The festive season turned out to be pleasantly low key in this part of the world. We have only seen 3 Christmas trees & they didn't appear until a day or two before the 25th. No crowds intent on bankrupting themselves in the shops, no Christmas muzak wherever you go, no tinsel - the monstrous commercialisation is thankfully absent.
Christmas Day itself, though, was a lovely family occasion which we shared with Beth Uriel. Our contribution was to help with the cooking & the mounds of washing up, as well as driving everyone to church (at 8.30 AM!). Before church, we all shared a special breakfast of mango juice, scrambled eggs, bacon(well, we didn't share that bit!), pancakes, bananas & caramel sauce. 364 days a year breakfast is just porridge. Dinner was a feast of stuffed turkey & vast heaps of meat cooked on the braai (barbecue) accompanied by various salads & followed by trayfuls of freshly baked chocolate brownies.
An amply padded Santa (the petite Seanah did the honours even though Howard has just the beard, if not the stomach any more, for the part!) handed out the presents. The guys had all chosen gifts for themselves to the value of 350 rands (26 pounds). Most chose shoes or trousers with the notable exception of Wandicile who is now the proud owner of a yoga exercise ball. In addition they were given a Pick'n'Pay voucher of 100 rands, toiletries & a cap decorated with the MeKasi logo by the Brodie team, taking the chance to demonstrate our artistic skills!? We gave a house present of a new DVD player. We were also given a present - 2 tickets for the cinema. Unexpected but a lovely surprise. We just have to agree on a film & find a way to get there & back.
In amongst all the hustle & bustle, Fiona managed to find time to speak to all of her family in Scotland which was lovely.
Back at our hosts' house there were celebrations too. Charles is the pastor of a church which has 60 members, mostly refugees from places such as Zimbabwe, Rwanda & the Congo. Normally they meet in a room in the city centre, but on Christmas Day everyone was invited out to Os for a service in the house at 9.30 AM followed by a day of food, drink & relaxation. The last stragglers were just leaving as we returned at 9pm. We were sorry to have missed the party & howard was particularly disappointed when he dicovered that there had been a singalong, mostly of Simon & Garfunkel numbers. Fiona did her best to compensate - the day ended with 2 part singing in near harmony! (Really she tried!!)
Christmas Day itself, though, was a lovely family occasion which we shared with Beth Uriel. Our contribution was to help with the cooking & the mounds of washing up, as well as driving everyone to church (at 8.30 AM!). Before church, we all shared a special breakfast of mango juice, scrambled eggs, bacon(well, we didn't share that bit!), pancakes, bananas & caramel sauce. 364 days a year breakfast is just porridge. Dinner was a feast of stuffed turkey & vast heaps of meat cooked on the braai (barbecue) accompanied by various salads & followed by trayfuls of freshly baked chocolate brownies.
An amply padded Santa (the petite Seanah did the honours even though Howard has just the beard, if not the stomach any more, for the part!) handed out the presents. The guys had all chosen gifts for themselves to the value of 350 rands (26 pounds). Most chose shoes or trousers with the notable exception of Wandicile who is now the proud owner of a yoga exercise ball. In addition they were given a Pick'n'Pay voucher of 100 rands, toiletries & a cap decorated with the MeKasi logo by the Brodie team, taking the chance to demonstrate our artistic skills!? We gave a house present of a new DVD player. We were also given a present - 2 tickets for the cinema. Unexpected but a lovely surprise. We just have to agree on a film & find a way to get there & back.
In amongst all the hustle & bustle, Fiona managed to find time to speak to all of her family in Scotland which was lovely.
Back at our hosts' house there were celebrations too. Charles is the pastor of a church which has 60 members, mostly refugees from places such as Zimbabwe, Rwanda & the Congo. Normally they meet in a room in the city centre, but on Christmas Day everyone was invited out to Os for a service in the house at 9.30 AM followed by a day of food, drink & relaxation. The last stragglers were just leaving as we returned at 9pm. We were sorry to have missed the party & howard was particularly disappointed when he dicovered that there had been a singalong, mostly of Simon & Garfunkel numbers. Fiona did her best to compensate - the day ended with 2 part singing in near harmony! (Really she tried!!)
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