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I’ve never been in a room with so many South Africans at one time. The island’s full intake must have been present at Candles Restaurant on Thursday night for the appearance of one of their favourite comedians, Barry Hilton.
There were a splattering of other expats and Bahrainis in the audience and the talk beforehand was that it might be difficult for them to appreciate the humour.
No worries, Hilton took us all under his wing with a bit of banter and a wonderful way of imitating accents. It didn’t matter whether you were a Brit or an Aussie there was no escaping this master of merriment’s quick wit.
Hilton is one of those old school comedians who can make you laugh out loud by simply changing the expression on his face or the movement of his body, whether he’s imitating a dog or a giraffe, this man’s the guru of gaffaws!
I can never remember jokes but Hilton had me in stitches with a couple of memorable asides worth sharing:
* Johannesburg. It’s a place where criminals go for an apprenticeship.
* One dog to another: what’s your name? I think it’s down boy.
* Why hasn’t someone invented GPS for a woman to find what she’s looking for in her handbag?
* I’m learning Chinese and I have a Mandarin every morning. I’m doing it by segments.
On the way home, I caught the news report about the death of Nelson Mandela, the revered icon of the anti-apartheid struggle, who was elected South Africa’s first black president after spending nearly three decades in prison.
There was understandable mourning across the globe for the country’s loss but also a sense of celebration of the man’s life in the services that followed on Sunday.
Who knows what the future will hold, but in Bahrain we witnessed South Africans of all sizes, colours and political persuasions laughing at others and, more importantly, laughing at themselves.
Forget about the attraction of wildlife game reserves, I want to go to South Africa to feel the warmth of the people again after a brilliant night of entertainment at the Dilly.
Stan Szecowka
