Fairlady May - June 2021

I love Robyn MacLarty’s story on book clubs (page 42) because I love my own book club so deeply. The eight of us (we used to be nine) have been together for 21 years, through four divorces, one wedding, many children, too many deaths, many triumphs, and crises of confidence, belief and circumstance. Through it all, we’ve been a yardstick and a refuge for one another: they’re a collection of funny, clever and irreverent women who provide a framework for my life, and I look forward to growing even older with them. Occasionally we moot the idea of bringing our daughters in, just to spread the love – and sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a different generation sitting around the table. I know we’re all heartily…

This video of a young Canadian woman singing The Beatles’ song ‘Blackbird’ in her native language, Mi’kmaq (pronounced Micmac): https://youtu.be/99-LoEkAA3w. Mi’kmaq is a First Nations people’s language in danger of disappearing, and as part of an effort to highlight that, and the many other indigenous languages and cultures in Canada, Emma Stevens (16) chose to sing a song we’d all recognise in her language. It’s areally simple performance, but I find it so moving… as did Macca, apparently; he gave Emma a shout-out at a recent concert. Cinnamon Every so often, hundreds of really tiny ants invade our house. They congregate around water and also seem to have a weird predilection for electricity outlets. I remembered reading somewhere that ants don’t like cinnamon, so when I saw a swarm of them travelling…

FROM THE FRONTLINE I’m wide awake at 2am. My throat feels like someone is choking me. My heart is beating loud and fast… I feel a kick in my stomach, a knot in my gut. Tears roll down my cheeks, because I know I don’t have a lot of time left, and I need all my strength. But the horror, the unknown that 7am brings is haunting me. When I close my eyes, I see people dying, fighting, hurting, sick. I see alarms screaming at me as I try to do five things at once: not because I want to, but because I need to. I see my colleagues running around, exhausted, hungry, stressed from trying to cope with the incredible load on them: the expectations, the orders, the needs, the care… Life.…

under, Madelein. I hope this month’s prize goes a little way towards making you feel as appreciated as you are. Thank you and your colleagues for everything you do for us. WHAT GIVES? First of all, may I say how much I love your magazine! I have been reading it since I was a senior schoolgirl and I’m still reading it at the ripe old age of 67. It was with great interest that I read your ed’s letter, in which you write about the obscenity of the earnings of top sportsmen. I could not agree with you more. I was delighted to know that someone else out there felt the same as I do. However, my delight was shortlived when I turned to pages 15, 19 and 158 and read with horror…

A PICTURE FULL OF POSIES I can’t get enough of these fine-art prints designed by Kirsten Lipschitz and captured by Adel Ferreira. It’s like having fresh flowers in my bedroom every day! You can have them printed on archival textured paper or linen, and they are limited to only 25 prints per image. Have a look on Instagram at @fable.botanicalstudio – Annelee OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, SKY I spotted these sweet little bowls by local brand Windhorse when I was browsing around Fabricate the other day, and I couldn’t resist buying the ‘Heart Like the Ocean’ one. Although, looking at them now, I suspect I need the other two as well. Just to round out the set, you know? They are handmade by local artist Carl Beukes and they go for R380 each. – Liesl Basket case I ordered a…

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