All quiet and calm til you get closer
I was walking back from Kung Fu on Thursday evening, and coming down Loop Street I was hit by such a love for this part of the city. It was a stunning evening, the mountain was clear and huge as always, there were half finished buildings all over the place, I saw strippers wearing coats going into Teazers, the old Masai warrior in his full dress and sandals, dodgy Nigerian dealers hanging out with cute little kids in the corner internet cafe, the friendly security dudes who I always greet on my way to class and back, an old churchy looking building with an overgrown garden and a banged up bakkie parked in the long grass, workers on their way home, a trannie on her way out, a few old ladies and too many palm trees.
For me, these messy, interesting, sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly elements are what makes the city bowl such a unique place. It’s as though everything comes together here, to use a big stereotype, it really is a melting pot. And, whenever I step outside my flat, I get this hectic feeling of fondness for all the madness of my hood. Sometimes it’s a bit too mad, on Thursday night on route to Rafiki’s we saw a dead guy that looked like he’d been shot – there were a few people there trying to help him, but the cops hadn’t arrived yet. It was hardcore, but the hectic thing was how quickly our minds forgot that image. In fact, until the next evening, I had totally forgotten about it. It was only driving past that area on my way out on Friday that I remembered. The kak thing is that I haven’t managed to blank it out again since then, but I’m trying.
Arnold’s on a Sunday: Bliss!
Oh well, I still love this crazy neighbourhood – warts and all. I’m off for an Arnold’s breakfast mission now, the sun is shining, it’s Sunday morning, and the city bowl will be at its sunny, chilled best. Amazing what the sunlight can cover really, it has a way of making us forget all the nastiness from the nights before.
It’s great when you can look at your home and love it , warts and all.
Indeed it is.
Lots of great places in kloof and park streets. I love the city.
I’m on the other side looking in, Sea Point’s got a different dynamic, from my perspective anyway, this week the ocean looked like the North Sea with
oil rigs coasting into the harbour, one remains as the landscape changes.
Haven’t had an Arnold’s breakfast, do they still have those strange early morning specials but I did do a Osumo (www.osumo.co.za) breakfast yesterday and it was very good, poach eggs with melted cheese and cherry tomato in a wrap.
Yeah that’s our city!
Sea Point and Greenpoint are also very interesting parts.
Arnold’s have some basic breakfast things, ostrich and warthog as well, lol. I only eat fish, so stick to their awesome omelette’s (with feta and mushroom, divine!) or sometimes their toasted cheese and tomato with pesto. Osumo sounds awesome, and as for that wrap… yum!
Gotta love the city hey.
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I woke up with this line in my head from the ABC of Men’s Fashion: yellow the colour of cowards and canaries. There was this yellow haze as the mist was being burnt off by the early morning sun. The air was fresh, and it was still a little cool, the seasons are quietly changing, and I thought yellow, colour of sunflowers, canaries and cowards…
I just couldn’t get started today, I spent much of it reading the Idler website and drinking herbal teas, I guess some days you just can’t get out of neutral both physically and mentally but eventually that funk passes, something sparks, something and your inertia changes.
Still I did think long and hard about staying in bed and calling in, cough, malingering sick but I got my act together and went and practiced some unsatisfying office presenteeism. I know this isn’t helping but it’s seasons change, and an ‘early autumn appears to walking the land…’