Tag Archives: parking marshalls

WhaleTales Tourism, Food, and Wine news headlines: 1/2 November

WhaleTalesTourism, Food, and Wine news headlines

*   Despite the disaster in Cape Town harbour earlier this week, our country has a lucrative future as far as cruise tourism goes.  Nine cruise ships have scheduled stops off our coast for 2015, in Cape Town, Durban, Richard’s Bay, Port Elizabeth, and East London, a 70% increase in cruise liner passengers.   A number of the cruise ships are returning to the country, after previous visits.  The Queen Mary 2 will return for a second visit next year, and the Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth will visit in 2016.  Vital to the expansion of cruise tourism is world-class terminals in ports, and Cape Town’s inefficiency as far as Customs staff goes was in the spotlight this week.  Cape Town is one of the most popular stops in the region, for American tourists in particular.

*   National Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom will lead a local delegation representing our tourism industry to World Travel Market (WTM) in London this coming week, one of the largest (after ITB in Berlin) tourism trade exhibitions in the world.  More than 50000 tourism players are likely to attend WTM.  The Minister said: ‘The WTM is one of the premier events where South Africa engages with the global travel trade. Besides maintaining excitement about our destination, and all that we have to offer, this platform is about doing business and growing international tourist arrivals to our country.  We will be promoting the variety of experiences we offer in South Africa, and build on our reputation as a unique, diverse, friendly and accessible destination‘.  The Minister will address a summit relating to mega-events and tourism at WTM, based on our country’s FIFA 2010 World Cup experience.

*   Due to a cracked silo storing 10000 tons of coal, Eskom has announced load-shedding from today onwards, which is Continue reading →

Cape Minstrels march colourful yet disruptive start to New Year in Cape Town!

Minstrels 2014I did not venture near the city centre on Saturday to see the annual Cape Minstrels march, held on 4 January this year for the first time, to allow more participants than would be the case on the traditional Tweede Nuwe Jaar (2 January), when some of the troupe members would have to be back at work.   It is a shame that a tradition with so much heritage should be marred with political posturing by the City of Cape Town and the ANC, and that the Cape Town city centre streets were gridlocked yet again.  More than 40000 minstrels were reported by The New Age to have participated.

The city centre was largely closed off for parking for the day, Wale Street being on the route and having metal stands to prevent any parking.  We read that some Minstrel march enthusiasts camped on the city’s pavements from the night before, to get the best view of the march.  The day started off badly, the troupes leaving Bo Kaap later than announced.

As the 75 troupes marched down from Bo Kaap via Wale Street to the Grand Parade, it caused traffic mayhem on Buitengracht Street in both directions, this street being an important road in and out of Cape Town, as well as on Long Street, as one could not cross Wale Street.  We were told that despite horrific parking Continue reading →

V&A Waterfront Sweet and Cape Town parking marshalls Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award goes to the V&A Waterfront, for their surprise gift box, to publicise their festive season gift ideas.  The box contained a number of personalised, specially selected, gifts which the V&A Communications Manager Donoven Gloy thought I would enjoy: the book “Hints to Lady Travellers at Home and Abroad” by Lillias Campbell Davidson, a bottle of Graham Beck Brut, and two champagne flutes from Spilhaus.  Gift ideas for the outdoor lover, the sophisticate, the foodie, the homemaker, the chic sailor, the jet setter, the summer lover, the patriot, the singleton, the young intellectual, the trendster, the little dreamer, the mini crafter, the sporty kid, and the summer baby are presented, with V&A Waterfront outlet names at which they can be obtained.  The Waterfront website www.festive.waterfront.co.za has an innovative gifting service, in that it generates gift ideas when one types in the age, gender and interests of the person one is shopping for.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Cape Town city centre parking marshalls, who seem to think that being rude to and harassing their ‘customers’ will intimidate them into paying up.  Yesterday I popped back to the Christmas Market of the Freeworld Design Centre, to return a book to Neil Stemmet, and to see the stalls that had not opened the day before due to the poor weather, and told the marshall that I would pay on my return.  He started shouting at me, and immediately threatened to call the traffic police if I did not pay him R10 for an hour or longer upfront. I had no intention of staying for that long, and I was sure that he would not refund me should I have stayed for half an hour or shorter.

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com.   Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.

Twelve Apostles Sweet Service and Cape Town parking guard Sour Service Awards

The Sweet Service Award goes to The Twelve Apostles Hotel for their The Spa launch function earlier this week.   Guests received a personally delivered invitation, were given directions as to where to park some distance from the hotel, were driven in courtesy cars to the function venue, received a generous gift pack of Elemis, B.AFRICA and Dermalogica product samples, and met the charming hosts Toni and Victoria Tollman, all on a picture perfect afternoon.  Delicious and healthy light snacks were served with champagne and water.  The three local Red Carnation Hotel chefs Henrico Grobbelaar from The Twelve Apostles, Kevin Joseph from the Oyster Box (he says that Princess Charlène and Prince Albert look really happy when the cameras aren’t around), and Floris Smith from Bushmans Kloof did the food preparation.

The Sour Service Award goes to the Cape Town parking marshalls, who are becoming increasingly cheeky, rude and even aggressive, as I experienced in Sea Point outside SPAR recently.  After parking, I was followed by a parking marshall, who touched my arm, and told me that I was not allowed to ‘f…ing’ park where I had parked in a legitimate parking bay.  He refused to give me his name, and had removed his name badge when I had returned to my car.  The rude behaviour of parking marshalls is a major deterrent to doing business at shops and restaurants in the city centre, in Sea Point, and in other suburbs of Cape Town.  Sharing the Sour Service Award is the City of Cape Town, which did not react to a Tweet, in which I asked for a contact person to report the incident to!

The WhaleTales Sweet & Sour Service Awards are presented every Friday on the WhaleTales blog.  Nominations for the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be sent to Chris von Ulmenstein at info@whalecottage.com. Past winners of the Sweet and Sour Service Awards can be read on the Friday posts of this blog, and in the WhaleTales newsletters on the www.whalecottage.com website.