Syphilis and my Grandpa Bob

This past week, had he still been alive, my wonderful grandfather would have turned 93. He was a very good-looking chap – a lot like Jack Nicholson, I think – and had he lived in another country in another time, I quite fancy the idea of him as a film star. His good looks, however, were … Continue reading →

We Went Marching To Pretoria (or How I fell in love with Afrikaans in my 36th year)

For those of you who are new here, I am married to 23Thorns. He is also a blogger. We are the modern equivalent of Leonard and Virginia Woolf (but with shoplifting), Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald (but with dassie corpses on the stove), Iris Murdoch and John Bayley (but with a criminally clever Chinese Crested Powder … Continue reading →

Granny was a go-go dancer (almost)

I’m back! I have been a very bad blogger for the past three weeks. There are two reasons for this: 1) I have been living a pre-Industrial Revolution life. I bought myself a bustle dress and a proper, torturously beautiful corset and I spend my days assembling my wares. My arms are so tired by the end of … Continue reading →