Tashas

Once again, the Influencer has a Thursday afternoon job at Sandton City. This time it is at Poetry and unfortunately no plus one. No problem, I must catch up on some clothes shopping. The past 3 years did not need that much office wear. Now with an upcoming business trip, I need office wear.

Coming back to Sandton City. I do not know anything about this type of thing, but I wondered why the influencer jobs are always in Sandton City. Seems like the flagship stores are here and everything gets launched here first. Nice, I need clothes, where better to shop?

Wondering around I go in search of shirts and jeans or a chino. I notice the Gucci and Louis Vuitton stores have people queueing on the outside. Odd, maybe a product launch. I am told later, “No, they only allow a certain amount of people in the store”. And it has nothing to do with social distancing or any of that type of thing. People queue outside of these stores to pay a premium price for an item. Yes, I know, they are paying for the brand. But you obviously have the money, and you must queue outside of the store for this privilege. Unlike us mortals that might not have that much disposable income. We can go into other stores of a lesser reputable brand, and we do not have to queue outside.

Anyway, Sandton City has the latest and greatest items in its stores. The focus seems to be more on the ladies’ departments though. Quite frankly the H&M, ZARA, Woolies and Old Khaki stores in Mall of Africa offer a bit more variety in the men’s departments.

No biggie, I managed to get jeans, shorts, and new running shoes. The running shoes were not on the list, but they were in dire need of replacement.

Ok, that is a lot about shopping on date night. Amanda is still at her event and the stores are closing leaving me with few options. I returned my purchases to the car and get the camera bag and tripod. I am thirsty and I kind of want to sit down. The M&B is across from the store where Amanda is. Excellent. Sparkling water and Rooibos tea. A much-needed respite.

Amanda messages me and asks where I am. “I’m at the M&B”. I see her standing outside looking about. I phone her. “I am inside”. “Are we doing date night at M&B?”, she asks. “No, I am thirsty, the stores are closed and this is a good place to wait”. She meets me and we head to the Square.

It is beautifully lit up. There is a Steakhouse that looks very inviting from the outside. We decide to try it out. The host places us under a bright light and presents us with the menu. Hmmm… The waiter approaches and offers us water and bread. We are unsure about the place. We decide to leave. Awkies. We pay for the water and leave.

That place looks appealing, we go to Tashas. A dimly lit table outside in the corner. Perfect. A bottle of Diemersdal Merlot. Finally, I can relax. Amanda already had a glass of sparkling wine at the event. The T-Bone with fresh Fennel salad looks good. Amanda goes for the Aubergine Mille-Feuille as recommended by the waiter. This is what we wanted. We discuss the upcoming month, which seems quite busy.

I go to the bathroom. There is a podcast playing on the sound system. Unlike the familiar favourites playing outside. Almost as if someone left the music unattended. It has veered off to a sermon of the Pope preaching about the certainties of death. I run back to the table and tell Amanda to go and powder her nose even if she does not need the bathroom. She returns laughing, even though by the time she went the theme had changed to something else. This is funny.

We settle the bill. Amanda exclaims that she needs to complete a certain number of steps. I remark that we still need to return to the car, which is parked quite a distance away. We do just that and head on home. This time of night, it is a long but quiet drive.