Becoming a local

Baroness/ The Jester: If you had told me a month or so back that the Baroness would be seen getting her groove on at a local pub called Billricks (situated on Kragga Kamma road), especially after saying she would not be seen dead in there, I would not have believed you, but on Friday night I learnt that “Never” is not always a very a long time.

About 6 weeks ago the Baroness  and I went for a drink, “you notice I said a” at the Dizzy Dolphin in Seaview and some 12 hours later we found ourselves hesitantly  entering the back door of Billricks. The evening in question we were met by the not so sultry tones of a Meatloaf wannabe who would have scared the “bat out of hell” It was Karaoke  evening at Billricks and those that didn’t even make the queue for idols auditions where out in force. Apparently karaoke means  “empty Orchestra” in Japanese but if I think it actually means “Bad singer” as I have yet to hear someone sing at one of these evenings that I could even say “ok that was not half bad” 

On that evening in question we found a couple of bar stools and tried to blend into the background in the hopes that no one would see us and hand us a microphone. The Baroness did try to get me to give it a go, but even liquored up I know my limitations. We had a couple of jacks on the rocks and discreetly left, but if truth be told I was very close to grabbing the mike and belting out ‘Great balls of fire”

Last Friday evening the Baroness was in a party mood so we decided to go and have a couple of drinks and just to show you how in sync the Baroness and I are, as we pulled out the complex we both said why don’t we go to Billricks. This time around we were prepared for what lay ahead. Or we thought we were.

Friday nights at Billricks is Craig Mischief night, now if you have never seen him in action before   be warned to say Craig Mischief is crude is like saying that Adolf Hitler was not very fond of non-Arians   Apparently Craig has been a round PE for a good number of years and I heard a rumour that he had been on a TV show in the late 70’s/early 80’s called Biltong and Pot roast, this basically put a team of Poms and Sefrican comedians competing against each.  Craig sings some numbers, tells rude jokes, insults the crowd and does a couple of skits where he sings and dresses up as famous singers. While probably frowned upon by some the disguise he had for Al Jolson had me doubled up with laughter…………To be honest the background music for his singing (which is not to bad) is way too loud for the size of the venue and the Baroness and I made the mistake of siting right next to a rather large speaker and I think at one stage our ears actually started to bleed.

The pub is the home of Exodus Motorcycle Club who so in effect Billricks is a biker bar, but apart from a lone biker who did not take my “Speed kills so live forever and ride a Kawasaki” comment well. That evening apart from the upset Kawa rider and myself I don’t think there were any other bikers present. The winged skull stencil that adorns the walls in strategic places is the only biker paraphernalia that I could see is visible at Billricks.

I was intrigued as to how the pub got its name and it would seem two brothers or friends called Bill and Rick purchased the pub about 15 years ago, hence the name Billricks. Today it’s owned by only one of the original owners but still retains its original name.

So let’s discuss the important issues about the pub. The drinks prices are reasonable and the beers are cold, the service at the bar is fast enough even when busy. They don’t sell food but the outside patio has a built in braai area so I am assuming they do braais at certain times. The toilets where clean and decent for a pub.

 

 

An important issue in these dark days is; if there is load shedding can the pub still operate, and Billricks has that ability to do so, this obviously is important to keep the beers cold and the Sport on TV,  unfortunately the tills still work so you have to pay for the drinks.

Again a negative for me, but all pubs seem to have them these days and I can only presume that the machines subsidise the bar.  That negative is V slots. I have to admit neither the Baroness or I see the attraction of sitting on a stool while pushing a red button and watching a revolving screen in the hopes of getting lucky and win few R, but then, I guess some people don’t see the attraction of sitting on a bar stool pushing cash across the bar counter every time you receive a new drink and then watching the room revolve as you hope to get lucky. 

Apart from Karaoke on a Wednesday and a Saturday night and Craig Mischief on a Friday they also show  important sports events on a weekend and as most pubs in the Republic of SA they  have the flags of the various rugby unions as well as the Springboks on display, we will probably go and watch a match sometime in the near future. There is plenty of parking for those nights that it attracts the big crowds.

 

I bet your wondering how the Baroness ended up performing the windpomp dance at a bar that she had vowed she would never set foot in? Well we bumped into our next door neighbour who had been there a lot longer than we had and after we bought each other a shooter and had a few drinks I went to go and get another round of drinks and to my astonishment when I turned round here was the Baroness doing the Sakkie Sakkie, Windpomp or as locals call it the Sokkie, which as our neighbour so elegantly described as being combination of ice skating and roller derby.

An invitation for a drink and some music saw us end the evening at the neighbours place with a little champers and the Red hot chilli peppers, but that’s a story for another time.

On the Tequila Spider men scale of lekkerness the Baroness and I give Billricks a 5.5, but this rating may increase, as I have a feeling it may just become our local as it is near our home.