From Constantia to Kalk Bay

Alexa, our feisty heroine, has encountered a few surprises while staying in Constantia. Now her quest requires her to move on. In the garden of her great-uncle's house, she takes a last look at the Cape's signature flower, the protea. In this case, colloquially called 'Sugar Bush'.

Following a clue as to her half-brother's whereabouts, she sets off around the coast for Kalk Bay. Here's a view of the harbour (just!):

and one of the streets, although I don't have the exact one she has to visit. To give you an idea...

and of the steepness of the street she has to ascend:

but then she can descend again and enjoy that first beautiful view, or something like this:

And now her double-quest is well and truly underway.

See you next Wednesday!

Following Alexa's journey

In this new series of posts, I want to share some photos with you, mostly taken last February when I enjoyed a most wonderful visit to those parts of the Cape, South Africa, that are the setting for 'SAILING FOR TROUBLE'. Yes, I'm drawn to write about places that I love. Cape Town and the section of the Garden Route from George to Keurbooms are surely some of my favourites and the most beautiful on earth.

Alexa's story begins as she's sailing into Cape Town harbour. However,  I'm not giving you a view of Table Mountain. Rather, I suggest reading the description, either from the book or from the excerpt on my website http://www.brendahammond.net

My editor advised me on no account to leave that out, and my daughter said the passage brought tears to her eyes. So there you go!

Today then, we'll visit the suburb of Constantia. Lots of lovely homes there, breathtaking views, and vineyards. Enjoy!

Till next Wednesday, 'Totsiens'!

VISITING OLD HAUNTS

A sunny day in London town tra laaa... Actually, an afternoon. I took this photo as we walked from the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square to Piccadilly and the Royal Academy of Art. When I worked as a temporary secretary during the early years of my marriage, I had a job in this area and so enjoyed it. Yes, I love London!

After soaking up all that art, food for the soul, it was time to take in some food and drink for the body. We took a bus through the theatre district and walked along Neal Street towards Covent Garden. I was fascinated to experience this familiar part anew, as it has changed so much since the days I was a student at the Royal Ballet School and would often go to the Royal Opera House.

This photo shows the stage door. Certainly modernized!

But the facade of the Opera House is still the same. I must confess to feeling a pang of longing to be inside, sitting in the audience watching that wonderful ballerina Natalia Osipova when we passed by!  

Nostalgia can feel like an indulgence, but sometimes it's fun to visit old haunts, don't you think? My next blog entry will reverse my journey, in that I'll be back in Cape Town. See you there!

A Facebook tale (longish post, but I hope worth the read)

Recently I returned from travels, to South Africa in search of story and inspiration for my companion novel to 'Cape Town', tentatively titled 'Dance to Remember'. I'll be blogging about my experiences there, but first I want to tell you about what happened on the way back while I enjoyed a four day stop over in England (rest, recovery, filling the well with visiting London, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Art... more to come!

So I imagine many readers share my mixed feelings about Facebook. Every now and then I wonder 'is it worth the bother and besides, I'm suspicious about what's going on behind the screen'. I don't know about you, but my very restricted list of friends are a mixed bunch, some of whom post more personal updates about their doings, outings and thoughts, others who I'd class as more political. i.e. they post about the environment, organic or bio-dynamic farming, or new research about education, etc. This means that some of the posts I'm reading are more light-hearted, some are serious, some enlightening and so on.

A while back I accepted a friend request from a man who'd been a classmate of our elder son during the year we spent in Derbyshire in the late 'Seventies. He now works at Michael House School, so Waldorf education is our common interest. Also, his family took over our beautiful Edwardian house when we left Ilkeston.

Aware that I'd be in England for a couple of days on my way south, he posted how wonderful it would be if we could meet up. I agreed, all the while thinking 'not going to happen', because, after all, time was short. Plus, he'd be in the midlands and I'd be in Forest Row.

Anyhow, on my return journey, I went along with our daughter and son-in-law (http://www. richardianheys.co.uk) to a fiftieth birthday party. Who should I see as I walked into the room but Christopher himself! He'd travelled down with his new wife to attend the celebration.

It's hard to explain how special this was for both of us, but maybe he summed it up when he said, "Seeing you made my day".

Now I wonder, have you experienced anything amazing through a re-connection on Facebook?

CAPE TOWN!

Last stop on our trip was filled with nostalgia. We visited with family and old friends from university days. On one glorious morning we walked along the coastline from Kalk Bay to St. James. This smallish beach was one of our favourite spots when the children were little. Lots of rock pools to explore, and a tidal pool just perfect for quieter swimming. I was even brave enough to take a dip!

Looks lekker, hey?

However, I'm happy to tell you there's one major change since I was last there. These beaches are no longer 'whites only'. In fact, as we were leaving a troop of schoolchildren arrived to enjoy the perfect day.

Colourfull... in all sense of the word!

AFRICAN ADVENTURES Last Garden Route stop: Leisure Isle

It was the great Margaret Atwood herself who alerted me to something that I was already experiencing when I struggled to achieve the first draft of 'Cape Town', then called 'Clearly in the Dark'. I can't quote her exact words, but the gist of what she said was that, when you focus on your story, the universe conspires to provide the research help you need. Thus it was with me. Looking through a few old papers we'd brought from South Africa, I discovered I'd kept a calendar from 1989, so I knew when Easter fell that year. And no, I couldn't simply google it, because this was in the dark ages. Also, weirdly enough, I'd kept a fashion magazine from those days, and so could see what the cool girls would have been wearing.

But on a more serious note, I needed more insight into the political Struggle. This post tells how I found it.

Leisure Isle lies in the Knysna lagoon. In the early Sixties, my parents built a retirement home there, which turned into a holiday house for us as well. It was also the location of my cousin's restaurant, The Pink Umbrella, and many were the meals and cream teas, and scrumptious evening mealtimes we enjoyed there.

One time I went to stay with Mom and Dad. As was my wont, I strolled down mid-afternoon to go for a swim. An elderly couple were already bobbing around in the warm water, so I joined them and we soon fell into a conversation. It turned out we were both going into town that evening for a piano recital, but also discovered mutual friends, the artist Frank Spears and his wife Dorothea, who'd played an important part in my Cape Town student days. Here's the portrait sketch he did of me at that time:

To cut a long story short, I was invited to tea to see their paintings. When I told Daphne I was writing Renee's story, she immediately rose and went to get a copy of her own book, which she gave to me. 'From Tribulation to Triumph' provided me with the facts I needed. Yes, you'll find her name in the acknowledgements.

So this preamble leads me to my recent visit with Daphne. Sadly, she lost her husband some years ago. Despite failing eyesight, she still lives on her own, in the same house I visited that first time. She invited me to lunch. And here we are, at the restaurant across from where The Pink Umbrella used to be, sitting under an old milkwood tree. Amazing, isn't it?

Lastly, in case you need flowers for Mother's Day, here's one of Frank's paintings that always hung on the wall of our Leisure Isle house.

AFRICAN ADVENTURES Part Five

Let's hang around Knysna for a little longer. It's such a beautiful spot in which to linger! So I want to start by sharing an event I participated in when I visited in December 2011, and then switch to a very first world experience.

But first, let's have some lunch together at the East Heads cafe. Um, did I mention that this environment is the setting for my romantic adventure 'Alexa's Quest'? Hopefully to be published before too long.

So here we go. What will you order, I wonder? There's always fresh fish of course, and babotie, but also vegetarian dishes, and such desserts as cheesecake and carrot cake which are likely to be the most delicious you've ever tasted!

Please, take a seat. You can sit in sunshine or in shadow.

Did you enjoy that?

Now let's go to another event that featured delicious food. The venue was the kitchen at House Hammond. See the previous blog entry if that doesn't mean anything to you!

Yes, it's the launch of my cousin's book, a combination of memoir and recipes, guaranteed to delight both the imagination and your palate! Up till now, the book has only been available in South Africa, but since last month, you can download the eBook from Amazon. So check out 

'PINK AND OTHER COLOURS'. Here's the link for you to buy it now!!: http://tinyurl.com/cdvdnv4

p.s. she truly has a most engaging and amusing writing style! And can't you just see that from this photo?

And here's Myrtle, who started her working life as a cook at the Pink Umbrella restaurant, went on to teach kindergarten, look after AIDS orphans and then became a town councillor. In the background you can see the open fireplaces, and the sliding doors onto the terrace. (Sigh!)

So now to the first world stuff. You see, when I visited at the time of the book launch, I went to my dad's dentist. Dr. Wiid built a beautiful bridge for me, and when my local dentist saw his excellent work and heard I'd be in Knysna again soon, she suggested he should do the crown I needed. I'll spare you the preliminary details which were quick and painless. But I wanted to share what happened then. 

"Take a look," Dr. Wiid said, and brought me upright in the chair. To my left was a computer screen which showed an image of my upper jaw. To my surprise, he began to design the tooth, right there, before my eyes. I tell you, it was just like watching my talented son working on an ad image: make it bigger there, change the shape a little here, move this over to the left a bit... you get the picture. 

Once he was satisfied with the shape, the look and the fit, the dentist said, "Okay. Come back in three quarters of an hour and I'll have it ready for you!"

And he did. Magic, hey?