I have been reading the report-back from our tireless city councillor about the month’s events in the civic pile on Braamfontein Hill. The phrase above seemed to encapsulate the workings of local (and probably all) government quite perfectly. I was intrigued by the ingenuity and number of pretexts that the elected officials had devised to reward themselves with a spot of sluicing and browsing.
Virtually any meeting, however small or trivial could be organised only if the caterers had first been alerted to be on hand with a suitable selection of viands and beverages. Pre, post and preferably mid meeting munchies are an absolute must if one is to keep up one’s strength for proper consideration of the introduction of the 210 litre wheelie refuse bin. A trip to the depot to view the bin coincided neatly with lunch. Don’t even mention the celebratory party for the delivery of the first bin.
Catering (note the capital letter, this is now a pet topic of mine) ranges from the simple and not much liked, cup of tea and plain biscuit right through to a poolside shellfish and champagne brunch at a tropical resort playing host to an international conference.
The overriding characteristic of Catering is that those who pay for it almost never get to taste it.
A current fine example of the genre was the farewell party that was held for the intrepid 2010 Soccer World Cup bid team due to leave for Zurich a few days later.
But I suppose if Danny and the guys, not forgetting Charlize joining the team as decoy, bring it home this week end, we will forgive them all their excesses – because a new round of super-Catering will be about to begin.
[This piece should have been a reasoned list of shares that will benefit from the World Cup effect. But you’ll have to go to a proper analyst for that. In my view, any run next week will be far too premature]
James Greener
PS Thanks so much to the folk who responded to our “where do you live” and “know your client” requests by sending a photograph of their house or long letters detailing their habits and social needs. We have filed them.
