My Grandmother and her part in this...

An Introduction:

My Grandmother and I were close. My mother made her my Godmother at my birth so it goes without saying that when my Mother popped off a few years later my Grandmother seamlessly took over my care for all of 6 years or so...

My most enduring memory is of my Gran, in her kitchen, presiding over steaming piles of Crumpets, rolling out pastry or kneading bread dough. She taught me how to cook very basic foods, like minced-meat in rich tomato sauce (she was not a vegan! ) but she also showed me how to pickle fat, creamy cauliflower with succulent fiery-red bell peppers, and bottle sun- yellowed cling peaches or cherries in golden syrup.Memories of the colours, fragrance and ambiance of my Grandmothers kitchen kept me sane in the ensuing years of chaos, abuse, loss and fear after my father returned from walk-about to reclaim my brother and I, with a new young wife in tow...but that's another story!

Tea, or Moer Koffie ( a super strong brewed coffee), Koeksisters, Ginger Biscuits and Jam Tarts were a traditional 4pm Saturday afternoon thing...we weren't Colonial English (in fact my Grandmother could barely speak English)...but somehow this English Tea tradition caught on and prevailed for many years uniting friends and family around an enormous table in the Dining room...later the adults would swop tea for double shots of Brandy and Coke and the stories, jokes, laughter and "skinner" would go on well into the night...

Shopping with my Ouma (Gran) was ALWAYS an adventure. She'd whisk my brother and I in and out of one shop after the other...always some little thing for us, a toy, a green-blue tartan skirt, a yellow pair of wellies...and when I thought I couldn't walk another metre she'd whoosh into a steamy, crowded Tea Room and there we'd sit for the rest of the afternoon...drinking sweet tea, eating cheese and tomato sandwiches. She knew everyone and before long another table would join ours, then another...the waiters plying pots of tea, the ladies laughing and talking at the top of their voices.Life felt good, the world a safe place, sitting quietly, listening in on the scandalous yet hilarious tales of passion, broken romances, dry old husbands, juicy divorcees. Just my cup of tea! :-)