Believe it or not, we had Matrone and Mandels in a very close encounter with President Mbeki(ok not the real president just somebody who has his small build but would’nt it have been cool seeing our President making his soapie debut? On the other hand what would the country say if Thabo actually did appear on a local soapie) but alas for Matrone it was not close enough and her dream photo standing next to the President and smiling silly had to be reborn with a cheap photoshop imitation. Besides Paula and Aggie, no one else has wised up to the truth.
The other close encounter, if one can call it that, was Felicity having a famous Italian Stallion designer (ok not exactly a stallion but nevertheless one can dream of a sexy Italian designer rocking up on said B&B going by the name of Dante but I digress..)) rock up at her fashion show and thereafter offering her an opportunity of a lifetime.
The last time I wrote about the daily happenings of Hillside we had just laid Tokkie to rest and there was still major speculation about his guilt/innocence. It just so happened that some of the investors that he had crooked out of their money had the newspapers report on the fraud which was Tokkie le Roux. Poor Emma could’nt handle the whispers and rumours whenever she entered a room, people looking at her in pity, she eventually crumbled and Ryno suggested she go visit her mom for awhile and he will join her later.
Nellie on the other hand still feeling the guilt of sending an innocent man to his death was informed by Alyce that Tokkie had booked a flight to London on the same night he allegedly committed suicide. The impact of this news hits Nellie hard and he seems baffled by Tokkie’s death, questioning how the pieces of the puzzle does not add up. Nellie’s questioning makes Inge more nervous than she already is and she quickly plans her getaway before anyone asks her any direct questions.
Meanwhile, Alyce informs Nellie that if he wants to question Inge he had better hurry since she’s planning on leaving Hillside the very next day. When he phones the guesthouse where Tokkie was staying he gets confirmation that the lady referred all Tokkie’s calls to Inge and she knew about where he was staying. Nellie wonders what other information Inge is keeping to herself.
Alyce plans a farewell party for Inge but she does not seem keen to make a big fuss over leaving Hillside. Charmaine encourages Nellie to go with his gut and to question Inge over her involvement with Tokkie. After Inge bids farewell to everybody, Nellie confronts her and they go to the Times’ offices to talk.
After much to-ing and fro-ing between Nellie and Inge, she eventually blurts out the truth telling him about the events leading up to Tokkie’s death. Nellie can hardly believe what he’s hearing when Inge explains that it was an accident and that Tokkie lost his balance and fell out the window. Judging by his reaction, its clear Nellie believes Inge and is rather relieved that he’s not the one that sent Tokkie to his death. He gives Inge an indication that the truth need not be revealed and she leaves feeling grateful. The next day Nellie tells Charmaine about Inge and her part in Tokkie’s death but he reveals that he will not be making the truth public since Inge already has so much to deal with.
That is that with the whole Tokkie storyline and Inge has left the Laan a free woman, whether her mind will be as free is another matter entirely.
The Dazzling Dame Competition is a storyline that has been going on for literally months and I together with many viewers have been hoping and praying for it to finally come to an end. We thought it was over when Matrone won against Hilda but then there was the ultimate challenge between Matrone and Tannie Rademan with Matrone emerging as the sole (not ultimate) Dazzling Dame. For weeks we’ve seen how Matrone has been carefully planning for the big event, the Presidential Banquet. She’s been learning Xhosa, brushing up on her etiquette and eating habits and she’s even taken Paula’s beauty tips to heart, all for her big moment with Thabo. Her sidekick Mandels has also been rather busy preparing for the big day, he bought himself a new camera, all for that important photograph and he’s also bribed Marko to borrow his reliable car.
The big day has eventually arrived and Matrone has gone all out in her preparations. She’s given Paula a shopping list, she ‘s invited everyone for drinks and snacks before departing and she’s being pampered and fussed over by Paula’s ladies in waiting, Tessa and Zinzi. Everyone is gathered at Matrone’s flat and Matrone emerges from her room looking like a true Dazzling Dame. Mandels was looking rather dashing in his suit as well and after a few winged words spoken by Oom Oubaas the two were ready for the big event.
Upon arriving Matrone and Mandla were not exactly thrilled to find out that they were two amongst hundreds of guests (ok not really hundreds but it’s the impression they created) and that their table was very far from the main table where the President will be seated. In typical Matrone fashion, she tries her utmost to swap table numbers all to get close to where the President will be sitting but a very big broad-shouldered Men In Black dude kept watching Matrone like a hawk. She and Mandels had no alternative but to sit at their table and afterwards stand in a very long queue to meet the President and to take that all important photograph. Needless to say, the evening did not live to up to Matrone’s expectations.
The next day Mandels and Matrone pretended as if they had a blast chatting in close quarters with the President and when Mandla eventually developed his photos, there was’nt one single decent photo of Matrone with the President. What was Matrone to do now, how will she face her public, the shame the embarrassment, what about the portrait with the President which was to be unveiled in the foyer of the Old Aged Home. Photoshop to the rescue! Clever Mandla or not so clever Mandla decided to fiddle around with a pic of Matrone and one of the President taken on another occasion, with abit of cut and paste here and there and voila, the perfect pic of a smiling Matrone standing next to President Mbeki. Matrone was chuffed, Mandla was chuffed but Paula was not so chuffed. She called Mandla out on his lies and cheap imitation and showed him that if a blonde like herself can see a fake a mile away, then so can the thousands of Hillside Times subscribers. Mandla is not to be put off by Paula and threatens to expose all her times spent on manis and pedis while she’s supposed to be working. The two come to an amicable agreement.
For some or other reason the grief that Vanessa is experiencing over losing her son Aubrey has resurfaced in a big way. She’s moody, loses concentration at work and lashes out at those near and dear to her. It all started when she saw Nurse Betty in the Deli and all the poor woman wanted to do was check up on her and express her sympathy for Vanessa’s loss. What she got in return was Vanessa lashing out at her accusing of her not doing her job and basically blaming her for Aubrey’s death. Nurse Betty quickly ran out of the Deli and made her way to Charmaine where the two discussed Vanessa’s anger and how she needs to seek professional help in dealing with her grief.
Vanessa off course does’nt want to hear anything, she even accuses her mother of being responsible for Aubrey’s death since she was there that evening. As time goes on we see Vanessa going through various stages of grief as she comes across Aubrey’s bottle to seeing various mothers with their babies in the Deli.
There is one mother who has become a regular around Hillside, she always has her baby with her and Vanessa is very friendly towards her. Unknown to Vanessa, this particular mother is nothing but a common thief, whenever Vanessa turns her back she’s nicking something from the Deli. She even went so far as to steal something from the T&T sportshop after Marko turned his back. Who is this thief lurking around Hillside and what’s her story?
We all know that Hilda has taken up Kata boxing at the local community center with San Mari as the instructor. She’s been hiding the truth from Oubaas and sneaking out of the house to get to her classes. She even went so far as to send Oubaas to do his duty as church elder by visiting various parishioners in the Laan. On another occasion she sent Oubaas to socialise with the boys but this backfired on her when Oubaas socialised into the wee hours of the morning while his wife made a nice home cooked meal for him.
When Maria eventually finds out what Ouma is up to, she threatens to tell Oubaas if Hilda does’nt come clean. Just when Hilda is about to reveal the truth, Oubaas tells Hilda about the parishioners he visited and how outlandish and foolish the woman of the house has become with her strange ideas. He claims how happy he is that Hilda is not like that and this makes Hilda keep quiet about the Kata boxing, much to Maria’s annoyance.
When San Mari tells Hilda about the Kata marathon coming up in which prizes can be won, this further stirs Hilda up and she’s determined to take part and perhaps win a gold medal. However Oubaas is the one stumbling block in Hilda’s path and she resorts to lying to get to her classes. Eventually Oubaas catches on and decides to play detective. With notebook in hand, Oubaas starts questioning the girls, Charmaine, Marko, etc. Marko gives Oubaas the impression that if a woman is sneaking around and lying then it can only mean she’s having an affair. This hits Oubaas for a six as he tries to keep his Lilly away from any man who dares come close to her, yes that includes George, Altus and Nellie. Can you imagine one of them having a hot fling with the innocent Hilda, I think not.
Unable to handle the deception going on in Hilda and Oubaas’ marriage, Charmaine decides to step in. When Hilda returns from her Kata box and lies to Oubaas about being with Charmaine, she’s surprised when Charmaine emerges from the back and she forces Hilda to admit the truth. Poor Hilda with her head hanging in shame, she tells Oubaas the truth. Oubaas is shocked, disappointed, hurt and angry that his Naartjie Put has deceived him so, Hilda feels shameful of her actions and says she should never have lied to Oubaas. This has meant the end of Hilda’s Kata boxing and according to Oubaas everything can go back to normal again. Alas, Hilda is not a happy Lilly at all.
Feeling sorry for herself, she plays the dutiful wife, cooking, knitting, darning, etc but there’s no life in her whatsoever. Hilda’s miserable mood concerns Oubaas and he tells Charmaine that his Lilly is slowly dying inside, Charmaine tells him in no uncertain terms that keeping Hilda like a bird locked in a cage is sure to make her lively spirit die a slow death. Oubaas makes it his duty to find out more about Kata boxing from San Mari and when he hears that it has nothing to do with spirits and incence and more to do with exercise and defending oneself against baddies, he gives Hilda his blessing that she may go back to doing her beloved Kata box. An overjoyed Hilda is back as she kisses her husband and thanks him for being the best, he however drops a bombshell when he tells her that he’ll be supporting her all the way by joining her in the class. Whether that means Oubaas will also be doing Kata box or if he’ll only be a spectator remains to be seen but Hilda was not happy with this news.
With all the functions that KDL has been handling lately, Karien has added another when she told Felicity to have KDL do her fashion show. Felicity also gave Paula the job of choreographer and we all know Paula takes her job very seriously. She decided to put Tessa, Zinzi, San Mari and after much persuasion Karien in the fashion show and had them up at ungodly hours to practice their routine. Alyce, feeling very left out watching the girls practice, she confronts Paula for not including her accusing her of being jealous that she, Alyce might upstage the pretentious blonde. Paula lashes out at Alyce that she has enough bodies to cover the show and that nobody can upstage her, not this girl! A defiant glint appears in Alyce’s eyes.
The day of the fashion show has finally arrived and everyone is dressed up. There’s chaos in the back and it’s clear that Alyce is definitely up to something sneaky when we see her asking about the showstopper that Paula will be wearing.
Felicity is a nervous wreck made more so when she sees who Robyn has brought with as her guest, none other than Italian fashion designer Lorenzo del Sarto. She believes that her designs are’nt good enough and this can only mean the beginning of the end for her. The fashion show begins and as usual it’s a mix of colourful clothes that no sane person would dare wear and the girls do their damndest with their cute little dances. The audience is impressed with Felicity’s latest clothing range but there’s a blank look on Lorenzo’s face.
In the dressing room, Paula can’t wait for her turn in the spotlight but when she tries on the clothing, it does’nt seem to fit. It seems the sleeves have all been sown together by Alcye no doubt and Alyce takes it upon herself to steal the show by coming out on stage and singing her heart out. The fashion show comes to an end with huge applause from the audience but Felicity has a false smile on her face when she sees Lorenzo leaving just before the show has come to an end.
The next day everyone offers their congratulations to Felicity for a successful fashion show but its clear she only has one thing on her mind and that is the approval of Lorenzo del Sarto, if he did’nt like her clothes then all the compliments she’s getting from the others seem worthless. Meanwhile Paula is keeping a low profile after the showstopper that never was, she feels embarrassed and dare not show her face in public. As always Aggie covers up for her by Nellie by making up all kinds of excuses. Everyone seems concerned about Paula but Alyce could’nt care less, she felt that Paula got what was coming to her.
I did’nt know that Alyce could be so cunning, sly and bitchy as to pull such a cheap trick just because she was jealous for not being involved in the show but some might say that Paula deserved some egg on her face for a change.
Later at the boutique, Robyn stops by and drops a bombshell when she announces to Felicity that Lorenzo was so impressed with her designs, he’s offering her a job to assist him for three months in Milan. To say that Felicity was ecstatic is an understatement and soon the news spread like wildfire through Hillside. Unfortunately for Xander, he’s the last one to find out and when he confronts Felicity, he’s angry that she did’nt let him know a thing. She tells him she has’nt decided yet but Xander is too angry to see how torn Felicity is about her decision.
Felicity decides to reject the opportunity and she tells Charmaine that she fears losing Xander as a result. Meanwhile Nellie talks some sense into Xander saying that its an opportunity of a lifetime for Felicity and that their relationship will continue when she gets back, he also mentions that Felicity might resent him later for making her give up her dreams and aspirations. Xander does a complete turn around and tells Felicity that he supports her 100 percent, she’s going to Italy and that’s that. Everyone is excited for Felicity and Robyn offers to assist with her visa and booking of her plane ticket. Soon the young ones decide to throw a farewell party in honour of Felicity and it was a very sad and bittersweet goodbye as everyone gathered at Charmaine house to bid farewell to Felicity. Charmaine eventually shoos everyone out to allow Felicity and Xander to say their final goodbye to each other. A very sad and tearful farewell follows as Xander gives Felicity a bracelet with seven x’s, symbolizing a kiss for every day of the week. Finally the two manage to tear themselves away from each other as they kiss one last time before making their way to the airport.
Lana Pauw from Gecko is back in the Laan. The first time she runs into Carlos, it’s clear that there’s tension between the two or more so from Lana’s side. As time goes on, the two continuously bump into each other and by the looks of things, it’s obvious that they still have the hots for each other. Then Lana approaches T&T with Gecko’s latest product, an energy bar, which they want T&T to carry in their shop. At first Madel thinks its too soon after the Rubra B fiasco where Jannie died but JH and Carlos convince Madel that they’ll be extra careful this time around and the product won’t be displayed so prominently.
Lana tries everything in her power to stay out of Carlos’ way and even uses JH to do business with rather than Carlos. Carlos cannot understand what’s wrong with the woman, he tries everything to woo her, asking her on dates but she puts up a front claiming to have a boyfriend back in Richards Bay. Unable to resist what is staring them both in the face, Carlos grabs her one night and kisses her passionately causing Lana to run off. Later we learn Lana is back in Richards Bay (that must’ve been some kiss) and Carlos decides to book a flight to Richards Bay to bring his beloved back. Before he can even get on the plane, Lana is back in Hillside claiming her undying love for Carlos. Carlos like a blubbering idiot inlove eventually proposes to Lana, she accepts and the two kiss.
The wedding is so on and everyone is thrilled about it. Madel takes it upon herself to invite the two lovebirds to dinner to celebrate their engagement. She also tells Dezi and JH to be there to show Lana and Carlos how happy newly weds really are (yep JH and Dezi are the perfect example of how marriage should work, you know). There’s tension at dinner when Lana goes on about a certain church she would like to get married in and it turns out it’s the same church that Carlos and Sandra were in on their wedding day when the wedding turned to a bloody shooting nightmare. Naturally, there’s an awkward moment as Lana apologises for not knowing, but how could you dear?
The history between Carlos and Sandra is popping up more frequently now that Carlos has committed himself to another woman and Lana is the one asking all the questions.
With the new Delaney contract that George has undertaken has meant that his staff is hard at work preparing for the numerous upcoming events and with Dezi out of town, things have become hectic for George, Altie and Danny. George is too busy with work to notice that he’s neglecting his relationship with Karien. It’s all to show Robyn de Swardt that he’s the boss and out he’s out to prove a point by taking on contracts and basically excluding her. When Robyn returns from Nairobi she’s clearly unhappy that George has taken on the Delaney contract without consulting with her and tells him they could’ve spent the time working on the other contracts. George calls a meeting and brings Robyn up to speed with what’s been happening and even though she won’t admit it, it’s clear that George has everything under control.
Dezi is back from her London trip and is surprised to find out the Delaney functions is that very same night. George gives her her portion of the duties to fulfill and everyone leaves with their dates to their respective venues. Later when they return (how they all were together beats me as they were all by different functions of Delaney, I presume) the champagne bottle is popped open and catty Robyn takes it upon herself to congratulate her team for a job well done. George is obviously not happy that Robyn has stolen his thunder.
When George arrives at work he’s surprised to find Robyn hard at work. She’s full of enthusiasm and brimming with ideas and George feels she just can’t be trusted. Everyone prepares for KDL’s re-launch party where Robyn will be introduced as George’s new partner. The big night arrives with everyone looking snazzy, things seem to be going smoothly when suddenly out of nowhere a bunch of waiters dressed in traditional Kenyan wear carrying exotic dishes of food is presented to the guests and Robyn makes a surprise announcement that KDL has landed their biggest contract to date. It seems she was working rather than playing in Nairobi and George is anything but impressed with his new partner’s sneaky actions. The power struggle continues between the two…..
Other interesting titbits happening in the Laan:
• There’s a new waiter who claims to have a university degree but jobs are scarce so he’s willing to start at the bottom,
• With Anton starting at Oppiekoffie means there’s one waiter too many, yep Tessa helped Alyce out with the Boutique’s books one night and now she wants to dump the dirty dishes for the glamorous life of working with designer clothes,
• The lawyer wants to sell the Boutique but unfortunately no buyers have come forward as yet until Dezi heard about it and we know how desparately Dezi wants her finger in every pie. She looked at the books, proposed the idea to JH but he thinks it’s a huge risk and does not make business sense. Not sure if Dezi will get her way eventually, we’ll just have to see,
• When Robyn heard the girls speaking about San Mari, she perked up and made it her duty to find out who San Mari is. She went to T&T to spy on the girl but we don’t know yet what connection the two of them share. There’s been speculation in the forums about long lost mother and daughter, lesbo lovers, etc.
• Last and certainly by no means least, an old visitor has popped up in Hillside. Wilmien’s back and she’s sporting a new, younger, funkier look. The only question is what is she doing here if she sold her shares in KDL, what brought her back to SA when she was so intent on starting a new business overseas. One thing is certain, George is not exactly thrilled that his ex-partner is back.
With so much happening at present, how can you not tune in?
7de Laan
Mondays – Fridays
SABC 2
18:30