A good weekend.......again!

It was an interesting weekend. Friday as usual saw another leg of the FA Cup pool competition at the Phoenix bar, I managed to beat Frank but it was pretty close and then Danny challenged me to a game and he won - Oh well at least the beers went down well. Friday's pool always starts the weekend off well for me and at least the weather wasn't too bad then.

Saturday was cold and wet and I was going to get the bike out to visit the Undaunted club's day jol but I looked at the weather and thought "Ah stuff it! I'll just have a beer." That's when I heard Janet call me from the bedroom, I went through and this is the sight that met me!

I got a hell of a fright, it was like something from a horror movie but all she wanted was a beer while the facial moisturiser did its work and it obviously did work because by the time we went to the Slipway restaurant for lunch she was looking gorgeous again.
There was a gap in the weather and my intention was to go out on the bike after lunch, which by the way was a wonderful plate of prawns, calamari and chips which I really enjoyed. The Slipway is one of my favourites, it has a wonderful setting right on the water's edge and the seafood is always very good.
On the way home from the restaurant we saw a group of people on the railway bridge so we stopped to see what was going on and this was the sight!
This happened during Friday night and apparently the driver got away with only a minor cut on the head! It appeared that he just went on the wrong side of the bridge for some reason or other, luckily the railway line is no longer in use. Quite a lot of traffic misdemeanours take place on a Friday night in this area, usually only flattened traffic signs or traffic lights though, not usually this serious.

The skies opened up again while we were on our way home so I decided not to go out, I just couldn't raise the enthusiasm to get the bike out in the rain. I may have to do that next weekend but then I will have no choice, this time I did and I chose to relax at home.
Sunday my baby sister Annette, my boet (brother-in-law) Barry and my niece Steegan came through for a brief visit and I decided to prepare a beef potjie for them.

I like to get all of my ingredients ready before hand and here you see (clockwise) the beef shin complete with marrow bones which I had already cut into chunks and sprinkled with Aromat, ground black pepper, mixed herbs and a Chilli beef and green pepper soup powder. I tossed the meat in the mix so that it was all well covered, this helps to make a thick and tasty gravy.

Chopped butternut, one kilo of baby potatoes, chopped fresh green beans, chopped fresh spring onions, a bowl of chopped onions, green peppers and fresh garlic and at the bottom a bowl of chopped patti-pans.

On the side is a tin of tomato and onion mix, this is optional - I forgot to add it to my pot! (Must have been the alcohol!)

Open a beer and drink it, pour a small pool of olive oil into the pot and once it is good and hot chuck the meat in and stir it around until it is nicely brown. Remove the meat and set it aside, if necessary add a little more oil and then fry up the onions, peppers and garlic until translucent and then chuck the meat back in.

At this stage I can usually call Janet to bring me another beer while I am busily engaged in stirring the meat around but you have to guage it well, I can't get away with that too often!

Once the meat and onion mix are well stirred I normally pour in a whole beer, usually one of my friend's beers rather than a Castle if I can get away with it, and also a cup of red wine. Now add the potatoes and the butternut, turn the heat down to a simmer and put the lid on the pot for about an hour.

Get another beer. This was at the halfway stage, the meat was getting tender and the potatoes were almost done, looking good! Here I added the green beans and the spring onions, and here I should have added the tomato and onion mix, and then let it simmer some more while I got another beer (myself).
In the meantime my sister and my wife were getting into the mood for the upcoming soccer final and I wasn't sure if their message was for me or for the Spanish team!
The meal was ready just before the game and here it is plated up with some rice, fresh ciabatta, fetta cheese and olives and it really was very nice.
It was a festive evening, unfortunately our team lost but I didn't stay up to watch the end as the game went into extra time, I had to work early the next morning. That was definitely the last football game that I will watch but the whole World Cup experience has been very good, now it's all over and life goes back to normal, let's see if we can keep the spirit going.

During next week I will plan what I am going to be taking with me on the Polar Bear run, such as warm clothing and bedding etc., I will look at the extended weather forcast to see what we can expect and I will take the bike out to fill up and check the tyre pressures. The planning stage adds to the excitement and the build up............looking forward to it!