Evita Bezuidenhout is a national treasure in her own right. An hour north of Cape Town, Justin Fox went to pay his respects at the town of Darling on the West Coast.
Evita se Perron
As Evita Bezuidenhout points out, Darling is English for ‘skattie’, but it also means many other things: wildflowers, rolling farmlands, platteland hospitality... and Evita se Perron. You’ll find this creation of Pieter-Dirk Uys, alter ego of Evita, accommodated in the old Darling Station (where, visitors are assured, the gravy train no longer stops).
This precinct is a theatrical performance piece, a creative environment where boerekos, Swartland wines and boere baroque style go hand in hand with hilarious entertainment. The perron is at the heart of Darling, what makes it unique.
A Glint of Glamour
Darling is an attractive Swartland town, famous for its wild spring flowers. It is pleasantly laid out and encircled by wheatfields and vineyards. But what makes the town really unique is its most flamboyant bloom: Evita. The Perron gives the town a glint of glamour, as though the circus has come to town, permanently.
And the air of theatricality, of something larger than life, infects the people. At times you’d be mistaken for thinking the Pied Piper has come to Darling, such is the fascination and adoration, of the town’s children for their Tannie Evita (Uys himself is considered with more suspicion by the kids: an impostor of sorts).
Kitsch and Portraits
The Perron itself is a monument to kitsch and apartheid-era memorabilia. The entrance is lined with framed correspondence and photographs showing Evita with Pik, Tony Leon, Tutu and Mandela. The Perron’s garden is called the HF Verwoerd Marine Reserve (also called Boerassic Park).
There are Piet Koornhof garden gnomes, plastic chickens and some delightful sculptures, like an ox wagon being pulled by a jet with a satellite in the shape of a potjie, and wine bottle with the label: Jou Ma se Oes (grown and bottled on the estate Dronkverdriet). “There are some remarkable flower species in the garden,” commented Evita.
Lunch and a Show
I got seated early for a lunchtime show and ordered a Bapetikosweti bobotie from a menu that boasted Pik se potjie, affirmative tart and swart gevaar (ons-wou-nie-maar-ons-mousse) and cocktails like the Joe Slovo Balalaika and Lady Scarlet O’ Hoera. Evita arrived late (driver problems) looking marvellous in an outfit meant for Winnie Mandela (who defaulted on the payments).
She enthused about her Darling. “We’ve got such wonderful flowers here because the ice age never came to Darling, although the National Party did. Some of the flowers here are unique, like the ones from Taiwan in my garden.
They’re open 24 hours a day and never need to water. Just dust them once a week.” As Evita explained, she still lived in Mpumalanga with her husband, Oom Hasie, in the town of Laagerfontein in the house that used to be her embassy when she was the South African ambassador in the homeland of Bapetikosweti. But she comes regularly to Darling to visit her mother, Ouma Ossewania Kakebenia Poggenpoel, who lives in the old-age home.
By Justin Fox
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