Writing It Randomly

I'm taking part in my first Secret Sunrise Event in Johannesburg on Thursday. I'll tell you all about it afterwards, but for now I just hope it feels-but-does-not-look-like this:

South African Lighthouse No. 7 Photo Credit: Don Brotherston Photography When I started this week's search, I had no clue as to what the Cape Vidal lighthouse even looks like. Then, as soon as I laid eyes on it, it was crystal clear that its appearance is quite unique in a very obvious way:   It is painted bright yellow! Apart from the fact that I think yellow is such a cheerful colour, it was actually finished in this shade to raise the visibility of the 23 metre high tower within the dense, lush green Cape Vidal Forestry Reserve of Kwazulu Natal's North Coast. It was constructed in 1985, so it's still a youngster in the lighthouse community. The youngest in South Africa, actually. According to  Lighthouses.co.za , it is also said by some that the lighthouse watches over the ill-fated ship 'Dorothea'. Trying to find out a bit more about the 'Dorothea', I inadvertently stumbled upon a bit of mystery - and tales of rumoured treasure: ...

Image  found via Google Search

After seeing this video I feel like throwing in the towel... I don't think I'll ever find anything weirder. Ever.

South African Lighthouse No. 6 The oldest working lighthouse in South Africa today. It was commissioned on 15 March 1864, which means that it's not only the oldest working lighthouse down here, it is also protected under the National Heritage Resources Act 25 of 1999. Pic Source:  TravelGround Blog Finding attractive images of this lighthouse, like I did with my previous  online adventures , proved quite difficult. This Victorian structure just seem so rigid, reflecting the prim nature of the  era , I guess. Obviously any lighthouse stems from the need to protect seafarers from rocky and precarious shores, and this lighthouse is no different; but its location was named by Bartolomeu Dias (when he sailed into Mossel Bay on 3 February 1488*). He called it Bahia (Aguada) de Sao Bras, "the watering place of St Blaize"**. From what I could gather, the southern shores are also lined with cliffs and that there are massive caverns on the sides of these cliffs, w...

Whenever I hear this song, I cannot help but think lovingly of my husband, Franscois. Everything about our relationship is a little off   at the best of times - I kid you not, my first words to him were "What the fuck are you looking at?", and a 'short' eight years later, there we were on our first date... Naturally, it was played at our wedding reception on 1 September 2013, so here you go (since you couldn't celebrate with us in person):

South African Lighthouse No. 5 This is one seriously photogenic zebra-striped lighthouse. It has been sitting at the south entrance of Algoa Bay, as the third oldest lighthouse in South Africa, since 1 April 1851, warning sailors of the Thunderbolt Reef*. Photo by Randall Langenhoven on  SouthAfrica.net Despite its good looks set against the backdrop of the beautiful Eastern Cape landscape, there is an  eerie history surrounding this lighthouse, which obviously attracts me to it even more, and I hope to visit it in person one day soon. Feast your eyes: Photo by Bevan Langley The Lighthouse photographed on a cloudy Day. Beach view photo of the lighthouse from Cape Recife's website . Leigh Langman's moonrise photo of the lighthouse, taken at sunset - Flickr Humpback whales are also known to breach there - as you can see in this photo by Lloyd Edwards via  Raggy Charters . *According to SouthAfrica.net , "The deadly spine of rocks is...

Happy Valentine's wishes for you this week! I hope this song kicks off your week with a giggle, because it's just so wrong. I believe it will even crack a smile for those of you who hate celebrating Valentine's Day*, because it reaffirms what losers mushy lovers can be. And yes, this is that Joey, the one from Melissa & Joey . *Not me. I must confess that I've fallen victim of the global commerialisation of Valentine's early on, but I also have a soft spot for the weirder love cards / messages out there since my early adult years.

South African Lighthouse No 4 An interesting fact about the Cape Point lighthouse, is that there are actually two of them. Gorgeous photo of Cape Point taken at dusk by Otto du Plessis (Found on Cedarberg Travel ). Although the Indian and Atlantic Oceans actually meet around the entire Southern tip of the South African (Cape) coast, it has become popular belief that Cape Point is the exact spot where they thrash into one another. Whatever the location specifics, this meshing of cold and warm sea currents , is the main reason for our stormy seas, making the waters off our Southern Coast very treacherous to seafarers. Lighthouses around this part of our Coast is therefore extremely important, but the original lighthouse commissioned in 1857, was built in the wrong spot. It was built so high up that it was not visible to all ships during bad weather, because it would be hidden from the ships' view behind the dense mist or storm clouds. Photo of the old lighthou...

To be honest, I had very low expectations for this collection of short stories. I found the book on Amazon as a free Kindle deal via BookBub, so I did not think it would be anything more than mere mediocrity (why else would it be free?). I was pleasantly surprised that I could not put it down though. My favourite stories were: Like Part of the Family - Jonathan Maberry wrote in a very funny action scene into this one. The View from the Top - Bev Vincent stuck a lump in my throat with his sad & beautiful tale. Chillers - Lisa Morton knows how to get me panicking. Make sure to read the Introduction!

Eight months in, and Mom's kicking ass during her second round of chemo. I'm starting to believe that we (and I use this term loosely) can really maybe beat this. She reports that she still hasn't lost that much hair, and that she's starting to crave sweets again - a miracle, because we've been watching her lack of appetite for too long now. Also, "we're" looking forward to regular pooping again soon. It just all depends on when, and if, they can reverse the colostomy bag. Visit the World Cancer Day  for more info or material to continue sharing.

I can't believe I forgot about this one. P.S. If I remember correctly, Green Jelly also did a "Frog went up the Mountain" one?