Experiencing a city through nostalgia and memory

Due to attempting to not wake up my room mates I had to cut my last post short. Jack and I went to Mimi’s coffee shop after our run in the morning to answer emails and finish off bits of work. We then decided to go for a walk. I love seeing cities through the eyes of people who live or have lived there. Experiencing a city through nostalgia and memory adds a life and vitality to the buildings. Its those stories you hear when walking between bars and going to the shops that are of so much importance. Places always have significance to us in personal ways, and through dreams and memory we experience more than just the physical. Suddenly we smell the food, and feel the warmth of the paper and that one time it rained and we hid under a shop awning eating soggy fish and chips.

Jack showed me the points which marked when the next town starts when we went on our walk. Observatory went up to the bridge and then it turned into Mowbray. Observatory has so much vitality, we walked past bikers outside a rock bar and people were milling about, sipping coffees and listening to music. As we walked past the bridge, it was evident we were on a highway. We passed a chip and ranch, and well dressed women walked past us taking pictures after church.

Jack and I spoke about religion and the presence of Christianity in Cape Town, but also about how religion is often used to mask certain cultural expectations. We both stopped to dwell in our pessimistic atheism for a moment. We then passed the Mowbry library, which was a grand colonial building. Jack explained how some of the best schools were in this area. We then walked past my favourite building, the Masambe Theatre.

The Massambe theatre was built in 1976, and is described as 'a pillar of hope during the apartheid era'. The theatre has an incredible history of being one of the most progressive spaces during apartheid. It was able to present multiracialm progressive work 'at a time when all other non-racial interactivity was banned or censored.' So much so, the first interracial kiss ever on a South African stage took place there. The theatre has a 70's brutalist vibe to it. It is a grand brick structure with this roof made up of concave spherical tiles with candle type light fixtures hanging off. The building is, forgive me for breaking into slang...cool.

We then meandered into Rondabosh which was a transition into a student filled district. Many of the university students are from overseas and therefore much more affluent. The shops, and dwelling quality reflected this. Absolutely exhausted after running all morning and walking through three towns, we headed back to meet the newly arrived participants.