“WHOOPY! We’re all going to Margate,” the kids used to scream with excitement, when Pa announced the annual holiday plans to the family.
And soon everyone was crammed into the Chevrolet, singing along with Jeremy Taylor: “Ag pleez, Deddy, take us to the drive-in… popcorn, chewing gum, peanuts and bubblegum, ice cream, candy floss and Eskimo Pie. Ag daddy, how we miss (bleep) balls and licorice, Pepsi Cola, ginger beer and Canada Dry.”
(For the record, the politically correct name for a ‘bleep’ ball is now ‘gob-stopper’… and rightly so.)
If Pa mentions ‘Margate’ these days, many would now probably quote the final word of Jeremy’s song: “Voetsek!”
Sadly, Margate just ain’t what it used to be.
Tourism, Margate Business Association and events companies like Wozani Africa are still trying their best to keep the fun times rolling with Africa Bike Week, Mardi Gras, live entertainment, festivals, fairs etc., but a dark tide of smut seems to be creeping in.
As reported last week, certain parts of Margate seem to have more of a reputation for prostitutes and drugs. Local business people and residents are constantly complaining about it and their observations were easily confirmed by a Herald reporter after a few brief tours.
The puzzling thing is: Why are the municipality and the law enforcement agencies allowing this to happen?
A little further north, Port Shepstone (as reported this week) is destined for a total makeover, but that doesn’t mean we should totally neglect Margate, which has long been the ‘Suipkus’ holiday-place-of-choice since Pa fell out the Kombi.
It’s not too late, but it’s going to take a joint effort to get back on track. For starters, we need ‘Bobbies on the beat’ day and night. Target the drug dens, jail the pushers and throw away the key. Maybe the prostitutes – who seem to be their main victims – will then find other ‘pomping’ grounds.
The municipality needs to be stricter with property and business owners. Force them to spruce themselves up, demolish the derelict, abandoned houses, enforce the by-laws on signage, littering, vagrancy and being drunk and disorderly in public.
It’s not a race issue any more. Margate has become pretty mixed and holiday accommodation is open to all. But, now that beaches are no longer for ‘blankes alleenlik’ it’s not fair that we let them deteriorate to such an extent that they are not safe or attractive for all to enjoy.
It’s high time those okes with big ‘beer boeps’ competed with the ‘imkhaba wejiki’ of their Zulu compatriots on the stage at Margate’s famous ‘Little Hut’.
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