IT'S that time of the year when the village is invaded by upcountry types with 4x4s towing caravans and expensive fishing boats. The locals, in a bid to give the visitors as wide a berth as possible as they run amok in pursuit of enjoyment, are forced to spend long hours at the Mahogany Ridge.
Not that we mind. Christmas is special at the Ridge and there is much in the way of festive cheer. The pints are ice-cold and the peanuts are salty, there's cricket on the box and both Julius Malema and Steve Hofmeyr have just spent the night behind bars. All was perfect. What more could we possibly need?
"Well," said one regular, "maybe some Venda women? The president thinks the world of them."
It was inevitable we'd turn to the issues of the day, and there was some discussion as to why a woman lying on the ground would stir a man's soul to the extent that he'd want to marry her. It was puzzling to us.
But Jacob Zuma is an expert in these matters. He was in Impendle, in KwaZulu-Natal, teaching the folk there all about respect in that old-fashioned if not backward way of his.
As a leader, he said, he wanted to lead disciplined people who had self-respect and respect for others. And he wanted to lead men who spent less time drinking and concentrated instead on getting it on with the ladies.