Umbrellas are flying in Klopse circles about this year’s march not happening when or where it should have. Klopse leaders Richard “Pot” Stemmet (no relation) and Melvyn Matthews – who were once dik pelle in Victor Verster – are now bitter rivals one accusing the other of “selling out to white people”.

I’ll spare you the details and just say things didn’t go according to a century old plan this year and this upset a lot of people. The people responsible for the new plan are apparently in cahoots with the “white people” who run Cape Town and this is unacceptable. The so-called white people (read: city council of all stripes and colours) say they want to have a more organised approach to the carnival. In short, the same old story this year just on a different route.

The Kaapse Klopse is a Cape tradition right up there with bobotie and waterblommetjies. Every year there’s talk of it becoming Cape Town’s answer to the Rio Carnival yet every year it descends into a medieval mess.

All we can do, really, is stand next to Adderley Street every year, enjoy the march and then get the hell out of the City Bowl for the rest of the day. The Klopse are here to stay. It’s colourful, it’s viby, it’s most certainly hêppie and that’s all you want for a New Year. Second New Year, sorry.

[Source: IOL]