February 2, 2006
By Neil Fraser
I WAS asked to say a few words last week at the opening of Ola Milky Lane's latest store, in the Carlton Centre. This is its one hundredth outlet and represents its return to the inner city of Johannesburg, not that far from where it was founded nearly 50 years ago by George Halamandres.
I did some research on Google into ice cream in preparation for my talk and realised just how important this everyday commodity actually is. Did you know that there are 32 300 000 references to ice cream on the web?
By comparison, the Queen of England only has half of that - 16 900 000; Madonna only pulls in 6 620 000.
Closer to home, inner city councillor Sol Cowan pulls 78 references on the web; Executive Mayor Amos Masondo has 19 700; Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa has 65 700 and President Thabo Mbeki has 1 900 000. However, ice cream in South Africa has more references than those four combined, at 2 520 000.
This only goes to show that ice cream is far more important than the sum of the monarchy, pop stars and politicians.
I couldn't find the per capita consumption of ice cream in South Africa but New Zealand appears to be the biggest consumer in the world at 26,3 litres each a year, compared to those other two rugby-playing countries Australia (17,8 litres) and Britain (7,7 litres). Even the United States only consumes two thirds of the New Zealand per capita consumption, which poses the question for Jake White, "Is ice cream New Zealand's secret rugby weapon?"
History
I also was able to find some history of ice cream on the web.
"It is likely that ice cream was not invented, but rather came to be over years of similar efforts. Indeed, the Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar is said to have sent slaves to the mountains to bring snow and ice to cool and freeze the fruit drinks he was so fond of."
Then there is the story that Marco Polo (1254-1324) saw ice creams being made on his trip to China. On his return, he introduced them to Italy. The story continues with the Italian chefs of Catherine de'Medici taking this magical dish to France when she went there in 1533 to marry the Duc d'Orleans.
And thence to England in the 1600s, when Charles I of England hosted a sumptuous state banquet for many of his friends and family. The meal, consisting of many delicacies of the day, had been simply superb but the "coup de grace" was yet to come.
After much preparation, the king's French chef had concocted an apparently new dish. It was cold and resembled fresh snow, but was much creamier and sweeter than any other after-dinner dessert. The guests were delighted, as was Charles, who summoned the cook and asked him not to divulge the recipe for his frozen cream.
The king wanted the delicacy to be served only at the royal table and offered the chef &£;500 a year to keep it that way. Sometime later, however, poor Charles fell into disfavour with his people and was beheaded in 1649.
Whatever the history books might say, clearly Charles 1 was beheaded because he would not allow the secret of ice cream to be made public!
So, ice cream rules. Ola - welcome to the inner city. Ola Milky Lane, may many urban tongues tingle to your taste (or something like that).
More seriously, I also pointed out in my talk that 10 years ago headlines such as Another nail in the coffin for the CBD were commonplace. Two week's ago Business Day, the business daily, published an article headed Property pundits see the inner city areas as a likely home for the next great boom, and certainly when one looks at what is actually taking place and the billions of rand that are being invested in the inner city, one can be confident that it is well on the road to recovery.
Milpark
But it is not just the inner city. Previously quite run-down areas on the periphery of the inner city are also showing strong recovery. On 1 August 2003 I wrote the following about
Milpark
"Another speciality precinct in the making, and of all places, in overlooked, often forgotten and traditionally neglected Milpark. Literally condemned to extinction when the somewhat fated flyover connecting Empire and Barry Hertzog stood for two years because of suspected structural problems, the area literally rolled over and turned up its toes.
"However, the area is far from dead and is in fact pulsing with incredibly exciting developments. And it's all happening right here on the doorstep of the CBD. Talk about location, location and location! Milpark is only minutes from the heart of the city, and equally close to Wits and RAU universities, Wits Technikon's west campus, the Milpark and Helen Joseph Memorial hospitals, the Garden City Clinic, trendy suburbs such as Melville and, of course the SABC complex in Auckland Park."
In that article I covered what was then the emerging 44 Stanley, an eclectic collection of retail, pubs and restaurants; the Refinery, "real" industrial lofts; and Atlas Studios, the fantastic conversion of previous industrial space into state of the art TV and film studios.
Well, those three initiatives have sparked off a great deal more investment in the area as well as numerous properties changing hands. The landmark Metal Box building has new owners, the Garden Court Hotel has signed an extension on its lease and is being refurbished, and the Galleria, long a non-event, has been completely re-tenanted prior to refurbishment. It is completely signed up including a large food chain and a gym, and construction work will start on the three levels of retail and two parking basements in August.
Construction
A six-storey residential block of 331 units, Milpark Mews, is under construction on the southeast corner of Empire Road and Barry Hertzog Avenue. Of these, 300 already have been sold, with prices ranging from R320 000 for a bachelor pad to R620 000 for a two-bedroom and close to a million rand for a double volume three-bedroom, three-bathroom loft.
Over the road, on the southwest corner, construction has begun on a R60-million to R75-million project of 150 units ranging from R400 000 to R600 000-plus sectional title offices and ground floor retail.
The Media Mill, fronting on Quince Street, is being extended, with a number of additional commercial buildings, while Atlas Studios on Frost Street is entering its third phase, with more studio space being added.
Two major new buildings on the consolidated Johannesburg University west campus are the magnificent R50-million School of Tourism and Hospitality and the School of Design. Directly opposite these is the Gas Works, which is a project of great potential for re-development and I'm sure we will see a mixed use development of lofts, flats, retail and special business premises emerging in the not too distant future.
I hear the historic Laundry on Napier Avenue, north of Milpark proper, has been sold, apparently for a car showroom. I would imagine that such a proposed use will draw huge opposition if it means destroying these magnificent buildings.
Directly opposite the Laundry, the German Old Age Home has been upgraded; Milpark College has changed hands and is being upgraded; the Early Bird building is being converted into lofts, the Sex Shop has been gutted and renovated for offices and the Corporate Clearout building has been sold.
So, there is much movement in Milpark.
Regards, Neil
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