Even though the Veuve Clicquot Polo Series Invitational has come and gone, I can still feel the hot sun on my skin, the bubbles tingling on my tongue and the smooth luxury ride to and from Val de Vie Estate.
Swedish car brand Volvo was the official vehicle of the event and embraced the opportunity to celebrate the fourth birthday of the arrival of the luxurious Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in South Africa.
I had the privilege of being chauffeur-driven to and from the event in true VIP style.
Sporting an emissions output of only 49 g/km, a pure-electric range of up to 44km and having been voted 2019’s Best Electrified Seven-Seater at the Driving Electric Awards, the Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine PHEV is tangible proof of Volvo’s go-green message.
The VIP luxury treatment continued throughout the day as we sipped on Veuve Clicquot champagne and rubbed shoulders with well-known South African personalities like celebrity TV stars, and Volvo brand ambassadors, Jessica Nkosi and Thapelo Mokoena.
Thapelo Mokoena. Picture: Supplied.
Volvo entertained their guests with a unique light installation aimed to encourage guests to “take the first step” towards making the planet more sustainable.
Volvo entertained their guests with unique light installation. Picture: Supplied
Toward the end of the afternoon, the company invited guests to contemplate the importance of green initiatives with them by means of a beautifully crafted ceremony.
Prominent Cape Town-based ballerina, Katherine Anderson, was seen dancing through the assembled guests, inviting all to exit onto the splendid patio. There, to the accompaniment of music specially crafted around a recording of Volvo’s eco-inspired pledges Jessica Nkosi and Thapelo Mokoena arrived chauffeured by two silent Volvo XC90 T8s driving in pure electric mode.
Ballerina, Katherine Anderson. Picture: Supplied
“In Sweden, there is a tradition that is enacted every afternoon where friends and loved ones join over something small to eat,” says Volvo’s head of marketing and communications, Charmagne Mavudzi. “It is a moment of self-reflection and connection. The Swedes call this special time fika.”
Jessica Nkosi. Picture: Supplied
Guests were honoured to be led through their own fika moment. While enjoying spekboom-infused cinnamon buns created by SA’s own celebrity chef Rueben Riffel, guests were called to contemplate their roles in humanity’s new green challenge.