Tag Archives: people

SA Blog Awards: the results

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SA Blog Awards party

So we got all dressed up last night and went off to join about 200 other party people at Chevelle, to find out who the winners were in this year's SA Blog Awards. If you're a regular reader, then you'll probably know that we were nominated in three categories again this year. And if you're somewhere in this photo, then you'll probably know that we didn't win anything this time around. :)

We came second in the Photographic Blog category (the winner was I Wrote This For You) and second in the Travel Blog category (the winner was the Portfolio Collection blog). Strangely, we're not particularly disappointed about not winning - the thing that's meant the most to us throughout the process has been the constant stream of people telling us either in person, or via email or Twitter, or right here on our blog, that they'd voted for us and that they really enjoy and value our photos and our commentary each day.

(We've also had a whole lot of compliments on the new design, by the way, but those compliments must go entirely to Max Kaizen, the creative brain behind this beautiful layout.)

So, from the bottom of my heart, a huge thank you to all of you. Winning awards is not what makes this worthwhile. Knowing that we regularly brighten your day, teach you something, persuade you to get out there and do things, rekindle your memories, or make you want to visit our fabulous city - those are the things that count, and I sincerely hope that we can keep on doing them for a long, long time.

You can see all the results here: SA Blog Awards 2009. And to Chris, Miguel and Tyler, you did a fantastic job in pulling this together - thank you.

The 2009 UCT RAG float parade

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UCT RAG Float Parade

Remember and Give, RAG for short, is an 84-year-old tradition of raising money for charity. At the beginning of each year students from the University of Cape Town publish and sell a student magazine called SAX Appeal, and then towards the end of March they gather for a float parade in Cape Town's Adderley Street.

All profits from the sale of the magazines and all donations collected at the float parade are given to SHAWCO, a student-run organisation whose mission is to improve the lives of developing communities in the Cape Town area. Approximately 1,200 volunteers make up SHAWCO, and they run 15 health and education projects in the area.

We drove through to the city centre today to snap some shots of the parading students. It was a colourful and entertaining affair, as always, with hundreds of dressed-up and decorated students walking, dancing and singing through the streets. Take a browse through today's photo album, but I have to warn you, ladies, that in addition to the one above you will come across several more photos of topless young students. :D

If this is your first visit to our blog, and you think it's actually pretty cool or awesome or sick or rad or [insert favourable slang word of your choice], please (a) subscribe (b) leave us a comment and (c) consider voting for us in the SA Blog Awards - we've been nominated for Best Travel Blog, Best Photography Blog and Best Group Blog. There are only a few days left to vote (voting closes on 1 April). To vote, click on the big golden tag in the sidebar - this will take you to the voting page, where you can have a look at all the finalists in the other categories and submit your votes. Don't forget to click on the link in the confirmation email you'll receive, or else your vote won't be counted. And a huge thank-you to all those who've let us know that they've already voted for us!

Glaceau Vitaminwater spotted in Loop Street

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Vitaminwater

I first heard about Glaceau Vitaminwater a few weeks ago, when one after the other my Twitter friends began saying that they'd received these promotional suitcases from the company. Look, I'm not going to lie to you - we were pretty envious. I watched at the window day after day, wondering when my suitcase full of (apparently awesome) vitaminwater would arrive. But alas, it never did. The life of a B-list blogger is filled with disappointment. ;-)

I have to say though, their stealthy launch campaign has been really well-executed and clearly very effective. I was visiting one of my clients in Loop Street yesterday, when someone in the office spied this truck downstairs, offloading crates and crates and crates of something liquidy. As soon as I saw the truck, I exclaimed, "Glaceau Vitaminwater!" with perhaps a bit toooo much excitement, considering I haven't even tasted it yet. :) It turns out their store/office/temporary home is right next to my client's offices, on the corner of Loop and Bloem Streets, and they were preparing for their launch party.

Not everyone gets excited about cricket

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Reading the news

I can so relate to Mr Newspaper Reader in this photo (taken at Newlands yesterday). The vibe at Newlands is energetic. Cricket is interesting once very few hours. Still, I can't say that you would ever find me at the edge of my seat whilst watching a match - especially a test-match - painfully unfolding.

As I'm sure you gathered from yesterday's post, Kerry-Anne visited Newlands to watch South Africa battle it out with Australia. I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to stay home and catch up on an ever-growing and unrelenting task-list. I believe that the weather was perfect - although it could have been storming and raining for all I knew. I spent the day hidden behind this same screen I'm looking at now. How sad. :(

Bakers Mini Cricket at Newlands

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Bakers Mini Cricket at Newlands

Bakers Mini Cricket is a development programme aimed at introducing South African boys and girls of all races and economic groups to the game of cricket at a very young age (as you can see in today's photo - look at the size of some of those shirts compared to the size of their occupants!).

Bakers Mini Cricket is apparently the longest-running sports development sponsorship in South Africa - they celebrated a quarter-century last year. Cricket South Africa says that over two million children have been involved in the Bakers Mini Cricket programme so far, including some of our top professional players, like Mark Boucher and Makhaya Ntini. You can read more about the history of the programme on the Bakers Mini Cricket website.

I spent a few hours at Newlands today, watching the Australian cricketers taking a bit of a pounding from the Proteas. During the lunch break the field was occupied by a whole bunch of Bakers Mini Cricketers, who entertained us with some of the most adorable cricket I've seen in a long time. We'll be uploading more photos just as soon as we can finish processing them - and there'll be a few of the bigger cricketers too, not just these teeny-tiny ones. (In the meantime, our photos of The Dirty Skirts in concert at Kirstenbosch are up - have a look and let us know if you spot yourself in the crowd!)

In case, you missed yesterday's post, Cape Town Daily Photo has been selected as a finalist in the SA Blog Awards in three categories. If you think that CTDP is the best contender in any of its nominated categories, please do cast a vote for us: just click the big gold tag in the sidebar - it will take you straight to the voting page, where you can have a look at all the other finalists and submit your vote.

Any day for a picnic

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Sea Point Picnic

Cape Town has plenty of outdoor spots where you can just sit down and enjoy a simple picnic assembled from the shelves of Pick 'n Pay, Spar, and Woolworths. This couple found a spot near the ocean at Sea Point, but other good picnic spots include the top of Signal Hill, the beach at Woodbridge Island, Camps Bay or Clifton, Rhodes Memorial, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town Company Gardens, and many more.

The evenings have started cooling down a little and I seem to have developed a cold, so I suspect that unless the weather warms up again soon, the only picnicking I'll be doing is during the day, not in the evening. I'm finding it hard to believe that summer has started to show signs of fading already...

Litter sucks

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Please do not litter

It's really strange to me that the City Council has to place stickers on bins in an attempt to persuade people not to leave their rubbish lying around.

I remember many years ago being astounded at the way a fellow passenger dumped her empty soda can half absent-mindedly out of the train window. So I guess there's my answer - it's for these "absent-minded" folk that we pay taxes to have stickers asking them to be nice and not litter.

Oh, and then don't get me started about the plethora of cigarette butts you'll find lying around public areas... heck, we don't even smoke and one of our outside plant pots has become a resting place for many discarded cigarette butts - thanks guys. ;)

Our men and women in blue

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Our men, and women, in blue

Last month Cape Town was visited by the UK's Commissioner of Metropolitan Police Services. We're told that the intention of the visit was to share information with respect to security and safety at major events, like the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Cynicism tells me however that Sir Paul Stephenson visited Cape Town to put his mind at ease that UK citizens will be safe when visiting our country next year.

Yesterday the South African National Defence Force and South African Police Services started conducting training exercises to help prepare security personnel for managing safety and security in 2010. The Confederations Cup, being held in a couple of months' time, will be great training to help the police and military put into practice what they're learning at the moment. So, when next year rolls around we'll be confident of our ability to keep visitors and locals safe at these large events.

Roll on 2010!

The Dirty Skirts: Summer Sunset Concert at Kirstenbosch

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The Dirty Skirts at Kirstenbosch

Summer Sunset concerts at Kirstenbosch are always great, and this week's concert was no exception - the weather was perfect, our picnic was yummy, and The Dirty Skirts played an awesome set. These guys are amazingly talented: they have a really original sound, and, as a bit of bonus for the girls, they make for good eye-candy too. :)

This was the band's first time playing at Kirstenbosch, and I sure hope it won't be their last. If you've never been to one of the Summer Sunset concerts at Kirstenbosch, you should really fix that. There are still a few concerts this season; you can have a look at the schedule here.

We'll be posting more photos of the concert later in the week (of the crowd too, so even if you're not actually one of The Dirty Skirts, you might see yourself here...), so do check back then. And if you really can't wait until then, you can have a look at some photos we took of The Dirty Skirts in concert late last year.

Matt Damon riding in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour!

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Matt Damon riding in the Cape Argus Cycle Tour
As I was working through my photos from yesterday's Cape Argus Cycle Tour, I discovered that I'd quite unwittingly managed to snap a photo of Matt Damon! That's him, on the back of the tandem, just to the right of the motorbike. (His brother Kyle, an experienced athlete, was apparently occupying the front saddle of the tandem.)

Matt is here in Cape Town to film The Human Factor, a Clint Eastwood film about the 1995 Rugby World Cup. And it turns out he's a brave guy - he took part in the race despite having suffered a sprained ankle during a rugby practice session on Thursday. (He'll be playing the role of former Springbok rugby captain Francois Pienaar in the film, by the way.)

In case you missed yesterday's post, you can see more photos of the Cycle Tour in our 2009 Cape Argus Cycle Tour album.

Cape Argus Cycle Tour 2009

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Western Province Rugby Cyclist

Given the look on this cyclist's face, you'd never guess that today's Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour was one of the most challenging (possibly THE most challenging) races ever. Winds of 60 to 90km/hour, of which 70% were apparently headwinds, made race conditions incredibly difficult, and resulted in delayed start times for most groups, and longer race times for pretty much everyone.

Well done to all those who braved the gale-force winds (which were so strong near the start that they knocked a number of cyclists off their bikes), and congratulations to 23-year-old Arran Brown, who crossed the line just before Robbie Hunter to claim his first Cape Argus title. You can see more photos of all these determined and resilient cyclists in our 2009 Cape Argus Cycle Tour album.

Mobile greengrocers

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Roadside fruit-sellers
If you drive around Cape Town's suburbs or out into the winelands, you are bound to come across guys like these selling fresh fruit at the side of the road or at an intersection.

I don't often buy from them, but not because I think their produce is no good or their prices are too high (to be honest, I couldn't tell you how their prices compare to those of the supermarkets). It's really just a personal preference - because of the way my mind works, I find it easier to buy all my groceries in one place. Perhaps I should make a little pact with myself to buy something from the next roadside fruit-seller I see, just for the experience. :-)

One thing I do know, from being invited to buy their products when I'm stopped at the traffic lights, is that the first price they quote you is very seldom the price they actually expect you to pay. Most times, when I indicate that I don't want to buy, they'll immediately drop their price, saying something like, "Today, just for you, I'll make it TWO for [insert original price here]." So next time I think I'll take them up on that Special Deal that's Just For Me and Only For Today. ;-)

The best place to be in a heatwave…

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Escalators

... is in an air-conditioned shopping mall, of course. The temperature here has been hovering around 38 degrees Celsius for the last two days (for our overseas readers, that's equivalent to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit). In a word: HOT. This kind of heat is stifling and extremely draining, and there's really very little one can do to keep cool. Escape is the best option. :)

Onward and upward

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Spiral staircase

Believe it or not, Cape Town Daily Photo turned two yesterday, and we almost forgot all about it! It was only when we heard that it was South African social media site Zoopy.com's second birthday today that we remembered that it was ours too. Since we really love and admire the team over at Zoopy, I stopped by their offices to drop off some age-appropriate birthday goodies this afternoon. They in turn gave me as much cake as I could eat... and then some more to take home. :) (Here's a photo to prove it.)

I almost can't believe that we've been running this blog for two years already. It really does seem like just a few months ago that we were so warmly welcomed into the City Daily Photo community, following our first post. And just so you know, we have no intention of stopping any time soon - certainly not while there is still so much of this beautiful city left to explore.

(By the way, in case you're puzzling over what to give us as a birthday gift, nominations have opened for the 2009 South African Blog Awards. I'm just saying. ;-) )

Cape Cobras: 2009 Standard Bank Pro20 champions!

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Cape Cobras win the Pro20 Cricket Series

Yes, it's true! The Cape Cobras are the Standard Bank Pro20 cricketing champions at last! More than 16,000 Capetonians packed Sahara Park Newlands this evening to cheer their team to victory as they played the Gestetner Diamond Eagles (that's Bloemfontein's team) in the Pro20 final. As one of the Standard Bank live-bloggers, I got to watch the final from the very swanky Achiever Box at Newlands - think chic decor, beautiful waitresses, a full bar, comfy couches, a party atmosphere, and a perfect view of the cricket...

More Pro20 goodies:

It was quite a weekend for Cape Town sports fans, by the way. Not only did the Cobras take the Pro20 series, but our local rugby team, the Stormers, managed to eke out a very welcome victory over the Queensland Reds on Friday night, in their Super14 match played at Newlands Rugby Stadium.

Cricket fans – the post-match stampede

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Cricket fans at Sahara Park Newlands

The past weekend saw our province's cricket team, the Cape Cobras, play two matches against KwaZulu-Natal's Nashua Dolphins, with each side winning one of the matches.

I can't say that I'm the hugest cricket fan, but there is something to be said for the atmosphere generated at cricket and rugby games held at Newlands. If you're ever in Cape Town around the time of a cricket or rugby match it's a worthwhile outing to attend one - even if only for an hour. Tickets are pretty cheap and can be bought online at Computicket - although you'll have to collect them beforehand at one of the Computicket outlets (see the website for details).

Tickets can also be bought at the gates, but depending on the particular match tickets might get sold out quickly - so online is generally the best option.

Did rain put the fires out?

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Woman in smoke
The Stellenbosch Fire Department received reports of 100 fires in only 72 hours, and Cape Town's fire department received 83 reports of fires during office hours on Friday alone! It seems as though the whole of Cape Town is on fire.

The Stellenbosch Fire Chief was quoted as saying "Everywhere. Every area." in response to being asked where fires had been reported. Apart from the Stellenbosch fires and the 83 other reports within the Cape Town city limits, fires have been reported in Somerset West, Clanwilliam, Gansbaai, Hermanus, Plettenberg Bay, Algeria, Moutonshoek, Philadelphia, Bellville, Tygerberg, Strand, Monwabisi and Blikkiesdorp.

Today the temperature hit 40°C, although fortunately the wind remained at bay until late this evening. In retrospect it seems as though the hot weather today was a blessing in disguise. Earlier this evening we had a few rain showers (caused by the warm air rising) that will certainly help dampen the dry veld, and at least slow down the fire's progression. So far it looks as though Stellenbosch has had just over 5mm of rain this evening. With weather reports predicting more rain, we can only hope that they're accurate and that tomorrow holds in store many more showers.

If you missed yesterday's post, take a moment to look through the photo album that I put together with photos taken just outside of Stellenbosch yesterday evening.

As I'm typing this post I can hear large drops of rain falling again. Awesome.

Relevant News Articles:
iafrica
Cape Argus

Sailing the seas on Valentine’s Day

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Overlooking the ocean

In the distance, far out of focus, you can see a ship floating in Table Bay. This got me thinking about the last time that I was on a large ship - and then I realised that I've never been out to sea on a large ship. With Valentine's Day just a few days away I started looking around for things to do and came across the 2-day "starlight cruise" on the MSC Rhapsody. The ship leaves from Cape Town and takes a trip along the coast, to nowhere in particular, and then returns.

Unfortunately this cruise is out of the question right now, but we'll have to make a point of doing this some time soon. For now, to solve the immediate problem of Valentine's Day, I've started making enquiries at restaurants that are "doing something special" for the evening. It would seem however that if one is to find a good spot for the evening in Cape Town then it's advisable to book more than 11 days in advance. It seems as though many places are already fully booked. :(

Dust off that bicycle, the Argus is nigh

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Man on a bicycle

There are only 52 days left until the 100km+ Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour. It's around this time of year that guys around South Africa start remembering bets made and lost. You know the kind: "Oh please, I bet you can't get that fire started without firelighters. If you do, I swear I'll ride the Argus next year."

And so, with dread, they start thinking about dusting off their bicycles, so that they can practise at least a few kilometres in the saddle before honouring their lost bet. Guys do say so many foolish things after a few drinks. :)