Durban - “Ye Knackered Bell – Ring at your Peril,” read the sign. Should I ring and run, like an adolescent schoolboy? Clearly the bell deserved more respect than that.
Located in the garden of The Knackered Swan – a trading store, B&B and restaurant – it has a fascinating history, apparently coming from a school in Scotland. The previous owner of the trading store, it is said, won it as payment for a gambling debt.
The term knackered, is pretty disparaging – old, tired, ready for the knacker’s yard. While The Knackered Swan is certainly no young signet, there is still plenty of voomah in the old bird.
Owners Joan and John Perkins, have turned a rather rundown trading store (which still has its original shelving) into a focal point of social life in the Kamberg valley.
On Sundays, people from as far afield as Hilton, Pietermaritzburg, and Mooi River head for the pub/restaurant. Before tucking in, those seeking a bit of rural charm, tend to saunter down to two wooden benches at the bottom of the garden, with a view over a stream and field.
Joan showed me around and introduced me to the “family”… a large, fine-feathered rooster and his harem who love to sleep on top of the pizza oven.
Quaintly, one of the hens will only lay her eggs on a sofa, so careful where you sit. The fowls have a friend with a difference – a baby duiker. “It is totally unafraid,” said Joan. “It rushes up and challenges them, then rushes away again when the rooster chases it.”
A ceramic artist and teacher, she paints oils under the name Joan of Art. In a small studio, she displays the mugs she makes for children, as well as her unusual tea sets. Artwork by Wendy Mills, William Dobbelaer, and Joan’s own oils are on sale. “I sold 37 paintings on my first weekend,” she said, telling of her opening.
Clearly high-powered, Joan was involved with training of staff, public relations, and selling timeshare at places like Champagne Sport Resort, River Bend and Fairways at Drakensberg Gardens, Little Switzerland, as well as a similar venture in Goa, India, and a golf resort on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
In addition to her normal ceramic classes, she was recently approached to do therapeutic ceramic workshops for people suffering from cancer.
l The Knackered Swan has a self-catering cottage at R150pp; an en suite leading on to the garden, with own lounge is R225pp; while a small adjoining room with two single beds with no private facilities (suitable for children) is also R150pp. Contact: 033 267 7997; 082 928 0874; e-mail: [email protected] - Sunday Tribune