Cinema Noveau

Saw my first movie in Johannesburg this weekend, Terence Malick's To the Wonder at one of the city's art house cinemas, Cinema Noveau in Rosebank. So happy to have it nearby when I get an occasional desire to go out to see a movie. (We finally got our Netflix and Itunes up and running too.) Cinema Noveau will have some big (NYC) shoes to fill though!

Bryant Park

Getting first crack at the world's obscure and offbeat independent and foreign films and singular viewings of classics and silents on the big screen was one of the greatest things about NYC. The shear breadth and scope of movies all showing at the same time and especially during the day when I loved to see them. Truly mind-boggling.

International and genre film festivals. Classic movies on the lawn in Bryant Park. Tiny museum theaters at MOMA, Museo del Barrio, the Paley Center. Alliance Francaise. Not to mention the yearly TriBeCa Film Festival. 

Luckily being the first in line to see the new Woody Allen movie or the latest Merchant Ivory film stopped being a priority to me a long time ago. But it does bring me back to the dream time and puts me fondly in mind of my favorite old cinematic haunts. So ...

Time for some shout-outs to my favorite New York movie houses:
Angelika - best cafe for a cappuccino apres and I love that you can hear the subway rumble below during the movie!
Film Forum - best if you're a member; for classics, silents and never-saw-but-always-wanted-to's, French New Wave
Film Society of Lincoln Center - for culture themes
Lincoln Plaza  - foreign fave
Maysles Center - artsy documentaries
Quad and the IFC - downtown alternatives to the Lincoln Plaza
St Marks (RIP) - miss you!
Landmark Sunshine Theater - the best popcorn
Paris - I would literally live there if they'd have me. The most comfortable seats in the world!
The Ziegfeld Theater - a real movie palace; I saw Scorsese's The Last Waltz there in 1978 and again in 2002, both times with Vince.
The Waverley (RIP) - saw my first Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight with Vince in 1978; it still plays at the Clearview FYI but I am too old now to stay up that late for a movie and anyway I have it on DVD for my annual Halloween watching
Radio City Music Hall - Art Deco awesomeness! I once made Vince sit for 4 hours (we had a break for dinner) to see the newly re-released and restored 1927 Abel Gance chef d'oeuvre Napoleon in 1981! Oh yeah, it was a silent film too and Carmine Coppola and his orchestra accompanied! He loved it!
AMC IMAX - way back when I did events for Waterkeeper Alliance, I helped launch the NY film premiere there of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk with RFK Jr. and my anthropologist idol Wade Davis. The Dave Matthews Band performed!

@ the Empire Diner (RIP) before Dr. Zhivago @ TFF

And okay NJ, some love for you too ...
Roberts Chatham - old faithful with Sheila
Montclair's Claridge and Bellevue - date nights with Marilyn
Madison Cinema
Montgomery Cinema
Red Bank Theater
Edison for Bollywood

And I left my heart in San Fran at the ...
Embarcadero Center
The Clay (you have not seen Pink Flamingos until you've seen it here!)
Red Vic - hippie Height Ashbury
Castro - it has a super old Wurlitzer that rises up!

Sundance Film Festival!

And nearby Berkeley ...
The Shattuck-  downtown classic

And Oakland...
The Piedmont - West Coast Art Deco deliciousness

You too Denver ...
Mayan

Wicked Boston ..
Coolidge Corner near BC

And even DC ..
E Street Theater and the West End

Just read about outdoor movies being shown on the roof at the Neighbourgoods Market in downtown Braamie too. Being shown by the Air Cinema Club, a ticket not only provides access to the film but also a large bean bag to sit upon and a serving of popcorn. A DJ plays at the start of the evening to set the mood, and there's a cash bar and select food. Each monthly event is custom-designed to suit the genre / type of film being shown. Will have to check it out.

And I also have high hopes for the First Wednesday Film Club. Just like the Air Cinema Club, each First Wednesday event has a theme for the evening that carries through to the film chosen, food served, entertainment and special guests. According to the club's description on its website, "We feature films for exposure and feedback at these monthly gatherings, held on the First Wednesday of Every Month.” I will have a chance to check it out this Wednesday when I am going to see the documentary Venus & Serena. I tried to see it at Sundance last year where it was highly anticipated and therefore also highly sold out.

Pass the popcorn Joburg!

Happy birthday Madiba!

 

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela and Jill Talley!

Today Vince and I participated in a group tribute message to Nelson Mandela to wish him a happy 95th birthday. He turns 95 on July 18 and shares a birthday with my niece Jill so our birthday tribute also included a shout-out to Jill!

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela and Jill Talley!

Called 94toGram+, the photo tribute collection was organized by Ubuntu Help Portrait, a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate. We met at the Moyo restaurant at the Johannesburg Zoo Lake.


Happy Birthday Madiba! ... and Jill!

Coffee-flavored Coffee

In his stand-up comedy act, Denis Leary tells the story of having gone to his corner Starbucks and upon seeing the infinite menu of possible permutations of caffeinated beverages simply ordered "a cup of coffee." The barista proceeds to pummel him with questions. Tall? Grande? Venti? Flavor? Skinny? Latte? Mochaccino? Cappuccino? Frappuccino? Al Pacino?

To which Denis barks back, "I just want a cup of coffee! Coffee-flavored coffee!"

 Well whilst I do enjoy my venti Cafe Misto from time to time, skinny with sugar-free vanilla syrup, I can relate to Denis's plight. Especially since now I have another choice to contend with. From which country do I want my beans?


Like many things, such as the human species and art (see my blog post on Origins), coffee originated in Africa. Most likely Ethiopia or Kenya. Cultivated by the Arabs in the 14th century, the earliest credible evidence of either coffee drinking or knowledge of the coffee tree appears in the middle of the fifteenth century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen. By the 16th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa. Coffee then spread to the Balkans, Italy and to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia and then to the Americas.

We have at least limited our choice at Valley Lodge to beans grown in Africa but even that is quite an extensive list. Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Namibia, ... we are working our way down the list a bag at a time with our daily home brews. Our favorite so far is Kenyan peaberry.

But sometimes in the morning I just don't want to work that hard. Especially before I've had my coffee.

My South African Book Club

Bookworms choosing books at Encore in Hyde Park Corner

I have belonged to several book clubs over the years. Some have been more successful for me than others. I have found my most successful experiences have been those where the book club actually reads the books, and we talk about the book (as opposed to a glorified excuse for cocktails.) Especially when we have different tastes and perspectives, can form an opinion and are comfortable with sharing it. That cocktail usually makes for an interesting exchange.

My favorite thing of all is when I come to a book club meeting feeling strongly one way or another about a book and then being persuaded to look at the book from a different vantage point thereby reversing my previous stand.

I recently joined a book club in Joburg that is different from any I have ever experienced. First of all it has a membership ratio, 1/3 South African, 1/3 British, and 1/3 "other". Being an American I am an "other." That practically guarantees different perspectives!

Secondly we do not all read the same book every month. We have a library of books to choose from which have been chosen by the group. Every few months representatives (we are all invited to go) from the group go to the Exclusive Book store in Hyde Park and chooses a dozen or so books. We then read the liner notes on each book aloud at the next meeting and the group votes on whether we want to add that book to the library. We can then each choose one of the newly approved books to read for next month or one already in the library.

The way the meetings are run is unique too. We go around the table and each person reviews the book or books they read last month and gives them a grade between 1 and 5. We include a one or two phrase synopsis of our review and the numeric grade on a card that has been affixed to the inside cover of the book.

I am excited because this means I can read what I want every month. Invariably this has been my downfall with book clubs. I like to read what I like to read when I like to read it. So I usually have a book club book on my nightstand and a book I have chosen to read. Now I can have both in one book!

I chose books set in South Africa for my first two books, The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence, the true account of an introduction of a herd of elephants to Thula Thula, a Private Game Reserve in Zululand, and The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh, a novel about the Kimberley diamond mines.

There are many books in the library written by or set in South Africa which is exactly what I want to be reading now. I think this book club will be a success!

Africology

I found my spa yesterday. Africology. All the products are 100% natural and made in South Africa. One more necessary step in my migratory settling-in process. I had a very relaxing manicure and pedicure, my first in South Africa. Long overdue. Next week I go for a facial and eyebrow shaping.

And yes this is a necessity and not the luxury (well maybe the eyebrow shaping) you might think it is at first glance. We are in a high desert after all and as my sister will attest having lived oh so many years in Colorado, another high desert, "this weather will age you!"

I saw my Dermatologist just before I left the States to get a final full body check just to make sure I did not have any areas I needed to keep an eye on with this change in altitude, humidity and proximity to the ever-present sun. He told me I have the skin of a 40 year old ... which I took as the complement he intended being I am in the body of a mid-50 year old.

Forty is probably about the age when I saw the light and started caring about the quality of my skin. Before that I spent every waking moment I could in the sun either on the sand face up soaking up the sun's damaging rays to get my annual summer tan or on the solar-reflecting water in a sailboat with a modicum of SPF between me and extra crispy. It was in my late 30's / early 40's that I decided this practice had better stop or I will be a prune by 60.

I will never forget the moment when the light bulb of reality lit. I had found a close-up picture of me taken during my college spring break in New Orleans for Mardi Gras just a few months shy of my 21st birthday. My face in the mirror looked quite a bit different from the face in that picture. (I almost cried. Ok. I cried.) Well I couldn't turn back time but I apparently could stop the clock. Or at least get it to drag its heels a little.

I began to see the beauty - and the wisdom - in the porcelain white skin of the French and Nicole Kidman. I stopped tanning, started wearing hats on the beach and in the boat and started using the highest SPF money could buy. I also started getting regular facials and using moisturizers, creams and body lotions. I am not going to let all that hard work go up in smoke now that I have moved to Africa!

There is also an Africology signature atmosphere fragrance, which you can buy in a soy-based candle or essential oil form (I bought both). It is a blend of marula, African potato, rooibos, and aloe vera. Vince noticed the fragrance on me immediately when he got home last night and asked me what that great smell was. I told him I was glad he liked it because I got some for his bathroom!

And Africology even  makes a Safari Kit with body lotion, rose wipes, tissues, citronella oil, SPF 30, and lip balm. Another necessity in Africa!

Moonwalking

Met up with the Joburg Photowalkers to watch the supermoon rise! We met at the water tower on the top of Northcliff Ridge.














First we watched the sun set in the west.

We had to do some fancy maneuvering around the fence to get to the photowalkers and the eastern view. That's a straight drop down behind Vince!

photowalkers setting up.














ready!











 




supermoon over downtown Joburg!

Potjie

Vince has a thing about cast iron. He loves to cook in it. We have several heirloom pieces in storage in the US, pieces he's lovingly seasoned and maintained despite the extra care necessary each and every time you use it.  A couple of skillets, a griddle, a mold for madeleines, ear of corn-shaped molds for cornbread sticks and several round molds for popovers and Sunday Yorkshire pudding.

seasoning the potjie

So I knew there was no stopping him when he saw the wall rack of three-legged cast iron cauldron-shaped Dutch ovens on special at the Builder's Warehouse on Saturday when we were running some errands. It didn't matter that we have a full complement of Creuset Dutch Ovens about to be delivered after crossing the entire Atlantic Ocean by freighter at great expense. I saw the look in his eye. If you can't beat him, you might as well join him for a good meal.

Called a potjie, the cast iron oven is used to cook the South African national dish, potjiekos. Introduced to South Africa by the Voortrekkers, the Boer homesteaders who made the great migration from The Cape to the Transvaal to escape persecution by the British in the 19th century, the ovens were perfectly suited to stew meats and vegetables over an open fire in the veldt. We used our fire basket in the backyard.

The traditional meat for a potjie is lamb so that is what we used for our inaugural potjiekos. Potatoes, sweet potato, mushrooms, onions, garlic, celery, carrots, mini corn, and baby marrows which are small zucchinis and squashes, red wine, stock, tomato sauce and grape tomatoes. Rosemary and other herbs and seasonings. Easy enough. The trick of course is to get the heat just right to slow cook it for a long time.










We made dumplings but you can also serve it on a bed of couscous or pap. Excellent for a winter's night!

Next time we are making my favorite, a Cape Town fish and water onion potjiekos on a bed of rice.

The Flavours of South Africa

Moyo

A great way to explore a culture is through its food and South Africa offers a wonderful culinary itinerary. In fact many of the African restaurants offer "pan-Africa" dishes. So not only can you taste the flavors of South Africa you can venture out into the cuisines of other countries in Africa as well. As varied as the number of native tribes, the dishes are infused with foreign influences too from Malaysia, India, and Arabia. Truly a melting pot, South African cuisine also reflects the cookery of the Afrikaans and Portuguese who brought their own methods and ingredients.

The food is of course fresh and fabulous! King prawns from Mozambique, native kingklip and calamari, Cape crayfish or spiny rock lobster for me. Free-rage ostrich, ox-tail, and springbok for Vince. Some of the restaurants we have tried so far with the best African dishes are Restaurant Moyo in Melrose Arch which offers a very sophisticated and modern twist on traditional African cuisine; The African Cafe in Cape Town which is more laid back and convivial offering a delicious multi-course tasting menu; the Lekgotla in Mandela Square which serves a varied buffet along with an a la carte menu; and Gramadoelas in downtown Newtown which is more soulful and authentic. They are very atmospheric, can offer live music and dance performances while you dine and are all very, very good!

 Some of our favorite dishes are:
1. Bobotie which is minced ox-tail braised with butterbeans in red wine and beef stock.
2. Anything in a potjie, a three-legged pot the Voortrekkers used for cooking stews (and the precursor to the Dutch Oven.) I prefer waterblommetjies (water onions) with fish but Vince likes the traditional spicy lamb.
3. Ostrich berbe which is ostrich fillet marinated in a classic Ethiopian spice blend of cloves, cardamom, ginger and cayenne pepper, served with a Zimbabwean peanut pumpkin mash.
4. Chicken yassa, a Senegalese chicken breast marinated in an olive, red pepper and preserved lemon sauce.
5. Samaki kava, a Tanzanian fish curry with a coconut milk, turmeric, spinach and groundnut sauce, served with sun-dried mango.
6. Sosatie, marinated beef kabobs & dried apricots.

A popular side dish is pap, a polenta-like meal. Others include morogo, a type of wild spinach. Combined with butter-braised onions and tomato or mixed into maize porridge, it is a rural ingredient with mainstream appeal. Amadumbe is a sweet potato and peanut mash. A tasty restaurant variation of the dish is to cook sweet potatoes, mash them with butter and sprinkle them with roasted peanuts, topped off with a drizzle of honey.

Chakalaka is a spicy relish served alongside a main course and consists of grated carrots, green peppers, sliced onion, vinegar, and chili.

And the desserts! I love warm malva pudding served with custard. I have a recipe which Vince and I are going to try to make one weekend. For a fruit lover like me, the bounty is endless. Tart cape gooseberries, sweet naartjie, mango, pineapple and passion fruit, and the African cucumber or horned melon. The last makes a refreshing and tasty sorbet especially with lime.

Antiques and Junque

I am not a mall shopper. I prefer little boutiques, antique centers and flea markets. I am always on the lookout for interesting sources for furniture and crafts.

Driving home from the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens the other day I stumbled upon a mile long stretch of nothing but furniture and antique stores in the Albertskroon section of Randburg. We are looking for a bookcase for the office to replace the hideously dull IKEA-like cubby thing that is in there now. Definitely worth a look!

this wire baobab could be our Christmas tree this year!

Another place I found driving around the other day was a triangular fenced-in lot in Bryanston on the busy corner of William Nichol and Main Road. At first I thought it was a junk yard or a place where homeless were squatting which would be very odd indeed in tony Bryanston. But when I finally stopped at the robot and could get a better look, I could make out large figures of metal animals and rows of rattan furniture and bamboo garden fencing. Another place that is worth a second look!

Look out! I brake for Antiques and Junque!

International Shipping. What a Custom!

Oy.

My international shipment arrived in Durban yesterday (the high winds delayed it for a couple of days I am told). We shipped very little from the USA. Clothes and some kitchen stuff. A couple of computer monitors. Some DVDs. That's it I think. I can't remember; it has been so long. After it arrived in Durban it went through Customs there, passed inspection and we are waiting for it to be put on a truck or a railroad freight car to be delivered to our receiving company in Joburg who will then deliver it to my door at Valley Lodge.

Oy. Such a process!

I hired a shipping company in NJ practically without a reference. I got quotes from three companies which I found on the internet and went with the middle estimate. That is the way I usually hire contractors. Why spend top dollar and you eventually pay with the cheapest quote. So I went with the middle quote. Prisma Cargo.

Eric and Peter were very nice on the phone, answering all my questions and making me feel at ease. The movers arrived and packed my stuff when they said they would, were courteous and careful. They gave me tracking information so I could follow the cargo ship on its journey from Newark to Durban and they made the contact for me with the receiving company, Pickfords in Midrand.

Norman and Wanda, or "Norma" as I called the team, contacted me from Pickfords. They went through the best and worst case scenarios and suggested I do a pre-certification at the South African Customs and Border Management Office in Alberton.

I went to the SARS office with my lap top, my kindle and some magazines, thinking I would be in for the day. Amazingly I was in and out in less than an hour!

Dropped in on Norma in Midrand to sign some papers authorizing them to receive my shipment in Durban, handed them the now approved Customs paperwork in triplicate.

More waiting, this time for the call from Norma telling me that my shipment was in port.

Got the call. The Customs pre-approval was worth the drive to Alberton. My cargo was approved by Customs in Durban on the 19th as Norma said it would be. The Pickfords agent at the port acted on our behalf. All that remains now is to wait for my cargo to be delivered to Joburg!

What could possibly go wrong?

South African Mzansi Ballet

inside the Mariinski Theatre

Ballet is my favorite of the performing arts! It has music (Ray Charles and Wynton Marsalis have accompanied the New York City Ballet on stage), theatre (John Lithgow and Patti Lupone have narrated too), art (Picasso and Chagall designed several sets for Balanchine's ballets), fashion (Chanel and Stella McCartney have designed costumes as well).

Besides the New York City Ballet (where we subscribed for 30+ years) and the American Ballet Theater (where we subscribed for 5), New York plays host to all of the American and indeed the world's greatest ballet companies and we saw them all on stage at Lincoln Center, the Joyce Theatre and the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

But just as there is nothing like seeing the New York City Ballet on its home turf at Lincoln Center, there is no substitute for seeing any ballet company in its home venue with its inspirations and muses in the seats and in the surrounding city and country. They just seem to dance better! So whenever we travel we try to do just that. The Kirov at the Mariinski Theatre, the Bolshoi in Moscow, the Stuttgart, the Melbourne Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Teatro Colon Ballet, even the La Scala Ballet at Milan's Opera House.

So I was THRILLED to the tip of my toe shoes to see that Joburg has a resident ballet company, the South African Mzansi Ballet!!!

It is a new ballet company having been only established in July 2012, following the merger between The South African Ballet Theatre (SABT) and Mzansi Productions but they have a relationship with the ballet diva Alicia Alonso and the Cuban National Ballet. They have adopted the Cuban method of ballet training in their dance school. Vince and I saw Alicia Alonso dance many years ago when she performed as a guest artist in New York. She has an amazing life story!

The SA Mzansi Ballet is in residence at the Johannesburg Theatre in September fresh from an international gala tour celebrating Alicia Alonso. Can't wait!

Cleopatra wasn't the Only Queen of Denial

There is a scene in Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues" when Eugene gets off the train which took him from New York City to the Army basic training camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. He quickly registers the oppressive Mississippi heat on his skin and declares it "Hot. It's like Africa hot!"

Well we are in Africa in Johannesburg but hello, it gets cold in Joburg in the winter! Not New Jersey cold, but Africa cold. Which is just cold enough to warrant heat-producing machines or heaters. Yet the Jozi natives are in total denial of this. When looking for apartments and townhouses last December in the middle of the African summer, I was told that the houses lack central heating and double pane windows because "you don't need it here." I am here to tell you that you do!

Not all the time. Just when the sun goes down in the evening until it comes up again in the morning. But that is half the day! The sun does a pretty good job of warming things up again in the morning and before noon it is nice and comfortable. But when the sun goes down again, there's that chill in the air.

frost on the RJ&KGC course

The apartments that do come with central heat have expensive electric underfloor heating. People tell me their electricity bills for the month of July increase ten fold when they use it. Funk that!

So you end up having space heaters which are unattractive, still use electricity and really do not do a very good job when your "space" has cathedral ceilings and you are far below on the cold tile floors. (Our master bedroom has a wall combination a.c. / heater and rugs so we are covered for sleeping at least.)

We had radiant underfloor heating back in New Jersey in our kitchen and conservatory but it was hooked up to natural gas. We also had hot water radiators in the rest of the house. Also gas-driven. Very efficient and economical and warm. There is unfortunately not a lot of natural gas here. (Which makes cooking on my electric stove a bit of a chore too but I am coping and we eat out a lot!)

I keep hearing rumors of impending power outages this winter which so far have not materialized but loom large nonetheless. So I bought a stand-alone gas space heater for the main living space. It does a pretty good job. It also means I am not as electricity-dependent and will not add to the already overburdened Jozi electrical grid.

My winter clothes have still not arrived from the States. I brought a very small subset of warm clothes thinking that by the time July got here I'd be flush. But an expat from Canada told me yesterday that it took her a year for her house shipment to clear customs and arrive at her door! I guess Cleopatra wasn't the only Queen of Denial. I need to buy some more socks.

Security 101

Everyone talks about the security issues in Joburg. The realtors, the corporate relocation specialists, the neighbors, the expats living here, and the concerned well-wishers at home before I moved. Being from the urban jungle that is New York City and environs, I listen but am not too worried. Mostly because I do not plan to test it.

For instance I will not drive by myself at night, unless I am driving over to the Gautrain to pick Vince up. Until I get to know Joburg better, I am regarding every place as off limits by myself at night. This is a huge concession.

I was invited to an art opening at the Wits Art Gallery the other night. The Wits is in the Central Business District (CBD) of Johannesburg and is fairly abandoned at night when the business day is through. Vince was out of town and none of my neighbors were interested in going so I didn't go. Even though they did offer secure underground parking, I just did not feel comfortable. What if I got a flat tire on the highway? That policy may change over time I am sure. But for right now - no driving by myself at night!

However I never plan to drive in Soweto or Alexandra alone. Day or night. I would like to see some of the historical sights in Soweto which I will do on a reputable Soweto Tour. 

I will use my security alarm system. We had a house security system in Fanwood but more than half the time I never set it. Even when I wasn't home. I actually hardly ever locked my doors and we never locked them at the beach house either until we left after Labor Day. Locks + Alarm = New Habit.

I will also use my safe. That will be easy. We had a heavy duty submarine combination lock safe in Fanwood and I was religious about putting my jewelry away in it. But that was less out of fear of break-in and more because I didn't want to tempt any cleaning ladies or handymen or more likely misplace or lose anything myself.

But unlike the suburbs, New York City called for more vigilance. I was always acutely aware of who was walking behind me, in the shadows, in my blind spot of my car. I avoided certain neighborhoods like the Bowery BG (Before Giuliani.) Now you can walk the entire length of Bowery from Astor Place to Chinatown at night alone and be fully at ease, but it wasn't always that way.

I never drove my car with my purse or packages in the front passenger seat (potential smash and grab) in the city. I really never parked my car with anything of value in it. I had my trunk broken into so many times during the 80's when I would park on the street that I stopped getting the lock fixed after a while. Stereo system thefts were also a common occurrence in the 80's and we had our car window smashed a couple of times for the stereo. We finally bought removable Blaupunkt stereos which I would take out of our car and bring with me into the restaurant or theater. After a while they made theft-proof radios and stereo systems that self-destructed or something if they were removed from your dashboard. But I went through at least three break-ins before I got smart, got a removable radio and put a sign in my car window that said, "No radio!"

bear kill in Denali

One of the most horrifying things I ever witnessed in my life was when Vince and I were walking down
Columbus Avenue in broad daylight with our friend Spencer after brunch one Sunday in the 80's and we came upon someone smashing in our car window to steal our radio. Vince and Spencer tore down the street ahead of me and tackled the perpetrator, and Spencer held him face down on the ground while Vince woke the cop up on the corner. Horrific! Worse than watching a male lion rip apart a freshly killed kudu on the Serengeti or watching three huge brown bears stalk, trap and kill something (we were never really sure what it was) in a bush in Denali or watching a seal beat an octopus to death on the rocks in the Galapagos. Trust me, I saw them all and this was much much worse! The urban jungle can be a senseless and cruel environment.

I do not feel I have had to modify my day-to-day urban security policy here very much at all. Not that I could if I wanted to. It is so ingrained. I always have an exit plan, an escape route, street insurance. I am an Urban Guerrilla. But I did add a few tricks to my kit since coming to Joburg:

1. I now always check the handle on my car door after I lock it with my remote. Some car thieves have a jammer that stops your remote from locking the doors so they can simply open the door after you walk away to ransack it or outright steal.

2. I always look behind me as I open the driveway security gates if there is no one in the security tower at my apartment complex. Baddies have been known to follow women from shopping malls and banks and then force themselves into their house to burgle and do worse.

3. I always wait for the security gate to close before driving away to make sure so one is hiding in the bushes to sneak in before it closes. Once again if no one is in the security tower which there usually is.

4. I will not stop for a "blue light" if I am alone or in a deserted area and never, never at night. This is advice I have been given by some of the locals. "Blue lights" are the police and if you are attempted to be pulled over when you are alone or feel unsafe, you should turn on your yield lights to signal to them that you recognize you are being pulled over and continue driving until you get to a security tower or a shopping mall with a security guard or to someplace you feel safe. Once you pull over, I am told do not get out of your car, do not shut your car off and do not unlock your car.

5. I do not carry a ton of money in my purse. I  only carry a copy of my passport and not the original. I do not wear a lot of expensive-looking jewelry on the street.

6. And I always tip the parking guards.

The City Tour Hop On-Hop Off Red Bus

There are many things I actually prefer to do on my own, shopping for bathing suits, going to films during the day, sitting on the beach with a good book, and even on occasion taking in an exhibit at an art gallery. Sometimes I just love the intimacy of anonymity. But a city tour on the hop on-hop off red bus should only be done with a bunch of gals having a good ol' time. So when the International Women's Club offered its organized tour of the city sights in downtown Joburg at the last meeting, I hopped on board!

We met at a convenient Gautrain station stop and were whisked away for a daytime tour of all the city highlights in the comfort (and safety) of the soft leather seats of our double-decker bus. Vince and I had been to a few of the sights already on our own, the Origins Museum, the Apartheid Museum, etc. But this gave me the opportunity to see the layout of the city from up above and add on a few more sights to our list for future forays.

Constitution Hill, Gandhi Square and the Carlton Centre where we were encouraged to get off and check out the view from the "Top of Africa". Carlton Centre is the tallest building in Africa and the top floor has an observation deck with 360 degree views of Joburg!

We all got off at Gold Reef City for lunch. Gold Reef City is a gold mine theme park, with a huge casino and rides. Built on the grounds of an old gold mine, you can even go down a real decommissioned gold mine shaft. I didn't go down this time, but I may when I invariably have to go back with my roller coaster-loving sons when they come to visit. I am certainly not going on that roller coaster!

Super Moon

This weekend there will be a "super moon" in the sky. A super moon - called a "perigee full moon" by astronomers - describes the moon’s closest approach to Earth for a particular month.

The June super moon will be the full moon’s closest encounter with Earth this year. On June 23, the time of full moon will take place within an hour of the time of perigee. So, the June 23rd full moon will look larger than it does in other months and there will not be a full moon so close again until August, 2014.

Where will you be? I'll be tagging along with the Jo'burg Photowalkers!

The Proper Way to Safari

I include many anecdotes and stories in this blog about my first safari in 1979.  That is because aside from being a literally life-changing experience (see my April 4 post on That Old Devil Southern Cross), it also served to turn me from an Innocent Abroad into a Seasoned Traveler (see my April 16 post on My Tee Shirt Memory Quilt Security Blanket) after British Airways bumped me off my flight and misplaced my suitcases for a month. I also came away with lifelong friends, one of which calls me to this day every single year on Christmas morning. This year we should probably Face Time or Skype, Michael! And being in Africa again has brought back so many little memorable details I had completely forgotten about until now. It has served as an amazing touchstone and given me tangible comfort during my Great Wildebeest Migration.

But although I may have lost track of some of the details, I will never forget the little band of people who were on that safari with me. For the first few years after the trip we had several reunions in Lake Tahoe and San Francisco (most of the travelers were from California) and in New York. There were only four of us from the east coast, including a couple who lived on the Main Line of Philadelphia. I will call them Thurston Howell the Third and Lovey to protect their privacy ... and also because that is what I called them. To their face. They thought it was funny. He was a Professor at Penn and wore the same glasses as Mr. Magoo and hat as Thurston. She was a delight just like Lovey. They had the east coast contingent to their pre-Revolutionary War stone house for a reunion dinner one night. I will never forget it. In true preppy style, Lovey served Stouffer's spinach souffle right out of the box as a side dish. Didn't even take it out of the tin and pretend she made it. True prep!

As I am getting ready to head back out on safari next month I am once again reminded of Thurston and Lovey. A little detail I recall is that for the entire month-long safari they had the staff cart around several cases of the finest French wine with them to drink at dinner in camp! The wine had its own trailer that was pulled across Africa as part of our entourage on the back of one of the land rovers. They shipped it over with them from New York. That is planning, my friend!

I thought the set-up and the service were pretty classy already on safari. Real linens, china and crystal. Candles. We were camping but it was deluxe camping, the original "glamping." What did I know? It was not at all like my only other prior camping experience of pup tents and sleeping bags on the banks of the Ichnetucknee in central Florida! The rest of us did have wine and beer to drink on safari with dinner but Chateau Margaux like the Howell's? No we di'int! Very Out of Africa indeed.

Since we are driving to the game parks in our own car next month, we will have the luxury of bringing our own cases of wine for dinner and our choice liquor for our nightly sundowners. We will not be bringing vintage French wine however. Those cases are snug as a bug in my sister's wine cellar in Denver. Bad planning! We will bring our favorite South African wines from home however and we will be perfectly happy. Thanks for the memory, Thurston and Lovey!

Down with E-Tolls!

They are setting up to initiate E-tolls on the highways around Johannesburg. And the residents are up in arms! I am not too concerned. I do not go on the highways that much but I am joining with my fellow dissidents in solidarity just because I hate tolls.

Tolls were the bane of my existence in NJ where the tunnels and bridges were up to $14 a crossing without EZ Pass. You get a break with EZ Pass but you also completely lose track of how much money you are spending on tolls until the statement comes. Then you see that you have contributed $100's of dollars each month to the upkeep of the bridges and tunnels and highways. These are the same bridges and tunnels and highways that were supposed to be maintained through bond issues that I used to approve all the time in the voting booth on Election Day. Not anymore. Screw 'em.

The overhead readers are in place. The signs are set up. They are waiting for President Zuma to sign it into law. It is going to happen. I have seen the future, Jozi, and it is expensive.

There's Hellmann's at the Checkers!

That was the battle cry that resulted in my driving clear across town to the Checkers supermarket on Bram Fischer last Tuesday to stock up on Hellmann's real mayonnaise. Vince heard it at work from a fellow expat and called me immediately. I make my grilled cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise not butter and they just do not taste the same with the South African mayonnaise!

It is so odd how certain tastes just cannot be replaced, even with healthier alternatives. Philadelphia cream cheese, Hershey chocolate bars, Jet-puffed marshmallows and Honey Maid graham crackers. I tried to duplicate my s'mores over a braai with the local brands (there is no graham cracker however. none.) Just does not make it.

It is better now than it was when I was in college, when study and travel abroad meant doing so without proper popcorn, peanut butter and grape jelly (not jam), not to mention real (Wonder) white bread. For months. My college comfort foods.

I brought my sister a suitcase full of Kraft macaroni 'n cheese when I visited her during her junior year in Paris once. Her French family are probably still in shock over her occasional preference for the boxed kind over their homemade gratin de macaronis! Not all the time but just sometimes when you need a little nostalgia in your tummy. I stopped short of Land o' Lakes American cheese slices though. I did not want to totally destroy the remaining shred of franco-american relations in her house!

Vince is back in the US now spending Father's Day weekend with our sons before some meetings in New York next week. He is bringing me back Hershey's chocolate bars, Nabisco graham crackers, and Jet-puffed marshmallows. Bring out the best.

PS HF'sD to all the great fathers, especially my husband Vince, my brother Bob, brothers-in-law Richard, Ken and Mike! And God bless my Dad M. John and my father-in-law Ken!

British Influence

South Africa was a British colony for about a hundred years until 1910 when it was granted Commonwealth status. It remained part of the British Commonwealth until 1961. It is easier to forget the British influence in Johannesburg than it is in Cape Town. Cape Town seems more British colonial to me, more formal, more imperial. Johannesburg is much more Dutch-influenced, more Afrikaans. Jozi is at its heart a frontier town, one that struck it rich in gold and diamonds. Yes there are the Royal golf courses, and cricket and rugby matches, but it is pretty easy to forget the British connection just driving around the city. Until you see a billboard that advertises the South African Military Tattoo is coming to the city in September. Oh yeah. Military. Pageantry. British.

The Brits are masters of the military pageant. Trooping the Colour, the Changing of the Guard, and the Military Tattoo, I saw the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland in 2001 outdoors on the grounds of Edinburgh Castle. It was an awesome display of pageantry, but so much so because of the dazzling setting. High above the city with this magnificent medieval castle as a backdrop. Tartan kilts, bagpipes, and a castle, that is pageantry my friend! But I do remember that even though it was August, it was absolutely freezing on top of that Royal Mile! It may be more comfortable in Jozi in September but I can't imagine it will be nearly as atmospheric without that ancient castle.

Anne Hathaway's Garden

I found another reminder of the British influence today in Jozi at the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens. A Shakespeare Garden! Shakespeare. Garden. British.

Washington DC

Shakespeare Gardens became all the rage in the 1910's and 20's when Shakespeare Societies teamed up with gardeners to bring the plays and sonnets of Shakespeare alive in flora. They can be Elizabethan-inspired gardens with a Tudor knot design or more of a cottage garden like Anne Hathaway's in Stratford-upon-Avon. They sometimes have Shakespearean-themed statuary and garden ornaments. The plants and trees usually have a direct Shakespearean pedigree named in a verse of one of his plays or sonnets. Plants in the garden will many times have a placard with the quote displayed.

New Jersey

I belonged to a garden club for ten years whose civic beautification project was and still is to maintain a historical Frederick Law Olmsted-designed Shakespeare Garden. But even before I joined the garden club, I found Shakespeare Gardens charming.

New York

I have been to quite a few Shakespeare Gardens in the US. They show up on college campuses such as Northwestern, Vassar and St. Elizabeth's in Convent Station, NJ, in Botanical Gardens such as the one in Brooklyn or in city parks such as New York's Central Park and San Francisco's Golden Gate. They even show on beside Libraries and Theaters like the Folger in Washington, DC and the Huntington in Pasadena. And oddly enough I understand there is now even one in Vienna (opened in 2005). I haven't been there but I will if I ever get back to Vienna!







The Johannesburg Botanical Garden's Shakespeare Garden is just as charming! It is circular and is surrounded by a yew hedge. There is a herbaceous border of herbs and flowers, some trees and a circular brick patio in the center. There are park benches and stone statuary all around. The plants are marked with their Latin and common names but not their Shakespearean reference verse. Maybe they put those placards out for their annual Shakespeare Festival in April to commemorate the Bard's birthday. I will find out next year when I go!

Rock 'n Ride 4 Rhino

I saw a Rock 'n Ride 4 Rhino mass ride today! There were hundreds and hundreds of motorcycles riding down the three lane N1 Highway. I was approaching from the opposite direction and it was quite a sight to see coming over the hill! (Behind them was a mile of traffic who may not have shared my enthusiasm )

Rock 'n Ride 4 Rhino is an epic conservation, community and communications project entailing a 10,000+km motorcycle adventure around South Africa from April to September 2013. Rock 'n Ride 4 Rhino was conceived by Jason Hartman, 2009 SA Idol and founding director of Men of the Trees, and Dave Estement, ex-professional superbike racer, professional wildlife photographer and videographer, and founding trustee of the Wild Imaging Trust - both passionate bikers and conservationists - in partnership with Damien Mander, former Australian Army Special Operations sniper and founding director of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation. Numerous school presentations will be incorporated en route, as well as mass rides, community outreach, conservation activities, gigs, gala dinners and concerts, in association with the launch of Jason’s new album All or Nothing.

The purpose is to educate and inform, mobilize united action and raise R20 million to help fund the extensive equipment, manpower and resources required to effectively combat the poaching scourge that is threatening our wildlife and our planet, to support community upliftment specifically in areas impacted by poaching and to provide a powerful communications mechanism via video, still images and internet platforms. 

Rock on!

Hoods and Burbs

Melville

Like any city, Joburg is just a collection of neighborhoods. So in order to get to know the city of Johannesburg, Vince and I have been hitting the streets urban-exploring the hoods and burbs.

Joburg is big. Depending on what you read, it is the second largest city in Africa and the largest in South Africa. Most people live outside the Central Business District (CBD) in the suburbs. But there is very little demarcation from suburb to suburb.

The northern suburbs where we live are pretty much a homogenous sprawl of affluent homes, high-walled apartments, shopping malls, golf courses and corporate headquarters. Sure there is a gem here and there such as the Bryanston Organic Market and the Rosebank African Crafts Market, but most restaurants, cinemas and galleries are found in the middle of huge indoor malls or planned outdoor pedestrian malls. Safe and secure. That's why we chose to live here of course but it doesn't mean we have to play here too!

There are other neighborhoods and even suburbs that have a more artsy and offbeat personality. Melville, Newtown, Greenside, Rivonia, Braamfontein, Parkhurst, Parktown North, to name a few. Whenever we can, on Sunday afternoons we will grab the leashes and the dogs and walk around a different neighborhood or suburb. We pop into art galleries or craft shops, have lunch or drinks outdoors at a cafe, or listen to some jazz.

Greenside

The trick is to find the heart of the neighborhoods, what makes them distinctive. It is usually found along its main street or boulevard. The streets to visit in Melville are those along 7th Street from 1st to 5th Avenue. The Roundabout on Gleneagles Road in Greenside is a hotbed of restaurants that we have barely tapped. Nearby Rivonia is undergoing a huge revitalization of its shopping district with a pedestrian walkway on Rivonia Boulevard. A wonderful street to peruse on a lazy Sunday is 4th Avenue in leafy Parkhurst or else 7th Avenue in Parktown North.

Nelson Mandela Bridge

Downtown Joburg or the CBD is booming too. Newtown and Braamfontein have been hard at work reinvigorating their downtowns. With venues like 44 Stanley, Braamfontein is now one of Jozi’s hippest neighborhoods with trendy shops, gourmet food and cosy coffee shops. Newtown has the historic Market Theatre, jazz clubs, the SAB World of Beer and the Museum Africa. There is a Saturday Neighbourgoods Market and a burgeoning restaurant scene as well. 

the infinity pool at the Westcliff Hotel overlooking Jozi

There are lots more hoods and burbs to visit and luckily Joburg has some fine weather to explore them in.