Blogs which describe people or events related to my paternal line.
My father’s extended family is scattered around the world. Most of them are from Europe, but I can boast distant cousins in America, South Africa, England, Ireland and even Indonesia. Every two years a family reunion weekend is organised and held in different places throughout Europe, which is exactly why
As I pack for a family trip to Europe, part of me is planning how to fit some research for my book into the trip. On my last visit, I went to some of the towns and cities my father had lived in or visited. This visit, I would like
I’m nearing the end. After three years and ten months of writing and researching, I can almost say I’m finished with the memoir I began after the death of my father. I’m still rewriting and tweaking and cutting and pasting and editing, but it is nearly there. Every ending is
After his death, the task of sorting through my father’s possessions was both daunting and confronting. He was quite the hoarder and filled every cupboard, every shelf and every drawer with “things”. Whether it was from need, necessity or compulsion he kept almost everything which made its way into the
My best writing comes directly after a catalyst, some sort of trigger which, when pulled, catapults my words onto the page like shots from an automatic machine gun. In the case of my first book, the one I am currently working on, the trigger was the death of my father.