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Volume 2
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table of contents 06 54 10 58 20 62 28 66 34 68 36 74 40 80 46 86 contributors
lessons from watching the reinvention of a city Bruce Jack
the link between imagination and your wine glass Bruce Jack
longing and belonging P. R. Anderson
’n liedjie vannie rieldans Alison Westwood
energy of trees 1 Cobus Joubert
sake
Anthony Rose
the national poetry prize Bruce Jack
from trash to treasure Ashley Heather
why joe dog makes me uncomfortable Bruce Jack
a labyrinth of legacies and musical signposts Josh Hawks
there are none so blind as those who will not sea Aaniyah Omardien
gift of the givers Biénne Huisman
foraging for mushrooms and other fungi on table mountain Ross Suter
an ode to mama esther and african womanhood Welcome Lishivha
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turning the tide Patrick Tagoe-Turkson
reverence for the future Frankie Pappas
the magic of trees Don Pinnock
inspiration and lasting legacies Jamie Goode
saving a legacy Angus Sholto-Douglas
the art of craft Ronnie Watt
plaatje and the friendship of women Matthew Blackman
version 1.0 Witold Rybczynski
stars in the west Greg Mills
Editor: Su Birch Design: Allendre Hine & Rohan Etsebeth 4
Jack Journal Vol. 2
editor’s letter Jack Journal is a magazine about the world of Bruce Jack Wines and the things that we, as a creative business collective and passionate crafters of that ancient staple, wine, are interested in. In a small way it is like the Red Bulletin magazine of the wine world, because it is about the micro-universe of wine and more generally about the things that touch wine. However, it is different from other product-specific magazines in that it isn’t about trying to sell or even about brand recognition. Instead it is all about welcoming the consumer into the intriguing world of Bruce Jack Wines. We believe this is important because none of us operates in a vacuum. Our world is tangible, fragile, responsive, challenging, collaborative, sensitive, inspirational, and has context – whether historical, sociopolitical or financial, etc., this context influences us and our work.
Hopefully it will provide insight into what makes us tick – explain why we do what we do, in the way we do it. But that’s all a bit boring. Essentially, Jack Journal is engaging to read. This volume is quite self-reflective and inward-looking, which partly reflects the state of the world around us. Settle down with an uplifting glass of true wine and dive in. We loved putting this volume together for you.
Bruce
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contributors
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P. R. ANDERSON
ROHAN ETSEBETH
is the author of three volumes of poetry, most recently In a Free State: a Music, described by J. M. Coetzee as destined to be a landmark in South African poetry. He lectures English at the University of Cape Town.
designs and illustrates wine labels under the company name of Archival Studio. By the time of this journal going to print he will still not have gotten around to putting his own website up and most certainly will still be looking for the unmute button on Zoom.
SU BIRCH
JAMIE GOODE
is a distinguished international marketing and generic promotions specialist. As CEO of Wines of South Africa, she received the Drinks Business Woman of the Year award. She runs her own marketing business called Thinking Seahorses and has embraced the challenge of producing the Jack Journal. She also volunteers as an English coach in a local township school.
is a prolific, London-based wine writer and book author. He has a PhD in plant biology and is a wine writer who grasps many of the technical aspects of wine production, making him a firm favourite among winemakers. His latest book is The Goode Guide to Wine: a Manifesto of Sorts.
MATTHEW BLACKMAN
JOSH HAWKS
is a writer and historian. A co-authored book on the history of corruption in South Africa will be coming out in early 2021. He lives and works in Cape Town.
Josh’s early career with The Streaks and Zap-Dragons saw him share stages with Nelson Mandela, UB40, Crowded House and Duran Duran. Seventeen years with Freshlyground included collaborating with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and a global no.1 hit with Shakira. Recent projects include Zulu rock ’n’ roll band The Rockskandi Kings. He is currently studying for a Postgrad dip. through the Henley Business School.
Jack Journal Vol. 2
ASHLEY HEATHER
BIÉNNE HUISMAN
is the founder of ashley heather jewellery, an independent jewellery studio crafting minimalist pieces in silver and gold recycled from e-waste. With a degree in fine arts, 10 years’ experience in jewellery design and a lifelong passion for sustainability, she developed her business as a way of melding these often quite disparate passions.
is an award-winning South African journalist with an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London. She has worked for the BBC, the Sunday Times, Daily Maverick, Getaway Magazine, Open Skies, and more.
COBUS JOUBERT
ANTON KANNEMEYER
is a farm-raised creative who spent his teenage holidays surfing at the famous Robberg Beach. He now lives in St James, South Africa, with his wife and three children. With his team at Wawa Wooden Surf boards, Cobus builds surf boards inspired by the intuited hydrodynamic genius of the ancient Hawaiian board builders.
is a satirical artist and co-founding editor of Bitterkomix, an anti-apartheid comic magazine in South Africa. He has exhibited extensively in South Africa, Europe and the USA and his work has been published in numerous publications and catalogues around the world and is held in many permanent art collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
WELCOME LISHIVHA
FAINE LOUBSER
is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Mail & Guardian, Getaway Magazine, Reuters and the City Press where he served as the Arts and Lifestyle Co-Editor. Prior to working for the City Press, he was longlisted for the City Press Non-fiction award and shortlisted for the Gerald Kraak Anthology. He enjoys baking complicated pastries from scratch, trying out new eateries and reading Keats.
is a filmmaker, storyteller and environmentalist working with Sea Change Project, Wavescape and GoPro South Africa. She has spent several years committed to learning in nature, with a specific focus on the kelp forests along the Cape Peninsula.
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GREG MILLS
AANIYAH OMARDIEN
is the author of numerous best-selling books and heads the Brenthurst Foundation. Previously National Director of the SA Institute of International Affairs, he has directed reform projects in African presidencies like Ghana, Lagos State, Mozambique and SE Nigeria, Kenya, Lesotho, Somaliland and South Africa. He has served four deployments to Afghanistan with the British Army as the adviser to the commander and has his national colours for motorsport. In 2019 he headed the first South African team to participate at Le Mans, driving a Bentley GT3.
Aaniyah’s work connects people and nature. While at World Wildlife Fund from 2001 to 2010, she managed the SA Marine programme. She is the founder and director of The Beach Co-op, a not-forprofit company that evolved from the work of a group of volunteers that started collecting marine debris at their local surf break, the rocky shore at Surfers Corner in Muizenberg, Cape Town.
FRANKIE PAPPAS
DON PINNOCK
is an architecture firm making remarkable spaces and places with a very unusual philosophy.
is an investigative journalist, photographer and travel writer who, realising he knew little about the natural world, set out to discover it. This took him to five continents – including Antarctica – and resulted in five books on natural history and hundreds of articles. He has degrees in criminology, political science and African history and is a former editor of Getaway travel magazine. The Last Elephants is his 18th book. He lives in Cape Town.
ANTHONY ROSE
WITOLD RYBCZYNSKI
A founding member of The Wine Gang, Anthony contributes to Decanter Magazine, The World of Fine Wine, The Financial Times How to Spend It and the Oxford Companion to Wine. In 2007 he developed an interest in sake after visiting Japan as a judge at the Japan Wine Challenge. He is a judge at the Sake International Challenge in Tokyo, teaches a sake consumer course in London and is author of Sake and the Wines of Japan.
lives in Philadelphia, USA, and is the author of more than twenty books, including Home and How Architecture Works. His latest is Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City.
ANGUS SHOLTO-DOUGLAS
ALLENDRE HINE
has spent the last 28 years working in the wild spaces of Africa. Starting in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve then moving to northern Botswana and eventually back to his roots in the Eastern Cape, he established Kwandwe Private Game Reserve (a model 55,000-acre wilderness reserve). He is a trustee of the Kwandwe Rhino Conservation Trust, serves on the board of the Private Rhino Owners’ Association and chairs the Ubunye Foundation, a Community Development organization.
is a strategic creator and a lover of crafted design solutions, film, coffee and meaningful conversations. Allendre is graduate of the Red & Yellow School of Logic & Magic.
Jack Journal Vol. 2
ROSS SUTER
RONNIE WATT
was born in Cape Town and grew up on the slopes of Table Mountain where he has been hiking and rock climbing since the age of 12. He originally practised as an architect before changing career in 1996 to mountain guiding and training. His business focuses on mountain leadership, walking, hiking, rock climbing, botanical exploration and foraging.
is a ceramic arts historian with a specific interest in 20th- and 21st-century South African studio pottery and ceramic art. He started collecting studio pottery in the 1980s. His most recent academic research focused on a contextual history of South African ceramics.
PATRICK TAGOE-TURKSON
ANDREW VAN DER MERWE
is a Ghanian-based multidisciplinary artist. Patrick is best known for his nature art and his works made using found flip-flop debris on the beach. He blends the historical Effutu Asafo flag-making art with his environmental activism. His artwork has been shown in exhibitions throughout the world including the Korean Nature Art Biennale and the Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale, Japan. His works are in permanent collections at the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, and the Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Italy.
As a surfer, time spent on the beach led to a new art form which Andrew calls beach calligraphy. His way of working is unique in the world, and he has developed his own tools and techniques for the process. The letters are carved into the surface in a way that evokes the ancient way of carving in stone, yet it is all soon washed away by the waves. Occasionally he works on a large, monumental scale using an ordinary rake, but always, like most beauty, the beach work is ephemeral. He also designs wine labels.
ALISON WESTWOOD
JUDY WOODBORNE
has been travelling to and writing about Africa’s top destinations for more than 15 years. Her writing and photographs have appeared in various magazines and online publications, as well as a book or two. The Cape is her favourite place in Africa, at least partly because of the wine.
is an internationally awarded printmaker and painter with her own printmaking studio, Intagliostudio, where she teaches classes, runs workshops and curates exhibitions. She has participated in many International Print Biennales and her work is represented in many International Public Collections and Museums. Her ‘Break the silence’ print portfolio is in permanent collections across the world.
CARYN SCRIMGEOUR
SHERYL OZINSKY
is a graduate in Fine Art from the University of Stellenbosch. She is represented by the Everard Read Galleries in South Africa and London, and her masterful still-life paintings are found in many local and international collections. Her work is inspired by her travels around the world, and her curiosity about how we make meaning in our lives.
has been involved in making things happen in Cape Town for a very long time. She headed up Cape Town Tourism for six years, helping to establish the City as among the world’s favourite tourism destinations. Sheryl, a marine biologist, was involved in starting the Two Oceans Aquarium and establishing Robben Island as a heritage site. Having founded the Oranjezicht City Farm, she then started the Farmers Market at the V&A Waterfront.
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The Cape Town Waterfront
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Jack Journal Vol. 2
lessons from watching the reinvention of a city Written by: Bruce Jack
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Jack Journal Vol. 2
Photo: Dr. Sooliman hands out food parcels 2020.
gift of the givers Written by: Biénne Huisman Photography: Courtesy of Gift of the Givers
In South Africa’s deep, rural reaches, they are a familiar sight: large green trucks bearing the words ‘Gift of the Givers’. As these vehicles approach over rickety roads, dust in their wake, people rush to their doorways; children dance and adults blink away tears. The sight of these trucks elicits pure joy, for they come bearing essential gifts: animal fodder and tanks of water, food parcels, blankets and sanitary pads. Recently Gift of the Givers featured in the Netflix series Captive, which relayed the story of Afrikaans teacher Pierre Korkie and his wife Yolande, a hospital relief worker, who were abducted in Yemen in 2013. Gift of the Givers managed to negotiate Yolande’s release, while sadly her husband was murdered. Since 1992, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman’s Gift of the Givers has saved hundreds of thousands of people from disasters, droughts, floods and famine, in South Africa and around
the world. Today, using four mobile phones, Sooliman presides over 550 staff, including 140 in South Africa and 236 in Syria, where he runs a hospital in the war-torn north. By the end of August, Gift of the Givers had collected R3 million to help Lebanese people left homeless in the Beirut blast. Over the years, Sooliman’s teams have helped Sri Lankan victims of the 2004 tsunami, performed life-saving surgery in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and assisted homeless Malawians in the floods of 2015. Speaking to Jack Journal from his Pietermaritzburg home, Sooliman’s words are rapid. The founder of Africa’s largest humanitarian aid organisation is alert, with an air of slight bemusement. In between anecdotes of his globe-spanning operation, he likes to crack a joke. ‘So the older residents in the deep rural areas – my staff tell me they all know my name,’ says Sooliman. ‘It is a heavy weight on your shoulders, it’s a responsibility. I can’t let people down. I made a joke to my wife. In Islam, ladies wear coverings on their face, you know, a burka. So I told her: “I need to wear a burka, I need to
cover my face.” I mean, all these people recognise me: people I pass when I walk in the streets; the petrol attendant, the street sweep, complete strangers. In King William’s Town, we would be on a programme in a deep rural area; the moment our trucks come over the hill, they start shouting: “Amanzi, amanzi!” (water), and they start dancing because they know food parcels and water are coming.’ In South Africa, Sooliman’s trucks have assisted farmers, doctors, schools and orphanages. Most often, they help people living on the fringes of society, overlooked by politicians. Gift of the Givers have rehabilitated local bees and tortoises, and have launched a massive carp fishing project along the country’s south coast. They have fitted out numerous hospitals to better fight COVID-19. ‘The sad part is that the people who need help the most, who have the most difficulty, are so humble,’ says Sooliman. ‘When they contact me, well, it comes through the system – they are very polite. The first thing they’d tell you is: “Look, we are in great difficulty. But we know you can’t help everybody. If you could possibly come to us, we’d be so 43