AN AERIAL ARMADILLO

A Tribute

2010-12-30T05:42:00.000-08:00

The African storm has finally subsided and for Mama the clouds have cleared to make way for that magical light that is liquid sunshine.After a long and courageous battle against Pulmonary Fibrosis Tessa passed away on Monday, 27th December surrounded by her family.She brought warmth, light and colour into our lives and the world is a drabber, sadder and drearier place without her. No words can

Luxury Travel

2010-10-09T08:54:00.001-07:00

“Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more importantly, it finds homes for us everywhere.” ~ Jean Rhys I love looking up and realizing the hours have passed without my noticing because all the while I've been so deeply immersed in my book. Surely that is transportation of the most definitive kind? The ultimate in travel and exploration? And, best

The Quangle Wangle's Hat

2010-10-07T10:39:00.001-07:00

Today, October 7th is National Poetry Day. To celebrate we are all supposed to write a poem about home. Since I haven't had time to pen some prose, I'll just leave it to one of my favourites - the delightfully weird and whacky Edward Lear. What I did manage to do a couple of days ago was paint a picture of a hat. (After all, home is where the hat's at...right?) Although it is by no

Beneath African Skies

2010-10-01T09:13:00.001-07:00

Niger, West Africa - Tessa 2010 Children of the Sun and the Wind by Mohammed Ebnu We still live on the brink of nothingness, between the north and south of the seasons We still sleep on stone pillows, like our fathers We still follow the same clouds, resting in the shadows of thorn trees We still drink down our tea

If to dance is to dream......

2010-09-30T10:48:00.001-07:00

“On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined” Lord Byron I'm all dressed up, my date is here and the helicopter awaits. I pick up the beautifully embossed invitation to The Third Annual Willow Manor Ball which has been tucked next to the flowers on my bedroom mantle piece and with a whiz, a whir and a whoop we are on our way! A little background first.... The lady

Just an old fashioned girl.

2010-09-25T10:37:00.001-07:00

“Nothing is so dangerous as being too modern; one is apt to grow old-fashioned quite suddenly” Oscar Wilde I love receiving letters. Written in ink and filled with words carefully chosen and eternal. I'd be happy with just one page -- I'm not hard to please. Maybe I'm just a hopelessly romantic dreamer… With Twitter, Facebook, emails and instant text messaging, writing a

Caged

2010-08-09T10:17:00.001-07:00

"The very idea of a bird is a symbol and a suggestion to the poet. A bird seems to be at the top of the scale, so vehement and intense his life. The beautiful vagabonds, endowed with every grace, masters of all climes, and knowing no bounds -- how many human aspirations are realised in their free lives -- and how many suggestions to the poet in their flight and song!" John Burroughs (1837 -

On reflection.

2010-07-26T11:16:00.001-07:00

The Illustration Friday prompt for this week is 'Double' which immediately made me think of reflections. Everywhere you look, you can see a myriad of fascinating, odd, glorious or just downright spooky reflective images. In a mirror, or a rock pool. In a window or a puddle. A spoon does it upside down and a kettle makes for weird fair-ground distortion. Perhaps even your shadow could be

Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle.

2010-07-22T11:12:00.001-07:00

I’m thrilled to announce the arrival in Great Snoring of a very special mammal. The little fellow burst out of his white padded enclosure and onto my lap accompanied by a shower of shimmering stars. I recognised him immediately and shrieked with delight. Guy dropped his granny-knicker-pink newspaper into his bowl of muesli and looked at me in alarm. “What the….?” I held the little chap

The light of wisdom and the guidance of friends.

2010-07-13T07:04:00.001-07:00

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, for it is in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” The glowing and growing of friendship. I am truly overwhelmed by your comments on my ‘Stormy Weather’ post. For your thoughtful, gentle, warm, tender and generous words, I thank you all for lifting my heart and making my spirit soar. Each and every

Stormy weather

2010-07-08T10:30:00.001-07:00

“'Tis the set of the sail that decides the goal, and not the storm of life” Ella Wheeler Wilcox I did not fully understand the dread term 'terminal illness' until I noticed how difficult all the things I had always taken for granted became gradually more and more Herculean to achieve. Like running and dancing and sailing and riding…the puff factor took over far earlier than it had done

Giant Illustration Friday

2010-07-03T11:38:00.001-07:00

Oscillate ©Tessa - July 2010 (Mixed media: acrylic, paper, digital on hardboard) "Pray look better, Sir... those things yonder are no giants, but windmills." In 1605 a novel appeared which has become one of the most beloved stories of European literature. It is the tale of Don Quixote, the tall gaunt knight-errant, gentle buffoon and dreamer astride his fallible steed,

Rippling outward still further

2010-06-16T10:36:00.001-07:00

The momentum is growing. Kelly of Ripple is doing the most incredible work in her bid to help the mammals and sea creatures who are victims of the Deep Water Horizon Gulf Oil Spill. Artists from all over the world are contributing original works to raise funds to benefit charities working hard to alleviate the suffering caused by this horrendous disaster. Please visit her blog to see for

The Ripple Effect - Haematopus ostraleguis

2010-06-14T09:43:00.001-07:00

Who could not love a bird called a Haematopus Ostraleguis? According to my very well handled and battered bird book, Oystercatchers are found on coasts worldwide - apart from the polar regions and some tropical regions of Africa and South East Asia. My rather naive representation of this black and white species of Oystercatcher is found all along British coastlines and waterways.

The Fairest Cape

2010-06-10T10:26:00.001-07:00

“Perhaps it was history that ordained that it be here, at the Cape of Good Hope that we should lay the foundation stone of our new nation. For it was here at this Cape, over three centuries ago, that there began the fateful convergence of the peoples of Africa, Europe and Asia on these shores.” ~ Nelson Mandela, Inauguration Speech, May 9 1994 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley

A light touch

2010-06-08T04:31:00.001-07:00

Norfolk Zen ~ Holkham, June 7 My favourite time of day is just as the sun gently touches the horizon when all thoughts of what must be done stop and small pools of light come alive. Home to roost ~ Holkham June 7

A Cultural Potpourri

2010-06-06T09:57:00.001-07:00

Some of you know me as that chronically homesick African who was whisked away from her beloved land quite recently by an Englishman to live for a while in his country. What can a girl do but pack and follow? Especially since the Englishman in question in my husband of 30 something years and he feels – probably quite justifiably – that it’s his turn to spend time in the country of his birth

Now

2010-06-05T11:45:00.001-07:00

Time is a brisk wind, for each hour it brings something new... but who can understand and measure its sharp breath, its mystery and its design? ~Paracelsus Yes, Paracelsus, I couldn't agree more. How serendipitous, then, than the NaBloPoMo theme for June 2010 is NOW. Time is running out and I'm trying like a crazy person to keep up with it. You know the kind of thing - too many pots

“No good fish goes anywhere without a porpoise.” IF prompt is 'slither'

2010-05-30T10:33:00.001-07:00

A mackerel remarked to a trout: "So what was that swordfish about? I found him quite rude with a bad attitude and a pointy and dangerous snout! Fish Fish - 2009 I have deep and abiding devotion For what lives on the floor of the ocean. There's nothing profounder Than coral and flounder, And the benthos is god's greatest notion.

Food, glorious food.

2010-05-25T10:37:00.001-07:00

Thank you for all your wonderful words of encouragement and love and inspiration when things got a bit melancholy in my last post. As I've said before - you, dear bloggy pals, are the chocolate buttons of LOVELINESS on the great Caramel Pudding of LIFE. And speaking of food..... How many of you have been presented with weird and wonderful menus or exceedingly dubious dinners during your

IF - Early

2010-05-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

This is for Guy, Georgina and Alexandra. With all the love in the world. Carpe Diem - Holkham Beach, Norfolk 2010 She sat there and looked until the light began to fade and then slowly she felt the pieces of her life fall away gently and suddenly she understood what it meant and she sat there for a long time crying and laughing all at the same time. I want to

Party Animals

2010-05-14T10:24:00.001-07:00

The following photograph carries a warning: STAND BACK! Distinct possibility that the g'mama may explode with pride. EN GARDE! Henry, nearly 6. The Gemini part of May and June is a crazy, cork-popping, balloon-bursting, gift-giving, merry-making humdinger of a time for us. As a family we have a veritable cacophony of birthdays. Two grandboys; both daughters;

Dancing with the pen

2010-05-09T08:29:00.001-07:00

"How are you doing, Mama?" "I'm good, thank you darling. You know....dancing as fast as I can!" She looked at me smiling, then leaned over my studio table, grabbed a pencil and started sketching. A moment or two of concentrated silence and she handed me a drawing..... "You've often reminded us that dance is part of a 'noble education'. This is to show you I really do understand and that

Opening Lines. Whose brain has turned?

2010-04-29T10:27:00.001-07:00

The Light Stays On by brilliant blog pal Karen Jasper of Options For A Better World. “Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere.” Jean Rhys Chillin’ with a book – Seychelles 2010 Susan Sanford of ArtSpark Theatre (whose brain appears to be very much intact, contrary to Mrs. Stuart’s hysterical

“She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”

2010-04-22T09:51:00.001-07:00

Work: A Story of Experience by Louisa May Alcott ~ excerpt from Chapter II “Mrs. Stuart, though in her most regal array, seemed to have left her dignity downstairs with her opera cloak, for with skirts gathered loosely about her, tiara all askew, and face full of fear and anger, she stood upon a chair and scolded like any shrew. The comic overpowered the tragic, and being a little

How can you buy the sky?

2010-04-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

The Illustration Friday prompt for this week is ‘Linked’. That got me thinking… “In every conceivable manner, the family is the link to our past, the bridge to our future.” ~ Arthur Haley ~ ** Warning: This is a self-indulgent, nostalgic pictorial meander. Switch off now if you think you might gag! ** A visit with Grandma You must keep the land and

Whale Whispers

2010-03-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

When I was discharged from hospital in Cape Town after The Big Fright with jelly legs and strict instructions to rest up until I was allowed to fly back to England, I would spend lazy zen-like days gazing out to sea from my splendid eyrie above the rocks in Bantry Bay. One morning, while I was idly watching a gull soar and dip in graceful circles against the flawless blue of an African sky

How did it get so late so soon? One World Draw.

2010-03-22T07:18:00.001-07:00

`Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' Life is a race, where some succeed, While others are beginning; 'Tis luck, at times, at others, speed, That gives an early winning. But, if you chance to fall behind, Ne'er slacken your endeavour; Just keep this wholesome truth in mind: 'Tis better late than never! ~ John Dyer Huge apologies for

The Tip of Africa - Cape Agulhas

2010-03-19T11:34:00.001-07:00

Lighthouse Reflections – L’ Agulhas, Western Cape – February 2010 In that happy place where everything seemed so simple and obvious, my inability to face up to my condition was breathtakingly stupid. It came back to kiss me on the ass big time! Serves me right for being in such idiotic denial! Hey, but at least I was home…. back in my beloved Africa – and here, on this glorious sunny day

Africa Adieu, Hambe Kahle Renee & Illustration Friday - ‘subterranean’

2010-03-14T08:30:00.001-07:00

We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself. Gore Vidal Hello again, dear bloggy friends. I got back to Norfolk on Thursday after the most glorious, amazing, astonishing

Illustration Friday - Focused

2010-01-31T02:04:00.001-08:00

During the long dreary days – and nights, sometimes – she’d spent in hospital over the last several months she had focused with laser like intensity on transporting herself away from blips and beeps and whirs of those sterile wards to the wild wide spaces she loved most in all the world. Very dearest blog friends – thank you all very much for being so supportive during my enforced

One World, One Heart – Life and Love in The Big Smoke

2010-01-25T09:59:00.001-08:00

Lifting my petticoats high, I raced down the track and leapt up onto the flying carpet today to join in with hundreds of other bloggers from all over the world who are participating in the One World, One Heart Giveaway. This is an annual event hosted by Lisa at A Whimsical Bohemian who started the party back in 2007 with just a handful of bloggy friends. It has grown immeasurably since

Illustration Friday – Clumsy

2010-01-22T10:52:00.001-08:00

“One clumsy teeter in this dress and you’re flat on your face,” she warned. I thought about all the clumsy teeters I tottered and decided that it definitely wasn’t for me.

Eating The Daisies

2010-01-15T08:53:00.001-08:00

Austria 1946 Our Papa’s mantra for a rich and fulfilling life was simple. “All you need, darlings” he would say as he hugged us close. “Are just three things: someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to.” I’m lucky enough to have all those things in abundance, but each year I make a point of adding something new to my ‘looking forward to’ list. So this year I’ve

Night Flight and Pithiviers

2010-01-08T11:23:00.001-08:00

Writer extraordinaire Jason Evans of The Clarity of Night is hosting another of those imagination enhancing Short Fiction Contests – this time the prompt is “Silhouette”. The limit is 250 words and any genre or form is welcome so long as it is inspired by the "Silhouette" photo on his blog. The deadline is January 13th so there is still lots of time. Go on – give it a bash! Here is my

Illustration Friday - Renewal

2010-01-03T05:36:00.001-08:00

It is at the coast where horizons are infinite and footprints few under a sky you can almost touch that the sea, whatever its mood, never fails to fill me with a sense of renewal. “When you do dance, I wish you a wave of the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that” William Shakespeare - The Winter’s Tale

A Dance to the Blue Moon

2009-12-31T12:27:00.001-08:00

I wish you all, wherever you may be, the most wonderful New Year ever. I hope that every precious dream comes true for you in 2010. For the start of this new decade, I’d like to paraphrase the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Ellen Goodman…… More often than not, we tend to spend January 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be

Krismasi Njema!

2009-12-23T06:32:00.001-08:00

Sing hey! Sing hey! For Christmas Day; Twine mistletoe and holly. For friendship glows In winter snows, And so let's all be jolly! I send love and hugs and the warmest of wishes from my world to yours for the most wonderful Christmas ever! It’s a white Christmas here in Norfolk, both inside and out…. I hope

A very special treasure

2009-10-20T07:02:00.001-07:00

I just had to pop back in to show you all this most exquisite of drawings by my special sisterfriend Ces. Ces is currently working on a series of exceptionally wonderful drawings entitled The Secret Society of Oaks where she depicts her sisterfriends as Oak Nymphs and today she gave me this most precious of gifts! Here is Queen Nymph #10 of the series…and it is ME! Can you believe the

Soul food and farewell for now

2009-10-17T10:56:00.001-07:00

"There is nothing - absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." Ratty, The Wind in the Willows High Tide. Do you remember, when you were young, coming inside after wonderfully busy day and the sun-tingling, sleepy-happy feeling you had and, most of all, how absolutely starving hungry you were? Low Tide. Our particular piece of paradise is

A Plastic Plague – Blog Action Day

2009-10-15T09:20:00.001-07:00

One day, one issue, thousands of voices. Today is Blog Action Day where bloggers from all over the world will speak their minds about climate change. In that context, I’ve decided to take a kind of sideways look at how we human beings impact on our planet. Have you heard of the North Pacific Gyre, an area the size of a small continent, covered with floating refuse - bottles, tangles of

Cheek to Cheek at Willow Manor

2009-10-13T10:04:00.001-07:00

Heaven... I'm in heaven, And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak. And I seem to find the happiness I seek, When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek. Heaven... I'm in heaven, And the cares that hung around me through the week, Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak, When we're out together dancing cheek to cheek. Oh, I

The Sisterhood Award

2009-10-12T10:05:00.001-07:00

Way back, when I first started blogging, I came across a woman who - apart from being the most exceptional artist I encountered for a very long time - was witty, passionate, enormously erudite, sometimes controversial, deeply knowledgeable on many diverse subjects and, above all, a warm and generous soul. I used to sneak in to look at her latest paintings, her intricate and highly detailed

The Shock of the New

2009-10-09T12:10:00.001-07:00

“The animal brains and pulverised jet engine are a hit with the critics, but if you want to look like a true connoisseur, pretend to see shapes in a swirly golden mural” Leo Benedictus, Guardian. The Turner Prize 2009 Exhibition opened at the Tate Britain on Tuesday and I’m dragging a kicking and screaming Guy - rigorous traditionalist - there next week. (Actually, I think he just pretends

Germs – Illustration Friday on Monday

2009-10-05T09:47:00.001-07:00

I’m always in a state of hurry these days, it seems, so this is my hurried take on the Illustration Friday prompt. (Someone somewhere once said, ‘One of the great disadvantages of hurry is that it takes such a long time’. Too true!) Kisses blown are kisses wasted. Kisses aren't kisses unless they are tasted. Kisses spread germs and germs are hated. So kiss me baby;

It’s existential, honey…and it tastes good, too.

2009-10-03T05:47:00.001-07:00

The picture below is my response to an irresistible challenge initiated by the highly original and accomplished artist, Susan Sanford of Art Spark Theatre fame. Susan’s challenge was to complete her drawing seen here, and then to link back to her site when done. Do whizz over to Art Spark Theatre to see other participant’s entries, or to take up the challenge yourselves! My mother

A Moment of Magic

2009-09-30T07:59:00.001-07:00

"When we look at a photograph, a moment of magic occurs. It is as if someone had laid a sheet of translucent paper over our thoughts and made a tracing of our memories." Tom Bentkowski Sorting through a bookshelf full of albums this morning with the intention of putting our pre-digital photographs on CD for safe-keeping before we move house, I paused for a moment when I saw

Great Snoring Discovery

2009-09-27T10:49:00.001-07:00

"This house," said the real estate salesman, "has both its good points and its bad points. To show you I'm honest, I'm going to tell you about both. The disadvantages are that there is a chemical plant quarter of a mile to the north and a slaughterhouse quarter of a mile to the south. "What are the advantages?" inquired the prospective buyer. "The advantage is that you can always tell which

Illustration Friday – Pattern

2009-09-25T09:05:00.001-07:00

‘Lori’s Diamond’ It’s true that life forms illogical patterns. I think those patterns are mostly haphazard, but hugely exciting and full of beauties which I try to catch as they fly by, for who knows whether any of them will ever return.

Guest chef for the day in Lola’s kitchen!

2009-09-24T04:39:00.001-07:00

A Cultural Potpourri As an avid reader and admirer of Lola’s splendiferous Aglio, Olio & Peperoncino blog since its inception, I was absolutely tickled pink to be invited by her to be a guest chef for a day. It is truly an honour, especially since Lola is a culinary magician who transports us – with enormous flair and eloquence – to her Italian ‘headquarters’ in the Eternal City and shares

Possible Dreams – The Winner

2009-09-23T06:23:00.001-07:00

Good Dreams – Treasure Hunting by Henry Thank you all SO much for taking the time to tell us all about your dreams in my Build A Bridge post. You shared with us the good, the bad and the ugly. For you all, I wish only good things...always and in all ways. Georgie found it very hard to pick a winner - KJ's story of Henry the lion is beyond delightful and having her very own

Win a dream, build a bridge.

2009-09-15T06:41:00.001-07:00

Moon Dancer ~ The Night Mare “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams” Jonas Salk Have you ever seen a starving child? Have you ever seen a child in rags? Have you ever seen a mother – so tired and so ill - in tears not because she is dying, but because she cannot look after her children? Have you ever watched a

Illustration Friday – Strong

2009-09-04T10:21:00.001-07:00

Self Portrait – after Modigliani My Papa was a wonderfully prolific and articulate letter writer and it was he who sent this quote to me many years ago when I was in a bit of a dilemma about my future during my final term at school. I haven’t a clue who said these words initially - all I know is that I do love what it says. “It's not enough to have a dream unless you’re willing to pursue

Blogland Dreams

2009-09-02T03:50:00.001-07:00

One way of getting to know a country really, really well is to go house hunting. In the search for our dream cottage, we’ve been up the side of mountains, down into the valleys, across the marshes and broads, over the downs, along the coast and into any number of villages. To no avail. Yet. Rather than getting into a right royal tizzy, I thought I’d better concentrate on my Blogland Lane

Illustration Friday – Magnify

2009-08-28T10:00:00.001-07:00

Morning Catch “There are cultural issues everywhere - in Bangladesh, Latin America, Africa, wherever you go. But somehow when we talk about cultural differences, we magnify those differences.” ~ Muhammad Yunus ~ My kind of hero! Muhammad Yunus is the Bangladeshi economist who won the 2006 Nobel Prize for pioneering a new category of banking known as micro-credit, which grants

Armadillo: crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle.

2009-08-26T07:38:00.001-07:00

You know that tired old cliché – it never rains, but it pours? I was thinking about that a while ago, when England was trying very hard not to have a summer. The days weren’t cold, but they were cloudy and grey. There was this mean little drizzle which kept everything just a bit damp and a tiny bit dismal, and which I found irritating in the extreme. Why - I muttered crossly to myself -

A Transformative Moment

2009-08-19T06:51:00.001-07:00

The luminously talented Steven from The Golden Fish has inspired his bloggy friends and followers from around the world to write about a transformative moment in their life, and post it today. He, too, will share his absorbing story with us, and will link us to other writers, photographers and artists who have written of a moment suspended in time which changed them, influenced or inspired them.

IF on Monday - Wrapped

2009-08-17T09:47:00.001-07:00

‘Let’s Face It’ Araminta was so wrapped up in herself, she was positively overdressed. **Do zoom over to Illustration Friday to browse a truly awe-inspiring selection of other artists’ interpretations of the weekly prompt**

IF – Impatience (and Matatu Mayhem)

2009-08-08T10:39:00.001-07:00

Where is that Matatu? Before you see a Matatu, you can hear it. A cacophony of blaring horns and crackling, decibel-distorting speakers pounding away with the latest hip-hop, reggae or some central African beat will herald its imminent arrival. The conductor will be hanging precariously from the side of the van, yelling like a banshee and as the Matatu slows down, about 3 million people

A Wild Dexterity

2009-08-05T07:28:00.001-07:00

Ross’ s Turaco Chambura Gorge sneaks up on you and its appearance - a deep forested gash across the Rift Valley floor - can take your breath away. Despite its misty beauty, the name Chambura has an ominous ring to it. In the local language it means "search and fail" – so called because the fast-flowing river on the bed of the gorge together with crocodile and leopard meant that tribal

Flying Carpets

2009-08-03T09:46:00.001-07:00

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~ Leonardo da Vinci ‘Sailing the Ssese Islands’ I’ve never been much of a grump. I’ve been uppity-downity sometimes, but I could generally laugh myself out of it quite quickly. Now, however, I seem to be getting grumpier and grumpier as each day passes. Maybe it’s because England doesn’t seem to want to have a summer this year. Or maybe, as

Peeves Please

2009-08-01T07:34:00.001-07:00

Princess Bagaya & Ptolemy Pet Peeves are those little things in life that really irritate or frustrate you. They can be things that aren't designed or made correctly, or things people do that just frustrate the heck out of you. So what drives you crazy? My particular peeve is that exceptionally annoying person who sidles up to you when you’ve finally found time to curl up in your

You wanna buy louse?

2009-07-30T05:46:00.001-07:00

South Down Farm I’m writhing in remorse and festooned with guilt. As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been extremely tardy about visiting my favourite blogs recently. See, the thing is…..we are selling South Down and it’s been all hands on deck getting the house ship-shape and ready to sail the turbulent seas of real estate brokering. Drawing Room The photographer has been and gone,

IF – Idle

2009-07-27T06:24:00.001-07:00

‘Daydreaming’ "Sit in reverie and watch the changing colour of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

Stukkie, Stompie and the Countess

2009-07-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

It wasn’t very long ago that three friends decided to leave their respective husbands, abandon their children, cast responsibilities to the four winds and set off to conquer Africa. And we did it! **Giraffe at Nyala are for Lola and Mr. E, with love**Two of the three were me (aka ‘Stompie’) and my sister, Janie (aka The Countess). Jane de S. (aka ‘Stukkie’) was our wonderfully eccentric and

IF - Tango

2009-07-20T07:27:00.001-07:00

Nakasero Market Come with me to Nakasero Market in Kampala where we’ll find the freshest and plumpest of mangos all artfully arranged in towering piles or laid out like big sun-burnished jewels in palm leaf baskets. Or, if it’s a little too hot for the crowded jostle of brightly clad ladies arguing prices at the top of their voices, we could just step into the garden

Of Sultans and Slaves

2009-07-15T12:25:00.001-07:00

I was looking through an album of photographs I took in Zanzibar a few years ago. I wanted to remind myself of that languorous, deeply sensual island with its coral fringed reefs and steamy tropical vegetation because I’d just finished reading Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Admiring Silence. It’s a tale of a man hopelessly enmeshed in a trap of his own making. After fleeing Zanzibar for England, the

IF – Hollow

2009-07-13T03:35:00.001-07:00

The Hollow Men ~ T S Eliot ~ We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass.

In Vino Veritas ~ A Mother/Daughter Collaboration

2009-07-10T06:11:00.001-07:00

‘Solitude, sometimes’ Alexandra Edwards Vermilion Reflections by Tessa Edwards For seven long winters I carried your picture around in an old damp suitcase and now you will be here on Monday, at noontime. Is it you that I remember in your navy blue raincoat coloured against November? Did we walk together through the stench of the Metro

Appellation Angst

2009-07-08T10:04:00.001-07:00

Still on the subject of book titles – previous post – I’ve got a challenge for you! See, the thing is I’ve written a novel. It’s all ready to be submitted, but I just can’t for the life of me think of a suitable title. Please may I ruffle your brain feathers just for a moment, dear bloggy friends, because mine are all damp and bedraggled. What do you think would be a suitable title for this

Seduction

2009-07-06T03:30:00.001-07:00

Are you secretly seduced by the cover of a book….. ….or is it the title that whispers suggestively to you? Of course, there are authors you grow to love and you wait avidly for the launch of their latest book, but when you go into a favourite bookstore how do you make your selection while wandering in a state of bliss between the shelves and around the tables stacked high with

Illustration Friday – Shaky

2009-07-03T09:38:00.001-07:00

‘DANCING REFLECTIONS II’ Despite a rather shaky start, she felt that the rehearsal had gone well.

Jolly Boating Weather and Other Seaside Miscellany

2009-07-01T09:44:00.001-07:00

It was indomitable Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic of the Wall Street Journal, who said ~ “Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jewelled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.” And speaking of drunk, the first time I ever tasted Pimms I

IF - ‘Worn’ and a giveaway….

2009-06-28T04:03:00.001-07:00

Dance Me To The End Of Love Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin Dance me through the panic 'til I'm gathered safely in Lift me like an olive branch and be my homeward dove Dance me to the end of love Dance me to the end of love Oh let me see your beauty when the witnesses are gone Let me feel you moving like they do in Babylon Show me slowly

The Art of Dyeing

2009-06-24T08:00:00.001-07:00

Aspiration.....I dyed this morning. And it’s Guy’s fault. You see, last Sunday I was sprawled on the sitting room floor reading The Times Book Review when Guy sauntered in trailing a couple of acres of grass clippings across the freshly vacuumed carpet.“Are you making coffee?” he asked.“No,” I replied tersely. “If you look closely, you’ll see I’m reading the paper.”There was a momentary silence

IF - Drifting

2009-06-21T10:18:00.001-07:00

A hot, steamy bath is a luxurious and sensuous way to clear the debris of the day, open intuition, soothe the psyche and indulge the self. Light some deliciously scented candles, fill the bath with bubbles, lie back and relax while drifting off to that tropical paradise far, far beyond reality. Meanwhile, your man is in the kitchen preparing a meal to suit the mood. Could it be that

Summer Boys

2009-06-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

The Unseen Playmate When children are playing alone on the green, In comes the playmate that never was seen. When children are happy and smiling and good, The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood. Nobody heard him, and nobody saw, His is a picture you never could draw, But he's sure to be present, abroad or at home, When children are happy and playing alone. He lies in the

Isn't She Lovely...Isn't She Won-der-ful.....

2009-06-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

"Poor brownie bear….," she howled. "Poor, poor brownie bear."Everyone turned to look at the sobbing child in astonishment. She was clutching onto the railings as though her life depended on it, tears streaming down her cheeks, her cloud of blond curls lit golden in the sharp highveldt sunlight. ‘Poor brownie bear,’ she repeated piteously. "No Mummy, no Daddy, no Tessie, no Janie…poor, poor

Waiting for Gözleme

2009-06-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

That’s Guy up there, on his birthday, in the little open air market in Atyaka hungrily waiting for his gözleme. Gözleme are the most delicious filled crepes that are folded over and grilled on an oiled hotplate. No matter where you are in Turkey, you’ll find a gözleme stall somewhere - even in the most remote villages of Anatolia.Up there in her stall is Aysha, a genius with a rolling pin. These

Siyabonga

2009-06-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

Hello dearest bloggy friends – I’m back! Back from a beautiful land where time has stood still in many places and where the people are warm and smiling and generous. A place where men wear richly patterned kufi, perched on their heads like little acorn caps and where the women, with their white headscarves and billowing skirts over baggy trousers called salvar, trundle along slowly on donkey

The Sweetness of Friendship

2009-05-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

“In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, for in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.” Kahlil GilbranYou know what? I have a confession to make and it’s this: sometimes I'm so moved by the generosity and sweet thoughtfulness of my wonderfully inspiring bloggy friends that I get all choked up! It could be because of a post which reaches out to touch

A Wild Aroma

2009-05-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ooooh, yummy! I just had to pop in and tell you all that my kitchen is suffused with the most wonderful smell of garlic! Not from a store bought bulb, but fresh and untamed from my garden. I picked a bunch of leaves from the carpet of wild garlic which is growing like a crazy thing in my herb bed a little earlier and left some on my chopping board for a few minutes. The fragrance is all

The Reading Pod Traveller

2009-05-18T09:40:00.000-07:00

Gak! Just when I thought I could fling off all my clothes and leap about in floaty-light African cotton, it’s another gloomy, grey Tupperware Day here on the Mud Bank. Ah well, rather than whinge or whine or shriek or sob or go to bed and waste away and blame Guy for being English and wanting to experience at least a portion of his adult life in his own country, I will fire up my Reading Pod and

Illustration Friday - Contagious

2009-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:00