April Showers & Celebrations

There is an old quote which was playing in my mind as I was thinking about this blog and it is this:

"April showers bring May flowers." This proverb suggests that the rain and storms of April are necessary for the blooming of flowers in May, symbolising renewal and hope."

Of course this is appropriate for the Northern Hemisphere as they prepare to welcome Spring whereas in the Southern Hemisphere we are shifting from summer to autumn, but in Jo'burg we definitely had April showers and then some!   According to the Weather and Climate website, these are the weather stats for April 2025:

"Monthly mean temperature normal for April: 16.0°. Monthly mean temperature in this month: 15.6°. Departure of temperature from normal: -0.4°.

Precipitation normal for April: 36 mm. Precipitation total in this month: 46 mm. This amount is 128% from normal.

The lowest minimum temperature (8.3°) recorded on April 27. The highest maximum temperature (23.3°) recorded on April 1."

This is how Jo'burg residents felt in April

April was an eventful month across the globe - sadly, the wars kept on being fought, the Penguins on the uninhabited (by humans) islands of Heard and Macdonald Islands near Antarctica had tariffs imposed on them by the USA, a volcano erupted in Iceland, Cory Booker made history with a marathon speech highlighting the crisis's being experienced by his constituents and citizens across the USA - whether or not you approved of his stance, his grit, discipline and determination are really noteworthy. He started speaking at 7pm on 31 March which was a Monday - he had stopped drinking and eating on the Saturday so he had no need for a toilet break and his speech concluded at 8.05pm on 1 April. Robert E. Crimo who killed seven people and injured 48 others in a mass shooting during the 2022 Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois, USA was sentenced to 21 life sentences (hopefully without any chance of parole) and Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday, after making what was to be his final appearance in St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday.

Religious or not, Catholic, Protestant or another faith, the outpouring of tributes for Pope Francis has been seismic. He was a Jesuit, a humble man who worked hard to break some norms in the Catholic Church - he was revered for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility, a commitment to interreligious dialogues and concern for the poor, migrants, refugees and homeless (a selection of people from these sectors were the ones specially invited to attend the interment of his tomb at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore. He wanted to rather be known as the Bishop of Rome than the Pope and every Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter) would wash the feet of the prisoners at the prison not too far from the Basilica of Mary Major. I admired him for his humility, his grace, his ensuring that the people whom society would rather shun and turn away from, were seen, heard and respected; and I thought his funeral service was very dignified and a fitting final farewell for "Papa Francisca".

Johan and I attended the Jo'burg premiere of the movie, Conclave, in October 2024, very soon after our return from Italy and we thought it was brilliant; Morgan subsequently has watched it twice and I was intrigued to read that since the sad demise of Pope Francis, downloads of the movie had increased by 283% and it was the most watched movie on international flights. It will be interesting to see who is appointed as the new Pope and when the black smoke will turn white in Rome once the real-life conclave commences on Wednesday. We can but hope that a progressive, humble man who is full of humility and grace, will follow in the path of "Papa Francisca".

Greek Easter, Passover and Easter were all celebrated at the same time this year.

As a family, though sadly we were not able to celebrate as a family, we celebrated Johan's 40th birthday on 16 April 2025 - Johan was on leave as he does not like working on his birthday so he had taken leave and he and I enjoyed honouring his birthday having dinner at La Cucina di Ciro (Ciro's) in Parktown North. We were thrilled Morgan was able to join us for a drink and Johan was thrilled with a selection of different playing cards decks to add to his growing collection, a few more books on his great hobby of magic and a display shelf for his incredible collection of cards. On a Wednesday night at Ciro's there is a "date night special" with all pizzas at R150 and you get a free carafe of wine or a huge draught of beer - with the eternal eye on a budget this was a great way to do something special for Johan's milestone birthday.

Oreo cupcakes I baked for Johan's birthday - each cupcake had an Oreo in the middle of the cupcake and a bit of an Oreo cookie on the top - they were delicious and yes, Oreo's are Johan's favourite cookies

Pizza, cupcakes and quiet birthday celebrations were followed by joining by Mom at her retirement village for a Pancake Afternoon - the pancakes were divine, 2 pancakes for R10 and you got the choice of berry coulis, nutella, cream or syrup and cinnamon sugar to top your pancakes. It was a fun time; and then it was Easter weekend - Good Friday afternoon we were invited to tea at Donald and Carol (Donald being my former boss) and I had made a batch of fudge so I could take a box of fudge to them; we had an incredible fun afternoon - there was another couple there, a colleague of Donald's and his companion and we laughed, talked, walked the labyrinth in their garden (which you may or may not remember Tristan designed and created for them in 2024) and generally had a wonderful time; we only got home at 6.30pm - it was clearly quite a tea party! Easter Saturday afternoon was another tea, this time with Zen at Glenda's and we had a lovely afternoon sampling their scones, jam and cream and enjoying the autumn sunshine as an inclement morning had transformed itself into a sunny afternoon before, after we dropped Zen off at home, the rain coming down (again!).

Easter treats from Carol and Donald, Mia and Raees and Zen

Easter Sunday we were invited to lunch at Tristan and Trish's beautiful new home; Nana (my Mom) had also been invited along with Thembi, her carer. Trish and Tristan had pulled out all the proverbial stops with the decor and food; Morgan did all the braaing (barbequing) and we had such a feast. I brought along homemade Easter cookies baked by the very talented Ava B, who also baked the most delicious cheesecake for our Easter feast and I also contributed some of my homemade fudge.

I had looked after Connor and Ava one Saturday morning and had printed out some Easter pictures for them to colour. Connor gave this picture to my Mom and she put it up in her window on Easter Sunday - so very special.

No family photos sadly - a photo of everyone at the table was taken but not shared with me and after a comment was made, mocking me and my desire for family photos, I stayed silent not requesting another photo for my memories

Driving home after a lovely day celebrating Easter with family, I was bitten by the proverbial invisible black dog of depression and I could feel it seeping into my veins, surging through me pulling me into a dark hole. It was triggered by comments made, and me having expectations - for someone who always has had expectations, it is hard for me to have zero expectations and so I spiralled. Easter Monday I was very quiet just trying to cope with my emotions and spent about 4 hours, in the middle of the day, curled up under the duvet sleeping; eventually Johan got me to talk to him about what was wrong and how I was feeling so after floods of tears, and making me thoughts become words, I felt drained, still low but not rock bottom low.

The disruption in April of the holidays having a negative impact on demand for my assistance in terms of my small business, I have been naturally stressed about the lack of work, reduced earning ability so vulnerable to all the negative emotions which really come out to play when I am not as upbeat, positive, confident and optimism as I normally strive to be. Fear always pounces when I am at a low ebb and stressed particularly about money and my fiscal responsibilities. It also means that my writing suffers as it is really hard for me to write when in the stranglehold of negativity. Enough of all the doom and gloom....

Having a google catch up with beautiful Bronwyn in Dubai was a highlight of the last weekend of April; we could talk for the world and 3 hours later, we had to bid farewell to each other on the screen.

I am so grateful for the friendships I have in my life which span every age - having friends with people in different age groups than me, younger and older, really enriches my life and I am so appreciate that these friendships make up the beautiful tapestry of my life.

And Johan and I really felt the love and support of our friends, who took the time, to make a quick phone call, send a message or post on social media, congratulating us on our 12th wedding anniversary on 30 April. Lindy and Zen joined Johan and me for our anniversary dinner at La Cucina di Ciro that night - another Wednesday so another opportunity to take advantage of their pizza date night special. We were sad that Morgan, Tristan and Trish were unable to join us - we had a great evening full of interesting and entertaining conversations.

Zen, Lindy, me and Johan at La Cucina di Ciro

And finally, the philosophy of a "Should-less Day" courtesy of Ellen Burstyn, Academy Award-winning actress - a philosophy I fully approve of and embrace!

" I have what I call should-less days. Today is a day where there’s nothing I should do. So I only do what I want to do. And if it’s nap in the afternoon or watch TV and eat ice cream, I get to do it. I had that kind of day yesterday. Should-less days, I recommend them. Because what I figured out, is we have wiring, I have wiring in my brain that calls me lazy if I’m not doing something. God, you’re so lazy. … And that wiring is there. I haven’t been able to get rid of it. But what I can do is I can put in another wiring. I can put in should-less days. So when that voice goes off and says, You’re being lazy, I turn to the other wiring in my brain that says, No, this is a should-less day, and I’m doing what I want.

https://www.thecut.com/2014/10/give-yourself-a-should-less-day.html"

What did I read in April 2025?

Death in Seville by David Hewson

Paradise End by Elizabeth Laird

Handbags and Gladrags by Maggie Alderson

What podcasts did I listen to in March 2025?

Betrayed

Blood Vines

Bronwyn

God's Banker Gone South

Italian For Sure

The Real Killer

The Lady Vanishes

Ongoing podcasts : Damage Report, Meidas Touch. The Daily Beast, Slow News, Dark Down East, The Bittersweet Podcast and Betrayal

Did you know?

25 April 1792 - the guillotine was used for the first time in France

1990 - when the Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery

Diamond rings are an old engagement tradition – but they were “reinvented” by marketers in 1938 by the De Beers company, to convince people that diamonds = love. 

Coming soon - my blog

May Day, May the Force be with you and maybe more .....