Welcome to the last issue of May! Here's another fun fact we found out after last week’s Melville Untold: did you know that the first ever Melville Mardi Gras was held in 1986, celebrating Melville's 90th birthday?

In today’s newsletter,

• Wild Jasmine: A Creative’s Sanctuary 🌸

• Creass Community Services Flash Team 🦺

• Guerrilla Gardening: Melvillians vs Potholes 🪴

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, Kele Jackson, Sihle Delport-Wetselaar

The Digest

Wild Jasmine: A Creative’s Sanctuary 🌸

We're usually very intentional about our features, this week was a first attempt at letting Melville choose how she wants her stories told. We were drawn by 2nd Avenue's Wild Jasmine guest house and met Pearl Mthethwa, its co-founder, not really knowing what to expect.

We left there blown away by the human and her incredible story. She is another of the new generation of Melville icons with a spirit of the legends. Being around her, you get the sense that you're with a true Melvillian who has a role to play in Melville's legacy—and she's already doing it!

The Foundation of a Space Holder

Pearl is a holder of space. She was raised by strong, powerful women who ran a safe house in Zimbabwe where freedom fighters seeking asylum went to take refuge. The Mthethwas themselves were asylum seekers from South Africa. Being the youngest, she was the only one of her siblings born outside South Africa. Pearl spent her first eight years in Zim growing up around some of Africa's most influential thinkers.

Contrary to what most assume, it was a wholesome home with many mothers to raise her. Some of the world's biggest activists and artists made it a vibrant home, warm, filled with amazing stories and arts and culture in various forms.

She was told stories of her brother learning percussion from Bob Marley during his visit to Zimbabwe while she was taught to play the mbira by legend Oliver Mtukudzi. Her early years were incredibly rich in love, knowledge, and safety. She grew up in a home that was an anchor point for the most pivotal era in Africa's history and loved every moment of it.

The Jarring Return to Mzansi

In the early 90s, the Mthethwas moved back to Mzansi and Pearl was yanked out of her cocoon - her safe haven in Zim. She was brought to an extremely politically unstable SA facing growing pains and loads of change. Pearl was forced to be on the front lines of that change being part of a wave of the first black students to integrate into a boarding school in Witbank.

The stark contrast in environment swept the safety rug out from under her. For the first time, she experienced what all those asylum seekers had been fighting against. She was living the dream they had been fighting for and hated it. She didn't feel South African enough to be part of the black cliques and didn't relate to the white ones either. Everyone was caught in the balance of figuring out how to integrate.

Feeling like an asylum seeker herself, she found refuge in music. She lost herself in the piano as she counted the days until she finished school to return to the only home she knew, mentally isolated from her peers.

The Search for Home

By the end of high school, she had her mind fixed on moving overseas and applying to colleges in America. She didn't get accepted but kept trying, biding her time she tried to study at TUKS, where her older sister studied medicine but couldn’t connect with their music department during enrolment week. Still not finding her tribe, her sister then took her to check out TUT Arts Campus, and she instantly fell in love.

Driving in, they were greeted by students playing the djembes at the entrance. They took a tour and she loved every moment of it. As a technikon, she loved that they were learning music and the industry practically. With an initial intention to bide her time there, she ended up even doing her honours there, majoring in Vocal Art Pedagogy.

Opera music showed her the world and helped her travel, perform and eventually spend time working in Europe. After a few years of performing with an orchestra, she finally got her American dream and moved to a Jewish neighbourhood on the Northside of Chicago, to be part of the Ravinia Music Festival in Glencoe. The Rivania is one of the biggest music festivals in the world; weeks long, with many musicians from all over the world performing. She was responsible for the South African stage, liaising between our artists and presenting SA folk music on this international platform.

The Cognitive Dissonance

Pearl spent many years battling to make Chicago home. She poured her heart and soul into her work, even creating a curriculum for children with mental disbailites. It was fulfilling work and she grew close to the kids, but she still felt like a misfit. She succumbed to the cognitive dissonance of feeling like she was betraying Africa by pouring her wealth of knowledge and expertise into America when Africa needed it most.

Pearl was invited by a colleague to visit the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona where the evolution of music from inception to current times was showcased. Her mind was blown by the realisation that music started in Africa, and through the centuries evolved away from Africa until the latest music technology was entirely European. The future of music excluded Africa. This pivotal moment shocked her to the core and became a catalyst for a prompt return back to the motherland. She had to do something about it!

Coming Home to Melville

A year later, six years ago, Pearl came back home. It wasn't an easy decision. The trauma of her initial return to South Africa as a child was haunting but the "why" was so compelling that she had no choice. Upon arriving back in Mzansi, she decided to be very deliberate choosing where she settled.

For the first time, she could decide. She intentionally looked for a place that suited her. A place where she could find her tribe, where she didn't have to be a black South African with township roots, where she could be her most expressive self and let her Western side shine. So after deep thought and research, she decided on the most inclusive and creative suburb she knew of - Melville.

Upon arriving in Melville, she was received by my high school best friend's parents, Lisa Blakeway and Harvey Roberts, at the house on 2nd Avenue that I am extremely fond of. A real safe haven that has held space for many souls over the years. Lisa and Harv have built a home that feels like an asylum for misfits and creatives, one with a rich history in itself.

Having been an asylum for some of South Africa and Melville's most iconic and eccentric personalities, they received Pearl with open arms. It was here she first felt a sense of belonging. She rented a part of the home and had officially moved into Melville.

Building the Dream

It wasn't long before she started making inroads towards fulfilling her purpose; contributing to Africa's music landscape and ensuring it played an integral role in world music as it did at the beginning. She reached out to her university contacts and founded a start-up called Ubunye Kreatives. They built a curriculum for children with learning barriers, with parents in the Arts industries educating their children in a whole new way - practically, and holistically, but with an underlining element of music, drama therapy and movement.

They got all the right regulations and certificates and partnered with UNISA to enable artist facilitators to become certified artist teachers. Ubunye Kreatives offered a new home-schooling programme that educates children in a completely new way.

As they began, COVID hit. With a purpose rooted in cultivating home schools, the business boomed! They grew like wildfire and did brilliantly, with children learning at their own pace but some excelling to the point of doing more than one grade in a year. Artist teachers also now had a new stream of income. The company's biggest challenge was managing children's natural social growth because many were ready for university at young ages like 14-16. This became their biggest challenge.

The Department of Education then passed a new law last year called “Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill” that affected independent homeschooling programs, bringing the business to a standstill. To this day, Pearl is going through a painful process of helping families reintegrate their children back into normal schools and also finding ways to help artist teachers supplement that great revenue stream the business created for them. One way she's doing that is with Wild Jasmine's very intimate dinner parties: Dinner Soirée.

Wild Jasmine: Full Circle

Getting around this new law has so far proved impossible. Pearl had to find a way to keep the lights on whilst she helped families reintegrate and still look for a way to support artists. The house was big and had room to host people, so she started an Airbnb business which did well to alleviate her expenses.

As time passed, she built a close relationship with her landlords. Lisa suggested partnering with her. They would move out so the business could expand to the rest of the house and this could become a full-fledged guest house. Pearl agreed and started pouring into the guest house idea.

They named it Wild Jasmine - the house has always had a distinctive, protective barrier of jasmines around its perimeter. The "wild" was for the spirits the home continues to be an asylum for. Coming back to Africa, another important journey for Pearl was an internal one of finding her place in the world, discovering what it means to be an African and redefining an Africanist lifestyle in her own image.

This involved digging deep into her past, her roots and her tribe. As a vegetarian, this also involved exploring African food in a new way. She has since built relationships with African food specialists and founders; Gaian of Butter Boys, Mpho of Food I Love You, Bathandwa of Earthy Cook, Mantis of Bitten Studios and Zimtoti Bakery. They all regularly cater for her mini-events and have helped her develop recipes and meal ideas.

Pearl now develops her own plant-based African meals, drawing from their ideas and her roots as inspiration. She regularly holds space for creatives who need to connect, rediscover themselves and rebuild their lives just as she has. Wild Jasmine hosts guests from all over the world who connect deeply with Pearl and Wild Jasmine.

One of her then dear friends, and a very influential jazz musician Gontse Makhene's house recently burnt down in Soweto. This was where many musicians would hang out, hold jam sessions and mixers. So that tradition followed him to Wild Jasmine and Pearl is very proud to host him and all of these creatives. She says they regularly come to Wild Jasmine to decompress after gigs in the city. And thus, through a budding partnership with Gonste, Dinner Soirée was born: An African vegetarian dinner party with one of the artist teachers from Ubunye or other world-class musos are given a platform to showcase African folk music and impart the knowledge they have acquired for a small fee. This is a small way the couple have found to use the dinner to support local artists.

The Matriarch Returns

In building Wild Jasmine Guest House, Pearl has tapped into maternal instincts she grew up around, "embracing the feminine" cooking and creating a home that can be a refuge. Wild Jasmine has become a full-circle moment for her. She hasn't returned to her childhood home in Zimbabwe she desperately yearned for as a teen but has built her own version here in Melville. She has become a powerful matriarch running a safe house for important voices of African music and arts where they can find asylum, heal, rebuild and prepare to return to the frontlines of Africa's battle in the future of arts and culture.

Wild Jasmine also serves as a venue to host small and intimate events. They also have a soundproofed and green screen studio available on their premises. If any of these services interest you, you can contact Pearl at 065 6649456

If you enjoyed today’s digest from the past consider buying us a coffee. 

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

There are some unique events on this month-end. Check them out!

Check out the events calendar for regular events - The Melville Pulse Events Calendar 

Melville Weather For The Week ☀️

Sunny week ahead?

Wednesday 

19° 🌡️4°  | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | SSW 11 km/h 💨

Thursday  

21° 🌡️ 5° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | ENE 6 km/h 💨

Friday 

23° 🌡️ 6° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | ESE 15 km/h 💨

Saturday 

22° 🌡️ 5° |☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | NE 6 km/h 💨

Sunday

21° 🌡️ 5° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | N 11 km/h 💨

Monday 

21° 🌡️ 4° |☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | N 6 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

21° 🌡️ 3° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 0% | SWS 4 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

Lots of gigs happening! This is how Melville is getting down this week…

29/05 | Thursday | 6 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Crash and Slams ft. Evert Snyman and and The Aviary, Maxx Damage, and Schimät | R50

30/05 | Friday | 7 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Soweto Punk presents Youth Up & Rising Tour 2025 ft. Decay, Aura Electric, and Twee Punt Plug | R79.99

31/05 | Saturday | 7 pm | Chiesa PAZZO LUPI | Thamsanqa Vuthela ft. Mandla Mthembu, Xolani Mtshali, Angus Hardcastel, and Keke Masemola | R180

31/05 | Saturday | 10 am - 10 pm | Coca Restaurant Lounge | Brunch, Beats and Chill hosted by Starlight Sessions | R100

31/05 | Saturday | 9 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Rhinestone Midnight Mass ft. Adam, Seth, and Marigold | R80

31/05 | Saturday | 2 pm - 8 pm | The Art House | The Clueless Lovers Club presents Sound Cellar a Wine pairing experience | From R150 

01/05 | Sunday | 2.30 pm | Chiesa PAZZO LUPI | Wowo Mndau Quartet ft. Peter Masilela, Nathaniel Swarts, and Nathan Swarts | R180

01/05 | Sunday | 6 pm | Coca Restaurant Lounge | Sunday Sunset | Free

01/06 | Sunday | 8 pm - 10 pm | Smoking Kills Bar | Armchair Comedy and Smokeshow present Smokeshow Sunday | R60

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th or our new Melville Pulse event calendar

If our weather or comprehensive gig guide came in clutch for you, consider buying us a coffee. 

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

High Impact Service Delivery Alert

The City is embarking on a "High Impact Service Delivery" project through Region B which kicked off yesterday, the 26th of May, and will be running until the end of May. Alongside all the power and water works happening, they'll be deploying some of their workers into communities to fill potholes, fix street lights, leaky metres and the like. Just a quick heads-up so you're aware that there will be more activity than usual from them this week.

Introducing the Creass Community Services Flash Team

Creass has a new sub-division called the Flash Team which aims to focus on one situation at a time and make sure to resolve and restore it that day. This allows Creass to "achieve the best possible work levels." The team were in action at the 4th Avenue and 3rd Street intersection this past Saturday and will be active twice a month to work on problem locations across the suburbs serviced by Creass Community Services.

The Tail End 🐾

Snake Alert: Mystery Serpent on the Loose

There is a snake on the loose! An enormous snake has been reported in the groups, spotted at a student accommodation on Shiplake Street in Aucklandpark No one seems to be able to identify it yet, but murmurs lean toward a Children’s Python? So just be careful, especially with your animals. If you do spot it or have any information, please contact Michele Dean on Facebook.

That's it for missing pets - no news is good news!

Winter Pet Wear Competition Continues

Don't forget to send pictures of your fur babies in their warm winter wear. The competition is open and on! Reminder:

• 1st prize: R1500 voucher

• 2nd prize: R750 hamper

Prizes are courtesy of the good people at Ziggy's Pet Pamporium . Let's get those pictures in and see those cuties! Email your snaps to [email protected] 

Icing On The Cake 🧁

Guerrilla Gardening: Melvillians vs Potholes

Melvillians are so creative! This weekend someone spent money, time and effort to pimp up long-standing potholes left unfixed by the City. They planted pretty flower beds in the actual potholes. What a way to alert and divert traffic - when COJ fails to deliver a service, plant some flowers! That's the spirit!

Mystery History Project Underway

A couple of weeks ago, Lee from the MRA announced in the WhatsApp groups that she'll be embarking on an exciting new project and called out to the people of Melville to share things of interest, especially pertaining to Melville's history, with her.

We want to let you know that Snaps On Seventh will play a role in that project and want to urge you to send stuff to us as well so we may share it with this project's team. We can't disclose much information yet, but we will keep you updated with major developments.

For now, you can contribute by emailing any pictures, facts or things of interest to newsletter.snapson7th.co.za or contact Lee of the MRA at 082 460 3090 for more information.

Thank you! 🙏

And that's how we wrap up the month! If you made it this far and had a good read, consider buying us a coffee.

You may also support the team and help our cause by sponsoring the newsletter or booking our video and photography services. Reply to this email and let's talk.

Till next week Tuesday, Melville.

Stay humble, stay happy and stay happening!

À bientôt ✌️