Skimming Stones | Sula's Blog | Sula1968 A South African poet, potter and mother

A stones throw from the Mocambique border, the Kosi Bay area has an air of remote adventure.  A sliver of South Africa with the air of an unspoilt island.  Four lakes joined by channels culminate at Kosi mouth, where the first lake meets with the ocean.  The KZN parks lodges and camp sites are at the third lake. I imagine …

Now and then my happy, peace-loving persona gives way to ire.  We all have things which get our goat (where does that come from?), being ripped off and being screwed over by government are particularly irksome to me.  A visit to Sterkfontein caves and Maropeng museum today checked both boxes.  After a 150 km round trip we went home without …

  To make these I used the aptly named Perfect vanilla cupcake recipe on Glorious Treats as a base and made a tweak or two.   I am besotted with this recipe and can’t stop playing with it, the cupcakes are moist, light and simply divine. LEMON CUPCAKES (makes 15- 16) INGREDIENTS 1 1/4 cups cake flour 1 1/4 teaspoons baking …

Stepping way out of family character we left for our trip to Ndumo and Kosi Bay at 5 am.  Half asleep children were bundled into the car in their pj’s and off we set.  After a few hours on the road we started looking for a place to have breakfast.  Travelling food stops are a hit and miss affair, but …

Today I must have heard a bit of a pop song on the radio, I have no idea what the words were but I walked around singing something to a similar rhythm and made up my own words.  So here is a love poem to my husband written to the tune of something that I’m darned sure he would never …

  Johannesburg is bleak, brown and black during winter, but little buds are beginning to form and spring is so close I can taste it. Well I wanted to taste it and made these rose water cupcakes to bring a splash of sunshine into a dreary day. I used the Perfect vanilla cupcake recipe on Glorious Treats as a base.  …

When I set my heart on trying a new recipe, I always try a few and choose the best.  Often the best then evolves into something else. I discovered a chocolate pinwheel cookie recipe in the book Cooking with Chocolate.  The cookies were so pretty but that was where their charm ended, they tasted like bread, all looks and nothing …

All roads may lead to Bhanga Nek near Kosi Bay, but first ask yourself if you really want to go there. Yes the beach is wild and unspoilt but so is the road (or roads) to get there.  I found the trip akin to torture.  If the beach were straight out of a Mainstay ad, where umbrella topped drinks were …

  The Zulu word Ndumo means ‘that is famous’.  The northern Natal game reserve Ndumo, on the Mocambique border, is more a well kept secret than famous.  As a famous musician it would be more Tracey Chapman than Freddy Mercury. Being a smaller park, distances within the park are all relatively short.  The hide at Ezulweni hide on Nyamithi pan …

Long ago I had a vivid recurring dream, in it I discovered a previously unknown room, filled with dazzling treasure in my Grandmother’s house.  Last night had the same feel as that dream. A few times a year I visit family in Durban and Umdloti.  Much loved favourites like the Bush Tavern in Umdloti are experienced with ritual comfort and satisfaction.  On a previous …

Now and then children should experience the wonder and joy of live theatre.  Previous Disney on Ice productions have passed us by but this time we were part of the magic. Booking our tickets for Thursday’s matinée on Computicket I chose the cheap (R100) seats.  At R400 prime seats are way out of my financial league, yikes that would be …

Recently I published my grandfather’s bakery shortbread recipe.  The day after making it my Mum told me that the shortbread which I remembered so fondly from my childhood was a different recipe made by my grandmother. Grampa’s recipe is excellent but it makes so much and because it contains 1 egg the ingredients can’t be reduced. When Mum gave me …

Today I saw an article on YOU Magazine’s website, about the death of ‘Get me to 21’ organ donor campaigner Jenna Lowe.  Sadly she did get an organ transplant at the end of last year but still passed away. On Facebook, below the article link many commented along the lines of “so sad”, only 2 said that they are organ …

As a young man my maternal grandfather Cliff Pocket, trained to be a master baker in England, he then returned to Rhodesia* and took over his father’s bakery (Pocket’s Bakery) and tearoom in Salisbury*.   After school my mother and her friends would go to Pockets Tearoom for knickerbocker glories.  When grampa Cliff passed away, Mum found his old recipe book …