My best school friend and I put the finishing touches to the taverna. We struggled to bolt heavy steel brackets into the walls to hold the pelmet covering the massive sliding doors that opened onto an equal size veranda and then the garden. We screwed a three split pole planks onto the bracket to hide…
Conversations about Pigs
One year when my brother and I were teenagers my father sent us to Greece in December. The trade-off for going to spend 3 weeks in the village was a few days skiing in Seefeld, Austria. Two years before that my father had taken my brother alone on a winter trip. All I remember from…
Conversations about Recognition
We were out to dinner with some friends last night and the chef was one of Ines’ patients from about two years back. Ines had never been to Vintage India but knew she worked there and looked for her to say hello. They both recognised each other. But that’s not the kind of recognition I…
Conversations about Breathing
I enjoy meditating. I wait for the slowing of my heartbeat and breath to allow my soul to connect to who I am. I start the morning in peace and hope for a better day. When my father was agitated or angry his breathing would speed up. If he thought the issue at hand was…
Converations from Tripolis
I have walked from Tripolis to Kakouri. One third of the distance might include the outskirts of Tripolis, until you reach the provincial road to Levidi that crosses your path perpendicularly. After this the road narrows. There is a small church on cement stilts opposite on the right. The road narrows and has a shiny…
Conversations on St Basil’s Day
I am sitting on the veranda at Costa Calla in the Karkloof Mountains do the Midlands of KwaZulu Natal. The Old Year ended with a big storm and then mist and drizzle as we turned in to bed before midnight. The New Year has started with a clear bright sunrise at 4:45 am and a…
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