Hi Nicky,

You have been hard at work again – picked up your latest parcel on Monday and this by pure luck.  For some reason the PO delivery note had slipped out of the letter box and firstly the snails had a great time eating the paper and then the rain came.  I just happened to pick up what looked like a dirty piece of paper only to discover that the slip had been sent on 6^th October.  I am still holding onto some of the clothing for our “Opening Party” of Makukhanye but I think that it is going to take too long so will probably get out to Browns Farm next week and start handing the clothing out to the children.  Rotary have given us a R40,000 grant to upgrade Makukhanye and about 6 Rotarians are going to do the heavy labour, saving money, and John will oversee the whole improvement.  However, R40,000 doesn’t go very far as so much needs to be done.  The wiring all needs to be redone as they have taped electrical wires together with bits of cellotape and the wires hang all over the place.  Electricity has to be taken to the new “structure” and the corrugated home build class room has no electricity either.  We also have to install a couple of toilets and a hand basin which will go into the recycled Wendy House donated by my son in law.  They have no fridge or storage cupboard and the gas hob needs to be replaced in the new kitchen but I got a donation from the Rotaractors of Wynberg, Claremont and Stellenbosch of R6200 from a fund raiser they did earlier this year by standing on street corners with placards saying “We have a house – other do not”.  We have food – others do not”  I stood with a few of them in Rondebosch on the Saturday, and it was funny to watch how people look the other way when they see “beggars” even though most of them were white.  I think they did brilliantly well and I will use the money for a fridge, gas hob and storage cabinet – if the R6200 covers all the items otherwise I will use part of the funding which Rotary gave me and the rest will go towards the improvements.  I doubt that much will be achieved before the end of the year.

Am presently working on another fund raiser at the Irma Stern Museum using the talents of our flower club members – only the top arrangers will take part – and the theme will be Christmas with a Difference and have roped in Sue Wolf who makes beautiful jewellery, Adonis Musati refugees who are making lovely flower bags and then using my Bling balls and Christmas T-lites.  All will be incorporated into the actual arrangements which we will hopefully sell at the end of the show.  This is a biggie and requires a huge amount of work from all the ladies.  We will serve wine and snacks and charge an entrance of R50 and all funds raised will go to a project initiated by The Bookery and the Cape Times and called “A Library in every School”.  Most township schools have no libraries, or if they have a library they have no books.  So I think this is a worthwhile cause.

I am having to beg for free wine and snacks else I will have to dig into my Red Hat Funds and find cheap but decent wine – none of that boxed stuff.  I think P & P will give me a gift voucher to spend on snacks as I have been charming the Western Province ’s marketing manager for ages.  Will have to do a huge amount of advertising to get hundreds of people to the show but luckily with the Cape Times as a sponsor they will give us some coverage.

I have managed to get a table at the Rondebosch Craft market to hopefully sell the hundreds of Christmas decorations and Bling T-lites the unemployed have made for me.  November and December will see me sitting at the market each Saturday trying to sell.  Luckily there is no one else selling these sort of hand made decorations although they will cost more than the Christmas balls imported from China .  Just hope people will realise how much work goes into making these decorations and I spend hours trimming and finishing them off.  They are really beautiful and in the sunlight, sparkle like diamonds.

Okay that is enough of me – please say thank you again to all your wonderful clients who continue to drop off their children’s beautiful clothing.  When I look at some of the cute stuff I wish I was 6 again.

Warmest regards

Jo

Jo Maxwell

5 Pillans Court

Pillans Road

Rosebank

7700

Tel: 021 685-4517