Andrew Boraine » History and Memory

Cape Town’s Reclaim Camissa Project puts social media tools to good use

Andrew — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:53:05 +0000

“CAMISSA, meaning ‘the place of sweet waters’ is the ancient Khoi name for Cape Town. Embedded, lost and obscured within the city’s fabric this vital ecological and cultural link still exists….”

The Reclaim Camissa Project, a citizen activation project to investigate, document and restore vital ecological and cultural heritage links between…

Mouille Point – what’s in a name?

Andrew — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:50:59 +0000

While the Sea Point Promenade ranks as one of the best public spaces in Cape Town, my personal preference is for its slightly scruffy and less well known neighbour – the Mouille Point promenade and beachfront.

I have often wondered how Mouille Point got its name, so I started doing some…

Come rain or come shine… we walk the city to discover our history

Andrew — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:06:59 +0000

I took a group of 25 international journalists on a walking tour of the Cape Town Central City this morning. The weather was awful, a typical wet Cape winter’s day, but true to our motto – we walk, come rain or shine – we set off in good spirits. The group is…

Athlone Towers – a giant new opportunity for a different approach to city building?

Andrew — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 07:17:37 +0000

When our boys were small, their name for the Athlone cooling towers was the ‘giant’s coffee cups’. Located near the N2 highway out of Cape Town, the ‘coffee cups’ usually signified the start of a holiday weekend out of town, or the end of a long tiring journey home.

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A Ripple of Hope – Reflections on Robert Kennedy’s 1966 visit to South Africa

Andrew — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:58:42 +0000

For many years, an old LP recording of a speech by Robert Kennedy in Cape Town in 1966 lay around our family home. I never realised its significance until I saw RFK in the Land of Apartheid – A Ripple of Hope at the opening night of the…

The UDF was born in song

Andrew — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:52:32 +0000

Steve Gordon’s moving tribute to the late Robbie Jansen in the Mail and Guardian this weekend (The last blow for freedom) reminded me just how important music was to the culture and ethos of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Cape Town in the 1980s.

Who can forget…

The ‘unhappy compromise’ shows signs of coming of age

Andrew — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 06:05:54 +0000

The Cape Town Foreshore has been described as an ‘unhappy compromise’ resulting in series of ‘wind-blown stretches of asphalt and concrete, filled with car parks and roaring traffic, inaccessible to pedestrians.’* Yet on a still winter’s morning, in the early dawn light, on foot, the Foreshore can almost be beautiful.…

Cape Town Squared (or how some of our most valuable public assets are not being properly used)

Andrew — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:17:27 +0000

Do you remember the popular zebra artworks dotted around public spaces in Cape Town during the World Cup? Well, they’ve now migrated to the Artscape Piazza on the Foreshore.

The 33 zebras form an exhibition entitled ‘Not all is Black and White’, by the World for All…

Storming the ramparts: How the Castle of Good Hope can become part of city life

Andrew — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:47:22 +0000

One of the good things about hosting a large global event like the 2010 World Cup is the way we were able do things that previously seemed impossible. Like regular road closures to create safe pedestrian spaces, reliable public transport, dressing the city in bright colours, colourful wall murals and outdoor advertisements,…

Ten reasons why the Cape Town 2010 Fan Walk worked so well

Andrew — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:46:34 +0000

The Cape Town Fan Walk has become one of the talking points of Cape Town’s World Cup experience. The editorial in today’s Cape Argus described it as a ‘masterstroke’. John Robbie of 702 Talk Radio asked me yesterday to what we as a city owed the success of the Fan…