The Man in the Plastic Mask
Doctor D phoned to say that the PET scan showed my lungs to be clear except for a non-malignant nodule, which meant curative treatment of the cancer in my neck could proceed.
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Memory Project: The Colour Red
Next to the cement step at the kitchen door was a foot scraper. This was a series of metal strips spaced about an inch apart on which to scrape off the mud from the soles of our shoes.
On the Beach: A Ship’s Hawser
It is now seldom that a rough sea brings ashore any flotsam of interest.
Frikkie And Plug Discuss The Domestic Servant...
"They cleaned me out," said Frikkie. He was taking Plug through his mansion, and his voice bounced about in the empty spaces and made him sound like a guide showing tourists around a mausoleum.
Memory Project: Beira
In landlocked Rhodesia the nearest destination for a seaside holiday was Beira, the second biggest town in Mozambique. My father persuaded my mother that it would be good for all of us to take a two-week break, and that the most affordable and fun wa...
Walk Through Time
I recently took a short, slow hike along the Geological Trail at the Penguin Sanctuary near Kleinbaai. By 'short' I mean about a hundred metres, and by 'slow' I would say it took about an hour.
Semigration Control
As living conditions in the rest of the country rapidly deteriorate, a growing number of people is moving to the Western Cape, where provision of services is of a higher standard.
An Aggressive Uptake of Glucose
Alright, so the surgeion had been largely unsuccessful in his attempt to remove the cancerous lymph node from my neck. There being nothing more he could do for me with his scalpel, he pointed me in the direction of an oncologist just down the road. ...
Beware of Cattle
Have you heard the joke about a warning sign near the brink of a dangerous cliff? They took the sign down because no one ever fell over the edge.
The Last Outpost
When I first started coming to Pearly Beach in the 1970s, access was on a gravel road that went through Baardskeerdersbos and then turned right and headed in an almost straight line for the sea.
One Thing Leads to Another
On a hot day in February 2019, I consulted a dermatologist in Hermanus. A thin woman in her fifties, she wore a strapless dress that was so flimsy and loose-fitting it occurred to me she might be wearing a nightie. I asked her to take a look at some ...
My Academic Career
Towards the end of 1967, which was my last year at Fish Hoek High School, the headmaster called my parents in for an interview. He told them it was his sad duty to inform them that their son would never amount to much in life.