Mondays at Seven at St. Clements - cultivating a culture of bistro entertainment - art poetry music film drama etcThe Monday at Seven programme is now in its third year at St. Clements at 191 Musgrave Road).
“What is special about this quaint garden restaurant in Musgrave Road?” says Pieter Scholtz, one of the co-founders of the programme, along with Rick Andrew, Fred Felton, James Parker, Pat Smythe and Andrew Verster.
“I first fell under the spell of its magic, sitting at a table in the shade of a tree laden with grapefruit. At the time I wondered about the name, St. Clements? I concluded it must be a reference to the “bells of St. Clements”, since it was situated right next to St. Thomas’s church. Well, I was wrong. I discovered that its owner was Steve Clements. I guess his name and the proximity to the church led to him being a saint!
“A few unsolicited words about Steve. He is a man of many talents. I first became addicted to his ‘chicken chilli noodles’ when he ran a bustling little restaurant in a nursery off Vause Road,” Pieter Scholtz continues. “I discovered that he had learned his trade working as a chef for some years in Thailand. When he moved to Musgrave Road and opened St. Clements, we followed him – ‘we’ signifying a group of eccentrically creative guys, writers, artists, musicians and the like, who met every Friday morning to talk about cabbages and kings, and to enjoy a delicious petit déjeneur.
“It was through Steve and his garden restaurant that we had the idea of a performance venue, providing a meeting place for writers, artists and those seeking creative stimulation. And it was thus that ‘Mondays at Seven at St. Clements’ was born.
“The idea was to entertain ourselves and the “discerning” public with entertainment of a high quality,” Pieter Scholtz explains. “We particularly wished to include marginalized art forms such as poetry readings and book launches together with musical and dramatic performances in our programmes. We chose Monday evenings, much to the dismay of some, because many theatres and restaurants are closed on Mondays. We also chose to provide the entertainment free of charge to cultivate a culture of bistro entertainment in the European tradition – informal, relaxed entertainment in a pleasant setting.”
The next two programmes include Discovering Other Worlds: The World Inside Your Head on January 24 and Cloud 9: Durban Poison on January 31.
January 24: Discovering Other Worlds: The World Inside Your Head. Pieter Scholtz and Philippa Savage read extracts from a novel in progress: The Tree Whisperer. Angel is an unusual girl with a remarkable ability. She is able to communicate with trees. ‘You have to enter the tree with your mind. You will know when it is ready. Then it will enter your mind. You will both be inside each other. Then you can whisper to it. It will respond.’. The programme will also feature excerpts from an unpublished play, Angelo and the Magical Top-Hat) in which Scapino opens a magical box containing many strange and wonderful people.
January 31: Cloud 9 - Durban Poison. Geoff Salt on drums and vocals, Dennis Bronner on bass and Pete Misselbrook on guitar and vocals. Do they play blues, rockabilly, rock, folk, jazz or pop? None of these and yet all of them – it is a unique, eclectic mix of original and cover music, which would probably be best described as Durban Poison.
St Clements is situated at 191 Musgrave Road on the righthand side a short way down Musgrave after the St Thomas Road intersection. Mondays at Seven runs between 19h00 and 20h00. Booking is advised on 031 202 2511. While there is no cover charge, there is a donations box to support the presenters.
Posts
