Sep 27, 2010

Art… and the zen of Baardskeerdersbos on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon

fred hatman Archive, fredpix, SA-positive "A good picture is worth a thousand words", Amanda Jephson, Andrée Bonthuys, Angela Miles, Antony Walsh, Baardskeerdersbos, Baardskeerdersbos Art Route, By A Country Smile, Charlie Haye, Fred Hatman, Hatman photography, heart art, Howard Donaldson, Ian Wilson, Joshua Miles, Kerri Brokensha, kom kuier, land art, Leli Hoch, Mark Miles, Nikki Miles, Overberg artists, Penny Wilson, SA-positive, Stanford, Stanford Alive! 2 Comments

I hit the dirt road to Baardskeerdersbos yesterday to experience the much-raved-about Art Route for the first time.

Pleasure unconfined. Overberg artists’ works hanging in the voorkamers of homes, wine glasses draining as quickly as the levels of bonhomie soared. It was beautiful.

This is a community vibe at its most soul-enriching best. “Kom kuier,” they said… and we kuiered until we could kuier no more. We got wet, we got cold and we got our hearts warmed wherever we went.

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Sep 12, 2010

There are none so totally wonderful as the good folk of Stanford…

fred hatman Archive, SA-positive Ansie Reitsma, Antony Walsh, authenticity, By A Country Smile, Caitlin Hague, Cape Town, Cavendish Square, community, Fabiani, fish's ear, fraternity, Fred Hatman, Hatman Mansions, Hatpeople, Hermanus, Howard Donaldson, Jami Kastner, Janet Marshall, Jill Smith, Ken Taytasac, Kevin Husk, Mark Miles, MyHat!, Namibia, Natalie Husk, Nikki Miles, Our Stanfordians, Paul Chew, Peter Kastner, Pietermaritzburg, puffadder, Rina de Wet, Robyn Nel, Roz Nale, SA-positive, Stanford, Stanford Alive!, Stanford South Africa, Stanford Western Cape, Stanfordium, Tim Hague, Vermaklikheid 1 Comment

There are, of course, many distinctions to be drawn between people who somehow exist in the city and those who live the life of Reilly in the countryside.

I lived in inner-city London for 13 years. I loved it. Then. I have now lived in Stanford for the past six months. Stanford? It’s OK. Reasonable question. Twenty-three kilometres the other side of Hermanus, Hatpeople. If you’re coming from Cape Town. Which you will be. Unless you live in Vermaklikheid of iets. Which you don’t. So don’t argue with me. Because I’m irritable.

I’m touchy because I’ve been looking after a friend’s house in Cape Town (while she swans about the shifting sands of the Namib with her man) for the past week. It’s noisy. It’s over-populated. It’s discombobulated. It’s nincompoopulated. It’s smelly. Too many cars. Far too many people. Too many airs and disgraces. Not enough air and graciousness. Too many millions of refrigerators humming around my eardrum. It’s kak.

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