It feels like 2024 has flown by in a blink! Happy festive season Melville, we hope all your goals for this year have been achieved. Now rest up, spend time with your loved ones and recharge for another brilliant year! Woza 2025!

In Today’s Melville Untold

• A full guide to the festive season in Melville

• Free water sources, where to buy and permanent solutions

• A recap of the Festive day in the lights

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, 

The Digest

As the year draws to a close, and you tie up loose ends to put on the finishing touches to a hectic 2024, we’d like to help you plan your festive season. Whether you’re going away or staying put, we want to make sure you’re ready to take full advantage and avoid any negative incidents that can occur at this time. There’s really no need for it to be a stressful one. Here’s a complete cheat sheet to a stress-free, dare we say “fun” festive season! 

Operating Hours

Extended Holiday Closures. Several businesses will be taking longer breaks.

• Framed (20 Dec - 7 Jan)

• Artüro Tequila (22 Dec - 7 Jan)

• Nova (20 Dec - 7 Jan, reopening with hours 12:00-00:00 weekdays, 12:00-02:00 weekends)

• ZA etc. (Closed throughout Christmas and New Year period

• Museum Of Broken Hearts (the last opening is Dec 15th, open again the 12th of Jan)

• Cuppa Cafe: close 20th Dec - 6th Jan

• Zouk Night Club: Already Closed till 2025

• Book Circle Capital (27 Boxes) closed from 25 Dec - 1 Jan

• Love Books: Closed from the 23 Dec - 8 Jan

Christmas Period (24-26 December) Most establishments will have modified hours or closures

• Christmas Day (25 Dec): Almost all businesses closed

• Boxing Day (26 Dec): Many businesses remain closed

• Christmas Eve (24 Dec): Several businesses closing early

Restaurants & Bars

• SIX Cocktails: Closed 25, 26, 31 Dec & 1 Jan

• Duke's Burgers & Jo'anna's Meltbar: Closed 24-25 Dec, open 26 & 31 Dec, closed 1 Jan

• Coca Restaurant and Lounge: Closed 24-26 Dec, 1-3 Jan

• Xai Xai Lounge: Closed 25 & 26 Dec

• Harissa Grill & Shisha Bar: Closed 25-26 Dec, then 31 Dec - 7 Jan

• Chopstix: Closed 23-26 Dec, 31 Dec - 3 Jan

• Smoking Kills Bar: Open from 10 - 23 Dec, every day

• Anti-Social Social Club: closed 23 - 30 Dec, open on the 31st for an NYE party

• Liquid Blue Club:  Regular operating hours, open 31st and 16th Dec

• Karaoke Kong: Normal trading hours, closed only on New Year

Shopping & Services

• U-turn: Open 16 & 24 Dec (until 2 PM), closed 25-26 Dec & 1 Jan

• Smokers Deli: Open daily except 25 Dec

• The Saucery: Open throughout, including Christmas & New Year's (07:00-12:00)

• 7th Street Laundry: Closed 16, 25, 26 Dec & 1 Jan

• Baker Brothers: Open throughout December, including Christmas Day

• Melville Market's last day open: 21 Dec

• Beet Fresh (27 Boxes): Normal trading times

Ziggy's Pet Pamporium has detailed holiday hours:

• 16 & 24 Dec: 09:00-13:00

• Closed: 25-27 Dec, 1-3 Jan

• Regular hours resume from 4 January

If you're planning to visit any establishment during this period, it's worth calling ahead to confirm their operating hours, as these may be subject to change.

Safety

Now let’s get into safety and best practices. Many people will be going away and leaving their homes unattended, some will probably be leaving pets and house sitters alone. Last year the Brixton police station circulated comms to help people stay safe and mitigate the risk of their homes being broken into. We’ll include some of their tips and tricks as well as input from Danny, our local security expert to create a safety guide for you. 

Here are some best practices if you leaving you're home alone.

• The number one house safety tip is that the security signage outside your house must be extremely visible. Ensure that the armed response board is not being blocked by trees or bushes. Preferably have it right next to your gate or main entrance. It should be placed on both sides of the property if you’re on a corner.

• Test your alarm system, and make sure that it works! Make sure its battery is charging. This can be tested by unplugging your alarm system. If it immediately trips and sounds once you’ve unplugged it from its mains, this is confirmation that your battery isn’t holding any capacity. You should contact your security company or the MSI to replace it for you or purchase a battery and DIY.

• Your house keys and/or spare keys must be well hidden. Don’t leave remotes or extra keys lying around on the property. Have a trusted friend or family member come around at least once a day. Maybe ask them to stop by their way to work to check on your place, ensure that it’s still secure and provide some presence around your property.

• Don’t neglect your pets! Get a pet sitter or someone who will come and check in on them daily. This person must ensure that they have water in this heat. They’ll bark and whine if they don’t get water or love which will be sure to piss your neighbours off, they’ll try to contact you on your holiday and in turn piss you off. Better yet, send them to a kennel/pet hotel if you can’t get a house sitter.

• Save emergency numbers. Make sure that your alarm company knows who to contact if you’re going to a place with no cellphone reception or overseas. Ensure that they have loaded an alternative contact on your profile and that your alternative contact has a spare set of keys.

• A bonus is to have a gardener come by once a week to make sure your property looks well-kept, this will give the perception of presence in the home.

• Big bonus: don’t turn off your water at the water meter, this is a big indication to criminals that nobody’s home!

House And Pet Sitters

Finally, we managed to find all the trusted pet/house sitters from Melville and surrounding areas and made a comprehensive list to make it easy for you to have someone look after your home, and pets or do regular drop-ins.

Leila Poonan | House & Pet Sitter | 0648530496 (Available for drop-ins only)

Michael Hartslief | House & Pet Sitter| Message him on Facebook

Nastassja de Valence | House & Pet Sitter | 0781125135

Gregg Mason & Laurelle da Vasconcelos | House & Pet Sitters | Stay in, intensive stay-in or daily visits | 0682187559

Beverley La Grange | House & Pet Sitter | 0665933885 / 0649343669

Linda Van Deventer | House & Pet Sitter | 0823404154

Liam Snyman | House & Pet Sitter| 0765928407

Sarah Rogers | House & Pet Sitter | 0742826228

House and Pet Sitter Buddies | 0813788308

Trevor Steele Taylor | House & Pet Sitter | 0822134003

Pawfect Pet Care | In-home pet care | 0613002132

Sue’s House & Pet Sitting Services | 0765462830

Pawsome Pups Doggy Daycare | 0660948334

And there you have it - the most comprehensive guide to the festive season Melville has ever seen! With this guide, you should be good to go...or stay.

Remember to stay safe during these festive times and look after your furry family members. For any help or additional guidance, contact the MSI who will be standing by to assist you.

Most importantly, MAKE SURE YOU RETURN! It's cool to take a break from Melville now and then, but it's not cool to live anywhere else! Stay safe and have a fantastic holiday, everybody!

If you enjoyed today’s guide to the festive season, consider buying us a coffee. ☕️

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

The festive season is kicking off slowly. This week we pick the usual weekly events on the strip! Here’s your big chance to attend that event you’ve been too busy all year to attend. Just keep in mind that SIX doesn’t do karaoke on Friday’s anymore but White in Campus Square has started one on Tuesdays hosted by our very own karaoke master MaxTheKJ.

Melville Weather For The Week ☔️ 

We’re up for another extremely hot week ahead! At least this week we’ll have a few bits of rain breaks. Stay hydrated Melville, we know its tough with the water crisis but please, safety first!

Tuesday

32° 🌡️ 18°  | ⛈️ |  🌧️ 40% | NW 13 km/h 💨

Wednesday 

31° 🌡️ 19°  | 🌩️ |  🌧️ 42% | NNW 15 km/h 💨

Thursday  

31° 🌡️ 17° | ⛅️ | 🌧️ 44% | NW 9 km/h 💨

Friday 

32° 🌡️ 19° | ⛅️ |  🌧️ 41% | NW 9 km/h 💨

Saturday 

32° 🌡️ 17° | ⛈️ |  🌧️ 65% | N 15 km/h 💨

Sunday

27° 🌡️ 18° |  ⛈️ |  🌧️ 60% | NW 9 km/h 💨

Monday 

27° 🌡️ 19° | ⛅️ |  🌧️ 55% | NNW 11 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

This week’s live music section is another banger! Our hands-down pick of the week is the SIX Cocktails star-studded jazz session happening on Wednesday with some of South Africa’s best jazz musicians playing there live, for free. Mind-blowing! Other than this week’s insane combo of artists at SIX another goodie is the Ubuntu Experiment happening at Chiesa with tons of talented musicians featuring there as well.

Tuesdays | 7pm - 10pm | Xai Xai Lounge | Eric Miyeni & Richard Jones playing live music | Free entry

Tuesdays | 7pm - 10pm | Coca Lounge | Artist open showcase/performance | Free entry

Wednesdays | SIX Cocktails Bar | Live Jazz Sessions - Marcus Wyatt, Yonela Mnana, Nhlanhla Radebe, Sphiwe Shiburi | 8 pm til late | Free entrance 

Wednesdays | Blanco On 7th | Culture On 7th - Slam Poetry, Live Music, Comedy | Free entrance 

Thursdays | 7pm - 10pm | Coca Lounge | Open Mic - Plug in, play, sing and rap | Free entry

13/12 Friday 7 PM - 11:45 | Smoking Kills Bar | Hate City Nightmare - Necklace, Mean Girls, Grift & ATFN | Tickets R80 online, R100 door

14/12 Saturday | 7.30 pm - 10.30 pm | Chiesa di PAZZO LUPi | Ubuntu Experiment  | Tickets from R200

Saturdays | 5pm til late | White Campus Square | Saturday Night Live - Live Music | Every Saturday | Free entry, no demands

Sundays | 4pm | Jo’anna Meltbar | Sola Vida Drum & Bass | 1/2 price cocktails | Free entry all day

15/12 Sunday | 4pm | Non-Club Record Bar | Colour Club - Jamie Thinnes 🇺🇸|, 2Lani, Undlovu, Tha Cutt & Drew | Free Entry

Sundays | 8pm - 10pm | Coca Lounge | Vynil Sundaze - DJ Mo, DJ Peppe, Dj Ferose, JusDane & DJ Ashwin | Every Sunday

Mondays | Blanco On 7th | Mogodu Lifestyle Monday | Reservations 0662082548

If this comprehensive weather and gig guide helped you, consider buying us a coffee. ☕️

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th. We’ll be active until the 16th of December.

Melville Koppies Check-in ⛰️

 Melville Koppies Central will be open on the 15th of December for the last time this year. The Proteas will be blooming gorgeously this time of year so this is definitely a Sunday not to miss!

They’ll be closed on the 22nd and 29th of December which means there won’t be an 8km guided walk this month. The Koppies Central will be open again on the 5th of January for 2025.

You can still book private hikes before the 21st of Dec. Call Wendy at 079 532 0083 for details.

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

Civil Matters 🚰 

The water situation has become extremely dire. The community bodies and CREASS are working on making Melville one of the first communities in Jo’burg to have its own water reservoir independent from government entities. It's nothing fancy, but we can depend on it when the powers that be decide to violate a basic human right again. It's one we can manage ourselves, be responsible for, and hopefully curb some of these horrible issues we face.

Until then, the major water shutdown on the 13th of December is looming. Here are some ideas to help you get by.

Free water sources:

• U-turn Melville (See the digest for the closing times)

• The Mosque’s in Auckland park, Westdene and Emmerentia 

Paid water sources nearby:

• Spar Melville: R5 per 5-litre bottle

• Checkers Emmarentia

• MANZI Water at the Rand Steam Centre: R9 per 5-litre bottle

• Oasis Water Johannesburg (Northcliff, Greenside and Heathway)

For a more permanent solution, consider installing a Jojo Tank:

• Direct message Brendan Robert Harrison on Facebook for his Jojo installation contact - it costs R17,000 for 2x slimline 1000-litre JoJo tanks, with a flow valve regulator, a .75 kv pump, and a three-stage filter system. It fills up from municipal water and lasts two weeks with no council water supply.

• Vinny Chiccos from the ILM group installs Jojo tanks and pumps that switch automatically once the council water is gone, from 500 to 1200L, based in Melville. Call 0735152750 for a free quote.

• Leroy Merlin Hardware has many options; make sure you get a loyalty card for benefits. 010 493 8000

• Solar Masters SA. Weltevreden. 0837028570

• If Only Landscaping. Fairylands. 0672147950

• Water4Africa. 087 012 5965

• JUSPROPA. 073 434 2008

• Jojo. Find an installer near you. 011 695 8300

We hope these options provide some relief during this challenging time. Remember, we're all in this together. Share resources, check in on neighbours, and let's weather this storm as the resilient community we are.

Stay tuned for more updates as we work towards a sustainable water solution for Melville. If you have any sources we haven't covered, please reply to this email so we can update this week's issue on the web version.

Markets Watch 🎪

At the Melville Market mama bird is still diligently protecting her incoming babies. I must say we’re really getting anxious to meet them already! Let’s hope they hatch before the Market closes for the festive season on the 21st of December. Lets also cross fingers that Paul Mills doesn’t have any plans to leave Melville this festive season!

The Melville Market at Kruis kerk have a goodies hamper draw happening. The draw will take place at the last event of the year on the 21st.

Raffle Details

• R10 per ticket

• Enter every Saturday at the Market

• Get a free ticket if you spend over R500 at a stall

• The draw happens on the 21st of December at 1 PM at the Market

Icing On The Cake 🍰 

Sweet Little Stories From Our Streets

Melville’s Festive Day = Huge Success! 🎊

Last week we raved about a special occasion to go with the new lights shining in all their glory. Well it happened, and Melville had a blast! Cobi and Oliver of the MBA reported back to us and got some expert snaps capturing a magical moment. (we might have to recruit them into Snaps On Seventh!).

The festive season was magnificently ushered into Melville by brass bands, Christmas treats and carols. This special occasion was guarded by none other than our local superhero with the MSI and Beagle Watch. Lots of people also came out to kick off their Christmas shopping. Del La Créme and De Baba Eatery served up some Mince Pies Gluehwein and sold many more yummy festive treats.

At Hotel Hope the kids also had a very special day singing their Christmas carols for Christmas shoppers. One of the little buggers even came out looking cute in a Santa Claus outfit. The Salvation Army’s brass band was in full voice creating a fitting backdrop ambience to accompany the festive vibes.

Well done to the MBA and the Melville community for always managing to create something out of nothing. These types of things lift our community spirits, create opportunities for us to meet our neighbours and make special Melville memories.

The Museum Of Broken Hearts Is In Full Swing Now

The Museum Of Broken Hearts is alive and pumping. After a successful opening event this week people flocked to this sacred place of healing to check out the pieces on display, enjoy their catered snacks and socialise with like-minded people.

This is another new and interesting experience in our hood that is sure to draw people in and help Melville along on its “revival”. Pop in and show them some love if you’re still around this festive.

They open for the last time in 2024 next week on Sunday the 15th and open again on the 12th of January. There’s a R120 entrance fee with an option to pay R60 to enjoy the food and drinks they provide for their lovesick visitors. Check them out!

Thank you! 🙏

After a superb 2024 and fourteen issues to kick off this awesome publication, Snaps On Seventh will also be taking a break. Even God rested on the sabbath! We have loved researching and bringing this beautiful community insightful stories and timely event news. I lay up every night thinking of ways to be more effective and help our community enjoy Melville more. So many ideas and too little time to build and implement. It's now time to rest, spend time with our families and BUILD!

With that said, this is our last issue of Melville Untold for the year. We’ll be back on Tuesday the 7th of January with a money-savvy guide to heal your Januworries. We hope this final issue can take you into 2025. We’ve brought you many of the business trading times to keep you going if you’re staying in the Ville, a safety guide and best practices if you’ll be going away, and cherried it on top with the festive events and New Years eve parties going on. What else could you ask for?? Our social media will be active ‘til the 16th of December and back again starting from Monday the 6th of January.

Thank you so very much for rocking with us this year! To our content creation and photography clients - siyabonga! To our first ever Melville Untold advertiser, Lovebooks - realoboga! To each-and-every reader/subscriber, especially those who referred Melville Untold to a friend, rave about our articles or sent us compliments and words of encouragement - baie dankie! To our social media followers and people who share, comment and spread our work online - enkosi!

2025 we take it up a notch! We hope to shoot with you guys more and help your business thrive in this visual content and digital landscape. We hope to partner with more advertisers who offer excellent products and services that our readers will enjoy and MUST know about. We hope to bring you more important information, events and Melville happenings in time for you to plan, rally up your squad to attend and generally be the first people in the know!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Have a special festive season, Melville. You're the star on top of our Christmas tree. 🌟

Stay wonderful, stay cool, and keep that festive spirit alive! 🎄

kwaheri ✌️