Today, Monday 12 March 2012, is my sixtieth birthday and I would be honoured if you would celebrate with me by attending my Virtual Birthday Party.
It takes place tonight at the restaurant Da Pasquale in Long Street from7.30 and will go on until one-minute-before-mid-night to allow everyone to be safely away from enchantment by the stroke of the hour.
The chef, Da Pasquale himself, has been joined by Lindy Levy, who prepared that gorgeous banquet in Banquet at Brabazan. Carole Bosch has baked a cake exactly like the wedding cake she made for Pearlie Theron and Thespian Winter.
Dress code: Men in black suits or cross-dressed. Women absolutely over-the-top-gorgeous. Fancy dress if anyone prefers
Music: Not the Midnight Mass and Lazar, the violinist from A Time of Angels
Flowers: Romana Florist
Guest list: Formidable. You will be in the company of some esteemed personages, including all the characters from my novels, in role
Guests of honour sitting at the high table: The artists Francisco de Goya, Veronese, Francesco Hayez, Auguste Renoir, Fernando Botero and Bernard Sebastião
The waiters in attendance: Lovemore and Dambuzo
Menu:
Hungarian peasant soup served with herbed croutons
Vegetable lasagne
Roast brinjal with mushrooms and wilted spinach
Salad of baby leaves, tomatoes, grilled artichokes and feta
Steamed asparagus with walnuts
Berries served with grated dark chocolate and cream
Leonie Oram’s mango sorbet
Linda Levy’s cheesecake
Ciabatta breads, biscuits and a selection of cheeses
Coffee and liqueurs
Wines: Dragonridge Jack’s Red and Sangiovese
On the matter of gifts: I will not be accepting material gifts. As a collector, and as the curator of a small personal museum, I have enough objects of art.
But, if you insist on giving me something to celebrate this fabulous birthday, then please help me bring my vision, Seed Readers, to life by purchasing, for yourself or for a school, a copy of Africa! My Africa! This is an anthology of poems specially compiled as a fund raiser for this literary project.
If you would like to contribute to my vision, Seed Readers, please email me at Afpress@iafricac.com
Some of you have already bought a copy, and I thank you.
And I also thank all the contributing poets for their evocative words.
Here is a taste of my Virtual Party: “The banquet had a ‘loaves and fishes’ feel to it because of the impossible number of guests who managed to fit around the extended table, and the food and wine that just kept flowing. Streamers were thrown across the room and hot, crusty breads were broken into chunks. The air was burdened with aromas that defied description. Goblets were filled and refilled from pitchers of blood-coloured wine. Bowls of olives, dried figs, roasted garlic, parmesan shavings and toasted almonds were passed round. The first course, Hungarian peasant soup, was served, trickled with olive oil and sprinkled with finely chopped parsley.” Banquet at Brabazan
In the real world, we raise a glass of Dragonridge Jack’s Redand drink to love, friendship, peace and the power of stories.Thank you all for celebrating with me.