A Big Fish In A Small Pond

Today is an EYE CANDY day.  Girls, I’m sweetening you up for a genuine surprise! Nothing like ginger to make the blood boil and sizzle.  

Our home-grown export has returned to visit his Mama, who’s as excited as ever, and he tells me she spoils him rotten; all he has to do is give her a list, and his wishes come true on the culinary front.

A few years ago, I did a quick series of photographs of my daughter while she was training in the pool. Seeing her and Jarred succeed at the provincial and national levels makes me proud and inspires my audience to celebrate their own achievements.

Both were backstroke swimmers, and I just loved watching them gracefully glide through the water.  They always reminded me of ballet dancers: slick, smooth and incredibly fast.  But there the similarity ends: lanky, feet like flippers and arms like an orangutan, these athletes and women show us that some people make the cut whilst the rest of us splash, splutter and sink in the shallow end.

Thank you, Jarred Botha, for letting me photograph you during warm-up laps.  Catching up with you was a challenge; I kept misjudging your stroke timing, and your baffling surface made it hard to gauge distances.  Even as a retired swimmer, you’re still among South Africa's top in my eyes.  Next time I struggle with my breaststroke, I’ll remember what I saw you do.