It's that time of the year again
For those of you receiving my annual missive, it might feel a bit like receiving another pair of socks from Aunt Mabel. You'd probably prefer to be sipping sundowners on the Ellerman House terrace than having to open it, but here are those socks anyway!
Whilst in a festive mood, I thought I'd start with music. I'll spare you “Jingle Bells” and ask instead that you click here in the hope that it will give you warm and fuzzy holiday feelings.
You might be asking yourself what on earth a Johnny Clegg song has got to do with anything (and also if this hotelier has actually lost the plot). But “The Crossing” serves as a gentle reminder of what our owner, Paul Harris' dream is all about — and it is most certainly not about selling rooms. Because Paul is passionate about South Africa, our mandate is to instill in our guests a love and enthusiasm for this remarkable country that stays with them long after they leave us.
When I first met Paul, his mission, and that of his family, was clear: “We love everything South African — our people, our art, food and wine, the scenery, our indigenous gardens, our Click Foundation.” Knowing my background, working with musicians through the nonprofit Casterbridge Music Development Academy, he challenged me: “You have a love for music. Why don’t you bring music to our house?"
And so, 2018 became the year of music, a year in which a small hotel, big name musicians and extraordinary chefs created magical moments that not only sparked and strengthened a love for South Africa in our guests, but made a positive impact on the larger world.
We did indeed bring music to Ellerman House in a way that respects and cherishes the tradition of this amazing property, yet allows us to show off the beauty and joy that is South Africa. As Paul Harris says, “Ellerman House is a beautiful property where we set incredibly high standards, but don’t take ourselves too seriously. We love to have fun and create a lifetime of experiences for our guests."
I’ve always believed that musicians and chefs have much in common. These creatives have the most interesting tales to tell and so the ‘Ellerman Sessions’ were born. These intimate evenings of shared musical and culinary storytelling provide a true glimpse into the hearts of these talented professionals and allow us, as audience and participants, to learn more about South Africa and its complex history from first-hand tales.
The concept was the easy part. Executing it was more challenging. This is where the Ellerman House staff shone in the way only they can, everyone happily gave their massive pound of flesh to ensure that it worked. From the very first Session, one could feel an incredible bond between the staff and our guests. The evenings were also a unique experience for the performers. Ard Matthews, David Kramer, Karen Zoid, The Parlotones, Vusi Mahlasela and Watershed play to huge audiences, but in this intimate setting, they revealed fascinating aspects of their lives that have been shared with very few. Similarly, chefs Peter Templehoff and Michelle Theron kept us enthralled with their intriguing backstories. Magical memories were created for everyone lucky enough to attend the Sessions.
It was this focus on talented South Africans that led to perhaps our most ambitious project of 2018. News that South African music legend Johnny Clegg was suffering from pancreatic cancer touched us all. A singer, songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and musical activist, Johnny’s infectious crossover music broke through barriers in South Africa and also exploded onto the international scene. With an award-winning career spanning over three decades, he has sold over five million albums worldwide and continues to bring people from all backgrounds together.
Wanting to do something special to honour Johnny’s immense contribution to our lives, a group of us — Roddy Quin, Kahn Morbee, Karen Zoid, Theo Crous, Richard Brokensha, my Ellerman team and I, together with the other artists in our lineup — put our heads together and came up with a plan for a collaborative, multi-musician cover of one of Johnny’s songs. This little gem of an idea snowballed into something larger than any of us could have imagined. We started with the blessing and backing of Paul Harris and soon everyone, from far and wide, wanted to participate in ‘Friends of Johnny Clegg’ and pay tribute to an icon.
On 10 September 2018, more than 50 of South Africa’s most popular and influential artists flew into Cape Town to share their time and talent in recording their own version of Johnny Clegg’s “The Crossing” at Mothership Studios. The song was produced by Theo Crous and mastered in Los Angeles by Lurssen, a multi Grammy award-winning studio. Emotions were high, with smiles all round and a wonderful sense of camaraderie amongst fellow artists and friends. The video of the song features local artists performing alongside acclaimed international artists Dave Matthews, Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford. It proved to be an overwhelming testament to Johnny Clegg and indicated the extent to which he has touched people’s lives through his music. It also showed how extremely powerful collaboration can be when egos are cast aside and people are united around a project that is selfless.
Our final storytelling session for 2018 took place on 5 December with Johnny Clegg in person as our performer and storyteller. And what a story Johnny had to share, filled with emotional tales of struggle and hardship, yet characterised by an overriding sense of joy, humour, hope and passion for this country. When the tribute video of "The Crossing" was shown and presented to him, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Click here to watch the video of this unforgettable evening
The project has thus far exceeded our wildest expectations and the response by the public has been phenomenal. At this writing, the song and video have raised R790,000 for The Click Foundation and the song is still at No 1 on iTunes, while the video has been viewed nearly 400,000 times.
The Click Foundation is part of our DNA at Ellerman House and in addition to the money raised through the cover song, we held the annual ArtAngels Auction in October, raising a whopping R2,400,000 for the Foundation, which focuses on English literacy programmes in under-privileged primary schools across South Africa. The programmes offer young learners the opportunity to work at their own pace through fun and enjoyable activities, navigating their learning journey by means of technology. The literacy project supports the Department of Basic Education’s policy goal of all children learning to read fluently, and with comprehension, by the end of Grade 3. Presently over 58,000 kids are being taught across 105 schools with the target being 1 million learners by 2022.
Music was one of only many exceptional Ellerman experiences which were created during 2018. In keeping with our quest to create unforgettable moments, a number of our guests embarked on an epic trip to explore the White Desert in Antarctica and filled the house with an air of excitement and anticipation and tales of adventure upon their return.
Our Benguela Diamond Safaris continue to offer guests a wonderfully unique romantic experience.
Art experiences remain a vital part of who we are and Talita expanded her range of tours and experiences. We are blessed to have such a brilliant art specialist on our team.
Our wine experiences continue to be guest favourites, as our relationship with winemakers and owners enables us to curate one-of-a-kind experiences, such as custom-designed wine tours by helicopter.
Our fresh new interiors at Ellerman House have been well received and 2019 will see new upgrades to Villa One, the introduction of pool pods and exciting changes to the restaurant offering.
Our Sales & PR teams spent incredible moments with our trade & media partners across the world once again this year. You guys make this business fun and exciting and without your incredible support and friendships we would not have this business, so thank you to each and every one of you.
To our loyal guests, thank you for making Ellerman House such a special place to work.
To my team, thanks for your unbelievable support and hard work and for turning so many of our collective crazy ideas into practical, achievable and exciting projects. This is a team that is never complacent, that loves pushing the boundaries into unknown territory. Though much was achieved this year, a real highlight was being recognised by the editors of Condé Nast Traveler as the only South African hotel on its ‘Gold List’ of the world’s best hotels and resorts.
To the Harris Family, thanks for backing us and challenging us to stretch our limits.
Without saying too much, in 2019 we will be pushing the boundaries even further by designing our own car, creating bespoke beverages, and curating more exclusive, out of this world experiences for our guests.
Hospitality is kind of like a song. Sometimes it can be sung pretty damn awfully - like me in the shower - and sometimes it’s pitch perfect, like a Karen Zoid number. But in the end, it’s about how it makes one feel. All of you have made all of us feel pretty great about being in the hospitality business and for that we are sincerely grateful.
Have a wonderful Festive Season and an epic 2019!