Did You Know?

Happy 2017!  Despite all omens, we hope it will be a good and prosperous one!  Here are some tips that might help.

Extend your free parking at Morning Glen Mall: The Mall doesn't advertise it and it seems so secret that even the other shopkeepers are unaware of it!  Free parking is extended from the normal hour (charges of R7 apply for 1-3 hours) by another 30 minutes if you take a Pick 'n Pay till slip to the Parking Office: turn right out of PnP, pass Country Collage, then down the passage on the right. This tip could be useful to the dozens, possibly even hundreds, of people who shop at Morning Glen every year.

The extra half hour free could give you time for a coffee at Cafeum Diem (formerly Fego). You might "Like" the Cafeum Diem Facebook page and print out some of their special coupons to redeem when you visit, e.g.: Combo offer #2: Any 2 selected breakfasts with 2 drinks for R90 (an egg-ceptional deal); combo offer #3: Any 2 wraps/tramezzinis for R85; offer #5: 2 café meals for R95. Two steaks for R95? That's rare!

The Lyoness loyalty card (advertised below) gives you up to 5% of your spend back when shopping at selected merchants, plus up to 15 "Shopping Points" per R1000 to use on special offers. "Selected merchants" include Spur restaurants, Checkers, Shoprite, Shoprite Liquor, Outdoor Warehouse, Sportsman's/person's/thing's Warehouse, Dion Wired and Game, Dis-Chem, Babies "R" Us, The Golfers Club, Hirsch's, Western Shoppe, Vodacom prepaid, Cell C prepaid, and Microsoft's on-line store.

Pick 'n Pay has a loyalty card, called Smart Shopper, that is free and gives you 1% of your total shop back. A bonus they don't advertise much is that, once their system gets used to your shopping habits, they start offering you discounts off things you buy anyway. Swipe your card through the machine at the store entrance to see what personalised vouchers they have for you: R7.30 off 2ℓ Ola Ice Cream or R7.40 off 2kg No Name frozen chicken braaicuts or R1.70 off a 1ℓ Douglasdale milk sachet may come in handy!

Odd Jobs

"Psychic": Someone who will tell your fortune, for a part thereof.

New on the Block, Movers and Shakers  Back to top

• Tigers Milk opposite Riverside Shopping Centre – Restaurant and bar: lunch and dinner. Entrance in St James Crescent. "Service ambassadors" instead of "waiters" might explain the high prices.
• Cycloworx has moved from Petervale Shopping Centre to Shop 04, Ground in Cambridge Crossing – "The bicycle workshop": Servicing bicycles, making friends.
• ZAKspeed Electronic World, Moved from Shop AE to Shop C1, Building C in Woodmead Commercial Park – Audiovisual and multimedia wholesale and retail: Car sound systems, public address, disco, home theatre, computers.
• Car Mirror Centre in Morningside Area Shops – Independent suppliers of exterior side mirror replacement glass (car door mirrors). Replacement car mirrors exactly fitting the make and model of your car.
• iFix, Shop U29, Upper Level in Morningside Shopping Centre – One-stop Apple and Samsung device repair and servicing with immediate, walk-in and walk-out service.
• Rain, Shop U41, Upper Level in Morningside Shopping Centre – Handmade bath & body products and hand crafted homeware using natural ingredients with African origins. Responsibly handmade with care for customers, craftspeople and the environment.
• Twisp (L21 kiosk), Lower Level in Morningside Shopping Centre – Kiosk under the escalators. Electronic cigarettes.
• Barre Body, Shop FF09, 1st Floor in Rivonia Village – Innovative challenging Barre classes and superfood nutrition. Fusion of Pilates, ballet barre work, light weights and cardio.
• Car Wash in Woodmead SuperValue Centre.
• Renew-it Rivonia, Ground in Rivonia Crossing 1 – Auto body repair centre. Insurance quotes. Panel beating and repair a wide range of vehicle brands.
• Bespoke Concepts (Suite 14), 1st Floor in The Square Sunninghill – Branding, private labelled loyalty solutions, hosted call centre, ICT development, sales and product training, value added services.
• Liz's Kitchen near Dunwoody Centre – Fast food doesn't always mean unhealthy! In Harrowdene Office Park.
• Ellies, Shop B4, Building B in Woodmead Commercial Park – Home power solutions: LED lighting, power inverters, DIY solar kits, surge protection. Antennas, TV & video accessories, satellite, industrial audio, broadband.
• Mikectrolight Appliance Services (B8 Lower level), Building B in Woodmead Commercial Park– Repair and sales of fridges, stoves, microwaves, washing machines, TVs and cell phones. Parts & Accessories, technician visits.
• CycleOps, Rivonia Road 777 in Rivonia Area Shops – Virtual Indoor Power (VIP) Training: Phantom 3 bikes, interactive Virtual Training app and HD video content create a virtual reality cycling environment.
• Weight Loss Centre, Rivonia Road 777 in Rivonia Area Shops – Discard habits that sabotage your weight and health, Shed centimetres/kilograms at a steady pace, Keep the lost kilograms off, Lead a healthier lifestyle.
• Mitsubishi Rivonia, Building B in Rivonia Crossing 2 – Mekor Dealership. New, pre-owned, and demo vehicles.
• Woodmead Hyundai Automotive (14 Waterval Cres), Ground in Woodmead Area Shops – Vehicle sales, commercial, pre-owned, service centre, genuine parts.

Restaurant Review by Judith Back to top

***** Pizza del Forno, Chilli on Top, Sunninghill: 6th January 2017

This is fairly recently opened restaurant in this centre and has a very reasonably priced menu. There is an outside smoking area for people who don't like tasting their food. They do a very good House Dry White wine, the other drink was Appletiser.  Sandile was our waiter and attentive, brining plenty of ice for both drinks. I chose the Mussels in Creamy Garlic Sauce but asked that the Mozzarella be omitted and my partner chose the Pollo Fantastico.  The Mussels arrived with Foccacia which came in handy for my partner later! They were excellent, though I did remark that I would have liked more garlic. I was told that they tried not to overdo it as some people are not such aficionados of the Rose!

My partner's Pollo Fantastico, which consisted of chicken breasts, bacon, avocado, roast veggies and a decoration of a tomato sitting on a cucumber, was declared fantastico indeed.  I stole some avocado, which was delicious.  Altogether a great experience with excellent service and worth another visit!

Contact Details for Pizza Del Forno.

Funny Language, English...

Moths are very economical to keep as pets: They only eat holes.

Checked Out of Hotel California  Back to top

• The Image Firm left Rivonia Village – Improve your look in just 7 easy steps and get a personalised style guide. Was 1st Floor, moved to Northview Block C2 57 6th, Hyde Park.
• Zeus Aluminium, was Shop C1 in Woodmead Commercial Park – Aluminium windows, window frames, patio sliding doors, shop fronts & louvres: domestic, retail and commercial. Moved to 8 Carey Street, Wynberg.
• VCam Security (was C8, Lower level) in n Woodmead Commercial Park – State of the art security cameras for any location, ranging from indoor CCTV to high security monitoring. Moved to Kempton Park, Tel 011 963 3563.
• First Car Rental in Sandton Court – for Budget car hire you will now have to fall back on Second Car Rental.
• Rivonia Travel (1st Floor Suite 3) in Rivonia Village – Flights, travel packages, accommodation, car hire, Forex, travel insurance, visas and passports. Travelled themselves.
• Design Hardware, Shop B4 in Woodmead Commercial Park – Architectural ironmongery – door handles, cupboard handles, locks, hinges and related accessories like door closers. Closed their own doors.
• Lumber City Woodmead, C8, Lower level in Woodmead Commercial Park – Timber and board, Masonite, chipboard, door and drawer handles, etc. Doors closed too.
• Party Pinata (B9, Lower level) in Woodmead Commercial Park – Party decorations, wrapping paper. All wrapped up.

Learn Self-Defence and Get Fit for 2017

Krav Maga (pronounced "Kraav M'gaa") is a self-defence system developed in Israel, that focuses on practical techniques drawn from a wide variety of martial arts.  Used by Israeli Defence Forces and various law enforcement and military organizations worldwide, Krav Maga is known for its focus on real-world situations and efficient counter-attacks.  Derived from street-fighting skills, it includes fitness, unarmed combat, knife and gun disarms, and grappling techniques. What makes Krav Maga different to other martial arts is that anyone regardless of age, gender and fitness level can learn it quickly and use it successfully. The system is designed to enable a smaller defender to successfully neutralize an attack by a larger aggressor, and is perfectly suited for women and teenagers.  We train Mondays and Thursdays 18:45-20:45 upstairs at Car Service City diagonally opposite Cambridge Crossing shopping centre in Petervale. Interested?  Contact Details for EDA Krav Maga.

Straits are Still Direr   Back to top

Julius says that he has recently been in dire straights, namely the roads through the Free State.

Newsletter Changes, New Newsletter

Since early 2009 the Megaplex website has run largely as a labour of love intended to make your life easier as a shopper in Sandton, and to increase the prosperity of this area.  Since November 2009 this newsletter has run monthly with the same purpose. Originally it was "Shopping in Morningside, Rivonia and Woodmead", then in 2011, "Shopping in North-Eastern Sandton" and "Shopping in Northern Sandton". Finally, in 2012, we became "Shopping in Sandton".

We are changing the newsletter's timing, moving it to near the beginning of the month: It always looked "late" to have it arriving at the very end of the month!

In the latter half of the month we are starting, again as a public service to help our readers, a new newsletter: "Doing Business in Sandton" will have internet and other tips and tricks to help your shop or other business grow and prosper. You might also find it useful if you are thinking of starting a small business, or creating an extra online income.  Subscribe here.

Petition for a Ban on Fireworks in Johannesburg

The festive season showed yet again that people just will not handle fireworks responsibly. We had people detonating them in contravention of the municipal regulations outside the designated hours, and within 500 m of a petrol station. It's time to ban them entirely: Sign the petition set up by Ward 66 DA Councillor Carlos da Rocha here.

Overheard at the Checkout:

"My cat keeps killing things: geckos, birds, mice... what can I do?"

"Stop giving him pellets."