Woman on Top - Beth Cooper Howell

For most, the highlight of one’s adult life might be marriage, birth or a milestone trip to South America. For me, it was watching 40 teenage girls standing on their desks at the end of my final English class and saying to me: ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’.

I love my kids, my man and the fun jobs I’ve done, but nothing before or since has moved me the way that experience did – and that’s the reason I cried when actor Robin Williams died last week.

It’s a modern conundrum, this worship and love of celebrities, as though we knew them over cocktails, or could so easily have been friends, had Hollywood not been in the way. It’s illogical and we know it – especially when we grow up and can’t blame our flutter-eyed fandom on hormones or a passing crush.

But there is a vital and telling difference between temporary devotion to a superstar for his looks and presence on-screen and a lifelong appreciation of someone who sold us a story that becomes our own – not just in adolescence, but forever.

There’s been a massive outpouring of grief over Williams’ demise, possibly more so because he took his own life, according to the papers. If the clown who made us laugh so much was that unhappy, where does that leave us? There are very few ordinary people who can live as largely, loudly and successfully as he did and yet, even that wasn’t enough.

Psychologists have analysed this global sadness over the past few days and concluded that it’s perfectly sane and normal to be taking his death so personally – Robin Williams was the type of chap who educated, entertained and touched people on a grand scale; much as a beloved older brother might, or a popular politician. Acting just happened to be the method he used.

After watching Dead Poets Society, a sentimental, dramatic interpretation of teenage individualism, I incorporated Robin Williams’ life philosophy in that film as my own. He played an English teacher named Mr Keating – and if you were lucky enough at school, you may have encountered a Mr Keating too, as we did. On our last day in Anne Peltason’s class, we stood on our desks and said, ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’. A few years later, at varsity, friends and I started our own Dead Poets Society in honour of the same film. And finally, when I became an English teacher for a while and taught that film as part of the visual media syllabus, my own pupils stood on their desks, letting me know that I’d succeeded at being Mr Keating, too.

Throughout my life, since first encountering Robin Williams as that character, I have tirelessly encouraged anyone who’ll listen to think for themselves; to practise carpe diem – seize the day. Thanks to social media, I know that the majority of my former pupils do that now, remembering what I told them as captain of their ship.

And that’s why I’m so sad about this death – because quite often, it’s those who leave us too soon who have taught us how to live.

TOO CLOSE TO HOME TO BE GOOD

Author of Deaf Sentence, David Lodge, admits in the book’s preamble that 60-something protagonist Desmond Bates is loosely based on himself. To what extent we shall never know although both are retired academics and both suffer from progressive hearing loss. The latter disability is central to the narrative and shapes most, if not all, of the hero’s movements throughout the tale.

Lodge manages with literary dexterity to bring out the humour of the hearing misfortune by involving Bates in a comedy of antics with and without his electronic hearing aid. Had Bates been any less placid or even-tempered than he is, the humour would be absent and we’d likely be watching a curmudgeon grappling with his infirmity. Consequently what makes the tale appealing, and reinforces it to some extent, is Bates’s nobility in the circumstances in which he finds himself. And one can only surmise (with a good deal of accuracy I suspect) that Lodge is no less a chap.

The humour is well-executed, and when it becomes a little darker perhaps even better. But the difficulty of comedy, in any art form, is being able to sustain it and Lodge doesn’t manage that altogether successfully.

Bates’s 89-year old father in the book (also loosely based on Lodge’s father) still lives in his own home but is in obvious decline, although far from decrepit. Lodge draws a humorous relationship between the two by bringing out the idiosyncrasies and quirkiness of the old man viewed alongside the solicitude of the son and partial deafness of both.

            ‘How was the journey?’ he said, as I took off my overcoat and hung it on the coat rack by the door.

                ‘All right. The train was on time for once,’ I said.

                ‘What?’ This word occurs very frequently in our dialogues.

                ‘The train was on time,’ I shouted.

                ‘There’s no need to shout,’ he said . . .

Meetings between the two occur frequently in the book culminating in the old man’s funeral at the end. Although some of the humour and poignancy in their relationship is retained throughout, the narrative tends to become a little tedious and the book would have benefited with less of the father/son episodes. But Lodge, even if he agreed, would clearly have had a problem with this given the story is to some extent autobiographical.

The book may also have suffered in another area from its autobiographical adumbration.

One of the characters, Alex Loom, is an alluring American postgraduate from Bates’s former university. She inveigles a reluctant Bates into helping her as a quasi-supervisor for a doctoral thesis, without his wife’s knowledge. At various times she subtly suggests sex but he never acquiesces, although he does indulge in a fantasy, which she suggested, about spanking her naked bottom.

At the outset, the reader is given the impression of an appealing character (she possesses all the extrovert qualities of the typical American girl) and waits in patient anticipation to see how she will play a leading character role, which the author seems to have intended, in the story’s tapestry. The impression given is that an intellectually interesting, and most likely sexual, relationship is set to develop between Desmond Bates and Alex Loom. The fact that it doesn’t materialise is in some ways a travesty and the book suffers greatly as a result.

Lodge develops Loom into a sexually dysfunctional girl, who lost her father at age 13 to suicide and who consequently has a compulsive sexual attraction for older men. She seduces Bates’s colleague (still employed) at the university and Bates becomes her next compulsive target sometime after the first liaison ended. Bates declines her overtures and she eventually goes back to America.

Had Lodge expanded on the relationship between Bates and Loom in all its facets, and rewritten her character, it would have provided immense possibilities for character development and a more interesting and appealing tale. One could say he lost a trick here, but I suspect the reason to have been the limitations imposed by a quasi-autobiography. It is unlikely that Lodge would have entered into such an affair. Bates, though, does indicate towards the end of the book that, had he been less timid, he might have allowed it. At any event, fictionalising yourself will be constraining at the best of times and may be too close to home to draw a vivid and appealing tale.

Pravin Gordhan - Putting a Propagandist Cart before the Horse

Towards the end of 2012, South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan was disillusioned with ANC corruption and said as much in his 2012 budget speech. But recently the man has tended to want to sweep the embarrassing stuff under the carpet.

Speaking on Monday at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Houghton, Johannesburg, Gordhan virtually accused South Africans of currently lacking the hope that former president Nelson Mandela's generation had:

'There is too much despair … we need to recognise the good work we've done. It's important that South Africans know we are not a dismal country.'

And how, indeed, does Mr Gordhan know that we are not a dismal country, given the extent of government and corporate corruption, crime and rape that continue to ravage this land and - yes - instil despair.

But he would have you don rose-coloured spectacles to overlook the abominations of government to instil false hope and optimism. A clever tactic. Deflect the blame onto those who are despairing and try convince them of a nebulous hope that simply doesn't exist at the moment. The blame becomes theirs for not seeing it in the first place!

This government is adept at lying when it suits them and creating never-never lands out of thin air. The NDP comes to mind - a theory without implementation and any monitored measuring, created to fool the citizenry that there is something of substance in the 'air' that we can all look forward to and which will give us 'hope'.

So much poppycock. Here is more rhetorical drivel about what 'we must do':

'There is hard work to do. There are sacrifices and innovative things we need to do.'

Note the emphasis on 'we', as if the government is simply a benign supervisor of the irresponsible masses who are the reason why South Africa's growth and moral standing in the international community lag behind. A neat deflection of blame by an agenda-driven politician.

Gordhan would have you believe that South Africa's future depends entirely on its citizens - not on a strong, competent, government of integrity and sound leadership, which he cannot highlight because the current regime - his regime - fails miserably in those quarters despite having 'achieved a lot in a short time'. Any 'achievements' he may wish to parade have been neutralised and emaciated by rapacious greed and slovenly leadership.

Gordhan has changed his tack recently and now relies on glib rhetoric to get across a straw-stuffed message.

Regrettably, there are still too many who believe him.

A Lodge for all Seasons

A feisty young female chef, with a gift for hospitality, has taken over an off-the-beaten-track hospitality establishment and turned it into an award-winning lodge.

Not far beyond the entrance to the serene and popular seaside village of St Francis Bay, a signpost indicates the way to Dune Ridge Country House. A short journey on a gravel road, travelling away from the sea, leads to the picturesque and welcoming guest lodge that recently was the recipient of a national award.

Welcome to Dune Ridge

You may be forgiven for thinking you’re in the middle of Africa, surrounded by bush and watching Nyala buck grazing quietly on the lawn, or the lynx-like caracal leisurely strolling past at sunset, but you’re barely a stone’s throw from the sea. And therein lies the lodge’s exquisite appeal and charm. It provides two travel experiences for the price of one: the African bush, with its vivid wildlife, and the seaside tourist luxuries offered by the village of St Francis Bay – a mere 10-minute drive away.

I was greeted by the knowledgeable, enthusiastic and vivacious owner, Sarah Swanepoel, and led into the resplendent lounge and dining area. The magnificent Oregon pine flooring was adorned by antique furniture and Persian carpets and, outside, the fynbos (distinctive African small trees and shrubs) was abundant and the myriad birdlife vibrant and melodious.

Fine dining at Dune Ridge

Once a farmhouse, the graceful building hasn't lost any of its elegant beauty, and large verandas overlook the immaculately kept indigenous garden. I was also told that all the building materials used were recycled items or brought in from surrounding areas. The sturdy stone fireplace in the lounge was built from rocks transported from the nearby Gamtoos River Valley.

It certainly is a relaxing atmosphere, which is palpable from the moment you enter.

The animated, and young (she’s only 31), Sarah Swanepoel makes every effort to please and is the reason for the lodge’s turnaround success. She started out as a chef and has worked throughout South Africa. She was in the employ of the previous owners when they decided to close the business and was asked by the landowners if she would like to take over the lease. She jumped at the opportunity to have her own business and hasn't looked back.

‘I get a lot of corporate business and we do breakfasts, adult and kiddies’ parties and dinner parties. We cater for special themed dinner parties or simply basic dining out for groups of four or more. We’ll suggest menus but will also provide a custom dining experience tailored to suit the diners.

'We've also become a wedding venue and hope to substantially improve that area of our business.

‘We pride ourselves on being an exclusive destination providing all the benefits and comforts of a hospitality establishment, as well as guided coastal walks, frog safaris and resident spa and bush spa services. We’re uniquely placed with unique appeal.’

Plush lounge and fireplace at Dune Ridge

To promote her business and measure herself against the best, Swanepoel entered the national Lilizela tourism award for service excellence and came out on top, claiming first prize.

The awards represent and reward the highest levels of excellence in tourism. The name derives from the Zulu word Lilizela, which means celebrating and praising by ululating when someone has done well.

‘It took a lot of hard work, but I've got a great staff and we pulled together as a team because we wanted to make it happen. We’re so chuffed, not only because it’s a feather in our cap but because it will also serve the area by drawing attention to St Francis Bay and the magnificent tourism experiences we have here.’

That it will, and with the drive and enthusiasm of Sarah Swanepoel in the area, it can only get better.

Serene evening at Dune Ridge

Who'll Move My Chi?

The curious ancient Chinese art of feng shui has gained widespread popularity in western culture and is being acclaimed as a simple and effective means of gaining increased health, wealth and happiness.

Pronounced ‘feng shooee’, and known as ‘kan-yu’ in ancient China – meaning ‘the law of heaven and earth’, this apparently astute old art is the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony within yourself and the environment. Well, that’s the idea.

Based on the theory that an invisible energy, called ‘chi’, exists and must flow unobstructed through a household to produce optimum benefits for the immediate environment and occupants, feng shui becomes literally the wise arrangement of furniture, architectural and décor enhancements and the use of colour to produce this effect.

Hiring a qualified practitioner is best, but the experts agree that it’s easy to apply some basic feng shui principles to assist you in getting your act together to make your life a touch easier.

“If you want a simple, but highly effective, start - get rid of your clutter,” says Terry Cooper, a retired Eastern Cape-based feng shui consultant.

“Clutter is the books and magazines left lying about, the untidy mess of useless possessions that accumulate in built-in-cupboards and elsewhere, the ever-expanding handbag, the numerous items that do not have a place or are frequently not in their place.

“Clutter obstructs chi and will cause ill-health, disharmony and bad luck. Throw away, sell or give away all possessions which are useless. If you are ruthless in your efforts to remove clutter you will be amazed at the overnight results!”

Strong words, and according to the ancient art each room in the house can be segmented for optimal effect. The process is relatively simple but does require some commitment. Here’s how to do it.

Divide each room in your house into 9 equal squares. Using the door entrance to the room as your vantage point, the square in the top left corner is the wealth and prosperity area. In this area place all or some of the following: healthy plants with shiny leaves; silk or fresh flowers in purple, red and blue; a water feature; valuable antique, art or coin collections; paintings or posters that depict wealth, such as cars, boats and jewellery.

The left hand column middle square, below the wealth square, is the health and family area. Decorate with wooden ornaments, items in blue and green, floral prints, curtains, wallpaper, family portraits and landscape paintings.

The left hand column bottom square, below health and family, is the knowledge and self-cultivation area.  Books, tapes, study materials; paintings of mountains and quiet places; items in black, blue or green; photos of people you deem wise, and inspirational sayings placed in this area, will generate common sense and personal growth.

Top row middle square, beside and to the right of the wealth square, is the fame and reputation area. This calls for diplomas and prizes; items in red; anything made from animals – leather, feathers, bone, wool; triangular, conical or pyramidal shapes; candles, lamps, sunlight; posters and paintings/photos of animals, sunshine and your favourite celebrities will do the trick.

"The centre square, below fame and reputation and to the right of health and family, requires no placements. It’s a neutral square and represents you, the centre and manipulator of your universe. Stand in this area when contemplating important issues," says Cooper.

Below the middle square, bottom row middle, is the career area. To stimulate and develop your work status, arrange for water features; items in black, navy, blue, maroon, chocolate brown; mirrors, glass, crystal items; diplomas, certificates associated with your career; posters/paintings of streams, oceans and lakes.

The top right hand corner is the area of love and marriage. Keep your relationship fresh and passionate with imagery or artwork representing lovers; two red silk roses in a pretty vase; fresh flowers with red or pink blossoms; a male and female figurine placed side by side or any personal object that has a powerful feeling of romance and happiness.

Below love and marriage is creativity and children. Children’s paintings; stuffed animals and toys; items in white and pastels; metallic objects of brass, steel, silver; circular or oval items should contribute to producing a resourceful and contented child.

Helpful people and travel occupies the bottom right hand corner. Posters/paintings of mentors; special places where you’ve travelled or want to travel; any items in white, grey or black; helpful teachers, benefactors, clients and customers will all be helpful in sending you on significant, enjoyable journeys and making judicious decisions.

Cooper adds, “Use common sense. If all areas in the room can’t be filled, don’t panic. Fill them in your imagination. Only a minimum of one item per area is needed.

“Most important - don’t forget the clutter. Remove it and you have more than half the battle won.”

Cooper happens to be my wife and I’ve witnessed my surroundings undergo rearrangement from time to time and clutter unceremoniously dispensed with, bemoaning the possibility that some precious stuff might have been turfed out in favour of good chi. But despite my protestations, and when all is said and done, I do feel better - and not a little intrigued.

This article first appeared in AbouTime magazine

Bay of Plenty

Once dubbed a 'quaint luxurious sleepy hollow', St Francis Bay has been experiencing a population and economic boom, due in part to its pleasurable attractions and not a little to a Golden Bear that once roamed the area.

Thrusting itself confidently forward for the benefit of unsuspecting mariners, the nineteenth century St Francis lighthouse can be seen from a westerly descent about 100 km from Port Elizabeth. Around the Cape, a tranquil and radiant bay with ample stretches of affluent beach rolls lazily toward a quiet river.

The Portuguese mariners in 1575, who named the Bay after one of the many nautical patron saints, would not have foreseen, from where they stood centuries ago, the resplendent, thatched, black and white mansions or Mediterranean villas that now pervade the area; nor the intricate, man-made, tidal canal system linked to the Kromme River that, in season, plays host to an array of different boats and water machines.

And the well-established commercial and recreational port would not have beckoned their longboats then.

A bay of sporting pleasure

Home to ‘Bruce’s Beauties’, considered one of the world’s best surf breaks, St Francis Bay is described as possessing the whitest, cleanest stretches of beach on the South African coastline. Attracting national and worldwide interest, water sports abound and include surfing, kite boarding, wet bike racing, waterskiing, windsurfing and paddleskiing. Some of the finest surf and rock angling can be found along this stretch and general sporting events are regularly on the calendar.

Trail running, mountain biking, hiking, tennis, squash, bowls and golf complete the package of the Bay’s available sports pleasure and entertainment.

The Kromme and the canals

Navigable to 10 km, the quiet and sedate Kromme River is a playground for sailing enthusiasts and fishermen alike, flowing gently at its mouth into a marvellous network of canals.

Dubbed ‘Little Venice’, and one of the biggest man-made waterways in Africa, this impressive 7 km canal system winds its way peacefully between magnificent white walled thatched houses, each with their own mooring jetty, and is a mere step away to boating, fishing or yachting on the spacious Kromme. Idyllic sunset cruises take visitor or resident alike on an enchanting journey through the fascinating network, distilling a magical and captivating experience.

canal harbour

Port St Francis

In the interests of fishing and tourism, the first privately-owned port in South Africa began construction in 1996 and is today a vibrant and flourishing R250m small harbour for commercial and recreational craft.

Port St Francis provides safe anchorage for the local chokka industry workboats, pleasure vessels and ocean-going yachts. The superbly functional port is surrounded by a developing village of restaurants, shops, estate agents, yacht club, conference centre, private beach, seaside meander trails and residential and self-catering luxury waterfront apartments.

Port St Francis at sunset

The natural gardens of St Francis

A haven for the eco-conscious, the area boasts four nature reserves and falls within The Cape Floral Kingdom – the smallest of the earth’s six kingdoms.

The Cape St Francis Nature Reserve, The Seal Bay Nature Reserve, The Seal Point Nature Reserve and The Irma Booysen Flora Reserve reveal magnificent and exclusive plant life, and many hiking trails exist along the coast and not far inland for nature enthusiasts.

Ground, air and marine species abound and the area is a privileged home for the near-extinct African Black Oystercatcher which has a worldwide population of around only 5 000 birds.

Stamp of the Golden Bear

The great Golden Bear once seen roaming the area was the astounding winner of 18 major golf championships and 105 golf tournaments - the inimitable Jack Nicklaus.

Commissioned to transform an undulating links land of exquisite beauty, Nicklaus produced one of the finest golf courses in the world and was quoted as saying,

‘…..this may be the best course I've ever seen’.

Jack Nicklaus

St Francis Links is situated between gentle, rolling hills with views of the sea. The R2-billion rand investment boasts a magnificent, secure residential golfing estate with several hundred units in the process of development.

Attracting worldwide attention, the development has been hailed as world-class and owes much to the Golden Bear’s course signature and the idyllic proximity of St Francis Bay. It is now rated as one of the finest courses in the country and constantly is among the top venues for weddings, receptions and conferences.

St Francis Links

  

The Links has provided an economic impetus for the overall development of the area and the bay’s luxurious charms have provided it with an attractive menu, creating a synergy that just gets better every year.

In spite of retaining its old-world charm and pristine beauty, the developing bay today would astonish the ancient Portuguese seafarers. And its founder, Leighton Hulett, would no longer look out upon the budding fishing village he brought into being over forty years ago.

It has become a vibrant, bustling environment and tourist mecca that by no stretch of the imagination can any longer be described as ‘quaint’.

Bruce Cooper

STRUGGLING TO GET ONSHORE

STRUGGLING TO GET ONSHORE

A review of the novel Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald

After my first reading (thirty-one years following publication) of Penelope Fitzgerald’s much-lauded 1979 Booker Prize novel, Offshore, I was left wondering what all the fuss was about. The work received wide acclaim, albeit from reviewers, but little academic interest.

It has at its core the relationships between five barge owners, and the families of some of them, moored at Battersea Reach on the Thames. The author would be expected to develop such relationships into an interesting tapestry of personal feeling shaped by events, revealing the characters to their fullest extent and thereby giving the reader an insight into their innermost psychologies. Fitzgerald, however, creates a snapshot, as it were, rather than a complete revelation, thus leaving one feeling the work to be inadequate, wanting and unsatisfying. It could be argued that, in a novel barely two hundred pages long, little opportunity is provided for such development and, on first consideration, there may seem to be a point except for the fact that a novelist, such as Henry James, managed it masterfully. And I use James as a comparison only because several reviewers likened Fitzgerald to Jane Austen – an accolade misplaced and undeserved in the extreme. AS Byatt suggested she was Austen’s ‘nearest heir’ and I am decidedly perplexed (possibly even dumbfounded) why George Eliot might not have been considered suitable for the part. I can only reason there seems to be a desperate proclivity by some reviewers to find in a contemporary writer the genius of some of the great 19th century novelists.

Fitzgerald’s lack of comprehensive characterization weakens the novel immensely and the first half of the book drifts aimlessly to the point of being boringly insubstantial. The characters are presented superficially, and the reader never gets to know them intimately as a result of the author’s inability to allow a full range of reflection or emotion on their part. Consequently the novel cannot develop into a meaningful work and relies on a series of character snapshots to hold it together.

The term ‘snapshot’ is, perhaps, not insignificant as it suggests a style and method not unlike that of cinematography and raises the interesting observation that Fitzgerald’s Offshore is better suited to being developed as a screen play rather than a novel. The sudden and unexpected changes of scene resemble the motion picture, which, it must be said, has never reproduced faithfully, and with telling force, any major literary work because of its reliance on visual perception. Whether or not Fitzgerald was overly influenced by film, I do not know, but the presence of its style and method in Offshore makes it an interesting question.

One cannot escape the fact there is a dull superficiality about the book. The character snapshots (or movie clips if you prefer the idea of motion) presented by Fitzgerald are of mundane, trivial incidents in the lives portrayed - which is not to suggest that a degree of pain and suffering is not present in the representative contextual sampling. But the writer doesn't explore, in a profound way and not even in one or two characters, the range of content in the individual psyches that could reveal personal tragedy. If she had dealt with her subject matter accordingly, Fitzgerald may have evoked a close and percipient response in the reader and provided substance in an otherwise thin narrative. Yet it is almost as if she wants her audience to assume the tragic consequences of her characters’ lives and simply provides a canvas for the reader’s imagination to play on. This is not subtle suggestion, as some of those who rhapsodize about this book may claim, but an inadequacy unable to meticulously examine and reveal the infinitely delicate processes of human thought and emotion. It is, sadly, and one may venture to say, an easy way out.

That said I do not believe Fitzgerald sets out to deceive. She has, rather, simply written a defective novel in an unconvincing style, a style unsuited to the task of aspiring to achieving a major (or even a good) work of fiction. Regrettably, many critics (who should know better) mislead the reading public in describing the work, with extravagant claims, as ‘tight’, ‘compressed’ and ‘...unerring in economic force’. What exactly such specious terms are intended to mean or evoke one can only guess. But it is probable, and I suggest likely, that these critics do not themselves know and use such terms to impress and cloak unfortunate critical inadequacies - inadequacies that will attempt to promote something as a work of genius which, in fact, is second-rate.

I could be proved wrong but I've not seen the work proposed or selected for serious study and surmise that a competent, critical ethos has had the last word on the subject and put the matter to rest.

Bruce Cooper

July 2013

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