BEAU Brummell, the self-appointed South African king of nudity, is experiencing the stirrings of rebellion from some of his less gracious subjects.
The day after Brummell and his wife Cecelia appeared naked on the front page of the Natal Witness, Absa issued the couple with an eviction notice, ordering them to leave the flat they rent from the bank.
For the past six months the much-vaunted nudists say they have lived in the Absa-owned flat, have paid their rent on time and have been, in their own words, ”excellent tenants”. They have even renovated the flat at their own expense.
Shortly after publicising their forthcoming ”naked nuptials” ceremony, a man telephoned Brummell’s wife, refusing to give his name, and made derogatory and sexist comments, the nudist says.
The man became increasingly aggressive and hostile, asking ”embarrassing personal questions” before threatening eviction and slamming the phone down, says Brummell.
The next day a letter arrived on Brummell’s doorstep that read: ”You are now requested to vacate the premises by 31/05/02.”
Describing his foes as ”religious fanatics or perverts”, Brummell, whose real name is Mike Bush, is determined not to go limp in the face of this latest uprising. He immediately responded to the letter and told the bank that it was a bully. He says his human rights are being abused: ”I know it’s because I am nudist. I am going to stay here and I will barricade myself in.”
In response to the allegations, Messrs Secured Property Management, who manage the Amanzimtoti flat on Absa’s behalf, offered no comment. Martin Coetzee, the manager for repossessed property at Absa bank, told the Mail & Guardian: ”This has got nothing to do with you. This matter was dealt with last week and it’s not an eviction.” He would take no further questions and hung up.
The couple intend to go ahead with a naked wedding ceremony at Hilton College chapel, pending permission from the governors of Brummell’s old school. They were married in Johannesburg’s Magistrate’s Court but now want an ”honest Christian wedding”.
The Natal Witness reported that Brummell will be unlikely to get the permission needed to fulfil his dream. Acting principal at the school Mike Nicholson said: ”We do believe in enriching our pupils’ education by exposing them to as extensive a range of experiences as possible, but we are not convinced that Mr Brummell’s assets are likely to contribute that much.”
Brummell is sure that, in the end, they will agree. He says he has had a massive response from Hilton’s old boys for his naked wedding and is envisaging the school chapel packed to capacity with 350 naked worshippers.
Brummell first became a nudist as a response to ”the concrete society of the Sixties” and he says in spite of the challenges: ”The nude thing will stay.”