The September Month

I know I've been pretty bad with posting this month, very lazy month, which is strange because September has been a very busy month, lots of newsworthy things went down, but i just couldnt find time to put it all down. And is it me or is everyone born in September, i mean I alone know over 30 Virgos that are born this month ALONE, also there are a lot of things that are important in September, the Vogue September issue as well as all well established fashion publications, the September issue is the most important publication of the year, and also New York, London & Milan Fashion Weeks also take place in September, AND and and I am born in September as well :-D ....weatherwise in South Africa, September marks the start of spring, which means summer is in the offing, and there is nothing like summer in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, or am i just being biased :-P

Spotted: FUCK FIFA....

This trendy guy I spotted in Woodstock, Cape Town, at the Neighborgoods Market as well, wearing this not so cryptic word-play T, with FICK FUFA & FACK FIFU for FUCK FIFA on it, it was a very cool t-shirt and very appropriate regarding the FIFA 2010 World Cup, the very first in the African continent is being held here in South Africa, so it was an interesting message or display of perception about the organizers of the tournament, which I figured would make for a good talking point. and it has this t-shirt design has even been featured in Mail & Guradian, and the shirts are apparently selling very well, which is an interesting thing to know, most of the people requesting the t-shirts are interestingly enough from Europe...why are people so unhappy with FIFA, the is it the capitalistic ideals? To see original post from Fashion Interlude click here

Shocking Eskom Electricity Price Hikes!!

The National Electricity Regulator of SA (Nersa) approved the following tariff increases 24.8% in 2010; 25.8% in 2011; 25.9% in 2012. So, with the compounded increase, we will be paying double in 3 years time.The National Electricity Regulator of SA (Nersa) claims the tariff increases granted to Eskom were what Eskom needed, not just what the power utility wanted. Whichever the truth is, I can’t help but feel these hikes are very steep, perhaps not for me and the minority that lives relatively comfortable lives compared to the majority of South Africans. Anyone who doesn’t check how much fuel they are putting in and just fill up because it needs to be done, and people who barely check how much their electricity or cell phone bill is, and just pay it cuz it needs to be done, won’t be affected as much, but what about the families of 6 kids with perhaps one parent working, the families that put their geyser off to save electricity, and it gets worse some families will continue to use candles for light and only use electricity for cooking only, why because that’s actually all they can afford – to those I feel this price hike is most unfair, by 2013 we’ll all be paying exactly twice what we pay today for power – as much as I don’t know if anything can be done about it, I can’t help feeling how unfair it is to some.

John Legend in Cape Town!!!!

Cape Town, I know I've been gone for too long, but back from the best holiday ever, more on that later, now ready to bring more excitement- Heineken and Big Concerts are working together to present multi-platinum recording artist John Legend. Having just completed his most successful international tour to date, the six-time Grammy Award winner will bring his show to South Africa for three performances this October, beginning at the Grand Arena, GrandWest Casino & Entertainment World in Cape Town on the 15th October, the Indoor Arena, International Convention Centre in Durban on the 17th and at the Coca-Cola Dome, in Johannesburg on the 18th of October.

South Africans Positive About 2010 Benefits

News24 has reported the latest survery results on SA's perception of the effects of the 2010 world cup with at least 89% of South Africans believe the 2010 Fifa World Cup will benefit the country, according to survey released on Wednesday. This was 2% higher than in January, according to African Response's 2010 Barometer. Support for the event was highest in Durban at 86%, followed by Johannesburg at 84% and Cape Town with 68%. The survey, of 1 200 South Africans of various backgrounds, measured the nation's awareness and opinions of the World Cup. The first reading was taken in March 2006 and since then results had been released every three months. Up to 88% of Johannesburg residents were the strongest believers in the significance of the event. Durbanites were second in line, with 85% believing the event was significant, while only 65% of Capetonians thought so. At least 85% of those polled said they would watch the Fifa games on television. Ninety percent of Durbanites intended watching them on TV and 89% of Johannesburg residents. Only 53% of respondents intended watching a live match, three percent less than in the last survey. When asked about infrastructure, 64% believed SA's roads would be ready in time for the event. Confidence in public transport had decreased from 72% at the last reading to 70%. Sixty percent of the 1 200 people polled believed the country would be able to supply enough electricity for the event, an increase of five percent since the last survey. Asked about policing, 53% of Pretoria residents had faith in the country's security, compared to 76% of Johannesburg residents. At least 78% of South Africans believe the stadiums would be completed on time. Personally, I believe it'll benefit South Africa, there is a great deal of infrastructure that South Africa is making high priority at the moment that will only make us a better functioning country, and there has been a sizeable increase in job creation over this period, now we have to hope and pray that the stadiums are used to their full advantage post the Soccer World Cup, in order to realise the benefit of the investments.

I'm All Virgin'ed Out!!!!!

So it occurred to me that without even realising I was completely immersed in the Virgin brand. Virgin Group Ltd is a brandedventure capital organization founded by British business tycoon Sir Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle, among others. The net worth of Virgin Group Ltd as of September 2008 is £5,010,000,000, which is a handsome R67,087,101,109.85. Today the Virgin brand, still owned by Richard Branson has over 50 ventures under it, transcending more than 10 product divisions, e.g. Beverages, Airlines, Trains, Games, Financial services, Films, Health & Fitness, Internet, Cable TV, Music,Radio, Books, Cosmetics, Jewellery, Houseware, Retail, Mobile phones. Here in South Africa I'm only aware of Virgin Active (Health & Fitness), Virgin Money (Financial Services), Virgin Mobile (Mobile Phones) & Virgin Atlantic (Airline), seriously it's like Virgin is taking over the world, without anyone even noticing, I know they are always in the headlines about their new ventures but I've never paid much mind, knowing full well it'd never affect me in any monumental way, the only part of Virgin I endorsed was their gym, I'm a proud member of Virgin Active Gyms, no matter how often I don't go, I'm still a member and that was ok - well, until yesterday when i was booking my flight for my holiday next month, general Euro trip but flying into London for a couple of days to party with some friends, and clearly with raucous times in mind, I was trying to find the most affordable flight so i can get there having spent the least amount possible, and turns out Virgin Atlantic offers the cheapest flights at the moment, so i obviously booked it, although my particular flight is operatedby South Africa Airways, (Cape Town-London), I've still made a booking with Virgin Atlantic and clearly hoping to fly with them again in future, cuz somehow I think i might have signed up for their voyager miles loyalty card (in my defence, they sold it well), now thats two, now guess what i used to pay for this lovely flight,.....a Virgin Money credic card! Yes i acquired one of those a while ago, I never use it, unless when i need to book flights, so it hadnt occured to me I was already more than just flirting with the brand, so now all that's left is for me to trade in my Vodacom contract for a Virgin Mobile one, then I'll be all Virgin'ed out!

President Obama to come to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup

Yesterday we received confirmation that United States President Barack Obama had officially accepted an invitation to attend the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup that will be held on June 11, 2010 at 100 000 capacity Soccer City in Johannesburg.How I wish they had it here in Cape Town instead, oh well, we can't have it all :-/ But based on today's weather, perhaps it a good thing they are not having it in Cape Town, winters are not pleasant here. Anyway its no surprise as Obama is known to be a soccer fan and his eldest daughter, for some reason, plays soccer. The opening game hasn't been announced yet, but it'll either be the defending world champions Italy or hosts Bafana Bafana, SA National Team.

12 Things to Do on Youth Day in Cape Town

Youth Day on 16 June, which is tomorrow, in South Africa commemorates the start of the Soweto riots of 1976, initially sparked by a government edict that all instruction in black schools would be held in Afrikaans. The issue however, was not so much the Afrikaans as the whole system of Bantu education which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. On 16 June 1976 more than 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. In the wake of clashes with the police, and the violence that ensued during the next few weeks, approximately 700 hundred people, many of them youths, were killed. The iconic picture of Hector Pieterson, a black schoolchild shot by the police, brought home to many people within and outside South Africa the brutalities of the Apartheid regime. The mascot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Zakumi, has his birthday on that day in '94.

1. Take the Flying Dutchman at Cape Point
2. Go Kitesurfing
3. Mingle with eagles at Spier Wine Estate
4. Go ice-skating at Grand West
5. Discover something novel at Noordhoek Farm Village
6. Be in awe of nature at Butterfly World
7. Go ten-pin bowling in Cape Town
8. Brave the Atlantic in a kayak
9. Witness the firing of the Noon Gun on Signal Hill
10. Follow Mandela’s first steps to freedom
11. Experience an authentic township tour
12. Learn something new at the MTN Science Centre
No matter how old you are, on Youth Day in Cape Town there are plenty of activities and things to do that will make you feel young again! It’s really all in the mind – so get out there and make the most of what this beautiful city has to offer!

Levi's® 'Vintage Sundays' returns to the Cape

For the 5th year running music lovers all over South Africa are set to have their Sunday nights reinvented and reinvigorated with Levi’s® Vintage Sundays, Mzansi's most consistent and comprehensive showcase of local musical talent reads Moi. In the past four years the Levi's® brand has hosted an incredible 160 shows all over the country, firmly establishing itself as a friend and supporter of South African music. This relationship will rock ‘n roll again in June as Levi’s® Vintage Sundays returns to Cape Town, hosted at Jade Lounge in Green Point. The Mother City's in for the mother of all parties...again and again and again. Gerald Clark gets things off to a bluesy start on the 7th when he takes to the stage with his acoustic folk love songs. Next up is the Albert Frost Band, a group of much-loved musos who share common blues roots and an unmatched ability to connect with an audience. Rounding it all off is Lonesome Dave Ferguson, the one-man music machine who manages to induce the groove with nothing more than a harmonica and his incredibly versatile voice. It's a spectacular opening night, with a trio of exceptional, unique acts all bent on making you fall further in love with local music. One week later on the 14th, Hot Water opens with their unique fusion of African melodies and powerful, uplifting vocals. It's soul music with a twist of blues and a dash of the unknown. They're followed by the prolific Flat Stanley who, after making waves overseas, are happy to bring their melodic rock back to South African shores. They're always a revelation live and all you need for a power-packed evening. Last night I attended the launch event at Jade, which is a mere walking distance from my house. I heard from this even from my flatmate who is eternally clued up on all gigs going down around Cape Town, she rocks! I didn’t even know who was playing, so our main reason for going was to see her boyfriend, Tim Rankin of Bed On Bricks, play, pity I missed Lonesome Dave, who I have become quite a fan off but Albert Frost more than made up for it, the electric blues sound was something some-what new to me, but dang I love it, and felt like it ended too soon, with Tim on drunks churning out some sick beats, I was nodding and tapping my one foot for the duration of the performance, I’d see any band if they had this dude on drums. At some point Gerald Clark, who had already performed came back on stage to do a quasi-duet with Albert, me and my three friends went mental, at the risk of sounding cheesy but it was electrically explosive, a description I never fathomed using to describe blues! Forgive my shocking pic, phone cameras were meant for dark venues.

Ultimate Muaythai MMA Fight at the Grand Arena

Sifu Kru Quentin and Sibak Kru Winston Chong invite you to the first-ever Ultimate Muaythai & MMA fight night at the Grand Arena at Grand West Casino on 6 June 2009. I hear it’ll be a slick event, think Vegas’s MGM Grand when there is a big boxing match on. The host for this event will be the ever-entertaining Colin Moss. Special guests will be superstar K1 Fighter Jan "The Giant" Nortje and many other celebs. The winners of the SA Muaythai Championships will be awarded their Protea colours and will represent South Africa at the World Muaythai Amateur Championships, in honour of the King of Thailand’s Birthday in Bangkok from 27 November to 5 December 2009. Come watch South Africa's top Muaythai fighters from five different provinces battle it out to prove they are worthy to wear the Green and Gold!
There will be a variety of artists performing and other forms of entertainment.
Date: 6 June
Venue: Grand Arena
Location: Grand West Casino | Cape Town
Time: 17:00 for 18:00
Price: R70 – R200

Wacky Wine Weekend in Robertson Wine Valley

6th Annual Wacky Wine Weekend in Cape Town's Robertson Wine Valley; A weekend with wine and good friends - nothing could be better. With over 16 000 visitors in 2008, the Wacky Wine Weekend is undeniably South Africa's biggest regional wine festival. From 4 - 7 June 2009 the festival celebrates its 6th birthday and the Robertson Wine Valley is proud to once again play host. The festival spans the valley with activities taking place at cellar doors and other hot spots; includes food & wine, outdoor, sport, adventure, family-fun and live music. Arabella Wine Estate Made Fresh by Clorets brings you ‘Arabella Live’ from 5 - 7 June 2009, a weekend of live music, great food, fun atmosphere and wine, lots of wine. Visitors to the estate will be treated to some of South Africa’s top live entertainment including Flat Stanley, Farryl Purkiss, Hot Water & 7th Son. In addition the estate will be offering gourmet catering through Dish Food and Social and providing camping facilities for overnight stays. Visitors need to purchase their passport (R60) at their first port of call. The stylish tasting glass will serve as your ticket to over 40 wineries participating this year and is valid for the duration of the festival – I think I might just attend this.
Date: 4-7 June 2009
Venue: Robertson Wine Valley
Location: Western Cape

Based on article by capetownmagazine.com

Cape Town wins Best Destination in Africa!

Not that its any surprise really, but it's is still remarkable. The Oscars of the Travel Industry have awarded Cape Town The Best Destination in Africa award. South Africa's glitterati rolled into Durban for the first-ever World Travel Awards Africa Ceremony, held at the 2008 Indaba in partnership with the International Convention Centre in Durban. The reigning King of the Zulu nation, His Majesty King Zwelithini Goodwill kaBhekuzulu, opened the ceremony with an inspiring speech. The packed audience of VIPs came from all corners of the African continent to honour and celebrate excellence in Africa's travel industry. Although the awards were held in Durban, Cape Town was awarded for its charm across Africa as well as South Africa. Cape Town wins the prize for Africa’s leading destination and our very own Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town was voted as Africa’s leading Hotel. South Africa’s leading business hotel award was given to non other than The Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays and The Cape Grace in Cape Town's V&A Waterfront was awarded the prize as South Africa’s leading Hotel. Yay for Cape Town, see full list of winners on http://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners. Story based on article by capetownmagazine.com

Bell-Roberts Presents "In-Black-&-White"

Black- the colour at one extreme end of the scale of greys, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. White- the achromatic colour of maximum lightness; the other extreme of the neutral grey series; the complement or antagonist of black. Combine these and the works produced are at once elegant and bold; exuding beauty and strength and at times are even a little sinister: -
The exhibition will include works by Pierre Fouché, Carol Ann Gainer, Nigel Mullins, Cameron Platter, Kevin Brand, Wayne Barker, Mxolisi Sithole, Stuart Bird, Dianne Victor, Cara vd Westhuizen, Justin Fiske, Donovan Ward, Minnette Vari, Jane Eppel, David Brown, Lynette Bester.
If i get a chance to go to this exhibition, which sounds fabulosity worthy, i will post an update on what I thought of the works.
The Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery
Fairweather House, 176 Sir Lowry Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa, Phone: +27 (0)21 465 9108, Fax: +27 (0)21 423 3135, E-mail: info@bell-roberts.com

Nobu Encore, With A Brooch This Time!

So I was meant to go to Gordon Ramsay’s Maze this past Friday, but due to a raucous night out the previous night (see 2 posts below) and spending the next day like beached whales on the couch, the dinner was cancelled, only to be uncancelled again a few minutes later, lol, but then I had decided I wasn’t gonna leave the house until much later, so I decided not to go out to dinner anyway and partly because the way I was feeling, being in a dinner of 8 would have been a tad jarring – but soon after deciding I wasn’t going to dinner, I got bored with the idea of staying at home and ended up going to dinner with one of the former attendees of the Maze dinner, now the bizarre bit comes in here, the decision to go eat at Nobu came about – which is one of the two restaurants housed in Sol Kerzner’s Cape Town One&Only Resort, the other being Maze. Separated by only a fancy lavatory and a bar upstairs, we had dinner, meters from where we would have had dinner before the cancellation. Nobu was, well like it was the last time I was there – but the best part was looking at both the restaurant and the hotel from the eyes of the friend I was dinning with because his opinion on concepts and design has always fascinated me, and I’ll just say Nobu cracked a nod. From the entrance the fragranced aroma of the entrance to the hotel was well received, if you’ve ever smelt Terre D’Hermes by Hermes, this is what the entrance hall and foyer smells like, at this point I wished the friend who was hosting the dinner at Maze was with us instead of being at Maze. The triple descend before you even reach the restaurant was also a delight, 2 steps down from the door to entrance hall, 3 steps to the lobby area, then 2 more to the Nobu maître d' stand and the final descend, curved stars to the Nobu dinning hall. The food, conversation & atmosphere was absolutely divine - by the end of the dinner I was even beginning to like the shallow origami light fixture. Some of the highlights of the evening were the New Style Salmon Sashimi, WOW, and the tempura crab, and I’m not even a big tempura person, but I died repeatedly with each morsel. The wine, we went with a Riesling, which was an olfactorial triumph, but failed on the palette, it was a tad too acidic for me to enjoy, but not bad by a long shot, just not good! Ah we finished it off with a chocolate fondant and after settling the bill we rushed to meet with our friends who were already out at Jade Bar, we knew it was gonna be a good night! 1h30 me and my brooched friend arrived to a couple of friends at Jade, “hey KY”, lol. Some were already very cosy with their unofficial other halves, so we gabbed a bit, quenched our thirst with some Bad Decision Juice (Champagne) or MCC to be precise. The friend who had gone to Maze had unfortunately had an unsatisfactory meal, ostrich, partly I judge him for ordering ostrich at Maze but then its quite unfair to run a 5 star restaurant that will have underwhelming or even awful meals, but he was in high spirit as he had had a delightful evening with friends, looked absolutely suave in autumn shades and was guaranteed to have an even better night ;). Unplanned dinners are always spectacular, but above all the festivities of that evening my highlight was the fibula! Viva Glam!

Design: Cape Town Victorian Artitecture or Not?

My love of architecture and design in general means I’ll often stop and take random pics of arb buildings, the older the better, like this one, I took this over my lunch, this is in the vibrant Long Street in Cape Town. I love the Victorian style, solid yet romanticized detail, probably stemming from late 18th century – the colours are also very decadent, reminiscent of a time of luxury & opulence yet the structure as a whole is not as ornate as typical Victorian styles, its more structures, straight lines, flat roof, so I’m guessing this must be an Italianate or Neo-Renaissance Victorian style – anyone who knows better please feel free to advise accordingly. Anyway so I thought I’d share this building, pic taken by me, today around 13h44, the weather is overcast as you can see.

My Vote-Did I Make The 'Right Choice'?

Yesterday was South Africa’s voting day – the day was a public holiday- yay. So until 2 days ago I didn’t think I was going to vote, but this was for different reasons to everyone else that seemed to not want to vote purely because they didn’t know who to vote for. I didn’t have those problems (or so I thought), I had missed the registration date and so thought I wasn’t registered but it turns out if you voted in 2004, you didn’t need to register again unless you changed locations, so I was still registered, but obviously in Rondebosch, where i used to live, which was awkward, how does one get there? Yes its only 7 minutes away from town, but I never leave town, why would I, have you been to town lately, town rocks! I had all the intentions to wake up early, cast my vote and feel empowered, even though I didn’t know for who yet – I soon realized, I was still excited, but then as I often do, I woke up at noon, which is to be expected after going to bed at 5am! When I woke up I heard on the radio that it didn’t matter where you were registered, you just had to fill a ‘form’ and you’d be able to vote – this announcement agreed with me cuz I’m surrounded by schools and civic centers… no I do not live in a settlement, just the Cape Town zoning is a bit odd, the city’s greenbelt, aptly named Green Point (where I live) is filled with schools, but that’s irrelevant right? So I made my way to one of the schools, decked out in greys and blacks, broken with hints of whites, you had to see it to love it – I had to have a moment, I was gonna be walking, I barely walk, but when I do, it must be a moment – again digression! My point was to convey the mood of the day, as much as we all like hate to admit South African voting is still racially charged, so I had the black jeans to represent black, the white v-neck t-shirt and white sneakers to represent the white, then the grey jacket and grey scarf to represent the middle ground which is where I often find myself, the aviator shades were just a creative call, not much meaning there! So I got there and everything was clearly, well maybe not clearly, but it was marked and the queues were short, I stood a total of 10 mins till I got to the table where a somewhat illiterate lady filled the form for me and I made my way to being inked and given two ballot papers – it was at this queue that I decided to start texting people, my friends, mom, dad etc to ask them who I should vote for, COPE, DA, ANC? one of the responses from a ‘will-not-be-named’ assumed responsible individual was “Vote for who you think is the better crook”, I gasped and some suggested the I.D & some UDM, that’s when I started questioning some of my friends’ intellect, a ridic suggestion was MCQP, which made me blurt out a loud shriek, people found this behavior peculiar (the laugh) considering everyone else looked nervously poised, you could have sworn they were Arabs going through customs in the States, anyway at the same time I was getting pressuring messages like, “do the right thing for your country”, what the f*%k IS the right thing? All in all it was an exhilarating 3 minutes in that final queue. I was then ushered to a booth and I took my time to look at both the Provincial and National ballots, then I voted, for different parties on each, in my head it seemed calculated but knowing me I probably cocked everything up. But at least I can say I voted. I exercised my right. The picture I took while in the booth, I was worried they might arrest me if they heard my phone camera go ‘click’ - which I guess would have been mildly more exciting than being back at work.

URGENT:Table Mountain Wonder Of The World

This is a post i just found on my drafts, I've even forgotten who to credit with the post, oh well, but its still relevant so i'm posting it now - South Africans have until July 7 to vote for Table Mountain in the global race to name the New 7 Wonders of Nature. The country’s most famous mountain needs an injection of votes to secure its spot as one of the world’s top wonders. The New7Wonders Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland announced in January 2009 that Table Mountain was one of 261 magnificent natural sites from 222 countries to have made it through to the second round in this global race to name the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Other iconic African natural sites to come through the first round include the Kalahari Desert, the Great Rift Valley, the Avenue of Baobabs, Lake Tanganyika, the Kafue National Park and Victoria Falls. The New 7 Wonders of Nature will be determined by votes from the public and South Africans and fans from outside of our borders can show their support for the Mother City’s majestic mountain by visiting www.votefortablemountain.com and casting their vote. Voting to select the top 77 sites runs until July 7 this year. Thereafter a panel of experts will select the 21 finalists - these will be announced on July 21 when the third and final phase of voting will begin. The official New 7 Wonders of Nature will be revealed in 2011.
More than 1 billion votes are forecast. To cast your vote for Table Mountain visit www.votefortablemountain.com Contact the Cableway on 021 424 0015 for information.

I should also tell you that we need to be in the Top 11 to qualify for the next round… and we are sitting at 29! Was does that tell you? EXACTLY - CLICK HERE with great urgency and CAST YOUR VOTE! And this is not just for Capetonians, this is for SOUTH AFRICA. Come on, gang! Get involved! Bottom pic was taken from a friend's of mine's roof terrace in the center of Cape Town.