Our coach headed to Tulbagh on a cool, overcast day – we encountered rain en route, plus a few road works and oh so many trucks! Oh my goodness, the 125kms to Tulbagh felt like well over 200kms when finally we arrived in this beautiful little town.
Some of the group chose to ‘walk-the-streets’ – 14 of them headed out from the Information office in Church Street – bound to view the church / the houses renovated after the earthquake / or just to grab a coffee and browse the little shops in quaint Church Street.
The remainder chose to go out to one of the local wine estates – Saronsberg, where a pre-planned wine tasting was enjoyed. Jokes were brandied about us being the ‘street crawlers’!! We were offered a welcoming drink of bubbly; coupled with a tasting of at least 8 of their very good wines!! Much wine was purchased and after an hour and 15 minutes we headed back into Tulbagh – a few went shopping but the ladies were all ready for lunch by 13h00!
Lunch was at Readers Restaurant, 12 Church Street where Carol Collins, a Silwood trained Cordon Bleau chef looked after us. A warm sherry waited the ladies on entrance to this house, which was built in 1754 by the district surgeon, Nicholaas Fuchs. After his death it was sold to the church for Reader, who was the sick comforter of the Congregation. Reader also ran a school in the larger ‘stoepkamer’ until 1818 when the church council decided to build a new schoolroom behind the house, now Karen Lowe’s shop. In June 1997 Readers opened its doors to the public for the first time.
Starters were vegetable samoosas; mains a Phyllo spinach & chicken pie followed by a chocolate cheesecake with homemade chocolate ice cream.
We were seated in two rooms in the house and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy “catching up” and sharing what they’d seen and purchased in Tulbagh. Shelagh was thrilled with her fur cape and was very anxious to know from all the older ladies ‘what’ fur it was……..no-one could help but it was interesting to hear Lyn’s stories of furs of long ago – how every woman in Paris who received her first salary was ever so keen to buy herself a fur!! Much controversy has reigned of late about wearing furs, but I must say, Shelagh looked very good in her fur cape and the general consensus was that it was not OTT at all.
It was very difficult to get everyone back onto the coach – they seemed very laid-back – was it the wine pre-lunch / or the added wine with-lunch that did it?
Due to the distance back to the city, coupled with late afternoon traffic, Tableview ladies were dropped off just before 5:00pm with Constantia after 6:00pm!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. (Izaak Walton)