One of my favourite venues in Joburg is 44 Stanley. 44 Stanley can be found in the Milpark area of Johannesburg, and is conveniently located between Wits University (my university) and the University of Johannesburg.
It is quite a pioneering development in Johannesburg, because it’s rather open-plan, is very eclectic and is very ‘new urbanism,’ meaning that it is a mixed-use precinct, combining industrial-style chic apartments, industrial-style chic office complexes, and er… no, not industrial-style chic shops, but perhaps eclectically chic shops and restaurants.
Examples of such shops and restaurants include Betty’s Tea Room, Blah Blah Blah, the Salvation Cafe, Core, and one of my favourite dance clubs/bars in Joburg, Roka. I think the reason why I especially love 44 Stanley is because of the people that frequent the precinct: they aren’t your dishelved, mall-loving, agro-in-traffic hogs, but rather seemingly relaxed and chilled-out Bohemians – and although this group does abound in Joburg, they don’t seem to have nearly as much spending power as the former group, and thus you get a far greater array of dumb and characterless shopping malls proliferating amidst all this urban sprawl.
Perhaps I am being too judgemental, but whatever. It’s my blog. :p
Anyway, today Kev and I went to Blah Blah Blah, where we indulged in a piece of cheese cake and a glass of wine. It was the perfect precursor to a rather technical lecture on Competition Law, where an economics professor with a Scottish accent gave us a lecture on the economic aspects of Competition Law.
I was reminded, again, why I almost failed economics in first year, and why I dropped it very quickly.
Anyway, I took two photos today at 44 Stanley, that I wish to share with ya’ll:
A building as seen from the 44 Stanley precint. I like the way the clouds were reflected in the glass.
The view from Blah Blah Blah over a square in 44 Stanley
