Trying times of youth

Chef Maiyuu has bought a set of shelves, where the electric oven and microwave now rest. This has freed up space on his kitchen bench, which he wanted for baking.

‘I can spread out and roll pastry there to make pies,’ he said approvingly.

Shown here are some cheese and ham pastries he made the other day.

Maiyuu also has ordered a couch from a furniture manufacturer in a remote part of town, after he saw their wares advertised on the internet.

They are making it for him at their factory. It will be ready in a few weeks.

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'I have put all those days behind me,’ said Ball Takraw quietly.

He was talking about the ‘shameful’ time in his youth when he would race cars and motorcycles for money.

'I raced cars more than bikes. Some nights I would leave with B300 or more in winnings...and if I was lucky, someone’s girl,’ he said.

Teen racers put their girlfriends up as prizes, if they lacked cash to put up a stake.

Ball has a large tattoo on his back and his right arm – another decision from his youth which gives him cause for regret.

‘They are beautiful, all the same,’ he says, pointing to one particularly ornate tattoo of a large fish.

Ball has never done drugs, he says proudly, though like many youngsters carried – actually, still carries – a paper-cutter for self-protection.

‘The other day someone tried flirting with my girlfriend. If he had gone a step further I would have brought out the cutter,’ he growled.

Fiery Ball starts talking the defiant, violent talk of his youth when work gives him stress, as it was the night we met.

‘My seniors at the office refuse to do any work, but think they can order around juniors like me just because we are younger,’ he said angrily.

We were enjoying a quiet whisky by the sidewalk shop which serves as our regular.

‘When will you learn to put all this fiery-tempered stuff behind you?’ I asked. ‘You’re now 25...it’s time to start growing up.’

‘I am much better now than I was,’ he said, looking at me earnestly.

‘When I was younger I thought nothing of stabbing people with my cutter.'

Ball knows he has a fiery temperament, but says he is getting better at keeping it under control.

‘I was just a normal kid. My friends carried blades, raced bikes, and fell into fights just as I did,’ he said.