Design Indaba 2012

Over the last few years the South African design Indaba has made an incredibly popular name for itself, and what was once visited by the amateur designers who wished to one day be a part of it and the select view who could pass opinion on each designer, is now one of Cape Town's most popular annual exhibitions and events.

Last year, Cape Town was voted as 2014's design capital - a title and award which will no doubt expose itself to prove just why the talented locals in the Mother City led the city to gain it. The combination of the designers, their pieces, the Indaba as a whole and the people who choose to visit it will express South Africa's true vibrancy and unique talents.

This year we can look forward to an extra 1000 square meters of the Design Indaba which will be dedicated to hosting more local designers than usual. Designers will have the opportunity to present their portfolios, show their abilities and to sell items to the public. They'll also be able to interact with the public directly; removing the online platforms or shops which host their collections from coming in between their direct interaction with the public.

This year, one of the slogans attached to the Indaba is: "Take home the best of South African creativity at DI2012 - a trip to the Cape Town International Convention Centre during the first weekend of March will enable you to do just that.

Event Details: 

Date:
2 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
3 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
4 March 2012 - 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Venue: 
Cape Town International Convention Centre


Tickets: 
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office on the above days. No tickets will be sold after 7:00pm on the Friday or Saturday.

For those of you coming from a far to visit the exhibition, there is plenty of closely situated Cape Town accommodation establishments to stay in.

Take a sneak peak at the Design Indaba website to see what you can expect. Go to www.designindaba.com to "inspire, interact and indulge".

QM2 Graces Cape Town - Cape Town Docks Disgrace QM2

Despite much complaining about the state of the harbour and the arrivals hall for cruise ships at the Cape Town docks it doesn’t seem to prevent world class cruise ships from visiting Cape Town. This morning as I was driving into town I was greeted by the site of the Queen Mary 2 docked in the harbour and I was forced to ask myself; what does this mean for Cape Town as a tourist destination and what does it mean for Cape Town holiday accommodation. Not really I actually asked myself “How the hell do you park something like that,” then I asked my girlfriend how the hell they would park it, she rolled her eyes and muttered “tug boats retard.” It was early in the morning I was concentrating on far more important issues, such as how I was going to persuade my colleagues that I have not been leaving dirty coffee mugs in the sink.

My scheming was interrupted though by her diatribe on the state of Cape Town holiday accommodation and the embarrassing spectacle that is the arrivals “hall” at the Cape Town docks. I expressed much the same sentiment that I did at the start of this article. If it is so dire why do cruise ships keep coming and why do tourists keep flooding the city. I thought it was quite simple really Cape Town is so beautiful and the people are so unique we could shove the visitors into sleeping bags and tents and they would be happy just to be basking in our Mother City glory.

The gf felt differently however and as this is actually her blog I won’t describe the tone or look on her face when she told me as such but I can tell you that it reminded me of the face the cat makes right before it scratches your face and steals your tuna sandwich; the knowing look of inevitable victory. I was forced to concede that she made a valid point, I conceded I part because she did make a good point and in part because I knew from the look and past experience that resistance or arguing was futile. She pointed out, or rather shouted out that unless Cape Town and South Africa wanted to be a developing hole in the great African wall forever then they best start creating a better perception of themselves, and the best way to do this is to provide world class facilities to tourists.

It must be said that the state of the “arrival hall” at the Waterfront docks is less than the ideal first impression for anyone visiting. As a place for welcoming the passengers of a world class luxury liner however it is downright abysmal. The class of person that can afford a cruise on many of these ocean liners can generally afford to spend much of their time on holiday and send a fair amount of money while doing so. It makes sense therefore to upgrade not only the arrival area but also the entire foreshore area. As charming as it may be to us locals to have a working harbour on the edge of our CBD you can bet your hacky sack that most visitors will not be overly charmed by the smell of fish and the oil soaked concrete underfoot when they disembark from their five star cruise liner.

The real frustration with very poor conditions that await disembarking passengers at the V&A Docks is that the rest of the city and Cape Town holiday accommodation is generally in world class condition. Despite the fact that the 2010 World Cup is one of the Mother City resident’s favourite thing to complain about, the improvements made to the tourism infrastructure have benefitted the tourism industry and Cape Town immeasurably. It is frustrating then to know that there is a scene from Tank Girl welcoming some of the most lucrative tourists to visit our shores. It is time the local government looked at a serious proposal to turn the foreshore into a hub of entertainment and a fitting gateway to the greatest city in Cape Town.                                                          

2012 in the Mother City

Well another new year has come and gone with little or no noticeable change and as usual the 1^st of January was filled with more hangovers and resolutions than a meeting of the Afrikaner Broederbond. Luckily when one starts to sober up stupid decisions like choosing to give up smoking go out the window with the exhalation of the first empowering drag. Resolutions to quit are for those that have a problem. Now that the MDMA has been taken, the balloons have been inhaled and the crustys have limped their way down Sir Lowry’s pass back to the Mother City it is time look forward at what the citizens of our fair city can expect. New Year’s Eve is too often the most overrated party of the year, often weeks of planning and tickets bought months in advance will fall through due to a misunderstanding, a falling out, or a misplaced earing. Whatever causes it is irrelevant, many a New Year’s Eve count down has been spent on the couch watch washed up Top Billing presenters slugging warm JC Le Roux out of the bottle, bitter and resolving to find new friends and a less observant girlfriend during the year ahead.  

Now however that is all over and as citizens of the finest city on the planet we are obliged to ask what next, what does 2012 have in store for us. As children of the Mother City we are spoiled and thus always expecting constant stimulation and amusement, so you will forgive me for looking at what 2012 has to offer me, from political mudslinging to all night parties. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this year.

The development on the city facing side of Lion’s Head is bound to make the headlines eventually. For those who have spent the festive season gazing out towards the ocean the Lion’s Head development is a complex of flats which unsurprisingly has been met with much contention. Through some political skulduggery they seem to have managed to get plans passed by excluding certain parts of the development deemed environmentally unfriendly, when in fact the entire development is ecologically unsound and flies in the face of everything Cape Town development stands for. By agreeing to not go ahead with the section of the complex that causes the most concern the developers are making themselves look very sanctimonious when in fact they have more to gain by scrapping one section to build the rest. One can’t help but wonder if there was some crafty sandbagging going on.

Talking of politics, well I’m not going to even try and make predictions about the political landscape in Cape Town for the coming year. It’s a landscape that changes more often than the desert on a windy day. I have only one hope for Mother City politics for 2012, that there are no major changes. Not because I am particularly enamoured with the current powers that be but because I am not sure I can handle the excitement of anymore change. Mostly though I hope, no I pray that the ban on the political blue light brigade will remain in force.

So here’s to a great year for all of you that live the Cape Town lifestyle, where ever you may be.                                

Soon they will be Nothing but Tourists

While the middle class masses of Cape Town gasped in horror and protested wildly, on facebook, about the passing of the secrecy bill the news that will have the most impact on their lives passed them by; there is talk of moving parliament out of Cape Town and into Pretoria. The real beauty about the statement and reasoning for moving parliament to Pretoria is that having it split over more than one city is that it is costing government money and affecting the efficient running of parliamentary duties. It is heartening to finally hear government admitting that things are not been run as efficiently as possible and that they are trying to find ways in which to save money. To be fair one cannot criticise the current government for the ludicrous system put in place by the previous equally inefficient apartheid government. However it is slightly amusing that within days of passing the most controversial bill in decades they finally start talking about something sensible. Could merely be to satisfy the angry middle classes?

If one looks back on the last twenty odd years of democracy the privileged few, and I mean those that were born into not those that fought for it, have been very vocal about every mistake, misdemeanour and corruption accusation that the media has printed, vocal however is the keyword. Very little else was done aside from complaints over cappuccinos, between the first and last election very little voting was done by the middle classes. Then the secrecy bill was passed and everyone became an activist, it was as if we were defending our right to complain. Cape Town, outside parliament, was a buzz of activity, well more of a low hum on “Black Tuesday” as a few creative minds came to the fore with some interesting protest ideas. However it was largely on social media platforms that the most noise was made, which is unsurprising considering the people that were making the noise.

However while everyone had their fingers in their ears and were singing loudly the residents of our fair Mother City missed the big news. The powers that BEE are planning on moving parliament out of it's Cape Town accommodation, this my fellow Capetonians is fantastic news. Just think from now on we can complain about the tourists from up north and government at the same time. While the rest of the country mourns the loss of their favourite pastime, complaining about the government us Mother City residents are being handed an opt-out on a platter.

If parliament is moved the parliamentarians become tourists and we all know how much Capetonians love to complain about tourists.              

        

The Real Wonder is that Any-body Cares.

So Table Mountain is one of the “New 7 Natural Wonders of the World.” What exactly does this mean? Well I’m not entirely sure and I’m pretty sure that Pieter De’ Villiers despite his televised enthusiasm is not entirely sure himself. I love Cape Town and part of loving Cape Town is loving the mountain, it’s compulsory, it comes with the territory. You can’t be a daughter of the Mother City and be completely indifferent to the Mother City’s largest, most obvious and frankly most popular landmark. I am super stoked that Table Mountain is recognised as one of the 7 Natural Wonders and that that Cape Town is now once again top of mind for all tourists planning a visit to South Africa. I am just suspicious of what all this means for Cape Town. Have we not been let down by enough media circus publicity stunts that promised everything and delivered nothing but disappointment and failed entrepreneurial opportunities.     

One wonders what made a Swiss born Canadian resident previously interested in aviation suddenly decided to start cataloguing the 7 Natural Wonders, especially seeing as that none of the 21 on the original list fell in Switzerland. The answer, as always in these affairs, is simple money. Now that the dust has settled and the publicity circus has left town the rather sordid truth is starting to be revealed or at least now that we have won we are actually starting to look for it. To say that some of were surprised would be an understatement, I know Table Mountain is beautiful but is it really one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The news that it had suddenly achieved this honour compelled many people to look into the criteria that was used to choose the top 7. As it turns out it was the nations that were willing to cough up the most cash that were most likely to get their landmarks on the list.

To truly understand how deep the scam runs you need to realise that the organisation that started the Wonders of the World campaign is not endorsed in any way by UNESCO the United Nations branch that is responsible for word heritage sights. Although it was started as a non-profit organisation, it has a for profit organisation attached which is, not surprisingly, profiting from the marketing merchandising and general media tomfoolery that has surrounded this whole affair. As the financial workings of these types organisations are not disclosed under Swiss law, it is not inconceivable that they are funnelling the majority of the money they make to a subsidiary that takes care of their marketing. Essentially the non-profit organisation spends its’ profit with its marketing subsidiary which is ideally not affiliated. In this case though they are, and the marketing branch of this charade has made itself a tidy sum of money. Naturally the money making hasn’t stopped there, any marketing or promotion that involves using the tag New 7 Natural Wonders comes at a heavy price. Consider for a moment what that means, Natural Wonders are controlled, usually by a national parks board or equivalent subsidised by the government. Those funds come from the taxpayers. So as excited as everyone is now to be on this magical list let no one forget that nothing comes for nothing.                                            

            

We Get Cleese, Figuratively

Being part of the audience that John Cleese himself described as the most responsive he has ever played to makes one feel a little bit special, but one also cant doubt that this is a well-rehearsed line that he most likely delivers at the end of each show, nevertheless an evening with Cleese was well worth every cent I spent to get myself and my better half front and centre. To be honest I was not expecting the Mother City to give him such a warm reception, not that I expected it to be cold but I just wasn’t sure how popular it would be.

There were no pretentious suits or zany get ups that many other comedians prefer, slacks and a jacket were all that he needed to make an impression, very much the kind of outfit my father was wearing for the occasion although he made an impression for an entirely different reason. - Dad loves the scotch. – It was this demeanour which resonated through the entire show and permeated the theatre which made me feel as if I was spending as evening with an old friend.

The show opened with an explanation of why he had decided to forgo the relaxing twilight years he was entitled to instead tour the world entertaining audiences and talking about his long, rich and frankly amusing career. If you haven’t heard yet the reason for his tour, or so he claims, is to help him pay the excessive alimony owed to his ex-wife. While this little rant opens the show and leads into a diatribe about the ridiculous Californian legal system, the show is never dominated by it and the theme of the show predominantly follows his career. It truly was like spending an evening with an old friend that happened to know the intimate behind the scene details of your favourite show.

The show’s format was not that of the typical stand-up comedian, with rehearsed gags and one liners, or even tired observations and rehashed stories. It was a genuine and honest retelling of a life spent in the British entertainment industry during a time of massive change and transformation of the British moral code. There is no doubt that the show was well rehearsed as a true performer his timing was impeccable and his ability to improv during the Q&A at the end of the routine showed his colours as a stage performer with years of experience.    

It was an awesome experience and it was fantastic to see the Mother City welcome this icon of comedic entertainment that was so much a part of my childhood. Capetonians, in my humble opinion has always had an uncanny ability to make people chuckle so I suppose it is no surprise that Cleese was so well received.                                          

Conde Naste Awards Speaks Volumes in a Whisper

Conde Nast Traveller recently released the results of its’ 24^th annual Readers Choice Awards to find the top tourist facilities and destinations in the world. The awards are broken down into favourite country to visit, the best city on each continent, best resorts, islands and hotels. There is also has a category for readers favourite overseas city outside of the UK, in which Cape Town ranked seventh. Seventh! I was flabbergasted, dumbstruck, astounded and quite frankly insulted. Cape Town has some of the finest holiday accommodation in the world at fantastic value, with all the tourist attractions imaginable. 

When I heard the results had been released I was not in any particular rush to check them or even that anxious to see them as I just assumed the mother city would be somewhere in the top 5, beaten out by our more traditional European destinations. To be beaten by Sydney though forced me to ask serious questions about the methods by which they went about gathering this data. Evidently they ask their readers to choose their favourites based on ten criteria. This year over 28 000 readers took part; this is apparently a new record. When one considers the number of tourists that float across the sky every day, clogging up the traffic of the cities of their chosen destinations and irritating the locals by asking for directions in loud slow English, then 28000 does not seem like a particularly large amount, and the awards become seemingly inaccurate.

The key to unravelling my apparent frustration at Cape Town’s terrible placing lies in the title of the awards, The Readers Choice Awards – So who exactly is reading Conde Nast Traveller? The magazine was started by Diners Club over half a century ago with to inform its members which locations would accept their credit card. Within a few years it was accepting advertising and became a fully-fledged magazine that was soon bought by Conde Nast. It has been referred to as the Rolls Royce of magazines, which would make it’s reader, well the type of people that would drive a Rolls Royce and the first person that comes to mind is James May, who is to be honest not the type of person that would make the most of a holiday in Cape Town and therefore not the type of person that should be allowed to vote on its ranking in the worlds cities.

If you think this sounds like sour grapes you would be right, and as a life-long Cape resident grapes are something I know all about, albeit they are usually sour anyway and then pressed and put into a bottle, but grapes none the less. Funnily enough when I found out how abysmal Cape Town’s standing was a bottle of the Capes finest was exactly what I needed. I am aware that I am somewhat biased and that my affection for the Mother City may be slightly disturbing, but I really do think that the way the data was gathered does not warrant the type of brouhaha the that awards ceremony received.

The awards ceremony and the publicity that these ranking received is disturbing frankly, it was reported in CNN as well as widely talked about in online travel channels. It is phenomenal and worrying that such a tiny percentage of the tourist market can have such a massive impact on the global tourism industry. What makes this low ranking all the more difficult to stomach is that we were beaten Sydney, as if losing to those sheep loving convicts in the RWC quarter finals wasn’t bad enough they are now falsely lead to believe that they have a city which is more favoured by tourist than us. So about now you are starting to think that you have happened upon the reason for my disappointment at the awards and you would be right.