John Hairless...i mean ELLIS comes to town!

If you have nothing to do this Saturday evening, pull in to Unit 11 for some awesome tunes by one of Durban's and South Africa's finest musicians, John Ellis - a previous member of the well- remembered band Tree 63. He has recently embarked on a solo career and launched his first solo album which can be purchased on iTunes. Personally I loved the songs he performed when he fronted for Tree 63, so I cannot wait to hear some of the songs from his recent album.
 Opening for him are a local alternative-rock band who go by the name Superlative. These guys are making a steady rise in the band arena of Durbs so I recommend you come give your ears a taste of their music and show support for our local musicians.

Be there, or be adventure-less.

Everyone wants to be a Durban Kid.

Popular to contrary belief, I do actually love Durban a lot. Let me explain.

Many people have felt that I love Capetown more than Durban because I am always travelling there and I do talk about it a lot, and I tend to go on and on....and on. This is true. BUT - as much as I do love Capetown and would love to live there one day, Durban is and always will be my home, which is why I decided to dedicate a blog to just how great Durbs is ( and please notice how I have not yet dedicated a blog to Capetown).

I have possibly had the best past two weeks experiencing Natal and its rad-ness which all started off with a day at Midmar Dam.

There we were piled into a car, on our way to Tam Ballard’s birthday party at Midmar and (as to be expected), our road trip came with an adventure (which was actually just an epic fail).

So most of you should know that as you drive along the N2 and get past Hilton, there is an off ramp that specifically says MIDMAR on it and basically brings you directly to the dam. Well, my mate John* (this is so he doesn’t get embarrassed) was driving and ‘according to his directions’ we needed to take the off ramp just before that. Despite a car full of protests, he was set in his ways and proceeded to take us on some distant farm road which slowly but surely led us AWAY from the dam. Also a random guy in a car told us in Zulu that he was going to ‘shaya us’! Only after 15min of driving on an endless road did John agree to turn around and once we were happily back on the freeway he realised that had he listened to us, we would have gotten to Midmar in about 5min. [I would like to take this opportunity to point out the STUBBORNESS of men when it comes to driving, and yes that may be sexist but it’s true].

Anyway to cut a long story short the day was full of floating on lilo’s;  being pushed off of lilo’s; dipping our hair in the water and flinging it around while singing “ I whip my hair back and forth”(an annoyingly catchy song) ; eating burgers and grapes and cake and nice things; yachting; and taking lots of photos. Oh and playing ultimate ninja – hilarious! If you want to learn how to play this game(and you do) then click on the link! 

In other news though, we get home from our day at the dam and head off to watch Desmond and the Tutu’s, Coals of Juniper and Skylit City play at Unit 11. Have no idea what I am talking about? Let me just paint the picture for you:

A dodgy alleyway, a street full of the most awesome Durban peeps you’ll ever meet, lots of (sweaty) dancing people, and of course, music!!

So great, so indie, and so Durban. I really love my city.

I honestly have not had that much fun in a long time (you might laugh at that and think that I don’t get out much, but trust me, it was the vibe, oh wait, I mean, the VAAB).

By the way, if you are ever looking for something epic to do in Durbs and you aren’t really the clubbing type, then pull in to Unit 11, just off Stamford Hill Road every Thursday night for some table tennis, foosball, old school Nintendo and lovely acoustic sets.

It’s my new favourite hangout. I think I’m a little bit addicted actually. So come find me there!

Life is an adventure, and when it’s not, make it one!

{Above Photos by Matthew Knight}

Unit 11

What's the big fuss about overseas anyway?

In the last ten years I have witnessed eight of my friends pack up their homes, hop on a plane, and move to another country, on another continent. That's almost one friend a year, and at the rate it's going, I'm going to have no friends left by the time I'm thirty. Not ideal.

So lately I have been wondering what overseas has that South Africa doesn't have, because, in my eyes this country has everything and more and there is no other place like it in the world - obviously this is a massive claim seeing as I have only travelled to one other country in my entire life ( but this is because I am perfectly satisfied in my home land )

Anyway, I decided to explore the pro's and con's of life in South Africa versus life anywhere else, and after extensive 'research' ( ie asking people for their opinions and thoughts) this is what I came up with :

SOUTH AFRICA - PRO'S :

 

• Our rainbow nation - technically its not a rainbow (because it would be really strange if there were blue and purple people walking around), but basically every race and creed you can think of lives in SA. We're just that cool.
• Boerewors, biltong, and the best BRAAIS -no 'barbeque' could ever compete.
• We are home to the Big Five.
• We are the least prone to natural disasters like tornado's, hurricanes and earthquakes ( and lets be honest, nobody wants to live somewhere where they always need to be prepared to evacuate).
• The Springboks belong to us. Bam.
• We have a fantastic year -round climate which is accompanied by fantastic diverse people
• The cost of living here is low ( thank you foreign currencies)
• If you walk past a South African on the street, they will greet you even if they don't know you from a bar of soap.
• We have some beautiful landmarks and provinces namely - Table Mountain, the Midlands, the Drakensburg, the Kruger National Park, Oribi Gorge, the Bloukrans Bungee jump, the whole of the Western Cape, and the list goes on..

Basically I don't even need to continue because what you have just read is pure awesome-ness ( I know thats not a real word but it is honestly the best way to describe this country)

CON'S

• No place is perfect though and our country does have two big downfalls - namely the crime rate and the threat of Aids- which have caused people to leave and prevented people from moving here, but the way I see it, every country has its issues and we have to just accept that and enjoy all the good that South Africa has to offer - maybe even step up and do something about the issues that we like to complain about and run away from

Okay, now lets have a look at what the benefits and downfalls of moving overseas are...


 OVERSEAS - PRO'S

•  Um............
• Kidding! Money is definitely a pro. If you decide to live and work in Europe or the USA for a year, you'll come back to SA with tons of cash ( notice, you'll have to come back to SA.hah).
• It's a good way to experience different aspects of life, different enviroments, different climates, cultures and values.
• You get to meet a whole bunch of new people who will love your South African accent!

CON'S

• You're not living in South Africa!