On some corner of a foreign field, libation in anticipation of the state of the nation
Merle might not have cracked the nod but someone who did score an invitation to the British high commissioner’s annual Eve of Parliament do was Aunty Patty.
This swish do in the oh-so-spiffy Cape Town suburb of Bishopscourt takes place the day before the state of the nation address.
Walking into the house, which holds many fond memories — I met physicist Stephen Hawking in the drawing room, back when the gregarious Paul Boateng was HC many moons ago — I am greeted by the man who’s been in charge since 2017.
Like Paul, Nigel Casey is an affable chap, and his wife Clare has that English understated elegance down pat in a printed Erdem tea dress and blue Manolo Blahnik heels.
Nigel has his work cut out trying to assure us all will go well with the Brexit storm, and Clare is also being kept on her toes. As the head of partnerships for Condé Nast International, she is hard at work putting together the conference the US publisher will host in Cape Town come April.
Through the house and onto the rolling lawns and it is there that I meet Patricia de Lille, holding court in company that includes Carol Bouwer (with her much more camerashy businessman husband Edward) and Artscape CEO Marlene le Roux.
When I prod Patricia to find out if I will be seeing her at the prez’s speech now that her mayoral chains have been unshackled, she punts her new political party, Good, quipping that “the nation is in a state!”.
Other guests include that chic academic, University of Cape Town vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng (most stylish guest in a blue satin and wax-print dress), former Springbok Bryan Habana and IT entrepreneur Terence Naidoo, who will be part of a local delegation travelling to the UK next month as part of the British government’s Tech Hub initiative.
But you will want to know about the grub, and this was truly a feast of bite-sized delights with no fewer than two caterers roped in to feed the 600 guests. Think rice-paperwrapped julienne Vietnamese veg, more-ish smoked chicken, mango and coriander salsa tacos, bite-size lamb croquettes and spiced pea and peanut samosas. Our lensperson, Esa, particularly enjoyed the hot salmon, which was served with sesame, ginger and soy, and dessert included assorted macaroons, bite-size chocolate brownies and mini lemon meringues.
These days, no function is complete without a gin bar (though I prefer vodka). Simonsig provided the bubbles and the wine came from Ernie Els’s Stellenbosch estate.