White lines in the middle of the roads are re-painted emerald green; everywhere with a liquor licence sells Guinness, Kilkenny, and Irish whiskeys: John Jameson, Blackbush, Tullamore Dew, Paddy’s.
Irish grub is sold even in Jewish delis, Italian trattorias, French bistros and Mex-Tex chili joints. Radio waves reverberate with Hibernian warblers from operatic tenor Count John McCormack to The Boomtown Rats, via The Corrs, Dana and The Dubliners. The Big Apple hosts the world’s biggest St Patrick’s Parade.
I have also celebrated St Pat’s in Dublin, Belfast (it’s even a national holiday in the Dour North!), in Glasgow and Liverpool, Johannesburg, Africa’s fun capital Ha-ha-ha-rare (and its predecessor.)
In recent years local commemoration of the Big Day has been subdued. Many if not most of the larger-than-life Irish characters around 25 to 35 years ago have either returned to the Emerald Isle or, sadly, gone to that great Irish Bar in the sky.
I worked here with a Dublin printer who, each March 17, worked in bottle-green suit with matching shirt, lime green tie, day-glow green socks and olive green suede shoes (until the pubs opened!).
He was one of many who, when the St Patrick’s dinner, attended by hundreds, ended at The Sheraton, or wherever, at 2am-ish, made their way unsteadily to the former Irish Club, next to the Cathedral, which we’d evacuate, reluctantly, when the milkman called!
Lt-Col John McGlinshey, originally from Donegal, was guest-of-honour at Greendale Good Food &Wine Appreciation Society’s lunch at O’Hagan’s, Borrowdale on St Patrick’s Day.
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He told me there were “about 1 000” Irish folk left in Zimbabwe but, candidly, that seems a bit on the high side for me, notwithstanding all the priests and nuns scattered about the land.
We ordered from the standard lunch menu. My agreeable Limerick soup, magnificent Murphy’s slowly-cooked lamb casserole and a disappointingly bland, rather unsweet, Malva pudding (South African not Irish) cost (I think: the bill was divided by the number of participants) either US$17 or $18. Most members raved about the pub’s trademark beefsteak and Guinness pie.
I was also invited (at the 11th hour) back to O’Hagan’s for dinner that night, when a St Patrick’s special three course meal (featuring the same soup and casserole, roast beef or chicken) and chocolate mousse mysteriously, or perhaps opportunistically? was US$30.
Academic! I couldn’t make it. I was due at a wine tasting and show at Reps, but what with post-prandial singing of wistful Irish folk numbers, rousing rebel songs, Orangemen’s ballads and ribald rugby repartee — as grand Irish coffees (made with John Jameson) slipped down gullets — and the fact I was, sensibly, temporarily car less — torpedoed that plan.
Reps celebrated St Pat’s with entertainment by the improbably named Alphonse Chiui (obviously one of the O’Chiuis of Cheek Point, County Wexford!)
Mashonaland Irish Association (established 1890) held a reception at blue@2 wine bar on the night of the 17th for Irish passport holders. They also had a well-attended golf tournament at Wingate GC on the Saturday and a totally sold-out lunch at Wild Geese Lodge, Teviotdale, the next day.
The Cage at Mabelreign Country Club hosted what they called a St Patrick’s Night Party (new one on me) there on the evening of March 16, offering Irish music and stew with “plenty of spuds”.I hear Cranleigh Club at Prospect served green beer (they use harmless food colourants) on St Patrick’s Day.
Spook House, Msasa advertised St Paddy’s celebrations for Friday. It looked to me to be the same menu (of good plainly-cooked comfort food in large helpings) as usually served, plus (clean, bleached) tripe-and-onions, with a mountain of mash, julienne carrots and broccoli-au-gratin.
That’s not typically Irish, but was great value at US$10. I managed less than half of what was on my plate but “someone” took it home for a micro-waved supper. In honour of the day the pub dog, the splendidly politically incorrectly named “Poufter”— a usually white Maltese poodle — was dyed green!
I was guest quizmaster at Reps on Sunday morning when after 100 “fun” pub general knowledge questions, Adrienne’s, the friendly conservatory-styled restaurant close-by, served a very fine spaghetti Bolognaise in the bar at just US$5. Oddly enough, I was thinking of going to Adrienne’s to try their popular US$10 three-course Sunday lunches.
On Monday I was at Arnaldo’s Portuguese restaurant in Graniteside (see last Friday’s Zimbabwe Independent) and Tuesday lunched with elegant Eltah Nengomasha at Rainbow Towers where, over Japanese tepanyaki, she outlined the re-opening of A’Zambezi River Lodge at Victoria Falls, the firm’s acquisition of Matetsi Water Lodge in the same area and plans for The Towers’ upcoming 25th anniversary.
