In a world that has more than a fair share of bad luck stories, it's wonderful to be part of one that has done wonders for my faith in the integrity, honesty and kindness of others.
It was a typically wild Friday night, shared between Sutra and Deluxe - which has to be the insanest bar in town. Whenever I go there, the guys are feverishly mixing up new and exotic cocktails, like mad scientists in a secret laboratory. No wonder a person ends up doing silly things.
Back at Sutra, barman Dave surprised me with a pancake (the liquid kind). That brought back a rush of memories - endless afternoons at the Purple Turtle, when Paul was still there. He used to make us drink loads of those. A very tasty little mouthful.
Also tasty were the enormous silver platters of fresh fruit kebabs, courtesy of Brutal Fruit. Apparently there were girls giving massages too, but when we investigated, they'd closed up shop. And being national cleavage day, there were rumours that Wonderbras were being given away, but I didn't see that for myself.
Factor in the bubbly, the guys from the Met who have now learnt the joys of comfortable footwear, and darling Roxi who is a great person to have at your side when having fun, and it all adds up to a pretty hectic party.
Pride before a fall, Grandma used to say, and so it was. I lost my purse. I had no idea where or when, but it was gone. It was late, Sutra was just about empty and how was I going to get home with no taxi fare, damnit? And how stupid!
But being at Sutra is as safe as being at home. Good ol' Big Ben at the door stroked my hair and told me everything would be all right. Charles made sure I didn't lose my jacket as well as my money, which I was about to do. Someone else bought me a drink. Then along came Andrew (aka knight in shining armour).
As I told him my woes, he magically produced my purse. I'd dropped it in the cloakroom where Pearl - the amazing heroine of the night - had found it.
Really, what are the odds? Maybe I'm just jaded and cynical, but anyone could have picked up the purse (which has no cards or ID) and pocketed it. Nobody would have been any the wiser.
So...once again, a huge thank you to all the management and staff at Sutra, who were all so sweet and nice to this silly person. And thank you for the happy ending.
- Peter Abrahams presents House & Cookies at Vudu Lounge (Church Street) on Friday. The night has been developed to showcase up-and-coming female DJ talent in the underground house scene so cooking up the decks will be LadyM (Lacoza) and D-Jade (Marvel) with support from Peter A and Russell.
Entrance is free before 11pm and R30 after. E-mail [email protected] more details or contact the club hotline on 083 679 1196.
- There's a block party at Vudu Lounge every Wednesday with DJs Stretch and Avu and guests playing R&B and hip hop. What, you expected something else? Saturdays is Pimpology - "100% sexy R&B and slammin' hip hop". Doors open 10pm and more info on all these parties from the above cell number.
- After all that performance at Sutra on Friday night (technically Saturday morning), darling Big Ben took me off to 169 On Long, which was way overdue. There too, they tell me they care for their customers in every way, which is so reassuring. A special eye is kept on single women so they needn't ever worry about any kind of unwelcome attention. It's all so nurturing.
Tomorrow it's Wicked Wednesday - women get in free, guys pay R20 and drinks are half price. The dress code is smart casual and you can expect R&B tunes.
Friday is a Crazy, Sexy, Cool party. You get in free if you're on the database and to get there, you have to go tomorrow and sign up. Well, any Wednesday really. Sounds like a worthwhile deal.
Last but not least, Saturday is Soul Seduction Grooves with Ricky-D and Jazzy-T. For this one they'd like you to dress seductively, and pay R40 to get in.
- There's still one more short week coming up; next Tuesday is Freedom Day in case you haven't been paying attention. Brutal Fruit and G&G Pro will go all out for a Doctors & Nurses party at Rhodes House (Queen Victoria Street) on Monday, April 26.
Staff will be dressed to theme so that goes for you too. There will be a VIP area with massage booths. Doctors on call are Gareth D, Tobie Allen, Garth and Matt James. Entrance is R50, R70 VIP.
- Looking for something laid back on a Sunday? Zero932 in Green Point has relaunched its bar upstairs, called it Monk and launched Winter Chill Sessions (4 to 11pm).
Nick Matthews spins the tunes. This is not the same Nick Matthews from Purgatory. The Monk-Nick is from the UK, and started his career at The Pharmacy in London. The PR people say he plays deep broken beats, new jazz-house style with elements of disco.
Monk will also host Monday night cigar evenings, and Tuesdays will be Whisky of the World nights. The cocktail menu has a staggering (and so will you if you try them all) 150 drinks on it, and you can order up nibblies from the restaurant downstairs. More info from 021 439 6306 or www.zero932.com
- After another intoxicatingly successful outing last week, Flava once again goes for the double with a party at Sutra (Loop Street) on Monday, April 26 and another on the Wednesday. And tomorrow.
Seems the fans just can't get enough of those two sexy babes, Suga and Irma G. For next Monday's party, Brutal Fruit and Flava not only celebrate 10 years of freedom, but a little anniversary of their own: six months of Flava.
This special party will have Dr Jules as a guest and like all public holiday Flavas, a live performance from a surprise guest artist. It's a classy night for classy people, so show some style - there's gotta be some in that wardrobe somewhere.
- Afrophunk comes to Sutra on Friday, with Reagan Human, Clint Hill, Paul van Reenen, Scott Burton and Roscoe Gabriel.
"Yes, it is true, Afrophunk will be held at Sutra on the 23rd and probably for the rest of the winter season too," says Reagan.
After taking the plunge and throwing an Afrophunk last month at Baobab, he adds: "It was a great start to the year for us. Baobab turned out to be a great venue, packed to its capacity. The night was kicked off by one of Cape Town's house icons, Bruno Morphet, playing to an almost full club before 11pm. House reigned supreme on the night, track after track, cheer after cheer. A big thank you has to go out to everybody who attended the event and who made it special for me and my crew.
"We've been hard at work getting the second together. We set the benchmark after a successful launch, so this one's going to rock...and how!
"Sutra sees the unveiling of our new theme for 2004, Diggin' Deep. It's an ethic we've adopted for ourselves as far a planning and sound - that is, music - is concerned.
Unfortunately we bid farewell to Roscoe, who's off to the UK, and say welcome to Scott Burton who's back from the UK.
"Scott's promised to play us a bag of new tracks, which has got me excited."
On Saturday it's the last Stereotribe for the season, with audio elders Dean Fuel, Dino Moran and guests. They call it Hakuna Matata - The Hibernation Party.
More info from the super-duper Robin Etter on 021 422 4218 or email [email protected]
- On Friday, Fly Deluxe with Johnny Paps, Jack Gorton and Bruno Morphet with funky, deep, sexy tunes at Deluxe (Longmarket Street). Saturday is Destination Deluxe with featuring Johnny Paps, Jack Gorton and Charl Chaka, who play funky and uplifting tunes. Be careful of the cocktails. Or not.
- The Comedy Allstars perform at Eclipse tonight (Victoria Road, Camps Bay). Cokie Falkow is MC-ing, with top Jozi comedian Rob Fridge flying down to headline the show with some other great comedians.
"We also have SKY 189 performing. He's a freestyle rapper who spits out hilarious, impromptu rhymes," says the e-mail.
"The show starts at 8pm, and Leighton will be on the decks dropping some hip-hop after the show for a bit of a comedy afterparty." Entrance is free. If you heard about Leighton at last weekend's Foo, then you're gonna get down there, like now.
- Tomorrow is Crazy Wednesday at Fubar (Main Road, Claremont) with the spin and win game. Funky Al and Jon will be on the decks spinning contemporary and old skool R&B, hip hop and funky/commercial house. Doors open at 9.30pm and entrance is free.
F.U.B. Fridays at Fubar begin with a two-for-one happy hour and things have been made more exciting with an upgraded sound system, podium dancers, special "fire" lighting effects and a midnight lucky number prize give-away. David, Funky Al and Danger Boy Jon spin R&B, hip-hop and funky-house party anthems as well all the latest SA and UK top 40 dance tunes. Entrance is free and doors open at 9.30pm.
- Send party information and random acts of kindness to [email protected](no attachments) by Friday noon. Get your stuff for May to me this week as well, because I'm taking a holiday from next week.