Friday evening at Hout Bay market

Maybe it's because I don't get out an awful lot (apart from coffee and lunches!) or maybe it's because I have an outlook that looks for the best rather than the worst, but I have to say that my experience of the Hout Bay market in the old warehouse near Fish on the Rocks was my idea of a good time! Admittedly it was a Friday evening when there is live music and the vibe was rocking - music always adds an extra dimension to an event - and those who have been there during the day have said it was just another market.

Despite the dark road outside the harbour, there was plenty of parking and security was everywhere. As a group of women, we felt unthreatened. Inside, the throb of jungle rhythm emanated from a stall where a large selection of LPs from our youth could be bought, as well as more recent, but equally dance-inducing selections. Stalls offering locally made clothing, shoes, rugs and baskets, wall hangings, some amazing light fittings, jewellery and crystals in raw form, local high end art, bags, beadwork and wooden sculptures provided plenty of scope for a friend to collect gifts to take back overseas, at prices that didn't make her cringe. There was a large selection of non-curio items which could easily find a place in my home and doubtless will.

But the greatest drawcard was the food! There were stalls offering everything from pancakes to vegan, Thai to Turkish, select-it-yourself stirfry (to die for, but easy on the chilli!) and steak. The chefs were no slouch, with a celebrity among them behind his own workstation turning out plate after plate. Once we had selected our meals, we sat down at a long table where everyone chats to their neighbours, and soon becoming best friends with total strangers, and when we were finished someone came to collect our plates! A coffee stand served unbelievably good cappuccino in a takeaway cup. Despite the place being packed, everything operated smoothly, with minimal waiting times and no crushing to reach the front of a queue.

The live music was outstanding, as is usually the case in Cape Town, which has a surplus of talent in this arena. A German couple who had arrived that morning told us that this was a wonderful experience for them - the cleanliness, quality of everything, cosmopolitan mixture of all races (that had to come up), with everyone just having a great time - way beyond their expectation. Hopefully this will continue to be their experience for the rest of their stay.