Growing Up In The View
I spent the first year of my life growing up in an apartment along the beachfront of Table View. Rightly named after the scene it offered of the mountain across the bay. That postcard panorama from our front garden was cut short when my parents gave birth to my sister a year after me.
I was the first born of three siblings. And we have lived and grown up together in the suburb of Table View. It's a middle-class residential area situated on the west coast, about 20 kilometres from the CBD. It's comfortably seated far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the busy town, but at the same time close enough should one need to stand up and commute there regularly.
A primary pull factor of this suburb would be the long, lingering beaches with its soft, white sand and prime waves. It is a popular place for surfers to catch that perfect wave, and for families to spend the day playing and basking on the beach. The views of the Atlantic Ocean, Robben Island and of course the mountains are both a memorable and romantic view!
The suburb has experienced severe urban sprawl over the last 20 years. There are now several new suburbs extending out and around from the original area. The strip along the west coast from the city's centre to Melkbos ( A suburb further up from Table View) has become blended and there are hardly any natural or untouched areas of land remaining. New high-rise commercial and residential developments extending vertically are turning this once surfer's retreat into a more modern seafront or urban landscape. I can remember a time not so long ago when just a few kilometres from my house there was an endless expanse of vegetation and dunes. And looking at photos of old, a hard nostalgia takes me back to a time when this area was wholly untouched and wild.
This southern tip of a savage continent, once home to primal bushmen, scavenging the shorelines, is now a sentinel of a soaring civilization. It gives me a feeling of regret to think of a time when this area was a sanctuary to wildlife such as buck, buffalo, hippo, wildebeest and zebra. Hard to believe it was so, hey?
I read somewhere that the castle, one of the first European settlements in Cape Town, built high walls and a moat, not to keep out enemies, but for protection against the likes of lions and other predators. Even harder to believe, but very much true at a time in our not-so-long-ago history.
Anyways, let's zoom back into my story.
The house we moved into was conveniently situated just a road down from a shopping mall, my daycare centre and my pre-primary school. The property also boasted a massive garden, of which I spent many an afternoon roaming around in; chasing butterflies, climbing trees, kicking a ball, and annoying my sister. The size of the properties in this street, perhaps in the immediate neighbourhood are significantly bigger than most of the new developments on the outskirts of Table View. We were fortunate to be an early mover back in the '90s before the residential boom.
My daycare, for a year or two, was an extension of the church down the road and my mom would walk me to my class every morning. On the property there was an A-shaped church, built with earth-toned bricks; there was an extension of several other rooms trailing out from the side of the church, of which were the playrooms for the daycare. And there was a house at the back of the property, of which I assume was either the owner, warden or church ministers.
The entrance to the establishment was through a central glass door, which leads into a foyer. One would turn right to enter the church or left passed diamond-shaped glass windows to the garden and daycare.
Besides for the architectural details of the place, my only real recollection of my time there was playing with a long, white-haired girl. She was fond of horses, and would playfully gallop around the garden and jungle gym. I would play with her and pretend to be a horse too. I believe she lived a road behind mine, and we played there too.
Upon turning 5 or 6 I moved to Bloubergrant Pre-Primary School. This was across the highway, just several hundred meters from our home. Again, we would walk there each morning; passed my previous daycare, over a water canal, and across the highway.
It was here where I met some really interesting friends and was exposed to a community my age whom ended up going to primary and high school together. An interesting memory from my time here was lunch-time. We sat in groups at tables during this lunch-time and were given a big bowl of fruit to share. The teachers stated that not until the entire bowl was finished could we go have a break. Now in this bowl there were orange slices, and it so happened that the children in my group did a poor job of tearing the pulp from the skin. I ate an orange with my teeth and didn't just suck the juices from the segments, and so I became popular during this time for that particular trait. Which often lead to us finishing first almost every-time.
I also met a boy here named Daniel, he had a slightly bigger head than his body, and wore glasses. This boy became my best friend over the next several years and we spent a good many days exploring and having a fun time.
A small suburb with a diverse range of people. A growing population of residents moving in as the area expands continually. Crime versus community. So far this is the only place I have known, it has been kind to me.
 |
| Strike me down should I ever take this for granted. |
A primary pull factor of this suburb would be the long, lingering beaches with its soft, white sand and prime waves. It is a popular place for surfers to catch that perfect wave, and for families to spend the day playing and basking on the beach. The views of the Atlantic Ocean, Robben Island and of course the mountains are both a memorable and romantic view!
The suburb has experienced severe urban sprawl over the last 20 years. There are now several new suburbs extending out and around from the original area. The strip along the west coast from the city's centre to Melkbos ( A suburb further up from Table View) has become blended and there are hardly any natural or untouched areas of land remaining. New high-rise commercial and residential developments extending vertically are turning this once surfer's retreat into a more modern seafront or urban landscape. I can remember a time not so long ago when just a few kilometres from my house there was an endless expanse of vegetation and dunes. And looking at photos of old, a hard nostalgia takes me back to a time when this area was wholly untouched and wild.
This southern tip of a savage continent, once home to primal bushmen, scavenging the shorelines, is now a sentinel of a soaring civilization. It gives me a feeling of regret to think of a time when this area was a sanctuary to wildlife such as buck, buffalo, hippo, wildebeest and zebra. Hard to believe it was so, hey?
I read somewhere that the castle, one of the first European settlements in Cape Town, built high walls and a moat, not to keep out enemies, but for protection against the likes of lions and other predators. Even harder to believe, but very much true at a time in our not-so-long-ago history.
Anyways, let's zoom back into my story.
The house we moved into was conveniently situated just a road down from a shopping mall, my daycare centre and my pre-primary school. The property also boasted a massive garden, of which I spent many an afternoon roaming around in; chasing butterflies, climbing trees, kicking a ball, and annoying my sister. The size of the properties in this street, perhaps in the immediate neighbourhood are significantly bigger than most of the new developments on the outskirts of Table View. We were fortunate to be an early mover back in the '90s before the residential boom.
My daycare, for a year or two, was an extension of the church down the road and my mom would walk me to my class every morning. On the property there was an A-shaped church, built with earth-toned bricks; there was an extension of several other rooms trailing out from the side of the church, of which were the playrooms for the daycare. And there was a house at the back of the property, of which I assume was either the owner, warden or church ministers.
The entrance to the establishment was through a central glass door, which leads into a foyer. One would turn right to enter the church or left passed diamond-shaped glass windows to the garden and daycare.
Besides for the architectural details of the place, my only real recollection of my time there was playing with a long, white-haired girl. She was fond of horses, and would playfully gallop around the garden and jungle gym. I would play with her and pretend to be a horse too. I believe she lived a road behind mine, and we played there too.
Upon turning 5 or 6 I moved to Bloubergrant Pre-Primary School. This was across the highway, just several hundred meters from our home. Again, we would walk there each morning; passed my previous daycare, over a water canal, and across the highway.
 |
| Table View |
It was here where I met some really interesting friends and was exposed to a community my age whom ended up going to primary and high school together. An interesting memory from my time here was lunch-time. We sat in groups at tables during this lunch-time and were given a big bowl of fruit to share. The teachers stated that not until the entire bowl was finished could we go have a break. Now in this bowl there were orange slices, and it so happened that the children in my group did a poor job of tearing the pulp from the skin. I ate an orange with my teeth and didn't just suck the juices from the segments, and so I became popular during this time for that particular trait. Which often lead to us finishing first almost every-time.
I also met a boy here named Daniel, he had a slightly bigger head than his body, and wore glasses. This boy became my best friend over the next several years and we spent a good many days exploring and having a fun time.
A small suburb with a diverse range of people. A growing population of residents moving in as the area expands continually. Crime versus community. So far this is the only place I have known, it has been kind to me.
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