To Pick and Pay or to Shoprite

In the last few weeks we have learned a bit about shopping in Cape Town.

AA has studied receipts obsessively and, after being shocked at the price of some Port-Salut early on, has made an effort not to buy anything imported. I didn’t actually witness this very expensive cheese sighting but I think the gist was that it was a lot of money for a very, very little piece of cheese. Pampers are also so expensive here that I may have to consider popping TGP in some local brand nappies and accepting the consequences.

The name Woolworths can be seen everywhere in Cape Town and whilst in the UK it is synonymous with failure and recession here it is all about luxury shopping. It is like a large, air conditioned, deli with high quality products and small(ish) queues.

Pick and Pay and Shoprite, the two local supermarkets competing for the average Capetonian’s custom, are much busier. If you look hard you can find most things you get at home but if you are careless you could easily end up going home with a big bag of frozen chicken necks.

I am not one for the totally-organic marketing around kids food in Britain and generally think that Heinz Biscotti are just more expensive Rich Tea biscuits etc but I realise that here I am going to have to start reading labels. Anything processed that might be vaguely appealing to children is sizzling with additives like Tartrazine that have disappeared from most kid’s food in the UK many years ago as they make children hyperactive. And if there is one thing I don’t need it’s TGP becoming more hyperactive.

 As you would imagine local food like fruit is fresh and cheap and amazing. We also had some fresh Kingslip fish that we bought in Hout Bay the other day at Fish 4 Africa, a wholesaler to the public. It was one of those places where they don’t mind shouting and slapping a big scaly tail around and where you feel a little silly asking for it to be gutted and filleted. All worth it though.

In terms of non-food shopping there seems to be an array of African artefacts at every touristy market that include carved ostrich eggs, bright fabrics and wooden giraffes. They are colourful and lively but not totally my thing. There is every chance that whilst waiting at traffic lights (called Robots here) some entrepreneur will offer you a range of items skilfully made of beads. But there is really good stuff to be had though amongst the market stalls in the less touristy areas. I spotted a few interesting items whilst looking for an illusive gift for a friend in the Long Street markets but didn’t have time to get stuck in.

Today was AA’s first day in work so TGP and I braved public transport and got a route taxi into town. Route taxis are mini-buses with side sliding doors that beep their way along given routes around Cape Town whilst a guy leans out of the window and shouts their destination. When they stop at lights the shouter gets out and touts for business and he quickly folded our buggy and popped us in. People say Britain has gone ‘’health and safety mad’’ but I can’t imagine the same has been said about Cape Town. The route taxis swing around corners, more often than not with the sliding door left open. TGP himself was delighted with the journey; constant beeping, windows down and music playing loud.

We were spat out at the Route taxi depot above the train station which was as un-buggy-friendly as a place can be with hundreds of beeping mini-buses, a whole lot of shouting and no pavement. In the absence of AA, my map and I had to make our way into Cape Town and we managed it. We had coffee and scones in The Scotch House, a little sheltered courtyard where TGP was able to safely potter about and point at ants. Then in our individual ways (me by looking at the art work, TGP by fiddling with the air vents) we absorbed a small exhibition of paintings done by black artists during the apartheid years. Long Street called me with its small boutiques full of light print dresses but TGP was having none of it so we took the train home. Cape Town station is big and shiny and airport like, having had a major facelift for the World Cup.

So I have got a vague outline of town in my mind but to really get to grips with Long Street and a strip of boutique and antique shops that run along the sea front in Kalk Bay I will need a day off from The Ginger Prince.