The place is still in excellent order, and now belongs to
the Cape Government, and beautiful wines are still made.
20
MY OLD HOME
It is worth a visit from any one coming to the Cape.
Carts at the Wynberg Station take people over, but a
permit is required, and can be had on applying to the
Agricultural Department, Cape Town.
I have before said that the Cape Dutch were famed for
their hospitality, not only to the English and Dutch, but
French and Russian. My uncle and his eldest son, who
married my eldest sister, spoke French fluently, and every
French man-of-war that came into Simons Bay, on their
way to the East or from there, would always be called on
and some invited to lunch. What fun it used to be ! and
they would invite the family back to lunch or dejeuner
on board in Simons Bay. How well I remember, on one
special occasion, driving down against wind and tide, for
no railroads or even hard roads existed then, and unless
you crossed “ the beaches ” at low tide there was consider-
able danger. All this, no doubt, added to the excitement
and pleasure of a dance on board.
The English naval people were always made most wel-
come, and the officers enjoyed riding up, and there would
be picnics on the hills, and walks up Table Mountain ;
the party meeting at Hout’s Bay Neck, driving there by six
in the morning and returning to dinner at Constantia in
the evening, full of happiness, and none too tired even for
a round dance or song.
Life in those days, in the seventies, was most enjoyable,
but the rush of life now seems to have swept much of the old-
world hospitality away, people seem too busy now, but there
is no doubt that, given a moderate income, the conditions
of life at the Cape can be made most enjoyable. The
climate lends itself to outdoor excursions, walks and pic-
nics. Gardening is a most enjoyable occupation.
MY OLD HOME
By November and December summer has set in and the
fields are ripe for the harvest. What a pretty sight it is
to see the reapers ! Some twenty-five years ago reaping-
machines were not so common as now, and though the
work is now quickly and far less expensively done, it is
not so interesting as watching the band of trained men
as they gracefully handle the scythe with that peculiar
swing, and neatly lay down the golden sheaves. Soon
all is safely garnered in and ready for the threshing-
machine, and if there has been no rust in the wheat,
what grateful rejoicing there is at the “ Harvest Home,”
when the labourers are generally regaled with some extra
dainties.
And so the .sheep having been shorn and the crops
gathered and the men settled with, there comes a lull in
the busy farm life ; though the vineyards have to be
sulphured for oidium,i and the sheep dipped, the.se are
but minor matters.
Page 12
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The place is still in excellent order, and now belongs to
the Cape Government, and beautiful wines are still made.
It is worth a visit from any one coming to the Cape. Carts at the Wynberg Station take people over, but a permit is required, and can be had on applying to the Agricultural Department, Cape Town.
I have before said that the Cape Dutch were famed for their hospitality, not only to the English and Dutch, but French and Russian. My uncle and his eldest son, who married my eldest sister, spoke French fluently, and every French man-of-war that came into Simons Bay, on their way to the East or from there, would always be called on and some invited to lunch. What fun it used to be ! and they would invite the family back to lunch or déjeuner on board in Simons Bay. How well I remember, on one special occasion, driving down against wind and tide, for no railroads or even hard roads existed then, and unless you crossed “ the beaches ” at low tide there was considerable danger. All this, no doubt, added to the excitement and pleasure of a dance on board.
The English naval people were always made most welcome, and the officers enjoyed riding up, and there would be picnics on the hills, and walks up Table Mountain ; the party meeting at Hout’s Bay Neck, driving there by six in the morning and returning to dinner at Constantia in the evening, full of happiness, and none too tired even for a round dance or song.
Life in those days, in the seventies, was most enjoyable, but the rush of life now seems to have swept much of the oldworld hospitality away, people seem too busy now, but there is no doubt that, given a moderate income, the conditions of life at the Cape can be made most enjoyable. The climate lends itself to outdoor excursions, walks and picnics. Gardening is a most enjoyable occupation.
By November and December summer has set in and the fields are ripe for the harvest. What a pretty sight it is to see the reapers ! Some twenty-five years ago reapingmachines were not so common as now, and though the work is now quickly and far less expensively done, it is not so interesting as watching the band of trained men as they gracefully handle the scythe with that peculiar swing, and neatly lay down the golden sheaves. Soon all is safely garnered in and ready for the threshingmachine, and if there has been no rust in the wheat, what grateful rejoicing there is at the “ Harvest Home,” when the labourers are generally regaled with some extra dainties.
And so the .sheep having been shorn and the crops gathered and the men settled with, there comes a lull in the busy farm life ; though the vineyards have to be sulphured for oidium,i and the sheep dipped, the.se are but minor matters.