Good morning, Durbanville!

As we head into the final weekend of May, the winter chill is firmly here. It seems the entire valley has the same idea: escape the cold with a warm hearth, excellent food and live entertainment. In fact, local shows are selling out faster than ever. If you were hoping to catch Elandré at Kapstadt Brauhaus tonight, we hope you already have your tickets because it is officially a sold-out house.

Because so many of our top-tier village events are packing out days before we land in your inbox, we are changing things up this week. Instead of just looking at the immediate weekend, we are launching a "7550 Ticket Watch" to give you a proper heads-up on upcoming shows while there is still time to grab seats.

Thanks for reading! — Leon, your neighbour in the valley

P.S. If there is particular news you would like to be included in this weekly newsletter, please let me know and I will see what I can do to incorporate it.

Checking the weekend availability at Die Boer on a Friday morning is often a direct route to a waiting list. Big names like Francois van Coke and Frank Opperman are already completely booked out for next week.

To make sure you don't miss out, here is a look at what is coming up over the next few weeks. If you want to secure a night out, now is the time to head to their website and book.

If you are planning to head past the hill into the city bowl or surrounding areas, there is a massive line-up of major events taking over Cape Town this weekend:

🏏 Newlands New Year’s Test Ticketing Fiasco If you tried to secure tickets on Monday for the much-anticipated Proteas vs England New Year’s Test at Newlands (3–7 January 2027), you likely walked away empty-handed. Tickets mysteriously showed as "sold out" by 09:20—ten minutes before the official launch time—causing major frustration online.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has since issued an official apology for the communication breakdown. It emerged that a mere 13% of daily tickets (around 1,600 per day) were actually made available to the general public, while 39% were locked out for international and domestic travel packages. The good news? CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki confirmed that a second batch of public tickets will be released soon, with prices expected to sit between R420 and R500. Keep your eyes glued to the ticketing portals so you don't miss the second drop!

🐂 Pampoenkraal Square Sculpture Restoration Closer to home, TygerBurger reported on 20 May 2026 that the oxen sculptures at Pampoenkraal Square were successfully restored after recent vandalism. The City of Cape Town spent over R420,000 repairing the broken horns, cracks and weathering before respraying them back to their original bright colours. It's a small but incredibly welcome local fix-up to preserve an important historic water stop right in our village centre.

Welgemoed Area

If you want a quicker, flatter alternative to the nature reserves to clear your head this Saturday morning, the path around Door de Kraal Dam is looking beautiful after our recent rains. It is a fantastic, easy loop for an early morning walk with the family or the dogs. Just make sure to wrap up warm against that early breeze coming off the water!

With the cold weather keeping everyone indoors, we are officially launching the hunt for the best comfort food in the valley. We want to know: Where is the absolute best wood-fired pizza in Durbanville right now?

Whether your absolute go-to is the warm, family-style comfort at The Olive Bistro, a sleek gourmet night out at Col'Cacchio or a hidden-gem artisanal slice from PitZar, we want to hear about it.

👉 Hit reply to this email and tell us your top local spot. I will compile all your submissions into the definitive 7550 Winter Pizza Guide for next week's dispatch!

Thanks to Kathrin van Rensburg who sent in two beautiful photos of the clouds (and cold) approaching.

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