There’ll be much buzzing about on dirt bikes next weekend as Stanford hosts the first round in the exciting Junior National Off-road Championships at Boscheuwel Farm, just outside the village on the R326.

Now in its fourth year, this event caters for riders between the ages of eight and seventeen riding motorcycles or quads. Competitors, together with their families, travel from all the corners of South Africa to participate. The 2009 champions Julian Greef Hoffman, Joshua Louw and Calvin Wiltshire  will again be competing.

The action starts on Saturday 6 February at 9h00. The junior motorcycle and quad classes will race for two hours and refuel at the pits on the Boscheuwel Farm. The senior classes will start their race at 12h00 and will be racing for about three hours. The loop for the two-wheelers will be partly sandy with tight technical sections as well as some hard pack sections while the route for quad racers will include rocky sections as well as technical parts in a forest and two river crossings.

Spectators are most welcome to be part of the action and although they can support their local heroes, motor-sport enthusiasts will be able to get close to the racing and view race bikes and quads prepared by some of South Africa’s well-known names including the former Dakar quad winner, Cornel de Villiers.

With the involvement of a series sponsor this year, the organisers - Western Cape Junior Off-road Club (WCJOC) - are hoping that junior off-road racing will be taken to a new level.

Take a drive out to the venue and give these talented youngsters your support! Stanford welcomes you and wishes you a wonderful weekend of competition and camaraderie.

Far from being a sleepy village, there are always plenty of things to do in Stanford. You could join the local Quiz night, aptly named “Think and Drink” at the Stanford Art Cafe on Thursday 2 July. The popular Paprika restaurant has re-opened under new management, and has exciting new menus for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Or you could explore your creative side, and join in on a Life Drawing class, run by Nikki Miles every Monday evening from 6 - 8pm at Stanford Galleries.

The library is buzzing, with loads of activities for the children during the holidays - and while they’re busying themselves there, pop into the newly opened Beauty Spot for a treatment.

This morning at 04:00, the Weather Bureau issued a national warning of very cold conditions on the high ground, very rough seas and wave heights exceeding 5 metres. Hikers were evacuated from the Otter Trail on Wednesday, and the trail has been closed until conditions clear. The camp site at Natures Valley reported that lapping waves had reached as high as the top of the wheels of hikers’ cars parked there!

The good news from the village of Stanford, is that the weather will start improving from the weekend, with a warm and sunny week ahead. Temperatures will edge up to a pleasant 24 on Thursday!

Spare a thought for those in our communities who don’t have the luxury of a warm home and snuggly clothes and consider clearing out your old winter clothes….it’ll make you feel warm inside!

Michael Dyson, talented chef and popular Stanford resident, will be letting us know of his weekly menus on this blog. Scrumptious and perfect after a brisk walk through the village on a drizzly day.

“This week’s soups will include a new batch of Ham & Pea - using my home-cured gammon - and also roasted butternut and orange, which is a vegetarian delight. Butternut wedges, dusted with coarsely ground black pepper after a brushing of EV olive oil are roasted in a hot oven for 25 minutes, then liquidised with a vegetable stock lubricant before being blended with orange zest and juice, seasoning checked and then rounded with Jersey cream. Both soups are available at the Art Cafe and I shall have some at the Friday market, where I give complimentary wholemeal wheat-ear rolls to go with. I have now changed from normal commercial flour to stone-ground flour from Eureka Mills. What a difference! I use a mixture of 75% white bread and 25% wholemeal and a little dark molasses, plus a dash of EV olive oil in my wholemeal bread. The wheat-ear is a French tradition, an 80 gramme portion of dough formed into a wheat-ear shape and baked with a few sesame seeds sprinkled over. It looks interesting and the ‘ears’ are perfect for pulling off and dunking in the soup!

My new Stanford Pie made its debut last week, so stocks are available - using stoneground flour in the casing. The pie was commissioned by the Information Bureau - and I have based it on my English pork pie, but with an added slice of a Granny Smith apple through the centre, and a layer of caramelised onion on the top. The result is a more moist pie, which is delicious served hot - never mind the English tradition of eating pork pies cold! For a really filling, tasty meal, try heating a Stanford pie, put it in a soup bowl and pour over a cup of hot ham and pea soup.

I am kitted up for lasagnas - beef with a hint of chicken livers, and lemon chicken, also my luxury vegetarian. I prefer to make these fresh, to order, which is possible with a day’s notice, and also for my Cowboy Pie. This latter consists of a selection of my hand-made sausages - tasty or spicy - in a tomato, onion and bean sauce, with creamy potato topping and a gruyere cheese sprinkle.

The desert department has not been overlooked. I am now offering Sachertorte, the Viennese chocolate cake to beat all chocolate cakes - Belgian chocolate, butter, farm fresh free range eggs and Jersey cream are essential constituents - none of your commercial cake mixes ever cross the threshold of my kitchen!”