2025 had barely started and the world figuratively needed to don a crash helmet, a Hazmat suit, safety belts, buckling up and bracing itself for the madness which commenced with the inauguration of a new President in the USA. A man donning badly fitting suits and an even worse orange spray tan who is hellbent on 'revenge' and retribution - traits of a person to lead a supposedly democratic country? I think not. And I have a vested interest in what is sadly rapidly unfolding in America because my Mom receives her pension from USA and it is one of the department's which the "Department of Government Efficiency" is pursuing based on fabrications being spouted by the President's Puppet Master, and rapidly spread on Twitter (because the Puppet Master owns it), right-wing fans and pundits who use their influence, on podcasts and social media to spread the lies, never fact-checking, and pushing their agendas for click bait and income. They seem to be gleeful in using their influence on a largely, very gullible, poorly-educated fan base who have no idea of the concept of critical thinking, and that is, for me, really frightening.
I love the fact that on "The Damage Report" podcast which I enjoy listening to, the commentators refer to D.O.G.E as "Doggie"
When people criticise the former President, Joe Biden, of being a "blithering idiot" but cannot cite why he is such and clearly never watched the speech he eloquently and powerfully delivered at the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, it is clear that those words and criticisms are straight from a right-leaning, white supremacist person of influence, who has, unfortunately, huge sway and influence over his (largely) poorly uneducated cult-like followers who have zero concept of doing their own research, checking the "facts" which are sprouted and, frequently, are false, blatant lies or taken completely out of context, let alone employing, critical thinking.
A recent article in the Daily Maverick https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-20-inside-visegrad24-a-polish-news-site-pushing-a-right-wing-agenda-about-south-africa-to-the-world/?dm_source=homepageify&dm_medium=card_link&dm_campaign=keep is very interesting and informative and you can connect the dots regarding the Orange Dumptard's sudden interest in South Africa (even though I doubt he could find it on a map of the world whether with his sharpie or not) :
"In January, tweeting in his personal capacity, Tompson wrote: “Terrible what is happening in South Africa”.
Just two weeks later, US President Donald Trump would say virtually the same words to journalists: “Terrible things are happening in South Africa.”
"In January, Britain’s Financial Times identified Visegrad24 as one of “a handful of X accounts” which led X owner Elon Musk to a sudden obsession with British “grooming gangs” in January — an issue which Musk has fundamentally misrepresented on X, but used as a stick with which to beat the incumbent left-leaning Labour government, calling on King Charles to dissolve parliament and call new elections."
The world is drowning in a quagmire of right-wing hatred, false narratives and propaganda, terrorism whether domestic or international, a sociopath seemingly hell bent on ethnic cleansing and it is truly terrifying. A friend's job is under threat because USAID is under threat, and so many American citizens, who cast their vote for the darker shade of orange, are now unemployed thanks to the President they voted in, while egg prices are exorbitant. In January 2025, a dozen eggs cost $4.95, increasing by 19.5% in just one month but lowering egg prices, not buying Greenland or renaming the Gulf of Mexico, was a false election promise.
Having been raised by liberal parents, who were staunch anti-apartheid activists, being taught to treat everyone with dignity and respect, no matter their ethnicity, religion, sexuality; it is really hard to be part of a world where none of these traits are important. I was recently interviewed, and offered a job, by someone, who is not South African, but thinks that apartheid was the best thing that happened in South Africa and he tried to convince me that this sentiment is echoed by the majority of South Africans, regardless of colour. "People in rural South Africa had running water in their homes then" he claimed - I did not cry bs to him but was screaming that internally as this never was the case. There were other red banners (not red flags, but banners) and there was no way I was going to accept the job offer. You know that feeling when you encounter someone and want to immediately step into a shower and scrub, scrub, scrub all traces of the encounter away - multiple showers, cold plunges, cryotherapy and saunas would have been required to eradicate every trace element of that meeting.
For me, January felt like a year and finally it ended and the month of love, February arrived. In the second week of February, I started working, part-time, for a small UK legal consultancy which is based on the Isle of Wight, which is across the channel from Portsmouth which is where I lived with my family wen I was 11 and 12 as my Dad was on sabbatical leave. Berryhurst & Associates, is a dynamic team of women, who provide legal advice, guidance and support for start ups and small businesses, specialising in ESG (environmental, social, governance); and I am so grateful to being introduced, via e-mail, to Lucy by very good friend (and former boss), Desere. I am loving the work, thriving on learning new skills, being exposed to different aspects of the law and working in an environment where a person is uplifted, appreciated and nurtured.
I did start writing this blog in February but now it is Monday, 3 March and Bronwyn reminded me, its International Writers Day today so appropriate for me to get this blog completed and posted today.
Besides the madness unravelling in various parts of the globe, and when I have not been gainfully employed, I have been keeping myself busy with doing some decluttering (in order to stop my brain from cluttering and over-thinking), doing crossword and jigsaw puzzles (I discovered our local library loans out jigsaw puzzles so Johan and I have built 3 jigsaw puzzles from the library so far; the most recent one which was really challenging had a total of 23 pieces missing which added to the level of difficulty, in my opinion). I love listening to podcasts and either decluttering or building jigsaw puzzles; as Bronwyn told me when we had a wonderful google meet catch up the other day (she is in Dubai, great for her, not so great for me as I do miss her), I am hobby-stacking by listening to a podcast and building a puzzle - I had never heard that phrase before and love it!
In January, I managed to entice my Mom to eventually rejoin the weekly biokinetics class at her retirement village - it took some cunning and skullduggery, as well as me having to join the class too to get her to participate (she has a weekly one-on-one session with Anika, the biokineticist and it has helped her so much). The exercises are, mainly, done seated and people do it at their own pace and ability. There was great excitement when my Mom and I arrived at the first class this year, under the guise of me having to return some files to Anika (as she had employed me to do a small admin job for her); and my Mom's friends were thrilled she was there to join them - when I "innocently" enquired whether I could join in, she was not left with an option but to join! It is quite a work-out and after one set of exercises and stretching, you start all over again as the class is 60 minutes in duration. One of the exercises is done standing at the back of the chair and holding on and then doing a series of squats - at my first class, one of the Golden Girls confides to me "This is a very rude exercise!" and I knew I could not make eye contact with Anika as I would be lost and we would both dissolve in giggles. After the exercise class, lunch is enjoyed at the coffee shop at the retirement village and I have stayed for this event - I have missed 2 classes since starting because, at times, work commitments must take precedence. I do enjoy the classes and have been upgraded to 1kg dumbbells each and my right wrist, which is the guilty party in terms of fractures, has coped well.
I have been plagued, since just before Christmas, with boils - I barely turn 60 and I fall and fracture my right wrist and then I get plagued by boils, which I last had when I was 20! I was so outraged and eventually after number 3, which was a very unwelcome blemish and accessory on my jaw line, I went to my lovely general practitioner. I have a staph infection and am on a course of antibiotics for 3 months, not something I am thrilled about but I would rather have a daily pill to swallow than deal with the toxins, pain and nausea of the boils. Maybe I should stop having birthdays as not long after celebrating my 50th birthday, I contracted double pneumonia and now at 60, I have had different health challenges - though I am enjoying the pensioners' discounts as and when they are available at certain retail outlets. And the car wash charges me R40 less than I used to pay - its all about the small wins!
My Duolingo streak for learning Italian is now at 1352 days, I am reading and working on perfecting the "sweetness of the art of doing nothing" or "dolce far niente" (when I am not working) as prescribed by Sophie Minchilli in her delightful, insightful and very entertaining book ....
Sophie's final takeaways in the book are:
Find pleasure in the ordinary
Work hard, but remember to prioritise
Ditch the guilt
Use routine to your advantage
Spend lots of time with family and friends
Be open and welcoming
Live and love
Use food to bring you happiness
Slow down
I cannot recommend this book highly enough and know I will dip in and out of it whether its for a recipe, a reminder of how to enjoy and savour every moment of life or to simply swoon over the photos .... and its available, in South Africa, from Loot - it takes a while but is SO worth the wait!
"Dolce Far Niente is about living in the present - savouring every moment as if it's the last - while remembering that life is an infinitely precious gift. Because life truly is beautiful. Let's never forget that."
Sophie Minchilli
Comments