Nyamazela

Back to the gym

Posted on 24 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“The room door opened, and Mrs Waterbrook, who was a large lady – or who wore a large dress: I don’t exactly know which, for I don’t know which was dress and which was lady – came sailing in.”

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

I’m sorry to keep coming back to Dickens, but this one was a priceless nugget under a pile of clippings which I have fished out on the auspicious occasion of my return to the gym.

I also love a giggle and thought you might like this description.

For a very good reason, Continue reading Back to the gym

Life’s little contradictions

Posted on 23 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I started writing this post on Monday. It began with:

“Devastated. Test taken. Test failed.”

I walked away from that draft to do something too unimportant to mention and when I came back to it this morning, I find myself removed from the lines I’d written. It’s a strange anachronism to be confronted with my very own ‘ghost of Christmas past’ – ‘Nyamazela yesterday’ was ready to give up, ‘Nyamazela today’ has picked herself up again. There is no rhyme or reason to this. Continue reading Life’s little contradictions

Tea and the waiting game!

Posted on 16 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 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

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!

Waiting … still … and tea … always

Posted on 10 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“Whereas a woman – whether she is interested in babies or microbes or husbands or poetry or servants or parallelograms or gardens or Plato or bridge – is fundamentally and always interested in clothes.”

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Have you ever played the waiting game? If you are part of the human race then most likely you have. I am on day 3 of a 2 week wait. So far it’s not been too bad. I’ve laid low as per doctor’s orders and done next to nothing, but I’m not very good at that. I’ve followed the suggestion to ‘Be still and know that I am God’ as the psalmist says, but I’m not very good at that either. I’ve made myself some yummy food, which has been pretty successful actually.

Today I’m trying a different tactic – a shopping mall.

Continue reading Waiting … still … and tea … always

The Clink: thank you BBC for this hilarious news report

Posted on 9 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“The Clink, probably the first prison in England, built in the 12th century by the Bishop of Winchester. The prison was notorious for the brutal treatment of its prisoners and received its distinctive name from the clinking sound of the prisoners’ manacles and chains. Standard torture practices included stretching prisoners on the rack, crushing with heavy weights, boiling in oil and forcing prisoners to stand in water until their feet rotted.”

London by Tube: A History of Underground Station Names by David Revill

What is wrong with the world when corrupt FIFA officials continue in their roles, earning heaps of money quietly laundering money, while in other world news, a pigeon is detained on suspicion of being a spy?

You think I’m joking? I’m not.

I also double checked my diary to make sure it was not in fact the 1st April. This is a true story and you can read it on the BBC.

Continue reading The Clink: thank you BBC for this hilarious news report

The kindness of a good Hubby

Posted on 8 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden.”

The Bible, Proverbs 30:18-19

Sometimes it’s the small kindnesses that touch me deeper that the gallant gesture.

The slow dance in the kitchen to calm me down; the hand reached out to me on an ordinary summer walk along the river; putting out the rubbish; putting away a pile of things that have built up in the entrance hall; a kiss on the forehead; a text during the day; a hot cup of tea and a rusk brought to me in bed; a late night belly laugh or a sleepy morning cuddle.

Continue reading The kindness of a good Hubby

It’s a mad, mad, modern world

Posted on 5 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“Maybe you’re standing on a commuter train, using this book as a filter between you and a repellent armpit. If so, I’m terribly sorry. That’s no way to start the day, is it? Face in a pit. Commuter trains are the only place you’d not question standing what in any other social scenario would be freakishly and embarrassingly close to a friend, let alone a stranger.”

Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart

This actually has happened to me on numerous occasions. I’m 5 foot 1, so optimal hight for the average armpit. The author of this book is about 6 foot 2 so I’m not sure she is really speaking from first hand experience. I would add to this. Worse than having your face in a pit during the morning commute is having your face in a pit during afternoon commute, on a boiling summer’s day in London. The Lord, in His wisdom has given me an olfactory system almost matching that of a sniffer dog, so imagine my torture…

I’m still trying to find my one true purpose with this nose of mine. More on that another time.

Continue reading It’s a mad, mad, modern world

English humour

Posted on 3 Jun, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“…though she knew, and we knew, and she knew that we knew, and we knew that she knew that we knew, she had been busy all morning making tea-bread and sponge-cakes.”

Cranford, by Elizabeth Leghorn Gaskell

I absolutely adore the English sense of humour. My husband claims I don’t always ‘get’ him, but this is not true. You see, I grew up on a diet of Faulty Towers, Birds of a Feather, The Two Ronnies, Mr Bean, The Vicar of Dibley, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Roald Dahl novels, Enid Blyton books… the list goes on.

Continue reading English humour

Words: a beloved engine of communication and fun

Posted on 27 May, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

” Quite suddenly, with blinding insight, the secret of their blissful marriage was revealed to me. She couldn’t speak a word of English, and he couldn’t speak a word of Spanish.”

Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950’s by Jennifer Worth

Having been married myself now for almost 18 months I cannot even begin to write tomes of wisdom on the subject, but I do love to collect quotes from books I have read. I share them first with my husband, who generally mumbles ‘ahem’ while distractedly reading something else. Then I highlight and save the clipping to muse over later. Continue reading Words: a beloved engine of communication and fun

Chilli Black Bean and Chorizo Soup with rice

Posted on 18 May, 201531 May, 2016 by nyamazela

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count the most; it’s making a great deal out of the little ones – I’ve discovered the true secret of happiness, Daddy, and that is to live in the now.”

Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Try this little pleasure:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
+- 85g Spanish chorizo, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder/flakes (If you like hot food, chop up some fresh chilli) Continue reading Chilli Black Bean and Chorizo Soup with rice