Bubele Cleans the Sandspruit

My name is Wendy Malpage and I live in Morningside. We’ve lived there for 25 years. I started out as a hairdresser 37 years ago and I’ve been a Salon Owner for 30 of those years. Most of my clients come from the northern suburbs. Now, because I can’t stand much anymore, I only service a couple of clients a week.

Twelve years ago I started a drinks business called Wendy’s Lemonade. My main business comes through schools and big sporting events but we also service around 20 shops. It’s been an incredible business but, like many others during lockdown, it came to a grinding halt. We still service our shops and available markets, providing a small salary for each of my 4 staff members. They have little chance of finding other employment right now.

During lockdown, I noticed the high rate of unemployment and people sitting hopelessly on the side of the road. I heard of many struggling NGO’s in Alexandra. I was feeling sensitive about people at that time because my business was barely surviving. A friend and I ran a food drive and raised R200,000 for NGOs in Alexandra. At the end of it, I still felt a little empty and wondered why.

I later realized that I felt uncomfortable about giving handouts. When people work for something, they appreciate it more, feel a sense of worth, and spend more carefully. Something started driving me to look for solutions.

On my morning walks, I also noticed the rivers brimming with rubble, and many desperate people.

After much thought I came up with a plan to hire people to clean our rivers. I showed people the difference and asked for small donations.

I went to Bowling Avenue and asked a group of people if they would be keen to work for food. I said I had a plan; –not sure if it would work, but happy to try. I asked them to meet at the petrol station the next day if they were interested. Over 100 people arrived.

I had no clue this would work but took a huge leap of faith anyway. Thus Bubele –which means "kindness"– was born.

I started on the Sandspruit at South Road, Morningside. We worked our way down to 8th Ave Rivonia. This is where we’ve stayed predominantly for the last 8 months.

I met Dan Hunt, who is incredible and has been working tirelessly on the Sandspruit for 10 years. I also met his City Zen crew who do an amazing job on the river and in the Rivonia suburb. Dan takes care of the river area from 1st Avenue downstream to approximately the big swing. So I work down from there to 12th Ave Rivonia.

I love walking along the Sandspruit and so made it a mission to try and follow in Dan’s big footsteps.

My plea this year is for your support.
If I didn’t have to beg for donations constantly it would just make this task a lot easier.
Having a regular amount to work with each month would be amazing.
I hope my commitment to the task at hand has demonstrated my love for all our rivers. We also work along the river at Innesfree Park and Hurlingham. This work has filled me with so much joy
It’s been the most incredible job and the hardest one too.
Kind Regards
Wendy

Bubele banking details
Account holder: Wendy Malpage
Bank: Nedbank
Branch: Northgate
Account number: 1698005490
Contact: Wendy Malpage- 083 326 6097 - bubelecharityorg@gmail.com

Odd Jobs

When Eskom loses a power generation unit, why don't they look where they saw it last?

That usually works for me with my keys.

New on the Block, Movers and Shakers  Back to top

• Cycle Gallery moved from Shop C06/C07 on Hobart Road in Hobart Grove Centre to Shop 17, Parkmore Square, 11th St Parkmore, near Benmore Gardens Shopping Centre – Bicycle Store. Premium bicycle brands and clothes.
• Oasis Water, Ground in 90° on Rivonia – Bottled water. Under new management and moved from inside Spar at the Deli counter.
• Cell C Rivonia, Shop GF68, Ground in Rivonia Village – Cell phones. Upgrades, Contracts, SIM swap, Cash Phones, Accessories, Transfers.
• Shisha Buzz, Shop 17, Ground in Early Dawn Mall – Smoke Shop: glass, cigars, premium e-liquids, vaporizers, hookahs, shisha tobacco, smoking and vape related accessories. Lighters, ashtrays, cases, grinders, scales and more.
• Arkomy Korean Restaurant, Shop 14A, Ground in Early Dawn Mall – Light meals, home meals, stir-fry, fried rice, noodles.
• LuvLand Adult Entertainment Store, 1st Floor in Petervale Shopping Centre – Adult toys and games, lingerie, magazines, explicit DVDs. BDSM and other naughty things we can't mention on a family web site.
• Eden Tech, Shop G12, Ground in 90° on Rivonia – Accessories and repair of cell phones and laptops. Surly service. An electronics shop without email or a website? Makes you wonder, doesn't it.
• Icell Clinix in Morning Glen Mall – Cellphone repairs and accessories. Kiosk under the escalators outside Clicks. Part of Exclusive Gadgets (shop 32).

Where Are You Still Using Single-Ply?

[from Tim Ferriss:] I recently had an epiphany.

It wasn’t in the shower. It wasn’t while meditating under a tree. It was while sitting in the bathroom.

As I held the toilet paper in my hand, I realized that it was single-ply. Clearly, I had long ago decided to save money by cutting this corner. “We are not in a position to indulge in such excesses!” I imagine I might have thought, shifting my shopping gaze from comfy double-ply Charmin to a war-ration house brand of single-ply.

Of course, here’s the problem: single-ply is a fool’s bargain. It’s a translucent sham. If you don’t want to shove your fingers directly into the pit of despair, you need to fold it over itself again and again, defeating any cost savings. And even if you did save $5 per month, isn’t the extra $5 worth trading 30 days of butt-sanding for 30 days of butt-caressing?

To make any headway with this, I first had to look backward…

My family didn’t have much disposable income. We ate a lot of TV dinners, we collected our soda cans for the five-cent redemptions at the beverage store, and we bought books on the discount “remainder” table at the local bookstore. To be clear—I never felt poor, but clear parameters around spending, and clear taboos around money, kept things from falling apart.

And our extreme frugality served a critical purpose at the time: it was important to the well-being of our family.

But now flash forward 35+ years... and read the rest of the article here.

Thought for the Day:

Time management doesn't just happen. It takes an intentional commitment. Much like a diet does. Set your boundaries. Collect your commitments (mind dump). Determine what's essential. Plan each day. Just say No. –Jens Smith, 2021-02-22.

Ceased to Be   Back to top

• Map Studio, Shop GF65 in Rivonia Village – Maps and charts of all sorts, travel accessories. Open 09:00-17:00 M-F, 09:00-12:00 Sat. Map Centre's offices are at 7 Wessel Rd Rivonia 2090, Tel: 011 807-2292.
• Flight Centre, Shop GF66A in Rivonia Village – Travel shop. Hotel bookings, Car hire, Flight specialists. Open Mon-Fri 09:00-18:00, Sat 09:00-15:00, Sun & Holidays 09:00-13:00.
• Vodashop Rivonia, Shop GF68 in Rivonia Village – Cell phones. Upgrades, Contracts, SIM swap, Cash Phones, Accessories, Transfers. Open mall hours.
• Revive Dry Clean Factory, Shop 12 in Early Dawn Mall – People with a bad attitude who do not want to give contact details, and probably do not want your business. Claim they have moved to Morning Glen Mall upstairs, but no sign of them there.
• Chef Chen Asian Kitchen, Shop 17 in Early Dawn Mall – Japanese and Chinese Restaurant.
• Osman's Optical, Shop 14 in Early Dawn Mall – Optometrist and Contact Lens Practitioner.
• Delivery Xtreme Rivonia in Morning Glen Mall – Deliveries to Rivonia, Gallo Manor, Woodmead and surrounding areas from local restaurants. Was in the Basement Car Park opposite the old Entrance 3.

Funny Language, English....

Who deals with a lack of integrity in the ANC Integrity Commission?

Like a Free Carpet Cleaning?

We recently had a demonstration of the new Kirby cleaning system.  It really is amazing.  It got dirt out even where we had used our older Kirby.  The machine has over 100 functions, even blowing drains clean.  It is sturdily built to last a lifetime, yet lighter than previous models.  It's not cheap.

Call Bruno at 071 523 4617.  He will give you a free carpet vacuuming and shampoo for one room in your house, or one rug. Please tell him you were recommended by Megaplex.

Trust Legal Sense to Take Your Money and Let You Down!

A "no star" rating: Legal Sense is happy to take our subscriptions, but ask them to do some work and they are nowhere to be found.

We had a tenant who pulled out in violation of her contract. We wanted to recover the loss. First, Legal Sense's Mignonne Vermeulen did her utmost to reduce the amount we were claiming. Then she claimed that the amount was too small for them to go after. Finally, she said, “your matter is not covered by Legal Sense for external assistance”. This was after they had given every indication to us and the debtor that the debtor would be pursued legally.

I complained about this apparent acting in bad faith by Ms Vermeulen, and asked for someone else to deal with it. The owner, Sunette Ansara took it over, saying "I will revert [sic] no later than the 8th of May". May 2020 came and went. Emailed reminders from me on 05 May 2020 14:18, 18 June 2020 20:21, Mon 03/08/2020 11:22 and Thu 06/08/2020 08:55 were read but did not have the courtesy of any reply.

Do not trust "Legal Sense" with your money! If our experience is typical, they will let you down.

Overheard Near the Checkout

"Hello, can you help? I'm looking for a particular chutney: I think the brand is, uh, Mrs Bells..."
"Balls!"