Fred's Blog

I had such an awesome weekend.  And I have such awesome friends.  Most of my most memorable memories after school involve a small group of friends and I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with them this past weekend.  It is great when you can reach a stage in your friendship where you feel completely comfortable with your friends, and where you can truly just be yourself. 

So to my great companions this weekend (and in the years gone by) – Adele, George, Hilda, Francois, Esthee and Eugene – thank you for being truly awesome friends!

Friday Night – Tuks RAG!

George called me on Friday afternoon and asked whether I would like to go see some bands playing at the Tuks (University of Pretoria) RAG Festival.  I haven’t been to RAG since I was a student, but then again, I am still young and I guess I can still behave like a student…. sometimes.  So I excitedly said yes!  (Ok, ok, I first checked with the missus, who gave me her blessing, thanks honey!)

So I pitched up at George and Hilda’s place shortly after 6 pm, dropping of my car (Hilda being the designated driver!) and off the three of us went.  We pitched up at the Tuks RAG farm, which is mostly like I remember it, except that some of the students look like school children to me!  (Yeez, I am getting old!   But then again, die bokkies still look damn fine!).  Hilda joked with me an George, saying how we were cradle snatchers!

The bands were ok-ish, and starred names like Die Heuwels Fantasties and Straatligkinders.  We missed Jack Parow, which I would have liked to see, mainly for his somewhat provoking lyrics.  (Oh I know, he acts quite zeff, but I am strangely drawn…).  There was some rain during some of the acts, and so we danced at one of the discos which is under cover during those times.  After a couple of beers, some good bands and some dancing, we decided to go to Hatfield.  But not until Die Heuwels Fantasties gave their performance of Lea, which George really wanted to see.  And so I found myself repeating the tune of the song later the evening.

The ride to Hatfield was quite a scary experience.  In Prospect Street, we were waiting to turn right into a parkade, when a white bakkie started hooting at us from the back.  The next thing, he overtook us on the left hand side, mostly driving in the parking space (filled with cars) on our left hand side (in South Africa, we drive on the left hand side of the road and so the parked cars would be on that side).  He barely missed us, with 5cm to spare.  But he accellerated, and drove strainght into a parked car, damaging it very badly (there were bystanders also in the area, he could have easily hurt them very much).  The next thing he reversed (and we were scared that he will hit us), and quickly drove away.  I had my wits about me, and noticed the licence plate number.  We went to park the car, and then returned to where the accident happened, where the University of Pretoria’s campus security have arrived in the mean time.  We gave them the details of what happened and I left a note on the car to tell the owner what has happened.

Now you can imagine what it must feel like if you get to your car, only to find that it is very badly damaged and has shifted from where you parked it.  But the story has a somewhat positive ending.  The owner of the car called me on Saturday morning, to thank me for leaving the details of the accident and my number.  Armed with the registration number, the police were able to track the bakkie (which is a company car) and it seems that they will take the necessary action with the driver (which probably was drunk at the time of the incident).  I still feel bad for the girl (which I assume is a student), since she told me that it is the second time someone drove into her back and her parents are very unhappy with her.

Anyway, we went clubbing in Hatfield Square, which was jam packed with students.  We went to DropZone, where we danced a bit.  But it was getting late, and so we decided to call it a night.  By 3h30 am, I was back at home, where my poor wife was still up and busy designing a beautiful invitation for my upcoming 30th birthday party.  And so by 4:00 we decided to call it a day…

Saturday Morning – Barney comes to Town!

But by 8 am we had to be up again, since we had quite a bit to do for the day.  First we headed off to the Noise Boys in Hatfield, to get the gas of the air con of the car replaced.  As usual, I received professional service from the guys there and the air con was cooling again as it is supposed to.

By 11 am we were at the Gift Acres mall.  We, and especially Erik, were going to meet Barney!  We saw the advertisement some time ago, and were planning to make a special trip for Erik.  Erik has been watching the Afrikaans version of Barney on the Kowee channel on DSTV and has absolutely fallen in love with the green and purple dinosaur.  And did he enjoy it!  He would take Barney by the hand and walk with him (actually this Barney was a lady, but don’t tell anyone).  There were some clowns and a swimming pool for kids, face painters and balloons.

The promotion was organized as part of the opening Liquor City at the mall.  The owner’s wife later remarked that it is interesting that we were still there (we probably spent about two hours or so in Barney’s companionship)!  There is also a new butchery, Kanhym Deli which set up shop just a couple of shops down, which sold delicious prego rolls as part of the promotion.  The butchery is the cleanest I saw in my life, and the meats they offer just supreme.  What struck me about the staff at both shops, is how friendly they are and how at home they make you feel, and I will definitely support them again in future.  I think I have found a personal butcher (well in fact, they are catering for a spitbraai for my upcoming birthday party).  The two stores also presented the opportunity to shop for the upcoming Braai and Coinage evening…

Saturday Evening – Braai and Coinage!

And so it was Saturday night, and we set out to have a fun filled evening with friends.  Eugene, George, Hilda, Francois and Esthee, joined me and Adele (and Erik for a short while) for a braai and to play coinage.  Our coinage evenings have thus far been legendary, and make for amazing memories for years to come.  This time was no exception.

Now coinage is a drinking game – which does involve the sustained consumption of some larger-than-usual amounts of alcohol – and so it is something we don’t do very often, perhaps once every two or three years.  But I do have very responsible friends, who know how to have a good time and to make it enjoyable for everyone, without all the unpleasantness typically associated with being drunk.

How does coinage work?  Well quite easy really – I mean you still have to be able to remember the game’s rules after a couple of shooters.  Everyone around the table gets the chance to try and throw a coin in such a way that it bounces of the table and falls into a shooter glass.  Should the coin just nick the top of the glass, but not fall into it, the player whose turn it is gets the chance to nominate one of the other players to take a shot.  In the case that the coin actually makes it into the glass, the player is allowed to make a rule.  And this is really where the fun starts, because if someone breaks a rule, that person needs to take a penalty shot.  And the more shooters you drink, obviously the more difficult it becomes to remember all the rules!

It is actually quite amazing how difficult it is not to break the rules!  During the evening (and if the memories can be deemed reliable!) we instituted amongst others the following rules:

• You are not allowed to say anyone around the table’s names.  So you across the table please pass me the shooter glass.
• You are not allowed to point at anyone.  So you across the table, no not you, you!
• You are not allowed to say yes or no.  So in the affirmative as to whether I am having a good time.
• You are not allowed to accept anything from anyone.  So don’t give me the coin or the shooter glass, please put it down in front of me, please.
• You are not allowed to say “please” or “thank you”.  So just put it down in front of me, dammit!
• You are not allowed to swear.  Oh bugger, that becomes difficult…
• If you have to take a shot, you have to swivel the glass twice above your head.  But it gets really difficult when you have had 10 shots already.
• You have to handle the shooter glass with your left hand only.  So you have to helicopter the glass above your head using your left hand.
• You have to say “chorts” after the helicoptor.  So you have to do the helicopter with your left hand then say chorts, then down your drink.
• You have to say “hatisho” before you throw the coin.  Oh yeez, should I have said chorts or hatisho now?

Sound easy huh?  Just try it, it becomes really difficult very soon.  And it leads to some very interesting (although completely irrational!) discussions.  I mean, where have you ever heard that “bliksem” is a swear word but “dammit” is not!?

And so we continued and just had a good time.  Even the mighty Francois, who usually is a very composed coinage player, became somewhat tipsy in the end.  Poor Hilda sustained more damage, but then again, she has half the body weight of the rest of us.  Some time during the night, Karin (Francois’ sister) called to ask whether she has the house to herself… of course that had all of us wondering what she is up to.  Eventually, one by one people decided to call it a day and to find a spot somewhere on a couch.  In the end, myself, Francois and Eugene ended up just talking and thinking about where life is taking us.  Francois is emmigrating to Australia later this year, something which I am truly deeply sad about.  But he has good reasons for doing so.  After a while he just said something along the lines of “Isn’t there something less depressing we can talk about?  So how do you feel about the AIDS crisis in South Africa”.  For a comment that was made at 4 am, it was very sharp and had me in stitches!  (PS, no offence to people living with HIV/AIDS.  Me and my friends discuss the matter from time to time, and realise just how truly gruesome the situation is Southern Africa is, and have great empathy for those who are affected by this pandemic.)  But it does somewhat capture the sadness of “losing” a great friend.

By 5 am we decided to call it a day and everyone got a spot somewhere to sleep.  I felt happy that we could kuier like in my student days and that we were all so comfortable with one another.  Well, that was after Hilda awoke and made some very funny comments, especially about espionage, but that is something that cannot be repeated in this blog

Sunday – The Recovery

On Sunday morning we woke up, with some feeling better than others.  After a quick coffee, George and Hilda had to leave to complete some tasks for church and Eugene had to leave to complete some work.  A while later, Francois and Esthee had to leave, because they had a family braai to attend.

And so Adele, Erik and me had the day to ourselves.  Some time during the day, when changing Erik’s nappy, he decided to run to his potty, and use it for the first time.  I felt quite proud that the little guy is growing up so fast.

On Sunday evening, Adele, Erik and I watched the musical Mamma Mia.  Erik took somewhat of a liking to the music, and the three of us danced and had a good time.  It is very rewarding to continually see that honest smile on my boy’s face, and I felt happy and content with life.  Thanks to all those who make my life special!