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A safe place

A safe place

“If only I could walk again!” This is the cry from the heart of a friend in her wheelchair, months after suffering a head injury. Likewise, this was the cry from the heart of the invalid who was lying at the pool of Bethesda for the umpteenth time, hoping for the...
Ouma Maria: A formidable woman

Ouma Maria: A formidable woman

Maria Margaretha Hough married her first cousin Albertus Hough. Unfortunately, neither she nor her cousin realised that they were both carriers of a regressive gene that caused both their two youngest daughters to be born with microcephaly (abnormal smallness of the...
The language of hugs

The language of hugs

“Can you give me a hug?” Hugging a complete stranger, and a homeless one at that?! I was completely taken aback. This homeless man was selling Big Issue magazines in one of London’s Underground stations – and I was in a hurry. I wasn’t wearing a WWJD wrist band, but I...
Absolute security

Absolute security

Three of my favourite childhood memories are based on a feeling of absolute security. I remember the warmth of snuggling up to my mother in the church pew, the relief of being able to snuggle behind my dad’s back whenever I had braved the long, dark passage to my...
Two passports – dual citizenship

Two passports – dual citizenship

On one of many flights between South Africa and the UK in order to establish a business in London, my husband Brink was told by a British fellow passenger: “Never lose your accent. South Africans are known for their diligence.” We had to pack up and relocate to the...
When I am the sulking older child

When I am the sulking older child

Looking at the parable of the prodigal son, I so easily see only the grateful father running to meet and greet his prodigal, dirty, dishevelled son. But the part of the parable that sometimes confronts me personally is seeing this same dignified father going out of...