yay! my first article as a freelance journalist is complete! hereunder an excerpt....
Majestic Muizenberg
With the faded opulence of its grand old manor houses lining the seafront, retro children’s playgrounds and vintage soft drink advertisements that have been bleached by the sun, Muizenberg wears its past on its sleeve and seems akin to stumbling upon a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party! One can easily imagine the sight of sun worshippers flocking to the beach in the past, tumbling out of their Beetles and Morris Minors enthusiastically, filled to the brim with giggles and soda bubbles, looking forward to family time spent together bathing on the beach. But the shadow cast by the developing city that caused an exodus of investors, home-makers and tourists, causing years of erosion in the seaside town, is slowly being illuminated by an influx of renewed passion for the area.
The curious thing about this town is that nothing is as it seems. Looking from the beachfront, you’ll be able to spot ‘The Majestic Café,' the old pharmacy and other die hards with their faded signage and aged facades. But if you had to set off on foot, you might just fall into a rabbit hole!
......A craft store across the way was filled with handmade objects, clothing, wool and eco conscious Christmas decorations. Another organic grocer with a small restaurant enclave stood next to it, with a selection of goods that burst with organic energy. I felt as though I’d found the pot of gold underneath Muizenberg’s rainbow, reminding me of what a resident had meant when they told me that Muizenberg simply refuses to conform to developers visions of its upliftment.There, hidden in the corners of this decadent relic of a former lifestyle, is where the artists have made their presence known, where the restauranteurs have contributed to an emerging café culture and where the spirit of Muizenberg flutters, like a rare butterfly.
