Two bus-loads of Grade Eleven English enthusiasts slouched through Victoria Park’s gates at an ungodly hour, slurping on their vices of caffeine. After hurried farewells and empty promises to behave, we voyaged to the petrol station and waited for the follower of something even less progressive than African Time; Samuel! Late as usual!

With one bus blowing a tyre and another’s battery dying, along with an incomplete emergency kit, I must say that the morality of our country certainly can’t be questioned, because not even fifteen schoolgirls could manage wave down a helpful motorist. It was by some miracle that we eventually reached the 1820 Settler National Monument just outside Grahamstown.

In true Victorian punctuality, we snuck into the auditorium to catch the end of a cabaret, which isn’t all bowler hats and garters but rather a paradoxical take on current events. We launched into our workshops, where we learnt the importance of effective physical expression before an audience, what music can stimulate within us, the masterpieces that free writing gives birth to, all presented by very colourful people from Rhodes University. It seems liberal language, impulsive shouting and pink hair is the norm. We also had the opportunity of witnessing the performances of a monologue and abstract dancing. We learnt that with art, you must learn to patiently interpret others’ if you wish the same to be done with yours.

The catering at the festival and boarding house, where we had taken up residence, was perfectly satisfactory but Steers still made a small fortune out of us that night. We were later deserted by two of our chaperones who went to visit ‘relatives’ until all hours of the morning. Luckily they were in top form when we had to push the bus up numerous hills in a hope to get the battery going.

Building on what we had learnt the day before, sharing it with each other, interacting with students from other schools, it was a slightly woeful thing to leave the dark basements, loud auditoriums, colourful halls and vast lecture rooms for the civilisation of home. However one thing I take with me, is if we dare to break the rules of normality that bind us, we may actually come to create something of uncharacteristic excellence.

Michelle Nowers
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Last year a group of twenty-five grade 11′s attended the Eastern Cape Schools Festival in Grahamstown. So this year, nine enthusiastic Matrics decided to go on a quest to revive their artistic side again…only this time it was BIGGER and BETTER!

The festival was held from the 6th to the 11th of July and each day was jam-packed with activities. Our programme started with a little tour around Grahamstown and later registration and accommodation at Rhodes University where we received great hospitality and had a taste of res-life. Our keynote speaker for the official opening of the festival was S.A.’s best story teller, Gcina Mhlophe, who delivered a captivating speech and of course autographs were in order later on. From then on it was non-stop fun…There were twenty-two workshops on offer consisting of poetry sessions, contemporary and gumboot dancing, capoeira, acting, radio and television studio workshops and much more! We also had a chance to appreciate the beauty and art of theatre where we were entertained by many actors “Biko, living Here”, “The quiet Violence of dreams”, “Original Skin” and “Impisi”. Each production was exhilarating and intriguing in its own right and left us with thought-provoking messages. We even met a few celebrities, namely Lebo Mashile and Antonio Lyons. All in all, we were never bored and in between all of that, the chilly weather of Grahamstown soon became home away from home. There’s nothing worse than bad food when you’re traveling, but Rhodes must be commended for catering excellent meals each day-our appetites were well taken care of.

The festival was sponsored by Standard Bank and like their slogan says, we were indeed “Inspired, Motivated, Involved”. Our gratitude goes to Ms Meyer, Ms Kendall and Mr Snodgrass for breaking away from their holiday and giving us an opportunity to meet new people from all over the country and be consumed in the passion of the arts.

So what do you get when you mix over twenty schools, nine jubilant Matrics, three cool teachers, one dented bus and a bowl of laughter? Well, I’d say…an awesome trip!

Yakupa Mdodana

Twenty-two Victorians could not wait for the end of the first term so that we could embark on the experience of a lifetime! We joined forces with fifty other folk from Muir, Riebeek, Despatch and Brandwag for an educational tour through Europe.

The trip started with a train ride from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg. A month before departure the railway changed its schedule and the group was subjected to a “sitting” coach, but in true VP style the touring party made the most of it and socialized through the night. By the time we arrived in Johannesburg new friendships had been forged and we were raring to go. After a night in Pretoria our coach dropped us off at the Oliver Tambo international airport. Jaws dropped when we saw the huge numbers of people who travel internationally! Our wait in the queue was made interesting by the presence of “Matrone” from the “Sewende Laan” soapie.

The Qatar Airlines flight to Munich, via Doha, was superb. We were spoilt to each have our own personal TV screen and a huge choice of movies, music and in-flight games. The food was great! Doha Airport is ultra-modern and gave us a small peep into the state of the art facilities Europe has to offer. The only thing we did not get enough of on our journey was sleep. We were a tired bunch of tourists that arrived in Munich early in the morning and set off immediately to see what Germany had to offer. The beautiful old buildings and the quaint Glockenspiel enthralled us in our visit to the Marienplatz. We then visited the notorious Dachau Concentration Camp. History came alive as we experienced the atrocities of the World War first hand. The camp has an eerie atmosphere that can be felt when walking through the perfectly preserved sleeping quarters, torture rooms, gas chamber and crematorium. The mood of everyone lifted after a schwarma supper and a quick visit to the Augustiner Beer Hall. Our four star Maritim Hotel, complete with heated indoor pool, was a great place to start our European adventure.

The majestic Alps welcomed us to Switzerland. We spent two nights in Interlaken, a beautiful town nestled between two lakes at the foot of the Alps. The highlight here was our day spent in the snow high up in the mountains. It was a treat to be in thick snow on a sunny day. The views are spectacular and it was awesome fun flying down the mountainside on toboggans and snowboards. Our attempt at the making of a snowman failed dismally! After the cable car ride down the mountain we braved the icy waters of the lake and had an Alpine swim. The Swiss locals could not believe their eyes and were certainly entertained when we walked back to our hotel, down the main street, in our costumes.

After a long trip through France we arrived in Paris. We had great fun learning to travel on the Metro, the Parisian underground railway. Paris was beautiful from our vantage point high up on the Eiffel tower. Even rain could not put a damper on our stroll down the famous Champs Ellysées. Our city tour gave us a glimpse of the splendour of this great city while the Parisian guide gave us tons of information on Paris and France. After seeing the Louvre, the Arc d’ Triomf, the Sacre Coeur and much more we set off for our Disney adventure. The roller coaster rides (Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain and Indiana Jones) were breathtaking! Other highlights were the 3-D movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, the haunted manor, the Lion King production and the Disney parade.

This day of French fun ended with an overnight coach ride to Amsterdam. This was not fun! We stopped over in Brussels at about midnight, but even the magnificence of the city center and the cuteness of the Mannekin Pis could not lift our spirits in sub-zero temperatures. We stopped outside of Amsterdam just before five in the morning. Our grumpiness soon dissolved when we given an interesting demonstration of cheese making and Dutch clog designing. The shopping area of Amsterdam, in between the canals and bicycles, enthralled us and the bus left this cosmopolitan city much heavier because of the many parcels. The fishing village of Volendam was a delight. The little shops, the “poffertjies” and the traditional Dutch dress all helped to make our overnight trip well worth it. Our hotel was a fabulous one in Utrecht. Some stayed and enjoyed the luxury of our accommodation while the daring tourists hopped on a train back to Amsterdam to see the city by night. The notorious “Walletjies” turned out to be a shock to us conservative South Africans. Coffee shops legally having marijuana on their menus, hundreds of “ladies of the night’ displaying their wares in windows and erotic shops are alien to us! The very tired bunch of intrepid travelers got back to Utrecht very close to the proverbial witching hour. Overall our impression of Holland was a good one with the stunning architecture, pretty little villages and the marvelous shops outweighing the impression of the sordidness of the two streets.

Our leisurely drive through the Dutch, Belgian and French countryside allowed us to relax before our ferry from Calais to Dover. The ferry itself was an enjoyable experience with its restaurants, duty free shopping and comfortable lounges. The crossing was smooth and we were soon gazing at the White Cliffs of Dover! After going through the stringent security checks we were met by our British coaches for our ride (on the left side of the road, at last) to London.

London, once again, proved to be the best! We mastered the underground, loved “Phantom of the Opera”, marveled at the famous places, shopped & shopped, felt at home and so much more. When we awoke for our guided city tour we were amazed to be in the middle of a magnificent snowstorm. Within minutes all the cars, parks, buildings and ourselves were covered in a blanket of snow. We were really blessed to experience this in the middle of spring in London.

Our flight back home rounded off what was a life-changing experience for all of us. We now can face the big wide world with confidence, having made lots of new friends and will probably all itch until we can travel abroad again.

Mr Mike Vermaak

The festival is organised by the Grahamstown Arts Foundation which also runs the world renowned Grahamstown Arts Festival. The two days were jam-packed with workshops run by some of South Africa’s most talented poets, dancers, artists and actors. There were thirteen workshops on offer from gumboot dancing to poetry sessions. In between our busy schedules, we enjoyed great theatrical performances such as Rhythm Rebellion, Feedback and Mina Nawe. These productions featured many local South Africa actors and we were privileged to see these shows before being staged at the Grahamstown Festival.

So, a trip that seemed like the perfect excuse to get away from school ended up being a great way to meet people and have fun discovering our untapped artistic talent.

Nosipho Voyi