Carte Blanche recently celebrated the show's 20th birthday with a black tie shindig at Jozi's Monte Casino. I went along to scoop out who was getting-up-to-what for us and - between six glasses of vodka - got mesmerised by people's hair.
Carte Blanche presenter Devi Sankaree Govender ....
Everyone went wild with both their out- and hairfits - no-one could have been too glitzy for things.
The MenuThe evening started with people arriving for cocktails etc before moving on to supper, round cango caves decorated tables:
The menu was a surf and turf consisting of:
1 x piece of chicken
1 x piece of steak
1 x potato concoction
1 x veggie pastry.
Shaleen Surtie Richards spent supper with her serviette tucked into her boobs ...
Knowing the goss we've heard about her
chick-lurrrve/ BBAfrica2's Maureen etc, I got rigour (rigourmortis) when she grabbed me to be in a pic ...
Once supper was over everyone went to the Monte Casino Theatre to watch a performance of Lord of the Dance.
The Right To Know
Snapped unknowingly: Derek Watts preparing a speech
Spotted
Interesting there's so much I thought - Advanced Hair Studio obviously did something.
Before Lord Of The Dance began Derek looked back at the history of Carte Blanche, with footage of past shows. The thing that struck me most watching was how lucky we are to be free - to have the right to be able to see the stuff the show exposes.
They showed a clip of a lion getting shot and how Carte Blanche had exposed the killers and I kept thinking: imagine if there was censorship and none of this was allowed. It's not something you think about or imagine daily yet it wasn't long ago that we had it - freaky-hectic stuff.
Oh Lord
As for Lord of the Dance - I was disappointed. From all the hype about it I was expecting much more. The girls hardly tapped and no-one moved anything except their feet. I know it's the style but still, it's not nearly enough for hours on end.
Also the costumes were SO last decade, there was too much music with nothing happening and there was a singer who kept interrupting things - she sang three yawny songs that must have lasted at least five minutes each and they all sounded the same.
I told the lead dancer Ciaran my concerns while scrutinising his locks - he wears them loose for the show:
Hair Spotted PartyingAt 10:30pm-ish I hit the after-party with music that was played by whatsisname ... the guy who keeps changing his name ... Jonathan in Project Fame/Nathan Ro in Isidingo.
He's got a group called Lone Hill Estate and they played a medley of music ranging from Grease Lightning to Mandoza. The trouble is I didn't take a pic of his hair 'cos I refused to believe it was him - I actually bet someone R1000 it wasn't. He looks so different you have no idea - as if he's been smoking it up in Woodstock for years.
This dude looks more like him than he himself does:
Wynand - on the Carte Blanche production team.
Carte Blanche presenter Bongani Bongwa trying to look as casual as poss. in his brush-cut. I took this pic at least four times to get the effect. According to Bongani, Juliet Roberts advises never to have a pic taken while ... - can't remember what ... either eating or smiling too much.
Bongani's date Lolo
Ringlets were all the rage - lots of peeps had them.
Nicole - owner of the rings
Most "Cool!" hair jewellery spotted.