Fidler in the Hood: St Mike’s own ‘Bridge of Sighs’
Local businessman Louis Boshoff and DA councillor Paul Brauteseth became concerned with the state of the bridge and jointly agreed to do something about it.
Greetings one and all. Once more unto the breach, friends. And what a breach – the broken bridge at St Mike’s. Besides the eyesore, the bridge has gained a notoriety all of its own. In June 2016, the Uvongo news was about the-then dangerous state of the bridge, with several metres of railing missing. It took six months before the bridge was repaired. At that time, the issue was a matter of life and death, but sadly the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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Troubled bridge over water
Recently two more vehicles have crashed through the railings, with resultant fatalities and last week, another motorist had a suspected fatal heart attack at the same point on the bridge, suggesting there is something wrong with the poor condition and deteriorating surface of the bridge itself.
However, the national pastime of passing the buck and the blame game are par for the course on the Hibiscus Coast. As the bridge is on national road territory, maintenance and repair is the provincial government’s responsibility.
The stock answer seems to be that there is no money for the upkeep of roads, only for wages and salaries. The mind boggles: if they have money only for wages and salaries, what on earth are workers being paid for? If no maintenance and repair work is being carried out, why are they being paid at all? What happened to ‘no work, no pay?’
Louis and Paul lend a hand
Fortunately there are still people who passionately care about the area and environs. Local businessman Louis Boshoff and DA councillor Paul Brauteseth became concerned with the wanton neglect by the road department and local authorities and they jointly agreed to do something about it.
A Port Shepstone shade cloth and netting manufacturer generously donated much-appreciated materials. Louis and Paul then personally repaired and covered the missing railings section of the bridge. Hopefully, this will help avoid further accidents when crossing the bridge.
Many thanks Louis and Paul – another example of the wonderful public and community spirit that cares for the severely challenged Hibiscus Coast.
When Louis is not patching up St Mike’s bridge, he gets his kicks as an off-road motorbike rider. Riding roughshod along country back roads on his Yamaha 250 together with some 40 other ‘easy riders’, they generally end up at their favourite watering hole overlooking the sand and sea.
Hunters’ Moon
The monthly Moondeckers get-together was held last Sunday evening. It was touch and go as it had been overcast most of the day. This month’s moon was aptly titled a ‘Hunters’ Moon’, meaning a ‘biggie’. The moon finally appeared in all its magnificence, shining over a glistening sea.
A lovely way to spend a couple of hours, even without the CO who is in Dublin advising Boris Johnson and the Irish prime minister to cut a Brexit deal. See you, Rob.
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