The Summer issue of Stellenbosch Visio magazine has hit the shelves. Editor France Beyers reflects on the fascinating stories and characters that make this edition unique, and the joys of rediscovery that come from travelling through our lovely country.
I have just returned from a blissful week of hiking along the spectacular Pondoland coastline. Our delightful local tour guides entertained us with stories of the region and taught us much about their culture and the shore. They made me realise once again what a diverse and beautiful country we are so lucky to be living in.
Like the Pondoland seaboard, Stellenbosch is blessed with unparalleled natural beauty and cultural riches. Our memories come in many shapes and forms. For young Cape artist Igshaan Adams, who is already enjoying international acclaim, humble linoleum flooring bears witness to the people whose imprints it recorded and, through them, to the history of his community.
In Stellenbosch, a visit to Studio Lockley takes you time-travelling through 150 years of the town’s history. Throughout the years, the great, the good and the otherwise designated all went to this studio to have their image captured. The framed prints on the studio’s walls are eloquent reminders of the people who helped shape our town.
Memories come not only in the form of official portraits. We all have our little archives of jumbled-together black-and-white snapshots and fading colour prints stored away in boxes. During the hard lockdown, I shared memories on social media of old print photographs I had joyfully ‘rediscovered’. For me, this sparked a project to preserve all those precious memories in digital format.
Many of my friends said they, too, experienced the power of nostalgia to lift their spirits during dark times and they, like me, wanted to organise their visual memories. But it would be a daunting task, we all agreed, and one better left to professionals. In response to this need, Tip Africa Publishing – the publisher of Stellenbosch Visio – has developed a service to help you organise and preserve in digital format your visual memories, be they print photographs or VCR videos. Read more about this very useful service.
The past is only the present in transition, as Kerneels Breytenbach found out when he recently spent a weekend in Stellenbosch to see if the town of his student days still held the same appeal. Read more about this enchanting experience. Hermanus has its own charms, from whale-watching to taking afternoon tea at a grand old hotel, and Richard Holmes was only too glad to succumb to them.
Mens moet ook nie so na die vertes en die verre verlede staar dat jy nie die wondere hier by jou voete raaksien nie. Lees gerus wat Dave Pepler oor die “soprane van die modder” geskryf het. Jy kan self ook harte laat sing met die onvergeetlike geskenke wat Stellenbosch Visio gaan uitsoek het, idees wat jou kan help om ekstra feestelikheid aan hierdie seisoen te verleen.
Aan die einde van ’n bitter moeilike jaar wil ek graag baie dankie sê vir jou steun aan Stellenbosch Visio. Mag dit vir almal ’n geseënde somer en feestyd wees.