My Wee Boy and I made a cake for Papa yesterday!! It was a masterpiece even I have to say, vanilla sponge with butter cream icing. But I hang my head in shame that both items came straight from a box!! Now I confess to having a modicum of success in the kitchen but I have never been a successful baker.
When I was a Young Mother, and we were members of the Turk Mine Country Club, I used to shiver in horror when the roster arrived for providers of the Saturday Tennis Tea.
Now those Turk Mine Farming Ladies were legendary!! Their prowess at baking overshadowed all other Country District Country Clubs - even districts like Esigodini, Marula, Plumtree, Figtree and Umgusa.
Led by that remarkable doyen of Turk Mine - Kath Williams, the Turk Mine ladies were indomitable, formidable, remarkable and wonderful!! The spreads they would produce for Saturday Tennis Tea were always astonishing knowing the hardships that little district went through especially during the troubled times, which seemed to be omnipresent!!
The district went through horrifically troubled times for many many years, loss of life and limb in the eighties, loss of homes, heart and possessions in 2002.
Sheona Streak, Debbie Huckle, Midge Joubert, the two grannies Nonie and Onie, Karen Elliot, Jean Williams, Shirley Carbutt, Glynnis Brownlee-Walker and many more - they all played tennis with vigour and baked with excellence.
And then along came Yours Truly !! Even with Charlie's help I still suffered deep pangs of Tennis Tea insecurity, trying to muster up some form of repast to compare with The Turk Mine Ladies!!
To have to confess to them that I now use Aunt Jemima's packet cakes!! The Turk Mine Ladies would be shivering in their tennis shoe's!!