Greetings from Kathu in the remote Northern Cape. Just a quick post to say I’m still around but am recovering from a 13-hour drive yesterday from Cape Town to Kathu with a cold. Think of a typical man with a cold and you’ll get the idea. Lots of feeling sorry for myself, slightly muddled thinking and some anxiety about driving all that way in a slightly impaired state.
I’m still getting used to moving from this …
… to this in the space of a week.
It’s hard to convey the dry dustiness that is the Northern Cape in a picture. The first picture is of Windmill beach in Simonstown where we went to celebrate my cousin’s 50-something birthday. Nice, relaxing time away. This week I’m at a remote military battle school testing the mental health of 300-odd soldiers. If ever I needed some motivation to look for a better job!
But what I did want to blog about is the Booker longlist. I’m sure you’ve seen the longlist and have your thoughts on it. Is the Booker still relevant? Who do you want to win? I’m rooting for Hilary Mantel with Wolf Hall (although haven’t read it) but would be interested to hear more about the other contenders. Not sure that I want to read another Coetzee right now when there are so many other good books that I haven’t read. I think Samantha Harvey’s The Wilderness (about a man with Alzheimer’s) should be interesting.
On the subject of men growing old and dying (how did we get onto that – oh yes, men and their colds) I also want to read SA author Anne Landsman’s The Rowing Lesson, which won the Sunday Times fiction award.
I’ll be around a bit in the next few days but also a bit distracted with mental health matters. Have a good week.
Posted by Pete 
