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Knysna Dwarf Chameleons residing at Fairview Homestead, George.
This morning I found an envelope with 2 photo’s of the Knysna Dwarf Chameleon that were taken in our garden in 2004 by British guests – herpetologists Alan Francis and his wife Heather. I could not resist adding the recent photos of the bright green Chameleon that my son found on the same day as he spotted the tiny little frog hiding in a agapantha flower. Wikipedia has the following facts: The Knysna Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion damaranum) is a species of dwarf chameleon in the Bradypodion (“slow footed”) genus of...
read moreof Studebakers and old cars …
I love Vintage vehicles.As the proud owner of a 1958 Volkswagen and belonging to the local Old Car Club, I am forever encouraging guests to visit the local Railway Museum just up the road, where private vintage car owners can display/store their vehicles amongst the Railway exhibitions. I chanced upon the following passage in the delightful book by Victor Smith called ‘Open Cockpit over Africa’ in which he tells of his adventures flying more than 13 000 miles from George to London and back. Arriving back in George he was welcomed...
read moreOpen Garden on 3 November
Desmond has been working very hard to show his beautiful garden to the public – thank you to everyone who dropped by on Saturday 3 November. Date for next year 16 November 2013. Contact George...
read moreBaie dankie vir die gasvryheid. Sien weer!!!
I read in our guest book : ‘ Thank you for the hospitality. You’ll see us again!!!’ The biggest compliment a guest can pay any guest house is to return again. This morning I ran a marketing report and was surprised to see that 24% of my guests are marked as ‘returning’ guests. These frequent guests can provide valuable insights and of course often result in rewarding friendships. A few years ago I mentioned at the breakfast table that I wanted to have my Room 1 (also known as ‘The Yellow...
read moreB&B Pudding
That actually stands for Bread and Butter Pudding. This recipe is perfect for turning left-over croissants into a delicious dessert, but consider this: made in an individual ramekin and offered as a little breakfast starter – with plain yoghurt and a berry or prune compote? Why not? It has all the breakfast ingredients: eggs, croissants, fruit, orange juice, milk, butter… What about the chocolate I hear you ask? Well, when I walked the Camino through Spain in 2007 I stumbled on a Chocolate Museum in Astorga. They had a collection...
read moreWe’re African – why are we so adverse to bartering?
If there is one thing that gets me hot under the collar it is when a prospective guest wants to bargain me down. In the winter it actually costs me more to run my guest house – the rooms need heaters, electric blankets and the linen have to be tumble dried- so why should I lower my rates in the off-season? There are far over 150 accommodation establishments in George covering the full price range, is it even fair to lower my price and in that way take the business away from another establishment and forcing them to lower their rates...
read moreApple Crumble
Older residents of George still remember raids into the apple orchards at Fairview -when it was finally decided to develop the suburb of Bergsig there was much debate whether to call the suburb Appelboord or Bergsig! Wwe still have one apple tree left. By popular request: the easiest apple crumble recipe you will ever try. Foolproof , with such basic ingredients that you’ll be able to whip it up in a flash. Delicious served with custard, cream or ice cream. switch oven to 180°Celsius. Open two cans of tinned 410 g apple slices (or...
read moreBergsig, George
Bergsig developed out of the farm Niepothsdale – in 1894 the property was sold to Koos Stander, mayor of George from 1926 to 1932. In those days it was a big apple and cattle farm on the Eastern edge of George. The homestead was named Fairview and the house stayed in the Stander family from 1894 to 1974. By 1936 the farm still supported a substantial apple orchard, but was already surrounded by a number of subdivided smallholdings. When it was finally decided to develop the suburb of Bergsig there was much debate whether to call the...
read moreAn arsenal beneath the fourposter bed…
Guests I’ll always remember? Well, shortly after I opened doors I received a booking for three policeman to share the family room. Now that sounded a bit weird, but the agent confirmed: three gentlemen and they had to share a room and could I please confirm the private entrance and secure parking… It was just getting dusk when my front door bell rang and there were the three “policeman”: one smelling of beer but accompanied by two overly charming gentlemen. Dressed like gangsters, I thought, but charming gangsters....
read moreWhen Winnie and Robert came to stay…
Certainly one of the joys of running a guesthouse, is that you never know quite who will walk through the door… One of my favorite stories is of when I had Robert Redford and Winnie Mandela staying over – well, maybe not quite: I received a call from a gentleman in San Francisco with a voice a smooth as Robert Redford’s (I love Robert Redford…) He told me that he had just e-mailed me a request for accommodation, but that he was phoning to make sure that I would not have a problem with his partner being black....
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