Beyond Selidor

This Saturday was the first time in over two weeks when I felt relaxed enough, and my brain felt uncluttered enough that I was able to open a book, and read it cover to cover. The book in question was The Promise by Damon Galgut, literary fiction following a multigenerational Afrikaans-speaking white South African family over the thirty years from 1986-2016, using the conceit of the family brought together for a funeral roughly every ten years to highlight the changes in South African society during that time. Those with some knowledge of South African history will know that the changes over this time period (and indeed from decade to decade within these thirty years) have been immense, and although I found the book's premise somewhat contrived, it did a good job of conveying the political and social landscape in all its fractures and flaws.

Other than reading and doomscrolling, I've spent most of the weekend exercising: swimming this morning, yoga every day, and a lot of exercises advised by my physiotherapist to try to fix the ongoing problems with my wrists and ankles. It will all hopefully help me sleep, if nothing else.

At some point, I'll need to turn my attention to our garden, which is starting to come out of its winter hibernation. Bulbs are emerging from the soil, the daffodils in the front garden are in full bloom, and some of the fruit trees are starting to blossom. I'm starting to consider seeds for the vegetable patches: last year we had a lot of success with zucchini, beetroot and peas, less so with parsnip and romanesco cauliflower. This year, I think we'll repeat the zucchini, beetroot and peas, but add spring onions, corn, and maybe some kind of leafy greens to the mix. It's all a bit of trial and error, but when it works, the results are delicious!

I hope you've all been having restful weekends.