A predator in the neighbourhood

Stellenbosch is well known for its gardens, as a town surrounded by natural beauty there is no shortage of inspiration when it comes to exploring nature.

Recently as I was chatting to Kobus outside my favourite breakfast venue, River Manor, a couple of pigeons came racing out of an old oak tree, they caught my eye because pigeons are not the most energetic birds and I thought it rather strange.

As they disappeared a large shadow passed and silently came to rest in a branch near to where I was standing. Focusing my eyes on the dark shape I realised I was looking at an aerial predator, a strange looking grey bird with a bright yellow face.

Having not had any coffee yet I was startled by the sheer size of this creature that had been terrorising the birds of my neighbourhood, how could a predator of this size go unnoticed and unchecked in the suburbs, were my dogs safe, my cat often climbs into trees, this creature seemed almost to be looking at me with a predatory stare, I stood my ground with it and then moved off.

In the safety of the gardens at River Manor, two cappuccinos and half an eggs Benedict under the hood, I Googled the creature, discovering it was in fact an awesome predator, a lethal killer, a vicious attacker, ... of small birds. It is a specialist hunter of young in the nest, my encounter had probably been after it had tried to steal the pigeon chicks, maybe I had even saved them from a certain fate.

But here's the really important bit, the presence of such a predator in an urban area is an important sign, it tells you the food chain is alive and well, the habitat is healthy and able to support a top end predator like a gymnogene, this is good for everybody.

Amazing what the streets can tell you if you look. I still try and keep my cat out of the trees

Have you met the people

I love visit River Manor, sit in the gardens and listen to the sounds of the town. This wonderful place is close enough to town to pick up interesting sounds, the big oaks, however protect it from the noises you don't want to hear.

My visit always begins with the voice of Kobus, the car guard from nearby.His greeting has become a part of my ritual visit to this leafy avenue in Stellenbosch.

A reformed gangster, Kobus has been living on the streets for

the last 13 years, since completing 10 years "inside" for being in with the wrong crowd and doing some bad things as he puts it. He would rather I didn't know what he did and when I look into his eyes I am sure I wouldn't.

Now he makes a living looking after peoples cars. His hand shake is crushing, his manners impeccable, a strong sense of right and wrong isdelicately balanced by anger over the hand life has dealt him and a resentment for never having fulfilled his potential.

Kobus has an experience of life I find enlightening, first hand knowledge of the darker side of our world that are ever present but little known. There is an air of uncertainty about him that I find engaging, a sense he has been places that the likes of you and I only see on crime DVD'sand read about in the newspaper, that no matter what he does he will always stay at the bottom of the bucket.

Every time I visit, we greet, occasionally we chat about the world, we compare our positions in life, then go our separate ways, he is always there, like a feature of the area.

Kobus is as much part of that leafy neighbourhood as the trees, birds and the side walks. Its as if this is his home, I suppose if you live on the streets it is, he makes constant conversation looking after stationary cars, buzzing around waving at people, calling out, wishing them a good day, checking how they are the only time he ever really stops is when the church bells chime!

Dale Carnigie would be proud

The wine lands of Stellenbosch are very different in many respects to the surrounding areas of Cape Town. We live in a cocoon of beauty and tranquility, vineyards all around, easy access to the mountains and a wonderful sense of community.

The one thing we do however, have in common with Cape Town and in fact other parts of South Africa is convenience of shopping at the traffic lights. Granted you can't quiet do your entire month end shop between red and green, you can certainly cross off a fair number of essential basics

What impresses me however, is not the the speed of this retail experience, but rather the skill and tenacity of the sales people, coupled with their enthusiasm for their products. I have done a little service training in my time so I know what it takes to motivate people, but these guys are amazing.

We all know their stuff is junk, but we buy, not because we hope that the quality might have improved, rather we are taken in by the enthusiasm and energy of these informal traders who have 3 minutes to make a sale, they combine all the text book qualities of a great sales man, and I ma sure none of them have ever read, "How to make friends and influence people"

Can you imagine the stress of having to sell under these conditions, you have to talk through a closed window, your customers is suspicious of you and your product, you have to keep on eye on the traffic around you so you don't get knocked over, and you have tops, 3 minutes to make the sale.

I want these guys in my business!

Looking at faces

They tell you a lot, faces, we tend not to look at them, we usually look away or down when walking past people.

Recently I have taken to looking at people when I walk around town, looking at their faces, trying to read the expressions on their faces, to see what these can tell me.

If you know what to look for you can tell a great deal about a town by looking at the faces of the towns folk.

My favourite place to do this is to walk down the avenues in Stellenbosch in the afternoons, because it is such a beautiful road loads of people choose this as their preferred route for exercise, walking their dog or an afternoon stroll. The other great advantage is that the avenue attracts people from all walks of life, different ages and social groups.

There are retired folk who just stroll, no pressure, they look relaxed and content, they even have time to greet you, the student lovers, who walk up and down with no real purpose, just want to be together, they seldom greet you because I don't think they see anybody else.

Then you get the exercisers, those who I envy, they just smile as they pass, then the school children bouncing balls, chasing each other for amusement, then the office types, on their way to or from work, hurried and on their phones.

A wide variety, all with one thing in common, they have chosen to walk down the avenue in Stellenbosch because it makes them feel good. I've looked at their faces, I've watched them they all look at the surroundings, they all stop to admire the beauty.

The streets will tell you

You can tell a lot about a town by the feel of their streets, big wide ones, small narrow alleys, dirty, clean, the personality of the streets tell you what you need know about a town.

I remember visiting a town in Europe a few years ago with very neat streets, very ordered and tidy. It struck me that there was something unusual about them, there was little colour and even less variety in any view of them. The towns folk were much the same, not uninteresting just ordinary, the food was very plain and the people offered little more than I could have read about in a book.

I always look at streets in a town, it tells me what I want to know. It was the streets of Stellenbosch that made me move here, I remember thinking the first time I visited how I wanted to live in a town where they take such good care of the streets, imagine what they do for the people.

Streets are representative of the type of town , leafy wide streets tell you the town is old and they have preserved their heritage, lots of open spaces tells you people like being outdoors, lots of open areas near the roadways for people to walk their dogs and play ball games is a sure sign people live in their communities, not only in their homes.

Candle lit tables on pavements, art on street corners and children cycling around tell you that this is a town that is alive and well lived in. It tells you you will meet people and share in the vibe of the town when you visit, it tells you, you will meet the locals and experience the culture of the town, and that's what you want, isn't it?

For more on the streets of Stellenbosch visit our gallery on facebook

Father & son

Its seldom you experience the pleasing synthesis of old and new, seldom they exist in a win win relationship. I was lucky to be invited for lunch at Dornier by a freind, an impressive wine estate in the Stellenbosch wine lands.

Punted as a country kitchen, the food was good, as was the wine and all the rest, but what really left a lasting impression was the way they had melted the aspirations of 2 generations into one very rewarding experience.

The cellar made me think of a James Bond movie, its bold clear lines makes a big impression, at first I wondered about its sensitivity to the surroundings, but as you step back and view it in relation to the mountains, the Koi pond and the plain trees that green it, I began to feel more at ease with this futuristic building watching me.

Lunch is served in an old building set 100 metres from the ober modern cellar, old thick walls and high ceilings and a wonderful feel of building from a time gone by. The food matches the general theme of synthesising the past with the

present, dishes for sophisticated pallets include foie gras and delicate fish cakes, whilst food for the people, farm food is there in the wonderful breads, cold meats, pork belly and my best, slow cooked lamb shank.

My lunch got better and better as I soaked in the wonderful, surrounding vineyards and amazing combination of a modern cellar built by the father of the present owner and the farm charm of the old shed converted into a tasting room and wine lands Bodega, built by his son, the present owner.

Interesting how older generation sought the modern effect, and younger the traditional

Sorry the wines..., they are also amazing, but that you will have to research them yourself when you visit.

Stellenbosch Homes

Buildings are important, not because they provide shelter, rather they create atmosphere, ever walked down a road and been impressed by the neighbourhood, but troubled that it doesn't settle you, this happens to me all the time.

I visit towns and look at houses, trying to understand how they fit in with the people and the general feel of the town. Often I cant match the two, beautiful houses, no soul, or awful houses but wonderful town with inspiring streets.

Graaff Reinet, one of my favourite South African towns, spectacular wide streets lined with thorn and olive trees, generally really ugly houses, designed really poorly, makes for unhappy people.

Stellenbosch, has beautiful streets with houses that match the setting, some are big and some are small, but it doesn't really matter, you see the house, garden and street as one, even the big 4x4 seems to fit. This makes for happy, healthy people.

The number of people walking in a neighbourhood tells you how healthy it is, where building and the environment don't match, you wont see people walking, they don't want to look at what they have done, they cant see it in their own home, but put them all together and its too much, they stay indoors at all cost.

Thoughtful buildings that celebrate all aspects of their purpose are what brings people out onto the streets. I always walk down the avenues in Stellenbosch on my way to River Manor for my morning coffee, why, because the buildings inspire me, they make me feel good. I don't like them all, but I appreciate their position, what they do and how they do it, for me its a win win.

It gives me hope that we can express our individuality in the homes we build, but one persons choices don't keep others off the streets as a result.

Whenever I have friends to stay in Stellenbosch I walk them through the town, I don't tell them why, we just walk and I can see its good for them, they always come back, not to see me but for the joy of looking at beautiful buildings in spectacular streets of Stellenbosch.