Some of you may already know me, but for those that don’t….my name is Roland (Roly) Hill. Born in Bulawayo (Rhodesia), schooled all over the place, finally living happily with my wife Patsy in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa for the last 40 years. I am an avid collector of Army Memorabilia…most of it Rhodesian, with a few additions from SA and elsewhere. I have a substantial collection from the Rhod
esian days which I have grouped, framed and displayed in my pub here in Plettenberg Bay. My friends are constantly nagging me to “open a museum” or to at least “share’ via the internet. So here goes my FIRST attempt. I can’t promise to post regularly but I will try my best! A short history of how the pub came in to being. I have always loved BEER….so when I saw a competition in the local Sunday Times to win a trip to the “beer-halls” of England and Europe all expenses paid…I couldn’t resist. Patsy said she would be happy to tag along. She was sure she would find a glass or two of wine if necessary.) Only problem was we needed the ability to sing/dance/tell jokes (to do a “skit “in other words). But as I read further there was an appeal to those who didn’t want to do a skit but would like the opportunity to rest their elbows on their very own bar…. all they had to do was fill in a competition form, answer a few questions and voila! (We wouldn’t win a trip….but we might win a BAR!)
So that’s what we did:
Questions:
Your pub’s name: The SOAKAWAY (Those of you who are plumbers will know what a soakaway is….and we all know that a “SOAK” is another word for a drunkard. We thought we were ever so clever!)
Your profession: Plumber
Your wife’s profession: Plumber’s mate
Very tongue in cheek! But the powers that be obviously liked it and along with seven other winners we were now the proud owners of our very own pub. (a bar counter, back mirrored shelves etched with our pub’s name, 4 x bar stools, paraphernalia for the walls, and a YEAR’S supply(12 x crates) of beer (which was demolished in one night at our opening party !....Do they not know how much ONE Rhodesian can drink in a NIGHT let alone a MONTH or a YEAR ! ? SO…...that was very simple and so exciting…. for the price of an envelope and a 45c stamp(Those oldies amongst you will remember letters and stamps….over 30 years ago !) we had ALL the above! we just needed a room to put it all in to…... R20,000+ later………!!! But the result was well worth it! I will TRY to slowly but surely (remember….it may not be regularly!) SHOW you around the pub with photos and descriptions. I hope you find it as interesting as I do. Please feel free to comment or ask questions.
