Diamonds And Dust: 33 - Ben The Cook
…Ben was a big jovial guy who always had a mischievous sort of smile on his face. He wore Dutch clogs all the time he was there, and the ‘thump, thump, thump’ of his clogs hitting the floor was unmistakable. There was no way he was going to sneak around while wearing those things…
Malcolm Bertoni tells of a cook who soon became everyone’s friend.
To read earlier chapters of Malcolm's vivid account of diamond mining in Namibia please visit http://www.openwriting.com/archives/diamonds_and_dust/
To obtain a copy of his book click on http://www.equilibriumbooks.com/diamonds.htm
After Johnny got killed, we had a temporary cook that used to come up from Uubvlei while they found a replacement cook for Affenrucken. That was how we ended up with Ben, who became a bit of a legend due to his great cooking.
Ben was a big jovial guy who always had a mischievous sort of smile on his face. He wore Dutch clogs all the time he was there, and the ‘thump, thump, thump’ of his clogs hitting the floor was unmistakable. There was no way he was going to sneak around while wearing those things.
He was soon friends with everyone due to his fantastic cooking. He spoiled us rotten. His salads, roasts and meals had us drooling. He used to make Dutch croquettes, which were superb. Word soon got out about him and he was always in demand catering for functions and weddings in town over the weekend.
On the weekends when he was on duty, the married staff would bring their wives and families out for a Sunday drive and have lunch at the Affenrucken dining room. We often used to catch a few dozen crayfish in the morning and Ben would make something fantastic with them and we would all have a feast.
He left in 1975 or ‘76 and opened a restaurant in Parow, Cape Town, then went to Canada in 1980 and opened his own restaurant there. I'm still in touch with him.
*
Talking about females, we were not really allowed to bring females to Affenrucken. It was like alcohol in that it was a no-no. But of course no-one obeyed the rules so occasionally a few guys would bring females out to stay overnight.
I remember the first time someone brought his girlfriend from town one weekend. She was damn pretty and we were all drooling and couldn’t keep our eyes off her. A real living female.
The two of them departed to his room, and we were listening in anticipation for suspicious noises and any sound effects. You know what I mean. But they were very discrete and we couldn’t hear a thing. They both appeared at breakfast together the next morning and seemed oblivious to our stares.
We were all envious.
*
Ben the cook had a dog that he kept with him at Affenrucken. He even had a kennel but he never seemed to use it much. The dog was pretty independent and used to travel with Ben everywhere and knew his way around the mine well.
He used to go to town with Ben on the weekends, and when he got bored used to hitch a lift back out to Affenrucken. Everyone knew the dog and he became a familiar sight waiting on the side of the road to get a lift. He would jump on the back of any bakkie that stopped for him and when he arrived at No 1 plant, where most of the traffic headed, he jumped off to wait for another lift to Affenrucken, if he wanted to get there.
Sometimes he came down to the screenshop to grab a drink of water and to relax in the shade for an hour or so and then be on his way again.
He seemed to know exactly where he wanted to go. I still have some photos of that crazy dog. He was pretty smart and used to catch rides all over the place. He often chased gemsbok, and how he didn’t get speared by their deadly horns we will never know.
He often used to disappear for days on end and then show up all scrawny and generally a mess. I heard that security put him down in 76 or 77, soon after Ben left.
I think they realised that the dog was a lot smarter than most of them.
