It just comes with the territory
AFTER a hectic day of pounding the paddock at Greyville Racecourse, doing everything from interviewing celebrities, asking people about their wacky fashion choices, tent trawling and tasting some really odd food, I thought I was going to spend last Sunday chilling at home, catching up on some reading, finding a topic to research for the Masters degree I want to do or even do some laundry. Instead I found myself on a yacht with Bonang Matheba, David Tlale and Tbo Touch.
One would swear that I live this lavish life of attending the hottest parties and being friendly with some of South Africa’s most famous people – but people forget that it’s a job. The minute I decide to leave this all behind, so will my access to the spoils of getting along with A-listers. Anyway the yacht party was to celebrate Bonang, David and Touch being the ambassadors for French cognac, Courvoisier. The by-invite-only party saw some of Durban’s socialites share the spotlight with Joburg and Cape Town based socialites. Of course everyone whipped out their phones when Bonang arrived. You can’t help but admire the way she just commands attention. She really is the embodiment of her name, which means “To Look At” in Tswana.
A party needs good company, great music, amazing drinks and delicious food to be a success. Pity that there was virtually no food on the La Vue. Why they didn’t cater for enough people, is still a mystery. We even asked if you had to pay for the food. We were really hungry and the food just wasn’t materialising. That will teach me to never go on a yacht cruise sans breakfast. Thank goodness for Zack’s on Wilson’s Wharf.
I spoke to David about his new TV show, and he said he would be showing in Paris, during fashion week in October. I’m really excited about that and I hope he hits Paris so hard that the fashion industry finally pays attention to the SA fashion scene. Bonang, whose first book will be released at the end of July, said she was also looking forward to her reality show and hoped that people would love it. We then took a video, where she told me that I’m one of her favourite entertainment journalists and she respects my craft. It’s not every day that happens. But then again, her family subscribes to the Sunday Tribune, so we have that on our side…
Thursday is the start of the 38th Durban International Film Festival and since I skipped Diff last year (mostly terrible film choices) I hope this year will be better. The South African slate of films looks really interesting and the festival will pay tribute to a friend, filmmaker Junaid Ahmed, who died last year. He was the guy behind the hit films, Keeping Up with the Kandasamys, Happiness is a Four-letter Word and Hard to Get.
I wonder if the attendees will actually adhere to the black tie invite. Diff have even cordoned off parts of Anton Lembede Street in town, so that the red carpet is wide enough for everyone to walk on. While it won’t be Cannes style, it’s still better than the usual sad carpet we have experienced in previous years.
There are over 150 films and documentaries being shown at this year’s festival. Please check www. durbanfilmfest.co.za for the full line-up, times and venues. It’s your chance to see next year’s big hits before they hit the cinemas.
Follow @iol_lifestyle on Twitter for updates during the festival.