There was a specific day, five or six years ago, when I saw Rosendal dying. As often happens with death, an uneasy silence hung over the small Eastern Free State town. It had never been a particularly busy place, but it had always had a steady heartbeat.
There were usually people and dogs on the stoep at Rosa Restaurant. Some of the artists’ galleries or studios would be open. You would encounter at least one person sporting a flamboyant hairstyle or clothing on the streets. But on that day, there was nothing. The home of artist couple Willem and Linda Pretorius, filled with children, felt like an island in the desolation. “Things are going badly for the town. There is no water, the area is bone dry and people are moving away,” Willem said.
The only place to eat was at the kitchen of the old hostel. It must have had a name, but I cannot recall it. I do, however, remember that the owner’s 12-year-old son cooked my steak, brought it to me and said: “I hope it’s all right, Oom.”
THE PAST TWO YEARS HAVE seen the pulse of the town grow steadily stronger, and now it’s positively beating with new life.
“All Rosendal needed was a pandemic,” says Debbie Agenbag. Like many other people, Debbie and her partner, Grietjie Lee,
