Secrets of the Cathars & Mysteries of the Magdalene Tour June 2015 October 2014 and a friend mentions a book, ‘The Book of Love.’ This book is an ancient tome hidden somewhere in a small Tuscan village, a gospel according to Jesus Christ. History and reading, my two loves…I jump on the Internet and […]
Sabi Sands Game Reserve Flying from Cape Town we arrived in Skukuza Airport at 12:30 pm. Skukuza is in Sabi Sands Game Reserve, Kruger Park. We were staying at Dulini Lodge www.dulini.com for the next four days. Skukuza airport was recently reopened after extensive renovations. With beautiful timber floors and ceiling, the terminal is a […]
We were the animals in the zoo, locked in, forbidden to roam free. This was their home…once a thriving mining community now a 21st century Ghost town. From the tour bus we watched a mother and her children traverse the lush green park. She stopped…others joined her. They turned and looked our way. Like a […]
I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains Of ragged mountain ranges Of droughts and flooding rains I love her far horizons I love her jewel-sea Her beauty and her terror – The wide brown land for me Dorothea MacKellar Its vastness is underestimated by many tourists, often to their detriment. Unlike much […]
She was imposing, terrifyingly beautiful. She struck dread and fear into the hearts of all who served her and those who watched from afar. But this was now. She wasn’t always a brutal beast. Her life began in the service of Queen Anne during the War of Spanish Succession. At the time Queen […]
In the 21st Century is poverty still the parent of revolution and crime? She put the chalk down and turned to the class. ‘This will be the subject of next Monday’s assignment. I’d like you to try writing your opening sentence now. Then some of you can read them.’ A flurry of writing ensued. ‘Peter?’ […]
She died knowing her family was safe. Hidden deep within the forest foliage her body lay undetected, decomposing in its own time. Her offspring woke to the world, hungry. Protected from predators, they waited for their transformation to begin. Soon each found a place to grow, to change to develop into the beauty their mother […]
People say ‘it’s relative’. Do we know what that means? Relative to what? Relative to our situation. Relative to where we live. Relative to where we travel. Relative to our faith, our upbringing. Is fear relative? The media announces…we are strong. Politicians tell us to be strong. Don’t let the bastards scare us. […]
Twelve months had passed since Niccoli sailed from Zeeland aboard Sussex. Lisbeth, six months pregnant had stood on this same jetty, her pain and distress absolute. Ships returned with tales of wild untamed oceans, giant monsters and pirates. Then, three months ago, a message…Sussex had floundered off the African coast…the survivors taken prisoner by the […]
The high city walls created a funnel for the cold winter wind. She pulled her cloak closed as she passed the hustle and bustle of the market stalls. Stallholders pushed their wares towards her, ‘Buy Madame,’ they insisted. She smiled and shook her head. ‘Not today thank you.’ She hurried through the city gates making […]
She pulled her jumper over her nose and held her breath. She wanted to be outside in the clean fresh air. Life had other ideas. Had she known the facts, today would look different, but appearances are deceiving. She opened the windows and filled her lungs with microscopic particles of fresh air. Turning towards the […]
Rain battered the tin roof filling the gutters in seconds. Sheets of water flowed on to the verandah. She sat up in bed, her Ipad open to ‘Words with Friends’. A message dropped from the top of the screen. What’s happening? She changed games and wrote…Nothing, it’s his turn. Another message, it read…Your move with […]
