Monthly Archives: August 2020

Operation Oysterhood: 21 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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Home: having rusks with Glinka in the morning.

When I had my car accident four years ago, after the initial shock, as the pains and bruises developed slowly all over, I kept discovering new injuries to my body in the days following the crash. And so it is this time. At first, I thought that I only had a few scratches on my right arm. Then the swelling and bruises made their appearance. This morning, I discovered a scratch on my left arm that wasn’t painful at all, but it was there, unmistakable. And I spotted the horrible bruises on my lower back and my behind only this evening after my shower (I have lower back problems so often that I did not even think that the two could be connected this time).

Typing in an ordinary position is painful, so I had to get creative today, but only because I was forced to. I meant to rest all day long, but it wasn’t possible.

The gradual unfolding of the damage to my body after the impact of the sea wave as it threw me against the rocks the other day is a strangely fitting metaphor for what I have seen develop on one of the projects I am involved in. Another party involved, apparently with no integrity, had impacted the project in ways that I am only gradually discovering as the bruises and pains appear all over the project’s body. I am beginning to see why the project had been hurting for a while. And today, after discovering yet another scratch, I felt compelled to do something to defend it against further damage.

Sometimes anger allows you to suppress pain and fight when the cause is worth it. This one certainly was. And, I was livid. But I also feel a deep sadness. And, I think I am still in shock. Lack of integrity is like a wave that will unexpectedly take away the ground from underneath your feet and throw you against rocks. It takes a lot of effort to survive and get back on your feet and fight for what is right. And sometimes, all of it hurts like hell, but it has to be done.

My body, and so much more, needs rest.

Tomorrow. I promise.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 20 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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Adieu, beautiful Lekkerwater!

Hello, Home! And rain and cold and fireplace and bath and loadshedding (still later tonight). Most importantly, hello my Furry Family! I love travelling, but I also love coming home.

As suspected, my injuries don’t allow me to type for long without pain. My arm looks awful and will need a few days of rest to recover. Maybe it’s a good thing – a kind of enforced holiday, especially since I had been working during the mini-break.

So, that’s it for tonight. Typing with one hand only is not much fun (even with a purring, loving Salieri on my lap).

Thank you for all the kind wishes of a speedy recovery!

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 19 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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I did something really stupid today (was lucky, but could have gotten badly hurt or even drowned, but I am okay, more or less, although I am not sure that I will be able to move my right arm by tomorrow, once the shock wears off and my injuries bring me – not to my knees, but – my elbow; let’s just say that my right arm is not in the best of shapes as I try to type tonight …).

So, the following will be more pictures than coherent storytelling. Shock, painkillers, bubbly are not the best combination for sense-making.

Morning walk in the inter-tidal zone and on the dunes. Highlights: limpets grazing (I love limpets – they are fascinating creatures), an octopus, plants’ wind-dancing patterns.

Horrible anti-highlight: PLASTIC. Washed up from the ocean. During our one-and-a-half-hour walk, we managed to collect a few kilograms of plastic waste on the beach. Utter despair is what one feels seeing this.

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Breakfast was another Lekkerwater treat. The food here is simply delicious.

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We rested a bit after breakfast, but continued watching whales from our bed. Also sighted today: mousebirds and dolphins.

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The weather made a complete turnaround today: sunshine, hardly any wind, pleasant temperatures. I did very little work today, but did finish the next Harry Bosch novel (another good one).

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All the other guests left after the morning walk today and we have had the place to ourselves for the rest of the day.

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Lekkerwater Library, a little library with a view, now including Karavan Press titles.

After a light lunch and some rest, it was time for an afternoon fynbos walk. Billy once again lent me his macro lens, so that I could have some fun in the veld. Loved it.

Then, it was time for a sunshine hot-tub treat of note. And I would just like to explain that I was still completely sober when I had my stupid accident.

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All of this loveliness was waiting while I, after first getting into the hot water and feeling completely overheated after a few minutes, ran down to the sea and meant to just splash around in the shallows when Ms Ocean decided she had other plans. Let’s just say that I am very pleased that it was my arm, and not my head or my face, that hit the rocks when I tumbled and completely lost control over what happened to me when a huge WAVE crashed into me without any warning.

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The scene of the meeting between the rock and my unprepared self.

Bubbly, hot water and the distraction of mosquitoes allowed me to cope with the pain of the bruises and scratches after the too close encounter with the rock. Despite a long shower, I still have a lot of sand EVERYWHERE, especially my hair. And I know that by tomorrow, I will probably not be able to move my right arm. C’est la vie.

But, despite everything, there was a moment in the water – before the wave nearly killed me – when I felt free, careless and happy. (I only felt stupid afterwards.)

Now, as always, I feel humbled by the sea.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 18 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

823

Cheesecake with coffee first thing in the morning.

Sjoe! The Storm. My nights are usually interrupted at around three to four, before I return to sleep and wake up around seven nowadays. Last night, the gap arrived earlier and lasted longer, and I did wonder how strong the architectural core of this cottage was and couldn’t decide whether to worry or not in the middle of the epic, stormy night.

The morning was sun, rain, rainbows and indecision about whether to stay in bed or next to the fire, or risk a walk in-between the showers. I had some work to finish, so I did. The fire and the sun helped to keep me warm.

We managed a walk with spectacular views before lunch. I experience awe whenever I walk in these kind of landscapes.

After lunch, Billy offered us a guided walk up a gorge. Shortly after we set out, he lent me his macro lens for the cellphone camera and I was able to experiment a bit while we wandered around for the next two-and-a-half hours, with a hot chocolate (delicious) and poetry recital (inspiring) break in the middle.

I loved every second of the walk and, even though it took some getting used to, I enjoyed the macro lens a lot and will get one the moment I get back to Cape Town.

I go to bed a relaxed Karina, who has seen many beautiful things today.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

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Operation Oysterhood: 17 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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I’ve never had any doubt about loving my home and being happy there with my Human & Furry Family. In that sense, the lockdown has been so much more bearable because the space I call ‘home’ feels safe and good despite everything that the world can throw at it. But: I have always loved travelling, too. And even though inter-provincial travel is becoming possible from tomorrow on, I am determined to delight in the intra-provincial option for quite a while yet. The Western Province has so many treasures on offer … and the infection numbers in the province are sinking, the health system is coping in dealing with those who need care, and the number of people dying of Covid-19-related causes here is dropping from day to day as well. There is every reason to believe that we have the worst of the pandemic behind us. And travelling is allowed, even encouraged, because so much of our economy depends on it.

btf

We arrived at the Lekkerwater Beach Lodge in the De Hoop Nature Reserve today. It is our second visit to this magical place. We were greeted by Billy, the amazing guide, and his new colleague, Jan. And! An entire pod of dolphins frolicking in the ocean just in front of the lodge. Now, for many Capetonians, seeing dolphins is an ordinary occurrence, but for sixteen years these beautiful creatures have managed to evade me in the Cape. The only dolphins I have ever seen in my life were the black dolphins of the Bosporus. But today, finally, I could watch dolphins in the waves just outside Lekkerwater.

Anyone who knows the story of this place will understand why coming here is a homecoming for any of us. And so it is. But, unfortunately, my friend, Mr Eland, has decided to move out of the camp, so he wasn’t here to welcome me with flowers in his horns like the last time. I think he might have asked the dolphins to appear to make up for his absence. I did declare my love to him last year …

Lekkerwater is pure luxury, and after our first visit, I did not think that one could improve what this place has to offer its visitors, but there is something new at the lodge that we tried out the moment we got here: a hot tub on the beach just underneath the viewing deck of the lodge. We did not have long in the tub before the long-awaited storm arrived and we had to run for cover, but we were there long enough to see whales passing by in all their glorious majesty. A surreal moment if there ever was one!

The storm has been raging ever since, but who cares about the weather when you are in paradise and have a great book to read?

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The first time I was here, I promised myself that I would deliver a copy of Melissa’s Shadow Flicker to this place, because it felt like this book belonged in the little library of the lodge. And because of this spot’s remarkable history, I also think that a copy of Thembi Mtshali-Jones’s biography, Theatre Road by Sindiwe Magona, will find a good home here – to be enjoyed and to inspire anyone wanting to read a good book on a rainy afternoon in bed, or on a quiet, sunny morning on the pristine beach.

I wish I could say that our mini-break is all leisure and no work, but I haven’t been able to complete all the work that I was supposed to last week, so some of it is travelling with me. But even work in such surroundings feels special, so I am not complaining.

I remember Lekkerwater from last time as an incredibly social place, but we are still in the midst of a lethal pandemic and everyone is aware of the danger we are all in, so there are eye-smiles above masks, courteous waves across spaces and a bit of shouting to communicate across distance – a different kind of bonding.

The storm is ruthless tonight, so after dinner, we are all huddling around our own private fires and going to bed with the wind’s tantrum replacing a quiet night’s lullabies.

I also have a sweet birthday song playing in my heart because two of the most special women I know are celebrating their birthdays today: Erika and Sally. Both are my SA family and I cannot and do not want to imagine my life without their presence in it. Happy Birthday, dearest Erika and Sally! Thank you, for everything, and so much more.

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For Sally & Erika, happy veld flowers outside our Lekkerwater cottage.

Wishing you health above all!

One of the guests of the lodge is celebrating his fiftieth today, but he seemed quite shy about it. It is also my Dad’s name day. I sent him wishes earlier in the day.

:)

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 16 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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Small, gigantic steps. First meal in a restaurant in five months: at CREATION’s Tasting Room. On arrival, they took down our details, measured our temperatures, led us to a table that was quite a distance away from other patrons. Everyone wore masks apart from the guests (once seated). It felt so normal, and yet it was one of the most extraordinary experiences of the lockdown for me: just eating food in a restaurant overlooking a dam, happily overflowing with water on a beautiful wine farm.

The starter – steamed bao bun with confit duck, beetroot, rhubarb, cucumber and coriander was divine – and the classic pork belly for mains simply delicious. I chose chocolate macarons for dessert. There was tea. And because this is a mini-holiday, we did not have to drive back home, but simply up a hill opposite the restaurant to the magnificent Voormanshuis, with Strijdom van der Merwe’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on the doorstep and, out the window, a view that said, ‘You can relax now, welcome to paradise on earth.’

The Voormanshuis has a beautiful bathroom with an irresistible bathtub. The water-sinner that I am, I just could not say no.

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The dam is overflowing, I promise! (She says, in her defence.)

And now, the frogs outside and the fire inside are singing, and we will call it an early night. They say that the dreams one dreams in a new bed come true, so let me dream of something calm and beautiful and smiling.

I am happy that there are ways of coming out of one’s oystershell that feel non-threatening, that in a way one can even carry one’s oystershell on one’s back around our gorgeous Province and feel safe. And I am grateful to all the people who care and work hard at making this possible. And I am grateful to my love for understanding my need to feel safe, even if I am over-cautious at times. We all need to adjust to the reality of the pandemic at our own pace. Mine is oystersnailslow, but that’s a good thing, me thinks.

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Salieri, this morning.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 15 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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The Alma Café Traders’ Market. ‘I’ll be happy, if I sell five books,’ I said to my love yesterday. So, you can imagine how over the moon, and sun, I was when the list of books sold – new and second-hand – extended to twenty-nine after three hours of the market. I could make the promised donation to the Alma Café, tip the wonderful young musician on stage (live music!) and the helpful car guard outside, and I will be able to add to the royalties owed to Karavan Press authors later this year. I even sold a copy of The Fifth Mrs Brink and two copies of HAIR.

Today, I am a hopeful writer, editor and publisher! It was so heart-warming to talk books to readers again. I had so much fun, even with the mask and the visor and the constant hand sanitising.

Nancy Richards came to say hello and bought a book and left a personal literary treasure in the making with me to read. She also took a photo of me: ‘The Bookseller in the Time of a Pandemic.’

At Alma_by Nancy Richards

A special thank you to the kind woman who reads this blog and came to say hello – I hope I remember your name correctly, Carolynn. Thank you to you and all others for coming to support us! I cannot tell you how much today’s experience has boosted my morale.

I spent the rest of the afternoon editing and doing admin. In the evening, I did some ironing to relax me while I listened to the President making the latest announcements concerning the extended state of disaster. Level Two! We have arrived. Somehow, somewhere. And I know many, many people will be relieved about the new rules of lockdown, but I think we all know that this is not the end, nor is it time to relax our vigilance. More than ever, I want to keep healthy and I want to do everything in my power to keep others healthy. It is all still in our hands – let’s act accordingly.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local – thank you for supporting local!!!

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Operation Oysterhood: 14 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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I have such a weak spot for Elgin, the people, the apples, the wine and THE STORIES. And there is, of course, the wonderful Liberty Books in Grabouw (if you haven’t been yet, do go – it is just off the N2, and no reader will regret stopping there to browse!). A few of Lester Walbrugh’s stories in Let It Fall Where It Will are set in the area and the manuscript is nearly ready for typesetting. Can’t wait to see this book on bookshelves, and I hope that we can have a launch in Elgin as soon as it is safe and possible to gather for such events.

Tonight, at the end of an intense Friday, I travelled to Elgin via my taste buds. ONE MAN BAND is a beautiful wine. Just perfect for the feast that was tonight’s dinner.

La Colombe Dine-In Experience

And thinking of great wines and restaurants: did you hear about the amazing Restaurant Rescue Project? These are partnerships that will probably save hundreds of livelihoods, and the people buying the vouchers are buying incredible experiences at a bargain price. It is one of those rare occasions when everyone involved can win. I love the idea of this initiative and wonder how it could be translated into the book world … I know my love will smile reading this: I might have an idea!

But it will have to wait for after the weekend. I am still working tomorrow, including selling books at the Alma Café Traders’ Market in the morning, but from Sunday, I am taking a few days off. Rest is badly needed. There is no point of working oneself into a stupor. And I am nearly there.

I have returned to book reviewing (pay or no pay – I just find it such an essential part of a vibrant literary community that I will try to fit a review a week into my schedule and focus on local books in the hope that they will find their way into the hearts of local readers). The first appeared in the Cape Times today. See previous post. Review spaces are shrinking, so let’s see how we can keep the ones that are still somehow functioning going.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD

Review: Sea Star Summer by Sally Partridge

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The award-winning YA author, Sally Partridge, has been writing about the trials and turbulences of growing up since her debut novel, The Goblet Club, in 2007.

Partridge’s latest novel for young adults, Sea Star Summer, is her seventh and tells the story of the sixteen-year-old Naomi on holiday with her parents in Jeffreys Bay, where all she wants to do is enjoy some solitude and read good books. Yet, a dashing but dubious local surfer, another unusual and wonderful holidaymaker called Elize, and her intriguing brother, have other plans in store for Naomi. There is nothing more magical than falling in love for the first time. Equally magical can be reading about it in a novel when the book manages to capture, as Sea Star Summer does, that unforgettable and intoxicating mixture of wonder, revelation, anxiety and possibility that is young love.

“There’s only one person out there, a dark-haired girl about my age, kicking her feet through the incoming tide. The way she’s laughing and shrieking, clearly in a world of her own, makes it look like she’s having a great time. I envy her lack of inhibition. If it was me, I’d be worried about who’s watching.” This is how Naomi first encounters Elize. Meeting her sets in motion a chain of events and discoveries that allows Naomi not only to find herself and what she wants, but also to find the courage to proclaim it, even if only softly, to the world.

“Even the sea and sky seem larger, more real than before, like I’ve been walking around half asleep this whole time and have only just woken up.” The sea moods and beach adventures of Jeffreys Bay are vividly portrayed in this sensitive and empowering story that will appeal to young people and those young at heart alike.

Sea Star Summer

Sally Partridge

Human & Rousseau, 2020

Review first published in the Cape Times on 14 August 2020.

Operation Oysterhood: 13 August

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OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

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Let’s just say it wasn’t a great night. Ms Insomnia refused to take any hints that her presence was unwelcome.

Then: loadshedding. Stage two did not affect me today, but it did others with whom I had planned Skype meetings, and the entire schedule for the day was thrown into disarray. After the Eskom news, and the flurry of re-scheduling that followed, I did manage to crawl back into bed for a few minutes with coffee and a book and Glinka for company, but then the whole day started running away from me and I had to get up and face the chaos. It all stabilised, eventually, in the afternoon and I managed to do the shopping I had to and some decent work that I am happy with, but I am now exhausted (and back in bed with the Ladies and a lovely glass of red).

Day One Hundred and Forty. Despite the daily count, I don’t feel time any longer. Is it REALLY August? How did we get here? What does it mean? Winter should be coming to an end, I hope (I was so cold today that I started shivering). I want more light, earlier in the day and later at night. I need to spend more time in the sun again.

And, I want a few days without drama and without having to deal with unkindness. It saddens me to experience how toxic people sap all energy out of one. Luckily, most people I work with are not like that, but the vampires among us – on the grand and small stages of everyday life – manage to do a lot of harm, and usually for nothing else than satisfying their own fragile egos. There is nothing left to do but soldier on.

Especially considering the other numbers haunting us daily:

Over eleven thousand deaths in the country. A small town. Just because of a virus, because people breathed in infected air, touched the wrong thing. 750 000 Covid-19-related deaths worldwide (and that is only the official tally). Numbers like that are impossible to comprehend. They make one feel numb with horror.

In Earth to Mom, Sue Brown describes a period of grief and sorrow as “the thinnest time”. Ours is the thinnest time.

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The new flowers in my house bring a spark of joy.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD