Archive for the ‘South West Scene’ Category

That's right! Our awesome mates down at Kafe Karahi in Wimbledon have a brand spanking new menu with its own exclusive Durban Specials section, which includes mouth watering Bunny Chows and Chip 'n Cheese Roti's… best of all you don't even have to get off your couch to enjoy them…. well maybe just to open your front door!

Check out the new exclusive Durban Specials section of their menu

Now do you really wanna order that same old boring Pizza that you normally order when you don't feel like cooking?

Give them a shout and tjoon them to pull in with a couple bunnies! 

Just because I'm so kind and generous, you can download your very own copy of their new full menu right here right now…

0208 540 7288 do it! do it! :)

Kafe Karahi Menu July 2010

Check out the original post for Kafe Karahi here to get an idea of the awesomeness

- Marky Mark

Yes, unfortunately you did read that correctly… It's been a sad week, on Tuesday word broke out that one of Wimbledon's most iconic pubs is to shut its doors indefinitely on Tuesday 22nd June 2010.

The Wimbledon Walkie opened its doors to the masses in March 2003, I know this because I was there, geeez its been a while hey. It instantly became Wimbledon's finest expat stronghold and has upheld this title all the way through the years. Every South African, Aussie and Kiwi living in the area or just passing through has set foot through those doors, sometimes both feet airborne on the way out

Over the years it has hosted the maddest booze fuelled parties South West London has grown to absolutely love and cause some uptight local residents to absolutely seeth with hatred. The Walkie has had an endless supply of complaints but has always managed to stand up firm and somehow stay open.

So, how do I even begin to start the list of awesome memories that those walls hold… as the saying goes, those walls can sure as hell tell some stories. I do remember one occasion back in 2005 which I'm sure Tinie should remember quite well too where I landed up getting a head butt from hell, bursting my forehead open and landing up entertaining the nurses for the rest of the night down at St. Georges A&E, with my massive gash that required 11 stitches when I finally got seen to… I kinda resembled a sort of frickin Frankenstein, but thankfully the scar healed nicely and barely visible anymore. As with many a person, my boxers also became a permanent fixture up in the ceiling somewhere amongst all the cables, and, not to forget the infamous Snake Bite Sundays… here's true story, I went to a job interview the morning after a massive Snake Bite Sunday and would you believe it, I got the frickin job… My mind is starting to do kart wheels now as the multitudes of memories start flooding in. To say the least, I think each and every one of us can tell many a tale about a night or full day and night down at the Walkie… Lets not forget that the Wimbledon Walkie once held the World Record for JagerBomb Dominoes. Many staff members have come and gone of the years some for a short stay and others for a lot longer, etching their names into and providing the personality for the character that was The Wimbledon Walkie, people like Archie, Party Boy, Larry, Emma (Lucifer if you've ever glanced at the screen on the till when she serves you ), Chloe, TJ, Tinie, Sledgy, BJ, Gabby, Craig, Chef Sam, the list goes on (sorry if I've left anyone out) but these are the people that made the Walkie what it was, here's to all you guys and girls, what you created was awesomeness!

Check the video from the World Record JagerBomb Dominoes!

Unfortunately I've not had a chance to speak to Emma and find out what the whole deal is (Emma if you read this, maybe mention it in the comments if you can) as its come about pretty suddenly and has quite literally sent shockwaves through the Wimbledon social scene but I guess thats the way it is, however… this doesn't stop the Walkie from going out with the biggest bang Wimbledon has ever seen… so prepare yourselves for one MASSIVE weekend of Walkie madness. You'll definitely see my hedgehog spikes cruising through the crowd there tonight and then on Sunday night because….. now hear this… I'm still waiting for confirmation if it has succeeded, but today Jovan launched a campaign to raise money for a plane ticket to bring Party Boy back to the Walkie all the way from Cape Town, to do what he does best just one last time, I'm sure his name gives it away. I few of us have sponsored a few pounds towards his ticket so hopefully enough was raised because it just won't be a full on farewell if he isn't there. 

Here's a little Party Boy Teazer…. 

So guys, get your butts down to the Walkie this weekend and bid farewell to a bit of history… I can't say I won't shed a tear when I walk out for the last time. 

Farewell Wimbledon Walkie, You've really been a part of all our lives over the years, many memories that will never be forgotten even if we tried our best to forget some of them. All the best! 

so…

GAME ON!

 

I think we'd all be interested to hear all your stories, so get cracking with the comments, tell us of your most memorable (or not so memorable) experience you had at the Walkie

- Marky Mark

Incase you didn't pick up your free copy of SA Promo recently (you can read the online version here) you might have not known that someone who's possibly just a little 'Cooler as Ekke' is coming to London town… Yes, my china's! Jack Parow is finally pulling in… and he's bring some maaitjies with him, Die Heuwels Fantasties to bust it out at Clapham Grand.

If you don't know who I'm talking about then you've probably been living in a village somewhere up norf with no interweb connection (which you obviously have now since you're reading this)  and not had any contact with a Saffa for a very long time now. If you need a little catch up session on what I'm talking about, then check this post I did some time ago about him.

Since then Jack Parow has released his self titled album and pretty much sky rocketed to fame in SA. He even sat in on an entire show with Seth on his 2OceansVibe Radio show the other morning which has also just recently seen the likes of the legendary John Smit, so you've kinda really gotta be a bit 'Cooler as Ekke' if you wanna be sitting there. Jack Parow has become quite the household name these days. Thankfully he's taking the time out of his busy schedule to come over to London to spiel us a few lietjies and let us Saffa's dominate good old Clapham Grand once again… I think the last proper domination was my birthday there last  year

One word of advice, you should know the drill, Clapham Grand is not exactly Wembley Stadium so do yourself a flavour and get your tickets ASAP, because don't say I didn't warn you, this is going to be a one time sell out.

Jack Parow and Die Heuwels Fantasties are tjooning it for one night only on the 8th July… yes, thats just around the corner..

Tickets cost a mild £18 each from SA Tickets and doors open at 7pm and show starts at 8pm.

Make sure you check out SA Promo for updates

 

Here's a little something to wet your taste buds…

Jack… haal gaat, ons kannie wag nie bra! haha

I hear Parys Potgieter is frickin dying to meet him

- Marky Mark

After many many years of probably being the most famous and notorious watering hole amongst Saffa's, Aussie and Kiwi's in the whole of London, The Slug in Fulham has now moved… to Wimbledon! YAY!

As you most probably very well know, The Slug was situated at the Kings Head in Fulham Broadway and this was its home ever since I can remember, but unfortunately for our poor old Slug, he was to become homeless, but that's when us good folk in Wimbledon took him in with open arms (and mouths) and gave him a nice new habitat on Hartfield Rd, literally a 1 minute stumble from Wimbledon Station. Our Slug is very happy now in his new home, not only does his home seem alot bigger but its kitted with some awesome new toys too! 

After The Slug recently opened up in Wimbledon, I popped down to check it out and give it a little inspection of my own. It had a lot to live up to mind you, since back in the day when my body could actually still handle a blinding Friday hangover with ease, myself, Huncle, BreadBoard, The Fellow, Pilotte de Chasse, Homeless and many more to name a few, all used to make that slow trek on the infamous "drag your heels" District Line for some Thursday night debauchery on a ridiculous scale, and without fail, every Thursday was as if it was the first time we'd ever been there, it was boy band crazy! To be quite honest, when I heard The Slug in Fulham was closing I was close to shedding a tear, as this was definitely the end of an era… but as with a lot of things, we don't realise that sometimes these things are little blessings in disguises, because a before long, The Slug popped up literally right on our doorsteps. Not much has changed besides the venue since its still under the management of Greg, who you'll remember from Fulham, so all the awesomeness is still there, yet even better now with the new venue…. and it being in Wimbledon… no more missioning!

As mentioned the venue itself is bigger than Fulham, and now much to my absolute delight, there are 8 (yes I said big screens, 4 upstairs and 4 downstairs along with another 5 plasma screens… in other words, no matter where you are standing or sitting in the venue when the rugby is on, you are going to get a pretty damn good view… even if your name is Marky Mark and you're 5'6" The music is the same awesome vibe that has stood the test of time and the crowd generates an unbelievable atmosphere.

As for the drinks, oh dear… brace yourself… Jagerbombs are £1.50 all night, every night… and as for the other drinks, lets just say I haven't seen a "Can of the Best" (Jack and Coke) at a better price anywhere else in Wimbledon, which is already a winner right there!

I was informed by Greg today that the Jagermeister Team paid him a little visit yesterday, to find out just what has happened to all the Jagermeister they supplied… as it turns out, last week 300 bottles of Jagermeister were consumed at The Slug which has earned them the 3rd Biggest Seller of Jagermeister in the UK Award! Howzat! If you were down there on Saturday night for Marky Mark and The Jen's Engagement Party, you'd probably have seen why, cause damn, those Jagerbombs were but flowing BIGTIME! 

Due to the massive success of Saturday night for Marky Mark and The Jen's Engagement Party, with a very special thanks to Greg and the Slug staff for really going all out on their part to make it a success, The Slug has officially become Marky Mark's Recommended Pre-Midnight Jol! The amount of excellent comments I've heard since then have been insane, The Slug is definately the way forward!

Try these drinks specials on for size… best you get down there tonight!

Thursday nights @ Slug
Welcome to our world famous Thursday night session. We have the biggest Thursday night party in London !!
Dj G plays all the best rock, pop, dance and indie anthems.
Loads of drink specials during the night including £1.50 snakebites, £6.00 jugs, £1 shots and £1.50 Jagerbombs!!
Be early !!! Open till midnight.

Friday nights @ Slug
Dj Zulu continues the party playing all the latest and classic dance tracks with some cheese thrown in.
Loads of drink specials during the night including £1.75 Savanna, Castle Lager, Tooheys New and Tooheys Dry.
Open till midnight.

Saturday nights @ Slug
Dj G plays all the best rock, pop, dance and indie anthems.
Loads of drink specials including £1.50 snakebites @ selected times during the night, £6.00 jugs and £1 shots.
One BIG party !! Open till midnight.

Sunday nights @ Slug
Go Ape Sunday Session! All drinks £1.50 from 5pm.
Bring a banana and get a free shot of Corkeys!
Dj MC playing all the best rock, pop dance and indie anthems.
Open till midnight.

Catch me and the boys down there this Saturday for live Super 14 Rugby Semi Finals and Gez's Birthday Bash!

Get ready for another wild one! EISH!

Check out The Slug's Website Here for more info

Join The Slug's FaceBook Page here

- Marky Mark

South African Films plus Q&As and Tickets Up For Grabs!

15 – 17 May

Hmvcurzon Wimbledon is proud to announce the first of two features in our South African film season with the award winning Triomf  and critically acclaimed Crime – it’s way of life, plus Q&A’s with directors of both films. 

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Triomf (advised 18): 

Director: Michael Raeburn • Starring: Pam Andrews, Lionel Newton, Vanessa Cooke, Edwin Van Jaarsveld • South Africa 2008 • 120 mins

Set in the Johannesburg suburb of Triomf, built on the ruins of the demolished Sophiatown, the story centres around the poor white Afrikaner Benade family and takes place in May 1994, tackling the subjects of poverty, marginalisation and incest. 

Join us for this special screening of TRIOMF a South African Family drama based on Marlene Van Niekerk's novel of the same title. The screening on Sunday 16th May will be followed by a post-screening discussion with director/producer Michael Raeburn.

Saturday 15 May – screening only – 12.30pm

Tickets: £5.00 – Adult /£4.00 – Cineaste member

Saturday 16 May – screening plus Q&A – 2.30pm

Tickets: £10.00 – Adult /£8.00 – Cineaste member

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Crime – it’s a way of life (advised 18):

screening plus Q&A with director Savo Tufegdzic and actor Sibusiso Mamba.

Director: Savo Tufegdzic• Starring: Kim Cloete, Tsepo Desando, Sibusiso Mamba, Kevin Smith• South Africa 2008 • 94 mins

Andrew comes home one evening to find that his wife, Michelle has kidnapped Sipho, the man who had hijacked her a week earlier. Sipho came back to the house thinking that there was money hidden away. So begins a struggle of wits between the two, as Michelle thinks that the only solution is to kill him, whilst Andrew feels, that following the law is a better option. Through their struggles, we learn of the ordeal that Michelle had to endure with Sipho and his accomplice, the Other Man. How far would a person go to defend what is theirs?

Monday 17 May: 6.15pm.

Tickets: £9.00 – Adult /£7.50 – Cineaste member  

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Tickets can be purchased online at www.hmvcurzon.com and printed out while at home.

The tickets will then be scanned on the door in order for customers to gain admission to any of the three screen auditoriums, which have been themed Red, Blue and Green. Customers are still able to buy tickets at the cinema or even the hmv store.

I've Got Tickets Up For Grabs!

Thanks to the awesome folks over at HMVCurzon, I've got a pair of tickets up for grabs to each movie!

All you need to do is make sure you're a fan of the PharSide.co.uk fan page on FaceBook and answer one really difficult question…

In which London suburb is the HMVCurzon Wimbledon located?

Email your answers to informer@pharside.co.uk, subject header: Triomf/Crime Compo
Entries close midday on Friday 14th May 2010

The HMVCurzon is situated on Wimbledon Broadway literally a few steps down from Wimbledon Station, for directions and map, please see http://www.hmvcurzon.com/

- Marky Mark

They say us Saffa's like to believe we're invincible (especially after a few Klippies) so we put it to the test… we rounded up two guinea pigs, and who better to use than my good friends, Dwayno and Julz… it was quite simple really, I didn't need to go out and buy a shitload of booze, then tie them to a chair and make them drink… no, I knew if I'd just let them run free they'd do just that…

On Saturday night Dwayno and Julz were out doing what they do best… getting nicely shoe polished at our bar of choice, namely Bar Sia. I joined them at a good hour around 1am after attending a birthday party at the Roadhouse in Covent Garden (awesome jol btw) and by the time Bar Sia closed we were all pretty much in all sense of the word… fucked! We hobbled down to the Passion Palace where I introduced our contestants to my little furry friend Tinka The Terrorist… now just to give you an idea of the state we were in… it would appear that Dwayno suffers from a slight case of narcolepsy… ever seen a man fall from an upright standing position face first, face planting the carpet?… well yeah, we have now Eventually we noticed it was getting a little light outside and decided it was time to catch a few zzz's… so on they went to their humble abode walking in the door around 6am… and this is where the fun starts….

7:30am – Tring! tring! alarm goes off and our contestants rise and shine… after just over an hours sleep (still feeling rather trashed) they drag their sorry asses to central London to the start point of 10km/6mile run for Sport Relief… thats right ten frickin K's… it may not seem like much for a few of you but in my world, that's like running from Durban to Cape Town (I've got short legs you know). And so, all kitted out in their proper running attire the race commenced at 10:25am and off they went…

Now I could quite understand if these two came stone last or bailed out 10 meters from the start, because these two were BROKEN the night before, trust me, I was there! I could barely make it down the stairs to the front door that morning, virtually collapsing at the door of the off license to get another packet of cigarettes… but no! these mutant super humans from another frickin planet, finished the 10km race in 56mins flat! …. yes! 56mins!… no chunda, no bambi, no stretcher… three simple words spring to mind… here's the abbreviation… WTF!

I won't lie, I was driving when I took the call to say they had completed the race and quite honestly, I almost crashed the Black Mamba because just the thought of it put me into a state of shock.

I think this proves the fact that us Saffa's are quite honestly invincible hardcore motherfuckers to say the very least

Well done to Dwayno and Julz for being such good guinea urr sports, and I would just like to inform them that they are now the current front runners for the PharSide "I'm Fuckin Bulletproof" Award!

Well done boyz! You did us proud!

Hey Dwayne!….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz hahahhaha

Check out the pics below… ironically, Dwayno had his sunnies on just incase the sun hurt his eyes… I think that must have been the least of his problems!

P.S. They didn't stop there… they proceeded on to the Walkabout for an afternoon of booze and football which carried on till 10pm… have a good day at work yesterday boys?

- Marky Mark

Pamela Anderson and Vivienne Westwood were out on the razzle in Wimbledon on Monday night and lucky for them they got to meet yours truely

You may remember in one of my previous posts on Pammy, I did mention that one of my Christmas wishes was to get a photo of her and I, well, let me just tell you that wishes do come true, especially if its to do with a "genie" and not only did I get to have a pic with Pammy but I got a double whammy as I got to have one with Vivienne Westwood too, at the same time Lets just say I pretty much fulfilled many a 20 something year old boy's dream.. YAY!

It all started when I popped into Bar Sia for a drink, I was standing outside having a smoke and thought, let me pop around the corner and see if I can get a glimpse of Pammy as she was exiting the backstage door, along with a few other fans. I stood infront of the black Range Rover that was obviously waiting there for her. The next minute Pammy comes through the door and instead of getting into the car she starts walking in my direction around to the front. She said " where are we going?" I was just a little stunned at this to say the least and said, "huh, aren't you getting into the car?" to which the dude who was helping her along said they wanna get to the pub across the road called The Wibbas Down Inn ie. Weatherspoons, so I walked with them and as we got to the door I shook her hand and said its an absolute pleasure to meet you, to which she replied it was lovely to meet me too haha yeah I can imagine we went inside and she sat down at the table, her mates sat down aswell I stood behind her at the bar getting a drink when the cordoned off the area with a velvet rope… with me inside, I thought geez this is pretty damn schweet! In the end I managed to get in a bit of chit chat discussing what vultures the paparrazzi were, as you could see them all lining up at the window desperately trying to get a shot. One seemed to get a bit upset with me cause every time I saw him try take a shot, I'd do a bit of a Gene Simmons KISS face obviously screwing up the pic haha

As they were getting ready to leave I said to Pammy and Vivienne that I didn't mean to be a bother but I would really appreciate it if I could get a pic with them, so I gave the camera to Pammy's manager and this was the result…

I'm sorry but I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am hahahhahaa

Both Pammy and Vivienne Westwood come across as really nice people, you would think that someone in Pammy's shoes would come across a bit bitchy due to being hassled all the time, well in my experience, not in the slightest, she really had time for anyone that spoke to her. Vivienne Westwood seems like such a nice down to earth person, she's awesome

This is right up there with the time I managed to sneak myself backstage at a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert in 2006, got to meet the guys, had a long chat with Ulf from Ace of Base who then took me along to the Chilli Peppers after party at Movida in the west end… in a pair of baggies, sneakers and a T-shirt!

Geez I Love My Life

- Marky Mark

On Friday night myself and Huncle cruised over to the new Joe Cools in Fulham, London for their opening night, the place rocked however it did have a few teething problems which can be put down to opening night woes.

We rocked up at about 8:30pm and the place was already heaving with a decent portion of the saffa population in South West London, as there were familiar faces everywhere I looked. Instantly I knew this was going to be one hellova night. The bars were pretty crowded but managed to organise a drink from a mate who was just about to get served, so we decided to have a little snoop around. Now obviously with it being the venue of the old Zulu's the layout was kinda familiar, well sort of in the sense of the rooms themselves, the stair cases and bathrooms which would obviously be there since they didn't tear down the building down and build a new one. The main entrance has now changed to the other room where Zulu's had a bar which is now on the opposite side, that led into the dance floor area with the stage. The ground floor dancefloor is still there due to the size of the room with a DJ box where the stage was. The old main area is still a main bar area however instead of having the bar along the wall it is now a huge round bar in the middle of the room. Going down stairs you enter another bar area which has also changed the bar along the back wall into a square shaped bar against the same wall. Walking on through, the old main dance floor is still there but has had a major face lift which some nice black and white tiles put down, and the old DJ box is now a shooter bar with the new DJ box on the opposite wall. I had to laugh when I saw the two poles in the middle of the dance floor because those two poles have probably seen more of women's inner thighs and cleavage than most guys I know Moving on into the other bar area where they used to have the bar in the corner, this has now moved to the other side of the room also in a square shaped bar.

The decor itself is very well done out, you can see alot of bucks was spent into getting it to look like it does. Alot of carpeting on the floors and walls downstairs give it a softer classier feel. If you've been to a few of the owner, Guy Van Der Post's clubs in SA, you'll know what I mean, he tends to use a similiar decor style which always looks great. If you liked what he did with the Grand when they revamped it, then you'll love this, similar but effective.

The vibe was awesome, its always good to see multitudesof familiar faces when a new place opens because not only does it increase the likeliness of having a banger of an evening, but it also sets your crowd standard and likeliness of going back because you know its a good decent crowd. My only complaint throughout the evening which also seemed to be common feedback that I got from a number of people was the difficulty getting drinks from some of the new bar staff, although you could see the more experienced staff were on the ball. I had my own episode down in the bottom back bar where I was left standing for 35mins waiting to get a drink where the bar lady would get to the guy next to me on my left, then skip me and serve a person a few people down to the right, once was ok, the second time agitating, the third time I was starting to get annoyed, during the forth time just as she was skipping me I waved both arms out and called to which I got the reply, "I have to serve them first" I thought, really? how does that work if you are serving people from left to right in a sequence, I looked for a mirror to see if I had "Don't serve me" written across my fore head or a massive leaking chorb on my face that she couldn't stand to look at. Now those who know me will know me as an extremely patient person reinforced with the fact that I know what its like working behind an extremely busy bar, I've been there, some will remember PharSide's Pigs Nights back in the day… ja, nuff said but for the first time in my life I completely lost it and went absolutely nuts at the bar lady and the barman when they stood infront of me pouring drinks, to which he replied sorry they were really busy, so I said fine but how many times is she gonna skip me before I get served? its not like I was hidden behind any beer taps or anything like that. At the time this was happening, a friend who was helping behind the bar that night heard me venting my frustrations, ran across from the other side of the bar and in record time, got me the two drinks I'd been so patiently waiting for. Now given it was opening night, new tills, mostly new staff who may be inexperienced in a high demand bar, its not uncommon that something like this could happen so I'll put it down to a teething issue, coupled with the fact that I know that the management are more than well aware of the problem so I have every faith that after Friday night, we'll see a massive improvement next time round no doubt.

The door staff seem like a good bunch of guys to the extent that I actually felt quite welcomed when I walked through the door which is quite rare but always a good thing when it happens, I reckon this may have something to do with the head doorman coming across as seriously decent oke when we were handing our tickets in at the door.

The music is pretty much exactly what most saffa's will enjoy from a commercial point of view, which is a main catalyst for an awesome night as it caters for virtually all tastes. I even found myself squeaking a takkie downstairs at one stage

The jol closes at 1am which is obviously down to licensing laws governing the area as this was the same for Zulu's, however it does give you enough time to catch a few dops in Wimbledon for an hour or two before heading home or the location of where your walk of shame will commence in the morning

All in all, it is an excellent jol which is definately going to be a massive hit here in London, good music, good vibe, seriouisly good jol!

Well done guys! It Rocks!

- Marky Mark

Pamela Anderson performs as the Genie in Aladdin at Wimbledon Theatre which turns out to be an awesome show and I got to see it… YAY!

Myself, The Phreak and Waine took a stroll a few doors down to Wimbledon Theatre last night to watch Aladdin, featuring special guest star Pamela Anderson as the genie and I must say, all three of us, thoroughly enjoyed it. The show is around 2.5hrs long which flies through and the gorgeous Pammy floats down from above the stage 50mins into the show. The show really keeps you going all the way with constant local humour and getting the audience very involved in true panto fashion, also not to mention in my case, my heart flat lining every time Pammy made an appearance onstage.

Pammy really is just insanely gorgeous, at 42 she is just as hot as she was 20 years ago when she first appeared on the cover of Playboy, its actually hard to come to terms that she is that age because I tell you what, if The Jen wasn’t around, I think Pammy may just have a chance with me

Despite what I read in a newspaper by some boring pompous dumbass critic who thinks he knows something about acting, I'm a normal person just like everyone else in the audience and I thought her performance was brilliant, she did really well, no complaints whatsoever. She cracks a few jokes which stem from her life of fame which gets a good chuckle from the crowd. Did I mention her outfit is damn fine too she doesn’t have a leading role as such so her performance is understandably short but that’s the way the story goes and that’s how it was written.

Her stint lasts for two weeks and I heard she had a pint at Weatherspoons (Wibbas Inn) opposite the theatre the other night, so I’m hoping she pops around the corner to Bar Sia next door to the theatre for “A Can of the Best” one night before she leaves, as other guest celebrities in productions at the theatre do.

If you are able to get tickets for the performance I’d definitely recommend that you make a plan and go see it as it’s definitely one of the better shows I’ve seen, with constant laughs all the way through.

Hopefully one of my Christmas wishes will come true and I can get a photo of me and Pammy haha

- Marky Mark

A lot of people have been asking me lately about PharSide, why I do it and whats my game plan, so here's a little insight as to what PharSide is, how it came about and why I do it

So where do I start? Well, I guess from the beginning of course…

The name PharSide, comes from the the famous or infamous PharSide night club in Pinetown, South Africa, of which I was involved in for a short period of time. I decided to pack my bags and make the long haul trip over to the UK many moons ago and see where it would take me, I got home one night after a decent boozing session and found myself doing some drunken purchasing… I seemed to have a habit of doing this, sometimes even forgetting what I'd bought until it arrived in the post a few days later… a prime example of this was a racing steering wheel with full action feedback and floor pedals for my computer car racing games. So one night while I was a drunken mess, I thought it would be a bright spark idea to purchase the domain name, PharSide.co.uk, just for shits and giggles….. and so it began

At the time I was living in a houseshare in Richmond Avenue, Wimbledon, with the likes of old school mates, Brad "BreadBoard" Hogg, Adam "The Fellow" Smallman and Trevor "Maverick" Webster. Our houseshare like many others, was one boozed up party house with something of an event happening virtually every night of the week in or out the house. Most notably was Brad's 24th birthday which was a house party that I'm sure Wimbledon itself will not forget because OMG!, madness in every sense of the word. I think I still have a video lying around somewhere of Adam being hurtled down the passage lying face down on a skateboard in a game of Human Ten Pin Bowling which included a series of empty beer cans lined up down the passage, however as he could not see in front of him he plowed head first straight into a heavy cabinet, we all cheered with laughter and surprise that he didn't crush a few vertebrae in his neck, because damn you should have head that knock… he did have a massive lump on his head though We decided that since we have this domain name, why not build a PharSide House website where we'd upload photos and stuff to show our mates back home in SA just what a jol they were missing out on. We even had little business cards made that we'd hand out to potential female sleepovers while we were terrorizing Wimbledon on nights out, lets just say the staff at KFC at the time absolutely hated us, they hated Brad more cause he always walked out with the straw container along with all the straws. Unfortunately we had to move because the owners wanted their house back, possibly because the neighbours may have let them know how much fun we were having, so we moved to the house in Springfield Avenue known by many a friend as the crash landing pad when they arrived in London. A book can be written about this house, trust me Although shortly after, I moved in with my ex which made room for The Phreak and Waine to become members of the board at Springfield Avenue, BreadBoard decided that London wasn't cool enough for him anymore and he cruised on back to SA. So the site stayed dormant for a while until we broke up and I moved into "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love" in Worple Road, yeah thats the flat with "WOOT! WOOT!" written in white paint on the wall outside facing the road. I decided to revive PharSide, but this time not keep it bound with a house, but for all my mates. As you can imagine, the photos that went up week by week were of absolute carnage and debauchery. I was later joined in the flat by none other than Darryn "The Boschman" Bosch, and although Jeff "Fai$al" Cox was an honorary inhabitant of Springfield avenue, he practically lived at "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love". The carnage continued, photos of debauchery continued to go up each week, at times I would take a walk down memory or should I say, not so much memory lane taking a look at some of the pics and it occurred to me that anyone actually looking at this website, must think we are absolute raging alcoholics! Although I don't think we were very far off to be honest. After a few years, we had to vacate "The Pimp Palace Haven of Love", as the owner wanted to turn it into a home office. It was possibly a blessing in disguise for the sake of our health, although it was a very sad time for us. Due to The Boschman's relationship commitments at the time to Taryn "Little Possum" Lombaard, she had had enough of our shenanigans and put her foot down (at least someone was sensible), so they moved in together and we went our separate ways. Unfortunately due to the depression of the end of a awesome era, PharSide was somewhat neglected and resembled a nostalgic dilapidated wasteland where civilisation was once present.

Another two years passed and the fire grew inside me until one day I was browsing a well known Cape Town blog (respect to Seth Rotherham and his blog, 2OceansVibe.com for giving me the inspiration) when my head burst from the pressure and as the smoke cleared, a little light bulb burnt brightly… that was it, why hadn't I thought of it before, this was the next stage in the life of PharSide, it had grown from a houseshare website which only included the housemates, to a debaucherous photo website for a large group of friends.. and now after a long wait to let its liver and kidneys heal, its time for it to branch out even more, for every young saffa in London living the dream.

So much for the history lesson… and that was the extra short version haha So since Mid-September 2009, PharSide has flourished into a lifestyle blog  catering for all you Saffa's living it up in London, mainly South West London at the moment. Although saying that, whether you are in South Africa or even a saffa living in Alaska for that matter, you can still relate to PharSide. As you've probably seen now, PharSide has a mind of its own, there is no set direction or aim here, it directs itself, and it goes where you want it. PharSide is for everyone, it is there to provide you with entertainment, tell you where the jols are, let you know whats going down and all in all help to make your London experience that much better, its for all of you. Why do I do it? well why not? it entertains me to entertain you. I have had the biggest jol since the day I arrived in this town and it hasn't stopped, I want to share that with everyone because the bigger the party you have, is the bigger the party I have, which is the bigger the party we ALL have… kapeesh? I've been asked quite a lot where I find the time since I still work a full time job… well my friends… I decided I never really watch TV, so it is now taking up space in a shed at my parents house in Kent…. much to The Jen's disappointment as you can imagine but yes, you will not believe how much free time you have when you aren't glued to the TV all night Honest truth, I don't miss it and I don't even think about it…. although The Jen does keep reminding me

Since the new site went live in September, the amount of people visiting the site has increased day by day and sometimes at a rapid rate, obviously depending what I've decided to rant about on any given day, in the last week or so I've been peaking at ±700 unique visitors a day which was completely unexpected and given the time frame with zero money spent on advertising, I think thats pretty damn good after just 2 months… best of all its growing and growing. The awesome amount of compliments and support I've got from people is astounding. Just on Tuesday for example, I was standing outside Wembley Stadium before the Springbok vs Saracens game and an old friend, Hayden Cryer saw me, he said to his mate "This is Marky Mark, this is PharSide!" his mate then told me that because of my Durban curry review for Down South he trekked up there himself to have a taste and really digged it. Thats the kind of thing that keeps me going with this, thats the kind of thing that drives me, by making sure everyone is having an awesome time and enjoying the experience, because like I said, if everyone is having a jol, then yours truly is also having a jol… I enjoy writing articles and let people have their say in the comments because what I find half the time, is people are thinking the same thing I'm thinking but just waiting for someone to put it out there and say it… as you can imagine this snowballs into quite an eventful discussion at times. I enjoy speaking my mind and as you've probably noticed by now, once I start, I can't stop So if you dig PharSide and you dig what I'm doing, and if you want to be kept in the know, then become a fan of PharSide.co.uk on FaceBook and/or follow PharSide on Twitter (links top right)…suggest it to your mates if you want to, get them in on the action. Remember, sharing is caring and if you don't dig it and don't dig what I'm doing, then no-one is asking you to hang around and ever come back… simples

So if you are new to the whole PharSide vibe, have a read through the previous posts, it'll probably take a while, there's already been 69 before this one, but from what I hear, its worth the read

Thanks for all the support guys! You are all the best! Thanks for making PharSide what it is so far because without you it wouldn't be that way I'm amazed and I'm loving this ride!

Keep Living the Dream!

Okay, Over…brssshk!

- Marky Mark