Le Blogue: The Analogue Blog #3

Le Blogue

One –

LeEditorinLeScarf

ORDER “Le Cap”

Greetings, I’m new to Cape Town

In Le Blogue #2, I wrote about my friend who was moving overseas. Nervous about not knowing anyone, he researched some spaces that would accommodate his interests, allow him to meet like-minded people and settle in. I realised I too would do the same if I moved somewhere new.

Then I realised (yes, two realisations in one day) that I can use the same mindset without actually moving overseas. I loved the idea, so I started planning my next big adventure: Newlands to Newlands.

A few days after Le Blogue #2 went out, a reader, Zahn, suggested we do a “Moving to Cape Town” segment in every Le Blogue. It was a great suggestion. So great, in fact, that this entire episode of Le Blogue is dedicated to the suggestion.

A lot of people are experiencing the desire to live slightly different lives at the moment. In order to live a different life, you actually need to live a different life. We’ll lead by example.

Enjoy Le Blogue: New to Cape Town (Part 1 of as many as possible).

Not actually but bear with me

IN THIS EPISODE:

Cath Del Monte, Zack Herberstein, Alex Dickie, Jordyn Toohey, Michelle (Sonder Cafe), John Rogers (Retired Geology Lecturer), Helen “Eleven” Blaine, Andie & Sitaara (Two Freaks Notice), Tecla Ciolfi, Le Editor, Philosophical Horse, Mike Wright.

SHOUTOUT:

To the coffee shops who allow us into their space, to every reader who picks up a copy, to the team of creatives who give their time & energy without the promise of any significant reward, and to Lynne Wright four proofreading.

CONTACT:

lescarfza@gmail.com @lescarfza

FlatWhiteàlaThembinkosi

Coffee Shop Contemplations

by Michelle (Sonder Cafe)

Coffee shops often seem commonplace and uninteresting from the outside. However, after two years of owning a cafe and spending considerable time in the cosy, caffeinated nook, I’ve realised that’s not the case.

Coffee shops offer valuable insight into the human experience. The understated beauty of a cafe lies in the eclectic mix of personalities who enter the doors every day, each with their strange quirk or reassuring similarity, all equally flawed yet comfortingly alike.

If you stroll into Sonder Café in Observatory on an average day, you’ll experience this cauldron of personalities going about their business. You’ll see the trendy digital marketer who likes to challenge strangers to a game of chess, the ginger-haired girl who sits reading a dog-eared novel with a cup of steaming chai, or the gangly group of teenage girls, thrift store bags in hand, pausing their giggles for a few seconds to order their oat milk cappuccinos.

There’s the copywriter wearing a jacket with a dog (also wearing a jacket), sipping a cortado and sketching a sketch in their sketchbook, and the friendly old man wearing his rugby jersey, eating the same sandwich that he eats every day.

You’ll find the uni students hunched over their laptops, the heavily tattooed couple who rub each other’s backs suggestively, and the lady from down the road who exudes Art Teacher Energy, who laughs in a way that makes you want to curl up as she reads you a bedtime story.

There is the first-year student who just moved into the res upstairs, nervous about living away from home for the first time. There is the sound engineer with the scruffy mullet and yapping pug, and the dreadlocked muralist who’s never fully content with his work.

In this 65-metre space, I watch these intersecting lives unfurl and rub against one other like characters in a movie.

Well, if life is a movie, then a coffee shop must be the set.

Bound by the universal comfort offered by a simple cup of hot brew, one can access a moment’s respite from the outside world in a space meant for people from all walks of life; a space where you can just sit and be.

What owning a cafe has shown me, above everything else, is that we all have stories. We’re all the main characters of our lives. We all long for the same things: to be seen, to be heard, and to matter. I’ve learned that by showing interest in someone’s life, remembering their name and their usual order, you can easily alter the entire course of their day, perhaps even their life.

For a long time, I believed the excitement of life was happening somewhere out there. I longed for travel because I thought that was where I’d find the answers. How wrong I was.

Life is not happening somewhere out there. No, it is hiding right here, in plain sight, perhaps just around the corner, in your friendly neighbourhood cafe.

Lion’s Head

by John Rogers (Retired Geology Lecturer)

The mountains surrounding Cape Town are so close to the city that we sometimes forget they are there. However, if you pause to observe them, you can discover their varied and lengthy geological past.

For today’s shallow dive into Cape geology, I request that you look at (or imagine looking at) Lion’s Head.

Naturally, the first thing you see is the iconic conical hill, the Lion’s Head itself. Many of us have hiked it. Most of us have photographed it. But is there more to it than meets the eye?

When unlocking an area’s geological secrets, I find it helpful to think of the three principles of the Danish anatomist-geologist-priest Nicolas Steno (1638 to 1686).

1. His Principle of Superposition states that the thin-bedded sandstones seen near the top of Lions Head (Graafwater Formation) are about 510 million years old. The thick-bedded sandstones above (Peninsula Formation) are slightly younger. Because of this, we can assume that the mountain’s beds are still the right way up, not upside down, as seen in other parts of the Western Cape.

2. His Principle of Original Horizontality relies on the fact that most sediments deposit in mostly-horizontal layers at the bottom of large bodies of water, such as giant lakes or under the sea. The river-sandstones on the summit of Lion’s Head are still visibly horizontal. Can you figure out what that means?

3. His Principle of Lateral Continuity is particularly important. It draws attention to the fact that the top of Lion’s Head used to connect to Table Mountain itself. Even more impressive, the top of Lion’s Head used to connect to the caps of the Tygerberg Hills, the Hottentots Holland Mountains above Somerset West and Stellenbosch, and the sandstones of Argentina (yes, Argentina-Argentina).

Only 130 million years ago, the South Atlantic Ocean (now 7000 km wide) was as narrow as the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. From Lion’s Head, the Sierra de la Ventana (The Mountain of the Window) was within hiking distance. These days, in 2023, I would need to fly for 12 hours at 800 km/h to get there! If planes didn’t exist, I would need to sail across the ocean. If my ship departed from Queen’s Beach in Sea Point (visited by Charles Darwin in 1836), I’d be able to see the Cape Granite at the water’s edge. When it was busy forming (540 million years ago), the Cape Granite mixed with the older mudstones (560 million years old), baking them and metamorphosing (changing) them to spotted hornfels, a rock still used for road aggregate all over our city to this day.

So, while looking at our mountain (that is indeed the right way up), please take a moment to think about how long it has existed, the things it has seen, and the things it may see in the future.

Read more at gssawc.org.za or in John’s richly illustrated book, Geological Adventures in the Fairest Cape: Unlocking the Secrets of its Scenery. DM @lescarfza for details.

*6:00 AM, but the twelve degree water lets you see 5 hours and 11 minutes into the future.

Photo: Carmen “Collected” Coetzer

Cold Water Reflections

by Helen “Eleven” Blaine

My first exposure to Wim Hof breathing was in 2018. I had a horrific hangover. My boyfriend said, “Here, watch this video, do this breathing, and let me know how you feel.”

I did the breathing, felt my headache disintegrate, and thought, “Wow, that’s pretty nifty”.

Shoutout Wim Hof.

Fast forward to October 2019. I went for a walk on the Promenade with a friend for a catch-up. While walking, we spontaneously decided to give the cold water dip thing a go.

We stayed in the water for 30 seconds, got out, and then got back in for another 30 seconds. It was hilarious and scary.

We decided to do it more regularly, twice a week after work.

Then, another friend told us, “it’s all good and well doing the cold dips, but we should really pair it with Wim Hof’s breathing method.”

We listened. As a result, our experience improved. The breathing created a meditative state. It allowed us to arrive instead of just throwing ourselves into the water without paying attention.

The aim is to focus on feeling discomfort rather than distracting yourself from it. It was during the chaos of COVID that I understood the stillness, calmness, and quiet that breathwork and cold water brings.

Finally, when the beaches opened up again in 2021, I posted on Instagram, “Hey everyone, I’m going to dip in the ocean twice a week. Who wants to join?”

People joined slowly. The community grew.

In December 2022, about two hundred people joined the Cold Water Social Club (CWSC) for a 6h00 swim in Clifton’s water.

It’s phenomenal that so many people have stuck through.

A significant aspect of cold water exposure is its trickle-down effect on other things. Starting the day with something difficult makes other things more manageable during the day. I equip myself with the knowledge that “I can do this”. I am waaay less body conscious now. When we get to the water, there is no makeup. No one is wearing fancy shit. Some people haven’t brushed their hair yet. Some people still need to brush their teeth. It’s not pretentious. It’s just real, man. It’s just real. We don’t boast about how cold the water is or how long we stayed in for. We acknowledge we are all individuals using our bodies the best we can. Some days we can stay in for 30 minutes. Some days you can’t. And that’s okay.

The process brings gentleness towards yourself and to others. I’m incredibly grateful for it. It’s like my church. It’s fokken cool meeting people who are as cooked as I am, who are also keen to wake up super early and walk into the water, embrace the discomfort (rather than constantly trying to soothe it). You soon realise that life has all of it: the calm, the chaos, the comfort, the discomfort and all of the grey. It’s there, and you can’t fight it; you need to let it be. It’s good shit. When you stop fighting discomfort, that’s when the magic happens.

Follow CWSC on IG: @coldwatersocialclub.

“They were right, coffee does taste better with a helmet on”

“NewHobby”–ZackHerberstein

Cape Town

by Alex Dickie

I’d just got back from my evening Saunders swim & was in the process of taking off my favourite pair of Birkenstocks when I got an Instagram message:

“Do you have any poetry on Cape Town?”

The notification lit up the screen of my iPhone lying on my bed, illuminating the film photo background of Lion’s Head.

Rated Best Poem (just on this page)

Sea Point, the home to some of Cape Town’s most archetypal characters. The other evening, I ordered an ice cream from the best parlour in town (debates are welcome) called The Creamery.

If you’ve never been, I recommend the Sweet Cream and Sea Salt Caramel combo.

I paid for the ice cream, said thank you, and walked straight onto the Prom. Within seconds, I was swarmed by hundreds (if not thousands) of people enjoying an evening walk.

I stood still for a moment, watching everyone stroll past me in the sunset. Slowly but surely, I noticed all the individual characters tucked away in the herd.

The barefoot guy with a beard. The girlfriend in crisp white Nikes. The Laans Hed boet walking without a shirt. The Woodstock tech guy with excellent posture. The group of joggers who were clearly running late for something. Sunglasses. A bicycle. A dog. A smaller dog. An electric scooter. Another person with no shoes.

All these characters mingled fluidly, walking together like a big clique of strangers bound by a common interest: The Promenade.

This made me think about the concept of a clique. Why is Cape Town known to be cliquey? How do I enter one?

I decided to contact the local podcast Two Freaks Notice. If anyone could answer my questions, it would be them.

Andie and Sitaara are two friends who spend an hour each week chuckling behind a microphone while chatting about Cape Town. They have the uncanny ability to observe things to the core, revealing city secrets in the most lighthearted way.

Their perspective was interesting:

“Cape Town is a city for activities and hobbies. Every space contains a clique just waiting to be permeated by your energy.

The easiest way to enter a clique is to do an activity or hobby that genuinely interests you.

Some Cape Town interests include pole dancing, surfing, being polyamorous, going

to book launches, crafting things, dating your friends’ exes, speaking about Pizza Shed, rock climbing (indoor), and rock climbing (outdoor). When approaching a potential clique, it’s important to be yourself.

Being yourself is simply backing yourself fully. If you don’t fit in with the cool clique at Blondie, that’s okay; try Yours Truly next door instead.

If Yours Truly isn’t for you, try joining Wim Hof’s army, an incredibly welcoming and helpful community of people passionate about the health benefits of cold water exposure. (Catchphrases include “It’s actually so nice once you’re in,” “[vigorous inhaling and exhaling sounds]”, and “You have to submerge yourself up to your neck to feel the benefits!!”)

If Wim Hof’s army isn’t for you, you may be destined to live in Noordhoek, Kommetjie and surrounds. If that’s too far for you, try one of the various yoga studios in town where a CBD-infused drink or some vegan nut mylk is available. Not yoga? Maybe you’re destined to be a skateboarder. Who knows. Just ensure you don’t make eye contact with anyone while learning the ropes.

If you still haven’t found your clique after trying the options above, then maybe you’re going to need to wake up at 4h30 and hike up the mountain with a head torch or cycle up a route called Signal Hell (and pretend it sounds good and normal to do).

Now, if we take a moment to be controversial: cliques are kinda good and serve a purpose. You only have so much time and energy in life, so knowing where to invest your time and effort is helpful. We know our lifestyles don’t align with the surfer who drives to Muizenberg every weekend morning. We also know we’ll probably get along with someone willing to pay R140 for an Aperol Spritz if the bar is cool enough. These are the realities that form cliques. You might lose some hidden gems using this method, but that’s life, baby.”

I looked at the swarm of Promenade people once more, finished my ice cream, turned around and started walking home.

Tomorrow is an early wake-up. 4h30. My headlight is packed. As they say, the mountain isn’t going to climb itself.

Cath Del Monte & Two Freaks Notice

Streams in the Desert

by Jordyn Toohey

Irelocated to Cape Town 8 years ago with my family, not knowing how I would find friends and a community.

I’d heard many stories of how divided, racist and clique-orientated the Mother City is, so I expected a divided, racist and clique-orientated place. Something inside me ached for a place to be equally challenged and embraced.

During my second year in Kaapstad, my cousin invited me to a multi-cultural running club. We would meet on Tuesday nights at The Power & The Glory, rip up the roads, work up a sweat, and then enjoy a drink with each other afterwards. Good days. I chatted to EVERYONE. “What do you do?”, “Where are you from originally?”, “How did you hear about this group?”, and “What’s your next race?” were some of the usual questions.

Each week, I began to understand more about the Cape Town running club subculture. Running clubs offer the perfect marriage for those with a passion for fitness and an appetite for community.

I stayed in that run club for about three years. The club introduced me to new friends, goals, habits, and even a new full-time job (because in

Cape Town it’s who you know, right?).

Since then, I’ve been in and out of three other crews, mixing trail, road, and track running together. Oh, the JOY!

That being said, joining a running crew isn’t always easy for everyone, especially if you don’t know anyone.

Initially, you feel outnumbered, small, unseen and unnoticeable. But then, you gently and gradually start learning people’s names, personalities, favourite shoe brands, or if they’re nursing an injury, and, before you know it, they ask you where you’ve been when you miss a week or two.

Running has allowed me to love this city more than ever.

I feel heard as we stride loudly through streets, mountains, vineyards, and coastal routes.

I feel seen as I rep my run crew’s merchandise while celebrating each other’s best efforts.

I feel held and supported in this intricate ecosystem of individuals who all decided to come together for the same reasons.

If you’re looking for new friendships, opportunities, healthy competition and a constant reminder to live a BIGGER life, come join!

Spontaneous Breakfast

Le Editor

Okay, so I’m officially unofficially new to the city. What now?

Unbound by my past, I decided to try some new things.

It’s important to note that I wasn’t looking to do the high-energy experiences (sky diving, a trip to Seal Island or rollerblading in a car park) that everyone always turns to when wanting to re-jolt themselves into reality. I wanted to do something “boring” that allowed me to meet people in a calm environment who were there for a purpose other than the experience itself.

I was expecting to choose something like pottery, sewing or breakdancing, which all have end goals extending into the future.

While surfing Eventbrite (a website for events), a breakfast called “Let’s Talk Impact” by Rainbow Collective caught my eye.

“Hmm,” I thought.

I didn’t know any details about the event except that it was free, it would be three hours, and breakfast and coffee were included.

“Shoutout,” I said, and signed up.

The breakfast (the entire thing, not just the food) was great. We chatted primarily with the people at our tables. The Rainbow Collective team gave some thought-provoking presentations that stimulated good conversation. For me, the discussion confirmed that “impact”, “profit”, and “fun” can exist together (which is reassuring for a young entertainment brand). The breakfast also reiterated what Oli Pret from 4WKS Coffee said in Le Blogue #2: “Being a force for good is the main reason every single company should be in business.”

“So how is Le Scarf being a force for good?” I asked myself.

Thankfully I had an answer.

I realised I wouldn’t have had that clear answer if I hadn’t zoomed off to the random breakfast. So, as a result, I’m going to encourage you to keep your eyes open for a spontaneous breakfast that doesn’t really have anything to do with you. Book a seat, drink some coffee with a stranger, take a notebook along and enjoy the ride. Let me know what realisations you have.

Normalised by Activism

Philosophical Horse

Neigh. Like Le Editor, I also went to the “Let’s Talk Impact” breakfast hosted by Rainbow Collective. No one knew I was there, but I was.

After coffee and a quick mingle, the talk began. Everyone started discussing impact, sustainability, business, and South Africa.

Of all the topics, I enjoyed hearing about “impact” the most. More importantly, the “actual impact” that often gets overlooked.

For example, a company can donate 100 computers to a school and declare they “Donated 100 computers to a school”. However, the impact after the donation often isn’t considered.

Are those kids taught how to use computers? Did the computers actually help anyone? Does the school have electricity for the computers? Does the school have Internet? Are the computers still at the school three weeks later? Anyway, I digress.

On this particular morning, a specific case study caught my interest: Dutch Ambulance Violence.

Apparently, violence towards paramedics and emergency workers in the Netherlands was/ is considered an issue. In response, a media campaign urged people to decrease violence against paramedics and emergency workers. A year later, statistics showed violence had... increased...

The campaign had the opposite impact as intended. It 1) made more people aware that the behaviour existed and 2) normalised it. The campaign’s result highlights how any awareness isn’t always good awareness. This concept sat with me.

How much of today’s activism has the opposite impact as intended?

I ask you this: What is the impact of your activism and awareness?

Think about how you raise awareness. Does it help the cause, or does it inform more people about the very issue you’re trying to prevent?

Neigh, but what do I know. I’m just a Philosophical Horse.

New Sounds at Old Venues

by Cath Del Monte

“THERE’S ALWAYS something left-of-field brewing in Cape Town musically because, as a general unspoken rule, our musos don’t take their cues from the rest of the country; instead, they start their own trends.”

These are the wise words of music media mogul, founder, and editor-in-chief of the South African digital music news platform, Texx and the City. I caught up with Tecla “Texx” Ciolfi to find out which Cape Town-based artists have come up on her radar as new tune-trend trailblazers.

1. SUNMAN

This contemporary indie-rock/synth-pop trio comprises Luca Paterson-Jones on vox, Zac Hasenfuss on guitar, and Niclaus Duvenhage on keys. Together, SunMan’s sound is a masterful mix of past and present, boasted in their 6-track debut EP titled Love and Other Accidents.

At the beginning of last year, Cape Townbased musician Chelsea Ann Peter began this hauntingly hypnotic solo project. Blue Vow’s debut album, Sunfall, allows you to sink into the mesmerising melancholic melodies while floating on Chelsea’s ethereal voice.

3. MAMA AIUTO

Beat maker, Mama Aiuto crafts soothing sounds that resemble gentle, ambient lo-fi beat tapes, which fit aptly with his cool-kid 80s aesthetic. Kick back on a Sunday and start your Mama Aiuto listening journey with his third EP, The Middle of Nowhere, specifically track 1, “Submerged”, and track 6, “Alone Together”.

MeccaMind hit the scene in 2021 with a lulling lazy-beats single, “Straight Vibin”, about seeking pockets of peace amongst Cape Town’s pandemonium. After “Straight Vibin”, lend “Sunny” an ear.

Post-punk is back! With global artists like KennyHoopla and EKKSTACY leading the revival, we needed a local torchbearer. Here in Cape Town, it’s Internet Girl. Bursting onto the scene in 2019, the pop-rock-come-synthpop-come-EDM trio is made up of Ntsika “TK” Bungane on vox, producer Matty “Neese” Burgess, and James “Griggs” Smith on guitar and bass.

Song recommendation for first-time-listeners: “be my guest” from EP, the world i love.

2. BLUE VOW

4. MECCAMIND

5. INTERNET GIRL

GOOD EGGS

TEXX’S TOP VENUES FOR LIVE MUSIC:

“A good live music venue in Cape Town is hard to come by thanks to lockdown putting pay to the majority of them. Thankfully, there are a handful of good eggs left”.

1. EVOL

Located at 69 Hope Street in Cape Town’s city centre, Texx describes EVOL as “this never-say-die, hole-in-the-wall” which is “an integral part of Cape Town’s nightlife culture and we need to ensure that it stays that way for years to come”. A skollie-jol in all the best ways, EVOL hosts a range of genres, from alternative “racket rebels” Retro Dizzy to burgeoning Afrikaans mumble rap maiden Angie Oeh.

2. HOUSE OF MACHINES

On 84 Shortmarket Street, just off a bustling Bree Street, you’ll find the institution that is House of Machines. Texx likens this sonic hotspot to “an after-work hangout where you’ll find a band playing almost every night of the week”.

3. DISTRICT

A neat place at 61 Harrington Street in District Six that has seen the like of Springbok Nude Girls, PHFAT, and Desmond and the Tutus. “Since event company Foul Play started putting on shows at the venue, they’ve transformed the place from a shell to a valuable asset to our scene,” comments Texx.

Rearview Mirrors:

Being New

Entering a brand-new community completely alone can be scary. We’ve all done it. My first core memory of this was while on a school exchange in America. St. George’s was a co-ed boarding school in Rhode Island.

I arrived a few weeks into their first semester, meaning Freshmen orientation had already happened and most friend groups had formed. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served in a Hogwarts-looking dining hall.

I remember holding my food tray with terror. I looked out at the sea of unfamiliar faces, trying to make eye contact with people I didn’t know.

It’s weird; if I had been instructed to sit in a specific seat, I would have done so easily. But because the seating arrangement was free for all, I had nowhere to go.

I didn’t want to sit alone because I knew I needed to meet people, so I walked up to a random table and asked if I could join them. Thankfully, due to my South African accent, people were interested in me for a brief moment before returning to their conversation about Barracko Bama or Enneff El (I can’t remember the exact details).

Each day, I’d face the same sea of unfamiliar

faces. Each day, I’d sit down at a random table, explain my accent and then listen in on their niche conversations about American life.

After a few days, something special started happening. People from class or the previous meal would greet me in the food line and ask how I was enjoying the school; naturally, I took these opportunities to ask if I could join their table that day.

I slowly got to know people.

Two months later, when my time to return home to South Africa arrived, I departed with tears in my eyes. I had grown close to a lot of great people. I had become an SG Dragon (at least, in my heart I had become an SG Dragon).

I often reflect on the daily dining hall experience. It taught me that it can sometimes take multiple different interactions with different people before finding an energy you “click” with. Some people found their “click” energy a long time ago. Other people might never find it.

I’ve started seeing life as a simple dining hall. There are tables everywhere, but only some are right for your energy, and that’s okay.

So, pick up your metaphorical food tray, stand in some lines, approach a few tables, take a deep breath, look up and say hello to life.

Photo:RayGao