I had not been to Greyton in such a long time that I could not remember when last I had visited the village. I spent the past weekend in the village to attend the 12th Classics for All music festival, a total of eleven one-hour concerts held mainly in Greyton but also in Genadendal, the neighboring village. I attended about half of the program, and was pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of the village,  enjoying the weekend re-treat!

I was a very last-minute booker, and called Naomi Herselman of Searle’s last Thursday, and she put me onto festival organizer Coenie Visser, and Greyton Tourism manager Roslyn Petersen. Roslyn made things happen, finding me a room at Karin Duncker’s Potato Patch, a very conveniently located bedroom with bathroom, which meant that I could leave the car at the accommodation, and walk everywhere, only having to drive to one concert in Genadendal, and another at The Oaks outside Greyton. By Friday morning Roslyn had confirmed the accommodation, and I could book the tickets for the concerts which had not yet been sold out, and made restaurant bookings. It meant that I could leave my house in Cape Town, drive via Stellenbosch to eat lunch at Terroir, and then head for Greyton. The weather was excellent, and I made it to the Tourism Bureau with half an hour to spare, Roslyn printing out the Computicket tickets in her office, giving me a list of all the restaurants in the village, and marking the concert venues on a map. I had enough time to drop my things at Potato Patch (right), to chat to Karin quickly, and then to rush off to the first concert of the evening.

This was one of the concerts which had been sold out, but Coenie was wonderful in saying that I should just come, and that they would squeeze me in. This message was one which I repeatedly heard over the weekend, everyone making a plan to allow each one to experience and enjoy the concerts. Other than Coenie, I knew no one at the first concert, and listened to the locals talking about others they saw arriving at the concert. Local support was excellent, but so was support from Cape Town and other areas, a couple next to me having come from Durbanville, and never having visited Greyton before.  One couple arrived all the way from Mexico (left), and have attended the music festival a number of times. The music performances which I attended were the following:

#  The Next Generation, at High Hopes Guest House, giving three young musicians an opportunity to perform: Leah Gunter (24), who is studying for her masters in opera at UCT, and has been selected to be one of a group of opera singers attending a month long master class in Germany in July. She plays the Queen of The Night in Mozart’s Magic Flute at Artscape later this year. Flautist Axolile Hoza (21) had performed at two previous Classics for All festivals, and will be heading to Switzerland soon to be mentored by flautist Sir James Galway.  At this concert I sat in the third row behind a man in a pink jersey, and I struggled to see the performers, and to photograph them. I vowed to be early for all other concerts!  A major accident in Somerset West had affected traffic passing through the N2, and therefore affected the punctuality of one of the performers, 13 year old ‘wunderkind’ Iman Bulbulia from Johannesburg, who has already performed as a soloist in the Carnegie Hall in New York, after winning second prize in the American International Piano Competition.  She was minute, but had punch in her piano playing. She played at the end, the program having been changed to accommodate her late arrival.

#   On Saturday afternoon I attended the Folk Baroque concert in the Moravian Church in Greyton, arriving so early that I was not allowed to go inside until half an hour before the start  of the concert.  I sat in my favorite seat, in the middle of the front row. Surprisingly the man with the pink jersey came to sit next to me, and I was grateful to not be sitting behind him again. He was very friendly, showing another Greyton side (I found out that he is a local), offering to hold a seat for me in the front row at a next concert, only having introduced each other by name in the concert venue. The concert was light and happy, based on folk songs and dances, performed by Camerata Tinta Barocca, directed by Erik Dippenaar, who plays the harpsichord. The other performers (Charlotte Berger, Annien Shaw, Uwe Grosser, and Hans Huyssen) played period instruments, performing Scottish folk songs, Italian dances, and Scarlatti sonatas influenced by Spanish folk music. Each new venue allowed one to admire the architecture, the history, and interior of the concert venues, and to meet new festival-goers sitting next to one.

#   On Saturday evening the festival highlight was the Gala Concert, held at the Moravian Church in Genadendal, with performances by baritone Johannes Slabbert, soprano Noluvuyiso Mpofu, the Greyton Genandel Community Choir, and Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra, from opera, jazz, and more.

#   On late Saturday evening we listened to a ‘Boere-rock’ performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, performed by Piet de Beer on violin, Stanislav Angelov on accordion, and Schalk Joubert on double bass. Joubert read sonnets which had been translated from Italian into Afrikaans by the University of Stellenbosch’s Professor Dawie de Villiers, in a deep guttural voice. The electronic music, and some of the instruments, were not to the liking of all concert-goers.

#   I had met stylish The Oaks owner Marianne Ehlers at the Gala Concert, having sat next to her, and she encouraged me to attend the Charl du Plessis Trio performance yesterday at their estate outside Greyton, at which they host weddings.  The buildings have been lovingly restored there, and Marianne and her sister had set up the most beautiful cake and cupcake table, worthy of an Afternoon Tea, and even a Koekedoor episode. The concert was sold out, but once again I was told to come, and that I would be squeezed in!  The estate’s The Oaks Nguni Shiraz 2015 was sold by the glass to concert-goers. The weather was perfect, and many had arrived an hour earlier, sat outside, and enjoyed the treats on offer. The Charl du Plessis Trio has performed internationally over the past ten years, and Charl was very funny in making jokes at the expense of his two colleagues Stick Bass player Werner Spies and drums player Hugo Radyn.  Their first international CD has been recorded in Switzerland, and will be launched locally later this year. They regularly perform in China, as well as in other countries.

The concerts I missed out on included ‘The Magic of Song’, with performances by Thando Mjandana, Luvuyo Mbundu, and Maudee Montierre; the Hugo Lambrechts Symphony Orchestra concert of children-friendly music; a Music for Peace performance by the Cantique Chamber Choir; a String Trio Recital by Emile Roubaix, Sangwoo Jun, and Babette Roosenschoon; the Tygerburg Children’s Choir; and a Classic Jazz concert by Lelanie van den Berg.

When I did not attend musical performances, I walked through the village, and found the following interesting shops and galleries:

#  Quinlan candles, made in Greyton, and good to buy as gifts

#   Von Geusau Chocolates is in a section of the Oak & Vigne, Richard von Geusau being a Facebook friend, and we met for the first time on Saturday. His staff had made music inspired chocolates, being musical notes and instruments, displayed with his truffles. They also have a range of 25 chocolate slabs. Richard told me that they hand-make all chocolates with a staff of six, and their biggest client is Waterford, in Stellenbosch, which popularized chocolate and wine pairing. He studied accounting, and moved to Greyton to start a more creative career. He found a book on chocolate making, and decided that he could make them. He contacted the author of the book, and went to London to learn from her. He then traveled to Belgium to learn more about their chocolates. He started very small, sixteen years ago. Slabs are available in 50 and 110 gram sizes, in plain (dark, dark 70%, milk, and white); essential oils (lavender, rose geranium, lemon and vanilla, cinnamon and orange, and mint); and exotics (chili, masala chai, earl grey, rock salt, café latte, cappuccino, Crème brûlée, espresso, pear, cherry, and toffee crunch) variants.  From Facebook it is clear to see that Richard is a very popular man in Greyton.

#  decor items and gifts at Vintage & Vogue

#  Quirky Country Art & Collectables, with an interesting collection of art, top-end by local artist David Kuijers and now also his recently graduated artist daughter, as well as other artists, run by the very friendly Renzske Hofmeyr.

#   Afraid of Mice is a weird name for a collection of quirky furniture and linen.

#   Greyton Gallery, offering framing services as well as art, covering all their walls, but I was rudely told to not photograph one painting I particularly liked.

#   Willow & Bailey, selling art, crockery, hats, cushions, and more

#   David Kuijers studio: loved his new whale art!

I did not get to the Greyton Market, which has been running for years, from 10h00 – 12h00 on Saturday mornings.  It was a shame that there was no opportunity to try the wines of Greyton, including Andy Mitchell Wines, Swallow Hill Winery, as well as Lismore wines.

I walked past most of the restaurants, and ate at some:

#   Oak & Vigne was the saddest of all I ventured into, a breakfast made without love. Rude service from the owner’s wife when bringing the cooked breakfast to the table. Very slow service.

#   The Old Potter’s Inn, which also has a restaurant, with works of art by a local artist Werner (they did not know his surname) but told me about the microbrewery that is being set up, with Old Potter’s Ale being the first brew to be produced by October. A lager is to follow. Best waitress Maureen in the village in serving French Toast with bacon, until she asked how much her tip would be!  New manager, no printed menu.

#   Fiore Garden Centre, play classical music, serve LavAzza coffee, perfectly made dry cappuccino. Excellent apple, walnut, and raisin crêpe. Initial problems with credit card machine, but fixed.

#   Searle’s Trading Post, large capacity but spread over different sections of the restaurant. Nice theatre section, lots of fireplaces, so cosy and warm on cold nights, offer Sunday Buffet, Curry Buffet on Friday evenings, pizzas, reasonable prices, service can be slow when busy. Naomi Herselman a caring owner, chatting to her patrons. She is trying to enhance the visibility of wines from the Overberg region. Do lots of events.

#  The Post House: one hand does not know what the other is doing. Confusion as to whether they serve scones. My order for scones was taken on Saturday afternoon, but the manager told me that they don’t offer them, but they did! And they were good! But the grated cheese I asked for had to be requested again. Service at Sunday lunch was abominable, the floors having been cleaned with detergent five minutes before opening the dining room at 12hoo, and then down the passage half an hour later while we were eating. My waitress spoke to me in Afrikaans when I spoke to her in English, and she did not know what the desserts were for the lunch menu, as they were not on the printed A4 page. The pork belly was very good, but the mash was luke warm and there was no butternut purée as promised on the menu! The dark chocolate torte took a long time to come, being freshly made, I was told, and I was warned that the poached pears were in fact puréed, a disappointing liquid. I was offered a cappuccino, to while away the time it took to make the dessert. The best quality food experienced, but horrific service! Cheap and nasty paper serviettes. No table cloths or place mats! Bill brought to the table in a tin cup.

Other restaurants I walked past but did not sit down at were only opening at 12h00, including The Hungry Monk, Peccadillos, and Abbey Rose. Nothing attracted me inside 1854 (they offer specials). I did not get to Via’s Deli, Vanilla Café, Pure Café (vegetarian), and The Greyton Chippie.

It is incredibly quiet at night in Greyton, and all I could hear was birds tweeting when I woke up in the mornings, which was late, as the sun takes some time to come up from behind the mountains in Greyton, a blessing for late sleepers.

It was announced yesterday that the 14th Classics for All music festival will be held next year (they are skipping the 13th numbering for reasons of luck/bad luck). Hats off to the organizing team again, Coenie Visser organising the Classics for All from Bangkok where he lives now, with the able assistance of Leone Rouillard, and Roslyn Petersen.

POSTSCRIPT 24/5/16: The politics in Greyton seem to be similar to those in Franschhoek.  A link to this Blogpost on the Greyton Tourism Facebook page (used as its website) was removed after some locals felt it to be too negative about their village. I spoke to the Tourism Bureau manager John McGlashan, to understand why, and he admitted  that he had it removed without even having read the Blogpost!

Greyton Tourism, 29 Main Road, Greyton.  Tel (028) 254 9564.  Facebook.   Twitter: @LoveGreyton

Potato Patch, 35 Oak Street, Greyton.  Tel (028) 254 9255.  Facebook.

Von Geusau Chocolates, Ds Botha Street, Greyton. Tel (028) 254 9100.  www.vgchocolate.co.za

David Kuijers, Oak Street, Greyton.  Cell 082 705 1521.  www.davidkuijers.co.za

Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whalecottage.com/blog  Tel 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@WhaleCottage  Facebook:  click here Instagram: @Chris_Ulmenstein