City Views: Cape Town as an everyday city by Cape Town Partnership

CITYVIEWS

February 2013

Photo: Lisa Burnell

YOUR FREE CAPE TOWN CENTRAL CITY PAPER

Cape Town as an

EVERYDAY CITY

A story of

Where to buy fresh,

Tick off your

laundry

to-do list

over lunch >> page 4&5

CLEAN | SAFE | CAR I NG

local produce

>> page 6&7

>> page 9

about

town

CityViews

February 2013

CITYVIEWS Published by: The Central City Improvement District (CCID)

Our city, our home

Editor: Judith Browne: 021 419 1881 judith@capetownpartnership.co.za

Contributors: Alma Viviers, Ambre Nicolson

The daily urban chores that make Cape Town liveable

n this issue of City Views we’ve used an old ditty, known as the housewife’s calendar, to structure our stories about the everyday city. It goes like this: “Monday is laundry day, Tuesday is ironing day, Wednesday is sewing day, “A clean, green, liveable city requires constant upkeep. That’s why the work of the CCID – and numerous City departments who make Cape Town work – continues 24/7. The success of the city is built on getting these basics right and laying the foundation on which we build a household where there is room for everyone.”

Thursday is market day, Friday is cleaning day, Saturday is baking day and Sunday is a day of rest.” What’s interesting about this rhyme is it’s these everyday tasks that connect all of us: they are a common denominator in our urban co-existence. We go to work, do our laundry, buy our daily bread, scrub the ﬂoors and hopefully have time and space to relax on Sundays. On a city scale, we also have daily housekeeping duties – everyday work that’s mostly invisible, and (like the work of many housekeepers) often overlooked and undervalued. If you take your own health as an example, you’ll realise that we’re quick to notice when something goes wrong, but reliable work is invisible. When last did you notice the crews who sweep the streets, or

fix the potholes, or clean out the drains to make sure they don’t block when the rains come? Did you ever stop to wonder who waters our public gardens or takes the rubbish away? A clean, green, liveable city requires constant upkeep. That’s why the work of the CCID – and numerous City departments who make Cape Town work – continues 24/7. The success of the city is built on getting these basics right and laying the foundation on which we build a household where there is room for everyone. So as you go about your daily life in the city, take time to appreciate the collective effort of the unseen to make the city work, and work well.

Website: www.capetowncid.co.za www.capetownpartnership.co.za

Design: Infestation www.infestation.co.za 021 461 8601

PS: Remember that some of the most vulnerable people in our city don’t have access to some of the most basic daily essentials. Help the organisations who help provide these basic services by giving responsibly. Simply SMS ‘GIVE’ to 38088 to donate R10 to the Give Responsibly campaign. Your donation goes to Cape Town NGOs who give people warm beds, hot meals, counselling, trauma therapy, family reunification and the necessary life skills to help them off the streets.

Tasso Evangelinos

The Central City Improvement District is a private-public partnership formed by the property owners of a defined geographical area to provide top-up services over and above what the City of Cape Town provides. The CCID and its managing agent, the Cape Town Partnership, were formed when the City of Cape Town, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA), the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other stakeholders came together to address issues of urban degeneration, disinvestment in the Central City and related social problems. The Central City’s rapid regeneration process has been built upon the strength and pillars of successful private-public partnerships at both operational and strategic levels, and a shared vision for a clean, safe and caring Cape Town CBD.

SAVE THESE NUMBERS ON YOUR PHONE

COO of the CCID

E GRATITUDE ATTITUD

CCID Security Manager: 082 453 2942 CCID Deputy Security Manager: 082 442 2112

A lesson in lasting relationships

CCID 24-hour number: 082 415 7127 SAPS Control Room: 021 467 8002

If you’ve walked through the door of the Naspers building on Heerengracht, chances are that you’ve met Nicolas Moeketsi, affectionately known by all as Kaptein, whose warm manner and genuine interest in others is an example to his colleagues and his community.

Social Department: 082 563 4289

Telling your story in City Views City Views does not sell advertising or editorial space at this time. We are, however, always on the look out for city ownership stories: tales of people who love the CBD, who choose to live, work, study, invest, and play here. If you would like to be featured, please send your story to judith@capetownpartnership.co.za for consideration. Please note that submission of a story doesn’t guarantee that it will be included.

By: Alma Viviers Heerengracht, he’s ushered sport stars and singers, actors and even the Western Cape Premier Helen Zille through the glass doors for shoots and meetings with editorial teams and publishing executives. But you don’t have to be famous, notorious or even mildly important to get the royal treatment from Kaptein. “I realised through my study of psychology that I needed to empty myself; that I needed to be disinterested in myself in order to be open to other people,” Nicolas says. “A human being craves attention and it is so easy to give. When I see that someone coming through the door is not happy, I say: ‘Good morning, my friend, I

can see that the situation is not right, but don’t worry, that problem is only temporary.’ And tomorrow we’re friends.” Nicolas explains that this attitude is not simply about doing a job but a way of being in the world: “When you are on the bus, thank the driver for getting you to your destination safely, pay attention to the people around you and be interested in them. It is all about recognition, respect and appreciation. Most people just want to be seen and to be heard.” Nicolas certainly lives up to his moniker Kaptein, in being a leader and example of how we should treat the people we encounter on a daily basis.

Distributing City Views Photo: Lisa Burnell

His t-shirt says it all: “I am M24”. For the past 12 years Nicolas, the client liaison working in the lobby of the Naspers building, has been synonymous with a visit to Media24. Born in Pudimoe near Kimberley, Nicolas has called Cape Town home since 1990. A career in security landed him in the Naspers building as an employee of an outsourced security company, but his diligence and warm personality so impressed Naspers’ top brass that they asked him to join the company permanently and since then he’s been a fixture. During more than a decade of working at 40

Nicolas Moeketsi

“It is all about recognition, respect and appreciation. Most people just want to be seen and to be heard.” Nicolas Moeketsi

CITY VIEWS ONLINE Follow us on Twitter: @City_Views

Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CityViewsCapeTown Read the latest e-dition: www.capetownpartnership.co.za/city-views

Take your cue from Kaptein and cultivate a healthy interest in the people you work with and cross paths with on the street. A kind word and a warm smile can help to build the type of urban community that we all want to be a part of.

If you’re an eager reader of City Views – and you know others who would enjoy reading it too, consider becoming a distributor. All we need is your contact details, address and how many copies you need each month. Or, if you would just like to track down where you can obtain your FREE copy send an email to Aziza Patandin on aziza@capetownpartnership.co.za.

Reading City Views We love knowing who our readers are and what they think. If you enjoy your copy of City Views, why not mail a picture of you reading it, wherever you love to read it (Your local coffee shop? On a street bench while people-watching?) telling us what you enjoyed most. If we like it, we’ll run it. Get in touch: judith@capetownpartnership.co.za.

February 2013

about

CityViews

town

A city that’s alive A 24-hour city is a place where it’s fun to live, not just work. It’s a place where the streets are alive with activity, day and night, where the entertainment options are as varied as the weather, and public spaces are just that: spaces used by everyone, any time. Sound like your kind of town? Read on to find out how you can help Cape Town become a 24-hour city.

So what can you do?

By: Ambre Nicolson

Photo: Lisa Burnell

As a resident

City living Cities need people: Sufficient inner-city residents ensure that the CBD of a city remains abuzz with activity long after the last office worker has left work, that there are enough customers to support local businesses, and that transport networks are well supported and therefore sustainable to maintain. In the case of Cape Town, increased densification will help to ensure future growth, while affordable housing will ensure that it becomes a truly diverse city. According to Joel Mkunqwana, president of the National Association of Social Housing Organisations, Cape Town stands to benefit from increased residential densification in other ways too: “Providing affordable housing in wellchosen locations close to the CBD will ignite social mobility and change, encourage social cohesion, and have a number of important economic knockon effects. Densification means more tenants for inner-city landlords and can also aid in job creation by providing additional customers to local companies and encouraging a 24-hour economy in the city.” For lower-income individuals, social housing close to the Central City provides welcome

Events like the Community Chest Twilight Team Run (pictured here) show us how alive our city could feel if it was filled with people late into the evening, all year round.

relief in the cost of transport, allowing people to spend less money commuting and more time with friends and family. As Joel points out, “Alleviating the cost of transport also frees this income to be spent in other ways, on things like education or on supporting local retailers.”

Going places An affordable and extensive public transport system is essential to connect the people and place of a city, but non-motorised transport also has an important role to play in the creation of a 24-hour city. As Marcela Guerrero Casas, coordinator of the Open Streets Cape Town initiative explains, “Studies have shown that pedestrians and cyclists make more trips to shopping stores as capacity to carry goods is limited. If non-motorised transport is made easy, safe and attractive, this encourages businesses to stay open for longer periods of time, which helps maintain activity in the city after working hours. We are particularly lucky in Cape Town as, for most of the year, the weather makes walking very appealing, and, if infrastructure and security are provided, we are likely to see a lot more activity at night time.”

Shared spaces Another essential ingredient of a 24-hour city is welcoming and inclusive public space in which a diversity of people can interact in a variety of ways. As Marcela explains: “Shared spaces – like streets, squares and parks – can improve the health and life of a city by helping people to experience the city and connect to each other in new ways. That’s why the Open Streets initiative is such a powerful tool: Open Streets effectively convert public spaces, normally allocated only to cars, into places where people can reinvent their surroundings by using streets differently and linking with one another regardless of who they are and how they move.” Temporary interventions, which allow people to interact with the urban environment in new ways, are a case in point. Daniel Siegler, a long-time business resident of Bree Street, is hoping to do just that, by establishing a pedestrianised cultural market in Bree Street on weekends that will showcase new ideas, talent, products and urban development projects. “It will not just be anoth-

“Providing affordable housing in well-chosen locations close to the CBD will ignite social mobility and change, encourage social cohesion, and have a number of important economic knock-on effects.” Joel Mkunqwana

er craft market for people to stroll around and consume boutique products. It will be more a place to experience and experiment with music, art, fashion and public space – all embedded in a warm environment for the people of the city,” Daniel says. “We are still in planning stages but at the core of the project is the desire to be on the streets as a pedestrian and a citizen alike – finding new inspiration and interacting with other people and cultures.”

We’re all city changers But beyond the necessity of densification, the power of transport to enable change or the need to create viable and vibrant public spaces, Cape Town will become a 24-hour city through the participation of its citizens. After all, cities are made by the people who live in them.

Be present: Get into town in the evenings and over the weekends, attend local events and activate the city’s public spaces. Use public transport if you don’t already, you will be saving on fuel costs, parking costs and the need for a designated driver when you’re out on the town. Vote with your wallet: Spend your cash locally and help to create a market for local businesses while sustaining the Central City economy. Request that your local shops extend their shopping hours later in the day or over weekends – if they know that there is a market for their goods and services, they will be happy to oblige. Make your voice heard: Lobby your local City councillor to ensure that your neighbourhood is working towards becoming more child-friendly and pedestrian-friendly.

As a business owner Keep it local: Make use of local service providers for your next company event. Not only will you be supporting the Central City economy, but you will also be saving on transport costs for employees. Be creative: When it comes to space, think multi-purpose: If you own a space that would be good for events, why not allow the local community to hire it after hours? Also, by staggering the times that your employees need to be at work, you are alleviating rush-hour pressure on infrastructure, as well as ensuring that the Central City is consistently busy – an important consideration for local retailers and service providers. Lastly, provide incentives for your employees to take public transport, walk or cycle to work, either in the form of transport rebates, or by providing services like bike racks.

around

town

CityViews

February 2013

Monday is

washing day

The story of laundry

over three centuries of Cape Town life

Laundry – whether you do it yourself or someone helps you – is as much a part of our daily existence today as it was three hundred years ago. What was and is some of the culture surrounding the cleaning and pressing of clothes in Cape Town? By: Ambre Nicolson

Fragments of the lives of slave washerwomen Not much remains of the stories of slave washerwomen: Their names and histories, family stories and life journeys are, for the most part, unknown. What can be discovered is found in fragments: buttons from a soldier’s jacket, shards of a glass bottle, small musical instruments, brass curtain rings and pieces of a child’s porcelain tea set. What do these things say? Found in archaeological excavations on the slopes of Table Mountain near the Platteklip river, and according to Elizabeth Gryzmala Jordon in the paper, “It all comes out in the wash: engendering archaeological interpretations of slavery” in Women and Slavery: Africa, the Indian Ocean World, and the Medieval North Atlantic, Volume 1, these pieces of history speak of a small hardworking community of women who used the river as a place to wash the clothes of some of Cape Town’s earliest inhabitants. From the buttons found at the site we can tell that the washerwomen washed the clothes of almost every sector of society, from soldiers to magistrates, ladies to labourers; from the brass curtain rings we can deduce that the labour would have been back breaking (imagine hand washing and drying curtains on a daily basis)

Photo: Nannucci Holdings archive

18TH CENTURY

Footage from the 1930s of eager customers waiting out the pressing of their suits by putting in the lane behind the laundry – pants-less, of course. and from the coins, pocket knives and rings we can be fairly sure that then, like now, some things got lost in the wash. Other items tell different stories. The numerous shards of ceramic containers and bottle glass imply that people often ate and drank at the site; the recovery of gaming pieces, Jew’s harps and pieces of harmonica probably mean that musicmaking and gambling took place at the site as well, from which we can infer that perhaps it was not all work and no play for the slave washerwomen. Lastly, the evidence of children’s toys, in the form of marbles, porcelain “penny dolls” and tea sets, means that being a washerwoman was probably one of the few occupations in which a slave woman could look after her children while working.

Visit www.sanparks.org for more information on visiting the Platteklip washhouse.

19TH CENTURY Dancing, dry-cleaning and a game of golf In 1879, so the story goes, a man was on the run from the Italian mafia. His name was Nannucci and he ended up running all the way to Cape Town and opening the first Nannucci dry cleaners on Long Street. The business ﬂourished and by the early part of the 20th century there were over 400 Nannucci locations operating across the Western Cape. Michael Robarts, current non-executive chair of Nannucci Holdings, tells how it was a common in those days to see long queues snaking their way out of Nannucci stores, particularly on Friday nights when men were lining up to get their suits pressed before dancing the night away in the city. There is even footage from the 1930s of eager customers waiting out the pressing of their suits by

putting in the lane behind the laundry – pants-less, of course. Today, Nannucci remains one of the largest laundry and dry cleaning companies in South Africa, although, according to Michael, “Whilst our history is indeed entrenched in the dry-cleaning industry, due to changes in working trends, fabric and the general ‘dressing down’ of the working fraternity, we have moved to offer laundry and other related services as well.”

Today, there are more than seven Nannucci outlets located throughout the city. Two of these are in the Central City: 5 ABSA Centre T: 021 425 4735 103 Plein Street T: 021 465 5127

21ST CENTURY A destination laundry I Love My Laundry does a lot of different things: swing past there on any given day (or night, they are open from 07h00 to 19h00, every day of the week) and you have the option of enjoying a coffee, tucking into freshly steamed Korean dim sum, surveying the latest art for sale on the walls or buying one or more of the famous ‘bums and boobs’ biscuits, which according to co-owner Clayton Howard, are made by a trio of older women who use the profits to enjoy a dinner out on the town. The concept was inspired by Clayton’s travels abroad, when he was first introduced to destination laundries. When he returned to Cape Town he gave the idea a different spin and opened up I Love My Laundry with his business partner Mico Botha, offering a full service

laundry while creating a space for clients to relax while they wait for the laundry to be completed. “Our customers are artistic, alternative and fabulous,” says Clayton. “As such we offer them a chic service that is very customisable with a turnaround time of three hours. Although we charge the same as other laundries in town, we offer a very personal service and we really pay attention to detail, from washing your clothes exactly as you like them to be, to offering steaming, air drying, pressing, dry cleaning, dyeing, to packing your clothes according to the individual layout of your wardrobe or your preferred method of folding socks.”

I Love My Laundry 159 Buitengracht Street T: 084 660 077 (Clayton) and 083 602 0291 (Mico)

February 2013

around

CityViews

town

Tuesday is

ironing day

Need help

KN Laundry and Chemicals 25 Adderley Street T: 021 802 4006 Monday to Friday, 07h30 to 19h00 R45/5kg to wash, dry and fold This drop off and collect laundry also offers dry cleaning services and sells household chemicals including detergent, fabric softener and cleaning products.

things out? Here’s who can help:

Laundry Lounge 51 Buitenkant Street T: 021 461 2160 Monday to Friday, 07h00 to 22h00

By: Ambre Nicolson

R44/5kg to wash, dry and fold This laundry also offers a book exchange and a 25% discount for students and hospitality industry staff.

Anthea Herbert of The Square Laundry

Olivia Matthews at Nannuccis in Plein Street Tessa Temmers can help you at the Laundry Lounge

Photos: Lisa Burnell

Here’s how you can smooth out the wrinkles in your clothes. Steam it: Try hanging your garment from the shower rail when you shower: the steam should straighten out any wrinkles. Sleep on it: If you’re traveling and don’t want to spend a fortune on hotel laundry services, put your item of clothing under your mattress: the weight will press your clothes smooth. For smaller items, a hair dryer or hair straightener can work wonders.

DIY detergent Whether you’re being budget conscious or you want to cut down on the chemicals you use when washing your clothes, making your own laundry detergent is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Just mix: 1. One bar of shaved vegetable oil-based soap (olive oil soap,

R69/5kg to wash, dry and fold Harrington’s is the largest dry cleaning company in Africa and offers dyeing and mending services in addition to laundry and dry cleaning.

The Square Laundry 850 Buitenkant Street T: 021 462 3001 Monday to Friday from 07h00 to 18h20, Saturdays from 07h30 to 15h00 R47/5kg to wash, dry and fold This laundry offers drop off and collection services for laundry and dry cleaning.

Laundry hacks No iron?

Harrington’s Dry Cleaners 58 Strand Street T: 021 418 0771 Monday to Friday from 07h30 to 17h00, Saturday from 09h00 – 12h00

otherwise known as castile soap, works well) 2. One cup of citric acid or borax (both are available at your local supermarket, in the baking and cleaning aisles respectively)* 3. One cup of sodium carbonate, otherwise known as washing soda (this can be hard to find. To make your own, bake one cup of bicarbonate of soda at 200 degrees centigrade for 20 minutes or until you notice a change in consistency)* For fabric softener, just use vinegar.

*Note to the reader: Borax is a stronger cleaner, and so, if you work with mud and grease, will do the job better. However, it is toxic in large quantities, especially if you’re using grey water systems to water your garden. If you work in an office or behind a counter, citric soda – otherwise known as vitamin C – will do the trick.

Line One Laundry 4 Icon T: 021 425 6775 Monday to Friday from 07h30 to 17h30, Saturday from 08h00 to 13h00

Line One Laundry’s Winnie Mhishi

This Foreshore-based laundry offers same-day service for laundry, dry cleaning, mending and shoe repairs.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS Who’s new in the Central City? Stop by these seven new stores to say hello. Franco Ceccato Shoe Outlet has opened its doors between Adderley Street and St George’s Mall. Unit 4, The Colosseum Scheme on Riebeeck Street T: 021 418 2606 www.francoceccato.co.za Hendrik Vermeulen has opened a new boutique offering couture gowns and bridal wear along with some ready-to-wear designs. 79 Hout Street T: 021 424 1686 www.hendrikvermeulen.com

Budget Car Rental has opened a new location offering car and van rental and drop-off services. 33 Bree Street T: 021 418 5232 www.budget.co.za

Dial a Wash 7 Anton Anreith, Arcade, Foreshore T: 084 714 1906 or 084 714 1779 Monday to Friday from 07h30 to 17h30, Saturday from 08h30 to 14h00 Dial a Wash offers laundry and dry cleaning services and collects and delivers in and around the Central City

Digital POD provides printing and sign solutions, including printing large formats, business cards, T-shirts, canvasses and vinyl. 22 Riebeeck Street T: 021 418 2444 www.digitalpod.co.za

The Foundry is the latest place to get your caffeine kick in the Foreshore. Media City building 44 Heerengracht and Rua Vasco do Gama (opposite Naspers)

Drop by Chandler House to see their range of ceramics, cushions and Kenyan scarves. 53 Church Street T: 083 423 2001 info@chandlerhouse.co.za

The new Robert Sherwood Design store offers a carefully curated mix of furniture, textiles, art and sculpture. 173 Bree Street T: 021 424 1268 or 082 627 9504 robert@robertsherwooddesign. com

on the

town

Everyday errands ELL

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The 60-minute slot between 13h00 and 14h00 every work day represents a window of opportunity – to tick off a few items on your to-do list while experiencing the city. Whether you need to post a letter, pump iron, or pick up your passport, City Views shows you where to go.

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48 Queen Victoria Street T: 021 481 9700 www.sassa.gov.za

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Faircape Building 56 Barrack Street T: 021 468 4535 or the

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6 Zone Fitness GymTENNA 34 St George’s Mall T: 021 801 5717 www.zonefitness.co.za

5 Pound for Pound Boxing Gym 201 Bree Street T: 021 426 0589 www.poundforpound.co.za

district six

7 Virgin Active Gym 21 Lower Long Street T: 021 421 5857 www.virgin-active.co.za

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104 Harrington Street T: 021 461 5957 www.eastcityboxing.co.za

12 Loop Street T: 021 421 4617 www.one80.co.za

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22 Long Street T: 021 421 2570 www.wpblood.org.za

Graphic Centre 199 Loop Street T; 021 801 4182 www.bodymind.co.za

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Shape up

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To apply for a learner’s or KLOOF NEK Your bank details: either driver’s licence (vehicle a cancelled cheque or a and motorcycle), you need certified/original copy of to make an appointment your account statement in person at your nearest or an original letter from driver’s licence traffic the bank confirming your testing centre. Take your bank details ID, two identity-size black and white or colour photos, Income details for the last KLOOF STREET as well as the correct TABLE MOUNTAINthree years application fee along to make Once you have been the appointment. If you are EET TR S F O KLO registered and given your renewing your driver’s tax number, you can then licence you’ll also need to register online for e-filing so bring your current driver’s you can fill out your returns licence card. MOUNT online in future. NELSON Gallows Hill SARS Local Revenue Office Corner of Ebenezer 17 Lower Long Street and Somerset Road ND WELGEMEE T: 0800 007 277 Green Point Open from 08h00 until T: 021 406 8742 or 16h00, Monday to Friday, 021 406 8862 HOF except Wednesdays when Open 08h00 to 15h30, they’re open from 09h00 Monday to Friday, and until 16h00 08h00 to 11h00 on Saturdays

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In order to pay income tax, you need to register with SARS. Complete the IT 77 form, which you can download from www.sars.gov.za, then visit your nearest SARS branch and hand it in together with:

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10 Afro Corner

THIBAULT SQ

LONG

11 Capricorn Salon 46 Plein Street T: 021 426 4841

CTICC

HEERENGRACHT

BARTOLEMEU DIAS

HERTZOG BOULEVARD

VASCO DA GAMA

CAPE TOWN STATION

LEIN

D.F. MALAN

foreshore

OLD MARINE

HAMMERSCHLAG

JACK CRAIG

LOUIS GRADNER

MARTIN

CHRISTIAAN BARNARD

TO AIRPORT

E ALB RT

N SO EL

L DE AN M

RD OULEVA AB

However, there are some instances when a handwritten letter or package – to a lover, a friend, a family or community member – can send a much more meaningful message. Beside mail and parcel delivery services, the South African Post Office (SAPO) also offers services like the issuing of recreational fishing licences, the renewal of SABC TV licences and money transfers.

K AR

ET SK BA

R LO

L EH

22 King Hairways Salon

Waldorf Arcade 47 Burg Street T: 021 424 6419

Mandela Rhodes Place 150 St George’s Mall T: 021 422 5225 www.kinghairwaysalon.co.za

23 Ierephaan Hair Design Studio

Icon Building Corner of Lower Long Street and Hans Strijdom Avenue T: 021 421 8550

Heritage Square Hotel 102 Shortmarket Street T: 021 424 9009

16 Capetodar Unisex Hair Salon

24 PINK23 unisex salon

The Adderley 28 Parliament Street T: 021 461 5609 www.capetodar.co.za

Hip Hop Plaza 39 Roeland Street T: 021 461 1067

17 Costa’s

291 Long Street T: 021 423 7909

Hairdressing Salon 39 Strand Street T: 021 423 5644

18 Euphoria Hairstylist Alexander Forbes House 31 Riebeeck Street T: 021 419 7574

19 Comb Together Hairstylists Fountain Place Corner of Heerengracht and Hans Strijdom Avenue T: 021 425 4032

1 Roggebaai

SAPO

5 Communicare Centre T: 021 421 4670

2 Vlaeberg SAPO Corner of Loop and Pepper Streets T: 021 424 7477

WOODSTOCK

L PE

A CH

LIN

R In theMUI21st century, the word “post” probably has a stronger association RM FO RE with the online activities S of posting KaERIstatus on UC T Facebook S or your blog CHA than with a letter, and PEL most people have an overflowing inbox rather than a post box.

13 Magzz Hair & Beauty Salon

ARTSCAPE

JAN SMUTS

Send it off

Norton Rose House 8 Riebeeck Street T: 021 418 0870

14 5th Avenue Hair Design

15 Blue Lemon Hairdressing

FOUNDERS GARDEN

CIVIC

8 Waterloo Gents Hairdresser Property Centre 157 Long Street T: 021 423 7473

9 Yogi’s Barbershop 103 Buitengracht Street T: 021 424 5408

12 Glamour Hair Design

Cut and colour

city

THE CASTLE

The Studios 4 Loop Street T: 021 418 7700 www.sweeneysbarbershop. co.za

Crow Bar Buildings 29 Loop Street T: 083 571 9406

JETTY

19 3

Pinnacle Building 33 Strand Street T: 072 256 1987

COEN STEYTLER

7 1 WHARF

RIEBEECK

WATERKANT

6 Sweeney’s Barbershop

Benzal House 3A Barrack Street T: 021 465 3227

Braids and weaves

HANS STRYDOM

LOOP

RED

MECHAU

PRESTWICH

STRAND

Tulbagh Centre 2 Tulbagh Square T: 021 425 2442

5 Studio One 78 Long Street T: 021 424 1578

7 Top Men Barber Shop

CAN

29 10

ALF

3 Riviera Salon

4 Robert Swiss Hair 37 Long Street T: 021 423 1731

DUN

PRESTWICH

BREE

HO SPI

TAL

WATERKANT

STRAND

IAP

4 1 17

ALF

HUDSON

CASTLE

2 Etna Salon Vogue House Thibault Square T: 021 425 1332

N DAY GUN

CASTLE

1 Barnet Fair St Stephen’s Church 98 Bree Street T: 021 424 1302 www.barnetfair.co.za

HEL EN SU ZM AN

PIE

EST WIC H

LO AD

STR

AN D

MID

LID

Gentlemen’s cut and grooming

RD BOULEVA

green point DE S

Use your 60 minutes to make sure you look sharp. A visit to the hairstylist can be as good as a holiday.

DUNCAN

WATER KANT

ARY

20 Frontline Hair

Studio

Wesbank House 21 Riebeeck Street T: 021 425 4870/69

21 Hair on Long Triangle House 13 Long Street T: 021 418 8233

25 Salon Capri

26 Salon Harry 38 Dorp Street T: 021 423 2661

27 Square Heads The Square 50 Buitenkant T: 079 533 7520

28 Syzgy Hair Bright House 65A Shortmarket Street T: 021 623 9443

29 Wanda Hairstylists Matador Centre 14 Long and Strand Street T: 021 419 3372

Skip the queue? Use the City of Cape Town’s e-services You’ll be pleased to know that the City of Cape Town offers a range of services online to make it quick and easy to get some of your admin done without the hassle of having to queue. You can register your pet, renew your vehicle licence, pay municipal accounts or traffic fines, buy electricity and even report infrastructural defects like streets lights that aren’t working. Simply go to www.capetown.gov.za, click on the e-services button under “Quick Links” on the right-hand side and then follow the appropriate link for the service you want to use.

Register for UIF South African labour law requires that, if you employ somebody for 24 hours or more a month, you register them for unemployment insurance. You can do this online on the Department of Labour website, www.labour.gov.za. Simply click on the “Registration” link under the “Find info by subject or interest group” heading and scroll down to the “How to” section where you find the necessary “How to register with the UIF” link.

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town

CityViews

February 2013

Wednesday is

sewing day

Photo: Lisa Burnell

Shakir Price has been tailormaking men’s suits from his shop on Long Street for close to 30 years.

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe In today’s consumerist culture, more traditional crafts and the artisans who practice them are few and far between. But here in the Central City, sidewalk cobblers still ensure city pedestrians aren’t halted in their stride by broken heels or stopped in their tracks by loose soles. City Views’ writer Alma Viviers stopped in at Mostafa’s to talk shop.

The original

By: Alma Viviers

A STITCH IN TIME Get your alternations done in the Central City at one these local tailors or dressmakers. Tailors Alterations Strand Towers 66 Strand Street T: 021 419 1867 Yasmine and Salama Dressmaking Floor 3, Cuthberts Building 12 Plein Street T: 021 461 7106 District Six Tailors 8 Canterbury Street T: 021 465 2118 Mohammed’s Taylor Alterations 93 Loop Street T: 073 076 7491 Line One Laundry and Dry Cleaning Icon Building Hans Strijdom Avenue T: 021 425 6775

How has your clientele changed?

My father was a tailor. He had a shop in De Smidt Street just off Somerset Road where I started working when I was 15 years old. I started as an apprentice and learnt everything about the craft from him. I started my first Mr S Price Tailor shop when I was 19 in Lansdowne and worked there for 15 years. In the 70s, I moved into a new shop in Dorp Street in town and five years later I moved to this shop in Long Street and I’ve been here ever since.

It used to be more middle-aged professionals like advocates and businessmen; also some tourists. I have regulars that always come back, even from Germany. Lately the younger people are looking for good suits too, because they can’t find a good cut on the rack, you see.

CV How long have you been operating from the shop on Long Street?

It can be done in a day or two if you’re not very busy and you don’t have any disruptions, otherwise it can take a week.

Where did you learn your trade?

Close to 30 years.

How has Long Street changed? CV

Back in the day there used to be a lot of sturdy old buildings. The building across the road used to be a print shop but it changed ownership twice and they turned it into a flashy hotel. Revelas Fisheries, the fish-and-chips shop, has always been here, although the old man passed away two years ago. His children run the place now. Clarke’s Bookshop just moved in next door where there used to be a shop selling brass fittings. CV How has the tailoring business changed?

There were a lot of tailors, especially in District Six, but with the forced removals, generations of seamstresses and tailors and their businesses were displaced and disappeared. Readymade clothing also moved in and the demand for tailors also went down. Today I have to order my material from wholesalers in Johannesburg because the fabric suppliers in Cape Town don’t stock it anymore. There are a few tailors left and all of them are old men like me.

Every day, from Monday to Friday for the last eight years, brothers Mostafa and Samuel Banda have set up shop outside the Transnet building on Heerengracht at 07h30, wedging themselves between purveyors of beauty products and a tuckshop stocked with sweets and cooldrinks. Their business – giving shoes a second life – runs in the family: Mostafa was taught the craft by his older brother, Mohamed, and he in turn passed his skills down to their younger brother, Samuel. Like their trade, their equipment hasn’t changed much in the last century, and includes a generator to operate the grinding machine, a vice for stretching shoes, a variety of pliers, scissors, awls, glue and

CV What is your most popular item?

A jacket and trousers. CV How long does a jacket take from start to finish?

Do you work by yourself?

I also have another tailor working with me, Sulaiman Ismal Majal, who does a lot of the work on the sewing machine. Sulaiman grew up in District Six and his father was also a tailor. He’s worked with me for ten years now.

DID YOU KNOW

CV Are you passing the business on to the next generation?

Mostafa’s Fountain Circle Heerengracht Street 1 Adderley Street

Samuel Banda was taught how to mend shoes by his older brother, Mostafa, who was in turn taught by the oldest brother, Mohamed.

My own children all went to varsity and have their own careers. The young people aren’t interested in learning the craft. It takes time and patience. It can take up to five years because it is not just about making and sewing the garment but understanding the body shape. People come to me because they can’t find what they want on the rack.

Mr S Price Tailor 201 Long Street T: 021 423 8300

the signature cast iron shoe anvil – known as a last – that no cobbler is ever without. “We have to fix tips and heels of shoes the most,” says the soft-spoken Samuel. “The average price for a repair is R30 and most of the time I can fix it in an hour.” Mostafa explains that the shoe-mending trade is seasonal: “Business is quiet in December and January, but the winter months when people rely on their boots to keep their feet dry and warm means more work.”

Did you know you can access a list of local clothing and apparel retailers on the CCID website? Simply go to www.capetowncid.co.za, scroll down to the “Explore our CBD” feature, click on “shop” and then refine your search to give you only the clothing and apparel listing by clicking on the category tick box.

Photo: Lisa Burnell

Today the name Mr Price brings to mind a large clothing retailer, but Shakir Price has been providing a discerning clientele in Cape Town with stylish threads for more than 60 years.

February 2013

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CityViews

town

Thursday is

Where to buy fresh, local produce in the CBD Locally grown fruit and vegetables, wines produced from grapes grown on the slopes of Table Mountain, hand-cured meats and ocean-fresh seafood – these days the CBD is home to a wide range of delectable fresh produce. Here’s just a taste. By: Ambre Nicolson

f you were to stand on the slopes of Table Mountain a couple of centuries ago, you would be left in no doubt that Cape Town was a market town. At various times in the city’s history you would have been able to see the Company’s Garden filled with fruit trees and vegetable patches, Oranjezicht dotted with vineyards, Greenmarket Square bustling with farmers bringing their wares to sell in town and even a dairy in the middle of Long Street. Those days may be gone but now, in addition to the famous flower sellers of Adderley Street and the street vendors on St George’s Mall, the Central City is once again home to thriving fresh produce markets and local food merchants.

City Bowl Market This market at 14 Hope Street features a carefully selected choice of vendors offering fresh fruit and vegetables, meats, raw honey, dried nuts and an array of freshly prepared meals and snacks. Stock up on the fresh produce and stay for a coffee, glass of lemonade and slice of cake. Open every Thursday evening from 16h30 until 20h30 and Saturday morning from 09h00 until 14h00. Visit www.citybowlmarket.co.za

Earth Fair Food Market Local artisans and food vendors gather on St George’s Mall every Thursday from 11h00 until 15h00 to offer Central City customers a range of lunchtime eats and fresh produce – guaranteed to be free of preservative and hormones, and light on packaging. Visit www.earthfairmarket.co.za

Meat Cure Charcuterie As a little boy Martin Raubenheimer wanted to be a butcher. Today he is fulfilling this dream by sourcing and selling a range of organic charcuterie and pork products. You can find him at the City Bowl Market on Hope Street on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings or contact him at curedeli@gmail.com to arrange deliveries.

Frankie Fenners This local meat merchant at 8 Kloof Street – specialising in acorn-fed pork, 100% free-range lamb, grass-fed beef and pasture-reared chicken – now delivers in the CBD for R20. Visit www.ffmm.co.za to place your order.

Flowers Adderley Street flower sellers Nestled between the Standard Bank building and the Golden Acre Mall on Adderley Street, this flower market has been the place for fresh blooms, including fynbos, for over a century. Many of the flower stalls have been handed down through generations, with some of today’s vendors selling flowers in exactly the same spot as their grandparents. This Cape Town institution is open between 07h00 and 20h00, rain or shine, every day except Sunday.

Juice Bashews Cape Town’s oldest cooldrink brand still offers door-to-door deliveries of its 300ml glass bottles in any or all of its seven flavours, for R150 a crate (of 24 glasses) including a deposit of R65. (Translation: If you order again, you only pay R85. If you return the bottles, you get your R65 back). For Central City deliveries, call Yusuf Dramat on 083 609 7079.

Lusitania Fisheries The plainly wrapped paper parcels dispensed from this family owned fish-and-chips shop are responsible for one of the best smells available in the Central City: the steamy scent of vinegardrenched chips and freshly battered fried fish. Lusitania has been selling generous portions, hand-cut chips and only the freshest fish for over 60 years, and in the words of John, one of the three Dos Freitas brothers who own Lusitania, “We serve everyone from factory workers to billionaires, six days a week from 06h00 to 20h00.” You can buy fresh fish every day Lusitania Fisheries at 49 Waterkant Street, and call them at 021 425 4532.

Texies Joe Texeira arrived in Cape Town on a boat from Madeira, along with his parents, in 1955. He revolutionised fast food seafood when he introduced grilled fish and calamari to the menu of the first Texies which opened in 1972. Today, there are Texies outlets at different locations in the CBD – from the Grand Parade to the Golden Acre – and the store offers the same range of fresh seafood and economical prices for which it has become famous. While you can order fresh fish from any of their outlets, the greatest range is available at their market on the Grand Parade, contactable at 021 461 4817. Visit www.texies.co.za

Fruit and vegetables St George’s Mall fruit and vegetable vendors Whether you’re looking for your apple a day or a week’s worth of fruit and veg, the numerous street vendors that line St George’s Mall offer a range of seasonal fruit and vegetables at affordable prices. Not only do you get to individually hand-pick your favourite pieces of fruit but you also get to support the local economy when you buy from them. The conversation is for free.

Rodgers Fruiterers This family-run fruiterer sells fresh produce; homemade breads, jams and preserves; sundried fruit and nuts at the City Bowl Market on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings and the Earth Fair Food Market on St George’s Mall on Thursday afternoons.

Harvest of Hope Abalimi Bezekhaya (“Farmers of the Home”) is a non-profit development organisation that helps residents in township communities like Nyanga and Khayelitsha grow their own organic vegetables – to feed their families and for sale. Harvest of Hope is their social business and marketing project for surplus produce. A small box of seasonal produce, for a family of two, costs R72 while a medium box, for a family of four, costs R105. Boxes are available for collection every Tuesday at 23 collection points across the CBD, southern suburbs, Sea Point and False Bay area. Visit www.harvestofhope.co.za, call 021 371 1653 or email marketing@ abalimi.org.za to sign up.

Beer and wine Signal Hill Winery Cape Town CBD’s only urban winery, Signal Hill Wines, blends all their wines on their historic premises, which are also home to a wine-tasting venue and what is thought to be the oldest vine in Cape Town. The historic 1771 vine still produces grapes for 20 bottles of wine every year, according to proprietor and winemaker Jean-Vincent Ridon. The wines are produced using grapes grown in vineyards around Cape Town, including one on the slopes of Table Mountain. You can visit them at 100 Shortmarket Street for wine sales and daily tastings or www.winery.co.za for more information.

Roeland Liquors While they might not be a market themselves, Roeland Liquors stock the largest range of local craft beer – from Devil’s Peak to Darling Brew, Triggerfish to Boston Breweries’ Whale Tale Ale – we’ve found in the CBD. Find them at 65 Roeland Street or place an order by calling 021 461 6397 or emailing party@ roelandliq.co.za. Delivery in the CBD is free.

Juicebox This brand of artisan fruit juice – made in Woodstock from seasonal Western Cape fruits – is now available for home ordering, for R316 a crate (of 24 glasses) including a deposit of R100. (Translation: If you order again, you only pay R216. If you return the glass, you get R100 back). To order, email info@juicebox.co.za.

Photo: Caroline Jordan

Markets

Fish

market day

Visit St George’s Mall every Thursday from 11h00 to shop for your favourite fresh produce

around

town

CityViews

February 2013

Friday is

cleaning day

The Grime Squad

Designs on a clean city

What does it take to maintain, manage and improve a clean and wellfunctioning urban environment? City Views spent a morning with one of the two CCID road maintenance teams to get the lowdown. Photo: Lisa Burnell

By: Alma Viviers

Problem: Due to the high demand for cleaning and maintenance work in the CBD, the CCID – funded in full by the property owners of this geographical area – provide a top-up service to the cleaning and solid waste management services provided by the City of Cape Town. But how do you design a sustainable cleaning service that does more than just keep the city streets shipshape? Solution: A service system that, through collaboration, helps maintain the streets of the CBD and provide jobs and skills training, while still being economically viable. How it works: This is a joint collaboration between the CCID urban management team headed up by Richard Beesley; cleaning contractor J&M Cleaning Services; Straatwerk, an entrylevel skills training NGO;

espite the fact that Table Mountain is covered under a rolling cloth of mist, and low grey clouds shower the Central City with intermittent bursts of rain, the CCID maintenance teams are at work. At 07h30 the three-man team headed up by foreman Obey Togarepi walk their trolley, equipped with material and tools from the Straatwerk depot in the Company’s Garden, to their first job of the day at the Cape Sun Hotel. On today’s job card: the removal of three disused bollard bases from the paved walking surface to ensure they don’t trip up distracted pedestrians. Obey explains that he worked himself up

“If you look at Cape Town and you compare it to other cities when you travel, it is totally different. You can see that not even one brick is out of place here, because if one brick is broken we’re already there fixing it. ” Obey Togarepi

through the ranks of the Straatwerk programme to become foreman of one of the cleaning teams, and has been leading a team for the past 6 years. Working alongside him, Gaylord Mabaya and Malibongwe Mgu quickly form a production

and the City of Cape Town. While three CCID precinct managers walk the streets daily and report any defects or maintenance issues, 53 J&M staff are employed in two staggered shifts from 08h00 to 17h00 and 20h00 to 05h00 to keep the streets of the CBD litter free. This cleaning effort is supplemented by Straatwerk, who assist people struggling to find work or living on the street by offering basic employment. As they learn routine and reliability, these people are then able to advance within the organisation, going on to join the technical and maintenance teams on a longer-term or full-time basis, or move on to other employment. At the end of 2012, three members of Straatwerk passed their proficiency test for a year-long learnership at J&M, giving them an opportunity to further their careers in a professional environment.

Obey Togarepi, Gaylord Mabaya and Malibongwe Mgu at work on the paving outside the Cape Sun.

line removing pavers, digging up the concrete footing of the bollards, replacing and levelling the sand, cleaning bricks and seamlessly re-paving the surface. Using basic tools and elbow grease, they make quick work of it and by the time they’re done you would be none the wiser that there was ever a potential problem area here. So successful has the road maintenance team been that the City of Cape Town has asked the team, through the CCID, to take responsibility for all the labour involved in minor road maintenance projects within the CCID area. But more than just road maintenance, the urban management team tackles a whole host of odd jobs that

Photo: Lisa Burnell

add up to a mammoth collective effort. Over the course of last year, Straatwerk repaired the roads in the CBD in 1 860 places, removed 1 519 pieces of graffiti, and collected 10.92 tons of debris from municipal drains as well as 10 tons of waste through the provision of gardening services. “If you look at Cape Town and you compare it with other cities when you travel, it is totally different. You can see that not even one brick is out of place here, because if one brick is broken we’re already there fixing it,” says Obey. And for him the work never stops: “It’s doesn’t matter if I’m here on a Saturday or a Sunday walking with my family: Although they can’t see what I’m thinking about, I am always looking and making notes of things that I see. Especially over weekends when there aren’t so many cars parked everywhere, you see things that you don’t notice during the week. Whether I am going home or coming to work, I am always at work.”

HE TOOLS OF T RADE CLEANING T The CCID is also ways on the lookout for new ways to win the war on waste. Here are some of the new gadgets that the CCID will be employing over the course of the next few months. My Ashbox 35 000 pocket-sized, portable ashtrays will be distributed free of charge in the CBD. These pouches are a clean and safe way to dispose of your cigarette butts and seal in any odour until you can clean them out at an appropriate place. Butt Bins 250 new concrete cigarette bins will be distributed throughout the CBD. The new four-sided bins have been redesigned to be more robust and easily identifiable – so you don’t

miss them or walk into them by accident. The Super Sweeper The CCID has acquired several Haaga 447 sweepers, a manual sweeper with an additional rollerbrush for fine particles to ensure you pick up every last little bit of dirt. The sweeper can quickly and thoroughly sweep up almost everything from wet leaves to beverage cans, and is available from local firm Industroclean. Industroclean T: 021 762 8152 www.industroclean.co.za

February 2013

around

CityViews

Rosa’s Bakery

Jason’s Bakery

Speciality: German bread-like pretzel rolls, sourdough and rye breads Baker: Marshall Makuphandufu Best seller: Rye bread Did you know? What is known as Rosa‘s Bakery today was first opened in 1942 under the name French Confectionery – by a Jewish immigrant who fled France during World War II. In the 1970s Rosa and Rainer Weber immigrated to Cape Town from Germany and took over the bakery in 1975. Do try: The apple strudel

Speciality: Bread, in particular the 66% sourdough rye Baker: Jason Lilley Best seller: The Bomb – a croissant topped with emmentaler cheese, a poached egg and bacon What is your recipe for success? Integrity, consistency and the best quality ingredients Do try: The bacon croissant. Price: The Bomb costs R35 and the bacon croissant R18 Open on Saturday: The Hatch, a small serving counter on the

Price: A pretzel roll costs R6 Open on Saturday: 07h00 until 14h00 370 Shortmarket Street 021 424 4467

baking day Ou Meul Bakkery

side of Jason’s, is open on Saturdays from 08h00 until 14h00. 185 Bree Street T: 021 424 5644 www.jasonbakery.com

There is something singularly satisfying about anything fresh out of the oven. City Views’ writer Alma Viviers scoured the Central City for baked goods that rise to the occasion.

Euro Haus

Speciality: “mucking afazing” cakes Bakers: Alex, Dani, Jacqui and Roche Biess Best seller: Chocolate cupcakes Do try: The quiche – if you feel like having something savoury after all the sweet Price: Chocolate cupcakes start from R17.50 Open on Saturday: 08h30 to 14h00 38 Canterbury Street T: 021 461 5181 www.charlysbakery.com

(formerly known as Marcelino’s Bakery)

Speciality: A wide range of biscuits and danishes Baker: Gerd Zerban Best seller: Croissants (plain, almond, custard, chocolate and bacon) What is your recipe for success? Passion Do try: The new chocolate chip cookie Price: The chocolate chip cookie costs R10

Saturday is

Bakers and

Charly’s Bakery

town

Speciality: Pies Bakers: Abigail Docking and Erika Winter Best seller: Pepper steak pie What is your recipe for success? The 25-year-old recipe for the puff pastry developed and handed down from the original owner of the Ou Meul Bakkery in Riviersonderend. What is the secret ingredient? Love and patience Do try: The bobotie pie: You get the wonderful Cape Malay flavours, accompanied by some sweet fruit chutney, all rolled up in crispy pastry. Price: A pepper steak pie (R19.50) with side salad costs R34.50

Open on Saturday: 07h00 until 14h00 14 Long Street T: 021 419 0662 www.oumeul.co.za

Lady Cupcake

Open on Saturday: 07h00 until 17h00 210 Loop Street T: 021 422 0168

Owner-baker: Shelley Kensley Speciality: Cupcakes Best seller: Red velvet Do try: The goat’s cheese and fig cupcake with the walnut frosting: It may sound strange but the flavour combinations work really well in a cupcake. Price: A red velvet cupcake costs R15 Closed on Saturday: While the store is closed over the weekend, they do deliveries between 09h00 and 12h00 on Saturdays.

Shop 27A 120 Bree Street De Oude Schuur T: 021 424 4469 www.ladycupcake.co.za

Skinny Legs & All Owners: Jesse and Jamie Friedberg Speciality: The carrot, apple and pecan muffin (which also has coconut, sultanas, sesame and other sorts of deliciousness in it) adapted from a recipe of Ottolenghi, one of Jesse and Jamie’s favourite eateries in London. All photos: Lisa Burnell

Baker: Jamie is in charge of muffin prep, but making the muffins is quite labour-intensive, so the more hands on deck, the better. Best seller: The Lumberjack (a grilled chicken and herb mayo sandwich), with the muffin being a close second.

What is the secret ingredient? The combination of ingredients as well as the crunchy oats and seeds topping make the muffin really special. Do try: The muffin. It gets wrapped up in butcher’s paper like a little gift from the gastronomic gods.

Price: The muffin costs R22 Open on Saturday: 07h00 until 14h00

70 Loop Street T: 021 423 5403 www.skinnylegsandall. co.za

A pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled, so why not share your favourite Central City confection with someone special, or someone you’ve just met?

town

CityViews

February 2013

Photo: Lisa Burnell

Sunday is a

day of rest

We live in the

Central City

A young family traded in their “forever” home in Johannesburg for an opportunity to lead a simpler life in Cape Town’s Central City. Almost a year later, they’ve settled into a more public life of beaches, parks and public spaces.

Mark, Hannah and Cecilia in their backyard – the Company’s Garden.

By: Alma Viviers CV Introduce us to your family. Cecilia: My name is Cecilia Steinberg, and I am married to Mark Griffioen; we have a two-year-old daughter, Hannah. Mark is a chartered accountant who works in the mobile social network industry and I am an architect.

Why did you decide to take root here? Mark: I joined an upand-coming mobile social media firm. It was an opportunity for me to join a new industry that interests me. With it came the opportunity to simplify our lives. CV

CV In what ways is your life different since the move? Mark: Before we lived in what is known as “the parks” in Johannesburg and we were lucky that we both worked within a 5km radius from home, which gave us a kind of village lifestyle. Be-

cause it was a typical suburb, the house had a garden where we could entertain friends. In Cape Town people tend to live more outside their home and meet each other in coffee shops and restaurants. I miss having all our friends over and having a place to braai.

miss having to look after a pool and a garden.

trails within a kilometre of the apartment.

CV What do you do to relax? Cecilia: We often go to the beach with Hannah. Time just ceases to exist when you’re on the beach. On weekends I jog the contour Cecilia: The public spaces road below the Table Mounin Cape Town are used so tain cable car or along the much more than in JohanSea Point Promenade. I also nesburg and as a result take a ceramic class once encourage interaction a week at a studio in Dorp between strangers. I’ve Street in the Bo-Kaap and bumped into more achave also joined the quaintances in the ComMusicanti Chamber Orpany’s Garden in the past chestra of Erika Naumann six months than I did in six (a contact I made through years in Joburg. I’ve made one of the mothers I met some really good friends in a park). I play violin. We with other mothers who practise at the St Martini take their children to play Lutheran Church – which parks in the city – children originally owned the are a wonderful ice break- ground on which the aparter. There isn’t one instance ment block we now live in where I haven’t taken down was built. It’s right around the corner in Long Street. someone’s number and

become friends in some way. Although we miss entertaining a large group of friends at home, we don’t

Hannah has a built-in alarm clock for six. If it is a nice day we might go to the beach early or climb Lion’s Head. We often go to Deer Park Café on Sundays for coffee and breakfast – Hannah can swing there as much as she likes. All three of us enjoy an afternoon nap, so there is nothing better than taking forty winks while the little one is quiet. We’ll go for an afternoon stroll to Green Point Urban Park where there is an abundance of jungle gyms and play areas for kids. Five o’clock we go to church. Our church, Shofar, uses the Presbyterian Church premises on the corner of Orange and Hatfield Street. It is a beautiful building and the cornerstone was placed by Lord Milner himself. It’s within walking distance

from home and it feels like we live in a village. CV In your experience, how child-friendly is the city? Cecilia: All the parks and gardens are very childfriendly, but there is a shortage of restaurants and coffee shops that are child-friendly. While there are activities for older children, I’ve also found that here are few places with activities for children of six to eighteen months. It’s the age when children don’t just want to sit in their prams but they don’t yet have the skills or attention span for activities like crafts. Something that is also a problem is that some of the doors of shops in Long and Kloof Street are often not wide enough for a pram. It is a bummer on days

THE CYCLE BEGINS:

Please ma’am?

Do know of childfriendly activities in and around the Central City? Share your ideas on our City Views Facebook page or on Twitter: www.facebook.com/ CityViewsCapeTown @City_Views

A difference

Oh, you poor kid

When someone asks you for money, what do you do? Even though your intentions are good, giving handouts actually helps people stay on the street. It’s a vicious cycle.

STORY of SUCCEss BASED ON A TRUE STORY

TO BE CONTINUED ...

Got the stuff?

when I feel like browsing and I can’t help but wonder what people in wheelchairs do. I would love to see better access for people with wheelchairs, which in turn would make it easier for people with prams: This includes not only the width of the doors but also the layout of public toilets and the upgrading of kerbs.

Gi v e where i t makes

You can stay with us on the streets but you gotta work for it.

THIS IS MY

Cecilia Steinberg

Cecilia and Mark:

Mark: I love being able to take my mountain bike out to Table Mountain or Signal Hill. There are plenty of

PART ONE:

CV Describe your typical Sunday.

“Because we now live in an apartment, instead of having a sandpit and a jungle gym in our own backyard, the city is Hannah’s backyard. The beach is her sandpit and the pools at low tide on Camps Bay beach are her swimming pool. The Company’s Garden is her backyard garden and the play parks at De Waal Park and Deer Park Café are her jungle gyms; the aquarium is her fish tank.”

DO YOU...

You again?

KEEP GIVING HANDOUTS? GO BACK TO FRAME 3 AND REPEAT THE CYCLE.

OR...

YES?

HELP BREAK THE CYCLE?

Give

? SMS ‘SUCCESS’ TO 38088

Check your phone for the link &

SEE HOW YOU CHANGE THE STORY