Shopping and Signage in Mthatha

A chain store is a chain store is a chain store.  Or is it?

In Mthatha, the similarities to Cape Town stores are remarkable, except for some of the signage and niche-marketing of products. 

As usual, there are some signs which are quite puzzling:

I've heard of Briketts, but this is a new one.  This sign was mounted at the butchery counter, and I've yet to see the actual product.  Even Google can't tell me what this is.

Some products are unique to each location:

I had to smile at this one.  And of course I bought it.  It's jolly good!

I confess I didn't buy this one.  Nor did I buy any of the several other similar products in the same cabinet.

There are also products which you might not have spotted in chain stores in other towns:

Duct tape in Game. Camo duct tape!  Just imagine what fun could be had with cow-pattern duct tape!  Set-building could be raised to a whole new level...

There are very few food products and brands that I cannot find in Mthatha (chicken stuffing being one of them), and there are quite a few new products which I still need to try (madumbi being top of the list).

But there are some signs which I am pretty sure I will not see in Cape Town.  I was telling a friend about the Nando's sign which I saw.  Not to be outdone, she whipped out her phone and showed me these two signs she saw in the last week or so:

Ew.  I cannot un-see this sign.

This is my personal favourite:

Downtime

In Mthatha, Downtime is a regular occurrence - no power and no water.  We even have a 5000 litre JoJo tank in our garden, as do the schools and  many residents. 

But sometimes Downtime is a good thing.  Especially when it means Down at the Beach.

A few weeks ago, Bob was called to meetings in Port Elizabeth and East London.  He suggested that instead of staying at guest houses by himself, we (dogs included) should join him and make the trek to the seaside for a looong weekend.  Excellent idea!

So off I go to stock up on essentials. As I leave the bottle store, the chap helping me take my purchases to the car asks me if I own a B&B.  I tell him no, I don't.  "Does ma'am own a restaurant then?" 

Then I realise why he's asking.  The trolley he's pushing for me contains 1 case Hansa, 1 case Savanna, 1 box red wine, and 4 bottles Old Brown Sherry (just in case we needed to ward off a cold front).  To me, this is a perfectly reasonable amount of refreshment for a four-day weekend for two, with a bit left over in case of visitors.  Apparently this is not the case in Mthatha.

As the weekdays away were business for Bob, he was allowed to use company transport.  As I clambered aboard, my olfactory nerves were assaulted to the extent that my nose hairs were singed.  We had to endure five hours of Stale while we drove.  Stale cigarette smoke. Stale sweat. Stale junk food. Stale farts.

And it didn't end there.  On arrival at the shack, we discovered that a bushbuck ram had died in our back garden a few weeks before. The neighbours had wondered for several days about the dreadful smell, and eventually discovered the carcass in our garden. The degree of putrefaction was such that the date and cause of death could not be determined, but the length of the horns indicated that the buck was about 8 years old.

When we thanked them for removing the remains, they said there was no need - they removed it purely because they couldn't live with the smell themselves.

The spot where the bushbuck ram was found. 

 Fortunately that was the end of the bad smells, and the Downtime continued as it should - lots of reading, eating, sleeping, walking on the beach, laughing, playing games and chatting to neighbours, friends and family.

(In case you were wondering, the four bottles of OBs returned to Mthatha intact.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the rest of the provisions.)

Pirates of the Caribbean - Round Table Fundraiser

Remember way back in June, when I was thrilled at being involved with the Round Table fundraiser?  Well, it's all done and dusted, and over R38,000 was raised for charity in one night,  How awesome is that!


I played a very small part in the preparation, but met some amazing, crazy people along the way, and had great fun at the same time.

I know a few of these pirates - here all ready to be waiters, waitresses and barmen on the night  This vibrant photo was taken by Don from The Studio in Mthatha, who was the official photographer on the night.

The function was on a Saturday, and Round Table moved into the venue on the Wednesday.  They worked wonders transforming an ordinary hall into this magical wonderland::

One wall was covered with this backdrop of a magnificent pirate ship.  It comprised three enormous panels of paper, which were each mounted on a wall before painting. Colour matching between the panels was quite a challenge...

The back of the hall was turned into a Caribbean bar - complete with banana leaves.

Isn't the decor amazing! The third wall represented an old map - of the treasure hunting kind.  This backdrop is the one I spent most time on.

I was asked to paint a whale to fill up some of the space in the sea, and was pooh-poohed when I said that I'm not an artist, I'm only good as a slapper - slapping paint on with a brush or roller.  So I painted a whale.  A rather large one (well, they are large, aren't they?) The next time I came back to paint, after my trip to Grahamstown, my whale was nowhere to be seen.  It was deemed to be TOO large, and had been painted over.  On the left in the pic above, you'll see a smallish island - above the candles. That used to be my whale.

A close-up of my ex-whale

A lovely touch was that all the names on the map are the names of the people who helped with the project - painting, costumes, catering, acting...you name it. So my whale became Wendy's Waterfall. All those names are hand-painted - I could do about three in one evening, with a glass of wine between each name - to ease the cramp in my hand, of course.

The entertainment was hilarious.  There were five skits, performed by Tablers and Friends. My favourite was the Miley Cyrus 'Wrecking Ball' Parody, very loosely based on this version by Jay-Jay, Mike and Dom. I was intrigued to see how the Tablers would recreate the actual wrecking ball.  No problem - they did it Mthatha-style - with scaffolding, chain, and a very, very large brake drum.

Another favourite, which has become an annual tradition, was The Hat Dance.  The closest I could find is this one.  Our vibe on the night was much the same, but of course our guys were better, WAY better.

After a delicious three-course meal, the dancing started...and Bob and I went home.  This was a good thing, as I believe the party ended at 6 the next morning.

Wouldn't it be great if all fund-raising was this much fun?

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!*

On Friday, all of the mountain passes in the Eastern Cape were closed because of snowfalls.

After a 3-hour power cut on Friday and another one on Saturday morning (Eskom must have seen my previous post), we were ready to head for the hills...

En route via Maclear, we passed a familiar sight.  Wherever there is a river or stream, you will find people washing their vehicles.

As we headed further inland we encountered a herd of cows, with herder, out for an early morning jog

Spring is in the air!  Lots of little lambs frolicking in the fields - and on the road.

Good to see some corporate social responsibility.  Many power lines in the area are adorned with dingle-dangles like the one in the top right of the notice. We saw a field with about 20 Crowned Cranes later in the afternoon.  Awesome sight.  Unfortunately, by then the light was too bad to take a pic.

There are of plenty of pine plantations in the area.  Brilliant idea for otherwise unusable land.  Good to see some four-footed creatures other than sheep, goats, cows, donkeys and stray dogs.  These Mountain Reedbuck** stayed around for a while before rushing off, tails in the air

One of the advantages of driving in a mountainous area is that you can come eye to eye with a Jackal Buzzard**.  This one  doesn't look like he agrees with the sentiment though.

Oops.  We thought we would be driving on tar the whole way. Those horizontal gashes on the mountain?  That's the road.  The snow looks like an elaborate Danish pastry with icing sugar sprinkles.

We came across this little memorial a few kilometres from the top.  I'd love to know its history.

Made it!  Okay, it's not a very glamorous snowman. And his nose kept falling off.  But I made him, and he's mine.  Until he melts.

Off we go, down the other side of the mountain.  Who made these hundreds of kilometres of roads and why? How long did it take, who decided where they should be and who maintains them? 

 I must confess to doing a bit of yodelling while up here (much to the distress of Bob and the dogs [who were not impressed with the snow either])

When we reached Rhodes at the bottom of the mountain, we were famished.  It was 4pm, and all we wanted was tea and scones.  No luck anywhere.  No café, no restaurant, no service station. Nothing. Nada.  Rhodes is back in cotton wool after last month's Rhodes Run.  Makes me wonder how the village copes with 300 ravenous runners.

Loving this landscape!  The area around Rhodes is full of Weeping Willows**.  I haven't seen any Willows anywhere else, not even in gardens.  Come to think of it, when last did you see a Weeping Willow?

Some of the farms had fence posts made from dressed stone.  The mind boggles at the time and effort to create these. And why is good old wood not good enough?

When Bob and I go on an adventure, we do it Properly.  Including a puncture in the middle of nowhere. A white bakkie (that one in the distance) stopped to help us, but fortunately Bob had all the necessary bits in Hagrid (yes, we name our cars), so we survived.

A flock of sheep watched Bob change the tyre.  They were very vocal in their observation.  I had no idea sheep talked so much!  Some of the bleating  was quite comical, sounding much like a hearty burp after a good meal.

Ken*** (the GPS) had given up the ghost a few hours previously, as the fuse in the lighter socket had blown, and then the GPS battery went flat.  In true adventurer style, we hadn't brought a paper map backup, but eventually we reached Barkly East.  We got sustenance for the rest of the trip from a service station, and headed for home...

Charming.  Just what we need at dusk, with 90km to go.  We're still debating what is more dangerous in the dark - mobile livestock or stationary potholes.

Conclusion:  Even though an 'easy-peasy' 470km round trip turned into a 9-hour all day epic trek, we're still totally enamoured with the Eastern Cape - its people, its landscape, and everything that goes with it.

Except for the potholes.

* Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

**If you disagree with my identification, please feel free to say so

***Ken - want hy weet alles

Nando's to the Rescue!

When power cuts are a regular reality, Nando's to the rescue.  (Circus Triangle is the name of a shopping centre in Mthatha)

Back to Book Club

Book Club is one of the highlights of my month, just as it was in Cape Town.  Not only do I get to chat to a wonderfully diverse group of women, eat great food that I didn't have to cook, and drink wine I didn't have to shop for - I also get to choose books that I haven't read, at a fraction of the price I would have had to pay for them.

It's like Christmas every month. I can't wait to savour my presents.

My choices for July were:

Queen Camilla (Sue Townsend of Adrian Mole fame). If you don't have an understanding of the English psyche, you probably won't enjoy this.  And even if you do, it becomes a bit much at times.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (Jonas Jonasson) What a fabulous book!  It's in the same mould as The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I see they've just released the movie.  I hope it does the book justice.

The Lacuna (Barbara Kingsolver)  Interesting, but rather long-winded.  An amusing coincidence is that there are historical similarities with 'The Hundred Year-Old Man...', but on very different levels.

Sycamore Row (John Grisham)  This was my favourite for the month.  Especially as I had the luxury of starting it at dawn, and finishing it before sunset on the same day. Just couldn't help myself.

On to August:

In the time since I joined this Book Club in June, three new members have joined, so I'm no longer a newbie. I think there are about 18 members now, which would normally be quite cumbersome. But, because of other commitments (aka Real Life), I still haven't met everybody. There have been about ten members at each meeting, which is ideal for getting a chance to chat to everyone.  I met one of the founding members this month (the club has been going since the 70s), for the first time.  She lives in Grahamstown (a 5-hour drive), but she tries to make a plan to come to book club in Mthatha each month.  How's that for commitment? (In Cape Town, one of our members used to go home to Paarl each month, and that was impressive enough!)

August book choice:

The Son (Jo Nesbo) I almost started hyperventilating when I saw this one.  Published in May this year, it's Brand New.  And it was another fabulous day-waster...accompanied by copious amounts of popcorn and Savanna while Bob was Doing Important Stuff in Pretoria.

The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules (Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg) This genre seems to be the latest fad. I was really looking forward to this, but it is a pale imitation of  'The Hundred Year-Old Man...'.  Even though the story was amusing, I found the writing to be inconsistent and stilted in places.  I thought perhaps it was because of the translation, but Rod Bradbury also translated 'The Hundred Year-Old Man...', which was a very easy and enjoyable read. 

Talking of translations, I see that I have a definite leaning towards the Nordic.  Translations are becoming more popular, and it seems as if a whole new world is opening up for fiction readers.  Yippee!

The Secret Daughter (Shilpi Somaya Gowda) I'm usually hesitant to read Chick Lit, but this one went a long way towards changing my mind. Powerful stuff.

And finally, The Language of Flowers (Vanessa Diffenbaugh) More Chick Lit.  But I woke up at 03:00 this morning (Mthatha mozzies don't know it's winter) and started reading it.  I'm absolutely loving it - so refeshingly different, yet very real.

I'm hosting Book Club in November, and have no idea what books to buy.  Food is easy - Vegetarian and Banting (Yes, it's reached Mthatha).  The closest Exclusive Books is 220km away, and the ONLY bookshop in town is in a shopping centre I have been told that it's only safe to go into with an armed chaperone (Bob's got arms, two in fact - so we're going there on Sunday morning). 

But...I'm lucky enough to be visiting Cape Town next month, so would be most grateful for any book ideas.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm being called by my book - I really need to find out more about The Language of Flowers.

Did you got a licence?

My driver's licence came up for renewal last week. 

To avoid queues, several people advised me to go to one of the traffic departments in one of the outlying areas.  But I wanted to experience what the majority of Mthatians go through, and went to the main traffic department with a friend who could help me with language and procedures.

The traffic department overlooks Mthatha.  In the foreground is the area where learner drivers take their tests.  Just beyond the fence you can see a large area of burned grass - a sight I am now getting used to.

We arrived at 08:00 and there were already over 60 people ahead of us in the queue. I had done my homework and brought a copy of my ID with me, but not a copy of my driver's licence. No problem. There was a man in a container offering all the necessary services - so I had my photos taken (grim, as expected), and made a copy of my licence.  I didn't have the exact change though.  No problem.  Moses, in the queue behind me, was willing to help out.

In the middle of the pic is a building site - a brand new shopping centre which will have a Woolies and lots of other fabulous chainstores.  I hope the access road gets upgraded too - if you're not avoiding potholes, you're looking out for killer speedbumps.

The queueing process was very orderly, and everyone was patient and understanding. It was rather fluid though - people got up and came back half an hour later, and their seats had been kept for them.  Sometimes people left and didn't come back at all.  Very little was said, and I'm still trying to work out if there was an elaborate signal sytem that I wasn't aware of.

By 11:00 it was all done and dusted (fingerprints taken electronically - no messy black ink).  But after three hours in the queue, my bladder was protesting, so I thought I'd see if the toilets were usable.

Mistake.

The first toilet had no lock on the door, no seat, no toilet paper, no cistern lid and no water in the cistern. Decided to give that one a miss.

The second door was locked

Let's see what's behind door number three.

The door was slightly ajar, but there seemed to be something in the way of opening the door fully...

Ah.  Now I see why I can't open the door.

I looked behind me to see if there were any other doors, and yes, there was another cubicle.

 However, it too, seemed to have been turned into an impromptu filing room.

There seemed no other lavatorial alternative, so I grit my teeth and left for home.  Quickly.