My hubby Chris remembers vividly when Mauro still stayed next door and afterwards when he was still at school. Mauro do you remember that little white Mini station wagon you had? You were still at school then, no licence even! But ride you will ride! You had two other friends that you were always hanging around with, the one’s name was Ian but for the life of me I can’t remember the other one’s name. Can you still remember his name? You know ‘old age’ is catching up on me and I can’t remember like I used to! The Mini used to smoke like a chimney stack and Chris would tell you,” Mauro this thing’s rings are shot you need to have it fixed”. But off course you were broke and had no money even to buy oil, let alone have the engine overhauled! Then you would come and ask me if I didn’t have second oil that you could have! But off course you had to ride, even if the smoke clouds were billowing behind you like a jet that has just taken off! Just think back at how cheap petrol was in those days, maybe 38c for 5 litres! I can vividly remember that. I wonder what oil cost then. But at least you were one of the ‘manne’ and very popular because you had a car of your own. What actually happened to the Mini way back, I would love to know.
I also remember the 50cc Yamaha you and the other guys used to ride. Can you believe that you almost had a marriage proposal from a little 4 year old girl?! Bannie was 4 years old at the time and we sat talking the other day about the ‘old’ days in Pietermaritzburg. She says it made her day when you allowed her to sit on your motorbike and she seriously told us she was going to marry you because you had a motorbike! We had a good chuckle about it. Those were the days.
Before your mom went to work at Nagels, which by the way, does not exist anymore, (what a pity) she worked at the Oribi Post Office and I used to drop her off there on my way to work when I still worked at Works Branch. That was many moons ago.
Photo by chatani
I can remember how often we used to go to town, even when I already worked, just to go and have cream scones and tea at Nagels. Your mom worked as the Manager of the Platter deli. That was the shop just below the old John Orr’s in Church Street. Her scones were out of this world. Also all the other food served there was absolutely delicious, she really was an excellent cook. I will be eternally grateful to her for telling me her secret about the feather light scones which did not taste like baking powder, which usually leaves that horrid taste in your mouth afterwards.
One day after I had scoffed another of the huge scones which were almost the size of an average saucer and about an inch high,(and then asked to take the other half in a ‘doggy bag’), I asked her how she got the scones to taste like that. I could never finish both halves, hungry as I was. She said oh, she only adds a few squirts of lemon juice to the dough and she doesn’t mix the dough with her hands, but uses a knife. Well, to this day, I still follow her advice and make lekker, featherlight scones, with no aftertaste. Thank you Adua, I will always remember you and the good advice you gave me for making scones. A lesson well worth learning.
I got my inspiration for this website from the song called “Imagine”, and so I decided to go on this adventure. I have always wanted to put up something like this where my friends and I could express our memories and dreams for the future. Share them with us, because if many people dream the same dream it will certainly come true.
Yip those scones were delicious! We would go to the Platter (remember that was the name of the restaurant in Nagels) to have tea and scones. I could do with one right now.
Wow! I remember your mom’s banana milkshakes! She perfected any dish and had a natural talent to please the taste buds. How often didn’t Ian and I raid your mom’s fridge. Well Ian more than I, but who could blame us when that delicious stuff stared at you when the fridge door opened!
Lorraine, well done!
You brought back many memories for me as well. Just think that all the left-over scones my mum would bring home every evening and I ate them all up! Those were the days!! It’s a wonder I am not fat. At this stage I would like to have the original recipe of these scones, so that Marta can cook them for me. I invite you Lorraine or Martie as well, to publish this special recipe on our website, of course with many beautiful pictures!