Tag: buitengracht

Cape Town’s other castle

Posted on

We all know about this one.

But very few people know about Cape Town’s other castle, near the waterfront.

This one:

I spotted this Fisher Price Play Family Castle while I was wandering around the canal district near the bottom of Buitengracht. Apparently, it’s been there for a while (although probably not since 1679), and guards the entrance to the Waterfront. However, parts of it were looking a little worse for wear: the drawbridge was missing and at least one of the turrets needed a paint job when I was there.

This sort of specialised restoration work is difficult, and I can understand why it can take time to find the perfect contractor who can recondition the building sympathetically.

And otherwise, things were ok: the roof was intact and the Somali flag was flying proudly from the highest tower. This second castle is yet another big attraction in the Mother City, and further explains why we simply don’t need to market our country as a potential tourist destination.

People will read blog posts like this and just want to come and see for themselves.

There Are Road Closures in Cape Town CBD This Weekend

Posted on

So take note and spread the word.
rwp
Last week, the City of Cape Town sent out a press release warning people of roadworks at the lower end of the CBD over the weekend and telling motorists to expect delays when entering the city via the N1 or N2.

But, as is their wont, people took no notice of this press release, motorists got delayed and everyone got very annoyed and blamed the city for everything: the alarming rise in bird flu cases in south east Asia, the continuing absence of any decent peace deal in the Middle East, the reduction in NASA’s funding by the Obama administration and the fact that it took them 15 minutes extra to get into town last Saturday.

There is, of course, precedent for this: each year at the State Opening of Parliament – an annual event which is always well publicised well ahead of time – there is utter chaos as people who apparently live under a rock and routinely head into work wearing blinkers and avoiding any kind of media on a 24/7 basis, then whine as they caught up in an unexpected (to them) traffic jam.

Let’s not let that happen this weekend. Here’s the detail:

Intersection of Buitengracht and Walter Sisulu Avenue
Extensive road rehabilitation work will take place on the intersection of Buitengracht and Walter Sisulu Avenue.
Lanes will be closed from 19:00 on Friday 10 May 2013 until 06:00 on Monday 13 May 2013.

Lest we forget, Walter Sisulu Avenue is the “new” name for Coen Steytler Avenue. And, because we’re trying to help out those sort of people that wouldn’t know where Coen Steytler Avenue was anyway, it’s the road that runs along the side of the CTICC and is the first set of robots you get to coming into town via the elevated freeway.

There will be delays.
You have been warned.
Share the wealth.