DEAR Editor,-
Being confined to an isolation ward at the Hibiscus Private Hospital, I am in the unenviable position of being alone most of my long 24-hour day. However, being a longer-than-average-term patient, I do have the advantage of having a view over the Oribi Shopping Centre and the adjacent school’s sports field, not to mention having quite a nice view of the Indian Ocean.
It was with great interest that early last Sunday morning I noted a hive of activity on the adjacent school sports ground. A small tent was being erected immediately next to the hospital road fence and I was somewhat perturbed to note a large stack of loudspeakers being erected and smaller ones tied to the fence. Nevertheless, it seemed there was going to be some entertainment for the broader Port Shepstone community, to which I had inadvertently gained free access.
At about 10am, with an empty sports field, the huge speakers roared into life attacking everyone with deafening boom-boom, ching-a-ling music that shook the windows and damaged the eardrums of all poor patients exposed to the northern and eastern sides of the hospital.
Appeals to hospital management were ineffective, not because of uncaring attitudes, but because the function was on private property and had apparently been sponsored by ‘persons unknown’. Closing curtains and windows was ineffective.
The first question is how a caring council can issue a permit for such a function immediately adjacent to any hospital, private or otherwise. A place where some patients are seriously ill and in some cases, terminal? Especially adjoining St Martin de Porres School with mentally and physically disadvantaged children in the hostel. These poor youngsters must have been frightened out of their minds by this.
If no such permit was issued, then where were the local police or Protection Services? Having sat for a couple of hours with earphones plugged into the TV in an effort to dampen the noise, a DJ suddenly appeared to add to the cacophony.
Being of a charitable nature, I was prepared to be partially compensated with entertainment, and sacrifice my sanity for the greater good of the community to enjoy local entertainment like tribal dancing, drum majorettes, choral groups, community singing, etc. But no, there was nothing but the same monotonous noise.
The attendance of half a dozen or so car guards cum traffic wardens in bright fluorescent yellow jackets raised hopes, but they were soon able to relax because they each had one car to guard in the centre of the sports field.
No excited, cheering crowds arrived, just a smattering of children and youths between 10 and 15 years old with a few twenty-somethings entering through a hole in the fence, gyrating a while before disappearing. At its peak, a maximum of 50 to 100 bodies attended the function and had dispersed by around 5pm. Even the tent was dismantled and driven away and only the sound system remained, presumably because they were under contract to continue their torturous ways until 6pm.
Being in isolation in hospital makes it difficult to establish who authorised this attack on humanity, but thankfully it was obviously a complete PR failure and inevitably a huge financial loss.
If either local council was involved, shame on you for even issuing a licence without reason or forethought to the surrounding local community. Whilst I appreciate that there may be a shortage of suitable venues for any musical extravaganza, it is both inappropriate and undoubtedly damaging to hold such an event in such close proximity to such fragile and essential institutions.
Suddenly we begin to appreciate the trauma that residents of St Michael’s suffer during public holidays, as well as those near the Ugu Sports and Leisure Centre during the numerous, noisy council sponsored events.
Council, in all its forms, must learn to consider all members of the community instead of apparently ignoring the discomfort of the community whilst chasing a quick buck. Hopefully no ratepayers’ money was invested in this latest fiasco.
MAD MIKE
Southport
