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Letter from the Chairman of the Western Cape Chapter of the South African Koi Society
Contributed by – Robert Wagner
Hope your fish have all survived the “ week of no power”, so far I have not heard of a single fish being lost or any major problems. We had a really busy weekend over the 18-19 Feb. On Saturday we spent the day renovating the Koi pond at the Rondebosch Police Station. I have to say THANK YOU to all who arrived to help, especially Kim Gilson who thought to bring us some cool drink, that was really good later in the day, also to Janice for fetching burgers for the sweating, dirty workers.
We have to say a very big THANK YOU to the following people, who are always willing to help when asked. In a case like this, when we are not just asking for goods to raffle or give away, but are putting something back that can be of benefit to others in need, I knew they would help us.
I guess that we more than trebled the volume of the pond and I am sure the Koi will appreciate it when they are put back. I know they will enjoy their new Koi food, as Aquanutro has agreed to sponsor their food @ 2 kg a month for the next year.
As they only have an old submersible pump, which would not really pump enough water for the new pond, I took a chance, and told them I was sure Speck would donate a pump for them to increase the flow rate in the now much larger pond. I knew we could rely on Speck, especially in a case like this, and they never let me down. The pump will be delivered as soon as needed, and we will go and connect it all up for them after the filter has been modified.
When we have finished destroying their “ex garden” around the pond, we can again depend on the faithful to come and sort it out for us. We will send out an SOS for Pam Hart from Hart Nurseries, who will come and repair the havoc we have created
When I think of the hours of work that went in, without complaints (from most members) the donations from our trusted sponsors, the interest shown by the police and visitors, then maybe the hands and toes burnt from standing in cement and filling small gaps between stones with our hands was worthwhile.
On Sunday, after cleaning the cement off the rocks around the pond, we had an excellent afternoon at Paul and Aggi’s house in Tableview.
These two, with help from Tinus, Paul’s brother, on the spit, (not actually on it) laid on a delicious spit roast for us for which we are most grateful.
After a most informative talk by Terry Erasmus from the company Olgear, about the use of ozone in our Koi ponds, Lionel explained a bit about oriental culture and symbolism, after which Aggi gave a brief explanation about the principles of feng shui and how these relate to pond design. The afternoon was enjoyed by all present and was over all too soon.
Paul has his own very interesting website where he adds society activities, it is surely worth a visit. http://www.koionline.co.za |
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