24 October 2019

What's Inside

EditionNINE 

26 October 2019

GAZETTE

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Estate Agents

Registered Service ProvidersImportant ContactsHartbeespoort Emergency Numbers

EditMessage from our Estate ManagerWhat's the Actual History of HalloweenRugby World Cup, Big Screen, and Burger SpecialInteresting People - Johan van VuurenPecanwood Estate - Owl BoxesHalloween biscuitsUpcoming EventsSport and RecreationClassifieds

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Message from our Estate Manager

POTABLE WATER The supply of potable water to the Estate is beingin�uenced by the availability of water via the variousboreholes on the Estate.The water levels in all theaquafers of the boreholes have dropped and takelonger to replenish. The demand for potable watercurrently exceeds the supply.The PHOA havereceived proposals to increase the provision ofpotable water by means of extracting water from theHartbeespoort Dam, which will be treated at ourutility plant to address the short fall. A decision will betaken in due course as to the most viable optionwhich will be communicated to all stakeholders. Itshall be appreciated if residents can assist with usingpotable water sparingly and only for householdpurposes. Kind RegardsPHOA

Estate Manager - Derek Truter

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Editorial

What's the Actual History of Halloweenand Why Do We Celebrate It on October 31?

It's a longer story than you might think.BY BLAIR DONOVAN AND MARISSA GOLD, Published on Country Living.com

The history of Halloween goes allthe way back to a pagan festivalcalled Samhain.The word "Halloween" comes from "AllHallows' Eve" and means "hallowedevening."Hundreds of years ago, people dressedup as saints and went door to door,which is the origin of Halloweencostumes and trick-or-treating.

It's here, it's here!(No, not pumpkin spice latte season —though we're glad about that as well.)Halloween has o�cially crept upon us,and there’s so much to look forward to,from brainstorming our costumes tocarving jack-o'-lanterns with the kidsand, of course, eating unfathomableamounts of treats, candy, andchocolate.

No matter how old you are or howmany times you've been around theblock, the holiday simply never gets old.The littlest ones get a chance to dressup and go trick-or-treating, and parentshave an excuse to sip on aboo-zy Halloween cocktail.But in the midst of the parties andgames and sugar rushes, have you everstopped to wonder - What the history of Halloween even isin the �rst place?

Here, we're sharing Halloween's origin(and Halloween's meaning too) in thehopes that it'll make your celebrationseven more, er...meaningful. After all, thisold-fashioned holiday actually datesback many, many years. It's a lot olderthan you might think! And as for thewitches and wizards that you've cometo associate with it? Yeah, they're partof the story too! Here's the true tale ofhow Halloween o�cially came to be.

You already know that Halloween takesplace on the last day of October, buthere's something you might not know:The word itself literally means"hallowed evening," and was previouslyknown to early European celebrators asAll Hallows' Eve. All Hallows' Eve(October 31) and All Saints' Day(November 1) both paid homage tosaints ("hallows" = saints). The namewas eventually shortened to"Halloween," which we know and love tothis day.

The pagan and Christian occasionshadn't always been back to back,though. Up until the 7th century CE, AllHallow's Eve fell actually on May 13.Perhaps in an attempt to offset theoccasion with a religious celebration,Pope Boniface IV ultimately made thecall to change the observance to itscurrent November 1 date.

Why Do We Celebrate Halloween onOctober 31? Halloween falls on October 31 becausethe ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain,considered the earliest known root ofHalloween, occurred on this day. Itmarked a pivotal time of year whenseasons changed, but (moreimportantly) observers also believed theboundary between this world and thenext became especially thin at this time,enabling them to connect with thedead. This belief is shared by someother cultures; a similar idea ismentioned around the Jewish holidayof Yom Kippur, which also typicallyoccurs in October and involves sayingprayers for the dead. This is also whereHalloween gains its "haunted"connotations.  The History of Halloween Activities  The early pagan holiday of Samhaininvolved a lot of ritualistic ceremoniesto connect to spirits, as the Celts werepolytheistic. While there isn't a lot ofdetail known about these celebrations,many believe the Celts celebrated incostume (granted, they were likely assimple as animal hides) as a disguiseagainst ghosts, enjoyed special feasts,and made lanterns by hollowing outgourds (hence, the history of jack-o'-lanterns). Over time, as Christianity tookover and the pagan undertones of theholiday were lessened, the basictraditions of the holiday remained apart of pop culture every year, theysimply evolved and modernized.

The mystical rituals of earlier timesevolved into more light hearted funand games. For example, thesomewhat heavy concept of connectingto the dead was replaced with the morelight hearted idea of telling the future.Apple bobbing, for example, becamepopular as a fortune-telling game on AllHallows' Eve: Apples would be selectedto represent all of a woman's suitors,and the guy—er, apple—she ended upbiting into would supposedly representher future husband. In fact, Halloweenpreviously posed a huge (albe it rathersuperstitious) matchmakingopportunity for young women inthe19th century.

Another popular All Hallows' Eve ritualwas mirror-gazing, as people hoped tocatch a vision of their future by lookinginto the mirror.There are also reports offortune-cookie-like favors being givenout during earlier times. People wrotemessages on pieces of paper in milk,and the notes were then folded andplaced into walnut shells. The shellswould then be heated over a �re,causing the milk to brown just enoughfor the message to mystically appearon the paper for the recipient.

History of Halloween Costumes andTrick-or-Treating Many people were said to dress up assaints and recite songs or verses fromdoor to door. Children would also gofrom door to door asking for "soulcakes," a treat similar to biscuits.Technical note: Soul Cakes originatedas part of the All Souls' Day holiday onNovember 2nd (Yep, a third holiday!),but eventually became a part ofHalloween night as the concept evolvedinto trick-or-treating. The candy-grabbing concept also becamemainstream in the U.S. in the early tomid-1900s, during which familieswould provide treats to children inhopes that they would be immune toany holiday pranks.

As for the costumes, they evolved too.While they began as earnest tributes tosaints, that tradition likely fell out offavour at somepoint…until youngScottish and Irish pranksters got theidea to dress up in scary-looking garbagain as a way to spook unsuspectingneighbours. And just like that, thanks tothese local hooligans, Halloweencostumes became scary, spooky, funny,and creative all at the same time.

How Halloween Is Celebrated Today? Halloween obviously remains a popularholiday in America today, but it actuallyalmost didn't make it across theAtlantic. The Puritans weredisapproving of the holiday's paganroots, so they didn't take part in thecelebrations. But once Irish andScottish immigrants began to arrive inAmerica in greater numbers, the holidaymade its way back into the zeitgeist.The very �rst American colonialHalloween celebrations featured largepublic parties to commemorate theupcoming harvest, tell ghost stories,sing, and dance.

It's estimated that by the early 20thcentury, Halloween was celebratedacross North America by the majority of(candy-loving, costume-wearing)people. And this year, once again, we'llall be enjoying our favourite candy andadmiring our neighbours’ decorationson October 31— and the only spookyspirits we'll be talking about are thewitch and ghost costumes our friendsare wearing.

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Rugby World Cup, Big Screen, and Burger Special

1/5

SUPERBRU SCOREBOARD

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Interesting People

Bolstering the Pecanwood Coaching Experience

Welcome Johan van Vuuren

We are delighted to announce thatelite golf coach, Johan van Vuuren,will be working with Jaco Swart toincrease the coaching service deliveryof Pecanwood Golf & Country Club.

Click here for a brief insight intoJohan's gol�ng experience

Johan will be at Pecanwood onFriday’s and then one weekend amonth from this Friday onwards.

Please make your bookings via:gom@pecanwoodhoa.co.za

Johan is a AAA PGA Quali�edProfessional who has beennominated as Teaching Pro of theYear for the past 6 years.

The aim of this partnership is to addan aspect of experienced elitecoaching that we can offer to ourmembers and residents to guide themin their development and assist themin getting the most out of their gameand ultimately enjoying the gamemore.

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Environmental

PECANWOOD ESTATE –OWL BOXES

South Africa is home to numerus pairs of both SpottedEagle Owls (Bubo africanus) and Barn Owls (Tyto alba).These owls live and breed within the green belts that windtheir way through South African suburbs. From the numberof youngsters handed into EcoSolutions, SPCA's andrehabilitation centres (150+ p/a), it has been establishedthat breeding sites are a limiting factor which reduces theability of these owls to occupy sites even where preyavailability is high.

An owl box is designed to replicate a cavity in a tree for owlsto lay their eggs and raise their young. Although cities inSouth Africa are well treed, the majority of the trees are aliveand unlike dead trees, do not have natural cavities.

Eco Solutions manufactures owl boxes for the two mostcommon species in urban areas in South Africa - SpottedEagle Owls and Barn Owls. Whilst these owls are strikinglydifferent in appearance, both species exhibit many similaradaptations. These adaptations range from their speciallydesigned wings, which allow them to �y silently whilstlistening for prey during �ight. Light sensitive eyes enablethem to detect prey in lowlight conditions and it is thesecomplex design features that are the basis for the successof the owl as a species. However, these specialisationmeans that owls are relatively susceptible to environmentalchanges and this is where the Owl Box Project comes in.Eco Solutions manufactures owl boxes from recycledplywood to provide these owls with suitable, alternativebreeding sites.

Just by providing owls with an alternative site tobreed is the best way to attract them. Suitablebreeding sites are a limiting factor which reduces theability of these owls to occupy areas even where preyavailability is high. Owls are a perfect ally in rodent control. By placingowl boxes in residential gardens, stable yards, smallholdings and even schools, owls can be enticed intooccupying these areas and thereby managing therodent populations. I have included a link to a map showing Eco Solutions’Occupied Owl boxes in Gauteng.For �rst-time owl box participants, we always recommendhaving a look through our FAQs on the Owl Box Project.Please �nd the link to our website here. The FAQs cover’slocation, orientation of the owl boxes as well as occupancy. I have included a link to a few pages on ourwebsite which Ihope will help with your article: FAQs on owl boxes:http://ecosolutions.co.za/owl-box-project/owl-box-faq About owls:http://ecosolutions.co.za/owl-box-project/about-owls

Hopefully we will be welcoming a few new families at Pecanwood very soon, in the form of Eagle Owls and Barn Owls.

 The PHOA are installing several Eagle Owl and Barn Owl boxes in the Month of

November all around the estate to encourage these beautiful creatures

to take up residency. 

They are not just beautiful to look at, but they are excellent at controlling rodents too.

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Architectural

Dear Residents

CLEANING OF STREETS A street sweeper as per the photo below is being acquired to ensure that the streets are swept/cleanedeffectively. It is the intention to use the sweeper three days a week i.e. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays(weather permitting)or alternative weekdays. The sweeper will be provided with the following features –-Overhead Guard -Seat Belt -Reverse Hooter -Strobe Light -Fire Extinguisher  The services will beperformed in-houseand the street sweepershould be available in two weeks’time. Kind Regards PHOA

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Environmental

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Recipe

Halloween biscuitsBy Elena Silcock   PREP:  45 MINSCOOK: 25 MINSEASYSERVES 7 - 8 

Ingredients For the biscuits: -200g unsalted Butter, softened-200g golden caster sugar-1 large egg-½ tsp vanilla extract-400g plain �our, plus extra for dusting-20g silver balls(or rainbow sprinkles for very young - children)-20g popping candy

For decoration: -White, black and grey sugar paste-100g icing sugar

Method: 1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment. 2. Put the butter in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until soft and creamy. Beat in the sugar, then the egg andvanilla, and �nally the �our to make a dough. If the dough feels a bit sticky add a little more �our and knead it in.Wrap in cling �lm and put in the fridge for half an hour. 3. Heavily �our a surface and cut the pastry in half. Roll out one half to 5mm thickness. Using a cookie cutter in theshape of a ghost (or any spooky shaped cutter you like), cut out 12 ghost shapes, which will make 4 cookies. Putthe cut shapes on a baking tray lined with baking paper and put back in the fridge. Repeat with the second half ofthe pastry. Swap into the fridge, taking the chilled ghost biscuits out. 4. Using a smaller cutter or a knife, cut a ghost-shaped hole in the middle of 4 of the biscuits on the tray, this is thespace to store the surprise centre! Put these biscuits into the oven to bake for 10-12 mins, until pale but cookedthrough. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the other tray. 5. Once all the biscuits have cooled completely, they are ready to be assembled. Mix the icing sugar with 3 tbsp ofwater and mix well. It should be quite thick so add a little more icing sugar if the mixture is too runny. Take a biscuitwithout the centre missing, and spread or pipe a little icing around the edge. Press a biscuit with a centre missingon top, then sprinkle silverballs into the pocket that you have created (or rainbow sprinkles as an alternative, ifyou're serving to very young children). Spread icing on the edge of the second biscuit and press another wholebiscuit on top. Set aside to �rm up. Make sure you leave them for a while so they don’t slidewhen you are �nishingthe decoration. 6. Once the biscuits feel �rm and the icing has set, use the sugar paste to decorate them as you please, rolling itout, cutting it to shape and topping the biscuits. You may have to use a little of the icing to glue it down. Decoratewith icing pens if you like. 

Bake our ghost-shaped piñata biscuits wi� �e kids f� a Ha�ow�n treat. They feature a surprise centre wi� popping candy to stir up some excitement.

 -Perserving (8)

-fat 22g

-carbs 80g

-�bre 2g

-salt 0.3g

-kcal 553

-saturates 14g

-sugars 41g

-protein 6g  

Nutrition:

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Upcoming Events

   

25 October 

Lucky Draw with Quiz Night   

31 October

Pecanwood Ladies Open

– Cupcakes of Hope Charity   

1 November 

Halloween Spooktacular

OCTOBER 2019

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Sport and Recreation

Pecanwood Home Owners Association

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Service Providers

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Estate Agents

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Classi�edsNeed some help with your admin? Updating of documents? Proofreading? Contact Elreze Stoltz elreze@vodamail.co.za 0824505013

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