Job done: Côte d'Ivoire Colonial in the house!

This is a follow-up post on my April 26 "Stalking a good price on the African Tray Man" blog post that just came in from my man on the ground, guest blogger and husband Vince. I am back in the States for a visit and he is still in Joburg, but the blog must go on!

"Taking slight exception to the characterization of my colonial tray carrier as 'tacky,' I implemented the negotiating plan to get the R 5,000 price ($550) to something more reasonable. 

I'd anticipated a longer process of wearing the guy down, using R 2,000 in an envelope (with the subtle message of, '2.000 Rand for a Colonial' written on the front) as a means of mobilizing my man's avarice. I'd visited him twice on the plan, and each time after he rebuffed my offer i walked past him later with something I'd bought. BUT, as I was in the market today looking for a basket for corralling kitchen coffee things, I saw another colonial tucked in one of the stalls. And it was within view of my man's stall.

So, in sight of him I pulled out the now familiar (to him) envelope...but didn't show the inscription to the new guy. And got a price on his colonial: R 3,000, which bargained down immediately to R 2,200. Still too much. Off to my main man who (having watched this so far) said he'd take the R 2,000. I told him that if he'd just given me a reasonable price the first time we'd already have done the deal. He offered R 1,800. Which I immediately took back to my new guy, who offered back R 1,500. 

Final price, R 1,350. And he looks all kinds of awesome in the bathroom. Tacky my a**."

Vince, guest blogger 
P.S. I am so proud!!!!

Make a left at London and Mind the Gap

So it looks like my preferred stop between South Africa and the States is London.

Of course I'd rather fly nonstop on United or South African Air. For one thing it's nonstop. Secondly, I am treated like a queen on them being a Lifetime Million Miles Reward member thanks to Vince's business travel. More free bags to check with priority baggage handling, free upgrades to the roomy seats and access to free drinks in the Premier Lounges at the airports. But when it's on my dime, British Airways and Virgin seem to consistently have the best prices. Which is too bad because I am nobody on British Airways and Virgin. No. Bo. Dy. But they do stop in London. All day. Twelve hour layovers so you are practically forced to spend the day in the city.


Fortunately I love London. And although I have been there countless times, just like New York, there is always something new and exciting to do and see in London. "David Bowie Is" at the V&A, the Duchess of Cambridge's recently unveiled portrait and the Man Ray exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, the sale at Liberty, Sunday Mass at Brompton Oratory or Westminster Cathedral, photographs by Michael Caine at the London Museum, the Spring Plants and Garden Fair at the Garden Museum, the 2013 Sony World Photography exhibit at Somerset House, a handbell concert and English baroque choir at St. Martin-in-the Fields, the Zandra Rhodes design retrospective at the Fashion and Textile Museum. Ever changing and endless opportunity.

Or you can just walk around for a good stretch of the legs and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. It's a great city to explore on foot if you do not have excessive hand luggage to lug around. (Make a note for next time.) Mews and parks and markets abound.

And so easy to get to and from the airport. The Heathrow Express gets you to Paddington in just 15 minutes! An all-day Underground pass and the city is there for your layover adventure. Keep Calm and Lay Over in London.

Mama Fina

The people who come up to your car at stoplights usually do not have anything that interests me - flyers about retirement properties, chargers for your phone, ostrich feather brooms - but today I scored big time! A flyer for Mama Fina, herbalist witch doctor, sangoma. Not only can she help me fix an immoral spouse and interpret my dreams, but she can remove a witch's hex and reverse bad luck! Never know when that will come in handy.

I can find Mama Fina 24/7 in Randburg and Sandton near the Zenex Garage. But just in case the flyer listed her cell phone too. Wonder if she knows Asbury Park, New Jersey's Madame Marie?

Happy Freedom Day 2013!

www.google.co.za

Today is Freedom Day!

The day, on 27 April, marks the first post-apartheid democratic elections held in the country, in April 1994, which led to its first black president, Nelson Mandela. I guess kinda like our Fourth of July.

Events in Joburg on Freedom Day include the Back to the City Hip-Hop Festival, an extravaganza concert by singer Sibongile Khumalo at the Lyric Theatre, as well as a fun walk for those who would like to celebrate in a healthy way. About 14,000 young people are expected to head to Newtown for Back to the City, a music and art gathering with a sizzling lineup. There are marathons, parades and many other festivities planned all over Joburg, its suburbs and nearby Pretoria. Can't wait until Worker's Day on May 1st.

Braai anyone?

How would you like your Donkey Meat cooked?

The first time I went shopping by myself at the supermarket here, I was browsing through the meat department and I saw something marked Donkey meat! Wha? What?

Now when I went on safari to Africa in 1979 I was a strict vegetarian. That was easy. No meat. Period. Today I am just a recreational vegetarian which means I will eat meat occasionally but mostly refrain. I am just not religious about it. I do remember on safari they served some bizarre things which at the time I was happy to have an excuse not to eat like ostrich (I have since had ostrich and it is very good) and zebra (still no) but donkey meat? I brought it over to the butcher and questioned it. "Is this for real?" I asked. "No" she laughed, "it is a practical joke for April Fools' Day."

Apparently just before I arrived, there had been a donkey meat scare. The SA Department of Agriculture had found traces of horse or donkey meat in some beef mince somewhere and there was a big country-wide meat recall because of this. I was actually relieved to know that a) there was a Department of Agriculture who checks such things, 2) that they took such drastic measures when they found a sample contaminated, and C) they have such a great sense of humor about it!

But maybe it's time for this fool to go back to being a strict vegetarian.

South African Fashion Week

Lincoln Center

Fashion Week In New York was always a magical time. Everyone was even more decked out than usual shopping in the boutiques and (not) eating in the restaurants. I was happy to find out that South Africa also has its own Fashion Weeks to enjoy. In fact South Africa has a vibrant and burgeoning fashion industry and it is showcased during South African Fashion Weeks in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town.

I did not go to any of the fashion shows this spring in Joburg - I will next season when I am more settled - but I have been following the nonstop runway shows on Fashion TV here and on the SAFW facebook page and blogs like Talk Shop. Me likey!

Stalking a good price on the African Tray Man

Vince needs a free-standing shelf in his bathroom at Valley Lodge to hold his toiletries. He has his sights set on a tall tacky free-standing wood carving of a African servant man in a sola topi holding a serving tray. It is so tacky (and a little bit racist if you ask me) but he wants it. I will let him get it, but I will not let him spend what the crafter is asking for it. Tacky is one thing. Expensive and tacky and I draw a line in the sub-Saharan sand. So we are visiting the crafter every week at the Rosebank Market and low-balling the negotiation. After about a month of this we will ask him the question, so how many have you sold in the last month? We are hoping he will adopt the proverb, "A bird in the hand is worth two Rand in the bush." Let's see, shall we?





Believe me I get the attraction. I brought back shields and spears and Maasai necklaces, straw baskets, batiks and animal carvings when I first visited Africa in 1979. I even hand-carried a mosquito net attached to an 5 foot diameter iron ring on the airplane with me to hang over my bed at my beach house which I purchased at Abdul's of Nairobi. Half of the charm was the tag which said "Abdul's of Nairobi." There is no malaria at the Jersey Shore. And sure they may have been tacky, but they were cheap! African tray man needs to get in line with the world market.

While we are waiting for him to cave, we are decorating our apartment with welcome masks from the Bobos of Bukina Faso, shields from the Fangs of Gabon and other beautiful wood carvings which are relatively reasonable in price, beautifully made and not tacky at all. And we walk right past the African tray man with our purchases and make eye contact to let him know we are buying. Are you selling?