Funders turn out for turtle gala
● A few days after storms wreaked havoc in the Western Cape, it was a clear and starry Thursday night when I found myself beneath a canopy of blue with a charitable crowd including Madiba’s eldest grandchild (who made waves in 2017 for admitting she wouldn’t be voting for the ANC); a celebrity twosome coy about whether they’re in the romantic way (let me tell you, love is definitely in the air); and three turtles named Luna, Bokkie and Nori.
This was the second annual One Blue Heart gala dinner, a fundraiser for the Turtle Conservation Centre — now in the throes of caring for close to 300 rescued turtle hatchlings left dehydrated and hypothermic after the violent weather — hosted by Cape Town’s Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation.
Billed as an event blending slow fashion, food and art, guests were greeted by a song and dance routine by the Khayelitsha-based Isibane se Afrika choir for change as they entered the aquarium at the V&A Waterfront.
Down the red carpet waiters proffer canapés such as vegan vetkoek with “bobotie mince” and vegan “faux gras” with marmalade on ciabatta mini toasts.
Up comes Ann Lamont, the dynamic executive chair of the foundation. I compliment the social entrepreneur (she’d previously headed up the Learning Channel) on her fetching wool and mohair outfit, learning it was from local designer Luke Radloff, who went so far as to pick out matching shoes for her to wear: “I’m more of a jeans and T-shirt girl,” she confesses.
In a glass ceiling tunnel where stingrays and fish swim in the giant tank, I come across Ndileka Mandela, the outspoken eldest child of Nelson Mandela’s first born, Madiba “Thembi” Mandela, who died in a car accident while his father was still in prison.
She says the Thembekile Mandela Foundation, which she heads, will be launching the Mandela African Boxing Cup in collaboration with the International Boxing Association in Durban next week.
The conversation turns to when Ndileka became the first in her family to distance herself from the ANC, and the social activist admits that “the truth is right now, I don’t even know what party I am going to vote for”.
I also greet two designers, Thando Ntuli and Helen Gibbs, who earlier in the day had taken part in a slow fashion panel discussion organised by sustainability platform Twyg, which had been held at the aquarium, before spotting perky singer Zolani Mahola, who joins the choir when they belt out the familiar strains of Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), the Soccer World Cup anthem she and the band Freshlyground recorded with Shakira.
Minutes later it’s time for the official bits as Ann welcomes us all and introduces us to conservation manager Talitha Noble-Trull who points out the night’s star attractions in the huge tank in front of us — Luna (who was introduced to the ocean exhibit that morning as part of the final stage of her rehab before heading back into the ocean), along with Bokkie (who is missing one of her flippers and arrived on the day South Africa won the Rugby World Cup semifinals) and Nori, who has been in the tank the longest.
For the second half of the evening guests such as Rachel Smith of a company called Design Star make their way to the swish One&Only Hotel next door where a sit down dinner is held in the ballroom.
In the foyer, composer Neo Muyanga is talking to Ralph Freese of the Africa Leadership Initiative, while inside the room I spot businesswoman Heather Sonn, who sits on the board of the same continental leadership organisation.
With caring for the environment a thread running through the evening, we had all been asked to choose our mains from the mainly vegan menu when we RSVPed (that way, the One&Only’s kitchen could avoid increasing their food waste).
Our vegan starters come in the form of harissa-flavoured hummus with semidried tomato, roasted butternut and chargrilled Brussels sprouts, while mains for most were vegan as well — king oyster mushrooms with onion, carrots and parsnip cauliflower purée served with roasted buckwheat. I chose the protein option, which swapped out the mushrooms for a chicken supreme. When the hotel’s GM Anne Scott gets up to tell us about the grub, the personable Scottish-born hotelier shares that minimising food waste is big on their agenda, with the hotel boasting a food composting project, which means none of their waste ends up on landfill. The rest of the evening includes the flighting of an alluring animated short film Indlela Yokuphila, and we hear the touching story about Nobomvu, a loggerhead turtle who was rescued in Gansbaai where she was completely entangled in a fishing net weighing more than 50kg.
But onto an entanglement of another sort — and that’s the one between Maps Maponyane and a lady friend who came to support the dashing TV personality as the night’s MC for the second year in a row. That’s one of the land’s most beautiful women, Shudufhadzo Musida, in a gorgeous red gown by Cape Town designer Stephen van Eeden.
When Maps comes up to say hello, I ask if we can snap a pic of the two, and he directs me to Shudu, who was seated at his table on the other side of the room.
However, the pageant winner and mental health advocate wasn’t keen on adding any more oxygen to those rumours.
“I’m here to support ocean conservation,” is all she was willing to say, even though I’ve heard the two have been dating for close to two years now. Mmmkay...