The end of an era

After being tightly woven into the Umhlali village fabric for the past 30 years, Leanna Da Silva is packing up shop and moving on to new adventures.

Originally a teacher from New Zealand, Da Silva worked in London for two years before going on a crossing through Africa, which brought her to Umhlali in 1987.

“I slept on a little rubber mat for seven months as we travelled through Africa. I was the camp cook. I even managed a self saucing chocolate pudding on the fire,” said Da Silva, who lives in Salt Rock with her husband, Verdi and two little dogs – Tiki and Lulu.

“Once at the South African border, I hitch hiked to Johannesburg, took a bus to Durban and came to visit a friend who worked at the Umhlali Hotel.

“I planned on visiting for the weekend, but it turned into a much longer stay.”

She instantly felt connected to Umhlali’s community and ended up managing the hotel, which had all of one star and a legendary long bar.

“It was a nightmare trying to keep that one star! Still, I loved it. Back then, the hotel was on the main road travelling to Durban, so the holidaymakers would come visit, while the long bar was the watering hole for the local farmers. I always said, if I don’t know you, you don’t drink.”

Leanna later went to work in the bottle store next door owned by Verdi Da Silva, whom she then married.

Twenty years ago, the two of them decided to open a framing and art shop – Leanna’s Fine Art for All.

The framing business took off and moved far beyond framing just paintings.

“We have framed it all, from Kingsley Holgate’s dirty Captain Morgan cap that he wore while travelling around the equator to one of Mohammed Ali’s boxing gloves.”

Still, after 30 years in Umhlali, Leanna said she is ready to close this chapter with the recent sale of the Umhlali Hotel and the closing of her shop.

“I miss Umhlali’s busy days, when I knew everyone and could wave them down in the road and have a chat. I used to feel like it was my village and I loved it dearly.

“Now, it is time to move on, play more golf, spend time with the family and enjoy not working over weekends.I might try some painting too, probably of trees.

“Like the former Umhlali Hotel owner John Akester always said, Nothing is difficult – you just take the mystery out of it.”

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