It's beginning to look a lot like April!

That tingly sense of excitement that happens for children on Christmas eve.... the building anticipation of a pregnant mothers approaching due date.... the ball aching tedious kind of excitement that happens when you wait for something you bought on the internet... to me, all of these feel like waiting in line at the dentist compared to the feeling I have in early April... IT'S TASTING SEASON!!

Every year, literally TENS of people apply to trade at bushfire. The majority of these are potential food traders. Applications close at the start of April, and then the next phase of applications begins. The applicants whose application forms show the most promise are invited to an interview here at House on Fire. For these interviews, traders are encouraged to bring a sample of their menu for us to test the quality of. This simple act of quality control adds a new sense of meaning to my life, for about a month. During this periods I get presented with variety of dishes to feed my temporarily inflated sense of sense worth. A particular highlight last year was a lovely lady who made curry. The 'sample' she brought not only fed three people for two meals, but was by far the best curry I have had since arriving in Swaziland. This is exactly the kind of thing we are looking for at bushfire, and although I do enjoy it, it is an important part of the selection procedure.

Hosting traders at the festival without tasting their food is like having artists on the stage who's music you haven't listened to. Despite the obvious professional benefits that these sampling sessions have, there are still a few people who have the opinion that the sessions are a way of me having a nice free lunch donated by generous traders. This assumption is about 5% accurate. It is almost completely professional, and by not paying for it, I feel it helps with maintaining objectivity. In addition to the curry, other highlights were Italian food and bunny chow; which was actually the first one I ever had. Quite how a loaf of bread hollowed out and filled with curry hasn't become an international phenomenon makes no sense to me. I blame Atkins.

As it happens, I have my first sampling session today. Someone came into my office yesterday to hand in their application form (something that we have taken measures to avoid this year), and they were describing all of the different samples they were going to bring, and they were all ready to cook whenever I was free. Unfortunately, this meeting took place at 12:15; this meant that I was just at the start of the period before lunch when concentration flitters away, to be replaced by the angry churning monster that lives in my belly at regular intervals for a few hours each day. The presence of this grumbly little inhabitant meant only one thing. I arranged an interview/ sampling session to happen the very next day at 12:00. If they had the food with them at the time, the meeting would have been a day sooner. It turns out that all of the planning and fretting about the quality of applications can be overridden by offering to bring me prawn cakes. I'll be perfectly honest and say that the long list of items these two charming ladies proposed to sell at MTN BUSHFIRE turned into white noise after I heard 'prawn cakes'… sold. But I have since read the application, and it is strong enough to warrant an interview.

So I will let you know how this session goes, and as you can tell, I am greatly anticipating it.


Mr Rob
Bushfire Traders' Manager

Food Glorious Food!

Food is an amazing thing, we all need it, nearly all of us enjoy it, some of us study it, some of us devote our lives to it and some people still eat McDonalds.

For hundreds of years, different cultures have developed unique methods of cooking and endless different combinations of herbs and spices that makes their countries food unique. For centuries, this food has been all each civilization has known, dishes that evolve to suit their climate, from warming soups and stews to light summery salads. Then, some clever sod decided to use a boat to go and explore a bit, as a result, these different foods were able to travel across the world, at great cost, to be delivered to the highest paying customers. Thanks to modern transport, we now find ourselves in a truly unique historical situation, in between the invention of the plane and it's inevitable banning for environmental issues, we can now enjoy any food we please made from any ingredient from around the world. As a result, we have opportunities to offer people an amazing experience; to sample food from all over the world.

The spirit of MTN BUSHFIRE can be seen all over the festival. From the diverse selection of artists performing, to the different crafts and food available. Whether you like to experience the food of different cultures, or you need something to soak up an afternoons over indulgence, the MTN BUSHFIRE Foodfair has it all. From traditional Swazi cultural delights, to an array of European and Asian offerings.

I personally, love food. I love it so much, I have it at least three times a day. There aren't many things that I enjoy that much that I have as frequently, and it's not just about survival. There are many people in the world who do not enjoy food, it is merely fuel to keep them going through their presumably dull lives. This blog is not for these people. If you are one of these people, there are many other things happening at MTN BUSHFIRE this year, so please feel free to read about them, as I will have nothing interesting to say to you. That being said, I will not have too much of interest to say to the majority of people either. However, here I am, 'blogging' about the MTN BUSHFIRE Foodfair.

You're probably wondering why I am blogging about the food areas, and the simple answer is that I manage these areas. I joined the bushfire team last January and I managed the traders at Bushfire Festival 2011. To keep you up to date on the progress this year, we have been receiving countless applications from traders all over the world, and we are almost finished, the application closes at the end of this week. This does not mean that the applications will stop coming in however as the term 'applications have closed' is like the starting pistol for the majority of people, who feel it would be unreasonable to apply during the open period. I myself am one of those people, losing at least 10% in late penalties on most of my university coursework, to counter this next year, we will open applications with the term 'applications have closed'. Fool proof.

Over the coming weeks, I will offer a smorgasbord of food based blog entries. After applications are approved, there will be a regular 'Trader Spotlight' section in which we profile one of the successful candidates that will be appearing at the festival. This will most likely become the weekly, if not twice weekly highlight of your cyber life! There will be interactive elements as well, where you can have your say!!  

So plenty for you to look forward to over the next two months. Alternatively, please join well over 99.99% of the earths population and ignore this blog, or stop reading hlaf way through. Go on.... be a sheep.

Mr Rob

Bushfire Traders' Manager

BAFTA nominee British actor Richard E. Grant becomes Bushfire Festival Patron

“By supporting this year’s Bushfire, you will be rewarded with wonderful music as well as helping the Young Heroes Aids Orphans initiative. Like that Beatles song -HELP-ME-HELP-YOU-HELP-WE-HELP.”

Award-winning actor Richard E. Grant has shown overwhelming support of the Bushfire Festival by becoming the festival’s patron. Born and raised in Swaziland, Richard heart is still very attached to the Kingdom- he even wears 2 watches, one set to Swazi time!!

Having studied at Cape Town University, he co-founded the Troup Theatre Company before moving to the UK where he got his first big break with the cult hit “Withnail and I”.

We asked Richard a few questions about his involvement in the festival:

BF: Do you still feel a connection to Swaziland?
REG: Where I was born and brought up, so like a swallow, fly back every year.
BF: Favourite thing about Swaziland?
REG: My friends, Sibebe, swimming in the Umbeluzi and the spirit of the country

BF: House on Fire is...
REG: the creative heart and hearth of Swaziland. Warms your soul.

Q: Bushfire Festival in a nutshell?
REG: Nothing lifts your spirits higher than experiencing live music together with other people.

Q: Tell us your thoughts on Bushfire's 'social message'…
REG: Music and drama ‘ feed’ the soul and imagination like nothing else. Bush-fire aims to spread the message like wild fire.

Q: What's your interest in being a patron to Bushfire?
REG: Hoping that I can give something back to Swaziland that has given me so much.

Q: Bushfire is unique because...
REG: Founders, Jiggs and Sholto Thorne are the sons of my late great friend Jenny, who inspired enormous loyalty and did things ‘her’ way, when many people ‘nay-sayed’. Her spirit of adventure and creativity are alive and well in her sons who have created this unique venue that attracts people from far and wide.