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

When in the Western Cape, visiting wineries and wine estates really adds to the richness of the experience.  The venues are usually set in beautifully scenic areas and many are housed in amazing historical buildings.  Of course there’s also yummy wine to be had.  For a long time I was rather intimidated by wine drinkers, they use big words and …

Our visit to Grangehurst Winery was another good outing.  We bought a dry rose with a low sugar content of 1.1g.  With the exception of the rose which is a 2011 vintage the other wines on offer were no younger than 2005, proof that their wines age very well.  Our other purchase was the Nikela which is a lovely 2005 …

We popped into Lanzerac wine estate for a tasting.  They also sell very yummy chocolate truffles which are paired with the wines. The estate is one of the oldest and was founded in 1691. The estate now falls under the SFW (Stellenbosch Farmers Winery) umbrella so is corporately owned, I do prefer the family estates but the atmosphere at Lanzerac …

Without doubt Stark Conde has the most picturesque setting for their wine tasting, a little island in the middle of a dam surrounded by the majestic Cape Mountains, amazing!  The wine was jolly good too my favourites being the Pinot Noir and their red blend, due to financial constraints (single income due to me being a stay at home Mum) …

On our way to Cape Town we stopped in at Matjiesfontein for lunch.  It looks like a lovely little town but I couldn’t pinpoint why it doesn’t feel like one.  It has the right ingredients, beautiful old buildings and lots of lovely antique stuff, but it lacks soul.  It feels like you are visiting a museum, interesting but somewhat cold. …

Sutherland in the Karoo is a small town made famous by The South African Large Telescope (SALT) which is the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere.  Unfortunately we were not there at the right day or time but very high on our ‘want to do’ list is to return for a visit and tour, tours take place on the second …

    Our second night on the road between Johannesburg and Cape town was spent in Fraserburg.  The small town has tranquility and charm but is somewhat outshone by it’s neighbours Loxton and Sutherland.  We passed through Loxton at about 3pm and felt that we would rather press on a little further to get a few more kms under the belt.  …

I rather like to take a creative prompt when exploring a new place, it gives a different perspective.  In New York I spent a day walking to find Clinton Street to get a feel of the place mentioned in the Leonard Cohen song ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’ in the line “The music on Clinton St, all through the evening”.  I must …

Visiting Wine Estates in the Cape Town area is lovely but it’s nice to have a bit of a change.  Late Friday afternoon we decided on an outing to Triggerfish Micro Brewery in Somerset West.  The beautiful wine estates have a special place but I loved the no frills atmosphere of Triggerfish, the immediate sense being ‘we can really relax …

The main route from Johannesburg to Cape Town is very busy and stressful over the ‘festive’ season.  We therefore chose to go the route less travelled and this transformed an unpleasant trip into a special adventure making our holiday start as soon as we left home.  Instead of only kicking off after the 1410km trip had been endured. The first …

On our lovely alternate route between Johannesburg and Cape Town we were travelling south on the N12 after spending the night at Mokala National Park near Kimberly.  Around midday we started looking for somewhere to have lunch.  We found Kambro Padstal (Farm Stall) 21km north of Britstown.  In the heat of the Karoo it was lovely to sit inside and enjoy toasted …

I always like to do something different and love to learn anything new.  On the Salton facebook page I came across an invitation to a Christmas themed workshop run by Salton and SA Culinary Club.  One of my main hobbies is baking and there is always something new to learn.  It was a real treat to have a real pro …

Currently in South Africa there has been a proposal that victims of domestic abuse not be able to withdraw charges.  There is considerable debate on the subject. 13 Years ago I left an abusive relationship, my journal entries of that time were published in the anthology ‘Glass Jars among Trees’ under my maiden name Sula Changuion. I can only give …

I wore your unwashed T shirt Wrapped in your feral scent Invoked you to claim my dreams Respite from parting’s lament In that dreamscape garden You held me once again Reality’s curtain torn Sweet joy, bittersweet pain At dawn I shed your garment Ready to be me The fetters of darkness loosed I answered the call to be free

UPDATE – Marc passed away in April 2016, it’s been hard to process his death Over the past 10 years Marc (Spartacus) and I have maintained superficial contact with the odd e-mail and facebook interactions.  We met when he was about 24, hopefully he turned 50 this month.  He now lives (lived?) in England and I in South Africa.  He …