Literary angling expedition
OH, TO HEAR again the ripple of the troutstream … Everyone who has held a trout rod to fish a Midlands or Berg stream, and wondered at the sheer loveliness of the surroundings, will appreciate a little book which came my way this week.
The difference with Huckleberry Days: a trouting, shooting and reading life, by Garrett Evans (Echoing Green Press) is that the setting varies between Virginia, USA; England and Scotland; various parts of South Africa, including KwaZulu-Natal; and New Zealand, with glimpses here and there of Germany and France as well.
Also that Evans (who is a professor of English) links these experiences of a lifetime through a series of vignettes that also discuss the work of his favourite writers, among them DH Lawrence, Byron and Yeats. Also the spare and impactful work of Chinese and Japanese poets.
It's more than a simple account of fishin' and shootin' experiences, it's a literary expedition in itself, the writing meshing with the experience of stream, lake, marsh and, woodland.
Evans was born in Virginia and spent his early years there but, as the child of a US military family, grew up in various postings and eventually went to university in the West Country of England, an experience – lovely girls, a Morgan sports car and fishing the rivers Exe, Teign and Dart - that made a deep and lasting impression.
Of course, not everyone appreciates Evans's milieu of fishing and shooting and he's fully aware of that. But, as he notes wryly, his detractors are generally on their way to buy chops.
There are some marvellous passages. Having encountered some bushman paintings in the Drakensberg, he goes on to say: "Mountain reedbuck, descendants of those in the graceful, fading paintings on the rock walls, were now calling and answering further up the slopes. One stood in the evening light about fifty yards away. He was convinced we couldn't see him. As we started down to the truck far below, he bolted, and with several of his friends made off with that reed buck whistle and rocking-horse gait."
This is lyrical, evocative writing, highly perceptive and accurate. The book is a delight.
Cruel jokes
SPORTS jokes are among the cruellest. The lack-lustre performance in the World Cup so far of the much-hyped Inger-land has produced a crop of them. Here is a selection.
· Oxo are introducing a new white Oxo cube with a red cross in support of the England team. It's called the Laughing Stock.
· So an angry fan managed to get into the England changing room after the Algeria game? Apparently Robert Green tried to grab him but missed.
· The England team went to visit an orphanage in South Africa. "It's so good to put a smile on the faces of people with no hope, constant struggling and facing the impossible," said Sipho Mkhize, aged 6.
· All these Rob Green jokes are getting out of hand. In fact, they're crossing the line.
· I'm going to be bold here, and suggest we play Heskey at left back. Left back at Heathrow Airport.
· Three hours of football and Robert Green is still England's top scorer.
· "I can't believe we only managed a draw against a rubbish team we should have easily beaten. I'm ashamed to call myself an Algerian."
Philanthropists
WHERE are our philanthropists hiding? Every year an organisation called Inyathelo makes a series of philanthropy awards to individuals who have made a difference in society through supporting upliftment programmes and projects. It has never yet had a nomination from KwaZulu-Natal.
Awards for 2010 will be made at a dinner in Cape Town in November. Categories are: "Special Recognition Award for Philanthropy"; "Youth in Philanthropy"; "Women in Philanthropy"; "Community Philanthropy Award"; and "Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy."
If you can think of any individual who deserves recognition, contact Chantal Meugens at 083-6762294 or 011-9555033. Nominations have to be in by the end of this month.
Tailpiece
Paddy tells Mick he's thinking of buying a labrador.
Mick: "Don't be mad! Have you not seen how many of deir owners go blind?"
Last word
The artist doesn't have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read the reviews, the ones who want to write don't have the time to read reviews.
GRAHAM LINSCOTT
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