Every 3 weeks a story will be selected based on originality, insight and relevance.
3 click to view full image  SIBONGILE Khumalo"WHERE WE RE CONNECT"20101027-1425-9-473.JPG But my first encounter with the V&A was in 1996 during our memorable school trip to the Cape Town. As starry eyed teenagers from Ulundi me and my friends wondered into it by mistake ,after we were offloaded by the bus to explore the city. We went inside the mall and got lost in the land of glitz and glamour. We ended up spending all our meagre pocket money which was supposed to last last us for the duration of the trip. When we got out it was dark and the bus had long gone, with no money to phone the school teachers. But the beauty of the illuminated Harbour made our predicament seem like a blessing as we continued to walk around the mall enjoying the blissful spaces we were unaccustomed to. That experience ignited my never ending love for the V&A. These days me and my husband visit Cape Town four times a year and our first port of call is the V&A, where we walk in silent, hand in had, absorbing the scenery, the vibe and the bright sun. My husband who is from Stockholm says the V&A is one of the few places that bring back memories of childhood and youth, spent frolicking around the Stockholm Harbour. His happiness means a lot to me, since he left his homeland four years ago to be with me. Our favourite spot is a restaurant overlooking the ocean where we sit looking out at sea, the direction of Robben Island where we first laid eyes on each other as tourists. There was no denying the chemistry when we disembarked from the island's ferry boat. We sat on the steps of the courtyard for hours chatting. It is here that we had our first kiss a few days later. It is also here where we resolved our first lovers tiff, so this makes me strongly believe that there is something magical about this place, at least for me. It seems to be feature prominently in different phases of my life journey. I call it the village of dreams |
Winning Story & Voting Winner of Cycle 3:
Sibongile Khumalo’s “Where we re-connect”. The judge felt that her story has a narrative arc from childhood past to present with hints of the future, and speaks with an earnest and authentic voice about awakening, possibility, joy, aspiration, memory, love, glamour, transcendence and belonging, all without pretense. It captures many dimensions of the V&A Waterfront without needing to list them out, and it links the V&A Waterfront to the lives of people in other parts of South Africa (and the world) in ways that are meaningful and personal. It also reads as a heartening narrative that runs parallel to South Africa’s journey since the mid-1990’s – Ms Khumalo’s story is an example of the hopes we all had for the new South Africa being fulfilled, and she places the V&A Waterfront in the emotional centre of key parts of her own journey.
Voting Winner of Cycle 3:
Miss Charlotte Xulu is our final round’s voter winner and walks away with R2000 in V&A Waterfront Gift Vouchers.