THE ooms and tannies were out in full force last Saturday for the NG Kerk Bazaar held in Riebeek East.
THE ooms and tannies were out in full force last Saturday for the NG Kerk Bazaar held in Riebeek East.
The lawn and afdak area behind the church hall were full to capacity with locals and visitors alike enjoying an abundance of sunshine, good food and traditional hospitality. The sizzle of braaivleis mingled with the bleating of penned sheep and goats ready for auction. Old hands at the church bazaar chatted with those who have only just discovered the delights of this Grahamstown district institution.
The festivities began at about 11.30 am: traditional boerekos was spread out on tables and this could be supplemented with regular trips to the plesierskuur for an array of liquid refreshments. The pub also offered those who felt lucky a chance to win prizes for guessing the correct length of the kudu horns on display, to enter into a strong man/woman competition or to test their skill at koedoedrol verspoeg.
At about 1pm Dominee Strauss de Jager welcomed and thanked guests, and officially opened the bazaar.
With the formalities completed, bazaar old-hands, followed by the newcomers, moved towards the front doors of the hall. These were opened at about 1.30pm to a surge of people on the lookout for bargains.
Spread out on rows of trestle tables were an array of homemade and homegrown products, from fresh vegetables to meat to cakes to biscuit and rusks; everything you would expect to find at a good old-fashioned church bazaar. On a few occasions things became quite heated between patrons eyeing out the same goodies at the meat stall. Fortunately things never went beyond a few terse words, the odd tug-of–war on a length of boerewors or a long, hard stare.
In no time at all tables were bare and satisfied customers drifted out of the hall. All that remained was to enjoy another glass or two of voggies, and then back to Grahamstown for the Currie Cup final. A Bulls victory certainly rounded off a lekker day.
