Going, going … goodbye – but their hearts remain in auctioned dorp

The couple who became the driving force behind the tiny Free State hamlet of Verkykerskop – which went on auction at the weekend – said that while they may be moving on, their hearts will remain in the escarpment outspan.

Matt Hoffman and his wife Beth Hillary, who amassed a one-of-a-kind trove of antiques, including a vintage Shell petrol pump and one of the largest collections of enamel signs, describe bittersweet emotions as the town took a bid for R3m.

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