Pullman appoints Willie Williams as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Pullman Cape Town Pullman Hotels and Resorts have announced the appointment of Willie Williams as the Director of Sales and Marketing at Pullman Cape Town, the first property in South Africa under the Pullman brand from Accor. With more than 25 years of dedicated and passionate service to the hotel and resort industry, Williams brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the team at the Mother City’s newest hospitality destination. Williams’s impressive career spans various renowned international brands, including IHG Hotels and Resorts, voco, Hilton and Starwood Worldwide. He was part of the team that successfully launched the first voco brand hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg from IHG Hotels and Resorts, and has held key positions at, among others, Valor Hospitality, Starwood Hotels and Resort Worldwide and the Taj Cape Town. At Pullman Cape Town, Williams will be responsible for driving business growth, focusing on expanding awareness of the hotel’s meeting facilities, stylish rooms and exceptional service, while leveraging its prime location and stunning views of Table Mountain, the Atlantic Ocean, and the cityscape. His aim is to establish Pullman Cape Town as the hotel of choice in the Mother City. Pullman Cape Town, situated in the iconic Triangle House skyscraper in the heart of the city centre, offers guests a unique blend of contemporary design and exquisite vistas. Being so close to the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the V&A Waterfront, Atlantic Seaboard beaches and the city's culinary and nightlife hubs such as Bree Street and Long Street, it is an excellent choice for both business and leisure travellers. The hotel's modern amenities, event facilities, relaxation spaces and personalised experiences ensure that guests will enjoy a memorable stay, whether they are visiting Cape Town for work or play. Williams is excited to take up the reins. “For me, …
Where there’s a wilt there’s a way
Planning an end-of-year getaway is exciting, but for many plant parents the excitement of going away is tinged with worry at the thought of leaving their plants home alone. While some plants can survive a few days without water, a plan must be made for others if you’re planning a longer holiday. Tips for a short break-away (indoor and potted plants): • Make sure you water your plants thoroughly before you leave. • The more light your plant receives, the more water it needs. Consider moving them away from their natural source of light to help them retain water for longer while you’re away. • Most houseplants, especially tropical species, benefit from being grouped together because the plants release moisture into the air around them. This increases the humidity around them to such an extent that no more water can pass from the plant into air, helping them to stay hydrated. • Make an improvised irrigator with a plastic water bottle. Poke a few holes in the bottle lid, fill the bottle with water, and bury the bottle halfway and upside down in the pot. The water will slowly seep into the soil and keep the soil saturated with moisture. Make sure that excess water can drain out of the pot. Tips for a longer holiday (indoor, potted and garden plants): Asking a neighbour or friend to pop in while you’re away is the good old-fashioned way of doing things but not everyone has this option. Instead, consider an automatic watering solution such as the options listed below: • The GARDENA Holiday Watering Set is an automatic system that can water up to 36 potted plants. The set includes three different distributors, each with 12 outlets catering to different watering needs. • The GARDENA AquaBloom is a solar-powered set that can take care of up to 20 plants. It comes with 14 preset watering programmes guaranteeing even water distribution. Ideal for plants on the balcony, this innovative watering solution requires nothing more than an additional bucket. • The …
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Harnessing Trust
In an era marked by a global “trust deficit disorder” as commented by the Secretary General of the United Nations, a collaboration between VUKA Group and The Global Trust Project stands out as a necessary and timely endeavour. Together, they will work with leaders, organisations, governments and societies to foster a shared understanding of, and leverage, trust as a catalyst for impact. Trust is the foundation upon which personal, professional and societal relationships are built. Increasing complexity and uncertainty in the current global landscape has significantly elevated the value of the currency of trust. There are 60 years of academic research that has gone into validating the benefits of trust. High-trust nations have been found to outperform low-trust nations by about 3000%[1]. The figure for high-trust versus low-trust organisations is around 300%[2]. And high-trust teams are over 100% more energised than those where trust quotients are low[3] – in fact, most well-being indicators are positively impacted by the presence of social trust[4]. Recognising its profound significance, VUKA Group and The Global Trust Project have embarked on a collaborative journey to help enable this vital value in all relationships. “An example of the correlation between an absence of trust and various societal challenges is South Africa,” notes Dominic Wilhelm, Executive Director of The Global Trust Project. “We very much hope to make a contribution to building trust in South Africa as we believe we have with our clients in the US, Europe and Asia.” Leveraging Trust for Good Going on to comment Dominic refers; “Back in 2018, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated that “The world is suffering its worst case ever of trust deficit disorder.” “Despite the deficit, and the widespread acknowledgement that it must be addressed, it appears that very few know what trust is… Yet trust is one of the deepest leverage points for shaping the kinds of futures we …
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School sport: Where did the fun go?
There is a sign that can be seen on the side of sports fields around South Africa. With variations, it goes something like this: Please remember: They are only kids. They are here to have fun. The coaches are teachers. The referees are volunteers. This is not the World Cup. As a parent, attending your child's match can be a challenging task, especially when you have many wannabe expert coaches in the parental spectator crowd. According to John O’Sullivan's article, "How Parents Take the Joy Out of Sport", there are six ways that adults can ruin the joy of sports for children: Coaching from the sideline, Yelling instructions while the ball is rolling, Disrespecting officials, Questioning the coach, Commenting on the child’s teammates, and Making the ride home/post-game talk a “teachable moment.” Every parent wants to help their child, to comfort them when they may not have had their best game, when they don’t understand a decision, or to help them to be the best they can be. But what is the best approach? Hayden Buchholz, Director of sport and Physical Education and Head of community Engagement at Somerset College Prep, offers the following advice to parents. What to focus on if they wish they were more naturally talented. Resilience, resilience, resilience. As parents and coaches, it's crucial to remember that children have varying emotional maturity and cope differently with losing. Younger children may be especially vulnerable to feeling upset or discouraged after a loss, and it's important to be sensitive to their individual needs and feelings. Offering appropriate emotional support and encouragement can help children build resilience and coping skills that will benefit them in the long run. Remember, sport is a marathon and not a sprint. School programmes are carefully designed by educators who want the best for children. Children will show GRIT when they feel supported and comfortable with the expectations. Help them …
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It’s a blooming good time to plant some flowers
October is the ideal time to plan out, prepare and plant your flower beds to ensure that you have a showstopper summer garden. Planning is vital to ensure that you plant your flowers in a happy spot where they will thrive. You could make a sketch of your garden – including any permanent features, such as buildings, sheds or trees – and the areas where you would like to plant to help you visualise your creation before going ahead. You can do this without knowing exactly which flowers you want to plant. On your sketch, simply draw in the general shapes (tall, low, round, bushy) and general sizes of the plants you feel would look good in that spot. You can identify suitable species later with the help of your local garden centre. You can also find expert inspiration and advice in the GARDENA website magazine: Garden Magazine. Then over the course of a day with fairly average weather for your region, make notes on your sketch of how many hours of sunlight different areas get. Categorise them as follows: • full sun (6 or more hours of sun per day) • partial sun/partial shade (3-6 hours) • dappled sun (such as the light found under large deciduous trees) • full shade (less than 3 hours of sun per day) A lot of flowers prefer full sun. Full sun in the morning and early afternoon is ideal, as flowers can benefit from maximum sunlight before the sun gets too hot. Although full shade isn’t ideal, partial or dappled shade still offer plenty of options. Prepare The Area Begin by marking the boundaries to your flower bed using stones, wood or any other materials. Adding a layer of mulch around plants will highlight edges as well as keeping moisture in and weeds at bay. Remove large stones and other debris. Mix in some good quality compost to improve soil drainage and add nutrients. Use GARDENA Lawn Edging to mark out your planting space, whether separating lawn and flower beds or organising flower beds according to different water requirements. Test soil …
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Embrace Spring with Micro Gardening: Cultivating Greenery in Every Space!
Bloom where you’re planted There’s a gardener in everyone, and a garden waiting to take root in every space this spring. Gardeners everywhere are returning to sow and plant, but what to do if you don’t have a large soil-and-lawn garden but feel the spirit of the season stirring in your heart? Gardening has never really gone out of fashion, but its popularity is at an all-time high. In the fast-paced modern age, characterised by digital interactions and urban living, gardening offers a welcome respite. Gardeners will tell you that gardening is relaxing, and therapeutic, and scientific studies confirm the physical and mental health benefits – proof that gardening really is good for you. The best part, however, is that getting into gardening has never been easier, no matter your level of experience or the space you have available. Kitchen Gardens Traditionally, a kitchen garden refers to an area in the garden set aside for growing food crops such as vegetables, fruits, and herbs. However, if you don’t have an outside garden, let alone one big enough for a dedicated food-growing space, you can make a garden in your kitchen. Kitchens are well suited to indoor gardening as they are usually designed to receive lots of natural light throughout the day and watering from the kitchen sink is easy and convenient. Popular growing options are leafy vegetables (which can be grown from scraps and waste), herbs and microgreens. Microgreens are young vegetable seedlings that can be harvested soon after sprouting and used as an extra fresh touch in salads and sandwiches. Indoor kitchen gardens can be planted in a single container placed in a windowsill, or in multiple containers placed around the kitchen wherever you have space. Vegetable, herb, and microgreen seeds can be purchased from garden centres and supermarkets and various easy-grow options exist. Your garden centre can advise on the most suitable containers for your space as well as a flowering indoor …
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Listen Up, Our Children Have Something to Say About Recycling Plastics
Take The Work Out of Recycling, By Recycling at Work. Our children hold more wisdom than we can imagine, especially when it comes to protecting the environment. Children across the country have therefore embraced the importance of recycling used plastic packaging. ‘Return The Favour. Recycle Your Plastics.’, a campaign launched by Polyco in 2022, demonstrated this, with a group of young recycling ambassadors taking over social media to share important messages about recycling at home. This year, these same ambassadors are encouraging you to take the work out of recycling, by recycling at work. Through its Million Plus initiative, Polyco launched the Return the Favour campaign on National Recycling Day 2022 through a series of short video messages hosted by enthusiastic children to show us all how easy it is to recycle at home. Almost 300,000 people across South Africa viewed these video messages. National Recycling Day returns this year on Friday, 15 September and Polyco is launching a campaign extension with the goal of encouraging South Africans to recycle at work. “Let’s listen to our children when they ask us to recycle or do something to live more sustainably,” says Patricia Pillay, Chief Executive Officer at Polyco. “Last year these fun, informative video messages received an impressive response with thousands of South Africans seeing how easy it is to recycle their plastic packaging at home. We want momentum to continue, and we want more videos to laugh at on social media, so we’ve created new videos that highlight how easy it is to take the work out of recycling, by recycling at work.” “This National Recycling Day, we are asking you to share these videos across your social media channels and make these messages viral,” says Pillay. “We also want to encourage you to make the commitment to establish a recycling system at your place of work. You will be surprised at how easy it is and how quickly your colleagues will adopt the habit.” Through …
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Franc launches first-of-its-kind embedded investment platform for partner businesses
Franc, an innovative embedded investment platform, provides businesses with a scalable, simple, and seamlessly integrated investment solution designed to increase revenue, drive customer engagement and stickiness and enable customers to get their money working for them. The platform allows businesses to create an investment ecosystem for customers that’s designed to suit their specific requirements, customer engagement parameters or strategic goals. “Designed as a seamless plug-and-play solution with our proprietary API, our platform makes it easy for businesses to create investment ecosystems for their customers, grow revenue, and build customer equity through our innovative embedded finance capabilities,” says Sebastian Patel, co-founder, and Chief Operations Officer at Franc. “Many businesses are interested in providing their customers access to products where they can earn a return on their money which may be sitting idle in a wallet or something similar, but they lack the technology or FSP licence to do so. We have effectively opened up our technology so that partners can benefit from the heavy lifting we have already done.” Franc differentiates itself by providing businesses with an accessible and easily integrated investment tool that rests within the business’s own branding and environment, becoming part of their overall offering and customer engagement strategy. The embedded finance tool is managed by Franc, ensuring it is compliant and aligned with regulations. “A buy-now-pay-later platform, for example, could use the tool to allow customers to save money while paying off purchases in instalments,” explains Patel. “If a customer opts into paying off shoes costing R1000 over four months, instead of paying R250 a month, they pay R300 a month, and the R50 extra goes into a wallet powered by Franc that they can then use for future purchases that will earn interest in the interim. ” “Similarly, a short-term insurer could allow customers to …
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WE ARE GUERNSEY’s Collaboration with Change Makers CoolPlay Bears Fruit
Global Unity Initiative In early September 2023, business leaders from Guernsey's financial sector assembled in Cape Town to rekindle ties with South African businesses and with sport for development programme CoolPlay. A team from WE ARE GUERNSEY, along with 20 delegates from the island, were back in Cape Town to promote Guernsey’s financial services sector, and to raise further funds for CoolPlay after a successful inaugural visit in 2022. Let the children play CoolPlay uses sport as the foundation through which to deliver valuable life skills based on a specially crafted Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum, developed by child psychologist, Linda Bruce. Since its inauguration in 2013 the CoolPlay programme has become a trusted and valued partner of 19 low- and no-fee schools within the Western Cape. Each week of every school term, there are 254 CoolPlay sessions taking place across the five designated areas. These are split between after-school sport-specific sessions (rugby/netball or soccer) and in-school sessions during life orientation classes. CoolPlay CEO, Tori Gardner, explains, "Consistent financial backing remains a significant concern for charities like CoolPlay. True transformation arises when partnerships are forged and nurtured. Last year we raised R400K in collaboration with WE ARE GUERNSEY, which enabled 267 children to play out their dreams on the sports fields of wider Cape Town. We are so grateful for their continued support and look forward to collaborating to make a meaningful impact in the years to come.” Rupert Pleasant, the Chief Executive of WE ARE GUERNSEY, said that during the visit to Cape Town, his group had had the chance to engage with CoolPlay participants, all aged between 7 and 18, from communities such as District 6, Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Kuilsriver, Stellenbosch, Ocean View, and Masiphumelele. They also met several CoolPlay Champions. These Champions, trained by CoolPlay, leverage the camaraderie of …
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Spring Tips for a Lush Summer Lawn
Give your lawn a little TLC now to make it summer-ready, ensuring it stays lush, green, and happy! By prepping it, you'll boost its resilience against pests, heat, and diseases, ensuring a lush, green garden centrepiece. If you dream of lazing on a lush lawn during the summer, now's the time to spring into action – and give your lawn some love. Think of it like this: this care is like giving your lawn a summer-ready makeover! It's all about prepping it to build up its resilience against pests, heat, and diseases, and ensuring you get that beautiful green carpet that makes your garden shine in summer. Aeration 101: Let your lawn breathe Aerating a lawn involves perforating the soil with tiny holes, a process that invites air, water, and nutrients to journey deep into the grass's roots. But why is this so crucial? Compacted soil is an enemy of root growth and lawn vitality. Aeration combats this compaction, offering improved circulation and robust root development. The most telling signs that your lawn is yearning for aeration are if water starts to pool after a rainfall or if the soil has an unusually hard feel. Grass that looks patchy or thin can also be a giveaway. Tips for best results? • Wet the lawn slightly a day before to soften the soil, making it easier to aerate. • Use a GARDENA Fertiliser spreader, available in 1.8lt, 12.5lt and 18lt. • Pierce the soil, starting in one corner of your lawn, and move systematically to ensure no area is left out. • Make passes in both vertical and horizontal directions, ensuring maximum coverage. • Remove any soil clumps left on the surface, using a rake, so they can break down and nourish the lawn. Feed the green As your grass prepares for its spring growth phase, it needs nutrients. Feeding the soil assures robust growth and vibrant stems. To best support this phase, feed the soil before summer’s debut using the right type of fertiliser for your soil and grass type. Spring is also the ideal time …