It comes easy – off to Darling, darling! Whether for a day trip or weekend getaway, the dorpie is about an hour’s drive up the R27 from Cape Town. Or up the N7 with a turn at Malmesbury. Or on the back roads via Atlantis and Mamre.
, a non-profit organisation that provides meals and food supplies to nearly 5,000 people each week.
It’s an old joke, but how many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? One, but the lightbulb must want to change. The same can be said for restaurant owners who’ve snuggled down into their nice comfortable ruts and pulled the blankets over their heads, still serving up the same dishes that have been on the menu for years, in restaurants with tired decor.
Being immersed in familiarity is one thing, but it’s not the thing to keep a business thriving, now more so than ever. The pandemic and all it brought with it knocked the restaurant industry for six. The recovery process is slow for them but also for diners who’ve weathered their own storms, loss of income, health fears and so on. Eating out is a privilege, and consumers are selective.
, a charitable trust that assists the Darling community.
Evita Bezuidenhout is an intrinsic part of South African history, and has been since the darkest days of apartheid, up till this very day – and many more in the future. Created by Pieter-Dirk Uys in the late 1970s, Tannie Evita, as she is affectionately known, made her home in Darling in 1996, at Evita se Perron alongside the train tracks running through the small Swartland town.
Comprising a museum, book shop, outdoor sculpture park, and theatre, the Perron was where Evita and her many friends hosted performances. Until March 2020, that is. Enter Hentie Van der Merwe and Frits Van Ryneveld, who are equal to the task of stepping into some very high heels.