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

— @HaggardHawks

“Crates.”

“Triage.”

“Books.”

“Careful, this one is heavy.”

These are words that passed through the human chain we formed during the morning shift of the Jagger Library Salvage Project. I volunteered for the first time today. Not much else was spoken between us, apart from an exchange of names and additional instructions. For most of the time, I worked along a UCT electrical engineering student and a woman from my neighbourhood. There was a mid-morning coffee break and a lunch at the end of the shift. The work was heartbreaking and not exactly easy on my lazy bones, yet the content of this library – any library – is what makes my life meaningful and I am grateful that I could be of some help. But seeing the damage and the loss is difficult to process.

Accusations, speculations and politics always surround such an event, and they will also have to be dealt with, but for now those books, documents and all the other papers which survived the fire need to be brought to safety and taken care of.

The recovery efforts continue. To volunteer, click here: Jagger Library Salvage Project.

After my shift, I took a long, warm shower and returned to my computer.

And in the evening, I dragged my exhausted body to the Theatre on the Bay for a LIVE SHOW!!!

Just being in a theatre audience during a live performance was a treat. And Alan Committie’s new standup show APOCALAUGHS NOW! was fantastic. My love and I laughed until we cried. Tickets for the show are selling out quickly, but if you get a chance, do yourself a favour and go and see it. Although it is mostly about the pandemic, it will strangely make you forget about the horrors of the past fifteen months. Confused about the regulations, the vaccine rollout, or the 5G conspiracy? Then look no further! This show will illuminate EVERYTHING. The yoga and meditation tips will work wonders for your face muscles. And you will want to start exercising your nipples when you see what his are capable of … He throws an unforgettable dance into the routine. Not to be missed! I loved it all.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD