Durban - Some call Logie Naidoo the "face of Durban", while others know him as "the party animal" and even "the fashionista".
But while he no longer has the title of The Speaker, and is not going to the City Hall every day and representing the municipality at functions, the invitations keep coming in, and Naidoo is still the VIP at parties, launches, award ceremonies and competitions.
"Yes, Logie lives, and I am still having a party," grinned the city's most famous Man About Town this week. "People still want me at their functions. They say I am a colourful personality and Durban is not the same without Logie at the function."
And everywhere he goes, people - including total strangers - want to take selfies with him.
"They just come up to me and say they want a selfie. I oblige, but I don't know who many of them are," he said.
He posts some of his partying and pictures on his Facebook page, which boasts some 6 000 followers.
Invitations are also coming in for his new role as a stand-up comedian, and after 20 years in public life - he was the former deputy mayor - he has picked up a "few jokes" on his travels, he says.
He recalls "bringing the house down" when he did a spot with Darren Maule of East Coast Radio fame at the Wild Coast Casino three months ago, which led to another appearance at the Thomas More College in Kloof with comedian Mark Banks last week.
"I don't charge; it is my contribution to society, and I do it to help organisations raise funds," he explained.
He does not mind it when programme directors pick on him at events either.
"One said: Logie doesn't go to city functions any more: he is in the UIF queue'."
And he loves every minute of socialising and attending events, although now, instead of being chauffeur-driven there in a city 5-series BMW or Toyota Prado (for out-of-city venues), he is driving himself in his nine-year-old Toyota Fortuner.
"You have got to love people and embrace all colours. It's all about social cohesion and understanding the likes and dislikes of every community. It's the diversity that I really enjoy," he says.
Naidoo is planning to write a book about his life and times, and his first big public speech is bound to feature.
It unfolded at an event when the American politician and civil rights activist, Andrew Young, was visiting the city, and Naidoo took to the stage to explain that he was from the sugar town of Tongaat, "and I am still getting used to the bright lights".
Naidoo soon got used to being in the spotlight, and has been on thousands of stages since then.
He has appeared in so many newspaper social pages that at one stage editors quietly told photographers not to put him in pictures, or if they did, to place him at the end of the line-up so he could be chopped off.
The good-humoured Naidoo knew all about the ruling though, and laughs when he recalls that one newspaper really messed up when they duly cut him out of the picture, but left his arm in.
"So everyone still knew I had been there," he quipped.
Event organisers often tried to persuade reporters to come to their functions, tempting them with "Logie Naidoo is coming".
He earned the "fashionista" accolade because of his snazzy outfits, and still has the green crocodile-patterned shoes that he wore when he turned model and took to the catwalk at a Durban fashion show.
"Young people say I am always styling," he confided.
With a still busy diary - which kicked off this week with an appearance at the Durban Bunny Chow Barometer competition - he does not envisage slowing down any time soon.
"I still have a lot of energy and time," he said at the KZN Growth Coalition breakfast summit this week, before he headed off to post the pictures on to his Facebook page.
Daily News