sounds of home

ah man, the big blue sky, the warmth, the sounds, the brilliant colours, the smell of home!

i was sitting at my boy's computer this morning, catching up on my emails, when ...

"meeeeeelieeees"

i guess only another exiled south african would understand the simple pleasure this shout (screech?) brought to my heart. mealies ... for those of you who have not sojourned under african skies ... mealies are fresh maize, still on the cob. in summer when the crops ripen, vendors will balance a load on their head and wander the streets. the shout of "meeeelieees" alerts the local residents to the fact that fresh mealies are out, about and available for purchase.

what spells 'home' for me?
today it was that familiar call.

going south

there is a wee bit of a gale blowing this morning! so now we have the wind chill factor ...ugh ...

today i can allow myself to be a little churlish about the weather. come tuesday i fly home to south africa for a month.

of course, south africa is no longer really home, these old bones of mine have settled down pretty comfortably in scotland.
still and all, she is the motherland, familiar, beloved and full of family and friends.

january and february are two of the hottest months. i will probably last a whole day before i start bitching about the heat.

three and a half years since my last visit! i have purchased a fancy new mobile phone with a rather cool camera, who knows, read the instruction book and i may well have some photos to share on my blog.
dear readers ... please don't hold your breath, merely a passing thought!

i have not done much planning for this visit. i arrive in johannesburg on the 14th and will probably spend a couple of weeks with pj and gereth. pj turns 30 on the 16th january and he is throwing a huge birthday bash ... my boy is quite the party planner, unlike his mom who considers a dvd, a chinese take away and a bottle of red a most excellent way to celebrate!

once the party is over i will be off on my travels, spending time with my beloved siblings and catching up with dear friends.

hopefully ...
a few blogable events will occur.
with a little luck ...
i will manage to remember them.


Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.

Cyril Connolly (1903 - 1974)


After being Turned Down by numerous Publishers, he had decided to write for Posterity.

George Ade (1866 - 1944), "Fables in Slang", 1899

wordspinner

i want to be read! i need to be read!

please pimp my new poetry blog!

i am an unpublished poet who needs to share my words with the world.

i dream of a thousand poetic hits a day ... well a girl can dream, can't she?

yeah ... i know i blog but...
my poetry is what i'm really about.

wordspinner

where i will share my favourite favourites.

new year colds, bird feeders and travel

i was supposed to go to a party on new years eve... or is it old years eve? anyhow, the evening of december 31st.

hah!

instead i joined the ranks of the suffering, sniffing, coughing and spluttering.

i had spent christmas eve with my beloved (even though, oft germ carrying) grandchildren.
of course they shared, why would they not? our family, on the whole, are deeply generous when it comes to sharing. after all ... a virus shared ...

i greeted 2009 in a bleary eyed state, unfortunately not caused by over indulgence.




i have recently joined the ranks of 'the wild bird feeders'.

come christmas time, the dwp (that would be the department for work and pensions for any non british readers) are overwhelmed with a sense of yuletide generosity
us social pensioners receive a ten pound christmas bonus!
who needs capitalism ...
bring us your poor, your disabled, your elderly and we will make their festive season jingle ...

so there i was, with an extra ten pounds in my bank account.

zounds!

i bought a bird feeder, bird seed and a bunch of fat balls. best investment i ever made.
hang your fat balls and they will come!

of course, once you start, you can't stop. uh uh! the feathered scroungers grow to depend on you which leaves me with a problem. i am due to fly off home to south africa for a month, my youngest turns thirty on the 16th and he and his partner, have bought mommy dearest a ticket home,

guess i will need to engage a wild bird sitter whilst i'm away.