everybody loves a cuddle in the mornin

Jan. Book Reads & the Fabulous Book Club

This was the plan:

* Sex and Stravinsky by Barbara Trapido (bookclub)

* The new Finula Dowling (bookclub)

 

* Jane Bussman on Uganda

This is the review:

All 3 were fantastic with a special thumbs up for Bussman. She summarizes  SO WELL American and European students who want to save Africa but only for a year or 2 while it fits in with their getting a big UN. EU atc job (I know they are not ALL like that) yet somehow despite being British herself manages a sense of irony. She moves from interviewing Ashton Kutcher in Hollywood to debriefing captured child soldiers and makes one laugh and cry at different points.

No one writes Kalk Bay as well as Dowling who actually lives there plus captures English teacher/ student / acting world SO well.

I have the best book club in the Southern Hemisphere.

We have "celeb" author Henrietta Rose-Innes; The witty and insightful Adam Cooper; The clever bibliophile Dr. Potgieter; The Kindest Psychologist; Yoga teacher, film writer and raw foody Carey McKenzie; Actor Adam Neil; Rhodes and Oxford and Harvard scholar and now mum, Karen Alexander; Genius climate change specialist and author Jessica Wilson  and Fablefairy. Needless to say, they are all deep and smart and stretch me to read facinating books.

Last month I read Ronnie Kasrils's :The Reluctant Terrorist - brilliant- and Nourishment- about a WW2 wife who is asked to write saucy letters to her hubby and complies. Nice.

Best bookclub reads ever?

The Winter Vault - Ann Michaels

Something to Tell You - Hanif Kureishi

Short Stories - Jhumpa Lahiri

Bloggers' Ginger Cats

Have you noticed there are some cool ginger cats in the blogosphere family?

There was Lauren Fowler's cat Ben

http://lostisaplacetoo.blogspot.com/

Then there is Vicky Sleet's cat (Mr Cat)

http://www.iwantthat.co.za/

Genevieve Motley's Ruby is just too cute!

You can see where all her inspiration comes from ...

http://genevievemotley.blogspot.com/

And then there is my darling Jinja

Ginger cats you rock my world.

If you Connect, Protect

I have been so busy, no time to blog! How do you like our condom camapign for UCT ?

We also sponsored all the first year students a stick drive that is a bracelet with info using the same design concept.

I started off being inspired by Steff Roup's blog:

http://steffanyloves.blogspot.com/2010/07/words-and-tattoos.html

We had to use volunteers rather than models due to budget, but at least they look like REAL people.  I am super chuffed with the feedback.

Sante Spa x2

I just wrote a long post about Sante Spa in Franchoek where I spent my birthday. It defies words, but I wrote them anyway, but now they are gone. I am so blissed out I can't write them again.

Sante Spa is the best spa ever. They have an amazing Loyalty club and birthday treat. Go there. The end. http://www.santesa.co.za/

threads of life

I have started getting writing pieces together for a PhD in  Social Anthropology including pieces that I have written over the past 16 years while working in HIV and AIDS. Part of me thinks this is a crazy idea. Working full time and being a mom to a 3 and a 5 year old and blogging and making accessories is already enough...

But somehow the threads of what we end up doing are in there from the beginning.

I tell myself I am OK with this taking 20 years or so and then it doesn't seem so bad.

Grandpa Alfred's things

I have only a few things that belonged to grandpa Alfred who also fled Nazi Germany:

A travel journal written in German pre- 1930

The remnants of a poker set:

The remants of some bottles that may have kept aftershave.



I love these things.