BLOG 100 – On Fire in Cape Town

Blog 100 – BLOG 100 – On Fire in Cape Town.
Is late. Blog 100 is late. I’m half in holiday humour, six thousand miles from home but consider this also to be home. Our town Fish Hoek was on fire this last week. At dawn the guinea fowl are moving alarm clocks but on Thursday the helicopters flew above us instead to douse the mountain flames.
For those of you who know me as a playwright and director it will come as no surprise to you that before the showcasing of my play, ‘A President in Waiting …’ last week I was earnestly checking on props when the lovely and brave (because she directed my play) Amy Leigh Vermaak cried, “Jan, there’s a fire over yonder. PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR HOMES. We have the stamps.”
Stamps are vital to the story of the play as Khululwa (Khuls Nkatshu) was writing and sending a letter to Nelson Mandela. Khululwa didn’t have much luck. The posting was ill-timed and to boot, there’s a postal strike on here also. Khuls, the actress, didn’t need any luck. She was brilliant. We await the press reviews at time of writing.
The mountain is still on fire. It’s been burning for two days. So am I. I’m not sunburnt just pretty alight with the success of the play, now, no longer in waiting. Thank you, Rainbow Team: Amy (Afrikaaner), Khuls (Xhosa) and Earl/Producer (Cape Khaki).
Thank you Fish Hoek Scribblers for attendance and a great workshop last night as guinea pigs for my forthcoming Amersham one in December titled: The Unseen Character. See this December’s issue of ‘Writing Magazine’ if you would like a preview.
Shame Mandiba couldn’t have attended the play at the Desmond Tutu HIV Youth Foundation Centre last week. Sure he was there in spirit. He would have had to stand though. Rainbow audience.
One place left on Creative Ink for Writers’ ‘Get Inspired’ – Tuesday morning course. Five weeks from January 13th and a few more places on Thursday ‘Get that Book Out of You’ starting January 15th for five weeks at the Fitzwilliams Centre, Beaconsfield.