Chain of Thoughts

This morning while clearing up after breakfast, I mentioned to Fanie that I bought some Brie cheese for us – this was the beginning of a journey which took me back many years : Brie and Camembert were unknown to me.  My first introduction to these delicacies was when we went to Europe in 1982.  We went to a cheese festival and Frank and Dorothy introduced us to this gorgeously delicious cheese.  I was most unimpressed with this soggy mass of goo which I had to spread on a salty biscuit.  I made all the correct noises and  tried to act very elegant and appreciative of this morsel.  So much for an uninformed young lady!

Then my mind flew to the next landing place : my first “dancing” evening party I attended as a teenager at Colleen’s house.  She turned sixteen and I was allowed to go, after many admonishing instructions from Mom  with confirmation that I would be picked up at 10 o’clock sharp (this was my curfew, right up to the time when Fanie and I were engaged!!)  The music was playing, everyone was jumping around to the beats of the Beatles, and her mom kept bringing in plates of eats for the energetic teenagers.  By this time, I was really ravenous, and saw the delicious little meat pies which were still steaming hot from the oven.  One enthusiastic bite into this little pie made all my digestive juices flow – until I realised that it wasn’t a mince pie!  There was a huge potplant nearby, and it was blessed with a half-eaten pie.  I later discovered that these were mushroom pies!  I had never heard of these “things”, nevermind being able to eat them.  I had read about Enid Blyton’s toadstools and faitytale characters gathering mushrooms in the forest, but that was the extent of my knowledge of them!

I was introduced to gherkins by cousin Yvonne as a child.  Her grandmother and aunt served them daily, and they also had them regularly.  One day when I was with their whole family for a meal, I saw them passing the GERKINS round for all to eat.  GERKINS???  Try and imagine that you have never heard this name before, and feel it rolling round in your mouth … gerkins … gerkins.. gerkins …  Sweet, sour, crispy, crunchy, vinegar-tasting “things”!  Yes we DO have gerkins in our fridge and they ARE delicious!!

Butternuts and baby marrows developed later in life and these are also taken for granted by all, and the young ones of today all know what they are.  Yellow “boerpampoen” and gem squash were familiar, and Ouma’s gem squash with plenty of butter and sugar was my absolute favourite when I went for a visit.  Marrows were left to grow into adult marrows, and were served with mince and butter.  One was enough to feed a whole family.

Now I remember Ouma sending me to the shop to buy half a loaf of brown bread for her. (Yes, they used to cut the bread in half and it wasn’t strange to buy just a half loaf)  It cost a penny and three farthings!!  Sometimes she didn’t have a ha’penny, so I actually had to carry THREE FARTHINGS!!  And … BROWN bread … who ate BROWN bread??  What an embarrassment it was for me. No plastic bags were invented yet – the bread had a thin strip of greaseproof paper, and often just a thin tissue paper, to protect the loaf from known and unknown germs of the carrier’s hands! 

Talking of bread … Pretoria … Hatfield Bakery … their rock and roll bread which came hot from their oven!!  We lived nearby, and Sunday afternoons late was the time when the whole neighbourhood stood in queues outside the bakery waiting for their bread to come out of the oven.  What a feast that was!!  We always had arguments as to who would get the crust.  Their sugar buns were the size of giant saucers – with crunchy sugar and plump, juicy raisins in!  We didn’t bother with spreading butter on these.  They were devoured with great enthusiasm and bliss.  I had a special sequence of eating : first I nibbled all round the bun, chewing off the crispy sugar bits, then  I took little bites of the bun, taking care to extract the plump raisins.  Imaging biting into these little babies, and thinking of all the beautiful things a child can dream of!

No instant coffee was invented yet, but we knew of a very enterprising lady who made and sold coffee essence!  This dark syrup actually made coffee and it was already sweetened.  Just one teaspoonful and some boiling water for a cup of coffee.  Mind you, this was an absolute luxury not to be savoured every day!

I can continue with my musing, but I fear that I may begin rambling.  The chain just continues to grow and grow, and my journey back in time can certainly last a lifetime!

Linnie   12 October 2O15