Election Day

Today is Election Day in South Africa. It is also quite a historic one as it concludes the first 20 years of the post-apartheid democratic government. And it is the first general election for the "born free" generation, the name given South Africans born after 1994, the year apartheid was abolished.

The number 20 practically begs for pause and some reflection. Newspaper headlines and magazine covers, campaign speeches and Freedom Day addresses have all obliged by putting forth evaluations of the last 20 years and posing their own questions for this fifth election.

Is South Africa a better place to live than it was 20 years ago? Has the ANC and it's four elected presidents so far lived up to its initial promise? Is the current government on the right path? Does Zuma deserve another go at the presidency? Is it time to change party partners? Should it be the DA? The EFF? I do not think anyone has any doubt how the election will go but from what I am reading in the independent press, the other parties are gaining momentum and eventually it may actually become a real race.

Vince and I are of course just passively watching what happens. We cannot vote so we will keep our opinions to ourselves as well. (But we do have an opinion.) All I will say is that the first 20 years of this new democracy has had some incredible highs and some glaring short-falls. South Africa has come very far since 1994 but it still has a long way to go. Don't forget to vote today, South Africa!

Treasure Trove

We finally made it to the Collectors Treasury. I say "finally" because it has literally been on my list of places to go since I first read about it even before we moved to Johannesburg. But as I have said before, there is so much to do here and we keep adding things to our list. It has been difficult to get there.

Founded in 1974, and housed in an eight story building in the diamond and jewellery district in the Joburg CBD, Collectors Treasury is the largest used and rare book shop in Africa, and in the Southern Hemisphere, having 1,000,000 plus items on hand. In addition to books, there are substantial offerings of maps, old engravings and prints, printed ephemera, periodicals, newspapers and photographica. Collectors Treasury also deals extensively in records, with a stock of over 300,000 vinyl and 78rpm discs.



But that is not all. As I found out, they also have an extensive range of small antiques and collectibles, with strong emphasis on the decorative arts 1870-1970.

The mosaics in the sidewalk in front of the store should have been my first clue. It certainly was an omen of good things to come.

Piles and aisles of first editions ...

... and rare books ...

... it certainly is a literary treasury.

And somewhere behind the stacks of books and display cases was buried treasure of another kind  ... Linnware. Dozens and dozens of pieces.

Along with an out-of-print book on South African art ceramics, The Woman of Olifantsfontein – South African Studio Ceramics, we purchased some more practical examples to add to our collection.

A cream jug, a couple of tea mugs, two beer tankards and a gorgeous teapot to go along with the coffee mugs we already have at home.

I kept it on my list because we will be going back often to Collectors Treasury.

Black Sam's smokin'

I am really not equipped to judge good smokehouse barbeque. So when I saw on Facebook that the new Joburg pop-up phenom, Black Sam Smoque, would be parking its food truck / mobile smokehouse in the middle of Parktown North, I recruited my resident expert to accompany me for a taste.







My husband Vince is a bona fide expert on barbeque, especially smokehouse barbeque. Weaned on it in Kansas City, he has made a mission of eating barbeque in all its forms across the United States of America and the world. Since his job has had him traveling a couple of million miles over the past 20 years, that's been a LOT of barbecue.









He also has cooked a lot of barbecue, at home and in the rag-tag grills that are available in self-catering places that we've stayed at over the years. Both of our boys can create a credible rub and turn out more than credible barbecue themselves.

Vince even built his own quad-purpose grill / smoker / cold smoker / wood-fired oven at home, as a project with our younger son. It's a re-purposed Weber kettle barbeque that was otherwise headed for the trash heap. Dubbed the FrankenWeber, it has turned out smoked turkeys, briskets, chicken, pork shoulder, and pork belly, cold-smoked bacon and salmon (aka lox, see to the right), and made some pretty decent "brick oven" pizza!

Armed with a couple of USA-made and imported smokers and inspired by all the major styles (Carolinas, Texas, Memphis and Kansas City) of barbeque, Sam has added a South African twist to Black Sam Smoque by using local Kameeldoring and Mopani wood for his smoking.

His pop-up menu yesterday was pretty simple - brisket and pork belly SAMwiches and ribs. We had to get a sample of all three.

The brisket SAMwich was topped with a homemade barbeque and / or chili sauces - we got half and half - and the pork belly was served with an herbal salsa verde. Both were topped with a generous scoop of some yummy apple and cabbage coleslaw and served on a Portuguese roll.

Although not as smoky-flavored as we're used to (the local wood is milder than the hickory, cherry, and pecan that is typical in the US), Vince says that it is far and away the best barbecue that we've had outside the States - and that includes places like Australia, which has as strong a braai tradition as South Africa, and the Caribbean which is where it all started as barbacoa.

Everything was really well executed. The ribs were actually perfect. The pork belly and brisket were more lightly done than a US BBQ place would do it, but with great smoke rings and really tender and juicy. Kudos to Sam for the brisket, which is a) hard to do well in the first place, and b) is a difficult cut of meat to find in the right style for proper BBQ. We asked him about that specifically, and he said he has his local butcher (a closely held secret it appears) do a special cut for him, then trims it to spec himself. Nice!

Bottom line - Black Sam Smoque might not be ready to go head to head with institutions like Arthur Bryant's in Kansas City, or County Line BBQ in Austin, but it's a heckuva BBQ place, and a welcome find. Follow Black Sam Smoque for his next pop-up.

Freedom Day at the Union Buildings

Yesterday was Freedom Day which commemorates the first democratic election held in South Africa twenty years ago on April 27. But since the 27th fell on a Sunday this year, Monday was the day off instead. We took advantage of the lack of traffic and business to take the puppies up to Pretoria and visit the new statue of Nelson Mandela which was unveiled in the formal terraced gardens in front of the Union Buildings after his funeral last December.

The Union Buildings is the primary seat of the South African government and houses the office of the President. From its vantage point high above Pretoria, you can see all the way across the city  to the Voortrekker Monument. It was pretty quiet on the grounds of the Union Buildings today. Yesterday was the official celebration - the theme was “South Africa – A Better Place to live in” - and they were still disassembling the parade bleachers and tents where President Zuma gave his Freedom Day address on the south lawn in the shadow of Nelson Mandela.

The buildings themselves were designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1908 and completed five years later to house the newly established government in charge of the newly united Union of South Africa. In 1994, almost 80 years later, it is where Nelson Mandela gave his inaugural address heralding his ground-breaking presidency and the dawn of a new democratic South Africa and last December it is also where he lay in state after his death and was visited by thousands of mourners.

Vince and I both agree we like this statue more than his dancing version in nearby Mandela Square which coincidentally was originally commissioned to stand at the newly re-christened Nelson Mandela Amphitheater where Mandela gave his inaugural speech 20 years ago on these very grounds. And this version replaces another statue originally sited here, a figure of former prime minister James Barry Hertzog, which was moved to a new spot in the garden in order to accommodate it. Kinda like a huge Gauteng chess match.

Last night we watched Kevin Kline and Denzel Washington (and Downton Abbey's Mrs. Crawley!) in the film Cry Freedom! No question. South Africa now is a better place to live in than then.

Saint John Paul II

Today the Blessed Popes John Paul II and John XXIII are being canonized by Pope Francis in Rome. This is cool for me because it means I have been in the presence of a real live Saint. Twice.

Once when my family attended midnight Mass officiated by Pope John Paul II on Christmas Eve in 1984 ...

... and the second time when we visited as pilgrims during the Jubilee year 2000 ...










... where we attended a service in St. Peter's Square.







 

Bringing it back to South Africa ... Pope John Paul II visited here twice during his lifetime. Once officially and once accidentally. In 1988 the papal plane he was traveling in was forced to land in SA because of bad weather conditions. Apparently on that visit he angered the apartheid government when he refused to kiss the ground.

Seven years later in 1995, Pope John Paul II came back and celebrated a papal mass in Joburg as he began his six day tour of Africa. During his visit in 1995, the Pope said: "Today my journey brings me to a new South Africa, a 'rainbow nation,' indicating the diversity of races, ethnic groups, languages and culture which characterize it." To which the newly minted  President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela said: "To say this visit is long overdue is to pay tribute to your own abhorrence of the system of apartheid," 

Our parish priest reminisced about John Paul II's visit to South Africa this morning during his homily. He spoke about being among the more than 100,000 who attended the outdoor Mass that day in nearby Gosforth Park. Blessed be Saint John Paul II.

Happy Easter from Valley Lodge

ebony cross with new Palm Sunday palms

Easter tabletop tree

Easter ostrich

At least an Easter ostrich actually lays eggs ... As opposed to an Easter bunny.

Easter rhino

Easter shark

Easter rondavel basket and inside ...

filled with Easter goodies

Easter in Joburg

We didn't spend Easter in Joburg ... but it doesn't mean it didn't happen here ... big time. There were plenty of celebrations, festivals and food events.

There were holiday weekend celebrations at the mega and mini-malls like Sandton City where there was a Bunny Garden, kiddie rides on an electric train, chocolate workshops, children's coloring competitions, and of course shopping for that perfect Easter bonnet.

Over in the CBD, the folks at Dlala Nje put on an old fashioned Easter egg hunt at Ponte City. The hunt was for the kids in the building as well as some needy ones in shelters in and around Hillbrow. All in all, they organized a good ol' fashioned Easter Sunday scramble for at least 600 kids.




Easter dining options? There were plenty.

At Piccolo Mondo in the Michelangelo Hotel you had a choice of an "Egg"stensive Easter celebration buffet lunch or the Chef's Easter special choice menu with wine pairings. Central One restaurant at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel offered a 3 course Easter Menu with a complimentary bottle of house wine.

For a more bucolic setting for Easter, there was the Granita Restaurant at the Kievits Kroon Country Estate in Kameeldrift in the Winelands in Gauteng, Or the Maropeng Boutique Hotel in the Cradle of Mankind with many "egg"citing events for the whole family to enjoy with Easter themed activities and visits by the Easter bunny. TSG Fourways provided the perfect Easter Sunday meal at its Leaping Frog Garden Centre. The Easter Bunny was there too for an Easter egg hunt.



Then there were the festivals.

A Tuscan Easter? On the beach? You had it at the Montecasino Easter Beach Festival. That's right, the Montecasino Outdoor Piazza was transformed into a beach paradise for the weekend and was the site of their Easter festivities. Not to be outdone, Emperor's Palace had an Easter Garden and Easter egg hunt on Sunday in their earlier Roman venue (as in Jesus's time), the D'Oreale Gardens Of Vespasian.

Pop-up markets were huge too over the long holiday weekend. The Rand Show at the Joburg Expo Centre and Kamers in Bryanston to name two. They looked like fun.

Now in its 5th year, the Nissan Easter Festival once again delivered 10 days worth of celebrations with equestrian events, entertainment and fun for the whole family. Dressage and showjumping and the InterAfrica Cup.

I am mostly sorry though that we missed a chance to see and hear Joyous Celebration, South Africa`s leading gospel ensemble with traditional and contemporary spiritual hymns and original compositions. Joyous Celebration is the Multi - Platinum selling, 40 plus member ensemble featuring the cream of South Africa`s gospel talent including Mthunzi Namba, Jabu Hlongwane, Charisma and Xolani Mdlalose just to name a few, and conducted by Lindelani Mkhiz. Next year I hope (although we will probably head out again, this time to Madagascar or Mauritius or maybe the Seychelles for Easter.)

some crafts for sale at the Organic Market

Our local haunts also celebrated the Easter season in their own ways. Bryanston Organic Market offered Easter crafts and activities during their regular market hours on Holy Thursday and Saturday.

Or I could have promenaded and worn my Easter bonnet at the weekly Neighbourgoods Market on Easter Sunday itself.

Baby white lion cubs play with Easter eggs at the Lion Park

It's Africa, right? There were more than just the same old Easter bunnies and chicks hopping around. How about the Easter white lions at the Lion Park? Or the Easter rhino at the Johannesburg Zoo. Talk about a wild Easter!