HER VOYAGE.

The wind howled and blew her long auburn hair into her eyes as she sat on the back staircase of deck 8.    She looked into the swirling ocean waters and her mind whirled with thoughts going around and around in her brain.   Her favourite spot on the boat was here.   Watching the sun rises and the magnificent sunsets!   Watching the birds following the ship and marvelling at the calm beautiful sea suddenly turn into a raging turbulent cauldron as it was today.

Two more days until we reach our destination and nothing has happened!

Her mind numbing, boring life had taken an unexpected turn when she had inherited a small sum of money from an old aunt she had never set eyes on.   All sorts of ideas had opened up to her to help her out of her humdrum life.

She could invest in a little coffee shop.   A dream she had long since nurtured!

She could go back to university and do a course.   Perhaps a fine art degree!   Everyone had said she was quite artistic at school!

The thing she longed for more than anything was a man to love her and children of her own but after the untimely demise of both her parents she had become a recluse.   She found it difficult to relate to people and she had crept out of society.

Trawling through the internet she came across a ‘Cruise of a lifetime”.    It promised romance, adventure, broadening of the mind with cultural expeditions, theatrical extravaganzas, unimaginable cuisine and 2500 passengers to mingle and mix with.

This is it, she thought.    This is what I will spend the money on.   I will meet likeminded people and even the man of my dreams and we will live happily ever after!   She paid her deposit and set about preparing for her holiday.   Her voyage!

Clothes and accessories were bought.   A whole new makeover was embarked on.   Excitement filled the air.   She booked flights to Italy to meet the boat and when there was no money left in the coffers she packed her suitcases, locked up her funny little flat and made her way to the airport.

Life would never be the same again!

Ocean going cruise liners are a smorgasbord of experiences.   Sometimes not for the feint hearted yet she threw herself into the way of life on board.   She attended all the talks, the documentaries, the cabarets.   She went to the Captain’s cocktail party.   She signed up for gym and aerobics classes.   She thoroughly enjoyed the arts and crafts lessons and spent a lot of time in the library.  The dancing lessons were invigorating. When they docked at various ports she found the expeditions amazing and enlightening.

Yet she felt lonelier than ever.

People were kind and friendly but everyone had their own partner or friend and they never seem to include her in their circle of friends.

Time passed so quickly and the reality had just hit her as she sat at the back of deck 8 watching the swirling waters and felt the strong winds buffet the ship.

I have not met the man of my dreams and I have spent every cent of my inheritance and my savings.   What more is there for me?

He looked at the forlorn figure sitting with head cupped in her hands.   Her beautiful auburn hair blew in a frenzy about her face and she did not seem to care.   He had watched her from a distance for most of the cruise but because of his extreme shyness he had not approached her.   She seemed so sure of herself and so confident yet she did not have anyone special with her.   Maybe she was meeting someone at the end of the cruise.   He had heard how some women sailed out to meet their men in far flung places.

How he longed to chat to her.   How he longed to touch her beautiful hair.

Suddenly he watched in horror as she stood up and with great determination climbed the railing and dived into the swirling waters.   His heart seemed to stop!

MAN OVERBOARD!!!    The shout went up.

He threw the nearest lifebuoy he could find into the water near to her bobbing head and shouted.   ‘Hold on, I am coming’

She looked up and their eyes met.    With that he leapt off the railings into the water as she slowly began to sink.

It never occurred to him that he could not swim!

WHERE FRIENDS AND FOOD MEET

WHERE FRIENDS AND FOOD MEET

An article written by

Marilyn Mills

What better place to meet than at La Popote restaurant and Sue Tarr’s Summerhouse in Hilton on a warm Saturday morning.

The venue is small and intimate but the garden is amazing and the beautiful trees and umbrellas give ample shade and cover.   When it is misty and rainy as it often is in Hilton the inside is snug and warm often with the fire burning brightly in the corner.

A group of us ,who are like ships passing in the night, decided to meet recently and catch up.   I chose the venue and we were blessed with a really spectacular day in Hilton filled with lovely soft sunshine and a quiet little breeze.

We arrived at La Popote just as the breakfast rush was over and we enjoyed a lazy mid-morning coffee break with indulgences in the form of freshly baked scones with raspberry jam and cream, carrot cake and French lemon tarts.   A real treat!

Lesley, the owner, always greets everyone as her friend and makes one feel completely at home.   The little shop attached to the restaurant is very popular and one can browse for hours.

Friends for years made up for lost time and were able to 

lose any sense of time for a few happy hours.

WHO LET THE DOGS OUT....

Who let the dogs out…..

Meandering around the Kzn Midlands Meander is one of our favourite things and having breakfast on a Sunday at one of the many venues is the cherry on the top.

Our youngest son and his girlfriend were visiting and as they love Terbedore Coffee they suggested we go out to their venue at Curry’s Post for breakfast and top up our coffee pantries at the same time.

So it was that we found ourselves visiting the renovated barn with ‘quaint farm style chic’ for breakfast recently.   We were greeted by Sultan- the resident Great Dane who is also their brand ambassador.   Terbedore started in 2004 when the family Macaskill sourced the finest coffee beans and began roasting with ‘patience, courage, heritage and dependability’.

We were first introduced to Terbedore coffee when visiting family in Franschhoek.   Michael Macaskill had opened a coffee tasting venue just outside Franschhoek on the Cape wine route and it proved to be a very popular spot for tourists.

Our breakfasts proved to be amazing.   This is no ordinary venue for breakfasts and lunches.   This is where innovation and love of good food and delicious coffee reside.

The boys ordered the special of the day which was a potato rosti served with boerewors, bacon, roast tomatoes, eggs and hollandaise sauce topped with crumbled feta cheese.   This was served in a frying pan.    WOW!!!

Meg had sautéed potatoes with poached eggs,  mushrooms and rocket.

I had sweetcorn fritters (my favourite) with scrambled egg, bacon and roasted cherry tomatoes.

This was served with their very best coffees.   Rob enjoys their Tin Cup coffee (Filtered coffee mixed with condensed milk served in an enamel mug.)   We loved our cappuccinos .

Needless to say we did not need to eat for the rest of the day!

We suggest you book as this venue becomes very popular over a weekend.

It is worth a trip as the coffee is much cheaper there than in the shops.  

TEA FOR TWO

TEA FOR TWO

Written by

Marilyn Mills

One Saturday morning while meandering around Howick, after we had visited the Karkloof Morning Market, we decided to stop off at Ray’s Café in the tourist hub for a really welcome cup of coffee.   It was a muggy day and we opted to sit outside on the pavement where a gentle breeze was blowing. 

It was very pleasant sitting there watching the overseas tourists browsing the few curio shops left in that area.   We had visited the antique shops and collectables which we love doing and were ready for our morning ‘cuppa’.

The service was swift and the menu varied.   We spied an item on the menu called ‘Tea for Two’ which was a variety of sandwiches, scones and cakes for two people sharing at almost the same price as a cup of tea and a scone bought separately.

After enquiring if this could be served with coffee instead of tea and being told it was fine we went ahead and ordered our ‘Tea for Two.’   It took a while for the order to come through but when it did we were blown away!

We had a selection of very fresh white tomato and ham sandwiches, brown egg mayonnaise sandwiches, scones with grated cheese and scones with cream and jam and delicious fresh chocolate cake slices.   It was a veritable feast.

We tucked in!

I have very rarely tasted such fresh fare from a coffee shop anywhere in South Africa.   The sandwiches were amazing and so tasty, the scones were huge and the cream provided was enormous.   The cake was still warm from the oven and the icing was pure heaven.

We will certainly be heading back to Ray’s Café on a regular basis to try out the other interesting items on their menu.   You should too.

Where did 2016 go?

My last post was September 2016 and so much happened from that date that it seems a blur.  My son's 40th birthday was on the 29th September so a big family get together happened.  My daughter's birthday was on the 9th October so another celebration at her home in Kloof took place. her baby was due on the 21st October but the little parcel arrived on the night of the 14th October no tassle attached!!!

Anna Lyn weighed in at 2.7 kgs and they say dynamite comes in small packages.   It is now January and we are just coming up for air!!!   My daughter and I did not know what hit us.   I had forgotten how much work babies are and she had had no clue!

In our day we had time to prepare for babies as we did not have demanding careers.   These days the young women are expected to do it all.   They are expected to know it all and they expect a lot from themselves as they are all well educated and something like motherhood should just come naturally.
Ha! Ha!
That is an Urban Legend if ever there was one.

Needless to say we muddled on together and three months down the line Anna is in a fairly good routine and has doubled her weight plus so we are all breathing a sigh of relief!!!

I launched my first novel on the 10th of December surrounded by my family and friends and it was a great success.   My youngest son, a lecturer at Vega College in Durban, designed my book cover and made the speech at the launch.   He spoke on how it takes courage to 'put yourself out there', to open yourself up to criticism and sarcasm when you write.   What he forgot to say was that it also takes lots of self dicipline to sit down and put pen to paper.

'Twisted Blood Vines' was a story in the making for nearly 30 years and eventually got written only because of an article in the woman & home magazine on 'How to write a novel.' some seven years ago.   Since then I have moved house twice and project managed a new build which was very exciting but quite challenging and it took up all my creativity!   Therefore the book took longer to write than I thought.

Then came Christmas and New Year with all their fun and  excitment!!!!

It has taken me nearly two weeks to get my mojo back and to think about starting writing again!!!   Hopefully I will fill these pages with delicious short stories and articles.   Maybe even poetry - who knows?

Today is the first day of the rest of my life!

On Monday I weighed myself.  84 kgs light!!   I was horrified.   This is the most I have weighed in my whole life even when I was full term pregnant!

I have high blood pressure.   I have high cholestrol.   I have reflux and God knows what else!

I made a decision to take control of my life.

It is not going to be easy as it means changing most of my habits.

No more Toast and marmalade on a regular basis.   Cakes and biscuits and sweets have a red flag attached.   Butter and full fat dairy products are out again.   Sweet potatoes and oat bran are the go to carbs.   Trying to cut down on red meat and eat more fish (especially mackerel and sardines for Omega 3)

I started by making my own stoneground/oat bran/wheat bran bread.

I cut out wine and just drank soda water in a wine glass.    It did not hit the spot but the arm movement is the same!

I upped my exercise regime.    Aqua robics.    Walking in the Mall and a series of power walking combined with exercises I found in the Woman and Home magazine.

Today is Friday and I have lost 2 kgs!!!!   Yippee.

I have 10 Kgs to lose so I am well on my way.  

Watch this space as I go from fat to lean.

This is not going to be easy and it is for life as I want to be around for my grand kids.

   

Hopefully next week I will see you lighter!

Where are the voices?

The August winds have started and the winds of change are spreading through South Africa.   It is an exciting time in our history as we have experienced so much change in our lifetimes.   Change for the better and change for the worst.

I grew up in the 60’s where the youth fought for free love, the right to choose what to do with their bodies, the right to freedom of choice in all sorts.   Drugs played a huge role in society.   Music was exploratory and wonderful and still rates as some of the best today!

We wanted censorship to be revoked.   We wanted freedom to read, to watch adult films, we wanted freedom to mix with whoever we wanted.   We wanted a free and fair society and in 1994 we thought we had got it!

The voice of the church was loud!    Fire and brimstone railed from the pulpits and the more we said we were not preaching anarchy just freedom to express ourselves the more hell broke loose.

What did we get?

Pornography, violence, paedophilia, serial murderers by the hundreds, HIV and Aids, fraud and corruption, drugs in an unprecedented volume, protests and more and more violence, the total breakdown of Society’s moral fibre! 

The rule of law no longer seems to apply and parents, churches, businesses and schools are no longer instilling ethical and moral principles in the lives of their children or workers.   They are not leading by example.   How can we expect the youth of today to know the difference between right and wrong?   How can we expect them to make an informed decision or have an informed opinion?

Recently at a discussion at the Franschoek Literary Festival the topic  ‘Activism in the 60’s versus activism today’ I listened to a heated exchange between past activists and today’s youth.   I was amazed!

We have come a long way in the past 40 years.

The youth of today are fighting everything for the sake of fighting.    The student movement is not really about ‘Fees falling’   it is about creating anarchy.   They are the privileged few who are ruining things for the’ have nots’!

The youth of today are the products of generations of children who have been deprived of proper education.   They have been disenfranchised by their leaders as they have not been afforded the very basic human right - the right to decent education.

Many of them are on the streets.   Unskilled, jobless and hungry and possibly dying of HIV AIDS!

You would think that those who have come up through the ranks and been afforded the privilege to attend University would have compassion enough to work hard and better themselves so that they can reach out to their fellow human beings. No they are causing anarchy on the campuses.

Where are the voices?

The voice of the Church!

The voice of parents!

The voice of the heads of other religions!

The voice of Business leaders!

The voice of the Government!

And more importantly the voices of the Public!

Wrong is wrong.   Unlawful deeds will be dealt with by the law.   Nobody is above the law!

Jonathen Jansen says in in his column in The Times newspaper (4^th August, 2016)

‘Institutions that were built up over decades, sometimes over a century, are crumbling before our eyes without a whimper from the public.   You are more likely to see anxious public reaction to mountain fires threatening homes on the False Bay coastline than to get a response to the imminent demise of our universities’.

The youth have no respect for their elders and why should they?   What have we done to earn their respect?

The buck stops here!

How do we change this status quo?

Each and every one of us has a role to play.   We need to stand together and say enough is enough.   No more anarchy in our streets, no more anarchy in our Universities.

Church leaders must speak out.   Business leaders must make plans to reach out to the youth to train them.   Government needs to weed out the bad apples, spend more money on service delivery than on their salaries especially where education is concerned, and parents need to take on their proper responsibilities.   The Police and the law courts need to jack up their systems and become efficient again.

Deal harshly with the perpetrators and leaders.   Open negotiations with the reasonable voices.   There are always answers to problems.   Get rid of the Corrupt.   Get rid of the drug dealers and traffickers.

Other countries can do it so can we!

Use your voice!