3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

At Mykonos All we did was go to Gumtree and punched in Mykonos holiday and up popped the West Coast Holidays advert, promising a   not-to-break-the –bank deals for a Mon-Fri stay at Mykonos during the first week of the school holidays. Well, in Superman style, Val   Hopley , our ‘travel agent’, promptly sorted out all the hiccups that we experienced in Levona's kaliva.. Then we were ready to soak up the pleasures of our own piece of Greece.   We are now on to day 3. Mykonos is the ideal getaway even for consummate homebodies Mykonos is your ideal winter getaway and caters for all kinds of holidaymakers – the seasoned ones and the ones who are terrified of going on holiday. Okay, I am exaggerating ,but goodness – the reasons we manufacture to justify why we can’t go on even a   ‘cheapie’! The reasons are often elaborate, pseudo-valid ones. There are some who would say “ No, we have to choose. Our children want a flatscreen TV or others would...

Who greets first? At first glance this question may seem like a no-brainer... if there is an absence of strong opinions on the issue.  Greeting Ritual Contenders: Sasha and Brett enjoying time out at Muizenberg Putt-Putt course We have a Greeting Ritual crisis at home. There are two views and the supporter of each one is fanatic. On the one hand, we have Brett who believes that his sister, Sasha, should greet him first when he arrives home. Conversely, Sasha asserts that Brett should be the one to greet first because he should acknowledge her presence. The other family members just greet; there are no strings attached. But not so for the eldest and the youngest siblings in our household; they refuse to surrender unless under duress.   We need an umpire or a judge to rule Invariably I become the umpire, the mediator or negotiator to keep the peace when the mudslinging between the two parties borders on mayhem.   The other day when things threatened to exp...

I was shell-shocked for a few minutes and re-read the mail from our registry. There it was: the funeral arrangements of a colleague I had never met face to face, Lolita Macrill, yet someone who helped to ease my load. Goodness, I exclaim to Basil, when did all this happen? How? Did I miss a previous mail to inform us Lolita had passed on? All these questions raced through my head as I tried to process the death of a friend and colleague I had never ever seen. I search my mailbox and there I find the mail: Lolita suffered a heart attack. I had missed that mail - somehow I had... Immaculate service from Lolita I am talking about Lolita Mackrill, our CEMIS Head office contact person. Whenever we were stuck with some administrative or technical problem regarding our central education management system, I would phone Lolita. Whenever the schools I serve struggled, I happily directed them to Lolita to assist. All our queries were managed professionally and whenever we spoke, Lolit...

Our children determine the quality time agenda at times When our children become teenagers, they slowly start shifting away from us. I am sure we are all too familiar with the signs: the irritation with all those supposed faux paus we make - laughing too loudly, not 'getting it', not cooking the right foods, not enjoying life - just about everything that was fine not too long ago.  Our own children are no different. And, when they wish to include us in their activities, I jump at these opportunities! Weekend nicknaks  This weekend was no different. Each of the Lewinsky trio had their own plans and somehow we were roped in at junctures which they determined. Brett and his lil' family had a movie day in front of the fireplace. All movie snacks and homemade burger rolls travelled to our bedroom at various intervals. Sasha was at Tyler's place where she and her friends worked on one of the items on their bucket list. They too had a movie night, watching some chick fli...

The Reunion Hideout There we were at Vanantheo ( Theo)’s place, welcomed by a huge sign, a personalized glass filled with a pen and blank business card for your networking contacts.   That set the scene for a glorious, mad, spontaneous reunion of folk who have not seen one another for 24 years! Imagine – almost 2,5 decades yet one would have sworn it was just the other day.   Group pic - there may be some on the sides - sorry (blame Junior Theo,Lol) The troop arrives ... Bonita breezed in and immediately tackled Nino for pretending NOT to know her in public, Lesley, the quiet youngster darted from place to place, enthralling us with his anecdotes of years gone by and then Alistair arrived with aplomb.   After stomping at the entrance to the ‘chill section’, he gave us all the once over and then with a mixture of typical Cape Flats lingo, he worked his way round the circle to greet everyone.    Selena just glanced around, sitting serenely and allowin...

The OXY Punk rock group is becoming better and bigger.  The OXY band members are Brandon ( also the Manager of the band), Byron, Micki and Christo - four fun-loving young men who enjoy their music and they enjoy having loads of fun. You must come out to see them. Nigel Pearce of Good Hope invited them to studio and liked what they had to say and even indicated he will play their demo if they bring one along. The only drawback is that hiring a studio is expensive for these youngsters. But, who knows... Enjoy these snapshots taken by one of their die-hard fans.   Micki bonding with the crowd. Brandon,their band leader is amazing...    Their music has become more refined and the crowds love them!    " We want Thunderpants"! Shouted the crowd at their last jamming session. And did the OXY guys oblige? Oh Yeah...  From left: Micki (Lead guitar), Christo (on drums), Byron( bass) and Brandon (rhthym and  Band Manager) So, if you ...

On  Friday evening, Levona, Hilary and I trekked off to Groote Schuur hospital to visit our aunt, Aunty Henna.  What a lovely evening we had. Aunty Henna is our only surviving aunt.  Lecinda and Janine, her two granddaughters were also visiting. The visit turned out to be a fantastic family bonding session. Despite her frail state, Aunty Henna was a wonderful hostess. She lay there in her bed, all regal and proceeded to tell us about the start of her journey to doctors and hospitals.   Aunty Henna and I having a hugging moment and luvin it! Every detail was described graphically. We heard how Aunty Henna felt that the 'arthritis' was becoming unbearable and then she who never really visited the doctor, started her journey at this phase in her life. We went with her for the X-rays, the MRI's, to the dispensary where she was given 5 tablets that had to be taken for three weeks and then back to the day she fainted. Now, she said, she found herself lying in hospi...