True Story - Dr James Barry Cape Town Launch

Dr James Barry

A Woman Ahead of Her Time

Michael du Preez and Jeremy Dronfield

The remarkable story of the extraordinary woman

who defied her times by living as a man

Lunch at Buitenverwachting Restaurant

Thursday 24 November at 12 noon for 12h30

Guest speaker, author Michael du Preez graduated from medical school in 1958 and went on to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. Since retiring in 2001, he has spent over a decade researching the life of Dr James Barry. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Jeremy Dronfield is a writer, biographer and novelist. He lives in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

About the book

Dr James Barry: Inspector General of Hospitals, army surgeon, duellist, reformer, lady killer, eccentric. He performed the first Caesarean in Africa, was deported from St Helena and gave Florence Nightingale a dressing down in the Crimea. At home, he was surrounded by a menagerie of

animals, including a cat, a goat, a parrot and half a dozen small terriers. Long ago, in Cork, Ireland, he had also been a mother.

The amazing true story of Margaret Ann Bulkley, the young woman who broke the rules of Georgian society to become one of the most respected surgeons of the century. Her life became one long, audacious act of deception that saw her rise to positions no woman had ever reached

before, but it also left her isolated, even costing her the chance to be with the man she loved.

Chef Edgar Osojnik will be working his magic in the kitchen and Lars Maack’s elegant Buitenverwachting wines will delight.

The cost of the lunch is R300 per person inclusive.

Please call Sandy on 021 685 8016 or email sandybailey@tekomsa.net for more information.

Some UK reviews:

Irish Independent

‘Fascinating’

Daily Mail

'An astounding story – of obstinacy, ambition, genius, fearlessness and

pioneering feminism.'

Lunch with Helen Zille at Buitenverwachting

Launching Helen Zille’s Autobiography

One of the most important political autobiographies

to be published in many years

Join us at Buitenverwachting Restaurant

Meet Helen Zille

Thursday 13 October at 12 noon for 12:30

Guest Speaker Helen Zille said the following about her planned biography: “It is a lot of fun, and a great challenge to write a book that weaves together my personal life story with the political transformation of the country.”

About the book:

Helen Zille’s long-awaited autobiography is one of the most fascinating political stories of our time.

Zille takes the reader back to her humble family origins, her struggle with anorexia as a young woman, her early career as a journalist for the Rand Daily Mail, and her involvement with the End Conscription Campaign and the Black Sash. She documents her early days in the Democratic Party and the Democratic Alliance, at a time when the party was locked in a no-holds-barred factional conflict. And she chronicles the intense political battles to become mayor of Cape Town, leader of the DA and premier of the Western Cape, in the face of dirty tricks from the ANC and infighting within her own party.

This is a story about political intrigue and treachery, floor-crossing and unlikely coalitions, phone tapping and intimidation, false criminal charges and judicial commissions. It documents Zille’s courageous fight against corruption and state capture and her efforts to realign politics and entrench accountability. And it describes a mother’s battle to raise children in the pressured world of South African politics.

This book is as frank, honest and unflinching as Helen Zille herself, and will appeal to anyone interested in the story of South African politics over the past fifty years.

Chef Edgar is excited to be hosting Helen Zille and is planning a menu par excellence to be accompanied by Buitenverwachting’s superb wines.

Tickets are R300 per person

Early booking is suggested, for more information or to book, please contact Sandy by telephone  on 021 685 8016 or sandybailey@telkomsa.net

“The memoir of Helen Zille is the most anticipated political biography in South Africa, and Penguin Random House South Africa (PRHSA) is immensely honoured to be this iconic politician’s publisher of choice.” 

Spring lunch with Chantell Ilbury

Welcome to the Age of the Fox


Spring Lunch ~ Buitenverwachting Restaurant

Thursday 1 September 12 noon for 12h30

Guest Speaker ~ Chantell Ilbury

A Fox’s Tale is loaded with strategic insight, yet often reads like an adventure

novel, rich with humour and entertaining anecdotes.

Sit down with one of Africa’s most creative strategic minds, and really get to know her and how she thinks … In this book, and for the first time, Chantell Ilbury – bestselling business author, renowned scenario strategist and speaker – tells her remarkable story. It covers her formative years in a country at war, her early days as an educator and entrepreneur, the roots of her successful partnership with Clem Sunter, and what she has learned steering the executive-level strategies of global organisations and some of the biggest names in business.

Buitenverwachting Restaurant re-opens after its winter break and Chef/Patron Edgar Osojnik has created a special gourmet lunch which will be accompanied by Buitenverwachting’s elegant wines.

The cost is R300 per person fully inclusive. Please book early for this event as it is bound to popular.  Telephone 021 685 8016 or email sandybailey@telkomsa.net

Cape Town Launch - Sam Cowen's Great New Book

Cape Town Launch

 From Whiskey to Water

Sam Cowen

From Whiskey to Water is the no-holds-barred memoir by one of

South Africa’s most loved radio talk show hosts, Sam Cowen.

When                           Thursday 11 August 12 noon for 12:30

Where                          Jonkershuis, Groot Constantia

Guest Speaker             Sam Cowen

Sam Cowen is the longest-running female morning show host in the country, having worked Joburg’s biggest breakfast show on 94.7 for over 18 years with radio icons Jeremy Mansfield and Darren Whackhead Simpson. In 2015 she replaced Jenny Crwys-Williams on the wildly popular 1pm–3pm slot on 702.  She currently co-hosts the Weekend Breakfast Show on 702/Cape Talk with Africa Melane. Sam is also the bestselling author of Waiting for Christopher and Good Enough Mother, two popular books on motherhood.

Recently launched in Johannesburg the book is flying off the shelves and has just gone into its second reprint due to overwhelming demand…

Having kept her alcohol addiction well away from the public eye for over 14 years, in this tell-all tale Sam finds the courage to talk about her struggle with her addiction to whiskey, food and finally to a passion that saved her life – marathon swimming. Told in her characteristically hilarious dead-pan style, this is one of the bravest books you’ll read this year.

“So this is a book on how I stopped drinking? No, it’s not. It’s how I stopped drinking, started eating, became clinically severely obese, stopped eating (everything that wasn’t nailed down) and swam my way to freedom. No, it’s not. It’s actually about addiction and learning and sadness and anxiety and love and drive. It’s about channelling the unchangeable into the miraculous. It’s about dragons and learning how to put them to sleep when you can’t slay them. It’s about being my own Daenerys.”

The Jonkershuis did us proud when we met there for our July meeting. The delicious menu will be accompanied by great wines from Groot Constantia.

The price per person fully inclusive is R300.

Please either telephone or email for further information or to book 021 685 8016 sandybailey@telkomsa.net  

ISBN 987-1-920601-72-0 

Launching Gavin Rich's ~ The Springbok Coaches

                                                                                                      

Launching

Fascinating and revelatory

Well worth the read – John Mitchell

When               Thursday 21 July 12 Noon for 12h30

Where              Jonkershuis – Groot Constantia

Speaker            Gavin Rich

In the middle of an exciting Rugby season;  the Springboks beat Ireland in a nail-biting series and Super Rugby is drawing to a nail biting close; the guest speaker will answer questions and give us the low down.

Gavin Rich is an award-winning rugby writer who is ideally placed to write about the post-isolation Springbok coaches. He covered the first tour in 1992 and has remained on the beat ever since, a period of 24 years. His observations of the coaches as senior rugby correspondent for Supersport.com, the Weekend Argus and other publications such as SA Rugby Magazine.  Rich is the author of former Bok Coach Peter de Villiers’ best-selling autobiography, Politically Incorrect and Mitch, The Real Story, the autobiography of John Mitchell. He is a Rhodes University Alumni.

A fan of Gavin Rich’s rugby writings, Sandy feels that we couldn't have chosen anybody better placed to write The Springbok Coaches. A riveting and controversial read!

Was Coach Heyneke Meyer the reason the Springboks failed at the 2015 Rugby World Cup? What does the future have in store for the incumbent coach, Allister Coetzee?  In this new, updated edition of The Poisoned Chalice, rugby writer Gavin Rich takes us past the disappointment of the 2015 Rugby World Cup right up to the appointment of Allister Coetzee in April 2016, and dissects not only the successes and failures of these two Springbok coaches, but of all the post-isolation coaches who preceded them.

JONKERSHUIS

c o n s t a n t i a   e a t e r y

 The delicious two course menu including service and wine will cost you R300

Sauvignon/Semillon 2015

The ripe fruit flavours of the Sauvignon Blanc follows on the palate,

while the Semillon adds body to the wine and gives it a long finish.

 Merlot 2013

A multi layered Merlot that shows flavours of mulberry,

raspberry, plums and hints of spices on the nose.

.

Please either telephone or email Sandy for more information or to book 021 685 8016 or sandybailey@telkomsa.net   ~  Seating is limited.

June 2016 Lunch - Feedback

Cathy Marston, Sandy and Lucy Corne

The June luncheon was a lively affair with the craft beer winning the 1st course and the wine winning the 2nd Course.  Great fun and we learnt so much! Buitenverwachting's Christine was paired with the Fillet. Superb wine.

Great Lunch - Book Launch - Beer v Wine Contest

                                                                                                  

Guest Speakers 

Cathy Marston – Wine Fundi   ~   Lucy Corne – Craft Beer Fundi

Hosting a contest of pairing one wine and one beer with each of Chef Edgar's

delicious courses during this entertaining and informative luncheon.

When              Thursday 9 June  

                       12 noon for 12h30 (starting promptly)

Where             Buitenverwachting Restaurant

Both  guest speakers have written books on their subjects.  The luncheon provides us with a unique opportunity to enjoy an amazing food and beverage experience in a fun, unique and relaxed setting.

Wine writer, wine teacher and Platter’s Wine Guide Taster Cathy Marston doesn’t believe in being a wine snob! In her first book, Love Your Wine: she enables us to get to grips with what we are drinking and takes wine drinkers on an introductory wine course.

Cathy Marston has written a book for anyone who answers yes to any of these questions:

•           Ever felt patronised by a waiter because of your wine choice?

•           Been on the sharp end of comments about your taste in wine: “Pink wine, really?”

•           Had your pronunciation of wine terms corrected?

•           Confused about whether it’s OK to drink red wine with pasta?

•           Had that uncomfortable feeling you’ve been conned into paying too much for a bottle of wine in a restaurant?

She reminds us: “The real secret of wine success is that the more you drink, the more you

know, admittedly, the less you probably remember, but hey, you can’t have everything.”

Lucy Corne is a beer Fanatic, a certified beer judge and a hophead of note. She writes about

beer, food and travel for magazines, websites, books and newspapers around the world, and

also pens a popular blog on the South African beer scene – www.brewmistess.co.za

Following the success of African Brew, the first ever book to showcase the South African

craft beer scene, beer-centric author Lucy Corne is back with a second homage to hops and

grain her newly launched Beer Safari. Join her on a nationwide ale trail, stopping for a taster 

in every brewery along the way, from stouts in Struisbaai to blonde ales in Bela-Bela; 

Beer Safari showcases South African craft beer and includes the Brewers’ stories, their often 

quirky brewing setups and of course all you need to know about their beers.

Chef Patron Edgar Osojnik has created a delicious menu:

 Amuse Bouche

Roast Cold Tomato Soup

Broiled halloumi, pesto, smoked garlic,

Semi-dried baby tomato, chorizo, basil & crostini chip

Starter

Buiten smoked Norwegian Salmon on “Cream Cheese-Butternut Crème Brule

Toasted bagel, red onions, lemon-sour cream, deep fried capers, sweet & sour pickled cucumber,

Soft-boiled quail egg, green apple

Main Course

Edgar’s Wellington Style Beef Fillet

Wild pepper demi-glace, roasted sweet corn puree, parsley–pancetta

Friandises & Filter Coffee

Buitenverwachting Wines – Craft Beers TBA

The price per person fully inclusive is R300; Payable at the Restaurant.

Email sandybailey@telkomsa.net or telephone 021 685 8016 for more information or to book.

________________________________________________________________________

I AM NO ONE - PATRICK FLANERY - REVIEW

Everybody enjoyed meeting Patrick Flanery at the May luncheon, his talk was informative and warm.

I found his book intriguing.  Professor Jeremy O'Keefe has returned to New York to take up a professorship at New York University after having spent 10 years at Oxford as a sounding Fellow and University Lecturer at one of Oxford's older Colleges.

He finds his time at Oxford lonely and the journey through his 10 years there reveal his friendships and romances none of which solve his loneliness and isolation.

His return to New York affords him the opportunity of repairing his relationship with his daughter who has married a successful magazine publisher. She and her husband are both successful and well connected, they entertain lavishly.

It is whilst living in New York that his last romance at Oxford comes back to haunt him.  'Big Brother' is watching and the ensuing happenings leave him fearful and paranoid...  What is happening? Is he going mad?

Beautifully written it is a good read which leaves the reader looking over their shoulder in this post-Snowden era...

Richard Kramer,  Diedre Shultz and Patrick Flanery

_________________________________________________________________________________

Launching - I Am No One - Patrick Flanery

An exciting book - An exciting Author

Launching

I Am No One explores the tenuous link between fear and paranoia in our post-Snowden lives;

a world of surveillance and self-censorship, where privacy no longer exists and our freedoms

are inexorably eroded.

Wednesday 11 May 2016 at 12 noon for 12h30

Buitenverwachting Restaurant

Guest Speaker; Patrick Flanery

Set in the post-Snowden era of creeping surveillance of ordinary citizens and everyday life,

I Am No One explores how a world without privacy is a world without freedom of expression.

Jeremy O'Keefe, a middle-aged Professor of History, returns to his native New York after a decade teaching at Oxford, hoping to reconnect with his daughter and rebuild the life he left behind. He settles into the rhythm of a too-empty life, long evenings alone after a day teaching students he barely knows. Then a strange encounter with a young man who presumes an acquaintance he doesn't remember and a series of disconcerting events leave him with a growing conviction that he is being watched. The pale young man keeps appearing, a haunting figure lingers outside his apartment at night, and then mysterious packages begin to arrive.

As his grip on reality seems to shift and turn, Jeremy struggles to know whether he can believe what he is experiencing or whether his mind is in the grip of an irrational obsession.

Guest Speaker Patrick Flanery

Patrick was born in California in 1975 and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. He studied Film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and earned a Ph.D. in Twentieth-Century English Literature at the University of Oxford. He contributes articles to a number of academic journals and he has written for Slightly Foxed, the Daily Telegraph and The Times Literary Supplement. He has published two novels to critical acclaim, Absolution in 2012 and Fallen Land in 2013. He lives in London.  He will be in Cape Town for a short time to launch his new novel I Am No One. 

The price per person for a delicious luncheon accompanied by elegant Buitenverwachting wines is R300 fully inclusive.

For more information or to book email sandybailey@telkomsa.net or telephone 021 685 8016 .

UK Reviews:

"Patrick Flanery’s topical, multi-layered novel probes the ubiquitous culture of surveillance today and its potential ramifications for a democratic society. .... A masterful plot, a terrifying subject, and a gripping read. .... It is clear where Flanery’s sympathies lie – in the words of one character: 'A country without privacy is a country without freedom.'"

— Lucy Popescu, The Independent on Sunday

“A passionate, gripping, brilliantly voiced and scintillatingly intelligent novel about that cancer afflicting modern democratic states -- the surveillance of its own people. ... I Am No One will get under your skin … and have you looking over your shoulder.”

 – Neel Mukherjee

Lunch at Buitenverwachting - Thursday April 7

Guest Speaker Professor Ben Turok - South Africa Today

Buitenverwachting Restaurant 

12 noon for 12h30

Thursday 7 April 2016

Ben Turok is an intellectual, who has written prodigiously on politics, economics and development. He has also served the struggle for national liberation for over 60 years. He served for two decades as a member of Parliament and provides a vivid sense of working inside it.

Prof Turok will be introducing us to his book Changing the Colour of Capital ~ Essays in Politics and Economics ~  it is a wide-ranging collection of essays addressing many of the basic questions about policy-making and transformation in South Africa today. If you have an interest in law and politics, South Africa’s political economy and the processes of policy-making in a parliamentary context, this is an essential read.

Contributors include Trevor Manuel, Rob Davies, Jeremy Cronin, Ben Turok, Philisiwe Buthelezi, Adekeye Adebajo, Enver Daniels, Cassius Lubisi and Richard Levin.

This book reflects his engagement with politics and with ideas; it is based on a series of lectures that were delivered during a course entitled “Political Economy of South Africa – Current Debates”.

In the current hurly burly of South African politics we certainly need to hear a sane and informed opinion on South Africa Today.  His talk is inspirational; it is a privilege to host him at Thursday Club. 

Good to be back at Buitenverwachting where talented Chef Edgar Osojnik will be creating delicious treats for our lunch,   Buitenverwachting’s elegant wines will accompany the repast.

The price per person fully inclusive is R300.

Restaurant Manager Etienne Borman is unable to give us the use of the whole Restaurant so please make your booking early.  Reply by email sandybailey@telkomsa.net or telephone 021 685 8016 for more information or to book.

An Exceptional and Unforgettable Book and Lunch

Luncheon – Thursday 3 March 2016

Guest Speaker - Steven Robins

12 noon for 12h30

Catharina’s at Steenberg

Launching

‘This is a most exceptional and unforgettable book’ – Antjie Krog

Steven Robins is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at the University of Stellenbosch. He has written on a wide range of topics, including the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the politics of land and identity, and social movements and popular politics in South Africa. Apart from his academic writings, Steven also is a regular newspaper op-ed contributor on issues of public concern.

As a young boy growing up in Port Elizabeth in the 1960s and 1970s, Steven Robins was haunted by an old photograph of three unknown women on a table in the dining room. Steven became obsessed with finding out what happened to the women but had little to go on.  

Letters of Stone tracks Steven’s journey of discovery about the lives and fates of the Robinski family, in southern Africa, Berlin, Riga and Auschwitz. It also explores the worldwide rise of eugenics and racial science before the war, which justified the murder of Jews by the Nazis and caused South Africa and other countries to close their doors to Jewish refugees

Lunch is at Catharina’s at Steenberg which serves up contemporary comfort food, presented beautifully by Executive Chef Garth Almazan.  He will be creating 2 courses especially for this lunch which will be accompanied by the elegant Klein Steenberg Sauvignon Blanc and the flavourful and full bodied Klein Steenberg Cabernet Sauvignon.

Price per person is R325 per person inclusive.

To book please email sandybailey@telkomsa.net or telephone 021 685 8016 seating is limited so first come first served.

   

 Letters of Stone

Published by Penguin Random House South Africa       







           

Ferial Haffajee Introduces her First Book

                                                                                                                 

Luncheon – Wednesday 27 January 2016

Guest Speaker- Ferial Haffajee

12 noon for 12h30

at

Kelvin Grove

Ferial Haffajee is one of South Africa’s thought leaders and social commentators, who effectively uses her media platform to raise and discuss issues pertinent to the state of the nation. She is the editor-in-chief of City Press newspaper.

Ferial sits on the boards of the World Editors Forum and the International Press Institute. She is the lead judge of the CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Awards and has won several local and international awards, related to media freedom and independence as well as for her reporting. Ferial lives in Johannesburg and What if there were no whites in South Africa?  is her first book.

In What if there were no whites in South Africa? Ferial Haffajee examines South Africa’s history 

and present in the light of a provocative question that yields some thought-provoking discussion and analysis.

From round-table discussions with influential South Africans to research, personal thoughts and powerful anecdotes, Ferial takes the reader through the rocky terrain of race rage in our country and grapples with what it means to be South African in 2015.

It is the story of her experiences, it is the consultation with experts in their field, I think it is a must read for all South Africans.

Haffajee says in her preface “I prefer to think of this as a love song to a Mzansi I love dearly and 

as an attempt to see the possible.”  I have long been an admirer of her courage and her objectivity.  You decide.

A delicious two-course meal followed by coffee will cost R225.  An open bar will be available. 

Telephone or email Sandy to book or for more information  -  021 685 8016 or sandybailey@telkomsa.net