Apples, Pears and Caviar

Imagine my surprise at receiving an email from one of Franschhoek's small local publications about their planned summer season relaunch, in which a direct price comparison was made to ad prices in The Month. I don't mind the mention but no call in advance of the mail and factual errors don't sit comfortably with me.

So to clear the air...

The Month offers the lowest rates compared to the local publication alluded to - whether calculated as a total cost or ito cents per copy.
The Month offers ad sizes as follows: Full page, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, 1/12, 1/16, 1/32 and has in fact run an ad of 3/16 and other irregular sizes too - as requested by its clients. We only do full colour ads as our readers don't expect anything less.
The Month presently distributes (on average) 6250 copies to the village and surrounds and at festivals and the new The Month Franschhoek-Paarl Advertiser will distribute a further 6000 copies to Franschhoek and Paarl as a pull-out in The Month. Useful numbers, loose inserts and limited editorial is included in the Advertiser. The relative costs are explained below.

At present The Month charges ads at the rates listed at www.themonth.co.za/advertising with a distribution of 12 000 copies to carefully chosen destinations in the Franschhoek and Cape Town regions. To directly compare the price of an ad in The Month to that in a 'competing' local publication without comparing the distribution or the number of copies distributed is questionable as is the suggestion that local businesses only need to advertise locally.

The Month distributes 6250 copies locally, not 5380 as indicated and using this figure, The Month's per copy price is almost identical to that indicated by the 'competing' local publication (the point above re distribution and copies distributed not withstanding). The new A3 pull-out Franschhoek-Paarl Advertiser will be launched in October and will feature useful numbers, a small amount of editorial and ads in sizes limited to 1/32, 1/16, 1/8 and 1/4 of a page. Prices start at R141.00 ex VAT.

The Month has proved to be a quality read that appeals to a discerning audience. It's apples and pears as far as it and any other publication is concerned.

Pairfect

Chris Hoffmann is at Topsi & Co, now called Cafe des Arts. Read all about him and his move (back) to Franschhoek in the September edition.

Topsi is still there, though not in the kitchen, and her collection of recipe books are now on display in the foyer/coffee bar, where they make an excellent side order to a cup of Origin coffee.

The Month interviews Michael Dakets

The Month chatted to 27-year-old Michael. Convicted for murder, his transformed life and writing now reveal a chapter at odds with his past. Or should that be a past at odds with his future... Read about him in the September edition of The Month.

Jessica, where are you?
It's Saturday afternoon
You're not at home.
I keep on calling but no one answers.
It breaks my heart not being
Able to talk to you. Who can I tell?
Who shall I ask?
Is there any help for me?
Jessica where are you?
I miss you. Please answer the phone.
If I could come I would,
But I can't
Jazz, please answer
I'm calling

Michael Dakets; From Fifteen Men, compiled by Margie Orford

Not Too Far From Here September: Arniston

Spent a lovely weekend in Arniston, where the almost dodgy weather and the great sea view conspired to relax all but the two-year-old. Featured in the September edition: Waenhuiskrans, Kassiesbaai, Agulhas, Elim and lunch at the Black Oystercatcher winery.

Franschhoek SPCA Art Auction

The Franschhoek SPCA Art Auction features a number of unique commissioned pieces created using wine barrel ends and available exclusively through the Franschhoek SPCA's online auction site. It's worth a visit - here.

Lights, Camera, Action!

Franschhoek owes its existence to a “diverse group of courageous individuals who, in extraordinary circumstances, left their pasts behind with the promise of a second chance at life and created a society far from their homes, friends and families.” It sounds almost like the basis of a good movie plot – and rather amazingly it is. In fact the preceding quote is paraphrased from the press release that sets the scene for the soon-to-be-hit BBC One series currently being filmed in the Franschhoek valley, called Outcasts.

Big names on set include Eric Mabius (Daniel Meade of Ugly Betty), Liam Cunningham (Clash of the Titans), Hermione Norris (Spooks), Daniel Mays (Ashes to Ashes), Amy Manson (Desperate Romantics) and Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Gallactica). Filmed on location in the valley, the series plays out on the planet Carpathia, in the town of Forthaven, which offers the displaced inhabitants of Earth a chance at redemption and all the inevitable human pitfalls of love, greed, lust, loss and longing. That same press release reads: “As they continue to work and live together they come to realise this is no ordinary [place].”

Ben Stephenson, of the BBC says: “Outcasts is a richly intelligent, character led drama full of big ideas about what it is to be human told through thrilling and surprising stories… with compelling characters and it is hugely exciting that this amazing cast is going to bring it to life.” It’s no wonder then that they’ve chosen the inspiring Franschhoek valley as their home-from-home. “The Franschhoek mountains offer us the epic locations that we wouldn’t find anywhere else,” says the Pearl Valley-based producer Radford Neville, who has the likes of Married, Single, Other and Wuthering Heights under his belt. Other notable names include directors Bharat Nalluri (Tsunami, Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars) and Omar Madha (Spooks, Law & Order, Burn Up), Executive Producers Matthew Read (for the BBC) and Jane Featherstone, Simon Crawford Collins, Faith Penhale and Ben Richards of Kudos, the company that has produced a number of award-winning series such as Spooks, Hustle, Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes.

The valley has accommodated the big names associated with the Outcasts production with little hype or fanfare. The well-known personalities, such as Mabius and Norris, have enjoyed the cosmopolitan nature of Franschhoek, which has allowed them to integrate themselves into the local community despite their fame. Like Forthaven, Franschhoek is no ordinary place and can truly claim to be the place to live, work and play from the famous to the outcasts.

What Antjie Missed

Dear Brett,

I thought the Literary Festival was great. There was such a wide variety of topics and presentations, and a real buzz at and after each.

The one sadness for me was an outburst from the floor that expressed disgust at the speakers of the seminar, whites in general, and dismissed Franschhoek as full of rich people who are doing nothing. The anguish of the speaker was real and understood.

But she was looking far too narrowly at what is going on, and missed the widespread actions of countless ‘little efforts’ which are probably our major hope.

Franco is seen by many outside the town as the best effort they know to coordinate attempts to meet needs within the disadvantaged groups of our valley. There are dozens of other efforts going on in the town that seek no publicity and just get on with the job. Of course we have solved all the problems yet. There are too many. But we are working at it, and we are making a difference.

We are not alone in doing this; it is true all over the nation. Everywhere one goes, if one looks at the grassroots and not at the top, there are amazing things going on, and communities are changing.

It seems a peculiar blindness that fails to recognise the reality that most living things grow from the bottom up, and not from the top down.

We should look again and feel encouraged.

Helen Mekie