Food for thought and song and dance

From a birthday party serving food for thought along with song and dance, to a revved up red carpet affair to mark the arrival of a much anticipated new TV series.

That’s how I closed off the first month of the year on the social whirl.

First up: Friday night in the company of knitters young and old, an esteemed former high commissioner, a learned man of the bench and a South Africa-born Strictly Come Dancing UK star to celebrate a nine-year-old who boasts four Guinness World records.

Many will know that 67 Blankets for Mandela Day is the handiwork of philanthropist Carolyn Steyn, who has persuaded Gqeberha grannies and Zonderwater prisoners alike to knit scarves and blankets for those in need.

To mark the day on which the initiative was founded in 2014, the radio host and wife of insurance billionaire Douw Steyn invited us to the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s office in Houghton, Joburg.

This is the sort of do which starts bang on time, and as I make my way to the auditorium I hear MC Brendan Grealy (who, as a comedian, goes by the name Corrie Campbell) encouraging guests, including Johannes Radebe, the local lad wowing British audiences with his dance moves, to sing Happy Birthday to the non-profit organisation.

Then Carolyn, wearing a cute loungey two-piece by Tommy Hilfiger, gets up to say a few words.

“We have basked in the glory of so many milestones over the years. But we don’t bask for too long. We are too busy!” she says, bursting with pride as she points out that to date they have managed to keep some 120,000 people warm during winter, and also created the world’s biggest portrait blanket and the world’s longest scarf.

We also hear from Nomagugu Khumalo, the head girl at Carolyn’s alma mater, Jeppe Girls, and a bright spark in the form of Parktown Girls grade tenner Phethego Mello.

The speeches from social activist and former Brit HC Cheryl Carolus and Dikgang Moseneke, the former deputy chief justice, remind us that altruism is pressing during these gloomiest of times.

Cheryl points out that “small acts of kindness are much bigger than just small individual actions”, admitting that she is “done with being asked to be resilient”.

“We should refuse to be abused by people’s balls being bounced around,” says the United Democratic Front’s first general secretary.

And when Moseneke says his bit, the man imprisoned on Robben Island for 10 years, and an outspoken critic of the government’s litany of failures, admits that the state of our land has left him with “revolutionary and patriotic depression”.

Having heard about what 67 Blankets has achieved over its nine short years, he says his “batteries have been

recharged”, encouraging young people in the audience pupils from Norwood Primary, Dainfern College and Sacred Heart College are present that they shouldn’t give up.

“Good leaders give, bad leaders take,” is one pearl of wisdom which stays with me.

Carolyn is a theatre gal, so amid all the sage words we are entertained by a ballet piece by 15-year-old Nico Prinsloo and songs from Timothy Moloi, Michael de Pinna and soprano Hlumelo Ledwaba. The night’s high point, though, is when PJ Powers proves she’s still got it we all spring to our feet when she belts out her 30-plusyear-old hit, Jabulani.

Rewind to last Saturday afternoon when streaming service Netflix pulled out all the stops to welcome the second instalment of hit TV show Kings of Joburg.

The red carpet was rolled out at the Zone shopping centre in the oh-so-trendy Joburg suburb of Rosebank, allowing fans and passers-by to spot their favourite stars as they arrived.

Folk like Connie Chiume, who can lay claim to appearing in two of the world’s biggest blockbusters and who faithfully followed the “city of gold” dress code, turning up in a massive sparkly ball gown by a label called Zamaswazi.

“How heavy is your dress?” I ask the veteran actress, to which she replies: “Heavy enough for me to carry it.”

Also shimmering was Idols judge, singer and actress Thembi Seete, while Connie Ferguson looked sleek in beaded David Tlale.

At first sight I thought Connie’s dashing co-star Zolisa Xaluva had a white serviette stuck to his dark wrap suit blazer turns out it was an oversize ribbon to fasten it closed.

There was one couple I didn’t expect to see: actress and TV producer Tarina Patel and her husband, Iqbal Sharma, a co-accused in what is touted as the first state capture trial which would start in Bloemfontein two days later.

Perhaps Tarina, looking grand in a gown bought in India featuring intricate handiwork, is brimming with the resilience Cheryl has given up on.

“I produced four films amid all this drama. Collision on Netflix was in the top 10 for two months in 97 countries. The other three are a soccer trilogy which I sold to Amazon,” she says.