Exploring the Cape

Living in Cape Town means you don’t have to venture out very far to see breathtaking scenery. It’s a permanent backdrop.

As someone who doesn’t enjoy summer very much (this pale complexion takes years of avoiding the sun) winter is my favourite time to explore The Cape of Storms. The world comes alive, like a dog shaking off its wet fur. Just look outside to see how vivid green the grass has become as it waits expectantly for the rumbling black clouds to release more rain; how the skies are never anything less than dramatic.

It’s so wonderfully gloomy.

Here are some of my favourite places to go when it’s cold outside.

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LEGO book review: The Fault in our Stars

From  the archive: 5 June 2014

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I read The Fault in Our Stars over Christmas (it was a gift to myself). In fact, I very rudely sat outside in the sun, while my partner and his family were inside in the middle of Christmas lunch celebrations. I couldn’t put the book down, not even on Christmas Day.

(See this picture? That’s me stretched out between two camping chairs while trifle is being served inside.)

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How to make a black metal cake

For the recent Trade Secrets anthology, I wrote a story entitled Kitchen Witch about a witch who can do magical things with baked goods. Sadly I’ve never been much of a baker. My scones come out flat and dry and my cookies lack crunch.
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Trade Secrets

It was such an honour to make the shortlist for the Short Sharp Story Award, and even more so to be included in the anthology. I learned a lot from the editor, Joanne, and I can honestly say my future work will benefit richly from the experience.
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LEGO book review: The Roanoke Girls

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I know a few people who make a habit of not reading Next Big Thing books because ultimately, the end result never quite lives up to the hype. (I haven’t read The Girl on the Train and the movie’s already gone to DVD).

But sometimes it does.

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Dreaming of an island I’ve never seen

I’ve spoken to a few of my friends about my unusual ancestry, usually during a lengthy evening chat over a glass or two of wine. I’m even writing a book about it.

Recently, I’ve started to obsess about it.

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LEGO book review: Closed Casket

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I’m not quite sure why I love Agatha Christie mysteries so much. Nostalgia. The challenge of trying to figure out who did it. I read them again and again, especially around this time of year. And each re-read is as satisfying as the first time round.

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When a book is so much more than a book

To call myself a Harry Potter fan would be an understatement.

One of my best friends gave me a homemade Harry Potter Monopoly set for my birthday this year. She has a twin set herself, with different properties and Chance questions. The reason we’re friends in the first place is because of our mutual love of the boy wizard. (We’re the type of fans that immediately pick up the mistakes in the Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit game.)
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Harry Potter and the midnight launch

As an adult you have to accept that certain things are inevitable and you just have to get on with it. And one of those things is queuing. You queue when you do your taxes. You queue when you renew your vehicle license or your passport. Queues can’t be avoided.

There are some cool things that also involve queuing, like the waiting lines at Disneyland rides, the queues at ComicCon (and in our case, FanCon) and the midnight queues for new Harry Potter books.
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