Around 40 friends and family members braved the blistering August heat to attend La Touche’s most successful soirée to date – an evening with internationally-renowned local resident Jeremy Taylor. British-born Jeremy, who has worked with the likes of Spike Milligan and Fairport Convention’s Dave Swarbrick, heads back to his adopted homeland of South Africa in October for a month-long concert tour, and the La Touche gig gave him a chance to hone his material. Staged in La Touche’s capacious Music Room – which doubles as a games room during the day – the performance was a largely light-hearted look back, in words and music, over Taylor’s apartheid-era experiences. Despite the light-heartedness of many of his songs, their sharply critical undertones meant most were banned by the minority rule regime, and Taylor himself was barred from the country for more than a decade.He’s returned a few times since the regime’s collapse, but October’s Cape Town residency – followed by appearances in Johannesburg, Durban and elsewhere – is the jongleur’s biggest comeback to date, and La Touche made a great “off-Broadway” test-bed. With Peter acting as master of ceremonies, Penny leading a small army of volunteer caterers, and heatwave-induced thirst amply quenched courtesy of Pierre-Jacques Druet, one of the best local wine makers, the evening was an inevitable success. “This is exactly what La Touche is all about,” said guest Bob Papworth, a Bournemouth-based freelance travel journalist, holidaying with his wife Sheron and children Amy, James and Holly.“Bringing people together, to enjoy good food, good wine, and good company, in a beautiful setting and a relaxed atmosphere, with great entertainment into the bargain – what could be better?” The success of the evening event has given Peter food for thought. “We are already looking ahead to similar events in 2009 and beyond,” he says, “but in the meantime we wish Jeremy every success in South Africa in October.”
Filed under: events on January 19th, 2010
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