|
You
can find meaning in almost anything if you want to, if you try
|
17
April to 23 May 2003
|
Hey you [a Robbie K greeting -- you'll see in my book! It's not an original, but he is, so that's fine.]
I'm trying something different with this issue. It's probably a good idea to do that now and again, considering the name of the newsletter. I am dividing my news into various sections, and the headings to these are likely to change each week. So you'll find a Contents list below. If you see a star next to a topic it means there are photos in that section. If you're reading this on the Web, you should be able to click on the headings that take your fancy, thus completely ignoring the rugby, or the family stuff, for instance, although there is bound to be some overlap at times. It'll all still be on one page (for those who want to read everything), so everything will print, unless you highlight the sections you want and print only those. And if you've got the Ms-Word version, the list below will give you the page numbers. Let's see how it goes -- feedback would be good. Enjoy!
Oh, and this time although my by-line is not from a song, it's from a Melody, me. And by the way, that little bird at the top… I made that! But I'm not sure whether its mouth is open or closed, depends how you look at it. Could be it's singing A DifferenTune, I guess. *shrug* ;-)
What's happening with your Novel, Mel?
Isn't it funny that another meaning for "novel" is "different" or "of a kind not seen before"? Derived from similar Latin words, but they are separate in the dictionary. Anyway… I love my novel, so I'll have to set it free sometime. To everyone who's ever asked me when I'm having a baby, this book is my baby! So if you read it, please take care of it. I've already told Michael the password to get into it so that if I die before it gets published, it will still get out there and be my legacy. I must sound mad, but that's how important an achievement it is for me. The idea of handing it over to the world scares the hell out of me, but I will because it's made me more positive and alive than I remember ever being. And I hope that at least a few other people come to love it too. It's the only book I am able to get myself to read at the moment. And thank goodness I can get myself to read it because I am currently editing it for about the sixth time. I'm still changing, adding and removing bits and improving the wording and so on, but I hope that by the beginning of June the first couple of people will read it and advise further fixes. The two people I mean are Michael (he always picks up the errors I miss in my newsletters) and Sameera (who has to confirm that my medical bits are okay or possible). And then I may let it out to a few more of you after I make the next round of corrections.
I'll be speaking to a friend who runs the Writers' Network at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town's city centre (or Town, as we locals call it) about getting it published sometime soon. Ashraf will probably tell me all the difficult stuff I'm going to have to do to get it out there and I'll feel a bit down about it and stuff, but I'll just have to bounce back and get on with things :-) Thanks, Ashraf, for being in the position to provide me with some assistance, and for offering to give me a listen! For those of you who don't remember, Ashraf was at High School with me. And he, Prakash and I were co-founders of that wonderful organisation called M.A.D. Ass. (the Mentally Alienated Delinquents Association)! Ring a bell to some of you who used to be members? Still have some bright orange Albert stickers if you're interested. And all the Newsthings and the two Rigor Mortis magazines. More about Ashraf in the Theatre section of this issue.
But back to the novel… It's got a name now. It's called Look Inside and it’s split into two documents (Parts One and Two of the book respectively) called LookInside.doc and LookInside2.doc (complete trivia, I know). I mostly had to look inside myself to write it, although of course I had to make use of experiences and observations outside myself as well. But it's also appropriate to the story (it has to be, doesn't it?) and I do want the name on the cover of the book to make people look inside and read the pages. It's actually weird, I was looking for a font to use for the title a few weeks ago. I'd just finished one complete edit of the book and it was standing at 555 pages (still is too) and then I spotted this font (in Ms-Word) called Staccato555 BT and it was perfect. The o's in "Look" even look like eyes in a way. Look. Actually, it's better when it's bigger, but anyway. See, you can find meaning in pretty much anything! Because a dumb thing like that was a sign to me that my book was a good thing… kind of meant to be. Plus "staccato" is a musical term and my story also has musical stuff in it. I also want the sections to be separated by notes. Part One's sections are split by
and Part Two's sections are split by
(there are no numbered chapters). Only in my dreams will I be able to get it published like that, I suppose, but who knows? Hey, if I can find meaning in a font name, I can find meaning in meeting my favourite musician and getting an autograph from him that says: To Melody Thanx for writing about me in your novel! Garth Taylor Everybody say, "Ahhh, sweet!" And for him and his manager to have read tiny bits of my novel before anyone else means something to me too. "Keep writing," he told me and, "Are you going to send us a copy?" "Definitely," I replied. Read more about that evening at Westend and other GT stuff in the Music section of this newsletter.
There was a day a couple of weeks back when I went to Exclusive Books and had a look to see if they keep the South African novels separated from all the others. I knew they had an African section, you see, but I would have said something if they kept the local novels apart from the others. But it looks like they're pretty good about displaying them in various places. Anyway, I also read snippets of some books about writing fiction and they put me off a bit, so I was glum for a few hours after that. You know, when you read all these rules about what a novel should be like. For example, not too much dialogue. There was one comment by someone that went something like, "if you want to write dialogue, you should do screenwriting," but I don't want this novel to be a movie. I have my reasons, one of them being my preference for novels over movies (although I can't handle either at the moment!!). I also don't want the characters to ever be linked to one particular actor's face. It's up to you how you picture them; I don't want them to become the faces of real people out there. Plus in some ways, I want certain things to remain hidden until later in the book, and I wouldn't want anyone to try and achieve that effect in a movie. However, let me say that I will have to give it a 16SL rating. Michael said, "Not more than 16, then?" No, I have a reason for that too. [You can show them, Andy.] You know what SL stands for when it comes to movies, and it does for my book too, but it also represents Sweetness and Love. I could add the N and the V too, but since it's a book and not a movie, you don't have to actually see either of those things ;-) It'll be a movie in your head, not on a screen. You look at things the way you want to, although I will obviously be your guide. At this stage it's 235 000+ words of entertainment. I read at Exclusive Books that it is difficult to get a novel that's longer than 200 000 words published because it will make the book too big to read in bed! Well, to hell with that -- get out of bed!! I will defend every word. That's why I'm trying to make it the best I can. I realise that I have to take advice from other people, and I will, but there are certain things I won't compromise on.
There was this other odd meaningful thing that popped up while I was researching for and writing the book, but I won't say anything about that right now. It's just funny how coincidences happen sometimes, things that make you think, "Wow! How freaky!" Things that just fit perfectly. It's almost like when you just connect with someone. And I found it pretty bizarre when Garth was performing at Westend and he said on stage that Blue was one of his very favourite bands. I said to him later, "I didn't know you like Blue -- how weird that they're also in my book." (They're more prominent in the book than any of the other musicians I mention -- Garth is next, ultimately more significantly -- and I even considered using the word "blue" in the title of the book, definitely for reasons other than them though! I have to admit that the "blue movie" connection did cross my mind.) Anyway, so Garth's like, "Yeah, I love Blue." (Now go away, you're being a freak, he didn't add). I didn't bother telling him it was weird he sang a Shaggy song too… let's not even go there! All it means is that Garth and I have similar music tastes. Not that my book was destined to exist! :-)
Well, this leads nicely onto my next sub-heading! Oh, before I leave this topic, Maureen insisted that I must say in my newsletter that she phoned and said congratulations on my novel and that she's so proud of me. And I was like, "But you haven't even read it yet!" And she's like, "Yes, but you've achieved something and I must see you and talk to you and give you stamps for the newsletters you post me, shame. I'll phone you next week and organise lunch in Claremont, and I'll get Karen to come too!" (Okay, that is not a direct quote; she did not say it all at once, but I thought I'd summarise). Oh, and Auntie Mo, just because we're going to Claremont doesn't mean I'm going to take you to that shop -- that's David's job! Maureen used to work with me, and she's a pensioner now when she's not finding temp jobs to do. Oh, Mom! Maureen says hi and sends her love.
[21 May -- Oh, yesterday I read the last novel I wrote (in 1997, I think). It's called In Between and it's 77007 words long -- I felt compelled to re-read it and didn't go to bed until I'd finished. I won't tell you what time I got up on this bergwindy day. It's the third book in a series I started when I was fourteen or fifteen. The first is called Kristan (a very long hand-written story) and the second is Rain in May, Tears in June. I can't believe Rain (the character) is eleven already! Anyway, they're all unpublished and if I ever use them they need lots and lots of work (Wet Wet Wet fans may get a good laugh out of them), especially the first one. The one I read last night is no exception, but it has its moments. I'm glad I took the time to read it. So I can read novels at the moment after all… as long as they're my own!]
I'm going to do ten pages of editing before writing this section because I haven't done any work on my book yet today (I had to do yukky cleaning-up household chores and ironing and dinner and I'm not the only one who needs the computer, etcetera). So please just bear with me because it's already eleven at night and I have to get my fix. I mean, make my fixes…
Those ten pages took a looong time, so I went to bed after two-thirty and now it's eight hours later (it's the 19th although this issue was supposed to be until the 17th -- shows you how late I am with it). *yawn* Guess what song was on the radio when I switched it on today, on P4 ("The Heart and Soul of Cape Town"). Garth Taylor's Only With You. I told him that they play him all the time on the radio. He was like, "They'll be playing Missing You soon." And I was like, "Really? Cool." And he was like, "Apparently one of my songs is number three on some radio station… some station with a Top 40? P4 maybe?" And I'm like, "Could be, but I have no idea!" That's what happens when you have five stations you switch between because you can't get your satisfaction from just one of them -- P4, Good Hope FM, 5FM. Metro FM and KFM -- you can't really follow all their charts unless you have lots of time on your hands. Anyway, as it turns out, it probably was P4 because more than a week after that, I discovered that it was number three on P4. Yesterday I was sweeping the toilet floor (oh, the joys of domestics - what am I doing working on a Sunday? Let me tell you my mother laboured quite a bit on the Sunday I was born!) when I looked at my watch and discovered that it was one o'clock, so I rushed to the radio in my bedroom in the hope that the P4 number one song would still be playing so that I could find out what it was. It was and it was Only With You, for the second week in a row! Lekker. You go, Garth! Haven't heard Missing You on any of the stations yet though. But that's okay since I have it on my Who I Am CD. This is the one I didn't think I'd be able to get (no money and all that). But on 17 April Michael gave me the extra twenty bucks I needed to add to the sixty in my wallet in order to buy it. Thank you, thank you! Because it's my favourite album now, partially because I find it inspirational in terms of helping to make me brave enough to share my book. In the CD booklet, Garth says, "All but one of the tracks on this album were arranged, produced and recorded entirely by myself at my studio in Durban. This album reflects the real Garth Taylor! I hope you enjoy the journey. This album is Who I Am!" That really inspires me to believe in myself and to use my strengths rather than focus on my weaknesses (yeah, Marcia, I read your newsletter too!!) when it comes to writing. Oh and the title track starts with, "Just because I'm a little different, That don't mean you can walk all over me, Just because I didn't have the chances, That you had, doesn't mean that I got to live in misery". Another really significant bit of it is, "And through it all I've realised, And through it all I've opened my eyes, And through it all I've understood, That this is who I am" and that's how I feel about what happened with my book. And loving sixteen out of sixteen tracks on a CD ain't bad, hey David B? (wow, you get two mentions in one newsletter! *gasp* Actually, more in the Theatre section and the Friendly section!) His version of Imagine (the John Lennon song) is stunning. You know… "Imagine there's no heaven… " et cetera "… and no religion too…" -- I've always loved that song. It's the only song on the album not written by him or (in one case) by Alan, his manager, and Richard Kohler, both of whom established "Adventure Music" with him. And I asked him to autograph it next to Do I Cry because it's my favourite song on the album. This was the autograph that says, To Melody Enjoy! Garth Taylor with his trademark G drawing afterwards -- also in the other one -- his standard autograph, I guess. The other one that I mention in the Novel section of this issue was on a print of a black & white photo (with blue eyes) that Alan handed to me (that he was, in fact, going to post to me at first). I suppose I know all the songs almost off by heart now (while they're playing, I mean). Anyway, so I thought it was only fair that I thank Garth for everything his music has meant to me while I've been finishing off my book. So I created some handwritten fanmail which I packaged in an audio cassette cover. I gave this to him on 30 April, at Westend, after he signed my CD booklet and after I said to him, "I don't know if Alan told you about me wanting to use your lyrics in my book" (I didn't want to assume) and his eyes opened wider and he said, "Oh yeah, I read that!" And then when I said, "This is for you" he looked at it curiously and I said, probably unnecessarily, "It's not a tape. It's a letter… hope you can get it out of there". Anyway, so he hands it to Alan who was standing beside him at the time and says, "How sweet... Isn't she sweet?" And Alan, probably trying to stop himself from rolling his eyes, smiles and nods. Most likely thinking, Freak! Alan then put it in his red GT backpack where he was also keeping some of Garth's CDs in case anyone wanted to buy them. It would be interesting if they read this so that they can confirm their suspicions that I'm a weirdo.
And then as if that wasn't enough, I say, "Garth, I was hoping to get a photo with you, but if you don't do that kind of thing, it's fine." So he's like, "Oh okay! Do you have a camera there?" And then I think this was where I lay my jacket on his counter (honestly, the forwardness of some people) -- he was sitting at a little counter in the entrance-way to Westend) so that I could dig my camera out of one of its large pockets. You see, I had to cram everything into these pockets because I can't stand taking bags with me to clubs. By the way, during my encounter with Garth, there were other people who were getting booklets or photos signed too, but they didn't hang around. I had a good laugh when a woman behind me said, "He wants to know why you didn't sing Only With You again" about the guy standing with her. And Garth says, "I don't know, I didn't think people were that into it" or something and this guy cries out, (now, only Capetonians, including me, say this, as far as I know) "Oh my nerves!!! I was shouting for you to sing it again!!" Seriously, I found this hilarious.
Anyway, so then some woman (who I don't know from Eve… okay, I'll say Adam) says, "Do you want me to take it for you?" And I say, "If you don't mind, thanks". And some other woman is passing on condolences to Garth because a friend of his had died of cancer in the week before (he told us on stage that he was sad because of this and therefore not as lively as normal -- well, then I don't know what he's like on a normal night!) Anyway, so I went behind the counter with Garth and gave him a hug and told him I was sorry about his friend (Grant Vincent) and it probably made him sadder. "'S'okay," he said. And then this woman with my camera still gives him a hard time because he's got a cigarette in his hand while he's posing for the picture. She gave him this look and I was like, "What? Do you want him to put his cigarette away?" and she's like, "Yes!" while Garth glances at me and then I think he kind of held it behind his back. So she clicks and then I say, "Okay, one more, just in case." So my arm is still around Garth and the woman says, "Why? In case I effed it up?" (I'm censoring a little here, for the sensitive readers) and Garth's silent and I'm like, laughing a little, "Er… yes, if you want to put it that way." And then I returned to the other side of the counter while Garth sat back down and told me to keep writing and asked if I was sending them a copy of my book. Then other bits of the conversation happened that I have already mentioned. I also asked Garth when they were leaving Cape Town and he said, "Tomorrow, and I'm not coming back to Cape Town for a long time, I'm taking a break". So after pouting about this I remarked that he probably needed it and he said, "Oh no, I'm not taking a break from music, I'm going to be working on my new album". At some point I finally picked up my jacket and told Alan it had been good to meet him (I think he smiled and nodded again, most likely wondering why the hell I was taking so long to go away). As I was turning to go back into the club to find Lauren and Trevor, I wished them a safe trip back to Durban. They probably couldn't wait to escape the mad Capetonians…
This story isn't over yet! I just want to rewind briefly to my evening at Hanover Street on Sunday 27 April. (More about that in the Friends section) Michael dropped me off at Grandwest after we had a braai with Darlene near Durbanville (more about that in Friends section too). And I met up with Caroll, Marlene and Valencia outside Jackson Hall (just phoned Verity now to ask her the name of the place because I couldn't remember, although I thought there was a 'jack' in there. Now if we're talking psycho Capetonians, that one tops the list, but let's not go there right now). Anyway, it was after nine and they took me to our group's upstairs table in Hanover Street. Not long after that Marlene danced with me to Garth's Why even though I think there were about four people on the dance-floor at that point (including us) and then to Only With You about fifteen minutes later. It was too early at that stage for the people to be dancing (not gesuip enough yet I suppose), but luckily for me Marlene was keen on the songs and on dancing too. Much, much later when the dance-floor was busy I was still waiting for them to play In Da Club (still at number one on Good Hope and has been on 5FM too). I figured if they played a song like Missy E's 4 my People (hey, it's in my book!), then they could play a song like that, so just as one song was ending, I was willing them to either play that or Garth's Tonite since they'd already played those other two of his. You know, I was begging, PleaseplayInDaCluborTonitepleaseplease! Of course… they didn't. But they played Only with You and Why, again -- a double play of Garth Taylor. These are the two songs of his in my book, by the way. Not that it's a coincidence really because he's only had a few singles/radio-exposed songs. At the end of the night Caroll said to me, "You won tonight, usually it's me who dances the most". Yeah!
Anyway, back to the Westend story… Verity was supposed to go with me, but she had to make sure her husband was okay with it. And Lauren said she would come with me otherwise. Which would mean Michael being the chauffeur, shame. By the way, Michael's ears are too sensitive for loud club music; that's why he never goes with me, for people who keep asking. But then Wendy thought she might go along too, especially since Loyiso would be singing and Ready D (arguably Cape Town's most popular deejay) would also be doing his thing. Tamsyn also considered it, but she was going to have an early morning the next day, so it wasn't going to be wise for her to have a very late night. But then Wendy was feeling too sick with her cold and I didn't hear from Verity until the evening, so it was looking like Lauren and me. Eventually Verity called and told me that Danny said it was up to her, but he was clearly not happy with it, so she decided best not to, and I agreed. Then she calls me back five minutes later and says she was thinking… she would take us there and chill with us for a short while. It would mean missing the live action later on, but she was okay with that. She said I should shout, "Verity loves you!!" when Garth was singing. Yeah right. Anyway, the club was supposed to open at eight-thirty and I wanted to be there as soon as possible after that time so that I could make sure I got in, and got in free. When we got there at about eight-forty-five, the place was still closed. Actually, the door was open, so we walked to it, and this guy who works there says, "We're still closed. That's why these people are standing outside." Lekker sarcastic, and this really irritated Verity and Lauren, but I wasn't bothered. So we got in line. Eventually Verity started saying she may as well leave because it was taking too long and I said, "No, you have to come in for five minutes!" When it opened we were near the front of the queue and I got my stamp on my wrist, but then I saw that the guy wouldn't let Lauren in. I knew she'd brought her passport along because she hadn't been able to find her ID, so I thought that was the problem. But it was the fact that she was wearing takkies, bright yellow Pumas. I guess Garth is the only one allowed to wear takkies into Westend. So Lauren says, "Okay, I'll just change into my other shoes in the car" after the guy wouldn't relent. And he's like, "Oh good, then you can come back" And she's like, "I was being sarcastic!" Whoooo. And then Verity tells her, "I won't go in, you can take my shoes." So they rush out and I'm still standing there, but then I followed them and found them swapping shoes in the car. I thought Verity's feet were smaller and that Lauren wouldn't be able to get into her boots, but as it turns out the boots were too big for Lauren (I think for Verity too) and she was very cross about this shoe thing. Anyway she had to make do although she said she didn't know how she was going to dance. So Verity had to go back home to Danny wearing someone else's shoes. And she didn't get to see the inside of Westend that night. She said, "At least there was a reason I came along!"
Once we were inside, I said to the moody Lauren, "I don't know what to say to you, Lauren." And then I offered to buy her a drink when we'd chosen our table upstairs at the balcony over the stage. So she had a vodka shot at the bar and was cheerier after that. I was relieved I hadn't worn my grey Powers. I'd considered them because they'd been so comfy at Hanover Street (probably why I could dance so much). But I think that at the back of my head I suspected that some clubs were still strict about the shoes you wear. The thing with being two people at a club is, you can't leave your table together, to dance, because someone else will steal it, and there's no one to look after your jacket or bag or drinks. I wouldn't have minded about losing a table normally, but I wanted a good view of the stage. There were times either Lauren or I were away from the table for a while because the queue to the toilet was really long. Have you ever noticed how people hate waiting, but once they get into the cubicle they take their time instead of having consideration for the others in the queue? It's like they think they earned the right to punish the others. I can't handle that, but maybe I'm just imagining it.
One of the times I was in the queue, they started playing a dance version of Wet Wet Wet's Sweet Surrender, something I'd heard only once or twice before, so I was somewhat irritated about that. It was close to the end by the time I got out of there. Speaking of WWW, they're still my favourite band in the category of those who are no longer together and I reckon they always will be. And I think Marti is a fantastic solo artist (when's the next album, Mark??), but Garth's definitely my fave musician right now. Of course, Marti's still acting in the theatre version of Chicago (almost a year now, isn't it??), so I know he doesn't exactly have the time to do a new album right now. Sarah M says the show is in Liverpool at the moment. To contextualise it for you, Marti acts as the lawyer guy played by Richard Gere in the movie version. And here's a photo of Sarah meeting Marti after going to watch him in Chicago last year. I met Sarah (and got my Birmingham ticket from her) when I went to watch Marti in England in 2001. Anyway, so that was just my "The Wets still rock" interlude.
And then In Da Club came on when Lauren was queueing for a very, very long time in the toilet. So I had to dance to it on my own at the balcony railing. And you know, while I was at the railing, these two women came and sat at our table and I had to tell them that someone was actually sitting there. So they were like, okay we'll move when they get back. I thought, you can move now, but anyway… I wasn't going to stress over little things, but I was worried that Lauren was taking so long. While she was away I spotted Alan doing stuff near the deejay area. So after Lauren returned I went down, but he wasn't where he'd been before. While I was scanning the room he returned. I confirmed that it was indeed him (red Garth Taylor T-shirt, as he'd told me on the phone and all) and he apologised for not calling me back about the book/lyric/copyright stuff (he had hundreds of things to do). But I didn't mind (it'll all be sorted out when necessary). And then he told me that Garth would probably only perform after twelve-thirty since Loyiso would be on the stage first. So I think I said, "Oh really?" as if it was quite late and he said, "You must give me your address" and I was like, "What for?" and it was so that he could send me a signed Garth photo, but I said, "He's still signing afterwards, isn't he? I'll see him then." So then I went back upstairs after he said yes.
Loyiso was excellent and I think it was while he was singing that Trevor (Lauren's friend) arrived. Lauren had contacted him once we knew it was going to be a long night. He was working at a restaurant in Durbanville, but he said he would come afterwards and then he could take us home instead of Michael coming to pick us up in the middle of the night.
During the Loyiso and Garth performances (E-TV was there, recording for I don't know which show), Lauren and Trevor checked out Ready D downstairs in the Galaxy for a bit. I was having a laugh at the women at the front of the stage screaming while Loyiso was singing and when he used one of their names while he was singing at the keyboard at one stage. He also pulled someone onto the stage with him once. I'm not sure how many songs he did, but at least five, probably more actually. I really love Jeeps which apparently has become a "Cape Town anthem". And of course Gimme the Night is always great. It's a pity I didn't take a photo or two of him. It's just that I am still not convinced that my camera can handle taking photos in such a low light. The stage was pretty well-lit though, so after Garth started singing, I thought, what the hell, let me give it a go, and I took a few photos of him, one of them when he was looking right up at me. I think he happened to look there and then stayed looking up until I'd finished taking the pic. That's what it seemed like anyway. We'll see if the photo develops. At one stage Lauren suggested I go and stand in front of the stage because there was some space, but I wasn't in the mood to stand amongst those screaming women who got excited when Garth touched their desperate hands, haha. Besides, I thought the view from the balcony was better in general. Near the beginning of his show, a woman next to me was shouting madly down at him, "Take off your jacket!! Take it off!! Take it off!!" I thought, jeez, lady, relax! It wasn't long before he did though. Her wish was his command, apparently, haha.
I thought Garth was going to do four or five songs, because that's what Alan said it would be when I spoke to him a couple of weeks before that. But he wanted to make the most of his last show in Cape Town for a while it seems, and he did about twelve of them (not counting his messing around with snippets of some really old songs at the keyboard). Actually he did Why about four times, differently each time. Once while he was at the keyboard (so basically his acoustic version) and once with no music at all. And then when he sang it for his friend that had recently died. Westend is apparently the first place he sang it in front of an audience, so he just had to do it a few times. And other songs of his that he did were Only With You, Tonite and Missing You. He also did Westlife's Flying without wings, which I love and the funky Angel by Shaggy. You should see and hear him do Shaggy -- he sounds exactly like him! So funny! And Blue's All Rise. And Get Down on it, which is a cool Kool & The Gang song and that Bob Marley Sun is Shining song that goes, "I'm a Rainbow Too". He was trying to get the crowd to repeat those words after him a few times, but they weren't very good about it. So he's like, "I'm a virgin too" to see if that would interest them instead, but I got the impression most of them didn't even realise he'd popped in a different word. And he's like, "What's wrong? Are the words too difficult for you?" Or something. "People in Cape Town tell me I'm full of kak," he reckoned at one point. And on the piano, playing some old soulful stuff he's like, "And you thought you were coming to see a white boy from Durban!" I heard Lauren do a major groan at that one. Not sure if she thought he was being corny or silly or what.
Anyway, he's very entertaining and a natural live performer. Better, I think, than anyone I've paid to watch live, considering he's only one person. He can sing, he can dance, he can make you laugh and he can do gymnastic-type stunts. Plus he can sing, smoke and dance/do acrobatics at the same time, haha. Some guy in the crowd passed him a cigarette so that he could prove that he could do more than even two things at once because Garth was saying how some people ask him if he's really singing live or if he's just mouthing along to recorded vocals because how can he dance wildly and still sing properly at the same time? When he ended off he said, "You want to hear more? Buy the CD!" He said something about The Galaxy and coming back later, so I decided I would ask Alan what was happening, when the signings would be. He was busy showing a couple of people the CDs they could buy, so I had to wait my turn. Lauren and Trevor had gone down to him with me. Anyway, when I spoke to him he said he didn't know when it would be because he thought Garth had gone down to The Galaxy, so he wasn't sure. I think Garth was just doing his own thing. So then I told Lauren and Trevor what he'd said and then he said to me on his way to The Galaxy, before we'd moved away, that he was sorry, he really didn't know when it was happening, but he thought the signings probably still would take place. Anyway, Lauren, Trevor and I danced a bit and then I thought I would have a look in The Galaxy. As soon as you walk into that place you break into a sweat. It is a sweltering dungeon! Garth was on the stage singing, but I couldn't get near it (the place was packed). It was his last song though, so I left L & T down there and went upstairs to scan Westend. But he didn't reappear there, so I went outside to the admin offices (where Alan had originally told me they might do the signings). And there they were in the doorway with a few other people who wanted to say hi to Garth or get autographs. Alan spotted me and said, "He's doing them over there" and we all went back into the club reception area where Garth sat behind that counter I mentioned before. Yeah, and then the whole autograph and chat thing happened. With that photo autograph, I said to Garth, "You may as well sign this for me too. You can just write, Melody thinks I am amazing", but he'd already started writing and he said, "What? That you are amazing?" And I'm like, "No! That I think you are. Oh go on, Garth!" And he's like, "No, I'm not amazing… I can't do that." So I was like, "Okay, what are you going to write then?" So he said, as he wrote, "Thanx for writing about me in your… novel, right?" He looked at me. "Yeah", I confirmed. "Novel," he wrote. So that was about it. There's a lot of this I thought I wouldn't actually put into the newsletter, but what the hell, why not document an experience that was really special to me, one of my highlights. Something that kind of made up for never getting to meet Wet Wet Wet, but also it had its own significance that had nothing to do with that. And I know some people think I'm a "groupie" and maybe I am -- I know some people don't have time for that kind of thing. But humans can be very special (I'm not saying that there are people who aren't special, but I guess some people rarely show their special qualities, either because they've been too damaged or because they're too scared). And I don't see why it should be a problem that it's a great honour for me to meet some of these shining individuals. I will always treasure that evening even if Garth and/or Alan do think I'm mad. I was sort of on autopilot -- sometimes you just have to do what you need to do and that's what I did. I was lucky to catch the end of Nick Marais' Celeb Wednesday show on KFM a week later. I think he must have got Loyiso and Garth into the studio on the day of the Westend thing and then a week later played bits of the interview with them. Pity I didn't know in advance (another disadvantage of hopping between stations) so that I could have heard the whole thing. The one question he asked them was what do they do when they're dancing in a club and one of their songs starts playing. Garth said he pretends that it's not him singing, but that it always gets out. And Loyiso said that he can't dance to his own songs because he's always too busy thinking, oh we could have done that bit better or whatever, so he just sits down like he's the "coolest guy in the house"! Nick had a good laugh and Garth's like, also laughing, "No, I can't do that one." But they both agreed that the career they have chosen is hard work and that they'd rather be at home watching DVDs. And Nick's like, "Hey! If you wanted to be at home watching DVDs, you'd be at home watching DVDs!"… "But I'm not!" Loyiso agrees, laughing. And I'd rather be sleeping right now! But I'm not! However, I am going to take a break from this newsletter and do five pages of editing and then I might very well have a snooze before carrying on with my Music news, because I do have more and I promise it's got nothing to do with Mr Taylor.
Another day! And it's a hot one, the twentieth of May and thirty degrees in Cape Town. This morning as I was lying in bed it suddenly hit me, when it sounded as if some very loud aircraft was about to crash into the house, that if this room or house was obliterated for some reason, my book would go with it. I have back-up disks in a desk drawer in case the computer crashes or someone steals it, and I have my hardcopy on the chest-of-drawers behind me (with thousands of scribbles in various colours all over it). But everything is in one room. So I'm going to copy what I have onto another couple of disks and ask Michael to keep them in his office. I suppose I need a safe of sorts somewhere… Yes, I know this has nothing to do with music. My apologies! My head is fuzzy today. Bad sleeping habits.
Earlier I emailed an unpublished article I wrote in 1995 to Andrew from the band, Flat Stanley (now, keep the name in mind because the band's going to be talking to/meeting with the managers of Sting and Coldplay shortly, right Andrew?). Some of you may even have read the article way back then. Anyway, it was about the band, Armed Populous, of which Andrew Mac Pherson was the lead singer (I see you write your surname as two words on your business card and your CD, Andrew, but I haven't changed the article to reflect it like that -- let me know if I should). And it was called "Armed Populous have things Covered". I dug it out on the weekend and decided to stick it on my website for anyone interested in reading one of my rare attempts at magazine journalism. I had intended it for Student Life magazine (now just called SL, I think), and I'm not sure what happened there, but I think they wanted me to do some other thing first and it never happened, so the article didn't actually get out there. What a shame!
But I'm not putting it on my webpage yet because this is Andrew's email response, so I'll re-think it:
"Oh my God, how did I cringe when I read this?!!!!!! I can't believe how young we were! Anyway, it's very well written and was fun to read. If I were you though, I'd hold off on posting it a little longer as I have no doubt Flat Stanley is going to achieve some measure of success and maybe then you can sell it........Either to You/ Huisgenoot or as Blackmail to me! Thanx 4 sending it, brought back some fond memories. Andy"
I don't know where he gets off calling himself Andy because Andy's in my book ;-) But anyway, Andrew and Wendy (my sister) were buddies at the time of my interview with the band, and she ran into him the other day at a club (after, I think, they hadn't been in touch for years). She discovered that he was part of another band now and that things were looking promising for them in terms of recording a full CD, etcetera (I hope I'm not talking rubbish here).
And then the band did a session at a place called Habenero's in Kalk Bay the other night. The place was booked for them and people had had to buy tickets in advance, for dinner and to watch them play. Anyway, Andrew organised a table for four (with free dinner) for Wendy. Lauren and Ross had met Andrew (actually Lauren may have met Andrew years ago) at the club days before that. And anyway, Wendy asked me if I wanted the fourth place at the table. The thing was, I needed to work on my book and this newsletter, and they were going to be out for hours and hours, so I decided not to go. They had a good old time, the music being excellent and all that. The band were giving away their limited edition six-track demo CD with every (really cool) hundred-buck T-shirt bought. I assume that for those who didn't want a T-shirt, the CD could be bought because Andrew told me on Sunday evening that all the CDs are gone, but they still have quite a few T-shirts. Wendy and Lauren both got the T-shirt and CD. And then Michael and I were also invited to dinner with them on Sunday evening at Grandwest, but again I had to weigh up the "got to work" priority (and Michael had to study) against the socialising thing. And we decided not to go. Wendy, Lauren and Ross told us we missed out on some great food, but anyway! When Andrew fetched the three of them here, Michael and I went out to say hi to him, etcetera, and he told me to burn the article I'd written. When Wendy had told him at the Habenero's thing that I'd said hello, he was like, "Oh yeah, she wrote the first article about our band, hey!" Ag shame, it's funny how people remember things. I probably still have the tape of their interview somewhere. I know I have the transcript anyway -- interviewed them at a club called The Factory, which used to exist in Retreat. Oh yes, Andrew was nineteen then and is twenty-seven now. Best wishes for Flat Stanley, bru! Good stuff on that CD!
I hear Ross (Lauren's boyfriend) has offered to design the CD cover of Flat Stanley's first album. He also offered to do Black Noise's next one. They're a Cape Town rap/hip hop/breakdance band. They performed at my high school once (when I was still there)! Anyway, I know he's designing the cover as a college project now. I think the band is overseas at the moment. I had a listen to their last CD (Ross got it from them when he, Wendy and Lauren saw them perform at Maynardville and he made the offer, I think) and really enjoyed it. Keep going, guys!
Last night I saw the video for Rise and Fall, Craig David's new song featuring Sting. In fact, it's got some of Sting's Shape of my Heart song in it. And it is beautiful. It was only the second time I'd heard it and the video is very simple, but very effective, so sweet actually. Nice one, guys! Hey, Craig, you even get a mention in my book, lucky you. Actually, I've got a character called Craig in my book too, but that's got nothing to do with him. Interestingly, I think it's the Sugarbabes who are also using that Sting song at the moment, in a song called Shape.
I could say lots about many other songs I have been listening to lately, but this issue is already way too long. I will say, though, that if I can't handle books and movies and TV series stuff (fictional stories, really) at the moment, then I'm at the opposite end of the scale when it comes to music. I think I would be concerned if I was put off by music too. I think I don't want the "story stuff" to impinge on my own work at the moment. Music, however, is what inspires me right now. It's my muse.
Before I do the rugby stuff, I just wanted to say thanks to Kelvin for sending me that competition info for going to watch Bafana Bafana play England in Durban in that soccer friendly tomorrow because I won it! No, I'm kidding. I didn't enter the competition because although I would have loved it, I thought I'd leave it for serious soccer fans! I will definitely watch it on TV though. I can't believe how much David Beckham with his new plaits has been in the news because of this thing though (I think Conrad Jantjes has the same hairstyle!). I hear he and the English team met Mandela today and gave him a Number Three England shirt or something! And apparently it's the first time in over one hundred years that the English soccer team have played on "African soil", as someone said -- can you believe it?! Shocking!
Before I do my rugby summary (let's just say that if this newsletter wasn't already so huge, I would make it longer than I am going to), I need to do ten pages of editing on my novel. I didn't do any yesterday and I need to keep working on it as much as possible even if it keeps delaying the completion of this newsletter. I may only do another ADT in July because I need to spend lots of time on my book.
Anyway, back to the subject of Kelvin and competitions. The Stormers website had another competition the other day, to win tickets for "you and your mother" to watch the Stormers/Cats game on the Saturday before Mother's Day. I thought I'd better not enter since my mother is in Joburg and it wouldn't be fair me winning another competition on that site in the same season. So I told Kelvin to enter, gave him the answer and everything. Apparently eight people got the answer right, but unfortunately Kelvin wasn't the winner of the lucky draw. And yes, he did enter and I did give him the right answer. Pity, because the Stormers actually beat the Cats in the end, after being 21-5 down at one stage. And they can thank their lucky stars they beat them because I would have gone to beat them up if they hadn't! Them and the Cats, for that matter, since I don't know why the Cats didn't score their tries in Australasia instead. Shame, I predicted good things for them this season, but they came last in the end. The Stormers came ninth (out of twelve), having been hit hard by many, many injuries. I continued to write positive emails to the Stormers messageboard, but clearly there are a lot of bitter fans out there. Half the time I got some pretty nasty responses, but to hell with them if they want to be negative and they want their lives to revolve around the Stormers winning every game they play.
It's not as if I don't express my disappointment as well, but I do also joke about it and try and look at the positives, and I guess some people can't handle that.
I kept reading about Hendrik Gerber being an "unsung hero" in the Stormers team, so I wrote a message in which I said I was going to sing his praises then. And I said, "I'm waiting for your next try, Hendrik!" or something like that since there hadn't been one from him all season, not that forwards are usually the ones to score tries. And then the next game was that disastrous Reds game I won competition tickets to. It was his birthday and he was wearing nice new blue gloves, and he almost-almost got a try there. Tackled by that rugby-league-legs freak, Julian Huxley, I think it was. But then in the next game, against the Blues (who I want to win the final on Saturday), he got his try! The only one the Stormers scored against the Blues that day. And I was like (now, you must understand I am toning this down a little), "Yeah!! My favourite Stormer!" And Michael called me fickle hahaha. I think because he thinks Corne is my favourite Stormer, with Bobby being at the Cats. But anyway Corne wasn't playing that day. After the Cats game I was singing Grant Esterhuizen's praises, but no, Hendrik was my favourite for the season. The season is, of course, over now though.
I have another story about Hendrik from the Chiefs game which the Stormers won. Tjoepie, who also played brilliantly for the Stormers this season, tore his shorts. (If you're online, click here to get to the photo of [L-R] Tjoepie, Michael, me and Hendrik featured in the Mar-May 2002 newsletter) Or someone tore it for him. They wear this new material that's supposed to help with sweat and movement, I think, but it seems to rip easily. Anyway, it probably didn't look as if the ref was going to allow him to change just then, so Hendrik says (I'm making up the words here, okay?), "I'll swap with you. No, really, it's cool, I don't mind giving you my perfectly good pants while I wear yours that are split all the way down the one side, because you're my mate." So they switch shorts. I think Tjoepie didn't want to be in the front row of the scrum with broken pants and this is understandable since people have to hold onto him and such. Anyway, not long after that someone brought Hendrik some new pants and the camera zooms in on his ass. Michael's like, "Is this really necessary?" And I just can myself.
Hey, it's the Super 12 Final on Saturday morning and I thought I'd be watching it live, but now I'm going to tape it since Michael's playing in his first softball match at nine. It's called prioritising. Wendy couldn't believe it was so early in the morning. UCT is playing UWC and Michael's already got his blue and white number fifteen shirt here (he says he's not wearing those stupid three-quarter length softball pants). I asked him if he was playing fullback. We don't know how long the game will take, so I may catch the end of the Blues/Crusaders game, but I'll watch the full thing on tape afterwards anyway. There was a point where it was looking unlikely that any of the South African teams were going to make it into the final and I got behind the Hurricanes. Hey, if I couldn't have a Storm, how about a Hurricane? But the Crusaders proved to be better-deserving of a place in the final when they beat them on this past weekend. Go Blues! They're top-of-the-log, but also the underdog because the Crusaders are the defending champions and have won the competition a few times whereas the Blues have won it twice. The Crusaders whipped the Stormers at Newlands a few weeks ago. I expected to watch that game at home, but Wendy grabbed up some season tickets for me from one of her bosses at work and Michael and I watched it from a very high acrophobia-inducing position on the Railway Stand. Amazing perspective of the field although the players look so tiny you can hardly see their numbers. I was relieved that those were not my season tickets though because I've said before that one disadvantage of having season tickets is that you get to sit near the same people every match (unless they lend their tickets to someone else). And there are some terrible people you get to sit near to sometimes. There was this woman behind me at this game. I could not believe her voice and how she shouted at the players all the time. She is obviously one of those people who supports a team, but never has anything good to say about them. Plus she sounds like she belongs in Liewe Heksie. And she kept going on about the ref being epileptic. Mostly she was shouting in Afrikaans and screeching at the players to pass the ball. I wonder if she realises that sometimes they actually have to run with the ball or drive with it or kick it. My nerves!! And my ears! This guy next to Michael greeted us when we got there and he and the woman with him spoke to us during the game, but not annoyingly so. Some people try to have ongoing conversations with you. I went in black, of course, but also in my Stormers peaked cap and my new Stormers scarf (you might get to see pics soon because Michael took a couple of me there and I took at least one of the field). Wendy bought me the scarf on the day of the Chiefs game -- it's beautiful and I'm sure I'll wear it often this winter. Anyway, this guy next to Michael says to me, "You're all kitted out, hey!" I smiled mock-proudly and said, "Well, at least I'm not wearing the shirt!" since he was wearing a Fedsure Stormers top. But he wasn't too impressed with his gear since it's the old one -- they're the Investec Stormers now. Later he was moaning about Gus Theron being part of the team, so Michael tells him to talk to me because I'd also been complaining of late about Gus "The Gasman" not being able to keep the ball in his hands. That was the way this guy felt too. So I said, "I'll change my mind if he scores two tries tonight!" And he might have too (he scored one in the first half) if he hadn't been replaced by Egon for the second half (but no complaints from my side in terms of Egon coming on -- his is the only signature I have on my WP rugby shirt -- will have to sort that out during the Currie Cup later in the year). I think the crowd enjoyed the first penalty kick by Andrew "mutton-chop sideburns" Mehrtens falling far short of the posts. Of course, the Crusaders wiped out the Stormers in the second half. Rassie called the Stormers a team low on confidence after the Reds game and he said that was why they kept falling away in the second halves after that. He said it was easy to play confidently in the first half knowing you still have the second half in which to make up for what was lacking in the first. But when the second actually came round they didn't seem to have the self-belief to keep doing well. I read such a nice article about what he had to say about coming to play for the Stormers for the last few weeks. He regretted that he hadn't been up to Super 12 form, but he said that the people of the Cape treated him so damn well and he felt so bad for letting them down. He came to play for the Stormers when Corne was ruled out for the rest of the Super 12 after he was injured in the Reds game.
I loved watching the Under-19's win their World Cup final against NZ in France (on 20 April, Easter Sunday). Awesome stuff, boys! So currently both the Under-19 and Under-21 World Cup trophies are in South Africa -- promising stuff. And great that so many of the players in that winning team are from Western Province.
I've watched a few Vodacom Cup games and some schools rugby on TV too. It was great seeing Grant Esterhuizen help the Lions to a Vodacom Cup victory on Saturday even though I felt sorry for the Blue Bulls because they were probably the best team throughout the run-up to the final, but on the day they couldn't pull it off. Grant had been on loan to the Stormers for most of the Super 12, so he could return to the Lions after the Stormers' season was over.
Just a note about the Sharks -- it was a pity about some of their close losses in Australasia. They played well mostly, but unfortunately only managed a win against the Chiefs in a game where the standard was lower than in the others, but it's a pity they couldn't have got a win in at least one of the other three. I wonder if Garth Taylor sang the song he wrote for them, We'll Rise Again, after their last game in Durban on the 10th (when they lost to the Bulls). He was meant to perform at the stadium after the game, so I'm sure he did. Heard a snippet of it on the Sharks website -- sounded good!
And then the Bulls -- congratulations to them for making such a big improvement on their Super 12 performance in 2002! Pity they didn't make it into the semi's, but then perhaps they didn't quite deserve that. None of the SA teams deserved it in the end, perhaps. Anyway Joost was clearly an inspiration to them and I really enjoyed their victories over the Reds and the Crusaders. That last one was sweet! Louis Koen, the hero, beating Andrew Mehrtens at his own drop-goal stunt. Loved the first half of their game against the Chiefs too, but they made us question whether they were champion material when they allowed their comeback in the second half and almost lost the game!
Will be interesting to hear the announcements on Tuesday as to who's been chosen for the first Bok test against Scotland in June!
Pity I can't say, Just fine, thanks. I mean, for the sake of the length of this issue. I've already called it a Special Bumper Edition at the top and it'll probably be July when I do the next one (or even August) because this one has been very time-consuming. I really don't mean to make it long, but I can't help the stuff that comes out of me. There are some bits I have considered cutting out, but what a waste that would be.
Anyway, let's start with home. It's a mess physically. At times (like in the dark) it probably doesn't look too bad. At least some chores do continue to get performed and some cleaning up has been done, but it's still a disaster. Never mind, it could be worse and will eventually get sorted out. The garden needs a major weed. The gardener sometimes pulls some out in exchange for tea and sandwiches. But it's okay.
Michael has two exams coming up in the next couple of weeks, Philosophy on 29 May (so he'll be on study leave for two days before that and on the day) and Psychology on 04 June (same study leave situation). And in the middle of that it's his thirty-first birthday on 01 June. No plans for it yet, although he will unfortunately be in the middle of some major Psych studying. At least I won't have to compete for the computer during his study leave because these subjects don't require him to use it and it's right when I want to be finishing off my current edit so that he and Sameera can do their thing on the book. Michael will have the time to read it after the second exam, you see.
He's also been at softball practice on most Monday and Wednesday evenings. The guy who's coached them a bit is on the Western Province team (they recently lost in their final), but he's not actually linked to UCT, so he can't officially be their coach. So they're going into their game against UWC (University of the Western Cape) on Saturday without a coach. Michael will be playing and I'll be going to watch. Will see if Wendy and/or Lauren will go too. See my Rugby section for more about this game.
Michael's friend, Alan, visited Cape Town a couple of weeks ago on business, so they managed to see each other. This is the guy who wants Michael to work up in Gauteng with him. Apparently they've already dismissed the guy they employed in that position when Michael turned them down. Hmm. Oh and Michael's boss has left UCT now and of course (favourite UCT stunt) they haven't replaced him yet because they're in the process of restructuring (doesn't this sound familiar?). Shame, good luck.
Michael's sister, Ange, is due her second baby any time now. She's in Pretoria, so I'm not sure when we'll next see her. Pity we don't have money or Michael could at least visit his family for a few days. His brother, Paul, has just returned from more than a year of teaching in Taiwan too. But he said he might come and live on our couch for a few days sometime soon. Julie's in matric this year, so lots of hard work for her, but it sounds like she's doing really well. But then I haven't spoken to her in ages! I wish local calls were free and longer distance ones cheaper. I would be much better at keeping in touch with people, but then maybe I wouldn't have the time to write a book ;-) The Wood family adopted a dog from the SPCA recently, so that's keeping them busier than they already are.
Wendy, my sister (not Michael's mother), is in the process of leaving for the UK. She's still waiting on her passport and she is going to try for a working visa. At the moment her flight has been booked for 28 July (with the help of Paul T's frequent flyer miles, I believe) and she will, to begin with at least, be staying in Paddington. Her boyfriend (is he your boyfriend, Wendy?? haha), Russell, is a photographer and he lives there. He was in Cape Town a few weeks back for a couple of weeks and that's when they started seeing each other. They'd met and become friends on a previous occasion he was in South Africa. He is a South African, actually, but works in England now. Anyhow, he's also coming to Cape Town again soon for a knee operation and will be staying at our place for a few days before he goes in for the op. So see you soon, Russell. And Wendy's trying to secure herself a night job at the moment, so that she has some money in case she doesn't have a job immediately when she goes there. There's a lot more to this, but let me not go into all of it here!
Lauren visits us often although she hasn't been here since Sunday (it's Friday), and sometimes sleeps over. So we see her and Ross quite often. Generally, though, I'm quite rude and just get on with things on the computer while they are here. "How's the editing going, Mel?" This is Ross' usual question to me. "Too slowly, Ross, but okay." Shame. Lauren, Ross and Wendy often watch movies in the lounge (videos and more videos for these guys) while I'm sitting in the study blocking it out with my music on the computer speakers. Actually one of the speakers is dead now because there's a crappy connection and Michael was unable to fix it and I'm quite upset about this because they are actually awesome stereo surround sound speakers. Really, better in some ways than my Sony in the lounge. What I now want is a good pair of headphones. Michael feels the same way since it helps block out other noise. I think when I was a child I used my dad's headphones quite often, but I've never owned a pair. Like I have the money to buy them now though! Anyway I was talking about Lauren. She's still slaving away at UCT. She and Ross spent a weekend in Hermanus recently, but only half of it was good because of a stomach bug that caught her. Turned out to be gastro and it was the second tummy thing she'd had in a few weeks. She went to a different doctor that time. And then Ross' gran in Durban died and his aunt bought him a ticket to fly up for the funeral, so he went up for a weekend, leaving his car here for Wendy and Lauren to use. I think he's hard at work at college now.
My dad thinks he has a way to go to get his health up to the standard where he can travel to Australia, so we'll see what happens with that. I know he's planning on getting some kind of fitness assessment at a health club.
Things have been hectic in his household because my grandfather has been in and out of hospital. Initially he had been due for his pacemaker op on 17 April. They prepped him for it and then realised that they'd given him breakfast, so they sent him home for the Easter weekend. And he had to be taken back to Groote Schuur early in the morning of the 22nd for the op. On the way there, they were nearly in a car accident and in fact, when the guy driving braked, Pa's shins hit some metal box thing in front of him and he said that was extremely painful and when they got to the hospital bed they discovered that he was bleeding. Just what you need before a pacemaker op, right? So anyway he had the op later in the day and it took about three times longer than it was meant to. And then! They discovered that one of the pacemaker wires were touching his heart muscle making it beat too fast and they had to operate again! So he wasn't feeling too hot after all that. Michael and I visited during the afternoon of the 24th. I took the train to Rondebosch and Michael fetched me at the station. We found Pa there, but he thought he was about to go home soon, so it was lucky we hadn't gone later (not that we could have because we were going out later that night). As it turned out, when they came to fetch him, the hospital decided that they wanted him to stay there another day. We were quite interested to see how close to the shoulder the cut for the operation was, rather than near the heart, but I guess it just shows how little we know about medical procedures!
The 28th was the Freedom Day public holiday (since the 27th was on a Sunday) and Michael and I visited my father and grandparents. We ended up taking my father and grandfather to Kalk Bay because Pa felt like seeing the sea. I have some photos, but until I scan them in I can't show them to you here. Actually, I'm planning to have a whole bunch of still-to-be-scanned photos in the next issue. There were many people fishing on the pier and it was a lovely afternoon, rough wind and all. We had some coffee at a restaurant that was preparing for the evening meal, so it was all a bit disorganised, but anyway. Days later we bought frames for two of the photos and I gave them to Pa on his birthday on 04 May (we had a delicious lunch at their house that day). Then we used a voucher for two free enlargements to get reprints done for my set. Perhaps I will get them laminated -- much cheaper than frames and pretty versatile!
On 13 May, Pa had to return to hospital because he'd taken a walk to the shop and then his legs were too weak for him to walk back. It seems they thought he had an aneurysm, so the hospital did a couple of procedures on him, one of them being a shock treatment of sorts. I just called him now and he said he is still feeling dizzy, legs not too good, and he's still waiting on some blood test results from the hospital. Hopefully we will visit them this weekend.
My gran (mother's mother) has also been in the hospital overnight recently. She initially had shingles and apparently that is still hovering around. And then there was a whole bladder problem and she had to go onto a catheter and she's very unimpressed that she still has to be on it for a few more weeks. She's not into this whole invalid thing. It was her birthday on Mother's Day (11 May), so we visited her then. Lauren, of course, lives with her and-- (oh, look who's just arrived! En-route from varsity to our dad) Anyway, so we got updates from her, and Wendy also visited. I was very slack about visiting (this whole book thing. I know, I have to sort out my priorities), but it was good to see her on her birthday. Hopefully we'll visit again soon. (Lauren is making lunch for us now -- omelettes. I haven't had either lunch or breakfast today -- just two coffees. Trying to finish this bloody ADT.) Lauren says Mama's back on her feet, getting used to her situation. My grandpa (Papa in this case) was doing the cooking for a while, but now she's back doing that again.
My mother's working hard in Joburg and had to make do without her kids on Mother's Day. We just phoned her and simultaneously shouted Happy Mother's Day at her on the phone. And she called us The Three Stooges or something. Lauren is planning on visiting her in June/July, during her vacation. She and Ross are driving up to Durban to his family and then to Joburg. Wendy is also going to Joburg in July before her UK trip. So at least my mother will get to see them and vice versa.
Lauren and friends are watching The Matrix Reloaded tonight. I know Michael wants to see that, so maybe Wendy and I will go with him as part of a birthday thing.
Oh yeah, we had Easter lunch at home -- Wendy made chicken casserole and I bought Moni's Red Grape (haha) and Ross and Lauren bought huge donuts from Coimbra. Lekker. And then we went to my Aunty Bette's 50th birthday party at her daughter, Stacey's house. There was lots of eat although I didn't have much. Jordan, Stacey's three-year-old kept us well-entertained. We also kicked a ball around outside which was a good laugh. My dad was there, and my grandparents (Pa awaiting his pacemaker op at that time) and of course many, many others. We were kicked off the cream couches in the lounge because Stacey said they were for "the old people".
Well, if I had more time and money, I would be friendlier than I have been, but at the same time I do have lots of friend-related stuff to tell you. This photo is from the Brad's Grill occasion mentioned in the last ADT. If you're checking out the Web version, you'll see the full set of these pics.
L-R: Helen, Michael, Mel, Paul & Wendy.
They're from Paul T's digital camera and he brought them to me on 19 April and then while Michael was transferring them to our computer from Paul's tiny USB thingie, Paul went off to visit Helen. Then he returned to watch the end of the Stormers/Blues game with us. I was sitting on the floor in front of the TV and by that stage the game was starting to turn sour. Wendy, Lauren, Ross and Paul were all around and a couple of them started making negative comments about the Stormers (only I'm allowed to do that), so I told them all to go away. Lauren, Wendy and Ross left for Canal Walk soon after that and then Paul left when the game ended and apparently met up with them there. Let's hope they avoided the subject of psycho Stormers fans. Thank goodness the Bulls beat the Reds in the next game of the day. That made me feel better. (Some might argue that this should be in the Rugby section)
Michael and I saw Paul again on the twenty-first (the Easter Monday holiday). He was leaving the country on the Wednesday, I think. Yeah anyway, Helen invited us around to her place where she and Paul started watching Ice Age on DVD. We had already seen it, so it was okay that we missed the beginning (it took me ages to clean up the kitchen). And I don't know if it was just the name of the movie or whether Paul had just forgotten that it was sometimes slightly chilly in Cape Town, but he kept moaning about the cold breeze coming into the flat and he was hugging pillows to himself, etcetera. Helen closed a window and gave him a blanket too, so she was the perfect hostess. We had some yummy Milo/hot choc (depending on what you chose) and rusks. And then Helen made us a stirfry lunch too. Awesome, Helen. You rock! Michael saw Paul at UCT again the following day, although I can't remember what it was he tried to help Paul with. I haven't been in touch with Paul since, but Paul, it was great to see you a few times while you were here! (Interestingly, ran into him on MSN Messenger today)
Let's see, on 17 April, Michael and I visited David, Sharon and baby Seth. It was when we met Seth actually. He was very good while we were there, lying on his back on my front for quite a long time, wide-awake but just chilling. (You know what? My hair's getting too long. Chop-chop soon.) Great to see where you live, guys, and all the best with the baby-rearing! We saw David and Sharon again, but check out my Theatre section for that. Oh and here's Seth. It's a pity I don't have a scan of that photo of him lying on David's Liverpool flag, wings at his back.
It was roundabout the time of visiting Seth that I emailed Ashraf via the route of going to the Baxter Theatre webpage and finding the blurb about Salaam Stories (Ashraf's play) and an email address linked to the play. I had been thinking about Ashraf often and I think I mentioned in the last ADT that I wanted to get hold of him, but didn't have any contact details. Anyway, Ashraf phoned and emailed me on the following day and it was so cool to speak to him again. We've hardly spoken since, but we shall again. It's not as if I speak to most of my friends much, the whole time-money-thing. And Shirleen is planning to have us over to her house soon, aren't you Shirleen? More about the two of them in the Theatre section.
I have another baby photo here. It's of Liam, Leon's baby, who's a little toddler now really (and daddy's boy). Maybe I'll have a pic of his cousins in the next issue. Ruth G's kids!
Mark invited us to his engagement party in Hermanus, which was on 19 April. Unfortunately we couldn't make it, but I hear it went very well. Congrats, Mark and Caren. They actually got engaged on my birthday last year (no link between the two!!) in Kenya, I think.
Debbie's husband, Greg, had a mild stroke on 16 April, but I only heard about it when Debbie emailed on the 22nd. So that was quite a shock. He's back at work now, half-day for two weeks and has to go for blood pressure check-ups and stuff. Just called Debbie now to see how things are with them. She says I must come and have lunch with her again, but since we're both very busy it might only be in a month or so. Kelvin, we'll try and involve you as well, near to the end of June.
Tamsyn visits me often, which is great. It helps that she is staying in Kenilworth at the moment. She's looking for her own place in the area since she's currently sharing with friends. There was this one morning where I was sleeping in so that my cold would have some recovery-time (actually I do sleep in occasionally anyway because of very late nights editing). Anyway, I was thinking about getting up when someone beeped at the gate. Turned out to be Lauren and Ross because it was in the middle of Lauren's gastro thing (around 06 May) and she was too sick to go to varsity and I hadn't got her sms asking if she could come over because my phone was still off. So up I go to the door in my pyjamas. Not that the two of them don't see me in my nightwear often enough. And then a few minutes later Tamsyn arrived while Ross was making coffee for us. She was on her way to a half-day of work (she'd worked late on the previous day, so her boss said she could come in late). So there I am, not yet dressed, with visitors. Ah, it was fine, just a little funny!
On 24 May I contacted Nomfuzo about Mihle's first birthday coming up a couple of days later. Also, I hadn't heard from her in a while despite that PS I put at the end that last email I sent everyone about the Easter newsletter. It turned out that her email address had changed (funny how the mail server did not reject my email) and she'd thought I'd known because I'd already replied to an email of hers that she'd sent from the new one. But of course my subscription list has to be updated manually. So I had to resend my last couple of newsletter emails to her. Anyway she said they were thinking of having a braai on Mihle's birthday and that we were welcome to come. I contacted Verity about this and so on the 26th we all headed to Strandfontein. They had so many people and so much food at the party! Lots of music. Nkalakatha was pumping! You'll see some pics in the next issue. Michael and Danny were also there. And it was just wonderful to see Nomfuzo again and it was also the first time I'd seen Verity since her trip to the US. Alex was his usual adorable self and Mihle was so cute and cheerful, but Nomfuzo said she'd been moody before we got there and she was amazed at how our presence had changed the child. Ja whatever. Mihle had her eye on Alex too, and Nomfuzo's like, "Not in front of me, my girl!" Anyway thanks for the great party, Nomfuzo and Skumbuzo! Michael entertained some of the other kids with his magic tricks and they were charmed! Two of the boys even stood at the side of the road to say goodbye to him sadly when we left. I was most amused. There was a road-block on the way home (so I placed the bottle of Smirnoff Spin between my feet), but they didn't stop us. I doubt that Michael would have been beyond the limit, but you know how strict they are.
Then Darlene was in Cape Town and she invited us to a braai at her sister and brother-in-law's house near Durbanville (anyone been to Goedemoed? A very new area). I think I was sixteen and she was fourteen when we became penfriends. It was only the second time we had seen each other. Her sister, Lav, and sister's husband, Vijay, haven't been living in Cape Town very long and they are yet to find some friendly neighbours. Of course it does depend a little on where you live. Hey, they introduced me to dhania/coriander in baked beans -- yum! We had a lovely couple of hours -- see photos next issue -- and thanks so much, guys, for having us over. Darlene gave me a box of chocolates too, how very sweet! Darlene's flying to the UK to work there in a couple of weeks. Have fun, Darlene!
Then Michael dropped me at Grandwest where we were supposed to have a get-together at Hanover Street for Chernise who was in Cape Town (from Joburg) for a few days. Chernise didn't show up for some reason. Still a mystery to me, but then I haven't made an effort to find out what happened. I do know that she's back in Joburg though. Anyway, Caroll had organised it and she and her husband were there with a friend of hers, and they dropped me at home afterwards. Valencia and Ashley (her husband who works down the corridor from Michael) were there (thanks for always reading my newsletter, guys!) as well as Rowina and her husband and Ruth J and Marlene. I am not sure what happened to the others who were meant to come, apart from Kelvin who had some babysitting difficulties! I'd called him to ask for directions from Durbanville to Grandwest and discovered that he couldn't make it. And then Caroll called him from Grandwest and gave him a hard time about it. Anyway, I was on the dance-floor most of the evening, having a great time. Just ask anyone. See more in my Music section. It was good to see the others again (these are friends I made at UCT) even if I didn't spend much time chatting to them. What's a club for?
On the 29th, Lauren R, Lauren's mate, had a little farewell thing at Banana Jam Café just over the road from us. She was leaving for London on the following day. So Michael, Wendy, Ross, Lauren and I were there as well as a couple of the Going-away Girl's other buddies (she'd also had a braai a few nights before). Lauren and I shared some delicious starter kebabs and many of us had their fab Banana fritters with ice cream! Lauren is now au pairing for a woman in England who has an eight-year-old son and some sort of dog that Lauren has to walk. I can't remember how long she's going to be doing that for, but I think she's looking for her next job at the moment. When we said our goodbyes in the parking lot, Lauren said I should enjoy Garth Taylor on the following evening and that I should ask him, Why? Sorry, Lauren, I did not do this for you. He'd asked it enough times during his performance (see the Music section -- ohwhyohwhyohwhyohwhy -- sorry, that bit was just playing on my CD now).
It was Nadia's birthday on 15 May and we smsed back and forth a couple of times. Haven’t seen her in absolute ages and really need to make a plan! Shelley, you too!
Oh, you've been to the Theatre twice!
I could have included this in the Friends section, but I thought I'd give it a special write-up because it’s weird that I've been to the theatre twice in one month and with complimentary tickets both times no less!
Following my conversation with Ashraf on 19 April, I needed to determine how many complimentary tickets he had to organise for me for his show, Salaam Stories. In the end it was six even though Wendy moaned a bit that I hadn't got one for her. But I had felt bad enough asking for six and I guess it was originally going to be an outing for Sameera, Tamsyn, Shirleen and me (people who were friends of Ashraf in high school). And we had been going to pay for it, although there were some financial concerns and then everyone couldn't make it at the same time. But as a result of Ashraf contacting me and arranging comps, everyone made the effort. So on the evening, Michael and I picked up Tamsyn and collected the tickets from the box office. Then Sameera and her friend, Riana, arrived. But Shirleen did not arrive before we were forced to go in. So I smsed her to say we'd left her ticket at the box office. This was after I tried phoning her and her cell just rang. You see, if you don't get into the theatre on time, you have to wait until there is some sort of break or until the ushers find a decent moment to let you in. The tickets were in sets of twos so Tamsyn was left on her own to wait for Shirleen. She arrived not long after the start, but had to wait at the back and could only sit next to Tamsyn after the interval.
It was wonderful to see Ashraf in action and to see his play being performed. It had just been to New York not that long before and I still need to read some articles about it. His mother acts in it as well, so that's really cool. There were three others in the show, one of whom is Ashraf's niece, unless I'm losing it! I think some of it was the sort of stuff we would expect from Ashraf, but then… expect the unexpected with him too! He came to speak to us briefly after the show and I roped him into a photo (next issue, okay?). Thanks for the lovely time, Ashraf! It was inspirational for me too. Then Shirleen wanted to go for coffee, so Tamsyn and I joined her. We had a great chat and Shirleen sponsored our coffees! Thanks! Hope to see you soon. Let us know when you want to have the braai or whatever at your house.
The other theatre occasion was on 14 May. David B got ten comps and invited Verity and me along. In fact, there were two tickets for me, so Wendy came along because Michael had softball that evening and someone had to do grocery shopping. Plus he had to study. Too late, another couple of tickets became available so we could have made do without the shopping and Michael could have avoided another night of studying, but he'd already left and it was less than half an hour before the show.
The show was Andre the Hilarious Hypnotist. Now, I have never been to one of these and they always get the participants to mess around with the audience, so, like me, Wendy was skeptical. But we went and it was quite a bit of fun. Of course, you wonder how many of these people are actually hypnotised, but anyway. David and Sharon have apparently been to see this guy twice before. Thanks, guys, for giving me the opportunity to experience this -- it was a laugh! Weird how the volunteers looked like a class of UCT students, though… Andre actually asked if anyone over forty wanted to join them, but there were definitely no takers!
These are snippets from mail received from friends in April/May (but only ones I have not yet replied to). Sorry that I compress them into one paragraph, but I need to save some space. Hey, Amanda, Hannah-Joy's even got some fanmail!
Peter in Johannesburg:
Thanks for the two newsletters I received today the 10th April 2003. Your friends' little baby looks quite nice.
The reason Peter got two at once was that I thought I would hand one of them to him when he visited Cape Town, but there was a misunderstanding, so we didn't meet up. Sorry I haven't replied to your letter or phoned you yet, Pete. Soon-soon!
David B in Cape Town:
You are more than welcome to use Seth's pics if you so wish, however should he be offered contracts to model there will be no royalties due to you.
See how rude some people are! Check out the Friendly section to see Seth.
Asyia in Johannesburg:
I've been meaning to respond to your newsletters for a while and I have a draft email that's been sitting in my Drafts folder for a while now! The draft was basically about loving some of the pics in your letter, like the one of Macjerry spending quality time with Hannah-Joy and the various other photos in the Spur - Hannah-Joy is such an adorable baby! Just so you know I love babies and baby pics (*grin* No! I'm not getting broody!). Anyway, I'm kept very busy with my godson Kelsey who I may have mentioned to you. Hey! I didn't realize that you had short hair - it suits you! Also didn't know that you were a big rugby fan! I actually caught a few Super 12 games on TV and I must say it is easy to get caught up in it! Oh, I was going to mention the Daniel Bedingfield song "If You're Not the One" too! I think it's a great song, but I get teased incessantly by my friends for liking such a cheesy tune! And of course the most thrilling news for me, in your newsletters was about your novel - I think it is amazing that you're writing a book! Wow! I think you're brilliant and brave all at once to be doing this - most people (like me) can only dream about it and I don't think I'll ever be consistent enough to finish a whole book and take it through to the publishing stage! So I just wanted you to know that I think what you're doing is awesome and I wish you the best of luck - and you're going to have to invite me to your first, official book launch.
See more baby pics in the Friendly section, although none of Hannah-Joy this time. Waiting for Amanda to scan some more pics for me! Don't remember you ever mentioning Kelsey to me, but anyway, now I know. Ah, you know, people who think such beautiful songs are corny are only cynical of the idea of, well, true love, I suppose. Something it's easy to be cynical of, I guess. Thanks so much for what you had to say about me writing. It's just that I had to do something, didn't I? And I had to first reach the desperation and then find the strength to do it. Doesn't really make me any better than anyone else. In fact, I'm taking advantage of Michael's financial support to do it, so I can't be that cool!!
Amanda in Johannesburg/Pretoria:
Well, what is your book all about? I will definitely be supporting your sales. You best come to Pretoria to launch your book and sign my one personally. You best practice your signatures by the way. And also the messages that you will be putting in your books. Hannah is eating okay. She does not like porridge, but she loves her mix veg purity - just like her Dad. She does not like the apples, pears and peaches, but she must eat what I give her. What does she know. She must also eat her porridge, full stop.
So here you go, for all you Hannah-Joy fans, a glimpse into her eating habits. And Amanda, I hope you have managed to read my newsletters so that you get an idea of what my book is about. I got enough signature practice at UCT so I'm jacked on that aspect. Thanks for your words of support!
Bhavic in Cape Town:
Hope you guys are keeping well, I was reading thru one of your previous ADTs a while ago but there was way more rugby talk in there than I can handle in a single sitting, so I skipped through a lot of it!
You see what I have to put up with! I think it was this that finally pushed me to do a new-look ADT. Thanks, Bhavic. (sarcasm not intended!)
Wendy W in Pretoria:
Thanks for the news. We'll hold thumbs for your book - I'm sure it will take a while before you are satisfied. I was reading an interesting article by Norman Mailer about writing and bestsellers the other day. His advice was not to set out to write a bestseller but to write about something that interests you - some people will be interested in what you've written and some won't and it may turn into a bestseller along the way.
Thanks very much -- yes, I definitely cannot see myself writing a book designed be a bestseller. It has to flow from me naturally, to be honest. Someone (Maureen) asked me the other day if I've thought of writing children's books and I said that maybe I would one day, but it's not what pulls me at the moment. Ruth G asked me something similar about writing or collecting African children's stories. It's never grabbed me to write children's literature, but that might change, I guess. When I was a child, I wrote children's stuff, how's that? Actually I was just thinking yesterday about writing a book around a character I created a while back, and that would probably be a book for older children, so you see, I do open my mind.
Jean W in Cape Town:
Your book sounds great! Good luck with getting it published. It sure takes some doing but it sounds as if you have the right contacts and are going about it in the right way. I am impressed that you set deadlines like June. It would be wonderful to get it published - then you can start on the next one!
Thanks. Well, the June deadline was just for other people to start reading it and suggesting corrections and I hope I can still manage that. I think the next newsletter will only happen in July so that I can focus on my book. Jean also told me in her email about her daughter, Tanya, writing a children's book, so all the best to her! Sounds promising! The photography one she and her husband are thinking of sounds cool too! Jean's put together a couple of books too, if I remember correctly.
I just had a cold for nearly two weeks, but it started ending a week ago. I think I caught it from Wendy after I was telling her and Lauren that they should have got flu shots. Of course, the flu shot doesn't stop colds, but I have a feeling it sometimes stops them from getting too bad. Anyway, many tissues and drugs were used and I had intermittently blocked ears for almost a week. It meant missing Valencia's birthday braai on 09 May -- sorry, VH! Her birthday was the previous day and at least I smsed her then. Heard you guys had a good time, karaoke and all! And, of course, I'm usually sick in the head, so yes, I've been sick for a long time!
How to place my Order for Your Book
It might help my publishing prospects if people start putting in advance orders for my book. I talked about it in this issue and in the last couple, so you should have a rough idea of whether you would be interested in buying a copy. Some people have already told me they will want one, but even if you've already told me, please confirm and I will start to build the list. It'll be months before it's out (and I'm only talking from an uninformed perspective), so you can start saving your twenties now. So email me, phone me, snailmail me, sms/text me, voicemail me or visit me with your orders (A couple of these contact details are at the bottom of the page). Let me know how many, although I suspect just one for most people. But if you want to take it upon yourself to order ten and sell them to friends, well, that's cool too. Door-to-door, David A? (By the way, I'm not differentiating between the two Davids mentioned in this issue with an A & B because they are the first two letters of the alphabet; their surnames actually start with those letters, respectively. The other two Davids I know both have surnames starting with V, interestingly enough [and that does not include UCT's HR Director]. Or perhaps it's the most boring thing you've ever heard, I don't know. Oh! I know another one with a W, but that's more of a Dave. [We still have to visit you guys in Llandudno soon!] Of course, I've known other Davids too, but I wouldn't really count them as friends or even acquaintances, unless I'm forgetting someone. It is perhaps appropriate that I have a character in my book with the surname "Davids". Actually two, but one of them doesn't open her mouth.)
Thanks for your eyes!
Love, Melody
"And now that you think that you know who I am, I hope you're gonna help me on my way, Tell me is it right or is it wrong, Am I weak or am I strong, Will I make it or will I fall, Would you be there through it all, 'Cos this is who I am"
from Garth Taylor's Who I Am (Adventure Publishing)
NB. This ender changes from time to time: This issue is available on www.adt.org.za and on paper for those without easy Web access. A DifferenTune is a sometimes publication, previously known (for issues 1.1, 1.2 and 2.1) as A Different Tune. It has existed since I, Melody Joshua, created the November 1995 issue. All correspondence and contributions should be addressed to me at melody@adt.org.za or 2 Chesterton, Blackheath Road, Kenilworth, 7708, South Africa. Everything printed in ADT has been written and edited by its creator unless otherwise stated. Back issues are available on request. They will be sent free of charge for private, non-moneymaking purposes at the leisure of the creator or immediately for a small fee of three South African Standard Postage stamps per issue. Foreigners, aliens and exiles may send me 100 grams of Cadbury's milk chocolate per issue instead.
