Bridget McNulty

A restaurant with a difference…

// April 20th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Cape Town, Life (and the living of it)

… Not a restaurant with a view, but one with a whole lot of charm.

Yesterday my man and I went for lunch with two dear friends at Sibanye Restaurant in Imizamo Yethu, the township just outside Hout Bay. I was a little reluctant, not to go for lunch in the township, but because I thought it would be very touristy – Sibanye is specifically aimed at tourists.

I was (very) pleasantly surprised. The restaurant is in a shack quite close to the entrance of Imizamo Yethu, and although we attracted a few stares when we walked in, we were pretty much treated like locals for the rest of the time. Inside the brightly painted shack there are mismatched tables and chairs and some very popular arcade games. The lunch is a 3 course meal (for only R60 – a steal!) and it was absolutely delicious. Starters were small vetkoek-type pastries stuffed with delicious mince and served with a tomato salsa-type sauce. Mains were beef or chicken with samp and beans, cabbage, more tomato mix, pumpkin and delicious potatoes, and dessert was tea or coffee with freshly made koeksisters. Delicious!

Sibanye was started by a team of two – Randy Mcknight and Nathan Roberts – and they’ve got the place running as smoothly as you could wish. They even hooked up a pair of teenage gumboot dancerts to provide midmeal entertainment, a real treat! It’s aimed at tourists, local and international, and seems to be a more chilled alternative to Mzoli’s Place in Gugulethu. Bear in mind, though, that you do have to book 24 hours ahead, and it’s only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday lunch.

In the mood for an unconventional Sunday lunch? Check out Sibanye, you won’t be disappointed.

Literacy for All update -

// February 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Cape Town, Life (and the living of it)

Do you remember me writing about the fabulous Literacy for All project?
They provide books to young students in all eleven official languages, thereby increasing the likelihood that the students will grow to love books and enjoy reading – obviously a cause very close to my heart! I approached them because I wanted to offer a donation for their work, and they’ve replied with a specific school in desperate need. Here’s what they have to say…

“The answer seems to be to help a small school in the little town of Philadelphia which is about 25 km north of Cape Town. The contact was made at the request of a school subject advisor who is very supportive of our work. She felt this school, which is a very poor rural school with an excellent headmaster and enthusiastic staff would really appreciate and benefit from the help we could give. They have parallel Xhosa and Afrikaans classes (one of each for each of Grades 1 – 3.) From Grade 4 the numbers are smaller and they have only one class per grade and try to teach in English! No doubt English is the second language of the teacher as well. So it is not hard to see how problematic the literacy enterprise is in these circumstances.

We think that having a small to medium sized project like this (for donors giving say R50 to R5000) would provide a realistic target that would not take too long to reach and would be more personal.”

Literacy for All.

// January 28th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Cape Town, Decisions, Inspiration

I read a quote by John Demartini the other day that really stuck with me. He was speaking about community work and donating to causes and all that, and he said the most important thing is to: “Invest in inspiration, not desperation.”

I’ve been on the lookout for an inspiring cause, and yesterday I stumbled upon the perfect one. It’s called Literacy for All and you’ll find it here: http://www.literacyforall.org.za/
It’s based upon a terrifying statistic from the Department of Education in 2005, that 61% of South African children cannot read by the end of Grade 3. Literacy for All is trying to change that. In their own words:

“The Literacy for All programme not only puts accessible and attractive books into children’s hands, it has been developed by teachers and linguists to promote mother tongue learning and provides preparatory training and on-going support to teachers.

The readers are also suitable for second and third language learning. The Literacy for All Readers are not just “a good idea” or a collection of books. They are the only complete programme in each of our official languages, backed by a Teacher’s Guide, Learners’ Workbooks in Grade 1, a Training Workshop entitled “How to Teach Reading” and continuing support for teachers.”

Best of all, they are easy to support. With a donation of as little as R200 (or around $20 US at the current exchange rate), you can buy a set of 6 books for Grade 3 students. The set of 8 books for Grade 2 students costs R250, and the set of 14 books for Grade 1 students costs R375. Two students share one set of books, and with care the books can last a couple of years. They also need donations to provide essential teacher training – get in touch with them from their website if you’re interested.

I think this is an extraordinary and inspiring cause well worth investing in. Anyone want to join me?