Aberdeen Rugby Club Triumph over Karoo Springbokke

Aberdeen Rugby Club is competing this year in the Wellman/Harmse League of the EPRU.
Last Saturday the teams scored well-deserved victories in all three games against the Karoo Springbokke.
First to play were the second teams, where Aberdeen came out winners with 20 points to the Springbokke’s ten.
In the game for the first reserves, Aberdeen again came out on top with a score of 22-12.
In the final game, the Springbokke were totally outclassed, and Aberdeen scored a resounding victory with 24 points, with the Springbokke failing to score.
What a wonderful start to the season Aberdeen have made! All three teams will be in action again in Somerset East on Monday August 9th against the Born Fighters teams.

Article By: Sue Shaw

Aberdeen Loses Prominent Businessman

Mr John Royden Clarke (42) passed away suddenly on the afternoon of 18 July. He had just completed a round of golf at the Graaff-Reinet Country Club. Mr Clarke’s death is thought to have been caused by a massive heart attack. Local dentist Dr Ryan Antunes administered CPR for about twenty minutes until the ambulance arrived, but unfortunately without success.
He is survived by his widow, Marian, son Jared (19) and daughter Jessica (15).
Mr Clarke was the Site Agent for Tor Construction, managing their R61 road contract based in Aberdeen. Educated at Grey High School, Port Elizabeth, he went on to the Eastern Cape Technical College where he gained his Diploma in Civil Engineering.
Management and staff of Tor wish to express their condolences to Mr Clarke’s family and their gratitude to Dr Antunes.
A Memorial Service for Mr Clarke was held on Saturday 24 July at the NGK Kerk, Alexandria.

Article By: Sue Shaw

Gala Matric Farewell

A glittering function was held last Friday at the Aberdeen Club to honour the 2010 matric students of Aberdeen Secondary School. This prestigious event was very capably organized by Janine Lewack, Marius Frazenburg and Nellie Green, all teachers at the school.

The girls sported a dazzling display of colourful dresses, made especially for them for the occasion. Not to be outdone, the young men were also very smartly dressed, with one having designed his own outfit. Twelve of the teachers were on hand to show their support for this dedicated group of learners, who are all determined to make Aberdeen proud with their results this year.

MC's Ms Helen Ngube and Mr Johannes Muller welcomed all the guests, especially the stars of the evening, the matrics. The proceedings opened with a prayer from Pastor Arend Kekana, the vice-chairman of the Governing Body. Mr Kerneels Kamfer, the Principal of the school, then gave a very encouraging talk on the importance of having a role model – the learners were interested to hear that Mr Kamfer’s own role model as a young man had been Muhammad Ali the boxer!

Alexandro Lett spoke on behalf of the learners, thanking the teachers for all their hard work. The formal part of the evening concluded with the guest speaker, Mr Desmond Coetzee of Camdeboo Primary. His theme, very appropriately, was based on a quote from Mr Nelson Mandela: “You are the master of your own destiny”. He urged the learners to persevere with their studies, to never give up, and to be proud to achieve not only for themselves and their school, but also for the town of Aberdeen. He reminded them that they are very fortunate to have a secondary school in Aberdeen, as for many years the children had to travel to Graaff-Reinet for schooling. Simone Marsh then thanked Mr Coetzee for his inspiring words, and promised that the learners would do their utmost to make their school and town proud of them.

Everyone could now relax and a delicious three-course meal was served. The four lucky grade ten students who had been chosen to wait at the tables performed impeccably, and impressed the catering staff with their enthusiasm and efficiency. There had been a few anxious moments for the chefs during the afternoon as the electricity had been off due to maintenance work in the town, but the very capable catering committee of the Club had everything under control! The school would like to thank Aberdeen Club for hosting the occasion, which was truly memorable for these special young people.

Article By: Sue Shaw

Hospitality Providers Get to Know Aberdeen

Aberdeen played host last week to five groups from Graaff-Reinet involved in the tourism industry. As part of an initiative to raise levels of awareness amongst hospitality providers, these groups came to Aberdeen to see for themselves what the town has to offer. Participants included guest house personnel, petrol pump attendants and waitresses, all of whom regularly come into contact with visitors to the Camdeboo.

Volunteers from Aberdeen Publicity and Tourism Office and staff of the Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau, were proud to introduce the visitors to the attractions of the town. The participants were treated to walking tours to admire the diverse architecture, a talk on the well-known Biblical panels in the NGK hall, and an informative drive through Thembalesizwe. To ward off the icy cold weather, a very welcome lunch of homemade soup was served each day.

Great interest was shown in the history of the town. The present owner of the former British garrison was able to show the group a photograph taken in 1900, clearing showing the stables that had housed the British soldiers’ horses. The groups also visited Pagel House, now a bed and breakfast, which once was home to Aberdeen Zoo!

In Thembalesizwe the visitors were shown, amongst other sites, a group of houses that were thought to have been built for soldiers returning from the first world war. The owner of one of these (known as the Rasta house) is thinking of starting a bed and breakfast and has added some unusual artwork to the house. A small brick building, which was the mortuary for Thembalesizwe residents, was also seen – apparently, even in the extreme heat of summer the bodies remained cool.Participants from Graaff-Reinet were unanimous in their praise for this initiative, and many expressed a desire to return to explore further. “Even though I live in Graaff-Reinet, I’ve only ever driven past Aberdeen, and never been into the town before. Now we can really tell people what to see in Aberdeen, and will certainly recommend that they visit” said Venessa, a waitress at a well-known restaurant.

Article By: Sue Shaw

Sponsorships For Aberdeen Rugby Club

Aberdeen Rugby Club is very grateful to TOR Construction and KV3 Engineering who have sponsored their jerseys this season. Lotusville Liquor Store has kindly sponsored shorts for the players.

Dup du Pisani and the late John Clarke of TOR, Johan Dorfling and Arthur Koopman of KV3 Engineering are seen here with the first team rugby players proudly showing off their new kit.

Arlen Jantjies (Captain) with Valerie Coetzee of Lotusville Liquor Store.

Article By: Sue Shaw