The one about 55 Kloof Street

Taking a break from cooking, Braamie and I had lunch at the new diner on the block, Deli55, situated in the Groote Kerk's complex of buildings at 55 Kloof Street. The menu covers both breakfast and lunch dishes/light meals. Braamie order the beef burger and I munched away at the beef wrap. They also sell deli items which included huge croissants (not sampled). Their red espresso was pretty good (served with honey). The service was efficient, friendly and in Afrikaans!

The one about the Queen of Tarts

I cheated: when Ushma asked for a venue for lunch today, I boldly suggested Queen of Tarts in Observatory as THE venue. As if I have ever been there! QoT was actually where Anna suggested we meet for lunch tomorrow. This sunny diner, decorated with QEII memorabilia and a small menu written on a black board, carries a warning to customers not to order dishes that are not on the menu!? Phumla and I chose the crispy bacon, chicken and brie which was served on a bed of extremely well-dressed lettuce (a sweet balsamic reduction) and low GI bread. Ushma and TK opted for the roasted aubergine and pesto-esque sandwich. I tasted TK's sandwich and it was GOOD.

The one about an old tradition

Alas, Braamie has secret photos of me on the bass! I discovered these on his computer. They were taken during the performance of the Messiah in the Cape Town City Hall last week. Although I look very serious, I had fun. As tradition demands, the audience stood up for the 'Halleluja' chorus. Is it also tradition to repeat the chorus as a the end of the performance?

The one with closures on Kloof

Two restaurants closed down on our block last week. Chef Pons' Street Bar closed down on 29 July. I am not sure how long this establishment has been running, but there was always a crowd and in summer we could hear their guest laughing in their back garden. The Gr(ill) Steakhouse opened in April 2006 and never really took off. Often Braamie and I would play 'spot the diner'. We were impressed that they actaully lasted so long without any customers...

The one about lunch on Long Street

DeliZiosos, a small deli, trattoria, restaurant and espresso bar at 150 Long Street, is run by Giuliana Biasotto. Susan and I enjoyed a 'legal' lunch there on Friday. The restaurant is situated a few blocks from the courts and advocate Chambers and, as was evident during the number of times Susan did the colleagial head bob, a favorite among the legal fraternity.

The lunch buffët features a variety of Italianate dishes which are sold by weight. I'll check with Susan, but I thought all the dishes were really tasty. The cuppucino is perfect with home made biscuits which melt in your mouth.

The one about Cats on Kloof

BIG (Burmese Interest Group) had a show at Jan van Riebeeck High School on Kloof Street. I was invited to the show by the van Zyls whose neighbour's cats were on display. It was my first cat show. One tip: never mention that you are more of a 'dog person' at these events...

Dave and Adrii Helgren (my Amercian parents) invited Abraham and me to dinner at Café Paradiso. We were joinged by Deon, Gordon and Mischief, the owners of the restaurant. Braamie is seen holding Mischief .

The one with photos of the Messiah rehearsal

Rondebosch High School, Rustenburg Girls High and SACS choirs have combined forces to perform Handel's Messiah in the Cape Town City Hall this week. This is my first concert with Barry Smith and I really enjoy playing with him. These photos were taken during the rehearsal on Monday evening.

The one with shameless selfpromotion

My father's book, Die Rooi Rok (The Red Dress), published in 1997 has been listed as one of the 100 Representative South African Books for Children and Young People 2007 by the International Board of Books for Young People in South Africa. Go, Dad!

The one with a South African first for Kloof Street

Ever heard of a Woolies Pharmacy? The revamped Woolworths in the Kloof Street Lifestyle Centre now features a pharmacy which is open during store hours (even Sundays 9 to 5). This is the pilot store, with another pharmacy planned for Johannesburg.

The one with a photo of a painting on Kloof Street

As I was walking back to the apartment, I spotted two people trying to carry a painting across the Kloof Street/Kloofnek Street junction.

The one about the market in Soutrivier

Tamara and Ingrid picked me up to go to the market at the Biscuit Mill in Soutrivier. Ingrid demonstrated her impressive parking skills (almost like a stunt from Fear Factor). New experiences at the market included: Glühwein made form white wine (1), fluorescent fynbos (2), that the almond croissants were sold out (3), and chatting to Tom (4).

The about the Hout Bay String Project's new double bass

Joyously met up with Mfundo and Odwa at the Hout Bay Cultural Centre this morning. The big news: we have received another double bass! I don't know who was so kind to donate the bass, it came all the way from the Netherlands, but thank you! Thank you!

Mfundo is preparing for the Royal Schools Grade III double bass exam and Odwa and I successfully negotiated the G-major scale this morning. Another dear blog moment.

The one with Braamie's photo of Table Mountain

The one about Deon Maas

Guess where I am? Nope. I am blogging from ORTIA. Just flew in from Phalaborwa where I closed out the SEACAT 2.3 study at Lulekani. On the plane I started chatting to my neighbour (which is so totally out of character) without realising that it was Deon Maas (Afrikaans Idols' rude judge). He is quite an interesting conversationalist and even hit me in the stomach once!? We discussed raciscism in Europe, old Universities (did you know there has been an Islamic university in Nigeria since 980 AD?), Idols, Deon's current audio and television productions and Joan Hambidge. Time just flew by. Also, Deon gets quite anxious during landing... now there is some dirt for you.

The one about temps perdue

Braamie discovered some photographs of my childhood during his attempt to file and organise my life. I can remember telling my dad about the interesting shells on the beach.

The one with good news

The one with random thoughts

Winter in Cape Town is grand. I walked down Kloof Street to buy breakfast essentials wearing my impolite baseball cap (a gift from Jannie) and my Uppsala University T-shirt. On the way back I order a copy of Harrius Potter et antrum exsanguis. Braamie is in an organisational mood and I tried to escape, but alas, 23 minutes later my life was all ordered and filed. He also made me do the dishes.
Braamie and I have this ritual. We listen to the Mozart requiem and drink wine when a beloved pet dies. We don't have pets yet, but our friends do and they die. So now we are listening to the requiem and getting a little drunk to celebrate the life of Mufaza [sic], Braamie's mother's sister's recently deceased cat.

Also, great news for Haydn fans: I rediscovered a CD of symphonies 93, 94 and 103 performed by Solistes Européens Luxembourg. The recording is mind-blowingly awesome. I whistled the theme from the last movement of the 103 during my visit to the Gardens Centre where I had a very pleasant banking experience and asked the Russian lady at the überexpensive kitchen store about appliances to make smoothies. She recommends the Bosch MMB2000 600 Watt Blender.

The one about Depasco

Lower Kloof Street has transformed during my sojourn in Sweden. Walking down to Royale Eatery in Long Street last night, I noticed the new bakery at the bottom of Kloof Street and convinced Tamara to have breakfast with me there this morning. The settings is quite trendy and my americano was perfect.

The one about a warm heart in a cold George

Braamie and I spent a wonderful weekend in George. My parents are still prepping Alex's place in Bloemfontein for sale, so we took the oppurtunity to spend some quality time with the Hattinghs in Heroldsbaai and the Jouberts on Kingswood. The BIG news is that I will become an uncle again. Louis and Suzette are expecting their first Van der Waltjie. It is bound to be a boy - there are just no girls in our family (well, except me and Braamie).
Braamie took most of the photos. The first shows the view when you wake up in Heroldsbaai (my photo). The other photos are of Kingswood (between Fancourt and George golf courses). It was a lazy Sunday morning with a crackling fire and a long breakfast. Josua and I played honeymoon bridge (although it looks more like we're playing SNAP!), Azélle was knitting and Braamie was reading the Sarie (the one about Sonja Herold). Absolutely heaven!

The one with a winter photo

Just a photo taken while I was drinking my breakfast smoothie this morning. It was almost 08:00 and looked much darker. Still a great view.