“Great things are done when (wo)men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” – William Blake with a twist
The 1891 dinner, a celebration of 135 years of the Cape Town Section of the Mountain Club, took place on Saturday, 3 October, at the Clubhouse, and was a resounding success.
From the time our Chairperson, Anthea van Wieringen, called for volunteers, the spark was lit for many new connections and friendships to form. Volunteering for the MCSA is well worth it.
Over the months leading up to the event, a vision slowly started to develop. 135 years is a long time for memories to be made, connections created, and friendships built. We hid Easter eggs in the invitations, reused an original MCSA invitation from 1892, found a map of Table Mountain & Devil’s Peak in a news article about the creation of the MCSA, and created wine labels. We went off brand, mixing old and new. We looked at larger venues, but the MCSA hall felt right. Full of history, full of memories.
In the week leading up to the dinner, the Clubhouse was a hive of activity, with long ladders, engineering creativity, logistical puzzles solved, and allocated tasks completed. Saturday was an early start for all the volunteers, with a goal to complete all items on the checklist. The catering team were a well-oiled machine, and were warm and friendly, adding to the spirit of the evening.
The Clubhouse hall was transformed by fairy lights, beautiful proteas, and fine MCSA-labelled wine, on white tablecloth-bedecked tables. Members really took the dress-up invitation to heart, with some sporting such sartorial elegance as well-tied ropes slung nonchalantly over shoulders, while others rocked vintage ice axes. Bavarian hats complete with feathers were spotted, knickerbockers and long skirts, and some looking very much like Tintin in Tibet, with trousers tucked into thick woolen socks.
Guests were welcomed with a glass of champagne, and the evening was opened by our Chairperson, Anthea van Wieringen, who welcomed everybody and read out congratulations sent from the President of the Alpine Club and Sir Chris Bonington. She also honoured the passing of long-time Club member, volunteer, and Chairperson, Martin Hutton-Squire, who had sadly passed away the night before the dinner. A brief history of the Club was followed by a short speech by the MCSA National President, Paul Carstensen.
Our guest speaker, Jonathan Shapiro (Zapiro), delighted us with his hilarious anecdotes and cartoons about a rescue he had had from Search and Rescue in Waaihoek in the 1980’s (when he was an architect in training). His party went up Waaihoek, bound for the Witels, but one member broke his ankle, and the group ended up having to be rescued by helicopter instead. The hut logbook, with the original cartoons by Zapiro from this time, was located in the UCT archives. There were murmurs in the audience when the name “Lester Coelen” (our Treasurer) popped up in the cartoon. Zapiro himself got an even bigger surprise when it turned out that Lester, who had led the rescue back then as head of Search and Rescue, was himself in the audience!
The three-course sit-down dinner was outstanding, with slow roast lamb accompanied by three delicious salads, a malva pudding with crème anglaise, and flowing MCSA wine.
There followed an open mic, where many people stepped up to speak and reminisce about their years in the mountains, with thoughtful poems and hilarious stories. In keeping with the period, Anthea gave a resounding rendition of one of Scott Joplin’s rags on the piano.
A fabulous evening was had by all. Slowly, people drifted home, with the final group leaving after midnight.
Many thanks to Anthea for instigating the celebration, to all the volunteers who made it happen, and to the members who joined and participated in the evening.
– by Nick Lain, Jenni Fitzell & Thandi Davies
