The Reading List

As you have probably noticed I am trying to educate myself about the history behind oppression and racism. Someone asked me whether I follow the South African news as closely as I do the US news and I try to keep myself aware of what is happening all over the world. Right now I am …

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What Matters

Last Monday was a busy morning for us hibernating hobbits. We had the plumber in to sort out our leaky pipe and Norm had to go out to the chemist and for a shop. That is how narrow our lives have become! Navajo went with Norm to the shops and when Nava sees that Norm …

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Kitten In a Box

It is now Day 11 of self isolation in the Walker-Brook house. My anxiety levels are at an all time high. I am struggling to get to sleep and on some nights I have resorted to tablets to knock me out but that means I struggle to wake up the next day. The logical part …

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Kept In The Dark

The issues with load shedding have carried on with us all having to plan around when we can cook and function in our every day lives. It's such an inconvenience. Especially as it seems that the schedule changes on a whim. On Valentine's night, Norm and I went out and did not know there was …

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6 Degrees of Chaos

As there are more people living with HIV in South Africa than in any other country it is impossible to fathom why people would destroy an HIV Centre at a local University on the Natal coast but they did. Students burnt the building housing the centre during protests on Monday afternoon. Students are protesting over historical …

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Balance and Control

Our last weekend in the states was spent with me in bed as I was so ill. I missed our family dinner which had been planned on our last Saturday and also a BBQ with friends which was organized for the Sunday. I spent most of Monday alternating sleeping with packing. Mom caught the bug …

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The Peter Principal

Thanks to my fabulous Sunday evening last weekend, on Monday morning I was a wee bit hungover. I had left the office early the previous Friday so I missed the arrival of a meeting invite for Monday but luckily I wore a nice dress and did not look a tramp despite my fuzzy head. We …

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The Spectrum of Light And Dark

The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign (16 Days Campaign) is a United Nations campaign which takes place annually from 25 November (International Day of No Violence against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day). The world has a long way to go to address the issue, it …

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I Hear You Knocking

  I suspect that I have suffered from anxiety for most of my life but I just did not have a name for it. When I moved from a tiny little town in rural Tennessee to Los Angeles in the 80's I was diagnosed with asthma because when I would drive on the motorways I …

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Patience and Protection

Since Panda became ill the scope of our lives has become quite narrow. Panda is at the center of everything we do and so we spend most of our time at home. Yesterday we broke out of that pattern for a bit. In the morning Norm got up to let Navajo and Pixie out for …

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