One news story that particularly horrified me in recent weeks was the shooting of an eThekwini employee who tried to repair a water reservoir in Umlazi.

The obvious suspects, according to those who know everything on X, are the water tanker operators who want the system to stay broken.

We are very fortunate to have privatised water supply for the Dolphin Coast. Areas under the iLembe district municipality have a torrid time.

Around Melville, residents have been without water since September 2023. Water tankers come weekly, or less frequently. All the more reason to fight tooth and nail when Siza Water’s contract comes up for renewal in 2029. We do want our water supply to be in competent hands.

Electricity is dreadful. Used to be worse, improved for a while, and now is bad again. Is it all the development with techies unable to keep up?

Our roads are generally okay. Sewer works. Not too much to complain about, unlike Jo’burg or many other towns.

Social media shows Jo’burgers are in full flight from their city into the platteland. There are endless questions from people planning semigration to small towns. And they are doing it in the manner of pin the tail on the donkey. (You have to be really old to know that party game, but then a lot of the fed up folk are older).

Some admit to having bought houses in Blikkiesdorp off the web unseen. Only then find out about the scorching summers, freezing winters, dust, weekend drunkenness etc. It is not a good idea to hide out in some remote place then discover the nearest doctor is 100km away!

Sound advice given by those who have stubbed their toes before, is to spend some time in the little dorp of your choice before committing.

Rent a house and see for yourself what happens in the place on payday, for instance. Weekend parties, public drunkenness. Is the municipality any good? Is there a doctor/clinic/hospital? Do you have to travel to the next town for groceries?

The Western Cape seems to be the destination of choice. If the trend builds, the country is going to tilt to the south from the weight.

We moved to the coast from Jozi nearly 40 years ago when Ballito was just a big village. We had to work our butts off to make a living. Monthly grocery shopping trips to the Hyper in Durban North, two (very good) doctors, one (not very good) dentist. The power went off whenever the wind blew. Which was often. But it was still one of the best things we ever did.

The upside was that we knew everybody. My wife says that made shopping very slow and more of a social jol. You had to stop and talk all the way through the village. No complaints there.

It is quite irritating when Jo’burgers arrive and complain that we have “Natal Fever” because we’re a little slow. That’s the whole point of being here! Duh!

There’s a sign in Ballito library made many years ago by then-librarian Bryony Sykes. It reads: “We’re locals. The hurrieder we go, the behinder we get.”

In a small town you have to make your own entertainment. The amateur dramatic society put on a couple of plays and a hilarious and outrageous melodrama every year. Ballroom dancing lessons where enthusiasm far exceeded skill. What fun it was!

The service clubs such as Round Table, Lions and Rotary were all very active – and occasionally scandalous.

Yes, the City of Gold no longer glistens. There is life in the rest of the country. But look before you leap!

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If you want the rainbow, you’ve got to put up with the rain.

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