http://scenicsouth.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/U3A-False-Bay-Course-List-June-2013.pdf

and for the latest U3A False Bay newsletter see

http://scenicsouth.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/U3A-June-2013-Newsletter.pdf

http://scenicsouth.co.za/event/duncan-brown-talks-to-tim-butcher-about-his-new-book-at-kalk-bay-books/

Most importantly, during the winter season, these lines also make it easier for communities to contact the City to report faults.

The City has installed 67 FreeCall lines in outlying areas and disadvantaged communities and a further 20 lines are set to be connected by the end of July 2013. Many informal settlements, including some where there is no Telkom infrastructure, will benefit from these new lines.

“We are extending the network of FreeCall telephones to areas where low volumes of service complaints and requests are currently being registered – usually because of a lack of landlines or cellphone airtime on the part of residents,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Demetri Qually.

The FreeCall lines can be used to contact the City for various enquiries and service requests such as illegal dumping, water leaks, sewer blockages, refuse collection, street lights that are out, pot holes, damaged roads and account enquiries.

“The lines connect directly with the City’s Call Centre number and cost the caller nothing,” said Alderman Qually.

Residents who make use of normal landlines or cellphones, should contact the City to report:

• Flooding, blocked drains and service disruptions to the Call Centre on 0860 103 089;
• All life- and property-threatening emergency situations: please call 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a mobile phone. You will then be transferred to the nearest relevant emergency service provider;
• For all public transport-related matters, the City’s Transport Information Centre can be contacted on 0800 65 64 63.
• Residents are also encouraged to use the SMS numbers for water- and electricity-related faults – especially during times when the Call Centre is experiencing high volumes of calls. The reports sent via SMS are channelled directly to the respective technical operations centres for attention:
• Water-related faults can be reported via SMS (max. 160 characters) to 31373.
• Electricity-related faults can be reported via SMS (max. 160 characters) to 31220.

END

ISSUED BY:
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AND BRANDING DEPARTMENT, CITY OF CAPE TOWN

See also http://scenicsouth.co.za/civic-index/municipal-services/

http://scenicsouth.co.za/civic-index/emergency-services/

Pioneering study in South Africa shows population at Gansbaai could be 50% lower than previously thought.

Gansbaai, Western Cape, South Africa - The global population of great white sharks  – generally estimated at 3000-5000 – may have been significantly overestimated.  As a result the great white shark – already listed as a species “vulnerable to extinction in the wild” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – may be in greater danger than has been previously recognised.

This is the implication of a pioneering study conducted by marine biologists from the Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) working with the shark cage diving company Marine Dynamics shark tours, in the world’s densest population of great white sharks at Gansbaai, near the southern tip of Africa.  The study is published in PLOS ONE today.

The Trust’s marine biologists conducted a non-invasive study by collecting more than 20,000 photographs of great white shark dorsal fins between 2007-2012 from Marine Dynamics shark tours vessel, Slashfin.  As each dorsal fin is unique to each shark, the researchers adapted a computerised fin recognition programme previously used on dolphins to accurately identify individual sharks.  This analysis took more than three years to complete.

Only 532 individual sharks were identified over the five year collection period.  As individual great white sharks are not resident in Gansbaai, DICT marine biologists used open population statistics to extrapolate their findings to estimate the number of great white sharks in this densely populated area is most likely less than 1000 individuals.

“These results came as a surprise to everyone as previously unpublished but widely accepted estimates based on non-computerised photographic studies predicted the population was twice this number,” a member of the team, Alison Towner, commented.

As global population estimates of the great white shark have been calculated without accurate data provided by such a dorsal fin recognition programme, the DICT’s results are very worrying as they suggest that current estimates of great white sharks numbers may be significantly exaggerated.

Implications for conservation and protection of Great White shark

The species is already classified as “vulnerable” in the Red List issued by the IUCN, but now the Trust believes that South Africa could – and should – take the lead in urgent, scientific re-evaluation of the threat to the great white shark.

The founder and chair of the Trustees of the DICT, Wilfred Chivell said:  “Since 1991 when South Africa became the first country to protect Great White sharks, South Africa has been at the forefront of the study and conservation of the species.  Now, for the first time, we have scientific evidence that the threat is greater than was previously perceived.   At the Trust, we are

contributing to the research urgently needed to allow effective, evidence-based conservation policies and interventions.  This requires the active support of government at home – who are mandated to protect this species – and form them to urgently develop their leadership in international conservation forums.  It is time for South Africa to take the initiative, because time is clearly not on the side of the great white shark.”

The Trust is continuing to collect data which is being contributed to the national white shark dorsal fin database being analyzed by NMMU Ph.D. student, Rabi’a Ryklief.  This project will be the first national estimate of white sharks based on dorsal fin identification.  Additionally, the Trust is sending their results to international conservation organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund through WWF SA and the IUCN and CITES in order to inform their efforts to protect white sharks globally.

Visit http://www.sharkwatchsa.com/projects/great-white-shark-population/

About the Dyer Island Conservation Trust: www.dict.org.za

The Dyer Island Conservation Trust (DICT) was founded in 2006 by Wilfred Chivell. The Trust delivers unique conservation and research programmes in the fragile and critically important marine eco-system at the southern-most tip of Africa. It strives to protect the largest surviving colonies of the endangered African Penguin whose numbers are at an all-time low; the globally important breeding and calving grounds of the Southern Right Whale; and, the world’s densest populations of the vulnerable Great White Shark.
About Marine Dynamics shark tours: www.sharkwatchsa.com
Marine Dynamics shark tours is a Fair Trade accredited conservation orientated 5-star shark cage diving experience based in Gansbaai, South Africa.  Every client that joins Marine Dynamics for a dive directly contributed to the Great White shark research programme of the Dyer Island Conservation Trust.  Marine Dynamics guarantees an accredited marine biologist guide on every trip.

Research Conducted by Marine Dynamics a Shark Cage Diving Operator in Gansbaai South Africa

Belinda Bauer         Rubbernecker

Patrick has been on the outside all his life. Thoughtful, but different, infuriating even to his own mother, his life changes when he follows an obsession with death to study anatomy at university. When he uncovers a crime that everybody else was too close to see, he proves finally that he has been right all along: nothing is exactly as it seems. Belinda Bauer grew up in England and South Africa. She has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. 

Ward Wilson            Five myths about nuclear weapons

Nuclear weapons have always been a serious but seemingly insoluble problem: while they’re obviously dangerous, they are also, apparently, necessary. This groundbreaking study shows why five central arguments promoting nuclear weapons are, in essence, myths.

Khaled Hosseini                 And the mountains echoed

In this tale Hosseini explores the many ways in which families nurture, wound, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another; and how often we are surprised by the actions of those closest to us, at the times that matter most.

Peter Carey                          Chemistry of tears

An automaton, a secret love story, a man and a woman who can never meet, and the fate of the warming world are all brought to incandescent life in this haunting new novel from one of the most admired writers of our time.

Ann Hood                             Obituary writer

Part literary mystery and part love story, The Obituary Writer examines expectations of marriage and love, the roles of wives and mothers, and the emotions of grief, regret, and hope.

Keigo Higashino                Salvation of a saint

Higashino is regarded as the Japanese Stieg Larsson, chiefly known for his mystery novels. In this one, Detective Galileo—returns in a new case of impossible murder, where instincts clash with facts and theory with reality.

Peter May                             The Lewis trilogy

A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith. A murder. Detective Inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past. A secret. Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister.

Martinique Stilwell              Thinking up a hurricane

In the spring of 1977 Frank Stilwell launched Vingila in Durban harbour.  Never one to be daunted by a challenge or to be resisted in any way, he took his nine year old twins, Robert and Nicky, out of school, persuaded his wife Maureen that they would all learn how to sail and cope with life on the open seas as they went, and prepared to follow his dream of circumnavigating the world.

Tarquin Hall                         To the elephant graveyard

To the Elephant Graveyard is the compelling account of the search for a killer elephant in the northeast corner of India, and a vivid portrait of the Khasi tribe, who live intimately with the elephants.

Joyce Carol Oates             The accursed

Caroline Myss                     Archetypes: who are you?

Josephine Cox                   The broken man

Zapiro                                    But will it stand up in court?

Peter Lovesy                       Cop to corpse

Karen Rose                          Did you miss me?

Andrew John Philip           Ebony waltz

John Green                          Fault in our stars

Jo-Ann Mapson                  Finding Casey

Denise Mina                         Gods and beasts

Jonathan Kellerman          Guilt

Lawrence Block                 Hit me

Toni Morrison                     Home

Ida Hattemer-Higgins        History of history

John Sandford                    Mad river

Sally Gardner                      Maggot moon

Rose Tremain                     Merivel : a man of his time

Colleen McCullough          Prodigal son

Andy McNab                        Red notice

Tom Clancy                         Threat vector

Helen Robinson                 Trovato link

Ben Elton                             Two brothers

Asa Larsson                        Until the wrath be past

Local business owner Francois Roux was crowned Best Speaker in the Area (Southern Suburbs) in April and went on to take third place at the Division Contest (Western Cape) in May. Fellow member and wild life photographer, Lorne Sulcas, not only took the honours as the Best Evaluator in the Area, he then went on to be placed First in the Western Cape and after that third place in Southern Africa.

Francois wowed the club with his moving speech ‘Joe The Obstacle Jumper,’ about his grandfather persevering against all odds. His speech on facing life’s obstacles and then ‘jumping’ them, saw him hurdle through the Area Contest in late April and land on the Western Cape Division Contest stage in May. There, he battled it out against the best of the best in the province and was thrilled to be placed in the top three speakers of 2013. This is the second year in a row that a Two Oceans member made it this far in the International Speech Contest. Last year Kay Price-Lindsay went on to represent Southern Africa in the semi-finals in Orlando, where she was placed joint 10^th in the world.

Lorne Sulcas, a Clovelly resident and long time toastmaster, proved what it means to be a competent communicator, with a string of eloquent and outstanding evaluations of demo speeches. The evaluations part of Toastmasters is for members to learn how to give constructive and honest feedback. It is a huge part of the leadership skills that members work on to help grow their people and management skills. Lorne is one of the club’s best evaluators and this year made history by being the first member to ever be crowned the Best Evaluator in the Western Cape. He then took to the national stage in late May in Johannesburg and was placed third in Southern Africa – no small feat!

Two Oceans Toastmasters is open to guests should they wish to find out more about what Toastmasters can offer them. It is free to visit the club and meetings are held on the first Wednesday of every month at the Fish Hoek Civic Center at 7pm. Toastmasters is designed to support you 100% through your process of growing and learning to be the best communicator & leader you can be. There is no pressure at Two Oceans put on members to participate until they are ready to. Sometimes just watching is enough to start overcoming any fears you may have. www.twooceanstoastmasters.co.za

Photographs courtesy of Francois Roussouw

Verity Price

Two Oceans Toastmasters

Cape Town, June 2013

Thursday 20 June, 6.00 for 6.30pm until 8.30pm [the movie is 120 minutes]
WESSA Barn: 31 The Sanctuary, Kirstenhof, Cape Town
“Home” was shot in 54 countries and 120 locations over 217 days, and presents the many wonders and diversity of life on planet Earth from an entirely aerial perspective. As such, we are afforded the unique opportunity to witness our changing environment from an entirely new vantage point. In our 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has hopelessly upset Mother Nature’s delicate balance. Some experts claim that we have less than ten years to change our patterns of consumption and reverse the trend before the damage is irreversible. Produced to inspire action and encourage thoughtful debate, “Home” poses the prospect that unless we act quickly, we risk losing the only home we may ever have. This 2009 film was directed by internationally renowned photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand and narrated by Glenn Close.

We will be serving hot soup, rolls and popcorn (!) with a cash bar available for wine, including WESSA’s Cura 2010 Shiraz. Please remember we have introduced a small charge for all attendees towards covering costs: R25 members (including Friends Groups); R50 non members; R35 students (with valid student ID), children and pensioners.

RSVP by Wednesday 19 June to secure your seat. Email Sandy on admin@wessa.co.za or call 021 701 1397.

We hope to see you there!

WESSA Western Cape

Tel 021 701 1397
http://www.wessa.org.za/