Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Leaving Home and Loving laundry


Ok, so let me start by saying, without sounding cliché-ish, I truly loath the Blog, but one can certainly find the time to write something on the web that might just capture the audience in such a way that it might brighten a day or two. Please note that this Blog will not be funny, interesting, or even true but I am sure it will be amusing, so read if you will with caution.

A good friend of mine eventually managed to move his ass down to Cape Town, after many years of deliberation he picked up the scraps and left for the land of wind, wine, sun, rain and expensive bars, beaches and any other commodity you can think of. Accompanied by his brother and another good friend of mine they moved in to a brilliant little flat next to the most annoying mosque in the city. The job hunt started and although jobs came easier for some…

Gerhard managed to talk himself in to what would seem like the most boring underpaid job, being what most would see as a laundry manager, well to be fair that is exactly what I thought, but hell if I have ever been impressed this was it.

On my first visit to this “brand new, fresh and well thought out”, as Gerhard explained, concept I found myself drinking a glass of red wine surrounded by local artwork in a very well decorated “laundry”. The door has a massive red heart with the words I Love My Laundry on it, obviously the name of the laundry, corny much. Well, NO… not at all, I would actually love to do my laundry in an art gallery slash wine bar, not to mention the brilliant setting.

Having to do my own laundry from time to time this whole idée of sipping wine and staring at some form of art while someone else does your laundry seemed to me like a bargain and looking at the prices on the laundry menu it actually is just that, a bargain of note. After a thorough browse of the art, the owner came strolling in, he immediately offered me another glass of wine on introduction and showed me around the rest of the laundry. A while later I realized I had check my mail, as I have been waiting for some delayed marks, Gerhard came around from the counter and ever so calmly said “geen worries bru ons het wireless tik net die pin in”. Seriously, these people thought of everything. Impressed by this whole new outlook on laundry the owner told me about the art and wine pairing evenings, really you’ve got to be kidding me, they invite artists to come and showcase their art and to top it off they throw in a good wine estate to show off their latest harvest.

So let us recap, we have an art gallery and a wine bar, a dim sum bar for the snack-monsters and a laundry, all in a small space with the busy Buitengracht passing right by the front door. Crowded… Not at all for some reason all these elements seem to complement each other, a truly hip and Cape Town-like twist on something most of us would find excruciatingly boring.

To come back to my boys in the City of Sin, they truly have had an amazing experience that only Cape Town can offer, with the exception of a few bumps here and there and a stolen television or two, it is safe to say that Cape Town hooked another bunch of maniacs in search of The Good Life.

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