In a different world, for an hour or two

On Saturday we visited Market @ the Sheds in midtown Pretoria. What a lovely experience! It is so cosmopolitan - not like you imagine Pretoria to be. I have shared many markets in and around Pretoria and even Cape Town before but this one has to be the new "must visit " one around.

Entrance to the Market from Helen Joseph street

As always with markets - pictures speak louder than words - take a look and visit - the next market is on 24 September. There is always live music, and array of wonderful food to choose from, great places to sit and have a craft beer/ smoothie/ cocktail and something to eat. And it has to be the cleanest and neatest market I have ever seen.

Wonderful space of the main shed with the market.

Tables and seats facing the band inside the shed

 

Yummy mommy has fantastic cakes on offer as well as sweets for the kiddos.

These are so beautiful

Tasty deconstructed cakes

Thise Brownies at the back - best ever!

I would love one of these stunning well made leather bags

You have to go and see this! Absolute brilliance.

L had to buy some biltong - tasters provided

Huge range of risoles

Venison "burgers" and chips

This looked interesting - may try it next time

Feeling Mexican?

A wide variety of cocktails - and there is wine by the glass including good Cape Classique bubbles and my favorite Graham Beck Gorgeous wine

Great coddee at the Urban Barrista

Neat as a pin ablutions

There is a small kiddies area with child minders close to some seating for parents of the tiny ones

This was our favorite space- a stunning courtyard with seating close to the main shed - you can hear the music but have a conversation - just perfect, while you are enjoying the eats and drinks

I was contemplating buying the red one for the next Capital singers ...

A bought a set of earrings for R30 here!

These are stunning and unique

 There is also a big craft beer hall at the top area which early in the morning was still quiet but I am sure fills up later in the day. So if you are in Pretoria or visiting in September do join us! Unique in Pretoria without a doubt.

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music....

I am about 4 or 5 - we are traveling back to Pretoria from Joburg late at night. In my mind I see the exotic costumes of Kismet/ the dancing in the imagined streets of West side story/ keep singing "I feel pretty oh so pretty" from My Fair Lady...

My parents loved musicals and as an only child I had the privilege to attend many of them from a very young age. Later after the State Theater opened in Pretoria in the hay days of the Performing arts councils I saw many more - Hello Dolly, Camelot, Oklahoma - you name it! In later years Hunter and I saw the unforgettable Cats and breathtaking Phantom of the Opera. Of course there are the movies of the musicals that our kids love - Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and Annie are firm favorites.

For me the ultimate musical moment has always been Julie Andrews on top of that Austrian mountain spinning around and singing : " The hills are alive with the sound of music". In my head I have sung it so many times. This weekend I at last got the chance to do it - with 401 other singers, an orchestra, soloist and two of the most inspiring conductors I have ever seen.

It's a tough and busy program over a weekend of music. Solid hours of practice after receiving the sheet music and MP3 to practice on your own. I arrive on Friday night, happy to see familiar faces from school and church - even a family member, but very unsure of how well I know the music and words. I am very nervous about the "Les Misrable" medley which I struggled to learn  on my own. Parts of the "Chess" medley merge into a bundle of notes... all the jumbled intricacies of Queen's music are turning in my head - how on earth did I think I could manage this...

But somehow the moment you hear the orchestra and the other voices join things seem to fall into place. By coffee break I feel a bit more sure of myself. By the end of Friday night's rehearsal I am not so sure about all this any more - we struggled through some of the pieces. But we get homework - to watch and listen to some originals of the works on You Tube. That night in my bed "Les Mis" comes together for me. On Saturday morning it is as if things simply fell together over night for the whole group - and suddenly I think, just maybe , this will be great. This could be magic.

On Saturday afternoon we have our first performance. All dressed in our concert blacks with a touch of red we are ready, and I am nervous. After the Cats overture by the Orchestra we launched into Phantom of the Opera. The sound is huge - an orchestra, organ and 402 voices. After all that practice at home and over the weekend it indeed feels like magic. In my mind and in my voice I am Sandy in Grease, Grizabella singing Memory in Cats - Elaine Paige has nothing on us when we sing "I know him so well". Our voices soar to the sky when we sing "You'll never walk alone" and we put our common hats on for "Les Miserables" and cheer to the Master of the House. Proudly South African we sing  from" Ipi Tombi " and "Ons vir jou Suid Afrika". The medley from Mama Mia has us all acting and singing like "Dancing Queens" and we tackle the unforgettable music of Queen from their musical "We will rock you" . We are inspired by solos from the beautiful Magdaleen Minaar that sings with us and I get goosebumps every time I hear two guitars and a violin play "Somewhere over the rainbow"

And briefly for 3 performances I was Maria on top of that mountain singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music..." followed by the song I chose when the original call for suggestions went out - "Climb every mountain". An unforgettable experience of song, soul and friendship. In my heart (and sometimes even physically) I keep singing:

The hills are alive with the sound of music
with songs they have sung for a thousand years.
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing ev-'ry song it hears"

 The Capital Singers is a mass choir initiative by Boabab Music that functions as a project choir. This was the first time I took part in it and I have already registered for the next one. It was mere chance - or maybe Kismet, that the first project I took part in was one featuring musicals.

Every year our city falls under a purple spell

Every morning and afternoon I drive to work through purple streets. It's October - the month that Pretoria explodes in colour and beauty. The month you dodge Japanese tourists taking photos in the middle of the streets and the month you need to take hay fever meds and the bees seem to triple in number. It is however a daily treat that I can not resist capturing. And have to blog every single year! Enjoy the beauty.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Re-charge!

Is exactly what I did this weekend. And no, we did not cancel everything. We just made sure we had a relaxing Sunday with a happy event - and a nap. But more about that later.

Friday night saw one of those end of year events that you sometimes dread as well, we are all tired and the year is speeding to an end. But I am glad we did as A's troup won Juniors of the year - great excitement and as the views from Schanskop Fort where the function was totally took my breath away. I did not even take my big camera with me - these were taken with the trusty iPhone.The Fort itself was quite a pretty venue too with a huge old tree in the middle.

Voortrekker monument against the sunset

Pretoria City centre

Spectacular clouds and the Voortrekker monument/ Thaba Tshwane area

Night time city view.

When Pretoria paints herself purple....

 

 You know that apart from the pretty and your irritated sinuses it is also RAD exam time and way way more hectic that the fourth term brings. By the way, did you know that Pretoria also sports one street with white Jacarandas? (You can see them on the city view above towards the foreground). Herbert Baker street in Groenkloof if you want to take a drive. ) Back to the realities at home.

As I said - RAD ballet exams was yesterday. The Princess is positive it went well. It is a difficult but very beautiful syllabus - in fact, next year they are not going on with grade 4 as half their troupe will be below the minimum age - so they will do grade 3 solo next year and grade 4 the year after.

This is called a character skirt and shoes- a small part of RAD ballet

 She also scored an A++ with her drama partner in unprepared drama last week. Unprepared drama always has me totally amazed as they get 10 minutes to study a  story, prepare a piece and bring it on the stage. No help from the teacher. She was so happy with that much coveted A++ and there were only two groups that afternoon that managed that score.

Mr L has a huge week ahead - their grade R graduation is a total concert with two numbers per child, costumes etc and then the actual capping. The concert is on Wednesday, Thursday nights and Friday morning (for grandparents) and his class' capping on Thursday night. Apparently he is enjoying it a lot and I can not wait to see him on stage.

Mr C is doing well and  he has an artwork on show at the school's cultural evening. Can not wait to see it.

Jacaranda time is also Santa Shoebox time - I know a lot of bloggers are involved but do get involved if you are not already. This year I was very brave and took the 3 kids (plus friend K in tow) to shop for "their" kids last Saturday morning. They chose every item themselves - up to the colour of the toothbrushes. After this shop the boys added stickers, A added a little necklace and alice bands for her girl and I added little money purses for all 3. The boxes are choc and block and we will deliver on Saturday. I love how this teach them that they are so very privileged even if they are not rich they have way more than some other kids.

 Ever wondered how to get a book into a shoebox? This is what we do - roll it, secore with a rubber band, fit diagonally into the box and fill roll with items.
So what's happening in your word?

As you get those golden days, you sometimes get golden weekends....

I am not talking about big one, holiday ones, being in exiting places, seeing new things. I am talking about those truly golden ones - just at home. Last weekend was possibly our best one ever to date. There was a glorious calmness over the household - maybe it had to do with the previous night's wedding and all that being done and over, possibly being a public holiday Saturday and no sports or urgent errands needing attention. Most probably it was because we chose to be relaxed, to give ourselves some time to rest. I think the attitude rubbed off on the kidlets. We will most certainly take a lesson from our own book for the future.

So Saturday was spent having a nice English breakfast at home prepared by Hunter on the gas braai. But mostly it was spent resting.

And like this: (gin and tonic for cousin A and me when she came to copy my photos of the wedding and hot chocolate for the kids)

 

Hunter was off to the rugby with visiting family here for the wedding and the kids and I collected pizza and watched a movie or two.On Sunday morning A just did not wake up on her own until very late and we decided to for once miss church. We had crumpets for breakfast and for the rest of the day :

The family Veterinary surgeon was in treating baby dolphins and puppies.

Mr C learned how to do a plaid (the coloured pipe cleaners worked so well - easy to work with and a colour sequence to remember)

 Mr L rediscovered his sticker book.

On impulse we packed a few picnic things and headed for a park with lovely bicycle paths and lots of stunning autumn trees.

 Where the puppies had just as much fun as the rest of us had

 Where lots of cycling happened.

Rugby and hockey was practised

 And a lot of fun was had in the Autumn leaves. All totally for free.

Afterwards we had home made burgers for a very late lunch/dinner and a swim at the gym. It was a great great weekend. Simply golden.

This weekend has a very busy Saturday. Lets hope we can find the golden somewhere once again.

So do tell me which picture is your favorite.(Mine is Lthrowing the ball for puppy M and the very first one)

(BTW I have added a Project Life post here )