The Castle of Good Hope opened its doors to several energetic youth groups, who performed together with the military bands – SA Army Band Cape Town, SA Air Force Band, SA Navy Band and SAMHS Band – and two of the pipe bands that have been performing during the Cape Town Military Tattoo – the Cape Field Artillery Pipes & Drums and the SAMHS Pipes & Drums.
Alas, I had spoken too early, when I published the previous blogpost – The Cape Town Military Tattoo 2013 must go on – despite the rain!
I believe it is for the first time ever in the history of the Cape Town Military Tattoo that a show had to be cancelled because of the rain. Last year, we had a bit of rain too, and some terrifically strong winds, but the show went on nonetheless because the rain cleared up in time.
The spectators who arrived for the dress rehearsal of the Cape Town Military Tattoo 2013 at the Castle of Good Hope were treated to an absolutely brilliant show. Any problems that had manifested in the run-throughs of the previous two evenings seemed to have been ironed out, and I was blown away by the quality of the performances.
And this was despite the fact that it – thankfully intermittently – drizzled and spat, poured and bucketed with rain, throughout the evening.
Tonight was the second run-through of the entire show, and the levels of excitement – and stress – behind the scenes were running high. The previous night, I had run out of energy, after a long hot day on my feet, and so I had missed the second half of the show. Tonight, I was determined to stay until the end.
When the early morning mist curled around the buildings and streetlights of Cape Town, creating a slightly eerie atmosphere, it gave no indication that it would become such a hot Monday. By mid-morning, the heat of the sun had burned off the mist, and a brilliantly blue sky was bringing out the ochre-yellow hues in the walls of the Castle of Good Hope. By midday, everyone was looking for shady spots to shelter from the harsh sun, and glancing hopefully towards the western skyline, where just the hint of a cold front was starting to appear.
It is early summer in Cape Town: the days are getting longer and warmer, the southeaster wind has picked up speed, and Capetonians are spending more time outdoors… This must mean that it is almost time for the Tattoo!
So, dear friends and visitors to the Mother City, please make a note in your diaries: The Castle of Good Hope in central Cape Town will host this annual display of military might and marvellous music from Thursday, 31 October to Saturday 2 November 2013!
On Saturday morning, 20 October 2012, I made my way to the Florida Park Sports Ground in Stroebel Road, Ravensmead. I had been asked by WO2 André van Schalkwyk of the SA Army Band Cape Town to take some photographs of their performance at the Western Cape Schools Drill and Marching Festival 2012. I had attended and written about last year’s festival in Vygieskraal Stadium, Athlone, and was looking forward to what promised to be a very exciting event.
Update: The article I wrote about this event was published on the Reserve Force Division Website. Here is the PDF document. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to share this news with you – it is all systems go with the Cape Town Military Tattoo 2012! You may recall that I was racing around…
Update: An article I wrote about this event was published on the Reserve Force Division website. Here is the PDF document. This evening, the Military Sunset Concert 2011 was held at the Castle of Good Hope in central Cape Town, under a cloudless blue summer sky. When the big imposing gates of the Castle opened…
Update: The article I wrote about this event has been published in the Reserve Force Volunteer magazine of Summer 2012. Here is the PDF document. Last Saturday, 15 October 2011, I found myself at Vygieskraal Stadium in Johnson Road, Rylands, Athlone. My mission: To take photographs during a mini tattoo at the Western Cape Schools…
On Friday night, 22 July 2011, we attended the SA Naval College’s annual Evening of Music at the town hall in the Strand. The Naval College is based in Gordon’s Bay, which is just around the corner from the Strand. And what a show it was!
Update: An article I wrote about this event was published on the Reserve Force Division website. Here is the PDF document. In a previous post about some of the challenges of taking photographs at military events, I mentioned an exciting Women’s Day Event that was organised by the Defence Reserves Provincial Office Western Cape (DRPOWC)…
Last weekend, a thunderous ka-BOOM! in the peaceful Company’s Garden set windows rattling and car alarms shrilling in central Cape Town. Flocks of doves, pigeons and seagulls took to the air in a flurry of wings, and squirrels scrambled up tree trunks, as smoky clouds of acrid smelling cordite wafted across lush green lawns carpeted…
After the performance by the SA Army Band of KwaZulu Natal, it was time for the annual highlight of the Cape Town Military Tattoo: the performance of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture to the sound of live gunfire. This well-known piece of music is “an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate…
After the magnificent old Castle had been successfully defended gainst the attackers, it was time for the massed pipe bands to stride triumphantly into the arena. They appeared out of the swirling mists (courtesy of two smoke machines on either side of the Kat archway), their snare drums rattling and bass drums thumping, and with…
Grains of Sand 
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