Dunnottar for a few days.
We woke up early to a perfect day in the Transvaal...... rain threatening.
Not that it mattered much, as the bike was knackered, and Deon needed to do some chores with the bakkie/pickup truck.
Day 15 was not going to be a biking day, well, not in the traditional sense anyway.
First thing I did was to walk around Deon's house, checking out all his treasures and shit, while he smoked his second, third, fourth cigarette ?? He walked around the house, plant poison in one hand for weeds, and ant poison in the other.....he has an ongoing dispute with ants and weeds on his property.
Breakfast was tea and rusks..... rusks again, followed by bone dry Kudu Biltong, just the way I love it. He had bought it about 6 weeks before and stashed it under fly nets in the dining room to dry for my attention..... WHAT A BROTHER TO HAVE !!!!
[size=15pt]QUESTION TIME[/size]
One of the first things I lai eyes on in Deon's lounge was this tool.
I had always coveted it when my dad brought it home after my grandfather had died years ago..... it had been his.
Now the question is..... WHAT IS THIS TOOL CALLED AND USED FOR ????
(I do know the answer)
Walking around outside, the property was laid out in a very sensible, and intuitive way, at least for me. Behind the garage, he had turned the alley into a wood store, simultaneously securing that route of entry into the back yard, although he has not added six foot fences etc, the garage and house has been alarmed, secured and booby trapped after a rather big burglary while he was at work one day.
Weird how neighbours see nothing.
Shed or Kaya was there when he bought the place on a thin concrete floor. So the option was to remove it all, at cost, replace it with a new shed, at cost or just fix it up, and add a roof over the top, also creating a rainy day Braai area for his mibile BBQ.
I think the second option was the best one. The second roof helps to keep his workshop cool in summer, a bit like a Safari Roof on a Land Rover.
Plaashuis/Farmhouse sized he said when he bought the house after dad died..... It was the first time I have been to see his place, so I was both surprised and "shocked" at just how much house he had bought for the money he spent.
One of the first jobs on our first day back was for Deon to go sign extended leave forms at his base,1 Construction Regiment, and to check if there were any crisis that needed his immediate attention.
While I was waiting for him, I watched about 100 soldiers in 4 small groups march and "practice" for some parade...... shocking is all I can say, no pace, pride, attitude or interest is probably about the right description...... I mentioned this to Dozer and he said..... YES, you are right, it is part an parcel of the New SA, but also remember that these guys are Carpenters, plumbers, electricians and construction machine operators.... they are not "soldiers" in the traditional sense. I had to accept that, and the fact that I live in a country where the military still is an active fighting force, makes a difference too.
After this we were off to the Butchers and Fruit and Vegetable shops..... Dozer knows his prices incredibly well, and the meat wholesalers have him on their text lists, so every special offer gets texted through to him.
We went into the first one, Meat World and this greeted me..... The black you see on the ceiling is all Biltong and dried Wors.
Another thing that is not known in the UK is Flat chicken, sometimes sold as Spatchcock Chicken.
A Flattie is usually Deons nod toward Vegetarianism...... They come in various flavours and you cook them in the bag over slow coals, from a height.
While there, Deon reminded me that a slow cooking braai can be good as well. I have always prefered to do a hot fire and coals, then swearing as the meat fat strikes up flames and the glow burns my hands.
The last two braai's I did for us here at home were done slower and on a higher setting..... Nicola has actually told me to thank Deon for slowing me down.
Being as well known in his two butcher shops, Deon walks between the carcasses and chooses his meat and cuts off the hook.
I guess if you are a Sargent-Major, people do listen to you at times.
Pink Viennas in this display are a flash-bang reminder of childhood..... all the snouts, arses and ears go in there.... and anything thats not collected and sold of the ground..... but lovely to stuff into your face.
We had three each , eating two before we even exited the car park...... There is a lot to be said for H&S, but sometimes you just need to return to the old ways of low hygiene and improved taste.
Janpap is a new name and packaging for a very old product.
Maize porrige made incredibly dry, and crumbly, eaten with a "sauce" or relish containing amongst others onions, tomotos, garlick, and everything else you want to toss in there..... I absolutely love Krummel Pap as it is known, and even though I am able to do so many things just by trying it out..... Krummel Pap preparation is a secret known only the best alchemists, cooks and other special people. It is cooked with almost no water, and the coarser and lumpier the texture the better.
Some GOOGLE images of what it could look like served up.
Cooked in a cast iron pot, usually alongside another pot with the sauce.
DESCRIPTION COPIED FROM HERE.
http://www.ejozi.co.za/south-african-cuisine/mealiepap.html
Mealiepap or just pap (pup) is a traditional staple food of South Africans. It is made out of white granular maize meal usually cooked to a crumbly dry porridge such as krummelpap, or a stiff porridge such as putu or stywepap which can be served with grilled boerewors and a tomato-based gravy or sauce. Mealiepap can also be served with milk and sugar for breakfast. A lump of butter added to the porridge will improve the taste and texture.
This dish is eaten like rice or noodles in other cultures.
Afrikaners in the northern parts of South Africa eat it as a breakfast staple, with milk and sugar (slappap), but also serve it (stywepap) with meat and tomato-stew (usually tomato and onion) at other meals. In the Cape Provinces, among the white population, it is almost exclusively seen as a breakfast food.
Since mealiemeal is inexpensive, poor people can afford to combine it with vegetables and be sure of one good meal a day. It can be served hot or, after it has cooled, it can be fried, giving it a different texture. Stywepap or putu is sometimes enjoyed with chakalaka as a side dish with braais.
A similar dish is polenta, from northern Italy. In the USA a very similar dish is known as Grits. The primary difference between the US and the South African dishes is that in the US the maize (or corn) used is a yellow kernel maize, whereas in South Africa maize is especially grown for human consumption with white kernels, allowing the whole kernel to be used for the maize meal.
Polo Cop car, not sure we see them in the UK or if they are in the USA either.
Polo Dune, again a car I have not seen in this new model format in the UK, but I am sure they will be available on special order.
Africa is Hot !!
Take not what time of the day it was, temperature outside in the afternoon, in the morning it was threatening rain.
It is meant to be Autumn now in South Africa.
As a certain Mr Maverick once told me..... The adventure starts when shit starts going wrong.....
The bloody mobile saga started when I texted a mate Mike "Touchdown69" about 90km from home yesterday to let him know our movements, and did not zip up my trouser pocket when we set off again, so I suspect the phone is in a many flat pieces somewhere on the M3 Tollroad.
Today I took a HTC Wildfire I had bought for Deon, in to a guy in Nigel to unlock it from a UK Vodafone contract.... come back in one hour with R270 he said..... an hour later he said come back tomorrow.
Then an hour later he phoned me on Deons number to say that if I wanted it unlocked tomorrow it would be R650 and if I wanted to wait till Monday it would only be R450.
So I told him screw that, I will collect the phone tomorrow and buy some cheap phone to use here in SA till I leave from Cape Town on the 29th.
Africa ehhh??
Bought about R200's worth of fruit this morning, as the fruit is always sweeter in Africa, and I cannot just eat meat.
However, we did manage to buy some 35mm T-Bone steaks, you may notice a theme coming through here.....
Paw Paws are bloody expensive in the UK, when you can get them, and also small.
Devide the price by 14 to get a UK £££ price.
I bought a box and ate myself stupid on them and the other fruit I bought, pears, apples, grapes and a load of real vegetables, as Dozer does not keep them in his house, he is a true South African, surviving on meat and having two slices of toast for breakfast to make up for the deficiency.
Pineapples - cheap by the box.
Pears, a whole box for the prices of what 5 would cost in the UK, and sweeter than anything you get here.
My first day at Deon's place was spent shopping for sandals, as I had not brought any along, and it was too hot for shoes and jeans. so I shopped Barefoot as many people who cannot afford shoes, do. Oranges were about £1.20 for a whole bag, again the price of 3 or 4 in the UK.
In the afternoon when we dropped off the mobile phone I did find some very gay beach shoes.... left them behind when I left Deon's place for Cape Town the next week.
We also ran some other errands, visited a few of his mates to sort things out etc.
Then of course we had left over braai for dinner and a drink or many.
We woke up early to a perfect day in the Transvaal...... rain threatening.
Not that it mattered much, as the bike was knackered, and Deon needed to do some chores with the bakkie/pickup truck.
Day 15 was not going to be a biking day, well, not in the traditional sense anyway.
First thing I did was to walk around Deon's house, checking out all his treasures and shit, while he smoked his second, third, fourth cigarette ?? He walked around the house, plant poison in one hand for weeds, and ant poison in the other.....he has an ongoing dispute with ants and weeds on his property.
Breakfast was tea and rusks..... rusks again, followed by bone dry Kudu Biltong, just the way I love it. He had bought it about 6 weeks before and stashed it under fly nets in the dining room to dry for my attention..... WHAT A BROTHER TO HAVE !!!!
[size=15pt]QUESTION TIME[/size]
One of the first things I lai eyes on in Deon's lounge was this tool.
I had always coveted it when my dad brought it home after my grandfather had died years ago..... it had been his.
Now the question is..... WHAT IS THIS TOOL CALLED AND USED FOR ????
(I do know the answer)
Walking around outside, the property was laid out in a very sensible, and intuitive way, at least for me. Behind the garage, he had turned the alley into a wood store, simultaneously securing that route of entry into the back yard, although he has not added six foot fences etc, the garage and house has been alarmed, secured and booby trapped after a rather big burglary while he was at work one day.
Weird how neighbours see nothing.
Shed or Kaya was there when he bought the place on a thin concrete floor. So the option was to remove it all, at cost, replace it with a new shed, at cost or just fix it up, and add a roof over the top, also creating a rainy day Braai area for his mibile BBQ.
I think the second option was the best one. The second roof helps to keep his workshop cool in summer, a bit like a Safari Roof on a Land Rover.
Plaashuis/Farmhouse sized he said when he bought the house after dad died..... It was the first time I have been to see his place, so I was both surprised and "shocked" at just how much house he had bought for the money he spent.
One of the first jobs on our first day back was for Deon to go sign extended leave forms at his base,1 Construction Regiment, and to check if there were any crisis that needed his immediate attention.
While I was waiting for him, I watched about 100 soldiers in 4 small groups march and "practice" for some parade...... shocking is all I can say, no pace, pride, attitude or interest is probably about the right description...... I mentioned this to Dozer and he said..... YES, you are right, it is part an parcel of the New SA, but also remember that these guys are Carpenters, plumbers, electricians and construction machine operators.... they are not "soldiers" in the traditional sense. I had to accept that, and the fact that I live in a country where the military still is an active fighting force, makes a difference too.
After this we were off to the Butchers and Fruit and Vegetable shops..... Dozer knows his prices incredibly well, and the meat wholesalers have him on their text lists, so every special offer gets texted through to him.
We went into the first one, Meat World and this greeted me..... The black you see on the ceiling is all Biltong and dried Wors.
Another thing that is not known in the UK is Flat chicken, sometimes sold as Spatchcock Chicken.
A Flattie is usually Deons nod toward Vegetarianism...... They come in various flavours and you cook them in the bag over slow coals, from a height.
While there, Deon reminded me that a slow cooking braai can be good as well. I have always prefered to do a hot fire and coals, then swearing as the meat fat strikes up flames and the glow burns my hands.
The last two braai's I did for us here at home were done slower and on a higher setting..... Nicola has actually told me to thank Deon for slowing me down.
Being as well known in his two butcher shops, Deon walks between the carcasses and chooses his meat and cuts off the hook.
I guess if you are a Sargent-Major, people do listen to you at times.
Pink Viennas in this display are a flash-bang reminder of childhood..... all the snouts, arses and ears go in there.... and anything thats not collected and sold of the ground..... but lovely to stuff into your face.
We had three each , eating two before we even exited the car park...... There is a lot to be said for H&S, but sometimes you just need to return to the old ways of low hygiene and improved taste.
Janpap is a new name and packaging for a very old product.
Maize porrige made incredibly dry, and crumbly, eaten with a "sauce" or relish containing amongst others onions, tomotos, garlick, and everything else you want to toss in there..... I absolutely love Krummel Pap as it is known, and even though I am able to do so many things just by trying it out..... Krummel Pap preparation is a secret known only the best alchemists, cooks and other special people. It is cooked with almost no water, and the coarser and lumpier the texture the better.
Some GOOGLE images of what it could look like served up.
Cooked in a cast iron pot, usually alongside another pot with the sauce.
DESCRIPTION COPIED FROM HERE.
http://www.ejozi.co.za/south-african-cuisine/mealiepap.html
Mealiepap or just pap (pup) is a traditional staple food of South Africans. It is made out of white granular maize meal usually cooked to a crumbly dry porridge such as krummelpap, or a stiff porridge such as putu or stywepap which can be served with grilled boerewors and a tomato-based gravy or sauce. Mealiepap can also be served with milk and sugar for breakfast. A lump of butter added to the porridge will improve the taste and texture.
This dish is eaten like rice or noodles in other cultures.
Afrikaners in the northern parts of South Africa eat it as a breakfast staple, with milk and sugar (slappap), but also serve it (stywepap) with meat and tomato-stew (usually tomato and onion) at other meals. In the Cape Provinces, among the white population, it is almost exclusively seen as a breakfast food.
Since mealiemeal is inexpensive, poor people can afford to combine it with vegetables and be sure of one good meal a day. It can be served hot or, after it has cooled, it can be fried, giving it a different texture. Stywepap or putu is sometimes enjoyed with chakalaka as a side dish with braais.
A similar dish is polenta, from northern Italy. In the USA a very similar dish is known as Grits. The primary difference between the US and the South African dishes is that in the US the maize (or corn) used is a yellow kernel maize, whereas in South Africa maize is especially grown for human consumption with white kernels, allowing the whole kernel to be used for the maize meal.
Polo Cop car, not sure we see them in the UK or if they are in the USA either.
Polo Dune, again a car I have not seen in this new model format in the UK, but I am sure they will be available on special order.
Africa is Hot !!
Take not what time of the day it was, temperature outside in the afternoon, in the morning it was threatening rain.
It is meant to be Autumn now in South Africa.
As a certain Mr Maverick once told me..... The adventure starts when shit starts going wrong.....
The bloody mobile saga started when I texted a mate Mike "Touchdown69" about 90km from home yesterday to let him know our movements, and did not zip up my trouser pocket when we set off again, so I suspect the phone is in a many flat pieces somewhere on the M3 Tollroad.
Today I took a HTC Wildfire I had bought for Deon, in to a guy in Nigel to unlock it from a UK Vodafone contract.... come back in one hour with R270 he said..... an hour later he said come back tomorrow.
Then an hour later he phoned me on Deons number to say that if I wanted it unlocked tomorrow it would be R650 and if I wanted to wait till Monday it would only be R450.
So I told him screw that, I will collect the phone tomorrow and buy some cheap phone to use here in SA till I leave from Cape Town on the 29th.
Africa ehhh??
Bought about R200's worth of fruit this morning, as the fruit is always sweeter in Africa, and I cannot just eat meat.
However, we did manage to buy some 35mm T-Bone steaks, you may notice a theme coming through here.....
Paw Paws are bloody expensive in the UK, when you can get them, and also small.
Devide the price by 14 to get a UK £££ price.
I bought a box and ate myself stupid on them and the other fruit I bought, pears, apples, grapes and a load of real vegetables, as Dozer does not keep them in his house, he is a true South African, surviving on meat and having two slices of toast for breakfast to make up for the deficiency.
Pineapples - cheap by the box.
Pears, a whole box for the prices of what 5 would cost in the UK, and sweeter than anything you get here.
My first day at Deon's place was spent shopping for sandals, as I had not brought any along, and it was too hot for shoes and jeans. so I shopped Barefoot as many people who cannot afford shoes, do. Oranges were about £1.20 for a whole bag, again the price of 3 or 4 in the UK.
In the afternoon when we dropped off the mobile phone I did find some very gay beach shoes.... left them behind when I left Deon's place for Cape Town the next week.
We also ran some other errands, visited a few of his mates to sort things out etc.
Then of course we had left over braai for dinner and a drink or many.
7:
