Reflections in, on and round about…with a lot of cooking on the side
Stories that don’t fit elsewhere and add to the rich fabric of life….
On Monday, my helper came to work and told me that her niece had won a scholarship to go to a conference in New York. She went on to say that, as is often the case, the scholarship wouldn't cover everything, and that the family would be holding fundraising events in the village. Starting at … Continue reading Hayley’s going to Change the World – with our help
A friend and I had a conversation at the market this morning. Little did we know that exactly what were discussing - and fearing - she more than I - had come to pass. Incomprehensible. My heart aches for her: the burden she has carried over the last few years and, particularly over the last … Continue reading Contemplating the incomprehensible
I have been making koeksisters for the McGregor Market for more than six years having last made them in the early 1990's. At that time, I thought they were horrendously enormous and occasionally trotted them out with tea or as a dessert. Fast forward twenty or so years: the world is much more health conscious … Continue reading Seriously sizzling – these siss-sters
In the last five or so months I've ventured no further than the top of the Road to Nowhere. That was two weekends ago when we braved the cold and took a drive to see winter's last farewell (we hope). Having spent a large proportion of my working life on aeroplanes and living out of … Continue reading Trippin’ out
A woman in my family is a rape survivor. August is Women's month in South Africa with the 9th being the anniversary of the Women's March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, protesting the proposed pass laws which would effectively rent families apart. The month is now dedicated to women in a country plagued by … Continue reading Revisited: Punishment or revenge?
I must have been all of five years old when I learned about triffids. Or so I thought. They were in the new vegetable garden of the new house we'd moved into not long before Granny came to visit. Dad, the horticulturist he was, and having grown up with an alotment, composted the garden from … Continue reading Granny’s Triffids
Having grown up in a small town and in high school, having gone to boarding school in another town, road trips were commonplace. There are, however, some trips that remain embedded in my memory. The first that I really remember would have been in 1967. It was the year after we arrived in South Africa … Continue reading Roads trips – a retrospective
I am not sure where to begin. Today is the one-hundred-and-twenty-somethingth day since South Africa went into a lockdown. Of these, some five weeks were a hard lockdown to retard the community transmission of the novel corona virus that causes COVID-19 disease. More importantly, it was to buy time to prepare the country’s health facilities … Continue reading Beleaguered and Confused
Before I get going... It's week or so ago that shared what was, kinda the soundtrack of my life (on WordPress; on Hive). It was, in part a piece of fluff, but in others, not. In the final paragraph, I note - There are songs missing from this list and which I'd love to have … Continue reading le zoulou blanc – a man for all
An opening word I originally wrote this in November 2018. The challenge was to pick that one favourite song. Needless to say, that was an impossible task but a challenge to which I rose - with some relish. When my webhost disappeared some time ago, this post went along with it. I'm "reconstiting" some and … Continue reading Songs of [My] Life