Getaway May 2022

It’s been easy to get bogged down. The last few years have seemed increasingly sodden, drenched in the global horror story that is climate change’s tipping point, suggesting a future so brutal most of us would rather sink our heads into the sand like birdbrain ostriches, or simply look the other way. It’s exhausting feeling overwhelmed, thinking the problem’s too large to face alone, feeling you’re the only person in your block who recycles or the only one still trying to save water. Even reading that Bill Gates book with the big, hopeful title, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, did nothing to instil a sense of hope; instead it deepened the malady, made me feel many billions of dollars short of the kind of cash required to undo the environmental…

Julienne du Toit WAITING FOR THE BLOUKOP KOGGELMANDER (P 76) Loxton, in the crook of the Upper Karoo, was made famous years ago by novelist Deon Meyer in his writings. But the little Northern Cape village has also been a long-time favourite stop-over for Getaway contributors Julienne du Toit and Chris Marais, the Karoo authors. ‘Someone once told us, very wisely, that it’s people who give you a town,’ says Julienne. ‘This is particularly true of Loxton. We enjoy the quiet streets but we mostly really like the locals. They are creative, full of humour and surprise. ‘They live in castles, have dancing statues on the veld, stage shows in the church hall, study riverine rabbits, paint up a storm and hang out at the local co-op. There’s a definite offbeat element to Loxton.’…

Midwest Tornado ‘We’re not in Kansas anymore,’ said Dorothy to Toto in The Wizard of Oz. And if you saw this Kansas monster barrelling in your direction, you’d be clicking your heels to get the hell out, too. Irresistibly photogenic from afar, this rotating thunderstorm – known as a supercell – threatens unmitigated terror as it sweeps across the prairies at the height of tornado season. Kansas is part of “Tornado Alley”, a region that takes the brunt of about 1 200 tornadoes that hit the US on average each year. Peak tornado season strikes the southern Great Plains of Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma in May and June, before moving to the northern Plains and upper Midwest in June and July. There truly is no place like home.…

During the Industrial Revolution, 100-HOUR work weeks with 12- to 16-hour shifts were standard. South Africa’s first May Day reportedly took place in 1895, organised by the Johannesburg District Trades Council. In 1919, the first trade union for BLACK WORKERS was set up, demanding a minimum wage and decent working hours. In New Zealand, you can earn yourself a 10% pay cut just by wearing a funny hat to work! Belgian workers, however, are legally entitled to a yearlong career break away from their job, on full pay. ‘It is high time to rid ourselves of the notion that leisure for workmen is either “lost time” or a class privilege,’ Henry Ford said in a 1926 interview. Our concept of the “weekend” only became part of the wider lexicon in 1879 – among industrial workers in…

NUY VALLEY FESTIVAL 14 May Near Worcester in the Western Cape, this outdoor festival in the oftoverlooked, yet idyllic valley celebrates the annual end of the harvest with some of the region’s award-winning wines and country food. Tickets: R50–R200s webtickets.co.za DESIGN JOBURG 19–21 May Considered Africa’s leading decor and design event, this year’s celebration of everything aesthetic rubs shoulders with the Hotel & Hospitality Show, all happening at the Sandton Convention Centre. Tickets: R130 designjoburg.com KLEINKAAP UNCORKED WINE FESTIVAL Gautengers 28 May Gautengers don’t always get to savour the Cape’s wines in their own backyard, so the Kleinkaap wine festival in Centurion is not to be missed. Expect various wines and live entertainment at the Kleinkaap Boutique Hotel. Tickets: R180 kleinkaap.co.za 420 BAKED BRUNCH JAM 29 May A cook-along experience sure to elevate you in more ways than one. Take a green culinary journey with experienced growers and…

Workers’ rights have usurped May Day’s more ancient origins, when the day was associated with the start of spring. This meant not protests but upbeat pagan festivals such as the Celtic festival of Beltane (still celebrated in Scotland) and the Germanic Walpurgis Night. The medieval tradition of the maypole dance was a popular frolic that persists – the pole may be either construed as phallic, or simply as a representation of a tree. May Day was also a day when couples would head off for a “roll in the hay” – a straight-out nod to the day’s promise of abundance, which in turn took on many libidinous associations. By the 1600s, many practices associated with May Day had become so debauched that it was being banned – the church called…