Around the World with Bradley: The Farm.

We go to see Sherry, Leslie and Clinton. We stand around eyeing each other warily. Clinton shows us his khaya. Concrete floor. Corrugated iron roof. Nothing is finished. Dark spot for a spa. Was working catching game. Outbreak of foot and moth means no transfer of any stock (including game). Leslie has dressed up.  She has stayed home all day with Sherry watching TV.

Neal arrives at the farm. Talks about his trip to Japan. Ma says he won’t be going back unless they ban blacks from his group.

Neal then says: Everytime we went anywhere and had to be in the lobby at 6:00 the blacks would turn up at 6:30 keeping the others waiting. Wesley’s mobile phone rings and he leaves the room to answer it. Comes back and it rings again. He has a new girlfriend who everybody likes though she has not been vetted by Ma and Pa.

The house at the farm was built devoid of building regulations. No plans. Built over a number of years. Everything is a shortcut.  With recycled materials. Almost impossible to maintain and deteriorating very rapidly. They are continuously wandering dabbling and patching.

Ma looks at Ron and Leslie’s house and says: We don’t know how long we are going to be here.

It’s why she has lost interest in the garden. No planting of trees. Very little interest in the buildings. Rapidly deteriorating. Lack of windows. The windows are small and covered on the outside with metal bars. Burglar guards.

Clinton has built a khaya on the hill behind his parents’ house. Walls are solid. I don’t remember one window. Windows are a security risk. Inside his khaya everything is half finished. A big hole in the ground for a spa. An open fire place with a chimney too small. It sends smoke into the room. He says he will replace it with a bigger one.

Two Scottish visitors arrive at the farm.

Ma: Look they have a home in Scotland and every year they come out here for three months because its better here. They prefer it here.

Scottish visitor: Well naturally we feel safer there but the weather…

Ma: Shush. Shush. Don’t say that.

 

Garrett arrives and I ask Garrett: What do you do at home all day?

Garrett: Watch TV.

Me: All day?

Garrett: My mum wants me to stay and watch the maid because she is lazy. Doesn’t work. She has baby.

XXXX: You are paranoid about getting robbed. There’s nothing to worry about.

I don’t want to prove XXXX wrong.  They can win this argument.

 

Ma: You let me down. You said you were going to do some weeding.

Ma: I just made 10 bottles of jam. Peach jam. I sell them for R4/5 a bottle. Aunty (Mrs. Murdock) has been very good to me. Morag sold them to all here doctors for R10. She took 80 jars.

Ma: I got Elliot to pick all the peaches while they are still green. These are a bit too green. I then peel them, stone them and boil them. Make syrup jam or stew and freeze some. We have enough to last us all the year.

Ma: Sherry’s been very good to me. She’s got such wonderful children. As soon as they wake, they want to come here. “You like your Nana don’t you.”

Ma: As soon as Neal walks in here he takes a rusk slice. Wesley is taking over from him now. What an appetite.

Ma: During the week I save all the water I cook vegetables in. then on Sunday I add some spinach and maybe other vegetables and make a soup. I take it down to our church. We started a cheap meals restaurant on Sunday evening. Three meals for R5. It was meant to be for the poor. Now everybody goes. The people in town who own restaurants are complaining. Taking the business away.

Ma: I tell you Dr Zuma was very good to Pa. She said this man needs to be seen straight away. She referred him and went down with us to see the specialist. Next time we backed her some nice tarts. They said she was busy and couldn’t see us so I poked the door open and showed her the tarts. She said she would see Dad straight away. Now she’s gone. Not there anymore. We have to wait in the queue.

Ma: I have people I make mince tarts for. They like my tarts and place orders.

Ma: I spend all day in the kitchen. From the time I get up till night. Cooking, peeling, washing.

 

Pa: TV’s no good. The blacks have taken over the best channels.

Me: what do you do with all the eggplants?

Pa: You see we have a lot of friends in the church. We like to share with them. We give them something. When they have too much, they give to us.

Pa: Ronald wasn’t always my favourite but I’ve become quite fond of him.

Pa: You see this is what they did. The ANC they encouraged the blacks not to pay their rates, electricity and now they still won’t pay. The country is going bankrupt.

Pa: They are corrupt. They always look after their friends.

 

Ronald Smith: I tell you this oke XXX is bad news. Everybody says it. I keep hearing all the time. Even his own aunty says she won’t have any time for him.

Ronald Smith: You know he’s a bad egg. He’s been sacked from two jobs. He was defrauding the company.  Bluffing that he was going to TAFE in PMB and they found out he’s not been there. Then at the sweet place same thing. Sacked over money.

Ronald Smith: If Clinton sees him, I don’t know what he’ll do to him. He’ll bash his head in. I try and keep Clinton away from him.

Ronald Smith: XXX had a friend. He says to Zuma (the traffic cop in Howick) look out for this oke on a scoter he doesn’t have a license. So I walk into Merrivale pub and I see this oke and I say is it true what you said and he says yes and I thumped him. Knocked him out. We both got kicked out But I tell you it was worth it.

Ronald Smith: I have to be on call all the time. They don’t know what to do. Have to ring me up. If I resign, they will have to replace me with a black man. There’s a guy there. My assistant worked there for 12 years. They won’t give him the job. Give it to some black guy. They have to. They ring me 10/12 times a day. They know nothing.  I am on leave but I go in every day.

Ronald Smith: Look at the jacket they gave me. They gave jackets to all the workers. Even the blacks.

Ronald Smith: At Christmas we are going camping for two days. Just by ourselves nobody else. Fishing.

 

Ron L. is at Debbie’s. He wants to take two baby dwarf rabbits back to Cape St Francis.

Ron L.: The rabbits bred like dogs.

Everybody laughs.

Ron L.: Well, I couldn’t say they bred like rabbits. I could say they bred like Indians.

Sheila L.: How blessed we are living down at Cape St Francis.

Sheila L.: We should all pray for our political leaders.