Braamfontein Bulletin
Welcome to the July newsletter.
Braamfontein continues to grow ...now it has a new hotel and exciting cafes, restaurants and bars. Southpoint has been hard at work! Students now have somewhere to go at night. Read on to find out about what happened and is about to happen in this vibrant suburb.
All the best.
The BMD team
New look for Mandela Bridge
This story was derived from the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Organising Committee
2010 Fifa World Cup branding has been dropped from the trusses of the massive suspension pylons of Johannesburg's Nelson Mandela Bridge, in tribute to the famous South African leader who was pivotal in bringing the tournament to Africa.
Photo: Nelson Mandela bridge is lit up at night with coloured lights, making it an attractive spectacle.
South Point gets Braamfontein grooving
If you see a brightly coloured building in Braamies, chances are it’s owned by South Point. The company owns 25 buildings in Braamfontein and accommodates some 4000 students there - half of the 8000 students countrywide that they provide accommodation for.
The management recently realized Braamfontein students have nowhere to go at night, so they have opened a hospitality division, and bars, restaurants and cafes are springing up all over the area. There’s even a hotel!
Photo: Braamfontein is getting all hip with loads of places to go out to at night, thanks to South Point
Media Centres for World Cup
Written by JeVanne Gibbs for the City’s joburg.org.za website
Local and international journalists are able to do their business in posh new digs in Joburg during the World Cup, with the opening of international media centres in Sandton and Braamfontein.
Blankets donated to the needy
Sappi Limited, located on Ameshoff Street in Braamfontein, undertook their annual blanket drive recently. The employee wellbeing committee donated 400 blankets to Sue Lubbe and Friends as well as a collection for a soup and bread drive.
This is the 4th year that Sappi has donated blankets to the needy. “It was started to bring a bit of warmth to those less fortunate than us. It certainly has grown from strength to strength,” says Carol Milner of Sappi.
Photo: Considering the freezing weather, this donation of blankets came just in time!
Giant Match at Wits
The Giant Match, a Franco-South African project presented by the Gauteng Provincial Government, had a showcase of their giant puppets on the library lawns at Wits University in June. The puppets were built by artists from all over the world at the Wits School of Arts at University Corner, and toured the country for the duration of the World Cup.
Photo: This spectacular show had the audience spellbound.
Constitutional Court provides certainty as to the rights of property owners
This press release comes from the DA:
In a landmark judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court last month, the constitutional legal standing of the Spatial Planning Policies of the City of Johannesburg and town planning policies of city councils across the country have been secured. This will provide certainty to property owners who may be worried that neighbouring properties can be rezoned contrary to the local planning policy of the Council.
Photo: Not just any kind of building can be built anywhere anymore, and this is good news, says DA Councillor Christo Botes
Circus comes to town
Joburg Theatre presents an exclusive four-week triumphant return of Le Grand Cirque with its new edition, Le Grand Cirque Fantazie.
Featuring an international cast of 50 world champion acrobats and performers from over 15 countries - including China, Russia and Monte Carlo - this award winning spectacle will quite simply take your breath away
Photo: Hold onto your seats, there is plenty of thrills coming with Le Grand Cirque Fantazie at the Joburg Theatre.
Eco Breakfast: The Plight of the Rhino
Did you know that rhino numbers are on the decline again in South Africa? You are invited to attend an Eco-Breakfast lecture titled on The Plight of the Rhino by Faan Coetzee, Endangered Wildlife Trust, Rhino Security Project Executant.
Photo: Find out about the embattled and endangered rhino
Chat to Ariel Dorfman
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Wits School of the Arts invite the public to an evening: In Conversation with Ariel Dorfman. The evening also features a reading by John Kani from Nothing But the Truth and a reading from the play Delirium by Ariel Dorfman and some SA actors.
This will be followed by a conversation with Nadine Gordimer, John Kani and Ariel Dorfman.
Friday 30 July at 5.30 at the Wits Theatre.
RSVP by 14 July to Lee Davis at leed@nelsonmandela.org or phone 011 547 5673.
Lunchtime concerts
Wits Music and Wits Theatre present the Free Wednesday Lunch-Hour Concerts 2010, from 1.20 to 1.50. On 21 July at The Atrium there is the Wits Choir and on 28 July at The Atrium there is Christopher Lesapo (BMus IV) jazz voice with Ilse Myburgh on piano and Mary Tennant (BMus IV) on violin.