Back in the land of the living
Lea Jacobs experiences the rustic life and discusses what was happening in 1991.
As far as I am concerned, deadlines should be banned. I recently returned to the Her¬ald offices after a wonderful three week break. I spent my time reading, watching a bit of telly and even managed to get up to False Bay in Northern KwaZulu-Natal for a couple of days.
The only deadline I had was at 6pm, when I was forced to open a bottle of wine in order to enjoy a sundowner.
Speaking of sundowners, we stayed in a rustic camp, which I thought meant the lodge we'd booked into didn't use fabric softener and the towels would be a bit scratchy.
Wrong ! It meant no lights, except for a paraffin lamp. It also meant that the shower was a bucket with a rope attached. The bucket was filled with cold water and then hoisted above your head. If one wanted hot water, one had the option of using what they termed a donkey. The instructions read as follows: 'Before lighting the fire under the ap¬paratus, ensure that the tap is open. Failure to do so could lead to the donkey exploding.' Needless to say, we showered in cold water.
I love the bushveld and wildlife in general, but as you know from previous columns, I do have a bit of a problem with buck. Luckily for me, only one brave fellow wandered into our camp. Person¬ally, I think that the bush telegraph had done its work and the buck in MARGATE had let their North Coast cousins know that I was coming.
I have to be honest at this stage, and admit that it was very nice to get home and soak away the grime (my personal record for showering in frigid water is now 5.4 seconds) in a long hot bath and enjoy the electric light once more.
It is for that very reason that I am taking a look at 1991, as living in the dark ages is, as far as I am concerned, for the birds and I feel more comfortable chatting about modern times.
I must be getting really old as I remember 1991 as if it were yesterday. I was, therefore, somewhat gobsmacked to read that back then a beef roast was priced at R8,98 a kilogram and lamb was available for a measly R 7,98 per kilo. Condensed milk was on the shelves for RI,99 and a bottle of cleaning fluid was R2,69.
The Faerie Glen Hotel was offering an eight course lunch for the grand sum of RI2,50. But the best news of all was that South Coasters could invest in the latest top of the range computer equipment. Yes, for the pricely sum of R6 995 computer whizzes of yesteryear co indulge in their computer fantasies.
The machine not only came with a 14-inch mono monitor, but unbelievably it came with a massive 12 megs of Ram!
On the property scene a villa in San Lameer was priced at R185 000 while a development comprising of six units on the beachfront in Glenmore Beach could have been yours for R450 000.
By 1991, the quality of television programmes had improved dramatically. 'Misdaad in Miami' had made Don Johnson a household name and changed the face of male fashion forever. 'LA Law' was a massive and led to an enormous number of students enrolling for a law degree, in the hope that one day their future boss would resemble Harry Hamlin.
On the downside, there was a programme, called ‘Super Sam Swats Safety'. I have absolutely no idea what this little gem was about but with a title like that it could only have been good.
Yes, indeed, we have come a long way sit 1991. One has to wonder just how far along we’ll be in another 17 years.
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