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

‘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

Hopes, dreams, prayers and the people you meet on the way

Posted on by nyamazela

“How many of us begin a new record with each day of our lives? To me it seems only yesterday that my whole life ended with my new hope, and that truly I began a new record. So it shall be until the Great Recorder sums me up and closes my ledger account with a balance to profit and loss.”

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Hopes and dreamsI have had many hopes and dreams in my short life, some of which have weighed heavily on me and have haunted me – hopes I’ve shelved, hopes I’ve not dared to voice, hopes I’ve boldly proclaimed – hopes upon hopes.

Hopes are flighty things, like butterflies, they are beautiful and colourful and hard to pin down. Sometimes they flit into our lives in surprising ways and then flit right out again. Sometimes we keep getting a glance at them, that ‘butterfly’ feeling rises up inside, and then it passes out of reach so that we wonder if it was even there at all.

Continue reading Hopes, dreams, prayers and the people you meet on the way

Tea and the waiting game!

Posted on by nyamazela

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”

C.S. Lewis

“Under certain circumstances, there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. From five o’clock to eight is on certain occasions a little eternity; but on such an occasion as this the interval could be only an eternity of pleasure.”

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Waiting for time to pass with a cup of tea in hand

Still waiting and counting the days. 5 days until the big ‘test’.  7 days until building completion and I can finally clean up my house. 11 days until my birthday  – I thought I’d include that, but I’m not really counting. 18 days until my family arrives. I wait, I wait, for a very important date!

The only way I’m able to deal with the current wait is to pop the kettle on and have a cuppa. Join me if you like.

p.s. Though frustrated, I’m trying not to wish time away as I firmly believe it’s the only time we have. It’s precious.

Continue reading Tea and the waiting game!

Everything has a beginning

Posted on by nyamazela

“Suppose there were a great big hollow sphere made of looking-glass and you were sitting inside. Where would it stop reflecting your face and begin reflecting your back? The more one thinks about this problem, the more puzzling it becomes.”

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Journal, diary, blogI have been writing for many years and I’ve loved it always, and every piece must be found, formulated and pulled out of me.

I’ve written a diary or a journal most of my life – always delightful to re-read. Though generally not a daily writer, I keep coming back.

Some entries are trivial: “I broke a nail!” (1991 school diary complete with nail stuck into the diary with sticky tape).

Some entries are tentative: “How do I begin?” (2013 catching up after a few months of not picking up my journal). Continue reading Everything has a beginning