Cadbury Martians are back!

If you're a fan of Cadbury chocolates like I am, you would have known about their Martians campaign they ran last year. This week they've announced they're back! And that four new Martians make their entry to Earth bringing with them four unique limited edition Cadbury slabs! The slabs come in 80gm or 150gm and the new limited edition flavours include 5Star, Crunchie, Astros and Caramilk PS all of which are assigned to a unique Martian.

"We are delighted to have the Martians visiting us again - each Martian is adorable, exudes a lively personality, has great character and an irresistible charm" says Grant van Niekerk, Mondelez SA Category Lead for Chocolate. "The country fell in love with the Cadbury Martians in 2017 and we believe South Africans will discover joy of a new kind with our new limited edition slabs, campaign activities and collectible Martian figurines."

The new Martians named, Cosmo, Cupido, Buzz and Luna will all be available for grabs from participating Engen Quickshops, where you can purchase your limited edition slabs from, look for the promo sticker inside the wrapper which you then stick on a promotional pamphlet which you can get from participating Engen Quickshops as well. Once you have 4 stickers, you can redeem one of the four new Martians figurines. The promotion runs from 1 June to 31 August and available while stocks last. 

There is also a cool augmented reality experience app available on your phones app store, scan the wrapper from your promotional slab and be amazed as the Martians come to life, showing off their moves and even interacting with each other. Also during July and August, you could have a dance off with the Martians if Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria or Cape Town as they will be doing a country wide tour and there are some awesome prizes to be won. 

Bucket Seat: BMW M240i Convertible

The last time I got a convertible on test, I either had really bad karma or the weather God's really hated me, as for the full seven days in which I had the car, Durban had been experiencing torrential downpours for a week! But all was not lost, there was a brief 4 hours of sunshine in which I had to drop the top and take some pictures but then it was back to rain again after that. Now with this in mind, when I heard I was getting another convertible from BMW, I did some prayers to the weather God's, asked them nicely not to rain on my parade again, and to much of my surprise, they obliged! So here's how my week with the revised BMW 2 series convertible went. 

DESIGN

Now I've covered the bases on whats new with the revised BMW 2 Series when I had the 220d M Sport earlier in the year, hexagonal LED headlamps, etc, now with the convertible much of it is the same but I didn't have no run of the mill car, it was the range topping M240i and it came fitted with all of BMW's M Performance parts, to say the car looked menacing is an understatement! Painted in the much loved Estoril Blue, fitted with 19" M Sport multi-spoke rims with blue calipers, it certainly had heads turning as I drove around, whether the roof was up or down. If the looks didn't catch their attention, the crackle from the the twin tail pipes as I flew past them definitely did. This car is loud in every way, and I was loving it! The BMW M Performance parts adds a very different dynamic to the car, apart from making it look sporty, it adds character and flamboyance with the break in colour and this particular set of rims with the bi-colour scheme in jet black accentuated the style. On the interior, there wasn't much difference to speak off, apart from the cool brushed aluminium look you get with the M Sport package. Now the main highlight of this car is the roof, and while I'm not the biggest fan of a soft top, I learned to appreciate it much more especially with this car in particular. 

PERFORMANCE

Having driven the 340i before, I had sort of impression of what to expect with this one, but I was wrong, very wrong. The 2 Series is an entirely different car to the 3 Series, its lower, smaller, more agile and lighter, which makes you want to push the limits...in a safe manner that is, around all the bends and twists you may encounter, then when the road opens up, its time to unleash all 250kW of power, with the 500Nm ripping the tarmac along the way. 0-100km happens in a blink of an eye, and the musical notes that the exhaust sings just makes you want to keep carrying on! The 3-litre engine in the M240i is truly magnificent and if you a lover of the 2 Series, this is as close to an M2 convertible you're going to get! While it may not have the same power output as the M2, it still is a lot of fun to drive, and the plus side you can drop the roof when the sun is out. Now getting to that aspect, I said I wasn't a big fan of the soft top, while I have driven BMW's hardtop convertible offerings, the weight added by the roof has an astounding impact on driving dynamics, whether its up or down, with this, I couldn't feel a difference! Apart from the hurricane going through my hair when the roof was down. Mind you, when you do drop the roof, it's nice to flick the car into Eco-Pro mode, it tames the motor down a bit, giving you enough power but rather lets you enjoy the drive with the world all around you. 

COMFORT

When it comes to Coupes, I'm not the biggest fan, sure it looks great but those long doors only work well when you have tonnes of space either side of you. Don't understand what I'm saying? Well go park a coupe in a busy mall parking lot and let one idiot park as close as possible next to you. You'll be doing all sorts of yoga moves trying to get in. Then there's the seating position, it's coupe so it has to be low, but being a tall guy I need the seat more lower than normal which is fine while driving but getting out does become a bit of a strenuous activity. Now since I'm done complaining like an old man, everything else about the cars comfort is sublime. It's BMW in a nutshell, no matter what car you driving, what size rims you have, what setting you have the suspension in, the car tries it's best to give you that smooth ride. Yes with this one you can feel the odd bump here and there but you honestly don't care because you're having so much fun driving it. With the roof down it's much of the same, I didn't even use the air-net given since I had a passenger sitting in the back (with no complaints about space might I add), and the wind noise wasn't and issue. 

TECHNOLOGY

The revised 2 Series comes with the new lit up instrument cluster, not as fancy as the full digital ones we see in the 3 Series on-wards where the dials change colour in respect to your driving mode. The car does come with the new HD infotainment screen and has the upgraded tile format menu system. The car had the basics like PDC's and reverse camera but the light package really illuminated the car at night and justified it's price tag. I cannot preach more about BMW's adaptive LED light package with high beam assist. it works like magic and while I know many other manufacturers have this option too, I've seen it work the best with BMW. 

VERDICT

It's this part of the review where I give you a break down on my pros and cons of the car, why you should buy it and what to look forward to. Also what works well and what doesn't but with this but lets me honest, if you got the money to buy a car like this, just do yourselves a favour and do it. No matter what minor things I did or did not like about the car evaporates once you press that start button. The car will leave you breathless in more than one instance. It's pure fun and it will be difficult to wipe that smirk off your face every time you know you have to drive. With my last experience of a convertible, having rained for 90% of the time I had it, this one I maximised driving with the roof down, every damn opportunity I had, it was down and I was loving it! 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	3.0litre, 6 cylinder
Gear Box	8 Speed Sport Automatic Steptronic
Power	250kW
Torque	500Nm
Top Speed	250km/h (electronically governed)
Economy	7.4 L/100km
Price	R809,800*

*Excludes extras

Monday Choon: Armin van Buuren feat. James Newman - Therapy (Throttle Remix)

I've always maintained that a remix when done right can be better than the original, and that is exactly the case with today's featured choon. Armin van Buuren's latest offering "Therapy" featuring James Newman was debuted a few weeks ago, he himself played it in his live set at EDC Vegas where he played the Leo Reyes remix of the track, which is also another great remix but more suited to the the high energy trance set he was playing at the time. We have the Throttle Remix on the blog today, the original track is a bit slow, this one adds some funk and dance feel to it, with a catchy bass-line that had me playing it on repeat for much of the weekend, it is the perfect remedy for this blue Monday.

Amstel Boomtown 2018

When it comes to the Durban July, it's all about which marquee you're at, it's got have the vibe, the performers, the bars, the atmosphere that encompasses the event and there is only one marquee that's worth mentioning, and it's the Boomtown marquee! In what will be it's 10th year running this year, organizers are pulling out all the stops to ensure this years Boomtown is the biggest and best so far. While title sponsors may have changed over the years, the ethos of Boomtown still remains the same, giving the people whom attend an experience encompassing the ultimate in hospitality, luxury, decadence and vibe.

This year Boomtown is sponsored by Amstel and powered by Channel O and they are excited to announce the musical entertainment at this years biggest social event in Africa on the 7th of July 2018. This years line up is  all about celebrating South Africa's favourite musical genres, be prepared to experience music and urban lifestyle at its finest as Shimza, Maphorisa, Bongo Maffin, HHP, Shekinah, DreamTeam and Babes Wodumo take the Amstel Boomtown stage by storm!

There are a host of ticket packages available for Amstel Boomtown, starting off with General Access, R690, VIP Individual packages from R2500 and VVIP Individual packages from R3500, more information on what these tickets include, see the Boomtown website. For group bookings and private table bookings, please contact David from Boomtown events on david@boomtownevents.co.za. All individual tickets are available to purchase from Computicket. 

Be sure to look out for more exciting Amstel Boomtown announcements by following their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts as all roads lead to the ultimate Durban July lifestyle marquee on 7 July 2018! 

Bucket Seat: Suzuki Swift & Dzire - First Impressions

Last week saw the launch of Suzuki's two new budget vehicles into the local SA market, first a name that needs no introduction, the Swift hatchback and the second which is a sedan version but has been re-branded as the Dzire, I was fortunate to have been invited to the launch which happened up the North coast from Durban, and this is how it went. 

The all new Swift is here. #AllTheRightFeels pic.twitter.com/iPHMNTd1JJ

— Suzuki SA (@Suzuki_ZA) June 6, 2018

Normally launches aren't as glamorous as it looks, it involves lots of travelling to get to the destination of the launch which start off with flights at sparrows fart in the morning, getting to the location, going through a briefing, jumping in a car and driving for 2/3 hours, have lunch and drive another 2 hours, then make your way back home all while trying to sum up what you did when your brain is working on empty. This one however was a bit different, it was extremely chilled and in essence gave off the vibe that Suzuki were marketing about that car, all the right feels. 

After settling in my luxurious room at the Fairmont Hotel in Zimbali, it was time for a meet and greet session where I got to meet the good people from Suzuki as well as members of the media whom were present for that rotation of the launch, this was followed by a dinner presentation, giving us insight into the new generation Swift and the Dzire. The Swift being Suzuki's leading budget hatchback has sold over 6 million worldwide, this the third generation swift is being built at a brand new facility in Gujurat in India. While the overall shape of the Swift looks very similar to its predecessor, the new Swift has had some dynamic changes to it's design, with the length decreasing but the width increasing. So in essence the new Swift is shorter and wider, thus improving the cars turning circle, making the cabin a bit more spacious and giving it a better driving feel, yup this car is all about the feels. 

Suzuki opted to leave the engine unchanged, and stuck with its 1.2 litre naturally aspirated unit which produces 61 kW and 113Nm of torque, not the most exciting figures but in a car like the Swift, it is plentiful. As I found the next day while driving it through the Cane lands. The car is extremely fun to drive, the low center of gravity makes it feel like a game as you maneuver through the bends. The car I drove came with the 5 speed manual gearbox which required minimum effort in gear selection and the same could be said about the clutch. The cabin is pretty basic but has most of the creature comforts, number one being AC for the warm KZN climate, bluetooth audio and telephone connection and electric power windows with auto down for the driver. 

The route was rather fun, with a nice mixture of highway, town and quiet road driving which the Swift performed well in all. Jumping into the Dzire, it felt virtually the same, only thing it had a boot. It gives much of the same feedback as the Swift but handling is slightly better on the hatch. The engines were rather new, so there was points where the engine was rev happy but on a long run you can be sure that it will settle in and nullify that problem. Driving back to our lunch spot in Salt Rock was a breeze and the Caravan park where it was being served provided the perfect example to test the tight turning circle, managing to gap the cars in close to one another facing the ocean. 

Overall, the new Swift and Dzire are perfect for what they're meant for, they sort of sit in the middle of the lower budget hatch segment and the higher spec ones, so for example between a Vivo and the standard Polo. The price is really a bargain and Suzuki are running a really great launch special nationwide on its range topping GL. So if you're in the market for a budget car be it hatch or sedan, that's not boring and extremely light on fuel, but also want that reliability and solid build quality, look no further that these two. 

Prices and models

Suzuki Swift 1.2 GA Manual R159 900
Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL Manual R175 900
Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL AMT R189 900
Suzuki Dzire 1.2 GA Manual R161 900
Suzuki Dzire 1.2 GL Manual R177 900
Suzuki Dzire 1.2 GL AMT R191 900

Monday Choon: Alyx Ander & Redondo - Casually (feat. Maria Z)

Not sure why, maybe its the old in me coming out but I'm seriously enjoying these new dance tracks which have old school nostalgia tempo and beats to them. Take for example today's featured track by Alyx Ander and Redondo, the beat could easily be mistaken for an 80/90's R&B track with Mariah Carey on the lyrics but its not, it's actually a brand new release and features the vocals of the oh so fine, Maria Z. This just goes to show the variants in the EDM world, with fusion of other genre's in there that can transform music from one spectrum to a complete other. While I am a fan of electronic and trance, I don't mind these sort of tracks every now and then. The music video is pretty cool as well, take a look and listen. 

Bucket Scene: Pop-Up Society

A few weeks ago we were invited to the new visual menu launch of Pop-Up Society in Glenwood. For those who are unfamiliar with the restaurant, you clearly don't have social media, as their milkshakes were the most instagrammed milkshake in South Africa! Having been open for just under 2 years now, head chef and co-owner Rev Batohi decided it was time to change things up and hence the new menu. I don't really venture out to Glenwood much and once I got to Helen Joseph Road, I wondered why? The place was buzzing! It took me quite a while to find parking. Most of the eateries were quite full with patrons, the area had a great vibe and a nice mixture of eateries and bars for everyone.  

Pop-Up Society has this "cool kid on the block" vibe going for it though, with it's funky colours and contemporary style, it does stand out from the rest. It has a lovely large outside deck as well as place inside the renovated house for seating, in total it can sit 120 patrons. It also has a full serviced bar if you just want to pop in for a drink. 

The theme for the evening was a visual menu and the setup for the media was just that, a visual feast with menu's put up to see just exactly what we were munching on, Chef Rev made the meals in bite sized servings so we could taste a bit of everything, and get a sense of what he had in mind with this new menu. So many times we go to restaurants, read the menu but don't really have an idea what we getting on the plate, with Pop-Up Society you won't have that problem. They try to keep most ingredients as fresh and organic as possible, and that transcends into the flavours you get from their food. 

Some of my favourites from the night were the chicken wings and the asian style riblets, full of flavour and have me licking my fingers. As you can tell I am a big fan of finger foods to this menu was right up my alley. The burger menu looked great and while I'm not a beef eater, I was very glad to see a lamb burger on there. I tried the lamb kofta which was given as a taster, and it was also great, tender, spiced well and can only imagine how good it would be in a bun. Guess I have to come back to see for myself. 

While the new menu is great, fan favourites from the old menu still remained, like the death by chocolate milkshake, another must have from Pop-Up Society I'm told by many. It probably was the reason their Freakshakes were made so famous, Chef Rev makes his own chocolate ganache which he adds to the "craze shake". Apart from just meals for one, Pop-Up Society also offer platters to share, which needs a pre-order but the variety offered is great. Overall, this place really stands out with its food, giving it a gourmet take on fast food. We will be back to try more from the menu, especially that milkshake!

Details:

Pop-Up Society

Address: 132 Helen Jospeh Road, Glenwood

Reservations: 031 201 5566

Facebook: durbanpopupsociety

Instagram: popupsociety

Whisky Live Durban 2018 - Competition!

Whisky Live returns to Durban in June! The much loved whisky festival by whisky aficionados all over the country touches down at the Sibaya Casino Sun Park from the 21st till the 23rd of June. There will be wide range of whiskies available from local to abroad, taking ones tasting palate on an unforgettable journey. Some of the whiskies on offer are Bin's Cape Mountain Whisky, Paul John, Dewa's, The Macallan, Bunnahabhin, Jack Daniel's and the full list can be found below. 

A general access ticket gets you a tasting glass, 16 tasting vouchers and a bottle of Consol Still Water. Vouchers will be exchanged for tasting, with prices ranging from 1-4 vouchers, depending on the type of whisky you opt for. There will also be a competition being run during the duration of the celebration. Patrons stand the chance to win a whisky prize by entering the #Selfie competition by taking a selfie with the iconic #WhiskyLiveBottle. There will be a deli serving ready to eat meals, soft drinks and coffee to keep you fueled throughout the celebration.

Whether you're a whisky novice or a connoisseur, you can look forward to a wide range of whiskies and knowledge from each stand to get a better understanding of what you're drinking. Doors to the festival open at 6pm on the 21st and closes at 10pm every night. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketpros as well as at the door. 

We at the Bucket are giving you and a partner a chance to win a set of double tickets for the opening day of the festival, simply visit our Instagram page theBucketza and comment on our post, tagging Whisky Live and the person you would like to take along. Competition closes on the 15th and winners will be announced on our page. 

Monday Choon: GoldFish - No One Has To Know (Midnight Kids Remix)

Following the SAMA's that took place this past weekend, we thought we should keep today's featured track local and when it comes to electronic music in South Africa, look no further than Golsfish. Dominic Peters and David Poole have come a long way in the industry, their style of music is unique and they continue to enjoy worldwide success with it. From playing in Ibiza, Ultra Miami, to the local venues, they've done is all and continue to do so to packed out audiences. Signed onto Armin van Buuren's Amarda label has only done more good for the duo, today's track is a remix of a track taken from their ablum "Late Night People",  "No One Has To Know" which has been remixed by Midnight Kids. Giving this mellow choon an uplifting beat. 

Bucket Babe: Melissa van Tonder

Yes, just like that we are in the sixth month of the year. To be honest, I gave up about a few years ago with the adage "the years flying by" because no matter how much you say it, the faster the months will go! So rather than complaining how time flies, take time to appreciate things in life, like for example our featured model today. This young beauty hails from the fairest Cape, like most of SA's finest, she's an avid lover of animals and loves the water, which oddly enough involves her profession, and that might involve wearing more bikini's we hope! While she's a woman of few words, she lets her actions speak for her

BIO

Hi! I'm Melissa van Tonder, I'm 25 years old and from Cape Town. I love animals, the outdoors and fast cars of course. I'm a swimming instructor and model. My motto in life will always be "Believe and you'll achieve"

LINKS

 

Melissa is currently in the running for the Worldswimsuit Model search and she could really use your votes to help her out. :http://worldswimsuit.com/model-search/profile/melissa-van-tonder

Q&A

1. Hot girls and hot cars go hand in hand, what ride would you like to  see yourself in?

• I definitely see myself in any sport car but always been a BIG fan of Audi, especially the RS3 sedan of RS5, or the old school Mustang GT. 

2. What sandwich are you most likely to make for me? and will it be toasted or plain?

• My go to sandwich will definitely be a toasted chicken mayo.

3. Everyone loves popcorn (well I think they do) what is your topping/ sprinkle of choice?

• BUTTER SALT

4. Dream cover shoot?

•  I don't have a specific cover shoot but won't mind seeing ny face ib a Rolling Stones Magazine Cover.

5. If given a choice, full time model or full time executive, what would you choose?

• Full time model for sure

6. Growing up you must have had someone you aspired to be, so who is your role model?

• My big sister was always a big part of my life. Growing up she motivated me to always do better and be a better person. I'm very blessed to have a role model and sister in one.

7. Anyone holding that hand yet? or is it available?

• Blessed to sat that Dewald van Tonder, my husband has been holding my hand for 10 years now.

8. Obviously being a female you would love fashion. Favourite label/ designer?

• Berta Bridal Collection (OMW!)

9. What type of music gets your booty shaking?

• Anything bass

10. Which city is your dream party destination?

• Bali!