Cape Town: Green Point's Charming Twilight

Green Point is a neighbour hood in Cape Town, South Africa located to the north west of the central business district. It a popular residential area for young & financially able professionals and for the Cape Town gay and lesbian community mainly for its convenience to chic bars and restaurants and luxe residences. Many new mid-rise apartment and mixed-use developments have gone up in recent years. Somerset Road forms the main thoroughfare lined by numerous restaurants, cafés, boutiques and nightclubs. The area, as its name would suggest marks this fantastic city’s green belt, and officials have done a pretty good job so far to reserve this place as green and underdeveloped as possible – which explains the green patches of fields that can be seen to the left of the stadium. This area previously comprised of a golf coarse and several sports fields used communally by multiple sport’s clubs, referred to as Green Point Common, but it is currently going through a major revamp to turn it into a state of the art sports' complex, where all sport’s clubs will be granted properly zoned designated areas. I’m not clear on the details but I heard they would create more tennis & squash courts, football fields, rugby fields, hockey fields and athletics tracks, which has resulted in the 75 acres golf course reduced to 72, don’t quote me, I read this a week and a half ago and don’t have it in front of me as I type this. Anyway I hope you’ll like the pic of Green Point common, with the new stadium by night – will post more Before and After pics in time.

Study Finds Cocaine In City Air

Spanish scientists have detected the presence of cocaine in the air of Madrid and Barcelona by using a new technique for the first time, a research institute said on Wednesday. The scientists looked for 17 components in five different types of illegal drugs - cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid. The results revealed cocaine is the predominant drug in the air of the two cities, the CSIC institute said. It was found in concentrations of 29 to 850 picograms per cubic metre of air. A picograms is one trillionth of a gram. The study is the result of the first use of a new method for the detection of drugs in the air, adapted specifically for the researchers, who are to publish their results in the review "Analytical Chemistry". "Heroin was also found in detectable levels in the samples taken in Madrid, but not in those from Barcelona," the CSIC said. This it explained by the fact that the area of Madrid where the sample was taken is close to a district where drug dealers are suspected of operating. The scientists also reported a higher concentration of the components during the weekend, "suggesting higher consumption this time". But it said there was no reason for the public to be concerned. This was such a surpirse to me, so decided to share it - lets just hope the concentrations dont rise to levels where unsuspecting habitats will find themselves high from a mere stroll down a downtown street...would be interested to hear the finding ot this study were it to be conducted here in Cape Town!

Joys & Woes Of Being Phoneless

Ok so I’m phone-less, on Saturday morning during a juvenile moment while leaving the Old Biscuit Mill market, me and two friends decided to race each other – naturally I was winning, the one guy left behind and the one right behind me decided to fall, at exactly the same time as my cell phone escaped from my pocket and fell flat to the ground after bouncing 3 times and dismantling itself – he sustained minor injuries (see bottom pic), or so we thought at the time, he was drunk so it didn’t pain as much, bled a lil’ on the knee and elbow but didn’t stop us from heading to Camps Bay (Cape Town) for more afternoon winning & lunching, the next morning was when the full impact of the fall was realised – the weird thing about my phone (see main pic) is that it worked perfectly fine after the drop, but kept on deteriorating as the hours went by – by Monday morning, the touch screen wouldn’t work at all. So I had to have it taken in, and Vodacom and their atrocious service, didn’t have a replacement phone for me, so I am without a phone now for about 2 and a half days – at first it was a welcomed break from the contact ringing and living according to my phone, but now its becoming a trying task. I don’t miss the phone to send random texts etc, I miss it for my appointment dates and all the other crap my phone stores for me so I can allow my brain to turn to mush even quicker – anyway so today I have my driving lesson and don’t know the instructors number because it was stored on the phone and I couldn’t retrieve it – anyway I’ll have to make a plan. All in all having no phone hasn’t been as challenging as I imagined, but it is a rather vital tool to modern living.

Recession Recedes Cape Town Restaurants!

Some of Cape Town's most popular, Summerville, and most expensive, Showroom, restaurants have been among the first to feel the effects of the economic down turn. Capetonians will never stop eating out, its part of the culture, but they have started being more prudent about it - me included, I might have not calmed down yet, purely cuz cooking is a bleak chore unless you have people to entertain, but I've started thinking about what I eat once at the restaurant, instead of some langoustines, some good old prawns will do, cuts the bill in half, well - almost ;)
List of some of Cape Town's most popular restaurants that have/are closing down:

• Summerville - Camps Bay - what a pity, this place though food-price comparison is laughable, the venue is awesome, with unparalled view on the entire Camps Bay strip!
  
• Showroom Restaurant - Cape Town Center - a restaurant that was one of the top 10 restaurants in the country, since it opened its door back in 2007, i do believe, they had lovely food, and a menu that boasted some of the most exorbitant prices, but I was sad to hear of their closing because I've only eaten there twice :(
• Riboville - Cape Town CBD - this establishment was housed in an outstanding building, the oldest bank in Cape Town, with its vaults used as wine cellars - there was a time when I ate here, 3 or 4 times a week (mainly convenience, I lived a few yards from it).
  

Oh well :-/
Update: Apparently Summerville has issued out a statement to all dining institutions, notifying them that they will no longer be closing, i believe the issue was with the land lords over their enormous rent (estimated at R350K per month) and i believe they've managed to iron out those thorny details over strudel - so Summerville will still be there to be enjoyed, but less fortunate was Fabulous, the never-quite-worked moroccan restaurant at the top of Kloof street - i mean when i went there i thoroughly enjoyed my meal, but felt the decor was underdone, which is strange considering the cheeky (if not tacky for a Moroccan restau.) name, there wasnt enough carpet around to make you feel like you're in Morocco, anyway, so thats closing down, oh yes, closed already, Friday!

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!

Song Of The Day: The Eagles - Hotel California

It's no accident that The Eagles Greatest Hits might one day pass Michael Jackson's Thriller as the best-selling album of all time - the Eagles made great singles. By contrast, their albums could be spotty and strained by self-conscious artistry. The title tune reflected the album's theme of paradise lost in California, painting this picture with a musical arrangement that punctuated strumming guitars with dramatic drums, and perhaps the band's most famous lyric: "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." You can argue that "Hotel California" first released in 1976 is overexposed. But love it or hate it, it has all the essentials of a great rock song: interesting and quotable lyrics, guitar work even the snobs can appreciate, radio-friendly hooks, and the distinction of having inspired an urban legend. (No, there is nothing occult-related in the song. Its true subject, the decadence of Southern California in the late 1970s, is frightening enough as it is.) It's one of the great songs of its era.

From Pensula with some Arra to Vueve Cliquot

Thursday night one of my closest friends was gonna be in town, woot woot – once more for the nostalgia, we Forked with some other friends – after which we went for a wine dinner at the Peninsula Hotel. It’s the Peninsula Hotel; imagine my apprehension, so off we went. Much like I expected it, the décor was uneventful, with the same carpet design running from the lobby all the way to the restaurant, at least they are cutting cost by buying in bulk – oh look, a man with a synthesizer and a mic crooning some non-descript soothing classics for mood, and the chairs are very similar to the chairs in your office boardroom, anyway, the friend who invited the close friend of mine, is a club member here and they host wine dinners every last Thurs of the month, and he’s referred to by name, this alone stars making the experience better. We are shown to our table, which is marked with the name of the host (the club member) – an announcement is made that the dinner will now commence; apparently they were waiting for us, and couldn’t start till all guest were seated. The wine estate for this particular evening was Arra. Which the visiting friend pointed out was a palindrome. A palindrome being a word, phrase, number or other sequence of units that can be read the same way in either direction. This brought about brief excitement of trying to come up with other palindromes. Each meal of the five course meal was paired with a complimenting wine from the estate; lovely wines, with the Viognier being the highlight of their range. If you wanna read more about the specifics of the wine from that evening, please check out: www.wineexclamation.co.za, the friend of mine who was at the dinner will give more informed descriptions of the various wines. The food was generally all right, except the main, which was pigeon and absolutely atrocious, seriously it w-a-s just W-R-O-N-G. It’s a fine line between which birds can be eaten, chicken, yes, duck yes, guinefowl, yes, pigeon, never! There were prizes to be won, the MC (without the extra C) asked questions and people answered, I remember answering a question that won me a dinner to the value of R390 at the Sunset Restaurant at the Peninsula Hotel, yay, but I’d be lying if I told the question asked or even what my winning answer was. The evening was coming to an end when the same friend of mine decided to make a speech, which was good, solid and to the point till he decided to start digressing to politics, elections, machetes and other things I believe I chose to block out. At this point we had drunk some MCC at Fork, wines with each of the five meals so its fair to say we were all deeply inebriated, and this was about the same time it seemed like a good idea to get a bottle of Vueve Cliquot! The host of the evening, the owner of the Arra wine estate also decided to get another bottle, which took the evening from a surprisingly great dinner to an absolutely festive evening I’d love to do again. I don’t remember a lot of what took place after this, but I know we went to Cubana where we bumped into some friends and I woke up at home the next day, I’m still trying to piece the details of what happened after…

One & Only Resort In Cape Town update!

For those who haven't been inside the One&Only Resort in Cape Town, South Africa, and are perhaps somewhat stunned by how bland the façade visible from the back is, well here's a pic that will show you the front, with its man-made island - the front design is a tad more exciting, only by comparison, personally at nearly R1 Billion, I expected something a bit more awe inspiring, perhaps that's just me, am i too festive? Anyway, see pic attached and appreciate it, its a rare picture to find :P Thanks skyscrapercity.com
Again tomorrow night, am going to dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Maze which is housed inside the 6 star hotel.

Song Of The Day: Solange - T.O.N.Y

The third single from Solange's critically acclaimed "Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams" album could finally be the one R&B radio responds to. Personally I've liked the song since a friend sent it to me long before it was announced as a single. Indicative of the overall '70s vibe of the project, "T.O.N.Y." has enough charm to sway the most current-minded R&B heads. Philly-style horns, a Motown-inspired groove and spirited girl-group background vocals frame a clever lyric about a regrettable one night stand.
Check it out!

Decorex Cape Town A Snore...?

I went to the Decorex exhibition this weekend, on Saturday at the Cape Town International Convention Center and I wasn't really blown away. There was nothing new, more of what last year and the previous year presented, was kinda disappointing, but then again I didn't have to pay for it so i guess i shouldnt be complaining, and it wasn't bad by a long shot, the lack of creativity was baffling. For those of you that don't know about this exhibition, read on for a blurb about the show. Decorex SA 2009 brings you the ‘New Fusion’: of modern & focused. Urban & rural. The designed & the discovered. The exotic & close to home. The linear & the lustrous. The organic & the ornate. The world is not new to cross-cultural influences. East has been meeting West on the trade winds for centuries. Yet, never before has the fusing process been so intense, nor the sources of inspiration so truly global. Entering its 11th year, Decorex Cape Town brings you a unique blend of the emerging & the established; manufacturers & suppliers – large & small. Trade professionals & consumers can indulge in the haute & the handmade; the new simple & the avant-garde. The show promises to be a celebration of Cape Town’s most delicate & daring spaces by talented style shapers, trend makers & décor creators.
http://www.decorex.co.za/

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.

CAPE TOWN: Camps Bay Beach!

Sunday evening me and a mate, went for a walk at Camps Bay beach! Its a walk i often enjoy, and this day was no exception, and the company made it that much more special - these are two of the pics I took with my crappy camera - so the quality is not the best - but i adore the hue the sunset makes against the sky.

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.

SA Elections: South African Expats Voting Today!

Following the ruling by the IEC to allow South Africans living abroad to vote, today is their day to cast their vote for the elections held on the 22nd in South Africa. This morning on the radio I heard one of the IEC representatives explaining the process. London, naturally, has the highest concentration of South Africans outside South Africa and the queues were very long, but the image provided is off the voters in Dubai, where there's also a suprisingly large number of South Africans who are clearly planning to come back home at some point, why else care to vote? Pic: Expats queue at the South African Consulate in Dubai, UAE, to cast their votes.

What Happened To My Favourite Shades???

So i think I've lost my favourite pair of shades (see image), which kinda sucks cuz i really loved them, they were simply perfect for me, sort of retro understate-Hollywood, if that's possible :P. Now I need to go on a new search for new shades. As I search for my replacement pair I need to be aware of the attributes that make a good pair of shades, below are the pros & cons of my missing
pair.PROS: Simple & Attractive Design, Comfortable, Adequate tint(hue),Good polarization & protection.
CONS: Expensive, Scratch easily.

Un poste en français!

Considering I’m taking French lessons I thought I’d write a post in French, I’m only doing beginner French so I’m bound to cock up the grammar and tenses, anyway! Je voudrais pouvoir partir en vacances à Paris et Monaco autour de ces vacances de Pâques, mais je ne peux pas :-( J'adore Cape Town, et ne peut pas imaginer un meilleur endroit pour vivre mais je veux juste aller en vacances à une opulente destination où je peux tout échantillon différent, les gens, la nourriture, les paysages, la langue, etc me manque la fabulosity!Main pic, taken by me in Monaco & bottom pic, taken by me in Paris!

Random Post: 70s Retro Rug, A Key Essential!

One of my closest friends who lives in JHB just sent me pictures of his new rug and partly teasing and also knowing my love for detail has taken the time to describe the rug in a way that i think deserves a post, its a stone-winner!.."Seventies retro, with splashes of deep texture, organic, pushing the boundaries of kitsch yet retaining a warm sense of style, which blends perfectly with the surrounding decor, and still affordable considering the owner will be relocating (to New York)". And judging from the pics, this description is spot on and my friend is not known for his tidiness, but he's a geneouis when it comes to decor.

17000 Italian Earthquake survivers on a 'camping weekend'

I'm all for levity, making light of things is always humourous except when referring to the 17 000 people made homeless by Monday's powerful earthquake in Italy. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said the destitute should consider themselves to be on a "camping weekend,". Touring camps set up for survivors of Monday's disaster that killed 250 people, Berlusconi told German television station N-TV: "They have everything they need, they have medical care, hot food..." "Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. but they should see it like a weekend of camping."Most of the homeless spent Tuesday night in tent camps that have sprung up around L'Aquila, capital of the worst-affected central Abruzzo region. Others made do sleeping in their cars.The death toll was on Wednesday raised to 250, according to civil protection authorities cited by the Ansa news agency. These kinds of disasters I've often associated with small (often poor) countries that we know very little about and can go on blindly unaware, which is of course an awful thing to do - but it happens - at the end of the day any loss of life, especially in multitudes is always a terrible thing and hope the survivers get all the aid they require - especially now that Italian authorities have been quoted saying, "I thank foreign countries for their solidarity, but we ask them not to send us aid, we can handle the needs on our own. We are proud people and we have the means."

NPA drops charges against Jacob Zuma - S. Africa

Yesterday, 06/04/2009, was a controversial day for South African politics and the for citizens as a whole after the announcement on Jacob Zuma fate regarding his corruption charges. The National Prosecuting Authority has decided to drop corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, boosting the ANC president two weeks ahead of the elections.
The decision by the NPA came after weeks of speculation about the prosecution of Zuma, eight years into the case. The announcement was made at a media conference held at the NPA's offices in Pretoria. Acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe said the decision was one of the most difficult he has ever had to make. Mpshe said tape recordings showed evidence of political interference and abuse of power by former Scorpions boss Leonard McCarthy. "Using one's sense of justice and propriety as a yardstick by which McCarthy's abuse of the process is measured, an intolerable abuse has occurred which compels a discontinuation of the prosecution. "In the light of the above, I have come to the difficult conclusion that it is neither possible nor desirable for the NPA to continue with the prosecution of Mr Zuma."It is a difficult decision because the NPA has expended considerable resources on this matter, and it has been conducted by a committed and dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators who have handled a difficult case with utmost professionalism and who have not been implicated in any misconduct," he said.
- News24

Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone, Thandie Newton, Sol Kerzner etc at Nelson Mandela Luncheon

Sol Kerzner's fabulous One & Only Resort hosted Nelson Mandela luncheon for the Nelson Mandela Children AIDS Foundation - Mariah Carey and husband Nick Cannon, Sharon Stone and Sol Kerzner and wife, Heather were some of the celebrities that shared a table with our former president Nelson Mandela and wife, Graca!
Main picture taken at the luncheon, held at Gordon Ramsay's Maze, Thandie Newton and Hugh Masekela can be seen in the nearby tables. Which is one of the two restaurants in the resort by two world renowned chefs - the other being Nobu, where the opening ceremony the previous day was held - more on that later as i had the pleasure to have dinner there on Friday, 3rd of April. The hotel which at first I found underwhelming, partly due to dreary architectural design & 90's deco, looks rather lovely from the inside and has a man made island which houses the spa area as well as the villa suits.

The Night The Stars Flooded Cape Town, S. Africa

Celebrities flocked to Cape Town for the opening of Sol Kerzner’s 6 star luxury hotel, One&Only V&A Waterfront last night. At least 400 guests — including songbird Mariah Carey, who arrived in the city yesterday morning, supermodel Naomi Campbell and actors Sharon Stone, Thandie Newton and Robert de Niro to name a few— are in South Africa for the grand opening. Carey announced her arrival on social messaging utility Twitter earlier in the week, stirring up a fan frenzy at Cape Town international airport yesterday. The newly married Carey arrived at her hotel in a cavalcade of black limos. De Niro and Stone were milling around in the lobby, waiting for former president Nelson Mandela to arrive. Kerzner said last week that the party would be “an intimate and elegant affair. It’s more of a homecoming than an extravaganza.” The cream of Hollywood and South African bigwigs will tour the seven-storey hotel, the opening of which marks Kerzner’s return to the local hotel industry after the 1992 opening of the 300-million Palace of the Lost City, in the Pilanesberg. The cocktail party has been put together by party planner to the stars Colin Cowie. Local and international artists will perform at the disco-themed concert. Guests will be expected to travel through the reception area, visiting the hotel’s various lounges and indulging in meals prepared by British chef Gordon Ramsay’s Maze restaurant and by Nobu, owned by celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa (where I'm going for dinner tonight!!) The suites at the R1-billion hotel look out onto either the V&A Waterfront marina or panoramic views of Table Mountain. They are said to be the largest in the country, with basic suites of 63m² and the presidential suite covering 383m². Rates at the hotel, part of a string of One&Only resorts around the world, range from R6000 to R50000 a night.
Story based on article by The Times!

Designer Fashions come to Cape Town - Neo Boutique opening tonight, and guess who's invited?

Luxury resort brand One&Only has firmly established its reputation as the leading resort group in the world offering high fashion for the discerning traveller. On April 3 with the opening of NEO, the boutique at One&Only Cape Town, the group will take this fashion leadership to new heights. Following the resort’s launch, both local residents and visitors to the resort will have access to exclusive designer collections, specially handpicked from the catwalks around the world. In addition to local finds and treasures, visitors to NEO boutique will find the most highly sought-after fashion labels in the world, including Matthew Williamson, Stella McCartney, ACNE, and Temperley. Chrome Hearts, who will introduce a superb selection of their cult jewelry and accessories, and brands such as Balenciaga, Alaia, Pierre Hardy, Marios Schwab, Thierry Colson and Josh Goot will be available for the first time in South Africa.Chantal Kerzner, founder of NEO, commented: “We are extremely proud of the boutique, particularly as so many of the brands are ‘firsts’ for South Africa. The name NEO, which in many languages signals something new, felt a perfect name for the entire experience. NEO also means ‘gift’ in the Sotho language of South Africa.”Bev Malik, Director of Fashion Buying continues: “The runways have soaked up a lot of influence from the subcontinent, so it is very timely that our latest retail offering will represent the best fashion of Africa. We will be carrying tribal print t-shirts from Junya Watanabe, African-influenced pieces from Azzedine Alaia and Christian Louboutin’s animal print espadrilles.” Complete with a champagne bar and iPod station, the shop will not only be a place for retail therapy, but somewhere to relax and socialize. The design of NEO and the resort interiors were created by internationally acclaimed New York-based interior designer Adam D. Tihany. The retail space makes clever use of natural wood with a slick black gloss, reflecting abstract cubic panels and walls of gold leaf, resulting in a rich, glamorous setting for shopping.It won’t just be female guests that will find the boutique appealing, male shoppers are also well catered for. Sneakers from Maison Martin Margiela, shorts from Orlebar Brown and a Panama hat from YSL are just a few of the pieces in the impressive menswear collection. Mixed in with the African flavour in the store will be a daring Rock ‘n Roll look as favoured by the designs of Stella McCartney and Rick Owens. Some of the inspiring accessories include YSL’s ‘arty’ rings, skull bracelets from Tom Binns and crocodile bags from Zagliani.NEO will house an eclectic mix of high fashion, cutting-edge labels, as well as local African products. A beaded copper bracelet, designed exclusively for One&Only Cape Town will be sold in store to support the charity ‘Bridge for Africa’, providing funds for Zulu AIDS female communities.
Luckily i get to go to this boutique openning, yay!!! My Friday is suddenly even more exciting!

Hollywood comes to Cape Town: One& Only Hotel Opening

Superstar diva Mariah Carey arrived in Cape Town on Thursday to lead the festivities at the glamorous opening of Sol Kerzner's new hotel. Mariah is in Cape Town for the grand opening of Sol Kerzner's One&Only resort tonight, April 2. Other celebrities expected to attend include Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Thandie Newton, Marisa Tomei, Robert de Niro. Gordon Ramsay will be launching his first restaurant in Africa, Maze, at the resort. Nelson Mandela will be attending an intimate luncheon at Maze on Friday, April 3 to celebrate his long-standing relationship with Mr. Kerzner. One&Only, next to the Two Oceans Aquarium in the V&A Waterfront, opens on Thursday night after an investment rumoured to have totalled R1-billion. The internationally famous hotelier - best known locally for building the vast Sun City out of the dry bushveld in the Pilanesberg mountains in the North-West province - is expected to put on one of his famously lavish shows to open his Cape Town masterpiece. A Hollywood-style red carpet is expected to be rolled out to welcome stars Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone, rapper Mos Def and Bebe Winans. Former model Yasmin le Bon will be there, with daughter Saffron. Matt Damon, who is in Cape Town working on a film about the 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks, will join them, and had supper with de Niro and Kerzner on Wednesday night. Damon will play Springbok captain Francois Pienaar in the Clint Eastwood-directed flick. Local stars attending tonight are said to include Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Sibongile Khumalo and Jonathan Butler.
The 131-room hotel is marketed as a super-luxury "six-star" establishment, and guests will be fed from two restaurants bearing celebrity chefs' names. Gordon Ramsay of London will open one of his "maze" restaurants, and alongside him will be "Nobu", after Nobu Matsuhisa, the Japanese-born chef who is widely credited with bringing sushi to the Western world.
The hotel was designed by Capetonian architectural firms Dennis Fabian Berman and Ruben Reddy and built by contractors WBHO..
Thursday night's festivities will be hosted by Kerzner and his wife Heather and Moss Mashishi, the former head of SA Tourism who heads Matemeku Investments, Kerzner's local partner.

Midweek Release: Night Out In Long Street

After a rather exhausting day yesterday, I had my French lesson - thankfully we were watching a movie (Oui, mais..) last night, even though the teacher paused it after every second to point out phrases we should look out for, it still required much less concentration than a normal class and this was welcomed. After the raunchy teenaged movies, all French movies involve women touching themselves at some point, this one was no exception - After class I went home to change and head out to Julep where I was meeting some friends to watch a performance by Dave Ferguson, calls himself Lonesome Dave (he’s a one man act;), which was surprisingly really good – he…., I’ll get back to describing his style of music, cuz I don’t really know, it sort of basey-muffled style (I know it must have a name), sings into the mic, plays the harmonica, cranked out tunes like stripped down/folky blues version of Ring of fire by Johnny Cash. Julep is an awesome cocktail lounge, between their overpriced cocktails, relaxed décor, artsy ambience, ridiculously hot people and music that is not too loud you can still chat with your mates; Julep comes second to none as the best bar to go out to for a weekday night out. I’ll be there next week again, now I need to figure out where I’m heading tonight!
Pardon the poor picture quality I took this with my phone, eve 5 mega pixels can’t quite cope at night - the picture is of Long Street – I took it last night – for some odd reason I didn’t take one of Lonesome Dave performing or of Julep – oh well maybe next time!

Autumn/Fall Fashion Must Haves pour les hommes

Fall fashion collections are often the more favoured by consumers and certainly my favourite. Fabrics are rich in colour and texture yet made lighter for those mild days and can often be worn year round which is great when you’re trying to build a solid wardrobe, fall fashion offers you the good basics every good wardrobe can’t be without. And since colours are typically neutral, it makes it easy to mix and match. But more importantly, autumn is about layering and I love a layered look, the key is to know how to do it well. The following are my Top 5 Men's Fall wardrobe must haves that will not only carry you through this fall and winter but seasons to come.

1. Cardigan

This is not your grandfather's cardigan. It's a different kind of sweater that has a slimmer, more modern cut that you can wear at the office or on a date. It's thin enough to wear over a dress shirt and underneath a jacket. It can even be worn over your favourite T with a pair of jeans. It's one of the most versatile items you can have in your wardrobe. Try one made out of light weight merino wool or cashmere. Personally I believe everyone should have two, one in black and one in grey.

2. Striped Shirts

Every designer and manufacturer has come out with some sort of striped shirt or another. Just get one. It can be worn independently with jeans, with a suit or under a sweater. Remember, fall is about layering and from bold and thick stripes to thin ones; it's a good look that you will find easy to incorporate into many ensembles. Nautical blues or thin red stripes will work all year round.

3. Blazer/Sports Jacket

A cool blazer is definitely a must-have item, and the styles available really give blazers a life of their own. You can find some with patch pockets and/or elbow patches, others with big lapels and double-sided vents, but they are all a revival of retro looks, personally I wouldn’t go with the patches, but that’s just me. And don't forget moleskin and corduroy options which can be a less formal look than tweed. Or choose a nice wool or wool and cashmere combination with two buttons. Don't get to wild with color though; go for a neutral tones that can easily be worn with jeans and dressier trousers as well as a dress shirt or with a printed tee underneath. It has so much versatility. My favourite is my Dolce&Gabbana two button charcoal black jacket, it’s a slim cut so it goes with absolutely everything.

4. Scarves

A scarf can be used to simply uplift a dreary outfit to something more well put together without looking like you invested copious amounts of time thinking about the draping, even if you did. I personally live for thin scarves, too thick will keep you warm but wont look nearly as suave as a thin scarf. So grab a thin scarf, a grey one is a must, preferably wrinkly. I have a thin wrinkly grey scarf from ZARA, it works with everything.

5. Jeans

Jeans have and will always be a huge part of our wardrobes, now the key thing is to get the right fits and good colours. In terms of colour, we've seen everything from dark to light washes. Some choose black, this might be too heavy for autumn, go as dark as you can without going black, personally I believe in a good dark denim, an oily indigo takes me places, but its imperative that its oily, else why am I wearing indigo. More importantly, they can be paired with just about anything. Choose well and you just can't go wrong. Perhaps if you’re feeling gutsy, go purple, I bought myself a pair of purple skinny jeans the other day, purely for amusement’s sake, odd, right? Nope, they’ve been very well received.