Lynn Bedford Hall - Fig Jam and Foxtrot: Tales of life, love and food in the Karoo

Tales of life, love and food in the karoo

Authors acknowledgements

I started with an idea. Slowly translated it into words. About a trillion words. The trillion words turned into stories, which went into my computer to be mulled over, crossed out, rewritten, plots reinvented oh, it took months of slog and times of despair and then moments of such satisfaction I was heady with bubbles, like a bottle of champagne. Stories done, I had to head for the kitchen for a long, long time, perhaps a million days or so. In the end I had a book. But no you cant have a book without a team: a publishing manager to give you the green light, offer a contract, appoint an editor, a designer, an illustrator, a proofreader Its all a case of team work, and in Fig Jam and Foxtrot I have had the finest bunch on earth. Linda, bless her, first saw the possibilities and gave me Joy as an editor. Now this woman is a total treasure, and every author should have the privilege of a smiling, incredibly competent Joy Clack on tap. Shell treat your manuscript as though it were a rare diamond. Work long, long hours at shaping it. Quickly detect any flaws. Smooth out the cuts, then give a professional polish. Sean Robertson and Petal Palmers enthusiasm for Tonys sketches matched my own. We yelped with delight at his brilliant interpretations of the characters and Sean harnessed his own considerable creative talent in painstakingly hand-lettering all the titles, and worked overtime to fit the illustrations in just the right places. My family wasnt part of the team but my thanks certainly extend to them, for they quietly evaluated my work (both literary and gustatory) and theyre very honest, they are gave me the thumbs up wherever they felt it was due. Now I have finished.

Thanks again, everyone.

Lynn Bedford Hall

First published in 2003 by

Struik Publishers (a division of New Holland Publishing (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd)

Wembley Square, First Floor, Solan Road, Gardens

Cape Town 8001

www.randomstruik.co.za

Copyright in published edition: Struik Lifestyle 2003

Copyright in text: Lynn Bedford Hall 2003

Copyright in illustrations: Tony Grogan/Struik Image Library 2003

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner/s.

Publishing Manager: Linda de Villiers

Editor: Joy Clack

Designer: Sean Robertson

Illustrator: Tony Grogan

ISBN 9781868728688 (Print)

ISBN 9781432303105 (ePub)

ISBN 9781432303112 (PDF)

CONTENTS

AUTHORS INTRODUCTION

Once upon a time I used to climb the oak tree in our garden and talk to the creatures that lived in the knot-holes in the branches. I knew they were there, I just had to whisper softly for them to hear me. They were my friends and through them I discovered the magical world of make-believe. I couldnt set down these conversations because I couldnt write at that age, but this internal world has never left me. We all have a desire to create and as I grew older my need found expression in two spheres: writing and cooking. I think I was eleven when I had my first poem published. It went something like this:

My classroom is in such a lovely school
Where trees are shady and leafy and cool.

Ill spare you the rest. At about the same time I started messing around in the kitchen. My best invention was a milkshake made with condensed milk and ginger ale. Now all this sounds quite horrifying, but everything improved as I grew up, and this is where these stories come into play.

The small Karoo town about which I write exists, but I have altered the name because that allows me more licence. Like all towns, it has changed over the years, but at that time it was simply the happiest place for a child to be, offering glorious freedom in a sheltered world of gentle people. As I remember it, the days were hot and still but for the soft strumming of cicadas; the sunsets were unfailingly brilliant and the night sky as bright as an eternal Christmas tree. I also remember the women: in my childs mind they were always plump and powdered and smelling of eau-de-cologne. They sat me on their laps and gave me slivers of biltong.

Aspects of my home life that probably helped to shape me were my parents love of books, music and good food. They were a prominent couple in the community. We knew all the inhabitants of the town and district, and I was taught to respect everyone and never, ever to repeat any secrets or gossip. I must, therefore, have become a voyeur at an early age and locked a thousand secrets in my head, for there were scandals aplenty adulterous affairs and deliciously wicked goings-on all to be tucked in deep and not spoken about.

And yet, despite the odd bit of scandal, it was a town and district in which lived truly

kind and noble people, and the true essence of the place is still as real to me as it ever was. THE STORIES I HAVE WRITTEN ARE, IN A WAY, A TRIBUTE TO THOSE I REMEMBER AND LOVED.

Food plays a big part in small towns. Whether its a bazaar or a sports meeting, a wedding or a funeral, people eat when they meet. And with no take-aways, home cooking was very important. Women became quite famous for their personal specialities, and you never went visiting without a little gift in a basket. My mother (who loved good food) did not enjoy cooking we had an excellent cook who took care of that side of things. But her sister, my aunt, who lived on a large farm outside the town, was an adventurous cook with the most wonderful ingredients at hand. So this was the perfect combination at home I was allowed to occupy the kitchen as much as I liked, and on the farm I could learn from my dear, patient aunt.

Now put all these factors together and perhaps the reason for this book will become clear. In these women of Corriebush, I have been able to interpret my life in a country town, indulge my compulsion to write, and incorporate my career as an author and food and travel journalist. Although the women are fictitious, I have attributed the recipes to them, firstly imagining what they might have cooked and then updating the recipes to suit todays tastes. They have been devised, tried and tested by me, and the result is a book in which fact and fiction are combined to create a cookbook with a difference. I hope it will be an enjoyable read, with some useful recipes, but as Sophia would say, Remember, liefie, the proof is in the trifle.

Pudding, Sophia.

I said pudding.

Who is Sophia? To find out, read on.