Friends and Neighbours!

I was listening to the radio the other morning and the presenter was saying that he had just moved into a 'leafy suburb' in Cape Town, and therefore would probably never meet his neighbours! I thought about what he had said and realised that neighbours differ from city to town to village! When we lived in 'The Big Smoke' aka Johannesburg, we lived in a high-walled-several-unit complex, where we did know our neighbours to a certain extent, especially if the power went off or the water supply suddenly dribbled to a halt, then people would meet in the road to make sure that it wasn't just them! The talk then turned to the weather before everybody returned to close their doors against getting too personal! Many of the larger complexes have more units than we have houses in our entire village! Then you 'recognise' your neighbours by sound, i.e. they play Barry Manilow while you are trying to watch rugby on Saturday afternoons! People back in 'The Big Smoke' who live in streets with seperate houses demarcated by electric fences and gates and 6 ft high walls sometimes never see their neighbours, robbers could arrive and empty the house and nobody would give it a thought beyond, 'Oh, I didn't know that they were moving!' Once, long ago when I was teaching, my whole class and I sat and watched a car being ramped up into a large truck that we presumed was taking it to a nearby garage to be fixed. Except that it wasn't broken, because soon a parent returned to find that her car had been stolen!And we watched it happen! Probably waved to the driver!

Then, there are Weskus neighbours!

Our perimeter walls are only allowed to be 90 cm high, just high enough for Alfie to jump onto and perch with his legs dangling down so he can see what's happening along the road! It's easy to see and talk to neighbours, and we do, every day! A walk with Alfie can take up to an hour, and that's just round the block!

Ready for a chat!

Our neighbours are friends, we look our for each other, and, here's the very best part..........we have a wonderful neighbour who feeds us! I have not cooked since last year! Right, I grant you that is only 14 days, but each time I ponder what to do for supper, our 'Meals On Heels' walks round the corner! He does not live here permanently, but he comes every second weekend and a few weeks over the Christmas period and, his hobby is............cooking! When he is here he lights up his braai at 4 in the morning and he cooks. Then, he delivers, not only to us, but to several people round us. His food is mouthwateringly wonderful, braai, potjies, curries and stews, how he gets the flavour right is a mystery to me! Rob and I stand in the kitchen and vreet (gorge) until the juices run down our chins! Eish!

Before........

And after!!!

And, because I hate to hand back an empty bowl or plate, I try to make something in return for him and his family. So, we have a sort of game of poker going on with 'I'll see your stew and raise you cheese muffins', or pickles, marmalade, or ginger biscuits. My latest offering was ice-cream! Easy and delicious, it is, in fact cholesterol on a spoon. And, it's easy, because I only do easy. And, because it's New Year and I am feeling mellow (of course, that could be the wine!), here is the recipe!

Beat 500 ml cream to the soft peak stage. Then add a tin of condensed milk and 15 ml of vanilla essence. Beat to soft peaks again and pour into an empty 2 litre ice-cream container. Now to add the flavour, you can swirl through (using a fork) mashed fresh fruit or liquidised tinned fruit like black cherries. Or you can use frozen berries, thats nice too. Or you can use chocolate sauce, it's up to you really! Then, into the freezer and leave for about 24 hours until it's really frozen. For a slightly healthier version, substitute 250 ml cream for 250 ml fruit yoghurt. (I haven't tried that version yet!)

Let me know if you do make it, and how you enjoyed it!

Ever hopeful!

Oh, I must go, I see our neighbour approaching, bearing a cloth covered tray! Supper is sorted! And to accompany it, the tastiest potato salad that we have ever ever tasted, followed by mango delight, both made by our just-over-the-wall neighbour, another friend...and neighbour!