The Sweet Service Award goes to the Greyton Tourism Bureau and its Manager Roslyn Petersen, who made attending the Greyton Classic Music Festival such a pleasure, in booking our accommodation, and the tickets for the concerts we wanted to attend. She even helped book a restaurant for the Saturday, after The Post House cancelled the reservation we had already made for the dinner. Continue reading →
Tag Archives: Justin Bieber
#AbsolutBlackBox Cape Town launch an Absolut no no, an Absolut disaster!
As writers we get spoilt, with invitations to hosts of functions, and exposure to numerous PR companies and their client brands. The first event invitation of the year, to the Cape Town launch of Absolut Vodka’s #AbsolutBlackBox at the entrance to the V&A Waterfront last night, was an Absolut disaster, with poor food, few attendees, no one to interact with invited guests, poor lighting for photographs, and a general feeling that no one knew what was going on. It felt like Johannesburg-comes-to-Cape Town, so-lets-cut-corners-for-the-B-team!
It started with Capacity Marketing Pty Ltd from Johannesburg sending a media release, and then Simphiwe Majola from the consultancy calling to ask if they could deliver a parcel. We managed to find a suitable time, and a cocky delivery person dropped off a cardboard box. The box outer looked totally uninviting, so I only opened it once I came back from the function last night. Inside the box was a black wooden three box-in-a-box Russian doll type box set with a tiny invitation to attend the Cape Town launch of the ‘True Transformation’, claiming that ‘the Absolut Black Box has been transforming the social scene in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban with mini-events in the trendiest venues. Now, the main event has arrived. It’s invite-only. And you’re invited‘. The invite promised ‘mystery Djs, the country’s leading transformative artists (unnamed) and free-flowing Absolut, all inside a giant Black Box’.
The invitation stated that the location for the event was Gateway Canal in the V&A, which I had not heard of before, and Simphiwe explained telephonically Continue reading →
WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 9/10 December
Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines
* Alide Dasnois, editor of the Cape Times, has been relieved of her post, for an article by her environmental reporter Melanie Gosling about the improper awarding of a contract by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to a Sekunjalo subsidiary owned by the Sekunjalo consortium which owns Independent Newspapers! Ms Dasnois has been replaced by Gasant Abarder as editor of the Cape Times.
* Delheim is offering a new Cupcake and Wine pairing. Chef Christine Claasen’s Rooibos cupcake is paired with Delheim Unwooded Chardonnay; the Pomegranate cupcake is paired with the Pinotage Rose; the Makataan (wild melon) cupcake is matched with Delheim’s Chardonnay Sur Lei; and the Pumpkin cupcake is paired with Delheim Pinotage. The cost is R75. (received via media release from Random Hat Communications).
* Bain’s Cape Mountain single grain whisky from Wellington has won double gold at the New York International Spirits Competition, having been named World’s Best Grain Whisky earlier this year. It is distilled at The James Sedgwick Distillery. (received via media release from De Kock Communications)
* Uitkyk is offering ‘Georgian’ picnics at its restored Georgian manor house outside Stellenbosch. The picnic basket includes artisan breads, cheeses, pates, olives, charcuterie, smoked salmon, fruit, and chocolate brownies, paired with a bottle of Uitkyk wine as well as a bottle of mineral water. Cost is R350 for two. (received via joint media release from Paula Wilson Media Consulting and Manley Communications)
* Kenyan visitors to South Africa have reacted with horror for having to pay a private operator for a visa to South Africa, which is meant to be free Continue reading →
City of Cape Town wins court bid to halt Winelands N1/N2 toll roads, for now!
Brett Herron, the City of Cape Town Councillor and Mayoral Committee member for Transport, Roads, and Stormwater, is a busy man, fighting the Golden Arrow Bus Services on the one hand, and the South African National Road Agency Limited’s (SANRAL) proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project on the other.
Yesterday we heard in a news broadcast that Golden Arrow is taking its appeal of a recent court decision to allow the roll out of further MyCiTi Bus routes in Cape Town to the Supreme Court. This will mean a further delay of the eagerly awaited and heavily delayed launch of the Atlantic Seaboard route from Hout Bay through Camps Bay, Sea Point, Tamboerskloof, to the city centre and the V&A Waterfront. Last month the City’s bus service did not run for three weeks due to the SA National Transport and Allied Workers Union calling a strike over wages, and caused traffic chaos when the Justin Bieber and Bon Jovi concerts were held in the Cape Town Stadium!
Today the Councillor has issued a media statement, triumphantly announcing that the City’s urgent interdict to stop SANRAL from going ahead in developing its proposed Winelands N1 and N2 toll roads has been successful, due to then national Transport Minister Jeff Radebe not having been fully informed about the costs of the toll road development. The N1 toll road is planned from the R300 turnoff to Sandhills near Worcester, and the N2 toll road from the R300 turnoff to Bot River. We have written previously that wine farmers and estate owners, and agricultural producers, were up in arms when the toll road announcement was first made public 18 months ago, driving up food costs and being bad for tourism!
The City’s interdict application was assisted with some toy-toying outside the Western Cape High Court by his fellow Tourism, Events and Marketing Mayoral Committee member Grant Pascoe, and a rent-a-crowd. Pascoe is better at marketing the DA than he is at marketing Cape Town via his newish Tourism, Events and Marketing Directorate, having announced the interdict victory on his Facebook page, and linking the victory to the DA!
Councillor Herron’s media statement is as follows:
“STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR TRANSPORT, ROADS AND STORMWATER, COUNCILLOR BRETT HERRON: City wins again in fight to halt proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project.
The City of Cape Town scored two victories in its attempt to halt the proposed N1/N2 Winelands Toll Highway Project in the Western Cape High Court this morning. The court has granted the City’s application for an interdict against the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL), seeking to halt the Agency from taking any steps to implement the proposed project, pending the final determination of the City’s review application. The City was also successful in its application that SANRAL be compelled to provide a number of documents which formed part of SANRAL’s decision making process; and which SANRAL have been refusing to provide. The City’s people and its economy simply cannot be burdened by unnecessary toll roads. SANRAL’s decision is one that affects us all, but that will have a particularly profound effect on the poorest and most vulnerable groups that call Cape Town home”.
The toll road project would place a R10 billion financial burden to provide services to SANRAL, which the City of Cape Town’s ratepayers would have to bear. The bulk of the Western Cape wine estates and its visitors would be affected by the implementation of toll roads outside Cape Town.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage