The Green Patch Party

The Green Patch Party became a milestone in Cape Town's partying history for various reasons. First of all, it happened in a public space, in a city where public space relates to danger and fear. The appropriation of the small piece of land in front of the house can be seen as a natural extension of the private sphere, a physical take-over of a space offered to the gaze from the front room of the house. However, numberless guests wondered why it didn't occur to anybody before to organize such a party and Jean, the currentt tenant, is determined to continue, carrying outside his tradition of Friday night parties on the stoep. Furthermore, some of the neighbours came. Lorraine Griessel came with daughter and grand-daughter. Lin Sampson, despite her political opinions, sat with the Black Noise guys and talked with them. Both neighbours seemed to enjoy the break-dance performance and stayed a little beyond, taking photographs and chatting. Kelvin, a homeless man who walks by the house everyday, arrived early and spent the whole day on the Green Patch, engaging with most of the guests and becoming a central figure of the party. A couple who had been involved in a car accident in front of the house a week before and whom we helped and befriended showed up. People who hadn't seen each other for a long time or friends of a common friend who didn't know each other met on the Green Patch. I eventually met Anthony, the Black Marx I heard so much about. In fact, the party was far less segregated than the rest of South African life, and a lot of fairly different people connected on the Green Patch - normal encounters for in Europe but seldom in South Africa. The atmosphere was very relaxed, and it seemed, for the moment, that public space paranoia had disappeared. Only the homeless people and the flower seller, despite numberless invitations, declined to join - but got food delivered. The party went on for about two hours after dark. But after Lin Sampson had called and complained about the bass beat (as she usually does for any party, regardless of the actual volume) and the police raided the homeless people in front of the church, time to pack up had come...