I’m a champion channel surfer. I’m sure this is an extremely irritating habit. Fortunately Merlot doesn’t mind. As long as she can sit on my lap, I can hop around like the Easter bunny. I recently landed on a programme about American women who have the hots for blokes in prison. Now we all have our little oddities, so [...]
Getting older is wonderful. I tell myself this because the alternative – wistfully longing for the days when everything was just a touch higher, firmer and smoother – is about as productive as trying to convince cats and dogs not to lick and sniff each other’s impolite bits. It’s not much, but Mother Nature does seem to give one [...]
Occasionally I get the chance to escape my office just shy of five. I close the door behind me and hit the streets for a gentle stroll with my imaginary dog (Merlot won’t tolerate a real one). One notices many things on these lazy constitutionals. My neighbour’s sweet peas will be blooming soon. The people a few houses over have [...]
You get people who are perpetually cheery. I’m not one of them. I truly am not something you want to be near until at least two cups of morning coffee have gone down the gullet. After that I can face the day, and manage a passable Little Miss Sunshine to boot – most of the time. Mondays? Hmmm, no, not [...]
I’m as fond as the next South African of boerie on the braai. Nothing beats the smell of all that fat and gorgeous coriander hitting the hot coals. I’m rather partial to a plump lamb chop too. But National Braai Day isn’t just any day. It’s an occasion. Approaching it the way I would any normal weekend braai seems… well, [...]
I have a thing for sweet with meat – it’s a particularly South African thing. Take sweet potatoes. They aren’t sweet enough the way nature made them. Oh no, we have to add truckloads of butter and sugar, and roast them slowly to glistening, treacly perfection. So I’m constanty looking for new sweet-with-meat combinations. My latest obsession is fennel. [...]