The Great Steak Escape: A Banker's Tale of Thursday Lunchtime Rebellion
Reminiscences of a Banker
Ah, the golden age of banking! Not for the high finance or sleek technology (which was practically nonexistent), but for the sheer ingenuity exercised in the pursuit of a decent lunch break. This is a story of a bygone era, a time when Johannesburg bank clerks waged a weekly war – the battle for the ultimate prize: the pub lunch.
The year was 1967. Standard Bank's Smal Street branch, a bustling beehive of ledgers and ledger machines, was located just a stone's throw from the Metropole Hotel in Bree Street. Now, pubs were for one thing only – drinks. But then came a revolutionary innovation: Thursdays became "Lunch and a Pint" day. For a mere 44 cents (19 cents for the beer, 25 cents for the lunch), a symphony of flavors awaited – a grilled steak, a handful of golden fries, a fried egg, and a touch of salad. Simple, yes, but oh, the joy!
Lunchtime, however, was a sacred hour, and competition for the coveted 12 PM slot was fierce. Anyone arriving later than noon faced a desperate scramble for the remaining pub seats.
Once lunch was over, the real hurdle was getting safely back into the office. Mr. Mills, the branch accountant, had become aware of the Thursday caper. And Mr, Mills was a man determined to uphold the sanctity of the banking halls. Every Thursday, he'd become our personal Breathalyzer, standing at the entrance to the branch, sniffing for any whiff of lunchtime rebellion as we returned to the office.
But don't underestimate the resourcefulness of hungry young bankers! Mints became our secret weapon, and vodka, with its subtle aroma, replaced the more obvious beers. Mr. Mills, bless his heart, was never the wiser - no-one was ever detected.
Within a year, the "Lunch and a Pint" revolution spread like wildfire. Every pub in the Johannesburg CBD soon joined the fray, and soon, every day, not just Thursdays became a pub-lunch possibility. It was a time capsule of a city, still echoing with its colonial past - after all it was less than 60 years since the formation of the Union of South Africa from the two British Colonies and the two Boer Republics after the Anglo-Boer War.
By the time I left South Africa in 1999 the bankers pub-lunch scene there was no different from anywhere else in the world.
Fast forward to 2002. I found myself in a London pub, a seasoned veteran of the banking world, on assignment at the time for the New Jersey based banking software house that I worked for, enjoying a classic pub lunch. As I savored the familiar flavors, a wave of nostalgia washed over me.
This, in essence, was a continuation of that Johannesburg tradition, a tradition that began almost 40 years ago as a simple escape for a couple of hungry junior clerks. And as I raised my glass, I couldn't help but smile at the enduring power of a good pub lunch, a testament to the ingenuity and camaraderie that can bloom even amongst the most regimented of settings.