Cottage by the Sea

I've mentioned previously that Mum has dyslexia. When she arrived in South Africa, she started school along with all the other kids, but the 'authorities' insisted that she study Afrikaans - a language so foreign to her that it must have seemed alien, even without her dyslexia.

And yet these 'authorities' kept her in the same grade for four years because she was unable to pass the Afrikaans exams.  They told her she was stupid.  Hence, Mum has spent most of life apologising for her spelling, maths and various other perceived failings.

Yet, if you take some time to look at her abilities and the things she has produced (myself excluded, obviously..!), you cannot fail to be impressed by her abilities.

In 1991, several years after my Dad retired, he bought a plot of land in Belvedere, Knysna (an extremely beautiful part of South Africa on the Eastern coast - called 'the Garden Route') and proceeded to build a very large house.That was impressive (for a man who had never really set foot on a Building Site before).

However, look at the drawings Mum sent in her letters to me, explaining what was happening and the various trials & tribulations of building her 'cottage by the sea' ...

.... the level of detail in some of her letters would do an Architect proud. And the detailed observations in her sketches show a true artist.

Be honest - if you were asked to describe (far less draw) a scene from a Building Site, would you include the workman grabbing a 5-minute break, behind a wall, to smoke his spliff...?

And they genuinely did that .... some months after the house was completed, we discovered a very verdant bush growing behind the place where the Supervisor's shed had been located.  A very fine Marijuana plan indeed...!!!

A Building Site - Belvedere, Knysna, 5th July 1991

 This is the little church, which still exists in Belvedere, that sat alongside my folks' property.  If you're ever in the area, go and have a little visit.  You may even decide to sample some local tea & scones...???