Friday is always kitchen day, and so it was. What was different, though, was that The Husband was out of the house around 7.15am. Yes, even though he'd had a chunk carved out of his shoulder just two days prior.
Why?
Bureaucratic inefficiency
A while ago, the bank notified him that he needed to "FICA". The South African acronym that has become a verb for KYC. Another ingredient in the world of alphabet soup. He followed the prompts:
No documentation required.
He sighed with relief and subsided until about ten days ago. Rinse and repeat. Except. If
blah, blah fishpaste by 23 March, your account will be frozen.
He went into the branch. We knew there would be a problem: we have as few accounts as possible and the house is in my name. We live in a box: in the village, no snail mail is delivered to street addresses. The Husband cannot prove his residential address.
Sigh.
He tried before. And, get this: they would not accept the affidavit from the local police station. And: his identity document was not valid. That made sense: his was issued nearly 10 years pre democracy. He's not a citizen. He did the necessary and we all promptly forgot about it.
Fast forward to 2022: the very nice lady at the bank gave him a form to bring home. The person with whom he cohabits and "owns" the house had to sign the form and present a utility account.
Easy peasy.
Until.
Sir, this isn't your identity number.
WTF??? And she showed him: different number, different photo. For an identity document issued in...wait for it...2017.
He'd never been notified and, in actual fact, until he dug into the recesses of his memory, had forgotten about having even applied! That, in itself, is another story. Nice-bank-lady advised him to go and see if he could either collect said document or get a temporary one issued. He went to the appointed place and the queue was around the corner and up...well...you get the picture and you can see the blue thought bubble above his head.
He came home. Went back for Wednesday's job and rested (mostly) on Thursday and felt fine. Friday, had to be D-day, because, guess what? Monday, 21 March is a public holiday in South Africa. So leaving it to Tuesday and the 22nd was cutting it just a wee bit fine.
He arrived at the government department before 8am. By 8.43, was in the building but still in the queue. Mercifully, half an hour later was done. ID book in hand. And, guess what?
He had applied for the new document in 2016. Yes. Six - 6 - years ago.
Off to see Nice-bank-lady to get sorted. And he did.
Added benefit
I was happy he was in town because of my state of mind, a few things had fallen off the shopping list earlier in the week. And, in the middle of market prep, I remembered and needed them. That plan doesn't do well in deviation.
Cookin' with gas - as I do...
I am happy left to my own devices and lived alone for years before Husband Number One. Truth be told, I was very happy leaving Husband Number One, and as I mentioned to Silver River the other day, I vowed never to depend on a man again. As it was, and in that instance, I had had to do most things. Including change the gas cylinder.
Back to Friday. These babies were done and waiting to become harissa (post coming, I promise).
Pots a-bubblin' - or so I thought - and it was time to put pate pots into the oven to sterilise.
No flame. No gas. Oh. Fnck Dear.
I can't change the gas. Any. More.
Phone The Husband to hear -
Love, there are no apricots in town. I've got one last hope and then I'm on my way.
Ummm....
Forget the apricots. I'll make a plan.
I'm just about there, won't take long.
In the mean time, I have to then re-arrange my well planned (minute-by-minute) schedule to accommodate the cooking hiatus, quietly thanking the gas gods that it wasn't the bread that was in the oven and promising myself that I would get a lesson in changing this gas cylinder arrangement. Breathe....
Nearly a quarter of a century later, and persuading myself that it's also about division of labour...I realise I am happily dependent on a man. Again. But...because...just in case...
With a 17-year odd age difference, these are realities one must confront. Unhappily.
What a weird, rollercoaster week.
The fishy bit
I admit that there was absolutely nothing fishy about that bureaucratic nightmare. It occurs to me that every country has its issues. As a matter of fact, when I applied for my US visa - they made a booboo with my ID number, and which I only notice when it reached my via courier. Which, incidentally, cost a lot more than had I been able to collect it. The story's past history. And yes, I made it to NYC...and back...
So, supper, prepared mostly when there was no gas, and after a much needed visit to the local watering hole, was fish cakes.
A good end to a really strange week. It was good to wake up to a "normal" Saturday.
Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:
- re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
- and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.
- From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.
- Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community by clicking on the logo.
Original artwork:
- lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on
and Canva.
Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa
Photo: Selma
Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it's because I'm doing two things:
- re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine....?
- and "re-capturing" nearly two years' worth of posts.
- From Wordpress, I use the Exxp Wordpress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.
- Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers' community by clicking on the logo.
Original artwork:
- lastly, graphics are created using partly my own photographs, images available freely available on