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

— @HaggardHawks

An emotional ride of a day. Great news on the vaccine front: loved ones either getting vaccinated or getting appointments for their turn. But then, the news of a dear friend being very ill (not with Covid-19 as far as we know at this stage, but seriously ill nevertheless). And my poor Salieri … her vitals are much better, she has gained a little bit of weight on her medication, and her new blood results will be in tomorrow, but it was not all good news. She will have to have an op to remove two of her teeth when her thyroid/general condition has stabilised. I burst into tears when the vet told me. It was just all a bit too much. But what was very moving was to witness Salieri having her blood pressure taken – with the miniature pressure cuff around her paw and the vet cuddling her during the procedure. She was so brave. After the appointment, I rushed home to prepare the house for loadshedding. My love and I were supposed to have dinner at my place, but … I just asked him to come to us after work because I needed a hug and Salieri a cuddle. Together, in the dark, we took a few deep breaths, made a plan, and had some takeaway pizza. Pizza by candlelight – romantic dinner à la loadshedding.

On the professional front a mixed bag. Manuscript submissions on the rise because of the shortlisting – the interest is a kind of recognition, but I do not understand why anyone would want to submit their manuscript to a press without reading a single book the press has published … Anyway, the other side of the process is pure joy: I met a Karavan Press author today to discuss the drafts of his cover. They are all striking, and it is a brave book. Can’t wait to share all the details soon.

Another beautiful book in the making. If only all things were that rewarding.

The health minister on special leave. Loadshedding moving in permanently. And I will be lucky if I get a vaccine this year …

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

50% OFF all Karavan Press titles

(and other great offers :))

Let’s celebrate! I have decided to have a pop-up sale in the Karavan Press garden this coming Saturday. An opportunity to meet up with our Readers and raise a glass to Dawn Garisch on the occasion of the shortlisting of her Karavan Press novel, Breaking Milk, for the Sunday Times/CNA Fiction Award. (I am still pinching myself – what an amazing recognition for this beautiful, wise novel.)

Covid-19 safety protocols will be observed. We will be outside and the garden will offer lots of space and a relaxed atmosphere. The Cats might join the party. I can’t wait. I am starved for more real-life bookish conversations.

Monday. The refuse collectors were exceptionally early this morning, but they rang my bell, so I did not miss the collection. A morning of admin and emails. Then a lovely meeting on my stoep with a Karavan Press author. Lunch, more computer work until it was time to take my love’s cat to the vet for her monthly appointment. She is a dapper one – a cat with nineteen lives. Dinner was a quiet affair at home with my love.

Tomorrow is Salieri’s turn for her check-up to see whether the meds are working. She has been very good about them, so I hope we will get some good news.

Rafa is in the QF of RG – looking great! About to watch a bit of Iga Świątek’s match before I go to bed.

Hope to see a few of you at the celebration sale on Saturday!

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

Breaking Milk by Dawn Garisch is on the Sunday Times/CNA Fiction Award shortlist! First time ever that Karavan Press titles were in the running and we have had Death and the After Parties by Joanne Hichens on the Non-Fiction Award longlist and Dawn’s novel has made it one step further onto the Fiction shortlist. I am beyond thrilled for these two amazing writers.

I first read a draft of Breaking Milk more than a decade ago and after a rewrite saw it again and completely fell in love with the manuscript, recommending it for publication. The publisher who commissioned me to do the reader’s reports at the time decided not to publish and the manuscript returned to Dawn’s drawer. But I could not forget it – the story and Dawn’s beautiful writing stayed with me. I continued reading her other work, and when Karavan Press became reality, I immediately asked Dawn whether I could read the novel again and consider it for publication. Fortunately for me, she said yes. We published Breaking Milk, Karavan Press’s third book, in 2019. A year later, we published her second poetry collection, Disturbance, together. And the debut collection of Dawn’s short stories is next. The manuscript of Breaking Milk was one of the reasons I wanted to become a publisher. I wanted to share this story with readers. To see it on the shortlist this morning felt more than a dream come true. It was literary magic.

I immediately shared the news with Dawn and my love, and then rushed out to get the Sunday papers. I had a sip of bubbly on an empty stomach to celebrate and then chatted to Mom and Krystian who were also delighted to hear the news. After some food, I enjoyed the rest of the celebratory glass of bubbly.

And there was more good news for Karavan Press today: a great review of An Island by Karen Jennings in Rapport.

Karen Jennings is one of the most exciting contemporary writers. Her brilliance, genre versatility and power of storytelling blows my mind every time I read something by her. A few days ago, I finished reading her next manuscript and I am in awe. Karen is it, a defining voice of her generation (and she is not even forty yet!). I count her among the greats of contemporary literature, and I feel honoured to have An Island on the Karavan Press list.

6 June has special significance for our family history: exactly three decades ago on the 6th, we returned from the States to settle in Europe again; and nineteen years ago on this day, my Mom’s older brother died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – his was one of only a few cases in Austria at the time. He is the first of our family to be buried in Austria.

Today, new memories have been made: magical – literary and otherwise. At the end of the day, my love roasted a chicken for us and the Furry Ones, and we had a quiet, happy evening at home.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

My local post office is closing at the end of the month. I was there this afternoon and the news hit me hard. I really don’t like going anywhere else and feel lost just thinking about the future. I am quite a regular post office client and I am not good with change …

Today was one of those run around, do a lot of stuff, achieve little kind of day. With passing glimpses of tennis. My life needs a revamp.

And loadshedding … Ugh. But I have a plan for tonight’s upcoming hours of darkness: candlelight bath, pink wine (or maybe a cold beer?) and a novel I have been meaning to read for ages. That should make the evening bearable.

My love is coming for dinner first: that makes everything bearable.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

My manuscript reading marathon is officially on. So many of them have been waiting for such a long time, I need to get this done, somehow. There are so many wonderful stories out there, and so many talented writers … if only I had forty more hours in a day. Or at least if I could read during bouts of insomnia (a huge gap in my sleep again last night), but I can’t. I do listen to podcasts (I am working through the WOMAN ZONE STORIES at the moment – wonderful!) or watch TV during the restless hours until sleep takes over again.

A lot of work got done today, but there was the most beautiful interruption to it in the middle of the day: lunch with three wonderful women who brought light and warmth into my home despite loadshedding.

More and more of my friends are getting the vaccine and every time I hear of a new person I know getting it, especially now that the third wave is gathering momentum, I feel relief and know that, even if it is going to be a long time before it is my turn, at least I don’t have to worry about those who are protected suddenly disappearing from my life because of Covid-19.

It’s Rafa’s 35th birthday today and he will be playing at RG later tonight. I look forward to watching the birthday match under the lights in Paris.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

No shouting at walls today, but a long day of work. Exhausted, again, but in a good way. A short sunny mid-morning walk with my love and our dinner the personal highlights of the day.

Literary highlight: the announcement of The Skipper’s Daughter by Nancy Richards – forthcoming from Karavan Press.

This project has been pure joy throughout. I had the pleasure of working on it with Nancy and Monique Cleghorn, and we had a lot of fun, no matter what challenges we encountered along the way.

Now, for a bit of tennis under the lights in Paris, and then sleep. Hopefully! Big yawn …

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

When in doubt, make a fire.

I knew about loadshedding, but between the confusing Eskom and City of Cape Town loadshedding stages and schedules, I was caught unawares last night just after ten. I thought I was on stage one, but it was stage two from ten onward. The. Worst. Time.

There was only one thing to do: light the fireplace. My first fire of the season. Together with a few candles, the fire and the light made it possible for me to read for a bit and eventually fall asleep. Not for long, but insomnia gaps in my nights are nothing unusual – somewhere around stage four or five, or is it level four or five for insomnia?

Anxiety levels going through the roof for most of today. But I did my job. At least the most important tasks set for the day. I only screamed at the walls of my house in despair twice in the course of today: when Salieri was being fussy about her food and when I could not find a document that I desperately need, but have somehow misplaced.

No time for tennis, although I was so eager to see Rafa play.

Highlights of the day: Skype lunch with Mom and Krystian to celebrate Polish Children’s Day (always a big deal in our family – Mom wished me some peace …), coffee with a dear friend to discuss the state of independent publishing in SA (dire), and dinner with my love (I cooked, and it was delicious, even if I say so myself).

A little bit of work awaits tonight, but nothing major any longer. Tomorrow, a lovely literary announcement!

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

Just a day of work, with brief glances at the TV screen for glimpses of my favourites and scores from RG. Federer looking good. Great to see Tsonga on court again, too. Williams, fittingly, playing the first match under the new Parisian lights. And then, the Osaka fiasco (badly handled all around – very unfortunate).

My love cooked dinner for us and made a fire tonight. Domestic bliss of the simplest kind. No loadshedding – yet – but the house is getting really cold. I am holding on to my hot water bottle as if it was the last creature stranded with me on a deserted island. And there is lots of tea (without alcohol at this stage, but that’s the next survival step in winter).

I heard a radio interview with Lara Foot today and she made me realise what Level Two means for the theatre. I am very glad that we already have tickets for the Life and Times of Michael K.

I also heard privately that a friend who was about to start a new job at another theatre tested positive for Covid-19 before he could begin. It is all very depressing.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD

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

— @HaggardHawks

Sunday morning was our last in Franschhoek during this short break and we woke up to crisp sunshine dispersing the mist around the beautiful valley.

To start the day, we had a leisurely walk and a delicious breakfast – exceptionally, I ordered croque monsieur and did not regret my choice; the entire dish was great, but the cheese sauce topping was phenomenal.

Then it was time for some culture: Everard Read Gallery at the magnificent Leeu Estate. There is a statue at the entrance of the gallery that made me immediately think of the last fifteen months of the pandemic, with most of us crashing to earth head-first despite our wings wide open. Blue. High heels, pretty dress and all.

Inside, a few artworks spoke to me, but I find it difficult to respond to a lot of modern art. I look at some of these artworks and their price tags and think, ‘How?’

‘Bearing Your Becoming’ by Angus Taylor was intriguing, because of the beauty of the statue, the materials it is made from (bronze and gem stones), the title, and the fact that a male artist brought it to ‘life’.

I also loved this artwork: ‘A Textbook of X-Ray Diagnosis’ by Barbara Wildenboer. I have now seen a few of her ‘books’ and find them always fascinating to engage with.

And as always, I could not resist a few tongue-in-cheek selfies.

Fallen Angels / Bearing Our Becoming / Holding My Selfie

Someone (yes, a man; yes, a complete stranger) on Twitter asked about the last selfie, ‘What’s the point?’ He obviously did not look closely or read the text in the mirror. ‘Hold your tongue,’ I say. No one asked you for your opinion, sir.

I returned home to a relaxed and happy Cat Family – they were in the care of a dear friend who even managed to give Salieri her medication twice a day (with only a little bit of feline fuss around the administration). Going away has always been difficult because of the Furry Ones, but now that they need special care, it will take some more careful planning.

The return home meant a return to simple everyday pleasures (although the French cheese I bought in Franschhoek is a taste-bud delight of note) and some household chores, but I could do my ironing while watching the first day of tennis at the French Open – Dominic Thiem :( – and do some gardening while basking in the beautiful afternoon sun.

My love and I had a simple soup for dinner and watched TV together before I returned home to Level Two Lockdown and Friends: The Reunion. The slow vaccine rollout with all its teething, or rather fanging, problems, the Health Minister’s dubious digital vibes, people’s refusal to adhere to the simplest non-pharmaceutical protection measures … and I am sitting here and bracing myself for more morale-crushing news and suffering.

The Reunion was not what I had expected. I never really watched Friends – in total, I might have watched about twenty episodes – so I do not consider myself a fan, but I was curious.

I often think of the artists associated with the Bloomsbury Group, how they defined an era. Or the Sestigers here in South Africa. How a group of friends and family members working together and believing in their vision and the possibility of change influenced generations of people who came after them. Friends was a TV show, but just as much a cultural phenomenon, the creators and actors involved also captured the zeitgeist of their era, and judging by some of the Reunion‘s testimonials from around the world, they made many people feel better about themselves and their lives, and that is quite something.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

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

— NICD