Re-imagining (South) African Chic
After – to my horror – being downgraded from Silver to Blue on SAA’s Voyager programme and thus being denied lounge access (unless I forked out R150 a pop), I was delighted when FNB sent me a little note to say that I was entitled to free access for myself and a guest to the SLOW Lounges at domestic airports.
What I found there was a combination of tasteful interiors, tasty snacks, good cappuccino and the friendliest and most efficient service I have come across in a long time (in any establishment). Let’s not forget to mention the Molton Brown handwash and lotion. What a delightful surprise. Thanks and congratulations to FNB / RMB / British Airways!
Most notable though, was the treatment of the South African idea. Instead of poorly conceived Baobabs and zig-zags to represent the “African Mystique” as Esmé Berman might have termed it, we here have original contemporary South African art. Each individual toilet stall even has a numbered lithograph – my stall at King Shaka had a Miriam Makeba by Espoir Kennedy. I remember seeing works by Willem Boshoff, Robert Hodgins, Nandipha Mntambo, Kim Berman, David Koloane, Sam Nhlengethwa, Claudette Schreuders and Mary Wafer (pictured).
Let’s hope that this temporary offer lasts for a long time, because being denied access to the Slow Lounge would be a real downgrade worth many a tear.
(Much credit to Federico Freschi for introducing me to art and the art world, deconstructing the ‘African Mystique’, and also being a great travel companion.)
