Obslife, Aug 2010

LIKE many long-time Observatorians, Justin Ashley's relationship with the village started in his student days some 20 years ago. Since then his life has become increasingly entwined with Observatory.

Ashley runs his company, Bridge People & Technology, from the same "character-filled old Victorian" in Station Road which houses the Observatory Improvement District, the board of which he has chaired since its inception last year.

Bridge People & Technology is an IT company that supplies e-learning software and consulting services to major South African and international organisations. Ashley has also renovated several Obs houses in the last six years for the rental market.

The father of two boys aged five and one says he loves Observatory for its "gorgeous old buildings and narrow streets, where people walk their kids to parks and to the various eating and drinking establishments that are so much a part of the Obs culture. And the people that fill Obs are so interesting and varied - from Norwegian students, to Nigerian shop keepers, to people who were born and lived all their lives here. It's a wonderful mix."
His involvement in the OBSID, which began when he helped to collect signatures for its establishment, is aimed at creating "a space which is clean and safe and which allows the creativity inherent in this suburb to flourish".