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
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
March 12th A gentle hand, a generous thought, a moment from your day spent on caring for others, for the fragility of our overexposed hearts. Sometimes it’s not the physical act of giving that counts in making a difference. Mostly, it’s the little acts of kindness that make the biggest difference. Greet the old lady … More Some scribbles on the ‘gram that you might have missed
Nobody seems to read anymore. We glance at eye-catching newspaper headlines and take it for granted that the news that follows is true and properly reported on, aware that we can never know for certain how true the reporting is, how unbiased it is. We seek out affirmations in neat square blocks, with a wordcount … More Personal Writings: January 2022
I’m not certain whether it’s a sign of laziness or simply just how life ebbs and flows, but over the last few years I’ve tended more towards a quicker form of writing, one that I can tap off with relative ease from my phone, while I ponder a scene in front of me, make my … More Bringing in 2022
September 26th. Heading into the last week of September already. I’ve been keeping track of the weeks of this year more than normal since I’m ticking off each weekly run and we’re approaching week 39 coming up. That’s three quarters of the way through 2021. 😮Does it feel like it? The thing is, being in … More The Autumn Newsletter.
Hello my lovelies, I saw a few prompts yesterday that suggested autumn was starting today. Such as it is, life continues its <<roulant>> and it’s time for the season to change, but I was more concerned about a significant change in the weather: did I need to make sure my kids had rain coats and … More Another season falls.
Privileged is the person who can enjoy being alone with nothing but flighty musings to occupy their thoughts. I may have mentioned recently that I had read something about Proust’s Madeleine that was repeated as a striking coincidence later to my personal seasonal ramblings. No, don’t be impressed or jaded- I’ve not personally read Proust … More A Sweet Trip Down Memory Lane.
It’s Week 48 since the French government sent me home after they realised Covid-19 wasn’t going away on its own. Right now, my house is quiet and still, barre the dripping of defrosting ice on the kitchen terrace and the hum of my oven as it dries out yet another batch of rusks for the … More The Year That COVID-19 and The French Government Gave Me An Unexpected Sabbatical (and allowed me to realise that I will never be able to write a recipe book.)
Tuesday, November 3rd. With sleep dust caked in the corners of my eyes, I blearily fell out of bed at six fifty this morning to the sound of the bleating alarm clock and out of an annoying habit, turned on the bathroom light to weigh myself. Yes yes, I know what you’re thinking. “Ditch the … More To Run or Not To Run.
Hello there my lovelies! How are you all doing? I wish that you could be here with me right now- the weather is as grey as a sink of dirty dish water, but the trees in my garden have turned yellow and dropped those leaves like a yellow-ochre carpet. I wish you were here on … More The Second Wave.
Autumn. Fall. Both words have been rolling off my tongue all week. Which do you revert to normally? It’s Tuesday, week 2 after the schools reopened, and life is almost back to normal, barre the lingering signs of Covid barrier precautions. I crossed into the city this morning after school drop off and found myself … More Fall, 2020
All over the world there is sh*t that divides people. There are the big divisive subjects: sex, religion, racism, politics, culture. The ones which, arguably, lead to the biggest problems: terrorism, fear, injustice, inequality. In the lesser divisions, generally fought no less fervently, one could list sport or social media, school systems, sneaker brands; although … More The Polarisation of Food
Erm, I’m sorry about that! :idsu;;er 2020 is what my keyboard types when its’ language choice is set on the English keyboard. What I really wanted to title this was Midsummer 2020, but when I saw those letters and grammatical icons on my screen, I remembered something that I wanted to write about. No, it’s … More :idsu;;er 2020
6 weeks ago, I sat on on my terrace and shared this photo: It was Sunday morning, and what should have been a morning filled with the expectation of me heading to work in the evening turned out to be a day filled with sweet Sunday bliss. A mild wine hangover to deal with- cured … More The CovidTimes
If you’ve ever been a guest at the Netherby table surrounded by the youthful members of Die Vrot Kol, you may shake your head in wonder that I ever became a chef and have as much of a love for food as I do. With tales originating out of Richmond boarding school, tales of cold … More Memories of the Culinary Kind
I turn into the wind, adjust my scarf and lift my coat collar to block the cutting chill that seemed to race down between the buildings on either side of the train lines. Beneath my feet, battered and bruised autumn leaves lie, and above my head is a ceiling of grey cloud. They’re too high … More And so the autumn leaves gather at our feet.
[I would recommend you print this and read it with a pot of tea] (Sometime early June) Well hello, will you look at that? I have 15 minutes to drop in and say hello! It’s a Wednesday, and today the girls finish school at 11:30 and can come straight home- no more ice-skating classes for … More June 2019. Nope. Let’s just call it Summer 2019
Looking back as one does at this time of the year to reflect on the one that just tipped down over the horizon under the disguise of omnipresent grey clouds, we are able to sigh deeply with content and say “it’s been a good one!” And for that, we are blah blah fish paste and … More Bonne Année And All That Jazz.
Thursdays are currently my Sunday, my one day off work where I don’t do anything unless its for me: go for a run; have a coffee date; sit on my terrace and write; binge watch tv; sew or even mundane stuff like the washing and cleaning. Between 8:30 and 15:00, my time is- for the … More Heritage Day
Pinot, Bretzels, and Cathedrals 