she still had the time to head back in the right direction and crossed the finish in 24:21.

“I’ve never done it before so I wasn’t sure where to go,” she said afterwards. “I’ve also never really done a competition in a dam – I normally just do it in the pool but it was good. I liked it.”

Finishing as the top boy in the 13 and under category was Jedrick Geleta who stopped the clock at 21:23.

Meanwhile, Gary Albertyn was in impressive form in the men’s 51-60 race. Having completed the 16-mile charity challenge on Friday, Albertyn claimed victory in his age group in a time of 21:11, beating the 31 to 40s and 41 to 50s in the process.

“I was feeling it a bit this morning, but it went well. The water was nice and calm so I had to just put my head down and go,” said Albertyn, who has now completed a whopping 142 miles after all his charity swims. “When you get into the race adrenaline takes over and then you get going.”

On a day filled with impressive milestones, other notable performances came from Ingrid Trusler, who took the women’s 61 to 70 title in 24:44 and Derek Fyfe who, swimming his 30th aQuellé Midmar Mile, claimed the men’s 81 and over title in 35:27.

Gail Bristow, who finished third behind Trusler, completed her 48th consecutive Midmar Mile after having a knee replacement in December.

“Every year one’s just very grateful to be here in one piece,” she admitted. “It was a lovely race. Nice, flat water. I’ll come back next year hopefully a little bit fitter for the 50th anniversary. I had another knee replacement at Christmas so now I have all my bits in order and I’ll hopefully be fitter for next year.”

Photo credit for Stephanie Houtman above: Roxanne Martin

Photo credit for Gary Albertyn: @ActionPhotoSA

The total hasn’t been tallied up yet as donations are still flooding in before the March 31 cut-off, but already over R1.5 million has been raised by swimmers taking part in the 8 and 16-mile charity events at the aQuellé Midmar Mile.

Over 150 swimmers completed their two-day 8 and 16-mile challenges in perfect conditions on Friday before thousands of regular competitors converge on the famous KwaZulu-Natal dam over the weekend.

Among them was former African triathlon champion Dominique Donner, who celebrated her 50th birthday by completing her eighth 8-mile swim. The renowned swimming coach completed each of the eight miles swum by the Crawford North Coast schools relay team, which included her nine-year-old daughter, Rachael.

“It’s been fantastic. The spirit of the kids was amazing, they raised over R30,000 within 10 days. We’ve got until the 31 of March to perhaps get to R40,000,” said Donner.

“This is my eighth year of doing eight miles. I’m originally from Cape Town and back in the day we didn’t really travel to do the Midmar Mile although I regret that now because it would have been great to be here from the beginning. It’s an amazing event,” she added.

Also celebrating a memorable milestone was Janet Viedge who finished her 10th 8-mile swim, raising money for breast cancer charity Pink Drive.

Having started 10 years ago with three friends, Viedge explained: “We always said we’d do five, and then 10. Unfortunately due to various reasons they couldn’t carry on but I did so here I am.

“It’s been great. I wasn’t very fit this year so yesterday was a little bit tough but today was great – I loved it. Muscle memory is an amazing thing. The conditions were just great. It was flat and just really good.

“I enjoy raising the money – we do it as a group with a swimathon in Maritzburg which is very well-supported. So I enjoy that, I love the camaraderie and being at the dam with everybody so it’s been fantastic,” she added, after being handed a celebratory bottle of champagne.”

Joining the celebrations was fellow Pink Drive swimmer Rose Chite, who completed her fifth 8-mile challenge.

“It takes a bit of craziness to bring you back but the camaraderie brings us forward, makes us do what we do and it’s for the greater cause so I’m very happy doing it and I’ll do it again,” said Chite.

“When it comes to the second day you really have to dig into yourself to get it done but we’re here now, we’ve done it and I think I’m proud of myself.”

Race director Wayne Riddin commented: “We’re very happy. The big focus for these two days has been the charity fundraising… They’ve gone over 1.5 million all together so it’s very encouraging for the first year coming out of Covid.

“The team spirit showed here when Janet Viedge finished her 10th year of doing eight miles and raising funds for charity is what it’s all about… It’s about completing the 8 or 16 miles and we’ve very happy that the weather played its part. That’s made a big difference,” added Riddin, also making special mention of Jo-Anne Barnard who has raised over R60,000 for CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation and Georgie Butcher who has brought in over R50,000 for Save the Rhino.

A total of 15 swimmers completed the gruelling 16-mile event, with Reino von Wielligh completing the challenge in the shortest combined time of 6 hours 9 minutes 50.

Matt Pelser was quickest of the 8-mile swimmers in 3:10.35 with 15-year-old Emily Martens finishing quickest of the women in an impressive time of 3:16.40. All three will be back to will contest the elite races on Sunday.

aQuellé Midmar Mile action continues on Saturday with the disabled swimmers setting off at 8am before the standard entry swims with a rolling start begin at 9am.

Those still planning to enter can do so at the dam on the day. Log on to www.midmarmile.co.za for all the details.

Supplied.

Over 150 intrepid swimmers took on the gruelling 8 and 16-mile charity challenges at the aQuellé Midmar Mile on Thursday.

While the majority of them, including the school teams taking part, will complete the challenge on Friday, the trio of Terry Heller, Ryan Redman and Ross Duncan achieved the incredible feat of swimming 16 miles on just one day.

Meanwhile, looking forward to finishing his 16 miles on Friday is Reino von Wielligh, who will then go on to be one of the main contenders in the men’s elite race on Sunday. Von Wielligh, who is seeded third for the race, was not always a fan of open water swimmer.

“My first open water swim was at another event at Midmar dam, and I was so scared that my dad, who does not swim at all, had to enter and swim the first 200m with me. When he got out, so did I and I never completed my first race,” admitted the Pretoria swimmer.

“Then a few years later, I think I was 11 years old, I had overcome my fear of swimming in a dam and I completed my first Midmar Mile. Since then, I have never missed a year and this is my 18th consecutive Midmar Mile as well as my fifth 16 mile charity swim.”

Speaking about the main race on Sunday, Von Wielligh added: “I have put in the work at training with my TUKS distance teammates and listened to my coach [Rocco Meiring], thus I am confident that I can give it my all and provide great competition to my opponents.

“If I go off last year’s race some of the main competition would be Michael McGlynn and Connor Buck, as well as some of my fellow TUKS teammates Connor Albertyn, Matthew Randle and Richardt Beineke to name a few.”

19-year-old Buck finished third in last year’s race and is also eager to put his hard training to the test.

“With regards to my training, everything has been going as planned over the last few months and I am feeling good heading into this year’s Midmar Mile,” said Buck.

“Over the last few years at Midmar I have always been able to improve on the previous year’s performance. Last year I had a great race and finished third so I would be delighted if I could improve on that swim.”

Buck also pointed to several of his training partners as well as two-time defending champion Michael McGlynn as the men to look out for on Sunday.

“The Midmar Mile is a very high-intensity race from start to finish and it usually comes down to the wire so I don’t think I could narrow down my main competition to just one or two people,” he said.

“With Midmar being such a fast-paced race, I think it’s very important to get a decent start and to stay in contention with the main pack in order to give yourself the best chance possible.”

As for what has been bringing him back every year since the age of 10, when he crossed the dam for the first time, Buck added: “The fact that there are so many competitors that take part in the race creates an extraordinary competitive atmosphere, especially on the start line when everyone is tense. The race also has enormous prestige, being one of the most well-known open water swims in the world.”

Those still planning to take part in the aQuellé Midmar Mile this weekend can enter at the dam itself. For all the necessary information, head to www.midmarmile.co.za.

Pictured above: Connor Buck

Pictured below: Reino von Wielligh

Photo credit: @ActionPhotoSA

Supplied.

Grief is the price we pay for loving - we cannot grieve for someone we did not love.

Although there are distinct “stages” of bereavement, one should preferably talk about the “symptoms” of bereavement.

These symptoms occur and recur until there is an ultimate acceptance of what has happened and a reorganisation of one's life without the person who has passed on.

There is no time scale for this bereavement process. It may last for only a short time, or for many years. Some will work through it by means of their own strength; some will draw on the strength of their religion; some will require outside counselling and help.

If you are struggling, please don’t suffer alone - reach out to family, friends, your pastor or a professional counsellor to assist you.

More about Oakleigh Funeral Home

Lara van Niekerk (top) completed a clean sweep of the breaststroke events while Pieter Coetzé did the same in the men’s backstroke on the final day of the SA Grand Prix meet in Durban on Sunday.

After achieving a personal best in the 100m breaststroke, Van Niekerk once again showed her early-season form, powering to victory in the 50m breaststroke in 30.59. She then followed that up with a win in the 200m breaststroke in 2:29.10.

“It was fun, I enjoyed it,” said Van Niekerk, who is known more for the sprint events rather than the 200m. “I did die a bit more than last night, but it was fun overall.”

Having claimed the 100m backstroke title on Saturday, Coetzé also took comfortable victories in the 50m backstroke in 25.03 and 200m backstroke in an impressive 1:59.73 on Sunday.

“I’m happy with the time. I just tried to get from the one side of the pool to the other side as fast as I could so it was good,” said Coetzé after his 50m victory.

Both swimmers will be eager to build on this form, heading into the SA National Championships in April and then Commonwealth Games later in the year.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Meder (below) added two more titles to her haul, sharing victory in the 100m freestyle with fellow Olympian Emma Chelius after both swimmers touched the wall in 56.43 and then claiming top honours in the 400m freestyle in 4:19.51.

“I think you always try to end the race pretty strong and that’s a good sign for my 400IM,” said Meder afterwards. “I haven’t raced the 400m freestyle in quite a while so I’m happy with the time. A bit faster would have been better but I’m really happy with the weekend of racing that I’ve had.”

Ross Hartigan also racked up two more victories, claiming 100m butterfly honours in 55.66 and then diving back into the pool a few minutes later to wrap up the 200m individual medley title in 2:05.97.

“I definitely think I’m getting too old to do so many races in one weekend,” said the 23-year-old TUKS swimmer. “But I’m completely ecstatic with that time. It’s faster than yesterday. It definitely didn’t feel as comfortable as yesterday but I’m really happy to have gone 2:05,” added Hartigan, who also claimed victory in the 200m butterfly on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Durban swimmer Connor Buck followed up his dominant victory at the aQuellé Midmar Mile a week earlier with a win in the 1500m freestyle in 15:45.62.

In the other men’s events, there were also victories for Danté Nortjé in the 200m freestyle in 1:53.05 and Clayton Jimmie in the 50m freestyle in 23.44, while Brenden Crawford added the 100m breaststroke to his 50m breaststroke title from Saturday after winning in 1:01.28.

In the women’s events, Catherine van Rensburg followed up her 800m freestyle victory on Saturday with a win in the 400m individual medley in 5:03.91. Kerryn Herbst took the 100m backstroke title in 1:03.76, Leigh McMorran won the 200m butterfly in 2:18.37 and Inge Weidemann took top honours in the 50m butterfly in 27.54.

The next major meet for the country’s top swimmers will be the SA National Championships from 6-11 April in Gqeberha.

Supplied.

Chad le Clos made a return to competition at the second meet of the SA Grand Prix series in Durban on Friday after a recent trip to hospital with bronchitis.

The 2012 Olympic champion revealed that he had spent three nights in hospital and only returned to training just over 10 days ago.

With such a troubled build-up to the meet, including numerous hours spent in doctors and specialists offices this week, Le Clos was thrilled to win his 100m freestyle heat in 49.78. 17-year-old Pieter Coetzé was second fastest in 50.55 seconds before recording the quickest time of the night in the 100m backstroke heats in 54.72.

Le Clos had to settle for the second fastest time in the 200m butterfly heats in 2:03.37 behind Ross Hartigan who finished top in 2:02.88.

The 29-year-old was then back in the pool later in the evening for the 50m butterfly heats where he was edged out by Coetzé. The teenager finished with the quickest time of 24.85 seconds, to Le Clos’s 25.26.

“I was very happy with tonight. It was a very good swim I guess under the circumstances. It’s been a bit of a tough time, being in hospital two weeks ago,” said Le Clos after the evening’s efforts.

“I’m still struggling with a bit of sinus but 49.7 [for the 100m freestyle] was pretty decent. It’s definitely not what I expected so we’ll see how we go tomorrow. The 200 fly I’ve scratched because obviously I haven’t trained as much as I would have liked to. But all in all, I’m pretty happy… Onwards and upwards.”

Le Clos also praised the Durban crowd for their support.

“It was nice to swim in front of the support. There were a lot of fans out tonight, a lot of young kids, a lot of pictures being taken and that’s great for the sport. It’s great to have that energy back. We haven’t had that in a long time. The atmosphere tonight was better than the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, Rebecca Meder looked to be picking up where she left off after claiming six titles at the last Grand Prix event in Mpumalanga. The 19-year-old Olympian powered to the quickest time in the 200m freestyle heats in 2:00.93 and the 100m butterfly in 1:01.42. She then went on to top the times in the 200m individual medley heats in 2:15.07.

Fellow Olympian Emma Chelius was quickest in the 50m freestyle, touching the wall in 25.62.

Upcoming breaststroker Lara van Niekerk showed her intentions, setting the quickest time of the night in the 100m breaststroke in 1:06.52.

Grand Prix action continues in Durban with the first of the finals on Saturday.

Supplied.

There is a Legislation in place that requires an employer to provide sufficient fire fighting equipment and safety rules to keep their employees safe. Active Fire Services assist in making sure that your business is compliant in this regard, call 086 999 0843 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

'Huge thanks to Drakondale School of the Arts for choosing Funda Nenja as their charity to support for Valentine's day. The children were allowed to wear civvies on Valentines Day and the payment was either cash or a tin of dog food for Funda Nenja. Thank you to the matric pupils for organising this fund raiser.' shared Funda Nenja.

Pictured here L-R; Emily Pentz, Nozizwe Ntshangase, Lisa Button, Glenore Richards, Nokuthula Ndlovu and John Lecordier.

More about Funda Nenja

This past week has seen a lot of activity on the UWBC greens. Two sponsored competitionss were held during the week. On Sunday it was a privilege to host The NIBA Ladies’ Open Trips and one section of the NIBA Men’s Open Trips. In addition it was wonderful to be able to welcome so many visitors and supporters of the various teams.
Sincere thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

RESULTS
On Wednesday, 09 February, the competition sponsored by Halfway Toyota Howick was well attended. Johnny Roselt of Halfway Toyota Howick presented the prizes to the following winners: Colin Burden, Tim Waring and Ann Cacho (First prize); David Mainprize and Cindy Bro (Second Prize).
The postponed competition sponsored by Greendale Superspar took place on Saturday and was won by Michael Cain and Audrey van Coller; Second prize went op Colin Burden, Chantal D’Hotman and James Holderness.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS FOR FEBRUARY
Friday, 25 February: Nominated Trips sponsored by Woodstone Craft Cafe. Start time 09h00. Please be at the club 15 minutes before start of play. Entries to be in before Thursday, 24 Feb.
Saturday, 26 February. ‘Host for Hospice’ Event. Ladies Trips starting at 11h00. Entry fee includes High Tea. Wonderful prizes to be won. Enter your team asap by contacting
Lisa on 084 586 6984.

We thank all our sponsors for their continued support. This is really appreciated.
All registered players are welcome to participate on tabs in days and in all our sponsored competitions.

Coaching by registered coaches will recommence this week. Phone/Whatsapp 071 164 3162

More about Umgeni Waterfall Bowling Club

Perfect conditions once again greeted swimmers at the aQuellé Midmar Mile as the disabled event got under way on Saturday morning.

Powering across the dam in a new personal best time of 23 minutes 37 seconds was Pietermaritzburg swimmer Alani Ferreira. The visually impaired two-time Paralympian was thrilled with her performance and is looking forward to using the experience as a building block for a busy year of international competition ahead.

“It was really amazing. I got to race it with my training partner [Emily Martens – who acted as a guide swimmer] which I think was the most amazing part. It’s a PB for me. The last time I did a 24.16 so I’m really happy with that time. Next up is qualifiers in April for Commonwealth Games and world champs and then hopefully competing at world champs and Commonwealths so it’s a busy year ahead,” added the 23-year-old.

Meanwhile, David Williams emerged as the fastest swimmer in the physically disabled category. Born without legs just below the kneecaps, Williams was involved in swimming [representing KwaZulu-Natal] as well as hockey and rowing before being introduced to adaptive surfing where he qualified to represent South Africa at the ISA World Para Surfing Championships in the USA.

But on Saturday it was all about a return to swimming.

“It was surprisingly good… You couldn’t ask for better conditions. It’s beautiful. I think my best time previously was high 32,” said the Durban swimmer who finished in 27 minutes 28 seconds.

“I wanted to get back into fitness and swimming and stuff and then I wanted to do it for something. One of my other friends told me about [childhood cancer charity] CHOC – you can swim and raise funds for CHOC so then I contacted them, and they sorted me in out in minutes. It was amazing to be back in the water. I loved it.”

Clearly loving his time in the water was Travis Warwick-Oliver who had his leg amputated after a motocross accident and thrives on setting himself new challenges. He completed the gruelling 16-mile charity challenge on Friday, raising money for Happy Bundles, and was then back in the dam on Saturday.

“I feel good. My friend Rudi [Craps] convinced me to do another one. He also just did 16. I feel alright. It actually feels quite nice today. The conditions were amazing – it was like a mirror out there,” he said afterwards.

“I’ve done the 8-mile once before [before the amputation]. I entered the 16-mile last year but I had surgery so I couldn’t do it, so I was happy to do it this year and I’ll definitely be back.”

In the deaf category, Sydney Olympic silver medallist Terence Parkin finished as the fastest of the men in 26.51 with Maritza Snyders quickest of the women in 33.24.

Aaron Putz won the men’s title in the intellectual impairment category, finishing in 25.18 while Cornelia Fowler took the women’s title in 33.20. Paula van Zyl took top honours in the women’s physically disabled category after finishing in a time of 28.19.

aQuellé Midmar Mile action continues on Sunday with the age category and elite events. For more information, head to www.midmarmile.co.za.

Pictured here: Martens and Ferreira with guide dog Gatsby

Photo credit: Action Photo SA

We love Midmar Mile weekend! There are always new faces, happy vibes & an air of excitement around us. We can’t wait to have you join us for a great time at Piggly Wiggly.

Above our endless fun, local shopping & activities for the young and older - we have on this weekend:
- Kyle Matthews will be bringing some groovy music to your ears.
- Kean on Flowers will be bringing some beautiful flowers to feast your eyes on, and spoil your lover.
- And The Piggly Coffee Shop is baking fresh brownies for all the swimmers!

More about Piggly Wiggly in the KZN Midlands

A good bag is not only functional, but can also add some fantastic style to your every day look. Our bags are both durable and functional and are the perfect addition to any outfit. Get in contact with us to find out more or visit us in store today.

More about The Ugly Duckling