Musings
27 November, A Day I’ll Always Remember
I adored a beautiful boy once, he was born on the 27th November 1955, I met him in July 1972 and if truth be told he was the first boy who impressed me. I had a crush on him for years, he didn’t really notice me all that much, but, our stars did align and our paths crossed occasionally. He...
The Destination Wedding Vacation
Elation! I must confess I am always a little in awe when I hear of someone jetting off to some exotic destination, and especially so for a wedding. The charmed life. Glamorous. Romantic. The first time it was mentioned in my company was when a recent graduate, earning a pittance, announced...
Cuisine, Sunscreen, Tambourine I've Seen '17
Highlighting a year brings back sweet memories. It’s through hard times that we take note, but it’s in the cool afterglow that we can sit back and let our hearts and minds recall good times. This has been an amazing roller coaster year. My 60th! My mind has been churning with thoughts, words...
Lise, My Camino Compañero
We have made it to Barcelos in one piece, a little bruised and battle weary. We could lament the state of our toes until the cows come home, but we’re braver than that. We'll dust overselves off and soldier on. I watch her sleep, always the sleep of the innocent, so quiet, not a snore, not...
We've got to talk about THAT
I sigh, (I do that a lot when I’m sad or depressed) as I open the fridge door after weeks away. Not because it’s a shambles. It’s because we “save for rainy days”. Why do we do that? I look at the shrivelled carrots, the drooping celery sticks and the blackened fine green beans. As I drop...
Five Fabulous Friends
It was written in the stars that I would board a steam train and shunt about for two years, making my way from Nelspruit across the Crocodile River, wending my way from the Lowveld to Pretoria every term to attend boarding school at Pretoria High School for Girls. With a quivering lip, sweaty...
Don't Get Me Wrong
It’s been a busy month since my last scribbling, and an exciting one, too. On the day it rained, I set off at the appointed hour, very early, to meet them at the airport. Rain. Soft, gentle, penetrating, misty rain. Enough to soak our scorched land. Not enough to break the drought. I was...
Fabulous Friends, Food And Frivolous Fun
That was exactly how my weekend started. We’re born into families; some are single-parent, adoptive, or traditional. We can't choose them; friends are the people we choose along the way. They intrigue and fascinate us, and we have something in common with them. It might be the child you sit next...
Gearing Up! Ready To Take A Hike
A few decades ago, I celebrated my 40th birthday in Namibia. That night, the rotund chef at the Waterberg Reserve’s restaurant made an entrance and, in true operatic style, serenaded me in a booming baritone, singing “Happy birthday to you” beautifully. It’s something I’ll never forget. I have...
Clowning About - From Your Besotted Glam’ma
This is a back-to-front letter. Your Mom has celebrated her birthday; we've pampered our Dads; you've turned one; and I've got a few more grey hairs. The mountains are covered in snow, but the sun still shines warmly on our backs. Landmarks flash past as the year speeds up; typically, all we...
The Old School Tie
Somewhere at the back of a wardrobe, we all have one. Mine was stretched to its limits; having knotted it in Standard 6, it had to keep up with the times, dragged over my head, like a noose, the knot wound tighter. The tie grew filthier and grubbier with each passing term, and as the years...
The Rollercoaster That Was February
Forest Gump’s mother said, “Life was like a box of chocolates”. February was like that, but the metaphor looked more like the box my sweet sister-in-law presented us with two weeks ago. The box was beautifully crafted and finished off with a red bow, but, alas, had melted into one snotty blob....
Pampered Parent Goes Pearshaped
Parenting at the best of times is difficult. Few know the rules, and when we slip up, it’s with the best intentions. We all know there are no shortcuts, and it’s an unforgiving task. It’s not surprising; my offspring were much cleverer than me. They hardly had teeth before biting me with...
If A Cobra Can Spit So Can I
That’s the extent of my frustration. If a gadget works perfectly one minute, why not the next? Sending a Kodak film to the lab was so much easier; let them sit with all the hassles. What’s more, if you went to Clicks, you didn’t even have to take all the duds. My card reader has just died a...
Collywobbles On A Monday
Collywobbles is what I’m going to have. Unless I stop sneaking into the kitchen to grab a handful of sun-kissed apricots, they’re sweet and tangy with the rosiest cheeks. As I brush the furriness across my lips, I must confess I imagine my grandson’s bottom, those plump, sweet cheeks. The...
Bargains Budgets And Builders
The evening was perfect: balmy, windless, with a promise of summer. Perfectly groomed gardens all around us as we mingled on the manicured lawns under the stars at Leipzig, right here on our doorstep in the Nuy Valley, a mere 10 kilometres from Worcester. This was a celebration of good...
Seeing Is Believing
I need to see a place with my own eyes before I believe a word anyone says about it. It may well be beautiful, gracious, modern or old, but without experiencing its soul, it's really quite dead. I need to know that my footprints were left in that place. One day I may return, differently from...
First Things First
I'm back! After months away, I feel like the new girl on the blog. Remember the anxiety after a long school holiday, that knot in the tummy before starting a new grade? I have it again; how quickly our confidence wanes. These past few months have been exhilarating and gorgeous. Yet I...
Announcing The Birth Of A Grandbaby - From Glama
First off the bat: You look like me! We’re two peas in a pod and don’t let anyone tell you differently! That sweet button nose, those clear, enormous eyes and those pianist's fingers, exactly. I know someone will try to mention liver spots, crow's feet, laughter lines, fallen arches, and...
Mothers' Day Musings
Now let’s be honest, not everyone is in a celebratory mood. Not all women can be honoured, and some may have difficult relationships with motherhood. Exploring these realities can help readers reflect on the complexities of maternal relationships and foster compassion. Many African...
Halving The Panties Gets You Nowhere
That’s what He-Who-Will-Be-Obeyed says as I pack. “Whether one packs for one week or one month, the quantities stay the same,” I mutter under my breath. This reminds me to pack smartly to avoid overloading. I’ll take half the undies. I’ve already cut down the shorts and nighties and tossed the...
Running Circles Around Life
Today you’ll close this gate; you’ve gone full circle with your journey here. You arrived as a beautiful, sexy, vivacious Englishwoman 38 years ago. Choices have never been yours to make; circumstances dictated your every move. “She took a step and didn't want to take any more, but...
Seeing Red With A Broken Heart
It’s all petals, pouting, and perfumed perfection on the eve of Valentine’s Day. It might be commercial exploitation, but give a girl a weekend away, wine her, dine her, lavish gifts from the heart upon her, and believe me, you’ll star in her good books! We’ve all had our fair share...
Missive From Glam'ma - Neil
“Grandchildren now don't write thank-yous for the Christmas presents. They are walking on their pants with their cap on backward, listening to the Enema Man and Snoopy, Snoopy Poop Dog.” ― Alan Simpson Dearest Nunu, You’re not a twinkle in your father’s eye anymore; you’re a reality. I saw you...
The Other Woman, a Letter From My Heart
"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you." On Children – Kahlil Gibran An open letter Dear Mum and Dad of The Other Woman, When I...
At a Loss
“Before the war, Sofya Levinton had once said to Yevgenia Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova, 'If one man is fated to be killed by another, it would be interesting to trace the gradual convergence of their paths. ' " At the start they might be miles away from one another – I might be in Pamir picking...
Being a Free Spirit and an Aging Gypsy
Children are resilient, so is the child in me. Circumstances change; I’ll adapt. Nothing is impossible, my mind renews like shedding skin. I’ve wept; it made me strong. I loathe mediocrity, apathy, and dullness. When I'm hopeless, I live one day at a time. When depression knocks, I walk to...
Have NO Passport. Will NOT Travel.
Picture the scene: you're late, you're brushing your teeth, and above the whine of the electric toothbrush, you hear this "Darling! Have you got your passport?" By now, you've had it and shout back "yesh" loudly. Spraying toothpaste foam all over your new black cashmere sweater. I...
What's in a Name, You Ask?
“Jason scratched his head.” You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘Festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon? Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero My nephew and his wife are expecting their first child, my first grand-nephew and my parents’...
Bather Blues
It’s taken me forty years to figure out why older women wear last decade’s bathing suits: it’s because that’s their only choice. When I left school, I started working at a department store and noticed that many of our “older” female clients shared similar shopping habits, which I now...
12 Or So Facts
If/when I see myself in a mirror, I automatically look behind me! 1. I must go to spinning classes for my blood circulation2. I've got my mom’s hands and Grandma's liver spots.3. I'm not a blonde anymore4. Clothes' sizing has changed; a size 12 is the new size 95. Having the Apple iTiti implants...
Have Passport Will Travel
For weeks, we’ve talked about nothing but “Princess Open Book's” holiday to Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique, (aka Anna). The child is tired, overworked, stressed, and fatigued, and needs to detoxify from all her physical, mental, and emotional toxins. We’ve sent lists of what to have, what to...
Can't Live Without Books
For the past 34 years, I’ve been a member of a Ladies' Evening Book Club. I rarely miss a meeting and can't wait to see the new books; I'm in love with them. I adore my friends, but I can’t do without the books. The scent of the paper makes me swoon. My love of stories and books began in...