#South Africa

I recently received a media invitation from Johannesburg In Your Pocket to go axe-throwing in downtown Joburg. How could I refuse? I had never thrown an axe before –- it’s not something one does in normal life, especially not in the middle of the city -– and I’m always up for entertainment that involves medieval imagery and a bit of physical exertion.

A couple of miles southeast of downtown Joburg, in a place called City Deep, there’s a produce market the size of a small town. The Joburg Market (next door to the Mutliflora Market) is the largest fresh produce market in Africa – or the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, depending on who you talk to – and it’s where most of Joburg’s restaurants, produce shops, and vendors buy their fruit and veg.

Last Saturday Thorsten and I went to a launch of Eve Fairbanks’ new book, The Inheritors, at the Soweto Book Café. I was excited because: 1) Eve and I have been friends for years and I was keen to hear some discussion about her award-winning book, which tells the story of modern South Africa in a very unique way; and 2) I had never been to, or even heard of, the Soweto Book Café (SBC), but I had a feeling it was something special. And it was.

This is a quick post advising Joburg art-lovers to go to the Everard Read Gallery in Rosebank to check out the beautiful mosaic in the courtyard. It was made in Brixton.

I’ve always liked visiting Everard Read, which is in the middle of Rosebank’s art district – it’s a lovely gallery and always has great exhibitions. (Check out the fabulous “Bitches Brew” group exhibition that’s up now – it’s on until 6 May.) But I like it even more now that there’s a giant mosaic mural there, made by my neighbor.

Centurion, an anonymous no man’s land between Joburg and Pretoria, is home to a magical place called Buyuk Chamlija: a self-described “Socio Eco Techno Village” that grows fat, juicy pomegranates and has a Turkish restaurant shaped like a beehive.