Normally when you invite people to an a capella show they tell you they can’t make it because they have to bath their goldfish or attend the opening of their garage door. I invited a bunch of people to hear D7 perform at On Broadway last night and I was sufficiently vague about who was performing that they came. I could see they were enjoying the show and afterwards I had the satisfaction of having each of them thank me and tell me how much they enjoyed it.

I’ve seen D7 several times before, they performed at a friend’s wedding and they also had a regular gig at the Grand Daddy hotel. So I knew what to expect, but actually the show was more than I expected. They have added a few new numbers to their repertoire and the stage actually has a set which they use to play out a few entertaining skits to introduce a few of the songs.

They start of with a few old school numbers, and those who are familiar with a capella music start to panic that the whole show is going to be all ‘Barbershop’ but then they surprise everyone with some funky modern numbers and it just gets better from there. The nice thing is they don’t take themselves too seriously. They have fun up on stage, but it’s obvious that they have put a lot of work into creating a show that they believe is worth paying for and indeed it is.

I highly recommed you get to one of the two remaining shows (Mon 13th Sept & Mon 20th Sept 2010), you won’t regret it. You can read my impressions of the all new On Broadway theatre here.

http://www.d7live.com/

http://www.onbroadway.co.za (you can book online or call 021 424 1194

]]> http://www.relax-with-dax.co.za/d7-at-on-broadway/feed 2 http://www.relax-with-dax.co.za/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-09-05 http://www.relax-with-dax.co.za/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-09-05#comments Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:15:00 +0000 Dax http://www.relax-with-dax.co.za/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-09-05

• RT @AndaMojo: @RelaxWithDax did you know that it takes 3 litres of water to bottle 1 litre of water? #
• 10 beautiful and amazing beer bottle designs http://bit.ly/9bqnML #
• Cafe Max has been closed for a revamp. Opening 1st Sept, hopefully with free wi-fi. Don’t tell anyone about this spot, it’s our secret, ok? #
• Nando’s comedy festival starts at the Baxter tomorrow and runs until the 19th Sept. Tickets R120, book at computicket http://bit.ly/c6S4EG #
• I have a new goal in life, to own this Puma table tennis table. It is unbelievably cool http://bit.ly/aGDAtT #
• I’ve uploaded some of the photos from our visit to Beaumont estate. Check out the RWD gallery here http://bit.ly/93KmSj #
• RT @subirch: Looking forward to eating at Pierneef à La Motte, the new restaurant opening this week on the exquisite la Motte estate. #
• One80 has allocated me a female personal trainer the last few sessions. Strangely motivating. And I save the tears for the car. #
• Weird, I wrote this post in April 2006 and only had my first comment in April 2010. Now there are 9 comments http://bit.ly/aZoGPE #
• FYI, Sanbi reveals in the Cape Times that buying arum lilies will not lead to extinction of micro frogs. #
• Nobu is partnering with Flagstone & its renowned winemaker, Bruce Jack tomorrow for a wine & dinner event http://bit.ly/dmRXlm #
• Don’t make plans for this coming weekend without considering Franschhoek Uncorked. It was a jol last year http://bit.ly/dnsr2y #
• Lunch at Fyndraai on Solms Delta on Sun was excellent. Review will be up later this week. Back out to Franschhoek for uncorked this weekend. #
• Very excited to be approached to be a judge at the Craft Beer Festival organised by the We Love Real Beer initiative http://bit.ly/aEcoFE #
• RT @tianatweets “Dance like the photo’s not being tagged, Love like you’ve never been unfriended, Tweet like nobody’s following.” #
• “Petrol workers to strike”, is that pump attendants? I’d be careful if I were them. Won’t take people long to realise they serve no purpose. #
• Breakfast meeting at &Union tomorrow. Looking forward to waking up for a change. #
• I heard that Bang Bang club has closed. Is this true? #
• RT @dream_machine: @RelaxWithDax RT @shaunduvet: THE BANG BANG CLUB IS DEAD… CLOSING PARTY. FRIDAY 10 SEPTEMBER! DOORS OPEN 9PM #
• My first poached eggs using my new poach pods from Yuppie Chef… http://twitpic.com/2kqyx5 #
• Disappointing that Col’cacchio serves imported Italian water when an upmarket, authentic Italian restaurant (95 Keerom) serves local water #
• Georgio Nava opening new restaurant in Long St, a bakery/patisserie in Kloof St and a function venue next to 95 Keerom. All before year end. #
• Next Slow Food Mother City event is a visit to the indigenous garden at Solms Delta, with or without lunch (11 Sept) http://bit.ly/bT1WvN #
• Maremoto is a new Mediterranean restaurant which has opened on upper Long St, where the OVC used to be. #
• I also hear that the &Union boys are opening a little something at the top of Long Street soon… #
• Thanks for the #FF @LadyRaven @Cybercellar @ishayvani #
• I’ve got 3 double tickets for the Look & Feel Good Expo next weekend. I’ll post details on how to win them later http://bit.ly/dkCmff #
• I need a good tax consultant urgently. Any recommendations? #
• I neglected to mention that I will shortly be enjoying the chef’s table at the Cape Colony with exec chef Rudi Liebenberg & Mount Nelson GM #
• Thanks guys, 10 suggestions for tax consultants. How to choose? Might have to go for location. #
• speed camera as you come onto western boulevard towards town #
• uh oh, drinks at a friend’s place is ending with this. My personal trainer will not bw impressed http://twitpic.com/2l80m0 #
• I just watched Salt starring Angelina Jolie at the cinema. It’s a waste of time and for the price of 2 tickets I could have bought the DVD. #
• I need a picture of Babe, the piglet from the movie. Doing a Google search for ‘babe’ was a little naive. The results were, er, interesting! #
• Unplanned visit to il Leone for lunch. It’s been nearly 4 years since I was last here. Let’s see what’s going on. #
• Manager has been very friendly and is involved with all the tables checking on service. Good quality control, I like that. #

One of the things I like about Capetonians is that they are quite active and enjoy the outdoors, whether that be spending a day at the beach, trail running, hiking, mountain biking, etc. However, Winter does reduce the options quite considerably and we sometimes find that come the end of winter we’re not quite in beach shape yet so there is a sudden increase in gym attendance and the prom is jammed with runners, walkers, rollerbladers, etc. I’ve personally started training at One80 to try and get in shape for summer.

Now that Spring has arrived, it’s a good time for a expo about health and fitness. The Look & Feel Good expo is just that. The expo debuts in the Mother City from 10 to 12 September 2010 at the CTICC. Whether you’re a gym junkie, a fitness fundi, a health nut or just plain looking to boost your overall physical, spiritual and mental wellbeing, there’s a range of attractions to get you motivated again:

Mr & Ms Fitness SA Zone: Check out the country’s most buffed and toned bods, taking part in fitness, dance, aerobatic and gymnastics displays. If you feel the rhythm in your feet, try out the beginners’ dance workshops – this super-fun activity may even spur you to get involved in the fitness industry.

Yoga Studio: Sample the different styles of yoga – perfect for achieving harmony of mind and body. Experienced instructors in everything from Bikram and Kundalini to Yoga 4 Kids and Preggie Yoga will show you why this activity is ideal for improving your posture and flexibility, as well as helping you to relax and feel fitter, happier, more energetic and at peace.

Kitchen: Top chefs will flip your lid and sauté your senses with a range of cooking demonstrations, preparing delicious yet nutritious food.

Dance & Movement Stage: Dance your way to health and tighten up those abs with belly dancing, TRX suspension training, Katabox, Russian kettlebells, Zumba, Nia, kiddies’ dance and more.

Feel Good Joy Gym: Laughter Coaching will teach you how to laugh yourself happy – without jokes or even Desperate Housewives! Laughter therapy is great for zapping stress and boosting happiness. Try it in your car, in your office, at home… it’s a free tonic!

Health Assessment Centre: Have you been meaning to have your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and BMI checked out… but have kept putting it off? The Clicks nursing sister will provide free mini-health assessments, giving you peace of mind.

Plus check out the latest fitness equipment and exercise products, get the skinny on training techniques, try out a new hairstyle, pop into the Spa Association Day Spa Pavilion for a mini-treatment, slurp a deliciously healthy smoothie at the Feel Good Health Bar, and much more.

I’ve got 3 double tickets worth R120 to give away. All you have to do is visit the Look & Feel Good expo website to find the answer to the following question, then email me the answer with your name and cell number and you will be in line to win.

Here is the question: There are 6 categories that the expo covers. Three of them are health, beauty, fitness. What are the other three?

The answer is on the website homepage, email me at dax@relaxwithdax.co.za and make the subject Look & Feel good giveaway. Include the answer to the question as well as your full name and cell number.

Entries must be in by the end of Tuesday, the 7th September 2010. Winners will be contacted the following day by email and the tickets will be ready for collection at the VIP counter at the expo.

There are thousands of South African wine labels out there. It is very difficult for an estate to distinguish itself from all the competition in any meaningful way. Each estate obviously has its own story and quirks, but they all have that. Solms Delta is one of the few that differentiates itself very well, offering something truly unique. Not only is the wine unique, but the restaurant and the estate are also unique.

Solms Delta has a rich history going back to the time when it was hunting grounds and seasonal grazing land for the San and Khoe people. The estate has embraced this rich heritage and done a substantial amount of excavation to reveal the legacy of these previous cultures. The tools and other archeological finds are housed in a museum on the estate and form part of a detailed explanation of the history of the estate and the people that used it or inhabited it over time.

A second thing which makes Solms Delta unusual is that they have made the resident employees and their families join owners of the estate. This was evident to us in the level of interest the staff displayed and their genuine hospitality.

Another aspect of the farm which is unique is the Dik Delta fynbos culinary gardens. It is a conservation intiative dedicated to propagating the rare and endangered plants and animals that sustained the first inhabitants of the Cape. The restaurant, Fyndraai, uses the produce of this garden in its menu. This is what makes the restaurant unique, it offers food which is truly local and authentic in a historical sense.

I attended the opening of the Dik Delta culinary garden recently and enjoyed a lunch at Fyndraai restaurant. We were served the Heritage menu which is available to groups of 6 or more if you book in advance (R165 for 3 courses). I would actually highly recommend this menu, especially if you are entertaining overseas visitors. The menu consists of three courses of three dishes per course. I was stressing about what to order because I couldn’t bear to miss out on the other options, but I didn’t need to worry. This menu is served as small portions of all three dishes in each course so you get to taste everything. Each course has a dish which represents the three local cultures: Khoe, Malay and Afrikaans. But the dishes are modernised to guarantee a fantastic taste experience. For example, the Khoe main is veld vegetable and goats cheese bake. The Malay main is masala chicken curry and the Afrikaans dish is venison pie. They were all delicious, in fact, all nine dishes were delicious (yes, nine. 3 dishes x 3 courses, concentrate please!).

I decided I needed to go back and try their normal menu as well. So a couple of weeks later I took them up on their invitation.  We were a table of four and tasted quite a few of the dishes on the menu. For starters we tried the house salad (R39) which contained honeybush creamcheese and other interesting foliage. Pan fried scallops (R79) with ‘soetwortel’ puree and spicy avocado. We also had the veld vegetable and goats cheese bake (R40) mentioned above as well as a meaty option of lamb fillet and farmers sausage (R56).

For mains we opted for the Karoo lamb loin stuffed with fynbos herb paste (R108), which was awesomely tender and tasty. The vegetarian risotto (R78) was light yet flavourful, just the way I like my risotto as they are often too rich for me.  One person decided to have the curried snoek fishcakes (R42) starter as a main and the last dish we had was the blou wildebees loin (R108) with wild herb crust, excellently prepared.

We thought we were too full for dessert but they sounded so interesting we just had to investigate them. We ordered three to share and they were mind blowing. We risked popping to lick the plates. Caramelised baked custard served with a koeksister and vanilla ice cream (R40). This sounds like creme brulee, but it’s way better. The Cape brandy pudding with ice cream (R42) was so light and delicate. The rooibos and coconut cheesecake with icecream (R41) was well received by the others but it was my least favourite because I’m not a fan of desiccated coconut.

That brings us to the wine, although I should mention at this point that Solms Delta boasts a lovely picnic spot by the river and you can buy a picnic from them for R135 per person including some wine and water (from their own spring).

Now to the wines. Solms Delta wines are unique because they use some desiccated grapes in the wines. These grapes have their stems crushed while still on the vine, then they are left to dry out a little. This concentrates the flavours. This is not the only unique aspect of the wines, they also have original and interesting names which refer to elements of life on the estate. We did a wine tasting and I was impressed with the wines. What was even more impressive was that the markup at the restaurant is negligible, they have added R15 onto the price of the wines regardless of the cost. Their flagship wine (Afrikana) is R189 in the restaurant, and some of them are as low as R70. Only their estate wines are available. They also serve water which is sourced and bottled on the farm.

This review is already quite long, so I’m going to end there. I must just mention that the service was friendly and competent. I should also mention we dined al fresco and enjoyed the stunning views. When dining inside, you will be impressed with the glass floor which reveals the archeological excavations below. Basically when you visit Solms Delta you will be impressed.

Fyndraai on Solms Delta
Franschhoek
Tel: 021 874 3937
www.solms-delta.co.za

• Just found out that Charly’s Bakery stopped selling bottled water a year ago. We need more places to do this http://bit.ly/aCGn37 #
• RT @Kitt69: RT @IOL: ‘Awesome’ volunteers heed SOS from hospitals http://bit.ly/c09yWh <~ What an great story! #
• Reuben Riffel to take over ex Maze at the One & Only. Will be nice to not have to travel to Franschhoek or Robertson for his food. #
• Are these not the coolest knives ever? Anyone who cooks without decent knives hates themself http://bit.ly/9VEXja #
• I have a meeting at Wembley Square just now. I wonder what I should do for lunch, so many options. #
• RT @Eat_Out: New restaurant open in Sea Point called Twice. Homemade ice cream, great coffee & gourmet sandwiches. Cnr of St Johns Rd. #
• I ended up getting a chicken pie from Knead. I inhaled it which means I’m still hungry. @mrtuckbox @OdedsKitchen #
• Something different this w/e: Food & wine festival in McGregor http://bit.ly/bk2Um0 read my tips on where to eat & stay http://bit.ly/9OTYBM #
• RT @granddaddyhotel: It’s official now…The Grand Daddy hotel has new owners http://bit.ly/9iiLRD #
• Have a listen to the first single from Zebra & Giraffe’s new (not yet released) album – The Inside http://bit.ly/auIhqL #
• This is the last week to make nominations for the blog awards, only the top 10 per category go through to voting! help! http://bit.ly/bW85Sp #
• RT @rambowine: Cape Nature are releasing a captured Rooikat this morning on @hautespoir. Looks like Fynbos Friday is covered #
• Say no to bottled water! My review of Tapped, a documentary about bottled water at the Encounters Festival http://bit.ly/bfDzGV #
• Madame Zingara Theatre of Dreams leaves CT soon. 8th Sept is the last night. Get your booking in now! http://bit.ly/deIcDX #
• I have a relatively quiet week. Only the Cosmo lingerie show. The weekend is busy though. Maybe I’ll get some actual writing done then. #
• RT @andUnion: Don’t forget @LindiweSuttle tonight at @AndUnion. Perfect day for some sweet soul! #
• Minneolas are the bombeola. R15 for a large packet at Woolworths, not bad value. #
• Exclusive books sale now 50% off sale price. I picked up some children’s books for my niece. #
• I tried buttering up my One80 trainer with a bottle of Haut Espoir wine. It didn’t work, he’s still trying to kill me. Next session in 1hr. #
• Holy moly, this is incredible. Roger Federer knocks a bottle of someone’s head with a tennis serve. Twice! http://bit.ly/9dqcWt #
• Many people have been asking about this One80 training I have been doing, so I’ve written a post with the details http://bit.ly/9qfdcc #
• We had a great Slow Food farm visit near Darling on Sat. We drank Darling Brew,a good beer with an apt label http://www.twitpic.com/2huij5 #
• RT @slowmothercity: Foraging for waterblommeties at Lelieblom Farm – the photos tell the story! http://ow.ly/2u3Cz #
• September issues of Noseweek available online http://bit.ly/ax6ffb #
• Hmm, my week got busier on the tech side, Google maps event a bit later & MWEB store launch tomorrow morning. #
• Cosmo Lingerie Fashion Show at the Upper Eastside Hotel tonight. Looking forward to seeing what this new hotel is like… #
• Google maps is very impressive, the potential is endless. This is world changing. #
• RT @yuppiechef: Think restaurant reviewing is quiet & uneventful? Think again. Some anecdotes from @RelaxWithDax http://bit.ly/cMwgQL #
• That Fire & Ice hotel is rad, I think I need to stay there. #
• Note to self: take up your reserved seats before the show starts #CosmoLingerieShow #
• I did manage to see a bit between people’s heads, not a lot of exciting lingerie. Woolworths impressed surprisingly. #
• The models weren’t that great either, apart from Tracy McGregor there were about 3 which were aspirational #CosmoLingerieShow #
• Must say the despite the dodgy surroundings, the Upper Eastside hotel is quite cool. Apparently reasonably priced too. #
• Too kind RT @Mackspill: Bumped into @RelaxWithDax at the Fire & Ice Google thing. Very svelte & trim. Never thought of him as a gym bunny in reply to Mackspill #
• I’m at Canal Walk watching @2oceanvibe radio in action at the MWEB store. Here’s a pic of the boys http://twitpic.com/2ijtd6 #
• Frek, you can tell it’s early, I misspelt @2oceansvibe in that previous tweet. Here’s the pic again http://twitpic.com/2ijw9n #
• This MWEB store is packed with Macs. I must be careful not to touch anything, if my PC smells Mac on me… #
• This MWEB store with @2oceansvibe radio live is more exciting than u might think. A pic of me & the twins! http://twitpic.com/2ik5yu #
• Will Coca-Cola’s vitaminwater be the Consumer Protection Act’s first scalp? http://bit.ly/bAr08P #
• Tomorrow I visit Beaumont estate for the 1st time, for the launch of a new wine. Hope we get some Hope Marguerite too http://bit.ly/cfFlxr #
• As for the rest of the weekend, a party on the Nautilus super yacht on Saturday night and lunch at Fyndraai on Solms Delta on Sunday. #
• Yuppie Chef interviewed me and got a little more than they bargained for I think http://bit.ly/cMwgQL #
• Just checking out the designs for my custom made Puma Relax with Dax shirts. They are looking hot. #
• Did you know that 85% of bottled water sold is still water? Drink tap water people, let’s save the world http://bit.ly/aZoGPE #
• Restaurant news: Zucca in Kloof St has closed. To be replaced by asian tapas place called Oh La La #
• Don’t forget about the Encounters Documentary festival which is still on for a few days http://bit.ly/dA0YNb #
• RT @granddaddyhotel: Everyone amped for Dave Ferguson tonight. Boeries on the braai and awesome drinks specials await… #
• RT @BlogAwards2010: Last day to nominate your best SA bloggers! http://www.sablogawards.com #
• Dinner at Sawaddee tonight, but will earn it at the gym first. 90min spin class at the Point should do it. Anyone joining me? (5:30pm) #
• Thinking about these trapped miners in Chile: 33 people+small space+no showers=glad it’s not me! #
• Looks like Ooh La La (ex Zucca) is already open. Sign says ‘satay bar’, interesting. #
• RT @janbraai: Simple ways to help braaiday grow http://bit.ly/amFPX9 #
• I’m sorry to be missing the Great Wine Capitals bloggers tour today. But I think spending the day at Beaumont will be worth the sacrifice. #
• RT @WhaleCottage: The Good Bakery opens in Muizenberg, 15 Milner Str #
• 1/2 a day @ Beaumont, highlights were the water powered, functioning mill, the wine, the food, the people, the place. Think I’ll stay! #
• Cool party on the Nautilus. Just met Michelle McLean, she is tall! This ship is pretty spectacular. From R10k to hire for night. #
• Inside track on Vaudeville: opening end of Oct, new show, Russian theme, lower price, thurs to sat only. #
• The Nautilus sleeps 12, the cabins are like hotel rooms. Check it out http://twitpic.com/2j36b5 #
• I’ve been invited to a boep club! Haha, that’s hilarious. #
• Glad I could help. RT @tonyfinger: Had a very nice dinner at #brio in cape town. Nice live music as well. @relaxwithdax following yr tip :) #
• The music Five FM plays these days is crap. It makes me want to stab myself in the ear with a knife. #
• I think I’ve worked out Five FM’s strategy: Hire DJ’s who talk such drivel that the crap music is a welcome break. Thank goodness for CDs. #
• Anyway, that’s enough negativity for today, it’s a stunningly beautiful day. Just arrived at Solms Delta, I think we’ll dine al fresco. #
• This is the stunning setting for our al fresco lunch http://twitpic.com/2jc0ci #

People have been asking me what this One80 training is that I have been doing, so I thought I would share the story.

I used to be a fairly active guy, playing various sports and complementing that with regular gym sessions. Most of the time I was in pretty good shape. People used to say to me “Dax, you look like you’re in pretty good shape”.

As Relax with Dax has become busier, I’ve found myself not only short of time for sport and gym, but also eating high calorie meals when I’m awake and sometimes when I’m asleep. The result is that I am in the worst shape of my life. I promised myself I wouldn’t ever hit 100kgs, we when I broke that promise I realised I needed to do something. Also, leopard crawling to my car to avoid car guards almost gives me a heart attack, so fitness was an issue too.

I decided to employ some professional assistance. Not to carry me around, but to help me get back into shape. I could have got a personal trainer at the Virgin Active, but I thought maybe I should try some alternative training to see if it suits me better. I contacted One80 who have an unusual but appealing approach to exercise. Their tag line is ‘We don’t use machines, we create them’. I thought it might be nice to be a machine instead of a blob.

I read this on their website:

At most gyms the body is trained in one plane, using fixed positions such as benches or worse, machines! The reality is that the body does not function in one plane during daily activity, so why train like this? We at One80 don’t train the body in isolation, but rather focus on training movement patterns, making you strong throughout your whole body, primarily your core. The One80 style of training incorporates multi planar movements, improving strength, speed, agility, endurance, dynamic flexibility and coordination at an electric intensity – rewarding you with true health, true fitness, true results.

They had me at multi planar. I wasn’t aware of having done multi planar movements before so this was probably what I needed. I saw they were running a winter special (which is still available until the end of August 2010, by the way. Click here for details), so checking it out wouldn’t cost much.

I had the first session with Chris, the owner and my trainer where he chatted to me about my goals. I said I wanted to drive an Audi R8, he said we were supposed to be talking about fitness goals. So we put some goals in place and he took baseline measurements so we could monitor my progess. I told him that my training philosophy has always been ‘No Pain, No Pain’, he told me that was going to change.

So I’ve been going to One80 for about three weeks now. I have two private training sessions per week and one group class. I also try to supplement this with some spin classes at the gym. In summer I’ll replace that with ultimate frisbee and cardio tennis. I’ll keep you posted on the results, but hopefully they will be self evident and people will start saying “Dax, you look like you’re in pretty good shape”.

I can’t remember exactly when I became aware of the problem of bottled water. I do have a post on Relax with Dax (The Scourge of Bottled Water) which was written in April 2006, so probably sometime before then. I personally try not to drink bottled water unless there is no alternative, but many people are still unaware of the damage bottled water does. In fact, when I attended the Eat In Awards lunch, they had imported bottled water on the table even though they are promoting local, organic and fair produce!

Watching Tapped at the Encounters documentary festival has renewed my determination to rid the world of this terrible scourge. I’ve started a Facebook page and the idea is to get people to pledge that they will not drink bottled water. Hopefully we can get restaurants to pledge not to sell it. Some already don’t sell it like &Union, Olympia Cafe and Charly’s bakery. Other places like Pigalle refuse to sell tap water! The Atlantic Grill at the Table Bay hotel has a water menu with waters from around the world, priced up to R1000! These places need to feel the pressure to change.

Tapped looks at a few of the problems of bottled water. It is America focused but a lot of the points are relevant to bottled water in general. It looks at the problem of where the water is ‘stolen’ from in the first place. Large corporations pumping unbelievable quantities of water out of the ground sometimes in places where there are droughts! On top of it, they don’t have to pay for it! Water should belong to the public, the cheek of taking it and putting it in bottles then selling it back to us!

One of the points they focus on is that bottled water is not regulated. Many people think it’s ‘purer’ and ‘cleaner’ than tap water, but the reality is that tap water has to be tested regularly while bottled water never needs to be tested. Independent tests have revealed many toxins in several brands of bottled water. In fact, there have been several recalls of water which was found to be contaminated with harmful toxins.

They then looked at the plastic bottles that water comes in. Because they are oil based, their production is bad for the environment and while they are meant to be recyclable, most of them are not recycled. They are certainly not biodegradable and so they end up polluting land and sea for centuries. The bottles have also been shown to leech harmful chemicals into the water over time. This problem is a lot worse than originally suspected because the FDA tried to cover it up.

One of the interesting comments made in the movie by a scientist working with ocean pollution was that bottled water is probably the biggest problem we have and getting rid of it would be a major step in the right direction. That inspired me, it must be the easiest thing to do. Especially in a country like ours where the tap water is not only perfectly drinkable, but also tastes good.

So let’s do this! join the Facebook page and make your pledge today! Pledges can also be made in the comments section below.

This is the website for Tapped

http://www.tappedthemovie.com/

• I’ve been informed that Cafe des Arts ex Kalk Bay (which we loved), is reopening in Franschhoek where Topsi & Co used to be. #
• Caroline’s white wine review is happening at the Westin Grand, 5pm on Wed. I’ve never been but I hear they are good http://bit.ly/aZneKZ #
• Greenies in Southern Suburbs… tonight is Green Drinks at Josephine’s Mill. Meet & share info with like minded people http://bit.ly/aCgBwI #
• I watched The Yes Men Fix the World at the Encounters documentary festival on Fri. You should watch it, here’s why http://bit.ly/cXCRZd #
• Nu Metro movies cost R25 instead of R40 with a Clicks card but the Nu Metro website still doesn’t offer Clicks as a rewards partner #Fail #
• RT @thecru: It’s Ocean Basket’s 15th Birthday today – Feesh and Chips for R9.99 – today only. #
• RT @rubyyogi: @RelaxWithDax Ocean Basket special only from 9 – 5 tho :( #
• These legs are on fire with passion and pain. I made the morning spin class at Virgin Passive today. Feeling good. #
• Wow, 34 comments so far. Grand on the beach is getting lambasted and no response from them… http://bit.ly/9oaZTb #
• Cafe Chic offering 50% off all food until end of the month. #
• The CWG wine tasting was one of the best wine tasting events I’ve been to. Read why, plus I share my top 3 wines http://bit.ly/aFXeIW #
• Our braai tongs feature on pg 77 of the awesome WOSA braai book. Download a pdf here http://bit.ly/akUI0i #
• Haven’t nominated RWD in the SA Blog awards? Today is a perfect day for it. Imagine how bad you’d feel if I didn’t win http://bit.ly/bW85Sp #
• Check out my thoughts on technology in the My Gadgets column of The Times today (pg 14) #
• I’m in! RT @hautespoir: Food & Wine Bloggers club tomorrow featuring @samwilson & @rambowine should be fun. Who’s in? http://bit.ly/boPcQV #
• RT @WhaleCottage: Restaurant News: Camps Bay branch of Cape Town Fish Market closed in June #
• Speak to @rambowine RT @TableMountainCa: Any fynbos experts around?We’re loving the blooming flowers & would like to pick the brain of a pro #
• Just booked my flights to a week long Bible school in Natal next month. I’m looking forward to that… #
• It’s Winex at the ICC on Thurs (R100) & Fri (R120) night. A chance to taste over 1000 wines. I’ll be there on Fri night http://bit.ly/cvf48D #
• The first of my posts about my visit to Robertson for the Slow Festival. A review of Karoux restaurant in McGregor http://bit.ly/diQogL #
• I’ve posted my feature in The Times yesterday on RWD for those that missed it http://bit.ly/duEEtt #
• I’m looking forward to being back at Brio tonight. The Food & Wine Bloggers Club meeting should be interesting too. #
• Only 2 weeks left to take advantage of the One80 special: Assessment, 3xprivate sessions & 2xclasses R300 http://bit.ly/bGH4XM #
• I enjoyed the Food & Wine bloggers meeting at Brio tonight, great presentations, nice venue, tasty snacks, awesome wine & cool people. #
• My next review from the Robertson Slow weekend is Reuben’s at the Robertson Small Hotel http://bit.ly/bH82K0 #
• Just now I head off to Solms Delta for the launch of Dik Delta, their fynbos culinary gardens. Followed by lunch at Fyndraai. Should be good #
• Book of the Week: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. To help you learn a bit more about what you put in your body Jonathan Safran Foer #
• Lunch at Fyndraai for the Dik Delta launch, very tasty. This was the starter http://twitpic.com/2g5t21 #
• RT @zebraandgiraffe Monday the 27th of September is the official release date of “The Inside” – our 2nd full-length album! #
• Apologies, I didn’t attach the link to the book of the week yesterday. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer http://bit.ly/aJjJUE #
• Don’t forget about the Encounters documentary festival. i’m going to watch Tapped on Sunday night http://bit.ly/dA0YNb #
• Read part 1 of my 2 part post on the Robertson Slow festival, some awesome photos too http://bit.ly/9OTYBM #
• Thanks for the #FF @bubbalubs @ChilliMktg @SouthAfricaStay #
• This afternoon I am going to a braai where Desmond Tutu will tell us why he is the patron of Braai 4 Heritage day (24th Sept). Then Winex! #
• New Mexican restaurant in Rose St, San Julian Taco & Tequila. Run by the Garcia family recently from Mexico. 076 809 3367 #
• The owners of Fork have opened Knife restaurant at the Crystal Towers hotel. It’s an ‘American Style Smokehouse’. #
• Blonde’s 50% off the bill special stops end of August. During September they are offering 33% off your bill. #
• RT @TableMountainCa: Please RT: Table Mountain Cableway will be closed for annual maintenance from Monday 23 August to Friday 27 August. #
• Catching a bus into town for Winex. I’m very responsible. #
• I like these new buses. Weirdly there are just 3 affluent looking white people on the bus, nobody else. #
• Lunch at Cheyne’s, haven’t been here since the opening a year and a half ago. Looking forward to being impressed. #
• Hooting haversacks, this pork belly is good. Awesome crackling. If there were 2nds, I would happily risk the wrath of my personal trainer! #
• RT @RichardWooding: Very good video of the Athlone Towers Implosion http://bit.ly/bYeB6z #
• Off to the V&A to watch Tapped at the Encounters documentary festival. Hope it’s good because my siesta could have easily been extended. #
• Late night snack: toast with unpasteurised cheese & thin slices of amazing salami, purchased from Udderly Delicious at Slow Food farm visit #
• Tapped provided some new info & renewed my passion for having bottled water made illegal. Read my post on bottled water http://bit.ly/aZoGPE #

A few years ago I used to really enjoy the Wacky Wine Weekend in Robertson, in fact you can read one of my rave reviews here. However, it started to become very crowded and the last couple of years I have given it a skip as it’s too crowded for me. I do like Robertson though and have been keen to check out some of their other festivals. They have the Wine on the River festival in October and the Slow Festival in August, which are both much less busy.

When I received an invitation from the PR agency for the valley to come and experience the Slow Festival, I jumped at the opportunity. A weekend away and I don’t have to organise anything, amazing! So they organised accommodation for us and put together a schedule of events to keep us busy for the weekend. We left Cape Town on Friday afternoon and arrived at our guest house in McGregor without much ado. It’s less than 2 hours from Cape Town.

We were booked into the Green Gables Country Inn, also known now as the Old Mill Lodge (new owners). I was a little disappointed that we had to stay in McGregor when all the action was in Robertson but once we saw the place we staying at, we were quite happy. The Green Gables Country Inn is an awesome little spot. They have a restaurant and a bar which appear to be quite popular, but we didn’t eat there as we were booked in at a restaurant in town. We love how the place is decorated, and the room was very comfortable with an awesome shower.

We freshened up and headed into town (a 47 second drive) for dinner at Karoux. It was a lovely dinner, which you can read about in my review here. Then we made the ‘long’ trip back to the guesthouse (if we had known how close it was, we would have walked, apparently it’s very safe) and hit the sack.

The next day we got up earlyish to check out the teeny weeny McGregor Market. We took a little stroll down the road and found the market without any difficulty. The market is small but there is quite a selection of things on offer: Breads, seeds, preserves, veggies and things to eat straight away. We did a little browsing but didn’t end up buying anything. Seeing all the food did make us hungry so we headed back to the guesthouse for breakfast. It was an awesome breakfast, with memorable poached eggs. I even took a picture, isn’t that egg looking good?

After breakfast we headed to Wederom wine estate to learn about cutting up a pig with Lorenzo from La Masseria. Read about the rest of our visit to the Robertson Slow festival in part two, coming soon.

We ate at Reuben’s at The Robertson Small Hotel on the last night of our time in Robertson for the Slow festival. Before I write about my experience of the restaurant, I must just tell you that the Robertson Small Hotel is awesome. We were given a short tour of the hotel and of some of the rooms, the hotel looks great and the rooms were beautiful. I’ll definitely be trying to organise to stay there a few nights soon.

Below is a picture so you can get an idea of what I am saying. You can find more in the gallery on their website www.therobertsonsmallhotel.com

Now back to the restaurant. The decor is an extension of the hotel decor, which means it’s very good looking. The white theme is broken by subtle colour intrusions, the red of the tile detail on the floor, the dark brown of the wood of the chair insets and the vibrant colours of the flower decorations on the tables. It’s a very clean and striking style. I am seldom impressed by tableware, but found myself paying attention to the Italian cutlery for some reason.

We were seated near the kitchen, which is open so I had a good view of Aviv Liebenberg in action in the kitchen. Aviv is the executive chef, Reuben is the concept chef and still spends 99% of his time at his Franschhoek restaurant. We were well looked after service wise, but unfortunately our waiter, although competent, was softly spoken. He was drowned out by the sounds from the open kitchen, which was so frustrating that I gave up and often didn’t really know what the waiter thought I wanted from him. Despite that, he got the order right and with a few interventions our other requests were fulfilled.

To start we had the onion tartlet (R48) and the chilli salt squid (R62), both apparently Reuben signature dishes. I enjoyed the squid and my partner loved the tartlet which was a bit rich for me. Both starters were generous portions.

For mains I had the beef ribeye steak (R145), cut unusually so that it looked like a fillet steak. Despite the thickness, it was done perfectly to my specification, something I seldom experience these days. My partner had the tandoori roasted kingklip (R102) which enjoyed excellent flavours, but I am still not a fan of kingklip and am starting to become very tired of seeing it on every menu, especially as it is on the orange list.

To my left was the window into the wine room which looked very appealing, the wines neatly presented and well lit. We selected a Reyneke organic blend at R175 from the list which offered some good choice and a range of prices. The Reyneke was a mid range option price wise.

We tried to resist dessert but settled for sharing the pain perdu (R52) which is basically a bread & butter pudding. But this is served as a slice and is made from croissant pastry plus has fresh banana in it. It was yum!

A quick chat with Aviv revealed that one of the challenges out in Robertson is getting suppliers to deliver, and local suppliers to accept payment terms. They do try and support local suppliers as much as possible and go so far as to mention on the menu who their suppliers are. This I think is a nice touch and a good move in the direction of food provenance. Consumers must become more concerned about where their food comes from.

As I mentioned, I hope to stay at the hotel sometime soon and will be definitely eat at the restaurant again while I am there.

Reubens at the Robertson Small Hotel
58 van Reenen St, Robertson
Tel: 023 626 7200
www.therobertsonsmallhotel.com