Phuza Thursday

In South Africa we have adopted many traditions form our friends on the other side of the big pond: Tequila Tuesdays, Wacky Wednesdays, Casual Friday, etc.  But being South African we have our own too: Phuza Thursday.

'Phuza' is a Zulu word, meaning drink.  Since this has no reference to a specific type of drink, all the colorful people of our country can enjoy this day and feel united.  Children can drink sodas, the dogs can drink water, the English can drink tea, the Jamaicans can drink Rum, the French can drink Champagne, the Boere(farmers) can drink brandy & coke and I,  . . .  .I can drink red wine.

Since it is Phuza Thursday today, I will not bore you with a long post, but leave you with a quote form a book I read:

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She always considered the sailboat to be a remarkably therapeutic device.  Just a few minutes on the water purged away the daily stresses while calming the emotions.  She often joked that the country needed more sailboats and fewer psychologists

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Hot as hell

It's Saterday today and I'm nowhere near water. I'm sitting at the Wine Cellar in Rawsonville. Some would think this is the ideal way to spend a Saterday, surrounded with vineyards and wine.

It is 36˚C (98˚F) in the shade outside, not any sign of wind. My air con kicked the bucket yesterday and I'm sweating as if I just ran the Boston marathon in high heels. Conditions like these makes it easy to day dream of sand boarding in the dessert, but difficult to daydream about sailing. I wish I could be out on the water.

Maybe I should whack on some sunscreen, sit uncomfortably on the edge of my chair and put the desk fan on high. And just for effect I must get a colleague to splash water in my face and move the desk fan every 5 minutes so that it seems I am tacking and gybing. Maybe that will get me daydreaming about sailing today.

Now where can I find a willing colleague?

How do you drink Red Wine at sea?

There is nothing more rewarding after a days sail than to uncork a bottle of red wine and enjoy at sea while watching the sunset over the horizon.

That is until you hit an unsuspected wave and spill a few drops of wine on the teak deck. The skipper in his color coded sailing gear just left civilization and starts swearing like a sailor in a cheap remake of Moby Dick.
Out comes the bleach and other chemicals and gone is the tranquil sunset and glass of well bodied wine. One would believe some sorry fool was killed and we are desperately trying to get rid of the blood stains before entering port. The crew is on their knees scrubbing the floor like slaves on an old square rig while the captain is at the helm shouting and swearing, cursing the winds. All on deck have forgotten about the wine and out comes the bottle of cheap sherry that is passed from sailor to sailor to Captain.

So how do one drink red wine at sea? Should we rather take swigs out of the bottle or maybe get ourselves some of those German beer mugs with the lid? Maybe we should cover the cockpit floor with bleach or other chemicals before we pop the cork.

For now I will have a goblet of luscious red wine, even if it means mutiny.