This collection on http://www.archive.org houses the speeches of Peter Stathoulis, my late father, a prominent member of the Greek diaspora in South Africa. The speeches, numbering around one hundred, cover aspects of his life and his involvement in the Greek community in Alberton and South Africa from the 1960s to the late 2000s. They serve…
A Magical Chess Tournament
Umhlabuyalingana, known for its mystic roots and powerful magic, welcomes visitors seeking guidance in money matters, love, and ancestral affairs. Just across from the Hlulabantu Chess Club, a prominent road sign marks the entrance to this enchanting place, often capturing the attention of passersby who stop for a quick photo to share on social media.…
A Chess Garden is Born
I wrote about Lucky and his Hlulabantu Chess Club and posted it on my blog, and Craig Mitchell kindly published it in his Khakibush Magazine. After the publicity, some friends passed by and left money with Lucky. Lucky asked the children what they wanted to do with it. Unanimously, they all said they should play…
A Lucky Day of Chess
Early in the New Year of 2024 I was invited to meet Lucky. He messaged me to say he had a gift for me. A few months ago I was driving up to Tembe Elephant Park in northern KwaZulu Natal with Mike and Liz. The R22 winds along the flats from Hluhluwe north to Tongaland.…
Blessing
This week sees me in the office only for a few hours. I decided to drive across the city yesterday to meet with supportive friends for lunch. All three of us are fully vaccinated. Along the way in the suburbs there were still people parked at strategic barriers erected to prevent free movement into the…
Broken
Thirty years ago I stood on the rooftop of Edendale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg where I had started my orthopedic training. I looked up the Sweetwater Valley. It reminded me of the opening of Alan Paton’s book, Cry, the Beloved Country: “There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered…
Breaking Point
It was a cold day in Durban. Sixteen degrees Celsius is cold for us on the East Coast of sub-tropical Africa. I had made a trip through the suburbs to drop something off for my theatre scrub sister. The roadblocks are manned by community commandos, most of who are my patients and it’s easy to pass…
Another Stray Bullet
I had an uneasy weekend. One the one hand I was watching the Covid-19 figures around the country and in my region of KwaZulu-Natal. We are waiting for the third wave to hit our hospital. Last week we stopped planned surgeries and reviewed our planning and capacity to deal with the surge. On the other…
The Naming of People
T.S. Elliot wrote a collection of poems on cats. One of the poems is called “The Naming of Cats” and it starts like this: The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,It isn’t just one of your holiday games; You may think at first I’m as mad as a hatter When I tell you, a cat must…
The Tree of Life
I had been searching for a year. Because of the pandemic, in spite of the pandemic and to heal from the pandemic. Finally in May this year I was gifted what seemed to have become an impossible task. I messaged the hospital manager : “the trees have arrived. I’ll come by later in the week…
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