The story of a life well lived

Posted on by nyamazela

“The world isn’t just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no?

Doesn’t that make life a story?” 

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

kenneth pridhamLast week I attended my first funeral.

At age 17, I went to a memorial service for my Latin teacher who had died of cancer at a relatively young age, but never had I been to a funeral. The funeral was for my father-in-law’s cousin – the last of his father’s generation though far younger than his own father. Kenneth Pridham died at age 93. He attended our wedding and I’d seen him fairly regularly at lunches with my in-laws. In my limited times with him I had begun to get to know a somewhat fragile, quietly-spoken, tall elderly man who enjoyed discussing history, politics and current events, who had a lively sense of humour and loved cheese, but didn’t eat much lunch. Continue reading The story of a life well lived

Getting Christmassy on 1st Dec: DIY Advent Calendar

Posted on by nyamazela

“Bah,” said Scrooge, “Humbug.” 

… some time later…

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

1 December getting ChristmassyIf you have read even a handful of my blog entries, you will know that one of my favourite writers is Charles Dickens. It was extremely difficult for me to select just 2 quotes for this 1st of December blog. Almost every line is quotable and re-readable.

Did you know that all over the world theatres, book shops and book groups do live annual readings of A Christmas Carol? Continue reading Getting Christmassy on 1st Dec: DIY Advent Calendar

Itchy feet: the suspense of saving, dreaming and planning

Posted on by nyamazela

“Akaky Akakievich was taken away and buried. And St. Petersburg was left without Akaky Akakyevitch as if he had never been there. Vanished and gone was the being, protected by no one, dear to no one, interesting to no one, who had not even attracted the attention of a naturalist – who does not fail to stick a pin through a common fly and examine it under the microscope.” 

The Overcoat by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol in The Collected Tales

Planning a holidayPoor Akaky Akakievich, I thought, while reading this story. A copy clerk with nothing in life, but the excitement of skimping and saving every possible rouble he could spare in joyous anticipation of having a new overcoat made with chintz lining, small silk double seams and a cat fur collar.

Oh, the happy months spent, in an otherwise dull life,  dreaming of such an overcoat!

I am sitting in my usual coffee shop drinking tea. Continue reading Itchy feet: the suspense of saving, dreaming and planning

Hibernation fever setting in: short dark days, comfort food and blobbiness

Posted on by nyamazela

“Every few minutes I would reflexively check to see if my gas mask was still in place and, more importantly, if the holster still contained the self-injectable 10-mg canister of diazepam that had been given to me in Kuwait. The diazepam was to give me a happy death in the event of an Iraqi chemical attack… what they wanted more than anything else in the world was exactly what I was trying to avoid: a fight.”

War Reporting for Cowards: Between Iraq and a Hard Place by Chris Ayres

An I ready for this?It feels like it’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post. Somehow the past week stretches out long and fuzzy.

My memory of the details is a nightmarish blur: work, church, Christmas bags, writing, wind, rain, bombs, shooting, news, Paris, websites, vessels, Spectre, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, gym, restless sleep, hospital appointments, emails, study, French homework and general life.

Tonight is our office Christmas party. Continue reading Hibernation fever setting in: short dark days, comfort food and blobbiness

Rest, Respite, Repose, Reading and Running … how do you do it?

Posted on by nyamazela

“A thousand kinds of hats, dresses, shawls – gay-coloured, ethereal, for which their owners’ affection sometimes lasts a whole two days –  will bedazzle anyone on Nevsky Prospect. It seems as if a whole sea of butterflies has suddenly arisen from the stems, their brilliant cloud undulating over the black beetles of the male sex. Here you will meet such waists as you have never seen in dreams: slender, narrow waists, no whit thicker than a bottle’s neck … And what ladies’ sleeves you meet on Nevsky Prospect! … they sometimes resemble two airborne balloons… Nowhere do people exchange bows when they meet with such nobility and nonchalance as on Nevsky Prospect.”

Nevsky Prospect by Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol in The Collected Tales

Ice hokey in CanadaPeople watching on Nevsky Prospect must resemble something like trying to follow several games of ice hockey at once – pucks flying across the ice at high speed, sticks clashing and players swapping in and out every few seconds while you shiver in your furs on the sidelines trying to focus. Continue reading Rest, Respite, Repose, Reading and Running … how do you do it?

A Halloween post-mortem from Germany: pumpkins, people, the ‘principle’ & the power of imagination

Posted on by nyamazela

“Then suddenly a change, the passing of something – I knew not what – and then a stillness that could be felt. Nothing but this gaunt quiet. London about me gazes at me spectrally. The windows in the white houses were like the eye sockets of skulls. About me my imagination found a thousand noiseless enemies moving. Terror seized me, a horror of my temerity.”

The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

spicy, hot pumpkin soupDon’t be afraid.

This is not another pointed missal about whether Halloween is right or wrong. At this time of the year spirits are high and opinions are emphatic. Despite not growing up with it, I’m learning to welcome strong debate. Continue reading A Halloween post-mortem from Germany: pumpkins, people, the ‘principle’ & the power of imagination

Barges and badgers: living your passion and shining your light

Posted on by nyamazela

“There was a teapot, in which Mma Ramotswe — the only lady private detective in Botwana — brewed tea. And three mugs — one for herself, one for her secretary, and one for the client. What else does a detective agency really need?”

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by  Alexander McCall Smith 

hobbies interests and passionsAs an Englishman, Alexander McCall Smith obviously understands a nation’s passion for tea (Rooibos tea in the case of Southern Africa). I’m more of an English tea drinker myself (rusk or dipping bikkie, essential). A cuppa, strong builders, Tips, Yorkshire, char, Twinings  – whatever you like to call it, a steaming cup of liquid has a soothing, contemplative quality, which little else so simple and so available can quite replicate. Continue reading Barges and badgers: living your passion and shining your light

Stockholm: a weekend wandering around Water World

Posted on by nyamazela

“But that’s the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don’t want to know what people are talking about. I can’t think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can’t read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can’t even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses.”

Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson

Stockholm waterwaysBill Bryson, I find, is a bit like Marmite. People tend to fall into one of two categories – they either love his writing or hate it. My guess is that those who hate ‘him’ have found themselves, their accent, culture, country or town the object of his comic musings. I have a few personal favourites: A Short History of Nearly Everything, Shakespeare and Made in America. But there are priceless quotes and observations in all of them – in my opinion – but then, I love Marmite too. Continue reading Stockholm: a weekend wandering around Water World

‘Why’ is a crooked letter and you can’t make it straight

Posted on by nyamazela

“It is my duty to help them solve the mysteries in their lives. That is what I am called to do.”

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Asking questionsThis morning I walked out of my front door to find that winter has officially arrived. My cardigan might just as well be a bikini for all the warmth it offers me. The cold that I have up to now been able to fend off by finding a sunny spot, putting on another layer or having a hot cuppa has finally found its way into my bones. When I get home later I will set up the heating.

No more denial. Continue reading ‘Why’ is a crooked letter and you can’t make it straight

Parlez-vous français? The importance of learning a foreign language.

Posted on by nyamazela

“If you ask the great city, ‘Who is this person?,’ she will answer, ‘He is my child.”

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Comment allez vous mes lecteurs?

parlez vous Francais?

Whatever you do, don’t take the decision to learn a new language lightly. To slightly mis-quote from one of my favourite novels set in France, the journey of learning a language is “the best of times, it (is) the worst of times, it (is) the age of wisdom, it (is) the age of foolishness…”.

I was always considered the ‘language person’ in our family. I speak two languages fluently, though one more fluently than the other, and two rather poorly. To have an initial talent in something is not a recipe for success as I learnt rather quickly when I began a night class in French some years ago as an adult. Continue reading Parlez-vous français? The importance of learning a foreign language.