Once upon a time a developer called King Ian acquired some land for an exclusive and expensive low density housing development among the hills of Alberton.
Nearly all these expensive stands were sold off to “immature” millionaires (as King Ian fondly refers to them) and he will reign over this estate, now as the “Ego Estate”, until the last stand has been sold. At this point in time, the “immature” millionaires will be reclassified by King Ian as “mature millionaires”!
Of course, King Ian just has to keep his last unsold stand and he will be king forever and ever and so deny them their right of one man one vote. All of us doomed to be considered immature forever.
The “immature” millionaires are unhappy that the King does not like democracy to prevail at annual elections of the King’s council of 13 people. The King allows himself to appoint six of the council members, mostly buddies, and all unopposed.
He also has 150 special votes that he can use to vote on the remaining seven council seats. He is perplexed why most of the “immature” millionaires are unhappy about this injustice.
The “Ego Estate” does not match up to what the majority had expected. They have formed a resistance group to battle this very injustice and bring about true democracy (perhaps a bit like what transpired out of the Magna Carta – year 1215) in England, whereby the monarch became a powerless figurehead.
King Ian is furious about how he was criticized at a meeting of the people held earlier this month in the Ego Estate.
History will show how these things work out and how good majority rule is when it comes.
Long live the (soon to be powerless figurehead) King Ian.
Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Lowly Ego Estate peasant dweller.
I thought this letter was just classic.
Cheers
Ciarra
24 May 2011
Farewell
Dear “Ego Estate Residents” – joking!!!!
I am sorry that I have neglected the blog but we are no longer living in the estate and our house is up for sale. To all of you who have shown a true love for the concept of the estate that we all bought into, but feel that it would be a far better place if some of the many injustices were not there, I wish you all the best.
With the formation of Meera, and a certain no nonsense member of the board there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think the days are numbered for this board member under the current flawed election system. This board member has, is and always will be a thorn in the side of the many board members who wants the estate run in a way that leaves them unaccountable and answerable to anybody.
The day when the estate board is comprised of democratically elected home owners it will run a lot better. There are some unelected members of the board, there not by the choice of the electorate, but forced upon the home owners by the rules laid out in a cleverly thought out Articles of Association for the estate. This was not by accident it was contrived and it leaves a bad taste.
As in society in general, the only way to bring about morally acceptable change is by continually naming and shaming all who are involved in contentious actions. There are some incumbents on the board whose skin is so thick that any targeted Rhino would gladly swop their skin for. One might ask why? There must be a reason and I would bet my last dollar that it is for financial reasons, after all, if I was a board member and received so many negative comments as have been published via this blog I would have resigned. Think about it, if you are on the board because the developer mandated that you should be there, then you are not allowed to suddenly drop your duties and allegiances. They were put there (not elected) to be the impervious front people/puppets of the developer. Historically any who show that they are not available for this practise won’t be invited to sit another term. Those who do accept this format are usually rewarded well but to the detriment of the homeowners.
As pointed out in the satirical letter to the Alberton Record that was emailed to me, the developer can hold on to the last stand he owns in the Eco Estate, pay his monthly building penalty, continue to mould the nature estate with increased expansion as he so desires. The status quo is thus unchanged.
Let no one be fooled! The number of residential dwellings in ‘his estate’ will continue to grow and by the time the Eco Estate owners wake up it will be too late. You may need a dual carriage way going up Roller Street and an entrance gate like the Vaal Toll Plaza. Added to this, you will all need back-up generators on standby for there will not be enough power on the grid.
On another note, I feel sorry for the prospective new home owners at the “so called” crusher site. There is year round water spring in that very area that has been there probably for thousands of years!! Most of this underground water has been cleverly diverted through large underground pipes to hide this fact. Tough luck for those who build on top of the spring. There is a similar area to this at the lower end of extension 2 where this homeowner (Jan Aucamp) has had to build a sump with a automatic water pump to pump out the excess just to prevent damage to his house structure, and this at his own cost. Getting back to the crusher site, there is an official Geotech report that states that the ground in this entire area is highly unstable. This begs the question as to whether the new buyers in the crusher site area were/will be informed of this before they put their hard earned cash into the developer’s account. Time will tell but I bet some will suffer and rightly feel cheated. If any are not informed then they must sue on the grounds of deception and will have a good case.
I would like to think that this blog has been instrumental in some honourable and positive changes to the benefit of the general eco estate owners. I advise that all home owners throw their weight behind Meera as their only chance -- you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.
I wish you all the very best, but not luck because it won’t help you--- you are going to have to work for it. Sorry to those of you who sent opinions that I did not published after the last meeting at the clubhouse. I felt that too many postings were too aggressive in the extreme. I feel for those bloggers because their opinions were born out of frustration, disgust and fear for persecution if approaching the board directly. The board can be vindictive.
I reiterate that the official estate blog is a sham as it is run by an inner circle board member who is unelected and censors postings that he feels uncomfortable with. Further to this he charges the estate a fee for this. I set up this blog/web site for under R1000 and that’s all to this date. I wonder what the estate pays for his services? Free perhaps out of neighbourliness --- you have got to be bloody joking. Pay up with no foreplay.
A few years back, a board member who obviously has inside knowledge of persons who are financially unable to pay their levies made an offer and bought an unfinished property off an unfortunate owner. This owner had sold under duress to this board member under circumstances that seem very much like insider trading to most.
I will revisit one day and I wish from the bottom of my heart that you folks have managed to exorcise these people out of estate control.
Thanks to all and “arrivederci e buona fortuna!!”
As the last posting for those who did not get the copy of the Alberton Record, here it is.
Ciarra
I am sorry that I have neglected the blog but we are no longer living in the estate and our house is up for sale. To all of you who have shown a true love for the concept of the estate that we all bought into, but feel that it would be a far better place if some of the many injustices were not there, I wish you all the best.
With the formation of Meera, and a certain no nonsense member of the board there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think the days are numbered for this board member under the current flawed election system. This board member has, is and always will be a thorn in the side of the many board members who wants the estate run in a way that leaves them unaccountable and answerable to anybody.
The day when the estate board is comprised of democratically elected home owners it will run a lot better. There are some unelected members of the board, there not by the choice of the electorate, but forced upon the home owners by the rules laid out in a cleverly thought out Articles of Association for the estate. This was not by accident it was contrived and it leaves a bad taste.
As in society in general, the only way to bring about morally acceptable change is by continually naming and shaming all who are involved in contentious actions. There are some incumbents on the board whose skin is so thick that any targeted Rhino would gladly swop their skin for. One might ask why? There must be a reason and I would bet my last dollar that it is for financial reasons, after all, if I was a board member and received so many negative comments as have been published via this blog I would have resigned. Think about it, if you are on the board because the developer mandated that you should be there, then you are not allowed to suddenly drop your duties and allegiances. They were put there (not elected) to be the impervious front people/puppets of the developer. Historically any who show that they are not available for this practise won’t be invited to sit another term. Those who do accept this format are usually rewarded well but to the detriment of the homeowners.
As pointed out in the satirical letter to the Alberton Record that was emailed to me, the developer can hold on to the last stand he owns in the Eco Estate, pay his monthly building penalty, continue to mould the nature estate with increased expansion as he so desires. The status quo is thus unchanged.
Let no one be fooled! The number of residential dwellings in ‘his estate’ will continue to grow and by the time the Eco Estate owners wake up it will be too late. You may need a dual carriage way going up Roller Street and an entrance gate like the Vaal Toll Plaza. Added to this, you will all need back-up generators on standby for there will not be enough power on the grid.
On another note, I feel sorry for the prospective new home owners at the “so called” crusher site. There is year round water spring in that very area that has been there probably for thousands of years!! Most of this underground water has been cleverly diverted through large underground pipes to hide this fact. Tough luck for those who build on top of the spring. There is a similar area to this at the lower end of extension 2 where this homeowner (Jan Aucamp) has had to build a sump with a automatic water pump to pump out the excess just to prevent damage to his house structure, and this at his own cost. Getting back to the crusher site, there is an official Geotech report that states that the ground in this entire area is highly unstable. This begs the question as to whether the new buyers in the crusher site area were/will be informed of this before they put their hard earned cash into the developer’s account. Time will tell but I bet some will suffer and rightly feel cheated. If any are not informed then they must sue on the grounds of deception and will have a good case.
I would like to think that this blog has been instrumental in some honourable and positive changes to the benefit of the general eco estate owners. I advise that all home owners throw their weight behind Meera as their only chance -- you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.
I wish you all the very best, but not luck because it won’t help you--- you are going to have to work for it. Sorry to those of you who sent opinions that I did not published after the last meeting at the clubhouse. I felt that too many postings were too aggressive in the extreme. I feel for those bloggers because their opinions were born out of frustration, disgust and fear for persecution if approaching the board directly. The board can be vindictive.
I reiterate that the official estate blog is a sham as it is run by an inner circle board member who is unelected and censors postings that he feels uncomfortable with. Further to this he charges the estate a fee for this. I set up this blog/web site for under R1000 and that’s all to this date. I wonder what the estate pays for his services? Free perhaps out of neighbourliness --- you have got to be bloody joking. Pay up with no foreplay.
A few years back, a board member who obviously has inside knowledge of persons who are financially unable to pay their levies made an offer and bought an unfinished property off an unfortunate owner. This owner had sold under duress to this board member under circumstances that seem very much like insider trading to most.
I will revisit one day and I wish from the bottom of my heart that you folks have managed to exorcise these people out of estate control.
Thanks to all and “arrivederci e buona fortuna!!”
As the last posting for those who did not get the copy of the Alberton Record, here it is.
Ciarra
07 April 2011
Last special meeting
I was at the last special meeting in March and as a fairly new resident, I was amazed at the dislike shown towards the board. At the time, I thought it very “Jo’burgite” but now realized that all is not well. If I had knew that the composition of the board was at the call of the developer for ever and ever, Amen, then I would have rather bought somewhere else. There will be never peace in this estate as long as this situation is not reversed. The estate that I lived in Durbs was the most peaceful environment, and yet, I come to Johannesburg to what I thought was a top of the range estate, and all I find disenchantment.
I have not experience it before but people are angry about security, angry about the board, angry about more development in the estate, angry about things that professional people should have be able to resolve from the start.
My wife and kids work on my case about wanting to go home to KZN. For business reasons I cannot do this for four years but, I hope for the day when this estate is run in such a way that people appreciate living here.
As said before, democracy must prevail. The Board must not be an extension of the developers a……..
Shark out of water (maybe).
I have not experience it before but people are angry about security, angry about the board, angry about more development in the estate, angry about things that professional people should have be able to resolve from the start.
My wife and kids work on my case about wanting to go home to KZN. For business reasons I cannot do this for four years but, I hope for the day when this estate is run in such a way that people appreciate living here.
As said before, democracy must prevail. The Board must not be an extension of the developers a……..
Shark out of water (maybe).
29 March 2011
Crush the crusher site
Hello Ciarra,
You may think that stopping the crusher site has run out of steam, but I can assure you it hasn’t. My wife is actively pursuing this campaign and significant progress has been made. The 161 people who signed as objectors to this project is proof enough that the crusher site development is maybe as unpopular with the home owners as the developer is himself.
Regards
Adrian Farrar
You may think that stopping the crusher site has run out of steam, but I can assure you it hasn’t. My wife is actively pursuing this campaign and significant progress has been made. The 161 people who signed as objectors to this project is proof enough that the crusher site development is maybe as unpopular with the home owners as the developer is himself.
Regards
Adrian Farrar
Palisade
At my house, palisades will not fit in a straight line because of rocks. So I have no palisade fence. Now they want me to drill holes into the rocks, so that I can run a straight line. Have you ever heard of such bull s—t!! I would rather not put a palisade at all, it is after all an echo estate. They won’t allow electric fences even thought we have k-k security, but they pick on people who want to gamble with no palisade fence. Whose risk is it anyway? It is far more likely that you will bump into a thief than a common Wildebeest.
Gato
Gato
Rare creatures
Hello Ciarra
Recently I looked out the window at night to find a security guard patrolling. I took a photo because this is such a rare site offered by our overrated security company. If anybody else has seen one, please say as this might be a new trend.
My family and I are sick and tired that some undesirable person will break in to our home. When the dogs barks I rush to one window and my wife to the other window. What a horrible way of living!
I had to shake my head when one home owner stood up at the last meeting on the 7th March 2011 and praised the running of this insecure estate. Maybe home owners living here don’t realize how serious security is. At Zimbali in Natal they fall short of asking for a DNA test, just to get in. The reasons for the tight security are obvious, you pay a lot of money for your property, you pay a high levy, because you insist on peaceful sleep at night and safety during the day. If you pay a lot for security and you don’t sleep well, then you have made a mistake where you have bought. If things don’t change the value of our investment will take a dive because people don’t want to live here.
The estate is a great concept badly run by a badly chosen board. The next AGM I will be there to vote against any previous board member who wants to stand, especially the ones chosen by the developer.
Peace Lover
Recently I looked out the window at night to find a security guard patrolling. I took a photo because this is such a rare site offered by our overrated security company. If anybody else has seen one, please say as this might be a new trend.
My family and I are sick and tired that some undesirable person will break in to our home. When the dogs barks I rush to one window and my wife to the other window. What a horrible way of living!
I had to shake my head when one home owner stood up at the last meeting on the 7th March 2011 and praised the running of this insecure estate. Maybe home owners living here don’t realize how serious security is. At Zimbali in Natal they fall short of asking for a DNA test, just to get in. The reasons for the tight security are obvious, you pay a lot of money for your property, you pay a high levy, because you insist on peaceful sleep at night and safety during the day. If you pay a lot for security and you don’t sleep well, then you have made a mistake where you have bought. If things don’t change the value of our investment will take a dive because people don’t want to live here.
The estate is a great concept badly run by a badly chosen board. The next AGM I will be there to vote against any previous board member who wants to stand, especially the ones chosen by the developer.
Peace Lover
24 March 2011
Rock Elephant-shrew
Hi all
I was at a house party within the estate about two weeks ago. Our hosts were talking about an elephant-shrew, and being typical blond, I had no glue what they were talking about. After my hosts describe it as a mouse like creature with a nose like an elephant, I was actually quite prepared to believe that they were pulling my leg. My nosy streak made me Google this little creature and I came across interesting facts that I would like to share with you all.
The creature is called a Rock elephant-shrew and its biological name is Elephantulus Myurus. Length wise (including tail) it get up to 26cm and weigh up to 60g. The colour of the body is buff-grey / white and the eyes are ringed with white. At the end of the snout are sensitive nostrils, and the senses of smell, hearing and sight are all acute. Faced with this battery of equipment the elephant-shrew's insect prey hasn't a hope - which is just as well for a mammal with an extremely high metabolic rate: they feed frenetically and sleep intermittently throughout the day. From the shady cover of a rock of shrub the rock elephant-shrew can dart out like a flash of lightning to pounce on its victim. Normally they travel on all fours, but at speed they leap on their hind legs. Smaller birds of prey are amongst elephant-shrew's enemies. Sitting motionless on a shaded rock, the animal is well camouflaged and may be mistaken for a stone - its only giveaway being a twitching of the snout and ears. Their natural lifespan is only about 13 months, but can reach up to 19 months. The funniest of all is the Afrikaans name being "Klipklaasneus".
Regards
Rynette
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