Sebastian

Sorry about the gap,though Im not sure if anything is being read.Hell so what???? the words will remain in e-space for posterity,maybe to be seen a thousand years ahead by a race of evolved beings clever enough to download the eternal ether swirling around us.Todays topic is Sebastian D'Lima,my erstwhile landlord of Victory Hotel.Tall,heavy set,oily would describe him physically.In his 40s,Sebastian had cultivated a personality which was both unctuous and, what I would term as avuncular.He wore his trousers high ,belted above his generous belly and would stride around managing the establishment with its staff of 3.First there were the 2 waiters, Joesph Santa Maria and Cajetan Fernandes both in their 70s.Joesph,in some ways reminded me of Peter Sellers in disguise and used to have a running battle with us,the lodgers,whom he looked down upon.Cajetan on the other hand was like a small shrivelled mummy,few strands of grey on his bald head.He perenially looked unwell and we wrongly believed that he wouldnt last the week.In fact we often thought he was dead when having a nap .The last was John the cook,a villanous Dickinsonian figure who spent long hours in a huge, dark ,smoky kitchen preparing the most awful food for us while cooking up the most tantalising dishes for the paying customers in the restaurant.He would come out now and then for a smoke,his apron dirty and face sweaty,survey the clientale and return again.Oh yes,he was assisted by Mrs D'Lima,a humourless lady who had a face like a ball of dough with spectacles planted on a potato baglike flowered dress.The D'Lima family was rounded off by 5 children.Agnelo the eldest,a pleasant guy who went in and out of the kitchen and managed the customers in his fathers absense.Unfortunately he looked a lot like his mother...not that looking like his father would have helped!!!! there were 3 younger boys,all quite pleasant, and finally there was Annie the 5 year old who looked so much like her father(without the mousch of course).More about Annie later.
What Sebastian lacked in education(he worked as a cook when younger),he made up in plain savvy.He kept the right people in good spirits and often we would see Police Officers or Municipal officials being entertained lavishly with booze and food.He had cultivated this humble, "I am a simple man" facade which saw him overcome any hiccups which he inevitably faced.Every day he would put on a solar hat, get on his 1955 model Lambretta scooter and zoom round the city,shopping,meeting people and going to church.Oh yes the D'Lima family were extremely "pious".With us,the younger ,student lot Sebastian was more like a not too liked Uncle.He would always complain about the noise or the fact that we had asked the waiters for better food.The food ,ah the food.Brings a smile to my face.It was more or less the same things every day..fried eggs and bread in the morning.The eggs sometimes were suspiciously short of the white which we felt the cook was keeping aside for other stuff he would make.For lunch and dinner we would get a plate of curried meat with rice or bread.And here is where the temperatures rose.The meat,the origins of which were unknown, was often tough enough to resole your shoes with.I would often try and chew on it and leave a pile of uneaten cud on the plate,infuriating our friend Sam who was older and who having lived there longer,knew the art of survival.Oh yes we did get bananas for dessert and tea at7AM and 4PM.Sebastian would try and restore order by telling us that he bought the best meats for the kitchen and Johns cooking was close to cordon bleau.To mollify us he would (rarely) ask Joesph to serve us the special stew being made for the Mayor or a slice of dessert baked for the Colonel.His favourite line was that"full full colonels come to eat here" so how come, we,(who are not even half half corporals) dont appreciate the dish.But there were other moments too with Sebastian like when he whipped out his trusty voilin after a few drinks...but thats another story.Will continue another day...