MO: Morning Jasper, and hoping you are well today. I am strongly reminded of countless forever stories around stoep chats, especially in the rural areas of the world, we share. Here am I introducing a new series of chats with yourself for starters this week, over and above the endless interesting noises and clutter around our worlds and public affairs. This is in a realisation that stoep chats are a major source of interest and meaning in our lives. Take this example of a World Bank Key Messages chat on Food & Nutrition Security. My guess is there are many local variations of stoep chats on these themes.

JC: Looking at that Word Bank item, Africa gets the biggest mention. We all love bread. The sad fact is, it is slavery food. Egyptians did not only grow cotton, they cottoned on to growing wheat, as the cheapest, easiest way to feed those hard working pyramid builders. Bread is the ultimate convenience food. Nothing else makes bread as well and as easily as wheat. We hardy European slaves love it. But our African brother and sister slaves did not favour it. Yams, cassava, and bananas did better for West and Central Africa. East Africa liked sorghum and millet. Much as I love them, I am uneasy about grains. But porridge was it. I never saw sorghum or millet bread. But, that is a technological step: ovens were not portable, but pots were.

MO: Trust you to get all rad and mad. Do you feel no compassion for the hungry?

JC: I have lived on a stern, strict diet of ‘water only’ for longer than anyone I know: six long weeks to be precise. I thought it was cool to go on that fast, but it was backed by despair: we had not worked as a band for 4 months, and I was platsak - so I kind of had to fast. I have to add that I was curious to see how long I would last. At the time I was about as popular as Clint Eastwood in ‘The Unforgiven’, had neither family nor friends around, so - no help. Luckily I proved I could live without food for weeks on end, as long as there was plenty of water … compassion for the hungry - what do you think? I will say this: I don’t the hell want to fast that long ever again.