Because I'm a bit stressed out of my skull at the moment, I elected to have a small, intimate book launch among close friends and acquaintances at Roxy's Cafe on Dunkley Square in Gardens, near the Cape Town CBD. A word on Roxy's... It's one of the few venues in the Mother City that captures the spirit of the Cape Town I knew while growing up, and the Cape Town James Edward Guillaume of the Khepera series belongs to.
Bohemian doesn't even begin to do it justice. It's a mixture of Victoriana and retro, with that particular spirit of "hey, it's all good" which is peculiar to the late 1980s-1990s generation. (Yes, I'm that old).
Speaking of the spirit of a city that has inspired my writing, I wish to speak of a person, who pretty much summed up the soul of Long Street. I pause to remember Leonard Wichtman, aka Uncle Lenny, or the Metal Moffie, a rather colourful character and one who summed up the era I grew up in. He passed away last Thursday. I bumped into him only the day before, as I did almost every other day.
RIP, Lenny, you are much loved and sorely missed. You never had any ill to speak of anyone and even though you probably suffered a lot, you never complained. You never failed to cheer up my day and you always had a spare hug for me and a few words to make me smile. Travel safe, old friend. I will always hold a special place for you in my heart and trust me, I will find a way to immortalise you in my writing.
