USEFUL STUFF
Daisy Does … Archive
MANDELA DAY
Posted on 9:33 am | No CommentsAbandoned by FIFA after a steamy month-long romance, a jilted South Africa has taken to bed with a tub of rum'n'raisin ice cream and a tearstained copy of He's Just Not That Into You. The government has denied accusations that a flirtation with the International Olympic Committee is "...blatantly a rebound".![We were still at the polo farm* and the unaccustomed exercise along with the heat and the wine were beginning to make me hallucinate. At one point I could have sworn I saw Baroness Thatcher slip into the house behind us. And yet... that unmistakeable hair, the power suit, the pair of sensible yet elegant heels disappearing through the door... I moved a little closer and could hear a distinctly low-pitched, enunciated voice giving orders. Surely it couldn’t be? [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/food-and-wine-pairing2-115x115.jpg "FOOD & WINE PAIRING")
FOOD & WINE PAIRING
Posted on 2:19 pm | No CommentsWe were still at the polo farm* and the unaccustomed exercise along with the heat and the wine were beginning to make me hallucinate. At one point I could have sworn I saw Baroness Thatcher slip into the house behind us. And yet... that unmistakeable hair, the power suit, the pair of sensible yet elegant heels disappearing through the door... I moved a little closer and could hear a distinctly low-pitched, enunciated voice giving orders. Surely it couldn’t be? [Read more...]![That is, not very well. I like to think of it merely as lack of practice and thereby neatly sidestep the issue of ability, but now a full 12 years after obtaining my driver’s licence (at the third attempt) I actually own a car. Not only that, but I am living in a city where public transport is minimal and as a result I find myself driving at least a little bit almost every day. Much to my surprise I am enjoying being a part of the Capetonians’ cheerfully haphazard driving jamboree. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/driving_in_cape_town_review1-115x115.jpg "DRIVING IN CAPE TOWN")
DRIVING IN CAPE TOWN
Posted on 11:30 am | No CommentsThat is, not very well. I like to think of it merely as lack of practice and thereby neatly sidestep the issue of ability, but now a full 12 years after obtaining my driver’s licence (at the third attempt) I actually own a car. Not only that, but I am living in a city where public transport is minimal and as a result I find myself driving at least a little bit almost every day. Much to my surprise I am enjoying being a part of the Capetonians’ cheerfully haphazard driving jamboree. [Read more...]
KAYAKING WITH PENGUINS
Posted on 10:56 am | No Comments"Ooh I'm not sure actually. Looks a bit nippy. Maybe we should wait a bit. See if it warms up. (Pause) Let's ask Gladys... She was in earlier. (pause) ... See what she says. (pause)![Whale Meet AgainThe whales have arrived! Yes, whale season is here again. And I don’t mean that we Capetonians grab our wellies and harpoons and wage once more the age-old ritual of man against beast, gorging ourselves on fistfuls of blubber come nightfall. We have far too many excellent restaurants for that (a fact reflected in the personal skirmishes of Man v. Blubber, perhaps?) No, we like to take a bottle of wine down to the coast and sip delicately while watching the leviathans frolicking often just metres off shore. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Whale_meet_again_review1-115x115.jpg "WHALE MEET AGAIN")
WHALE MEET AGAIN
Posted on 11:37 am | No CommentsWhale Meet AgainThe whales have arrived! Yes, whale season is here again. And I don’t mean that we Capetonians grab our wellies and harpoons and wage once more the age-old ritual of man against beast, gorging ourselves on fistfuls of blubber come nightfall. We have far too many excellent restaurants for that (a fact reflected in the personal skirmishes of Man v. Blubber, perhaps?) No, we like to take a bottle of wine down to the coast and sip delicately while watching the leviathans frolicking often just metres off shore. [Read more...]![No doubt you remember the episode of Hart to Hart when Mrs H gets kidnapped by the baddie. Held in a room with a glass wall, she uses her large diamond ring to cut her way through the glass to freedom. It is surely the perfect example (note to husband) of just how useful diamonds can be in day to day living. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Diamond-days-review12-115x115.jpg "DIAMOND DAYS")
DIAMOND DAYS
Posted on 3:00 pm | No CommentsNo doubt you remember the episode of Hart to Hart when Mrs H gets kidnapped by the baddie. Held in a room with a glass wall, she uses her large diamond ring to cut her way through the glass to freedom. It is surely the perfect example (note to husband) of just how useful diamonds can be in day to day living. [Read more...]![“And in about 500 yards the road should take a slight bend to the left,” my father informed us, one cigar-stained finger tracing our route along the map as we topped yet another breathtaking mountain pass. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/birkenhead-115x115.jpg "Travelling With Parents – The Toughest Test?")
Travelling With Parents – The Toughest Test?
Posted on 12:23 pm | No Comments“And in about 500 yards the road should take a slight bend to the left,” my father informed us, one cigar-stained finger tracing our route along the map as we topped yet another breathtaking mountain pass. [Read more...]
BEN ZANDER: THE ART OF POSSIBILITY
Posted on 11:04 am | No CommentsCoals to Newcastle, ice to Eskimos… teaching Capetonians not to take themselves so seriously. Hmmm, someone should have told Ben Zander that his Rule Number 6 is a slam dunk in this neck of the woods. After all, this is ‘The City that Never Quite Wakes Up’. But then again, maybe that is why a motivational speaker should be so welcome here. Motivational speakers. Hmmm – the cynical forcefield starts to hum as the mind pictures a manicured, coiffured person of suspiciously orange hue, fresh from a successful run on the Shopping Channel. Happily enough, Ben Zander is cut from rather finer cloth. He’s not even American (sorry Americans, but you know what I mean). Admittedly he lives in America, but that’s because, amongst other things, he happens to be the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Keynote speaker no less than four times at the World Economic Forum, this extraordinary man is on a mission to inspire the world to embrace what he calls ’The Art of Possibility'.
MY WORLD CUP OVERFLOWETH
Posted on 10:29 am | No CommentsWell we're half way through the World Cup and I've got vuvu ear and a beer belly. The ear is not from the noise but from whacking myself with the damn thing as I tried to negotiate the portaloos at the Fan Fest. The beer belly has appeared all by itself.![If you look up at Lion’s Head from the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay you might just make out a small patch of not-quite-natural green on the seaward slope of the mountain. With a pair of binoculars last week, you might even have been able to see the form of a hapless English housewife teetering on its brink. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/paragliding1-115x113.jpg "GETTING HIGH")
GETTING HIGH
Posted on 2:39 pm | No CommentsIf you look up at Lion’s Head from the beaches of Clifton and Camps Bay you might just make out a small patch of not-quite-natural green on the seaward slope of the mountain. With a pair of binoculars last week, you might even have been able to see the form of a hapless English housewife teetering on its brink. [Read more...]![The Art of DiscoveryI like to think everyone has those days when a gentle stroll amongst the shops turns into a cross-eyed, hobble-legged search for a loo. Just the other day I found myself once again misjudging my essential tea/bladder ratio in the middle of Greenmarket Square.This hubbub of colour and activity dominates the centre of town to such a degree that, regardless of where you started, you will at some point find yourself there. There are numerous coffee shops and restaurants surrounding it, but I always feel uncomfortable taking advantage of such places without also sitting down for a drink, a familiar situation which it seems to me only perpetuates the problem. As my brain reached a critical stage of limbo my eye was drawn to a large black cat, sunning himself on the stoep of the Old Town House, a building overlooking but generally overlooked by the bustle of the square. Large doors opened onto a marbled gallery, which somehow offered hope, if only to be out of the sun. Curious, and feeling slightly silly, I poked my head in. Instantly the noise of the street outside receded and I was welcomed in to the cool interior. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/the-art-of-discovery-115x115.jpg "THE ART OF DISCOVERY")
THE ART OF DISCOVERY
Posted on 11:44 am | No CommentsThe Art of DiscoveryI like to think everyone has those days when a gentle stroll amongst the shops turns into a cross-eyed, hobble-legged search for a loo. Just the other day I found myself once again misjudging my essential tea/bladder ratio in the middle of Greenmarket Square.This hubbub of colour and activity dominates the centre of town to such a degree that, regardless of where you started, you will at some point find yourself there. There are numerous coffee shops and restaurants surrounding it, but I always feel uncomfortable taking advantage of such places without also sitting down for a drink, a familiar situation which it seems to me only perpetuates the problem. As my brain reached a critical stage of limbo my eye was drawn to a large black cat, sunning himself on the stoep of the Old Town House, a building overlooking but generally overlooked by the bustle of the square. Large doors opened onto a marbled gallery, which somehow offered hope, if only to be out of the sun. Curious, and feeling slightly silly, I poked my head in. Instantly the noise of the street outside receded and I was welcomed in to the cool interior. [Read more...]
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
Posted on 10:42 am | No CommentsI was once reprimanded for talking in Ronnie Scott's - an earful from none other than beehive-topped Mari Wilson herself. But, though scarlet with embarrassment at the time, I still feel that the perfect atmosphere for listening to jazz should be like Rick's Café in Casablanca... a smoky, low buzz with a just streak of rebellion running through it.![For a minute I thought I was hallucinating. But then I saw it again - a vast purple octopus floating in the heavens. It lured me closer and drew my attention to its companions, a colossal frog, a lumbering caterpillar and, as you would expect, a gigantic penguin. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kiss_me_kite11-115x115.jpg "KISS ME KITE")
KISS ME KITE
Posted on 1:46 pm | No CommentsFor a minute I thought I was hallucinating. But then I saw it again - a vast purple octopus floating in the heavens. It lured me closer and drew my attention to its companions, a colossal frog, a lumbering caterpillar and, as you would expect, a gigantic penguin. [Read more...]!["I love the smell of Cape Town in the morning." I haven't even seen Apocalypse Now, but I know the line well enough to misquote it. I spoke gruffly, with a dodgy American accent. I couldn’t help myself – I was in a Huey, the iconic combat air vehicle and star of so many films, and I was revved up for a Combat Mission flight. The rotors were settling into steady whump whump overhead, and the sound system was playing The Doors’ This is the End. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Huey_helicopter-115x115.jpg "HUEY: COMBAT MISSION")
HUEY: COMBAT MISSION
Posted on 3:29 pm | No Comments"I love the smell of Cape Town in the morning." I haven't even seen Apocalypse Now, but I know the line well enough to misquote it. I spoke gruffly, with a dodgy American accent. I couldn’t help myself – I was in a Huey, the iconic combat air vehicle and star of so many films, and I was revved up for a Combat Mission flight. The rotors were settling into steady whump whump overhead, and the sound system was playing The Doors’ This is the End. [Read more...]![It’s funny what we’ll do for an adrenaline rush. Recently I was telling some clients about my abseil down Table Mountain. Their eyes lit up when I whispered, “I nearly died I was so scared” and they couldn’t book themselves in fast enough. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/jet-lagged-115x115.jpg "JET LAGGED")
JET LAGGED
Posted on 1:33 pm | No CommentsIt’s funny what we’ll do for an adrenaline rush. Recently I was telling some clients about my abseil down Table Mountain. Their eyes lit up when I whispered, “I nearly died I was so scared” and they couldn’t book themselves in fast enough. [Read more...]
REVIEW: VLADIMIR TRETCHIKOFF AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
Posted on 12:25 pm | No Comments“Your favourite colour is blue, isn’t it?” I asked my child. “There’s a famous painter who used to paint people’s faces blue. Would you like to go and see?” I’d...
RORKE’S DRIFT
Posted on 11:10 am | No CommentsHooray for the ancient art of story telling. When did you last come across someone who could use a phrase such as “that long, dark, desperate night...” and keep a wide-eyed audience enthralled for over an hour?![As each one hit I felt myself black out for a millisecond. It was as though the dust in my head was being forcibly ripped out from between my eyes. It was hard to gauge my own sanity. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Christmas_in_cape_town-llandudno_beach11-115x115.jpg "CHRISTMAS IN CAPE TOWN")
CHRISTMAS IN CAPE TOWN
Posted on 1:54 pm | No CommentsAs each one hit I felt myself black out for a millisecond. It was as though the dust in my head was being forcibly ripped out from between my eyes. It was hard to gauge my own sanity. [Read more...]
REVIEW: HANDS-ON HARVEST AT ROBERTSON
Posted on 9:50 pm | No CommentsWine tasting before breakfast… on top of a koppie overlooking one of the most beautiful valleys I’ve ever seen. It had been an early start but then, during the Hands-on...![I once had a client, a charming Essex girl, who asked me where she could buy clothes in Zanzibar. I explained that within the nearby villages she may be able to buy the local material, but there were no clothes shops or tailors to be found. She looked at me blankly and said, “No, sweetheart. Cloves. Like the spices, innit?” [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/on-the-market-115x115.jpg "ON THE MARKET")
ON THE MARKET
Posted on 3:06 pm | No CommentsI once had a client, a charming Essex girl, who asked me where she could buy clothes in Zanzibar. I explained that within the nearby villages she may be able to buy the local material, but there were no clothes shops or tailors to be found. She looked at me blankly and said, “No, sweetheart. Cloves. Like the spices, innit?” [Read more...]
REVIEW: CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
Posted on 8:31 pm | No CommentsTraffic was reminiscent of the World Cup. I turned off the radio, wound down my window and smiled as the nonchalant strains of Ivan Mazuze’s saxophone drifted from the stage...
SECRET VALLEY
Posted on 9:25 am | No CommentsTo describe a valley as 'nestling' is a little trite, but this village - just over an hour north east of Cape Town - is bordered on three sides by mountainous nature reserves which are often topped by snow in the winter. Many of the whitewashed houses have heritage status and the roads are lined with trees. On clear nights, the stars are so bright from here that it is possible to make out the centre of the galaxy. Peacocks wander down the road and everybody greets each other. Yip, it's a little slice of heaven.![I’ve found a whole new chunk of Cape Town to love. Newlands is the most wonderful cricket ground I’ve ever been to. OK, so it’s the only cricket ground I’ve been to, but I’m a very recent convert to the game, and finding myself sitting in the sun by a large green field with Table Mountain as a backdrop, I knew this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Jiminy-cricket-review-1-115x115.jpg "JIMINY CRICKET")
JIMINY CRICKET
Posted on 1:39 pm | No CommentsI’ve found a whole new chunk of Cape Town to love. Newlands is the most wonderful cricket ground I’ve ever been to. OK, so it’s the only cricket ground I’ve been to, but I’m a very recent convert to the game, and finding myself sitting in the sun by a large green field with Table Mountain as a backdrop, I knew this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. [Read more...]![Apart from the occasional gumming of an air stewardess’s ear Joseph behaved himself pretty well on his first flight. Clearly a budding engineer, he mastered the seat belt buckle in seconds and once he had been transferred to the bassinet, he made repeated attempts to get at the screws which held it to the bulkhead. When awake he gahhed and burbled, noises which were lost in the white noise of the engines. When asleep he lay stretched out and tucked in, and I gazed at him partly in awe but mostly with the exponentially increasing envy known only to the economy traveller. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/have-child-will-travel2-115x115.jpg "HAVE CHILD WILL TRAVEL")
HAVE CHILD WILL TRAVEL
Posted on 2:42 pm | No CommentsApart from the occasional gumming of an air stewardess’s ear Joseph behaved himself pretty well on his first flight. Clearly a budding engineer, he mastered the seat belt buckle in seconds and once he had been transferred to the bassinet, he made repeated attempts to get at the screws which held it to the bulkhead. When awake he gahhed and burbled, noises which were lost in the white noise of the engines. When asleep he lay stretched out and tucked in, and I gazed at him partly in awe but mostly with the exponentially increasing envy known only to the economy traveller. [Read more...]![I know that liking a politician for their appearance is as shallow as choosing a racehorse for its name or a wine for its label, but, well... I am that shallow. I am more likely to be found reading the derring-do exploits of The Four Marys from the Bunty Annual 1965 than perusing the political pages of the papers, but for what it’s worth, I liked the fact that Thabo Mbeki was always immaculately tailored just as I liked his upright posture, his quiet demeanour and his reputation for academia. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/kgalema-motlanthe-115x115.jpg "Kgalema Motlanthe")
Kgalema Motlanthe
Posted on 2:31 pm | No CommentsI know that liking a politician for their appearance is as shallow as choosing a racehorse for its name or a wine for its label, but, well... I am that shallow. I am more likely to be found reading the derring-do exploits of The Four Marys from the Bunty Annual 1965 than perusing the political pages of the papers, but for what it’s worth, I liked the fact that Thabo Mbeki was always immaculately tailored just as I liked his upright posture, his quiet demeanour and his reputation for academia. [Read more...]
TOWNSHIP TOURING
Posted on 10:48 am | No CommentsFor all the adrenaline, beauty and culture on offer in Cape Town, for true inspiration you can't do better than to head to the townships. Most people assume that these are places of crime and squalor which should be avoided at all costs. But go with the right guide and you'll find that behind the rows and rows of shacks that line the road from the airport there are real life stories full of proud, positive and caring entrepreneurship.![With a houseful of dusty bits of junk and mismatched furniture and a wardrobe that includes my old school skirt (yup - still going strong after nearly two decades) I am not necessarily the best person to judge what is groovy and cool and This Season’s Must-Buy. But believe me – if you weren’t at the Design Indaba last week, you should have been. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/design_indaba_2010_review1-115x115.jpg "DESIGNS OF LIFE")
DESIGNS OF LIFE
Posted on 2:02 pm | No CommentsWith a houseful of dusty bits of junk and mismatched furniture and a wardrobe that includes my old school skirt (yup - still going strong after nearly two decades) I am not necessarily the best person to judge what is groovy and cool and This Season’s Must-Buy. But believe me – if you weren’t at the Design Indaba last week, you should have been. [Read more...]![OK – I confess, we do get winter in Cape Town. In the last couple of weeks it must have rained at least twice and the temperature at night has plunged to as low as three degrees. But even the weather succumbs to Cape Town’s laid back attitude. As I write this, I am sitting in the sun under our lemon tree, thermal vest long since discarded. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Winter_in_Cape_Town_review11-115x115.jpg "WINTER IN CAPE TOWN")
WINTER IN CAPE TOWN
Posted on 12:12 pm | No CommentsOK – I confess, we do get winter in Cape Town. In the last couple of weeks it must have rained at least twice and the temperature at night has plunged to as low as three degrees. But even the weather succumbs to Cape Town’s laid back attitude. As I write this, I am sitting in the sun under our lemon tree, thermal vest long since discarded. [Read more...]![Just because Brad Pitt and Nicolas Cage have done it is not a good reason. But it helps. I’d had an invitation to go shark-diving, and it occurred to me that if the sharks didn’t show up, it might be nice if there was a celebrity on board to gape at instead. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Great-white-hunter-review2-115x115.jpg "GREAT WHITE HUNTER")
GREAT WHITE HUNTER
Posted on 2:55 pm | No CommentsJust because Brad Pitt and Nicolas Cage have done it is not a good reason. But it helps. I’d had an invitation to go shark-diving, and it occurred to me that if the sharks didn’t show up, it might be nice if there was a celebrity on board to gape at instead. [Read more...]![An event held on a school sports field generally holds promise of little more than a ponderous brass band and a tombola manned by an Enthusiastic Father. But Camps Bay High School is no ordinary venue. And the event was, well... the restaurant equivalent to winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/taste_of_cape_town_2010_review13-115x115.jpg "TASTE OF CAPE TOWN")
TASTE OF CAPE TOWN
Posted on 2:12 pm | No CommentsAn event held on a school sports field generally holds promise of little more than a ponderous brass band and a tombola manned by an Enthusiastic Father. But Camps Bay High School is no ordinary venue. And the event was, well... the restaurant equivalent to winning a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory. [Read more...]![Acutely aware of my own mortality I teetered on the edge of a sheer cliff-face, face green and legs trembling. It astonished me that I should have volunteered myself into such a situation. It seemed so easy while in the depths of pregnancy to promise that one day I would abseil down Table Mountain. But now that day had come. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Abseiling-table-mountain11-115x115.jpg "ABSEILING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN")
ABSEILING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
Posted on 3:16 pm | No CommentsAcutely aware of my own mortality I teetered on the edge of a sheer cliff-face, face green and legs trembling. It astonished me that I should have volunteered myself into such a situation. It seemed so easy while in the depths of pregnancy to promise that one day I would abseil down Table Mountain. But now that day had come. [Read more...]![Rounding a precarious bend I hit an unexpected dip in the rough road and was thrown forward in the saddle. Feeling sheepishly amateur, I looked up to see the shape of the inscrutable trail boss silhouetted against the late afternoon sky, one foot up on a rock, motes of dust swirling around him as the sunlight streamed across the mountaintop. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/making_tracks_review1-115x115.jpg "MAKING TRACKS")
MAKING TRACKS
Posted on 11:25 am | No CommentsRounding a precarious bend I hit an unexpected dip in the rough road and was thrown forward in the saddle. Feeling sheepishly amateur, I looked up to see the shape of the inscrutable trail boss silhouetted against the late afternoon sky, one foot up on a rock, motes of dust swirling around him as the sunlight streamed across the mountaintop. [Read more...]![However intimidating motorbikes, leathers or facial hair might be, no-one could possibly deny that Harley-Davidsons are damn cool. And I have ridden one! [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/march_madness_review12-115x115.jpg "MARCH MADNESS")
MARCH MADNESS
Posted on 1:28 pm | No CommentsHowever intimidating motorbikes, leathers or facial hair might be, no-one could possibly deny that Harley-Davidsons are damn cool. And I have ridden one! [Read more...]
STARRY EYED
Posted on 11:06 am | No CommentsContemplating the vastness of the universe has always been a great chat up technique. Since the dawn of speech, men have been making things up about the stars in the hope of getting lucky. So in theory, what with 2009 being the International Year of Astronomy, 2010 should be a baby boomer year.![We all have days of being Data Deficient, but to be globally listed as such could be rather an insult. Yet such is the fate of the Bryde whale. On further investigation, the implication is not so much that it is naturally blonde but simply that there is insufficient information about the species. This very shy mammal is estimated to number just 90 000 - that’s approximately the population of Hemel Hempstead - sprinkled throughout the vast tropical and temperate waters of the world. There have been more sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Probably. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/close-encounters2-115x115.jpg "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS")
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS
Posted on 2:25 pm | No CommentsWe all have days of being Data Deficient, but to be globally listed as such could be rather an insult. Yet such is the fate of the Bryde whale. On further investigation, the implication is not so much that it is naturally blonde but simply that there is insufficient information about the species. This very shy mammal is estimated to number just 90 000 - that’s approximately the population of Hemel Hempstead - sprinkled throughout the vast tropical and temperate waters of the world. There have been more sightings of the Loch Ness Monster. Probably. [Read more...]![Cape Town is cooking and my otherwise pale and blotchy legs are now complemented by orange streaks of fake tan. In this regard, I remain resolutely British. True Capetonians blossom in the summer. Endless lithe and perfectly bronzed bodies roam about, relaxed and laughing. Even their hair remains shiny and tangle-free whereas mine sticks out in small frizzy clumps where I’ve repeatedly got it caught in my sunglasses. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/jazz-fest-oudekraakl2-115x115.jpg "JAZZ ON THE ROCKS")
JAZZ ON THE ROCKS
Posted on 2:48 pm | No CommentsCape Town is cooking and my otherwise pale and blotchy legs are now complemented by orange streaks of fake tan. In this regard, I remain resolutely British. True Capetonians blossom in the summer. Endless lithe and perfectly bronzed bodies roam about, relaxed and laughing. Even their hair remains shiny and tangle-free whereas mine sticks out in small frizzy clumps where I’ve repeatedly got it caught in my sunglasses. [Read more...]![Thursday afternoons can be so dull, can’t they? The mornings too really, despite the thrill of racing to get the bins out in time. After that, the rest of the day has a rather limp ’not-quite-Friday’ feel to it. Last Thursday was a little different - there was various work to tackle, but the sun was out and Table Mountain was gleaming smugly outside my window so I pushed back my chair, picked up my bag, and headed off for a champagne cruise. Aah, life is tough in Cape Town. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/three-sheets-to-the-wind2-115x115.jpg "THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND")
THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND
Posted on 2:44 pm | No CommentsThursday afternoons can be so dull, can’t they? The mornings too really, despite the thrill of racing to get the bins out in time. After that, the rest of the day has a rather limp ’not-quite-Friday’ feel to it. Last Thursday was a little different - there was various work to tackle, but the sun was out and Table Mountain was gleaming smugly outside my window so I pushed back my chair, picked up my bag, and headed off for a champagne cruise. Aah, life is tough in Cape Town. [Read more...]![Riding HighWhen my school needed to raise money for, say, a new set of gym mats we would normally have a School Fete or perhaps a Bring and Buy Sale. Or we might collect milk bottle tops and tin cans and the teacher would put a big cardboard thermometer on the wall so we could see just how far we still had to go. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Riding_high_review21-115x115.jpg "RIDING HIGH")
RIDING HIGH
Posted on 11:51 am | No CommentsRiding HighWhen my school needed to raise money for, say, a new set of gym mats we would normally have a School Fete or perhaps a Bring and Buy Sale. Or we might collect milk bottle tops and tin cans and the teacher would put a big cardboard thermometer on the wall so we could see just how far we still had to go. [Read more...]![It had been a big gig at the castle the night before, and leaping around to the pumping sounds of Prime Circle while downing vodka shots had seemed a good idea at the time. Less so now as I found myself rinsing large chunks of raw meat under an industrial tap in a converted container. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Eziko_review11-115x115.jpg "EXCELLENT TOWNSHIP RESTAURANT")
EXCELLENT TOWNSHIP RESTAURANT
Posted on 1:49 pm | No CommentsIt had been a big gig at the castle the night before, and leaping around to the pumping sounds of Prime Circle while downing vodka shots had seemed a good idea at the time. Less so now as I found myself rinsing large chunks of raw meat under an industrial tap in a converted container. [Read more...]![The photo on his website shows him sprawling in an oversized chair, glowering at the camera, mastiff lolling at his feet. As if the tight white jodhpurs and gleaming leather boots don’t indicate clearly enough his apparent freshness from the polo field, there is a pony grazing behind him and a saddle slung over the white post-and-rail fence. His hair is slicked back and, you guessed it, his blue shirt is unbuttoned to the navel. He even has the faintly ridiculous name - Dijonne du Preez. Oh come on. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/polo-technic2-115x115.jpg "POLO TECHNIC")
POLO TECHNIC
Posted on 2:15 pm | No CommentsThe photo on his website shows him sprawling in an oversized chair, glowering at the camera, mastiff lolling at his feet. As if the tight white jodhpurs and gleaming leather boots don’t indicate clearly enough his apparent freshness from the polo field, there is a pony grazing behind him and a saddle slung over the white post-and-rail fence. His hair is slicked back and, you guessed it, his blue shirt is unbuttoned to the navel. He even has the faintly ridiculous name - Dijonne du Preez. Oh come on. [Read more...]![I hadn’t gone topless before. How alive it makes you feel to have the breeze caress your skin! How the senses are re-energised by the thrill of the tingling nerves! [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/bitten-by-the-cape-cobra1-115x115.jpg "BITTEN BY A COBRA")
BITTEN BY A COBRA
Posted on 2:34 pm | 2 CommentsI hadn’t gone topless before. How alive it makes you feel to have the breeze caress your skin! How the senses are re-energised by the thrill of the tingling nerves! [Read more...]![It took helicopters and stuntmen to deflect me from my purpose, but I merely arched a cynical eyebrow and strengthened my resolve. But darn it, the second attempt was also foiled... by none other than Dr Viacheslav Koloskov and his international henchmen. Bah. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/greenpoint_stadium_review_11-115x115.jpg "GREENPOINT STADIUM")
GREENPOINT STADIUM
Posted on 2:06 pm | No CommentsIt took helicopters and stuntmen to deflect me from my purpose, but I merely arched a cynical eyebrow and strengthened my resolve. But darn it, the second attempt was also foiled... by none other than Dr Viacheslav Koloskov and his international henchmen. Bah. [Read more...]
REVIEW: NEDERBURG PICNIC
Posted on 10:36 am | No Comments“If I’d have known it was going to be this beautiful” said my sister-in-law, “I’d have worn a tiara.” We were on the steps of the Nederburg Manor House, looking...![Groomed to a lustrous finish the magnificent creatures pranced on the grass, their silky skin gleaming over well-toned bodies. Glossy manes flicked through the air as they aimed the occasional playful nip at one another... and that was just the race-goers. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/JB_met_review3-115x115.jpg "DAISY DOES: HORSES FOR COURSES AT THE J&B MET")
DAISY DOES: HORSES FOR COURSES AT THE J&B MET
Posted on 1:59 pm | No CommentsGroomed to a lustrous finish the magnificent creatures pranced on the grass, their silky skin gleaming over well-toned bodies. Glossy manes flicked through the air as they aimed the occasional playful nip at one another... and that was just the race-goers. [Read more...]![Lonely and neglected, Candy was sitting in a dark corner of a Chinese army depot when Tim Clarke first set eyes on her. Instantly smitten, he resolved to make her acquaintance. He was sure that, given time, he could coax some life into her and restore the pride and vitality she’d clearly once enjoyed. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/a-bit-on-the-side2-115x115.jpg "A BIT ON THE SIDE")
A BIT ON THE SIDE
Posted on 12:00 am | No CommentsLonely and neglected, Candy was sitting in a dark corner of a Chinese army depot when Tim Clarke first set eyes on her. Instantly smitten, he resolved to make her acquaintance. He was sure that, given time, he could coax some life into her and restore the pride and vitality she’d clearly once enjoyed. [Read more...]
COMEDY IN CAPE TOWN
Posted on 8:34 pm | No CommentsAfter all these years I should be used to it… but the Cape accent still makes me grin every time. Each word is charged with power and passion, and consonants...![I’m the type of person for whom the distinguishing feature of a car is its colour. I empathise with the girl at a dinner party who, when asked what kind of cars she liked replied, offhandedly, “Oh any old thing so long as it gets me from A to B” only to later discover that she had been speaking to Ayrton Senna. [Read more...]](http://www.whatsonincapetown.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Daisy-Ions-PI-review22-115x115.jpg "DAISY IONS P.I.")
DAISY IONS P.I.
Posted on 2:52 pm | 1 CommentI’m the type of person for whom the distinguishing feature of a car is its colour. I empathise with the girl at a dinner party who, when asked what kind of cars she liked replied, offhandedly, “Oh any old thing so long as it gets me from A to B” only to later discover that she had been speaking to Ayrton Senna. [Read more...]
UNWRAPPING OPERA
Posted on 11:13 am | No CommentsThanks to a lift with a mind of its own I’d managed to get a bit lost in the tangled maze of corridors behind the Opera House. It was fun to imagine them on an ordinary working day, filled with a buzz of scales and arpeggios, toe tapping and Kids from Fame-like shenanigans, love trysts and leg warmers. I stopped short of doing a little samba, á la Patrick Swayze, down the length of the deserted hallway... but it was tempting.
BEFORE KICK OFF
Posted on 10:37 am | No CommentsSouth Africa is so excited it can't spell. SOCCA FEVA has gripped the nation.
