This Week & Beyond

April 21-27: Cosmic dust and earthly magic

The Lyrid Meteor Shower tonight/tomorrow morning (April 21/22) will light up the night skies with up to 20 meteors an hour. Best viewing between 3 and 4am. No telescope needed.

A meteor is a space rock originating from comets, asteroids, other planets, or even the moon that enters Earth's atmosphere. As the rock falls toward Earth, the drag of the air on the rock makes it extremely hot. The bright streak we see as a ‘shooting star’ is the glowing hot air as the rock rips through the atmosphere.

Comets are large objects made of dust and ice left over from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Like Earth and the other planets, comets orbit the sun but, unlike the nearly circular orbits of the planets, theirs are usually quite lop-sided. As a comet gets closer to the sun, some of its icy surface boils off, releasing particles of dust and rock. The debris gets strewn out along the comet's path. When Earth’s orbit crosses the orbit of a comet … tralala … meteor shower.

You could set your alarm clock, fill a flask with tea/brandy, roll out a blanket and witness ancient cosmic beauty under some of the darkest skies on Earth. Or you could get down to the South African Astronomical Observatory (at Observatory😉) for an evening of information and unforgettable stargazing using the McClean and Dobsonian telescopes. More info and bookings

And PS why not tag @AfricanScienceStars and @calloffthesearch in your night sky shots.

For a different kind of star-gazing, head to Greenmarket Square on April 24 for the 2025 Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) Free Concert. The line-up includes British acid jazz band Incognito, South African kwaito group TKZee, The Ploemies, rising star Hannah Ray and vocalists Andrea Fortuin and Fancy Galada. DJ Eazy will keep the feet stomping between sets. The show starts at 4.30pm.

Go on, you know you will have fun! If it gets too messy you can always get an Uber home; if it doesn’t get messy enough, you could always try to get into Soho on Long Street. The Free Jazz Concert is a preview to the main festival, which takes place on April 25 and 26 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Also on the Jazz Festival weekend (and Freedom Day, April 27^th), bassist Carlo Mombelli and Prisoners of Strange, a rotating collective of some of South Africa's finest musicians, will be performing at the Homecoming Centre (the old Fugard Theatre). Mark Fransman will be on woodwinds, Marcus Wyatt on trumpet, Maria Mombelli voice and piano and Justin Badenhorst drums. Blending jazz, classical minimalism, avante garde and African spiritual, Mombelli’s sound has been described as hauntingly beautiful and intellectually rich.

The Homecoming Centre’s 300-seater concert hall is steeped in Cape Town history. Renamed the District 6 Homecoming Centre after it was handed back to the District 6 Museum, its two main theatre spaces, the Star and Avalon, are named after two bioscopes in the old District 6. Tickets

For our Freedom Day celebrations, on April 27, we have bought tickets to Aloe From Everywhere – The City. We are told that this all-day and into the evening event at Texas (“amazing, outdoor venue” off Harrington Street in the East City) will be a mix of live music and deejays (“primarily young black artists from Jozi”). We are told we will spend “the afternoon and evening immersed in sound, culture, and movement … [maybe] finding a hidden dancefloor, offering a glimpse into The Club editions”.

You had me at ‘young, black artists from Jozi’ … Tickets

Another aspect of modern life where Joburg can teach Cape Town a thing or two is shopping malls. The Mother City is more about markets than malls, although there is the occasional gem, from everybody’s favourite mall-to-hate, the V&A to the annoyingly quirky Gardens Centre, aka the Epicentre (with thanks to Jean-Marie for the perfect name).

A visit to Gardens always feels like a grudge job, but it is not all bad. Everyone knows the ‘German deli’, Haartlief, which is always buzzing. The South African branch of a Namibian company, they sell quality meats and a variety of German delicacies. Eating a hotdog and drinking a draft Weiss Beer perched on a bar stool in the thick of it can be a very cool people-watching experience. Friendly knowledgeable staff provide excellent, relaxed service. The place is full of regulars, and everyone seems to be having such a good time.

Another favourite in Gardens is the perfect gift shop, Fabricate. They have a fantastic selection of products that are designed and made by local manufacturers. It is jam-packed with wonderfully stylish and beautifully made products, so many of them expressing a wonderful quirky South Africanness. This store has never failed to produce the perfect gift for even the most difficult characters.

Bags made from drink can ring-pulls

Another great place for buying South African is at the Watershed at the V & A Waterfront. One must sometimes go into the main shopping centre, maybe to buy a copy of the FT Weekend at Exclusive Books (which we must because the South African subscription/delivery service has gone to pot), or to have sushi that never disappoints at Willoughbys. But for real shopping pleasure we prefer to give the main centre and all those terribly dull brands a miss and browse at the Watershed, the less glitzy haven of local design boutiques and stalls. Check out Leigh Schubert and the Bottle Top Org.

Then for #BuyLocal fans and foodies there is Makers Landing, read all about it: Feast on local flavours and support our future foodies

Since we are on the subject of all things local and food, the 2025 edition of Wiki Loves Africa – the annual public contest organised by Wiki In Africa encouraging people across Africa to contribute photographs, video and audio for use on Wikipedia and other projects of the Wikimedia Foundation – comes to an end on April 30.

This year’s theme Farm to Plate calls for the submission of media portraying fields and farming practices, products, machinery and people as well as the processing, preparation, cooking and serving of food. The reasoning behind this annual campaign is: “Out of the millions of subjects you can read about on Wikipedia, those that relate to Africa have the least coverage [partly because] many people do not know that they can have knowledge of their continent and cultures reflected on Wikipedia by donating their images, videos and audio to Wikimedia.” There are plenty of prizes, starting from $1,000. More info

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