An Introduction

I live in the south of South Africa, which means that if you looked at a map of Africa, you'd find me on the little willy at the very bottom of the continent. My village is called Kommetjie, which is an Afrikaans word meaning "Little Bowl" and refers to the tidal pool here, where people came for picnics and summer holidays more than a hundred years ago, before there were any houses or even any roads here. It is so far south that there's only about ten kilometres between the west and the east coast of the peninsula, and air conditioned tour buses go past on their way to Cape Point, which is about as far south as you can go, unless you fly or sail of course.

There are only about three thousand people living in Kommetjie and most of us know one another, or else we know of one another, especially when you've been here for the past twenty-eight years, as we have. Most of us like to potter along, some like surfing; some live here and work in Cape Town and are relieved to get back at the end of the day, with a cool breeze in your face and a gin and tonic in your hand. From time to time developers drool when they see the white beach and clear water, with a view of Table Mountain's backside, and they come up with plans of boutique hotels or supermarkets, but they usually meet with a lot of resistance from us, because most of us came here to get away from all those things.

I live with Patrick, who's my husband, and Gabriel, the last of my offspring. Lily is supposed to be Gabriel's dog, but we have a close bond, seeing that we spend a lot of time together while he is at school and Patrick at work. The cats usually keep to the attic because they dislike Lily intensely. There are four of them, with Lisa being the oldest and almost toothless, so we have to feed her separately on soft stuff. Aristotle is the youngest and the fattest and the only male. There is also my mom, in her flat which used to be the old garage. She is eighty-seven and very thin but fiercely independent. She grows flowers in pots and wages her own private war against snails and bugs that eat the tomatoes and green beans.

Now the thing about village life is that it appears to be quiet and boring to outsiders who just glance at it, but there is always something interesting once you pause for long enough. This is what this blog site is about - giving you a glimpse at what life is like here.