‘IT was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’
Charles Dickens might well have been writing about our own coastal hamlets, Margate and St Mike’s, when he penned his classic, Tale of Two Cities.
There we were, a small, but enthusiastic army mopping Margate beachfront on Friday, not to show anyone up, but to set an example for others to follow.
Young up-and-coming businessman Stephen Herbst championed the cause and rallied the troops.
Uvongo beach is now the ‘target’ this coming weekend and there is little doubt that ‘Steve’s Army’ will attract even more recruits as there will be no conflict with ‘Black Friday’ this time.
Everyone there on Friday patted each other on the back for a job well done, ‘likes’ went crazy on Facebook posts and the Margate business community must have felt more upbeat about their beleaguered town.
Alas, hopes were dashed and all the selfless hard work was for naught.
Month-end pay packets were obviously squandered on copious amounts of booze and mobs converged on Margate beachfront once again that very same night.
The next day, Margate was back to normal: A slum. Ditto St Mike’s.
How apt are the opening words of the Dickens novel: “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredibility, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring (summer) of hope, it was the winter (summer) of despair…”
Hopefully, ‘wisdom’ prevails and a lasting solution is found to counter this ‘foolishness’.
Nobody wants to bar anyone from having fun at the beach. After all, that is what it’s all about.
However, it is in everyone’s best interests if the ‘fun’ is kept to a dull roar, especially late at night.
Uncontrolled drinking and debauchery, with broken bottles and used condoms left behind as evidence, just cannot be tolerated in any civilised society.
Perhaps the ‘Concerned Citizens Group’ that went to the Public Protector to stop nude bathing at Mpenjati should now change their focus.
On second thoughts, we should rather put all our eggs in one basket.
A mishmash of ‘concerned citizens’ groups isn’t going to be effective.
Rather, let’s get behind the Margate Business Association, ward councillor Dave Watson, municipal manager Max Mbili, his heads of departments, the SAPS and work together to ‘take back our coast’, to quote our young gung-ho champion, Stephen.
It’s not too late. We just need a working plan.
