It’s quiet in Philippolis: it is the beginning of winter and the middle of the week, and holidaymakers travelling between Johannesburg and Cape Town are few and far between. The only noticeable activity is at the Karoo Artist’s Café.
There is, in fact, always something happening at Juliette Whelpton’s art café in Tobie Muller Street, arguably the most scenic street in the Free State’s oldest settlement. There’s a difference of opinion whether the town’s 200th anniversary should be celebrated in 2022 or 2023, but today a famous South African author is being commemorated at the weekly book reading at 11am. It’s Kobie Gouws’s turn to entertain the group with a CJ Langenhoven short story “Oom Hendrik in die spookhuis” (Oom Hendrik in the haunted house).
“Tannie Kobie is also a writer,” Juliette tells me. “We have many writers in this town. Our book readings started spontaneously. At first we were just an arts and crafts group, and Tannie Kobie began to do readings while the others were working.”
The Karoo Artist’s Café is a pet-friendly meeting place for artists, poets, musicians and storytellers. It’s also a haven for vegetarians and vegans, especially in this part of the world, where lamb chops and sheep’s tails are standard fare. It’s here where Juliette’s four greatest loves come together: books, music, food and horses.
