Forever trying to figure out the demon on my shoulder.
A narrow alley The centuries old 6th floor buildings with shuttered windows towered above a nondescript alley, into where she stepped. The evening sun streamed into the space, blinding her before she snapped her sunglasses on. An icy cold wind whistled down the narrow space despite the spring season, whipping at her hair, and tugging … More A Narrow Alley, A Fleeting Space.
Regret and what-ifs bubble up at the forefront of my mind. Regret for the things we’ve said we’ll do and never done. What-ifs for everything else. Countless questions, how you doing?!how’s he doing? Fuck, I just want to scream into the abyss and then pretend this isn’t my life. And this isn’t even my illness … More Be careful what you wish for
I have a secret- I’m holding back something. It’s not because I don’t want you to know. It’s because somehow if I blurt it out it will be a little too real. Or that I’m seeking attention. If you ask me the right questions, I’ll tell you the truth. You have a secret. I think … More February news.
Another January passes us by where I sit at home on medical recovery. It’s not a coincidence- it’s indeed planned to take this time in the quieter months of the industry. The first time was in 2020, struggling with horrid pain all the way up my arm at night times. A previous referral to a … More January 2024.
This is the year my baby sister came to visit. I say baby sister because she continues to remind me how my brother and I used to bully her on account of being 5 years younger. The reality is, I often feel like she’s wiser and older and alot of the time, I’m in awe … More Christmas and the joy of shared memories
7am on a Tuesday morning. Solo parenting sees me up and out of bed doing hubby morning routine including opening all the shutters. It’s still pitch dark outside – and as I peer into the intruding black gloom, I find myself surprised because wasn’t it just yesterday we changed the clocks to give us a … More November Newsletter.
I have just emerged from 3 week nightmare of a mind-exhausting, body-exhausting period at work. My boss was on leave and we were on the short side of staff (what’s new) and I had to push the hours on both sides of the day- a collective 27 hours extra over the period. While I get … More Turning Forty-Six
I wish a whistle had blasted through the quiet morning train platform as Beth and I embarked on a trip down south on Monday- it would have lifted the sleep and cobwebs in my slighty hungover head, but also been a fitting (albeit weirdly Victorian) send off as we headed on our way. Unfortunately the … More Springbok Fever, and Rugby in France.
I’m not in the best headspace at the moment- I feel like we’re existing in a half-life, where I crave being able to fly on the wingtips of the clouds while snuggling up under my duvet with a book to avoid having to feel anything or make decisions. I scroll through my phone looking at … More Bittersweet Return to Europe.
Today dawned unceremoniously at 6am- alone in my bed because the family are away, the dog barking from her slovenly position at my feet and my head a little denser than other mornings due to the drinks I enjoyed last night with a friend. Thandi was annoyed by something outside and I figured an early … More A Decade of French Living.
I am drawn, by some bizarre inclination, to the allure of midsummer. I have been, ever since high school English syllabus and Shakespeare’s titled comedy appeared on our reading list around the age of 14, I think. It would have been way too easy a study for the Matric English Lit Shakespeare, at which point … More Another Midsummer.
I had lunch with a South African friend last week and we somehow alighted on the topic of the lure of a certain shopping emporium in South Africa- let’s call them ‘W’. There was that social media post that they put out a couple of months back, nudging the expats and immigrants across the world, … More Discovering Foraging On My Back Door.
The first time I tried for a driving license I failed the parking test. It was after 6 weeks of training with a retired traffic officer, (because the reality of learning to drive with either of my parents was never going to be the best idea when I was 18), on the day in question … More The Decade I Did Not Drive A Car
It’s a Chefs Life Backbreaking and relentless, this chefs life is not a glamorous life. You’re in early, thinking that somehow you’ll be able stay on top of the workload, but somehow that quiet cup of coffee turns cold while the delivery trucks line up at the back door and soon your pristine fresh jacket … More It’s a Chefs Life
One of the downsides to being home on medical recoup is that my ability to tumble down social media rabbit holes has increased. Up until this week, I have been somewhat cautious with the mundane day-to-day chores I perform. My claim to not be able to wield a vacuum cleaner lasted a week, but I … More February
Sunday morning Chez du Plessis, and we are post-breakfast chilling at various stations a round home. Alex is studying. Beth is annoying her. Anton is preparing his lunch for the week. It’s been snowing outside. I love the early mornings on snow days, when it’s dark and quiet and crisp with fresh snow, and families … More January is a good month for sick leave.
Do you know what’s better than Christmas in a warm, sun drenched, blue skied, endless-horizoned space, one with swims to cool down in, listless insects hovering over icy glasses of Chenin Blanc, braai fires and garlicky prawns, rolling highveld thunderstorms, and a setting sun with golden fingertips reaching over the west coast ocean, tumbling down … More A Christmas Carol, Version Y2K22
She She chased the crescent sliver of the waxing moon, her breath ragged and gasping, arriving at the old fisherman’s wharf with tingling fingertips. The long hours at work has reduced her wrists and fingertips to a mass of pins and needles, ineffective for long moments every day. A week had passed since the dawn … More She
The day I celebrated my 33rd birthday was also the day that my younger born child bestowed this world with all her drama and glory. This was no special coincidence, there was no great honour for either of us to be blessed with sharing eachothers’ birthdays. Nope, it was a convenience for both my gynaecologist … More Recipe: Tarte Flambée
There is a sombre atmosphere pervading my home this week, almost as thick as the humidity that hovers over these thick summer days, windless but for the fans blowing relentlessly. A deep seated longing for those orange South African sunsets and warm almost-sisterly embraces have embedded themselves into our hearts, and there is no escaping … More A Tale of Two Countries
Pinot, Bretzels, and Cathedrals 