Thursday, May 21, 2015

Joan Armatrading in Cape Town 3 July 2015



For her last Major tour she has decided this is the perfect time to perform her first ever full scale solo concerts. Her performances will include songs that span her entire career so far.

`I will never retire but this will be the last major tour that I will undertake. For the first time these concerts will be me solo on stage playing the guitar, piano and singing. I want these concerts to be a special lively interactive one to one experience. I have absolutely enjoyed the last 42 years of performances but now, with my final major tour, I want to capture a unique memory for both myself and the audience.`

As with every tour from this unique performer, you are guaranteed a fantastic mix of magical old favourites plus more recent compositions to fall in love with. Joan is as happy to play Love and Affection, Willow, Drop The Pilot and Me, Myself I, as the audience is to hear them. Joan is very excited to start this new experience of solo touring.

During her long and illustrious career Joan has been successful in all musical genres, Pop, Blues, Folk, Reggae, and Jazz. Her audience newly attracted or long term fans are as loyal to her as she is faithful to them.

Three times Grammy nominated, Brit award nominee and Ivor Novella winner producer, musician Joan Armatrading MBE is recognised as one of the World`s leading singer, songwriter and guitarists.
This is a performance that must not be missed.


C T I C C, Auditorium 1 - Cape Town
Tickets: Computicket

Good Food and Wine Show Cape Town 21 to 24 May at the C.T.I.C.C



GOOD FOOD & WINE SHOW CAPE TOWN 21 – 24 MAY 2015
A DELICIOUS WORLD OF CULINARY DELIGHTS!
Joining Buddy Valastro, Cake Boss in Cape Town are Matt Preston, Australian Masterchef Judge, Siba Mtongana, Food Network and Jenny Morris International Celebrity Chef and Food Network host.
The Celebrity Chefs Theatre features international and local chefs who will inspire, teach and engage closely with you. Heading up our local line up is Chef Jacqui Brown, who will be joined by Pete Goffe-Wood, Alfred Henry, Shaun Bruce, Jose Gomez and Coco Reinharz.
Good Food & Wine Show promises a tasteful journey from interactive cooking, great activities for children, wine appreciation and tastings, craft beer and much more.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Fathers Day Gift Ideas

Welcome to Mantality™ South Africa's only one-stop online shop for men!




Mantality is the best online shopping experience in South Africa. Gaming, Toys, Electronics, grooming, health and more. Follow the link for geek stuff, watches etc.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Things to do under 50 bucks this weekend in Cape Town

The Labia Theatre  

 The Labia Theatre is the oldest independent art-repertory cinema in South Africa.

The Labia Theatre, originally an Italian Embassy ballroom, was opened by Princess Labia in May 1949 as a theatre for the staging of live performances.
For the past 37 years, it has been operating as a cinema on the alternative circuit appealing mainly to the more discerning viewer who enjoys its quality product and the charm of its old-world ambiance

Welcome to Charly’s Bakery, home of Charly’s Cake Angels, situated in District 6, Cape Town, South Africa.

Image result for charlys bakeryWe specialise in Mucking Afazing designer cakes for all occasions, as well as a range of fun and bright cupcakes, petit fours, cookies and other yummies.

Charly’s Bakery is a family run business, started by Charly and Jacqui Biess in 1989.

Over the years the business has grown and their 3 daughters, Alexandra, Daniella and Roch have joined them in creating their crazy, magical, glitter-filled world of Oompa Loompas, Luf Luf and decadently Wicked Chocolate cake.
Our philosophy is innovate, don’t imitate, and the more you give the more you’ll get

We believe that the world is run on love, laughter and cupcakes!

In 2012 our beloved Charly left this world but not our hearts. We miss our Charly everyday and continue to create the magic he inspired in our lives. Tata Charly, we will meet you again… Somewhere Over the Rainbow


Kirstenbosch Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway

Kirstenbosch Tree Canopy Walkway
The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway is a new curved steel and timber bridge that winds and dips its way through and over the trees of the Arboretum. Inspired by a snake skeleton, and informally called 'The Boomslang' (meaning tree snake), it is a low-maintenance, low-impact sculptural raised walkway.
The Walkway takes the visitor from the forest floor into and through the trees and bursts out above the canopy, giving spectacular panoramic vistas of the surrounding mountains, Garden and Cape Flats.
Kirstenbosch Tree Canopy Walkway
This walkway is 130 m long, narrow and slender, with a few wider view-point areas, and lightly snakes its way through the canopy, in a discreet, almost invisible way. The walkway is crescent-shaped and takes advantage of the sloping ground; it touches the forest floor in two places, and raises visitors to 12 m above ground. It is more than just a traditional boardwalk - like a snake, it winds and dips.
The Arboretum is situated between the Protea Garden, Cycad Amphitheatre, the Dell, Mathews Rockery and the Concert Lawn. (Find it on this map.)
The Centenary Tree Canopy Walkway was built in 2013-14 to celebrate the centenary of Kirstenbosch in 2013, and opened to the public on 17 May 2014.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

District Six Cape Town - Creation and Destruction

District Six (Afrikaans Distrik Ses) is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed during the 1970s by the apartheid regime.
The area of District Six is now partly divided between the suburbs of Walmer Estate, Zonnebloem, and Lower Vrede, while the rest is undeveloped land.

Image result for District Six 

Creation and destruction

The area was named in 1867 as the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town. The District Six neighbourhood is bounded by Sir Lowry Road on the north, Tennant Road to the west, De Waal Drive on the south and Cambridge Street to the east. By the turn of the century it was already a lively community made up of former slaves, artisans, merchants and other immigrants, as well as many Malay people brought to South Africa by the Dutch East India Company during its administration of the Cape Colony. It was home to almost a tenth of the city of Cape Town's population, which numbered over 1,700–1,900 families.
After World War II, during the earlier part of the apartheid era, District Six was relatively cosmopolitan. Situated within sight of the docks, it was made up largely of coloured residents which included a substantial number of coloured Muslims, called Cape Malays. There were also a number of black Xhosa residents and a smaller numbers of Afrikaans, whites, and Indians.
Government officials gave four primary reasons for the removals. In accordance with apartheid philosophy, it stated that interracial interaction bred conflict, necessitating the separation of the races. They deemed District Six a slum, fit only for clearance, not rehabilitation. They also portrayed the area as crime-ridden and dangerous; they claimed that the district was a vice den, full of immoral activities like gambling, drinking, and prostitution. Though these were the official reasons, most residents believed that the government sought the land because of its proximity to the city centre, Table Mountain, and the harbour.
On 11 February 1966, the government declared District Six a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act, with removals starting in 1968. By 1982, more than 60,000 people had been relocated to the sandy, bleak Cape Flats township complex some 25 kilometres away. The old houses were bulldozed. The only buildings left standing were places of worship. International and local pressure made redevelopment difficult for the government, however. The Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology) was built on a portion of District Six which the government renamed Zonnebloem. Apart from this and some police housing units, the area was left undeveloped.
Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, the South African government has recognised the older claims of former residents to the area, and pledged to support rebuilding.

Area

The District 6 area is situated in the city bowl of Cape Town. It is made up of Walmer Estate, Zonnebloem, and Lower Vrede (the former Roeland Street Scheme). Some parts of Walmer Estate like Rochester Street were destroyed and some parts like Cauvin Road were left, but the houses were demolished. In other parts of Walmer Estate like Worcester Road and Chester Road people were evicted, but only few houses were destroyed. Most of Zonnebloem was destroyed except few schools, churches and mosques. A few houses in the old Constitution street (now Justice Road) were left, but the homes were sold to white people. This is the case with Bloemhof flats (renamed Skyways). Most of Zonnebloem is owned by the Cape Technikon (which also is built over 50% of the land).
Rochester Road and Cauvin Road were not part of Walmer Estate; it was part of District Six, but called Dry Docks or incorrectly spelt in Afrikaans slang - also known as Kombuis Afrikaans (Kitchen Afrikaans) - as Draaidocks (turn docks), as the Afrikaans word 'draai' sounds like the English word 'Dry'. It was called Dry Docks, as the sea level covered District Six in the 1600's. All residents were removed and their houses in both, Rochester Road and Cauvin Road were demolished, no one was spared. The very last house to fall in Rochester Road was Naz Ebrahim (nee Gool)'s house called Manley Villa. Naz was an educator and activist just like her ancestor Cissy Gool. The entire Constitution Street was also demolished up till Trafalgar High School. Thereafter, the Bloemhof Flats were renamed and revamped. Walmer Estate and Woodstock which borders District Six were left untouched. Certain streets in Woodstock have their own history of forced removals, 25 years later. In Chester Road, bordering with Zonnebloem School, no houses were demolished and remained until today. No schools were spared, except Trafalgar High which borders District Six and the Gardens area. Two churches and two mosques were spared; the rest was demolished. The only section which still resembles the old District Six is on the other side of Russells Street, the other side of the bridge, namely Chapel Street and surrounds.

Return

Lion's head and Signal Hill behind the grass of abandoned District Six in December 2006
By 2003, work had started on the first new buildings: 24 houses that will belong to residents over 80 years old. On 11 February 2004, exactly 38 years after the area was rezoned by the government, former president Nelson Mandela handed the keys to the first returning residents, Ebrahim Murat (87) and Dan Ndzabela (82). About 1,600 families were scheduled to return over the next three years.[4]
The Hands Off District Six Committee mobilised to halt investment and redevelopment in District Six after the forced removals. It developed into the District Six Beneficiary Trust, which was empowered to manage the process by which claimants were to get their "land" back (actually a flat or apartment residential space). In November 2006, the Trust broke off negotiations with the Cape Town Municipality. The Trust accused the Municipality (then under a Democratic Alliance mayor) of stalling restitution, and indicated that it preferred to work with the national government, which was controlled by the ANC. In response, DA Mayor Helen Zille questioned the right of the Trust to represent the claimants, as it had never been "elected" by claimants. Some discontented claimants wanted to create an alternative negotiating body to the Trust. However, the historical legacy and "struggle credentials" of most of the Trust leadership made it very likely that it would continue to represent the claimants as was the main Non executive director for Nelson Mandela

Museum

In 1989 the District Six Museum Foundation was established, and in 1994 the District Six Museum came into being. It serves as a remembrance to the events of the apartheid era as well as the culture and history of the area before the removals. The ground floor is covered by a large street map of District Six, with handwritten notes from former residents indicating where their homes had been; other features of the museum include street signs from the old district, displays of the histories and lives of District Six families, and historical explanations of the life of the District and its destruction. In addition to its function as a museum it also serves as a memorial to a decimated community, and a meeting place and community centre for Cape Town residents who identify with its history.

Arts

Land claimants at a "hand back" ceremony in District Six, 2001
With his short novel A Walk in the Night (1962), the well-known Capetonian journalist and writer Alex La Guma gave District Six a place in literature.
South African painters, such as Kenneth Baker, Gregoire Boonzaier and John Dronsfield are recognised for capturing something of the spirit of District Six on canvas.
In 1986, Richard Rive wrote a highly acclaimed novel called Buckingham Palace, District Six, which chronicles the lives of a community before and during the removals. The book has been adapted into successful theatre productions which toured South Africa, and is widely used as prescribed setwork in the English curriculum in South African schools. Rive, who grew up in District Six, also prominently referred to area in his 1962 novel Emergency.
In 1986, District Six – The Musical by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen told the story of District Six in a popular musical which also toured internationally.
District Six also contributed mightily to the distinguished history of South African jazz. Basil Coetzee, known for his song "District Six", was born there and lived there until its destruction. Before leaving South Africa in the 1960s, pianist Abdullah Ibrahim lived nearby and was a frequent visitor to the area, as were many other cape jazz musicians. Ibrahim described the area to The Guardian as a "fantastic city within a city...", explaining, "[W]here you felt the fist of apartheid it was the valve to release some of that pressure. In the late 50s and 60s, when the regime clamped down, it was still a place where people could mix freely. It attracted musicians, writers, politicians at the forefront of the struggle as the school Western province Prep were a huge help in the struggle, but the head boy at the time and an exciptionaly great help was . We played and everybody would be there."
South African writer Rozena Maart, currently resident in Canada, won the Canadian Journey Prize for her short story "No Rosa, No District Six". That story was later published in her debut collection Rosa's District Six.
Tatamkhulu Afrika wrote the poem "Nothing's Changed", about the evacuation of District Six, and the return after the apartheid.
The 1997 stage musical Kat and the Kings is set in District Six during the late 1950s.
District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp. Although set in an alternate Johannesburg, it is inspired by the events surrounding District Six.

  • Western, John. Outcast Cape Town. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
  • Bezzoli,Marco; Kruger, Martin and Marks, Rafael. "Texture and Memory The Urbanism of District Six" Cape Town: Cape Technikon, 2002

Shark Attack Cape Town - Man survived by poking shark in the eye with his thumb

A South African spear fisher survived a great white shark attack on Saturday by poking it in the eye with his thumb before being pulled aboard to safety.
Mathieu Dasnois, 29, was with a group on a sightseeing tour off the coast near Port St. Johns, a coastal town in South Africa, when he asked to go in the water to test out a new scuba mask.
Swimming in shallow waters some 20 meters from the boat, Mr Dasnois spent less than two minutes in the water before the dorsal fin of a 4-metre great white shark was spotted heading in his direction.
"It was bloody huge," said Mr Dasnois, speaking from Mthatha, a city in the Eastern Cape province. "I didn't see the first attack, it gripped my leg, took it in its mouth and swam. I poked it in the eye with my left thumb."
South African tour guide tells how he survived great white shark attack after he jumped over the side of tour boat to try out new spearfishing equipment
"The shark let go and came back again. I'm pretty sure it attacked me three times."
He was pulled on board and taken to shore, where an ambulance was waiting.
"My leg was badly mangled, that's where it took me and dragged me along," said Mr Dasnois. "I've got some injuries on my left arm and deep gashes in both my hands."
Mr Dasnois, who has been spearfishing for years, says that despite the attack, he's planning on returning to the ocean. "One day," he laughs, "but it will be close to a boat in very clear water."
Mr Dasnois later wrote on his Facebook page: "So before rumours start seeping too much: I am a shark attack survivor. I squared up with a 4m great white. Not my most successful fight, but I'm essentially fine. Will regain full use of my entire body. Got lucky and had great help. Except for my fin, the shark took my brand new fin. Grrrr.
"Meh. The sea giveth and the sea taketh away. But that guy really wanted me. Must have been something I ate. I should slow down on the crayfish."