Last Friday, two of us Cape Town Flowstars found ourselves in the New Kings Hotel reception in Sea Point, Cape Town, surrounded by a riot of comedians – riot being the operative word.
Excitement buzzed around the room – mixed with chatter, laughter and more puns than I have ever heard. Courtesy of City Sightseeing and Groot Constantia, the Jive Cape Town Funny Festival comedians were being treated to a day of food, wine and adventure on board the red bus.
Quathar and I were, of course, thrilled to be along for the ride.
We left Sea Point under blue skies with high spirits. But 10 minutes into the journey, we felt the first few drops … then a few more … Some of us more savvy Capetonians headed for cover immediately, but a brave few lingered on upstairs in hopes that the clouds would hold out.
It did, of course, absolutely pour.
But the amazing people at City Sightseeing, all too familiar with Cape Town’s erratic weather patterns, had come prepared and we each donned one of their signature red rain coats.
Once we arrived at the estate, we were greeted by a warm fire, and Grant Newton, the marketing manager at Groot Constantia. Grant led us through a tasting of four of their wines (their pinotage is the way to go, fyi).
Four glasses of wine in and things were starting to get a little rowdy, so Quathar and I decided that this was a good time to start doing interviews with the comedians.
Impromptu chats and laughs ... �� @JiveCTFunnyFest pic.twitter.com/0C16B6el2F
— CitySightseeing (@CapeTownRedBus) July 22, 2016
I say interview, but comedians don’t really answer questions so much as turn them into philosophical and/or inappropriate jokes.
Then it was on to lunch. Simon’s Restaurant (as always) had prepared a divine menu, improved only by more wine. Eddy Cassar took a moment to tell us a bit more about each of the comedians we were dining with, as well as to thank the key people behind the Jive Cape Town Funny Fest. Though at this point, we were all fairly well acquainted …
The magnificent #eddycassar holding court with the team. @JiveCTFunnyFest at @GrootConstantia with @CapeTownRedBus pic.twitter.com/0UbpO3WpAZ
— Mandi Jarman (@mandijarman) July 22, 2016
Before we knew it, we were heading back out to the bus. Goodbyes and thank yous all round.
And to quote J.K. Rowling:
“There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.”
― Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
I can confirm that laughter, and wine are two more of them.
