Well today I witnessed a national institution: The Braai (known in other countries as a barbeque).
The following are valid reasons to have a braai: the sun is shining, there is an important sports event, there is a non important sport event, it is a special occasion, there is more than one person that needs to eat, there is a power failure, it is a day of the week that ends in 'y'. Yep, they pretty much use any excuse.
This is how a braai works:
The woman/women go into the kitchen and prepare a selection or all of the following: potato dish (baked, creamy, salad-whatever), garlic mushrooms, sweet corn, salad (a few types preferably), garlic bread, rice, desert ( a few if possible), tea, coffee all other drinks.
One man braais the meat while drinking a beer. Any other men will form a crowd around him. They will stand and gossip talk about important things like cars. The man will call the woman from the kitchen for another beer, braai tongs, a dish to put the meat on, another beer etc.
The woman will set out all the food that she has prepared: plates, cutlery, glasses, serviettes...
Several decades later the meat will be ready and lunch is served!
Everyone congratulates the man on the wonderful meal he has cooked. He takes full credit. They eat too much red meat and slather butter on everything.
The woman clears up the table and they have dessert.
In this case, milk tart, another national institution. It is baked custard in a pastry shell with cinnamon on top. (Fi cheated, this is a store bought one.) But, Hmmmm...it was yummy!
Then they all lie around wondering why so many South Africans die of heart attacks.
Fi insists that I tell you that all characters in this story are typical stereotypes and in no way reflect on her husband! And she only lets her family have a braai on rare occasions... with strictly controlled butter rations...ha ha ha!
