Saturday 15 May 2010

Lumpy left, cement swimmers and red leaves

'Can water really be wobbly?' the surfer asks me as I clamber onto my Stand-Up-Paddle board for the umpteenth time. His chest and head is all that's visible above the water, as he's sitting deep on his very short surfboard. I loom over him, paddle in hand; 'Yes', I answer, 'water can be wobbly and this water is'. Peter, Glen and I have made the trek to the other side of False Bay to surf a pretty left point that looked sweet from the car park, and yes, we did get some good waves, the guys more than me, but the water wobbled. There was a refraction, backwash, undertow, rocks and stuff. It was fun. I got some waves, I fell a lot. But I did get more waves than the guy on the surfboard.

But this was just the start of my saturday. The far side of False Bay is just a hop skip and a high jump over the Sir Lowry's Pass to Grabouw, apple country, where my beautiful sculptor sister lives. Still sandy and salty I drive over the pass, through the apple orchards to Marieke's house. Somehow this mountainous valley gets the seasons more than many places in SA, and I feast my eyes on the symphony of russet red and mustard yellow leaves.


Marieke lives in an old stone house. I park under the huge oak tree in front of the house and she opens the door. She is sick. And busy. Equally. She has very recently been given the go-ahead to put 18 sculptures up on the Sea Point promenade. Unveiling them the day before kick-off, and the public exhibition will go on for a whole year. She never expected City of Cape Town to say yes for them to go up before kick-off, but this being their request, she is very very busy. The sculptures tell the tale of a magical meeting between a swimmer-girl and a dragonfly, and is read as a story, one sculpture at a time, as you walk along the promenade.


I am so proud as I watch the clay take shape under her expert hands. She is an artist, wife, mother, daughter... and the best sister you could ever wish for.


I love you Marieke.

1 comment:

  1. Life can be so remarkable. Each morning on the promenade, Marieke's sculptures beckon me to my morning run, giggling at me, smiling. And now, having met Hanli, she's got me under the ocean too. I just love how lovely life is.

    ReplyDelete