SETTLING IN...

[Image: copyright Jade Gibson 2007]

A few days later, I've just attended my first return-to-writing-group class in Cape Town. It's an all-women's group, although this is not always exclusively, apparently due to the chauvinist upbringing of many males in South Africa, who are brought up to think they should be in charge of women and, I'm told, try to 'take over' and prove themselves all the time, and possibly the fact that the women themselves restrict their creativity and self-expression in front of men here as well. Sometimes men are allowed in, those who are seen to be 'liberated'. I am not sure as yet if I agree or not with this, and maybe there are other reasons also, but it does mean, as opposed to my London group, there is an absence of thrillers, detective stories and male murderers in the novels. The men in my London group were not at all controlling; all very nice and should definitely be invited over to present an example of non-chauvinism to the groups here, in fact they are more likely to be subject to expressions of self-doubt and insecurity; a trait I find somewhat endearing.

I return to South Africa to hear one artist I knew has died, another was killed in the township, being mugged for money. Hijacking has apparently gone up, and it is, I'm told, unsafe to hike in pairs on the mountain now (before, it was on your own). Second-hand cars are unbelievably expensive, because the cost of new ones is out of pocket (for example, a second hand automatic 1985 Peugot in good condition, was advertised at 16,000-17,000 rand, well above a thousand pounds, whereas I've seen perfectly good second hand cars in London for 200 pounds!).

Banks here are remarkably efficient. I opened a bank account in about half an hour, bringing proof of address (in the person of my friend I'm staying with!), and received my printed bank card about ten minutes later, while I tapped in my pin at the desk. So much for the fact Lloyds in the UK took 3 months to re-open my old account properly and lost my bank card several times (once in the internal post)!

Well, the only similar thing to the UK here is the weather. I read the weather temperature is about the same; it's raining here too. Although this is winter here, and it's summer in the UK... There are floods here, and many people consequently homeless. On the radio, I hear a social worker being interviewed about the high level of child abuse in South Africa, and how there is a desperate need for foster and 'safe' homes to put children in. So, if you want to support charities... you know where to go.

I registered at the University, met the fellow fellows and department, as well as external funders who happened to turn up on more or less my first day. It seems as soon as my feet touch the ground, they are forced to keep moving (and not just on the dance floor!). I'm considering a bit of voluntary work on the side; this place is always open to skills if you have them to share, at the moment it's a question of where.

EXCERPTS FROM NEWSLETTER

EXCERPTS FROM NEWSLETTER NO. 2: AN ANTHROPOLOGIST/ARTIST/WRITER INCAPE TOWN 9/12/06

Ah yes, I guess you thought I got swallowed up byLondon, and indeed it did feel a bit like that;something similar to Jonah and the Whale; I wasswallowed by the big underbelly of London for a whileand South Africa seemed like a tiny desperate pinprick on the other side of the Universe which I closedfrom my mind as it seemed so difficult to reach...

But then one bounces back and finds your way out ofLondon, up through its gullet and somehow back in thewaves - rocky and unpredictable, yet with some form ofhorizon and sense of journey in sight. I spent some oftoday looking at sites on arts events, research andevents in South Africa and feel a sense of comfort andwarmth again, as well as finding the research and workitself exciting. Perhaps local dispute and contentioncan appear frustrating and difficult; but from theother side it also shows a society that is dynamic andcontroversial; whereas here it feels bureaucratic andeverything is organised through call centres on theother side of the earth and it's always 'thegovernments fault' and never ones own personalresponsibility.

I have tried very hard to imagine the grey andbrown-brick buildings and more contemporary building'smetallic surfaces are high-walled mountains and rockycrags but seem to have failed to. And undergroundrailway lines cannot resemble wild tufts of grass andprotea, and, despite the fact there are (unbelievably)seagulls here that peer over the Thames on grey murkydays, the only thing resembling the sea is the heavingmass of bodies that throng through Oxford Street atthe end of the day.

There is hope, it seems. The distant pin-prick hasbecome a promising ray of sun and I realise things arenever so far away that they are untouchable, in yourmind at least.

RESEARCH NEWS

So, what has created this sudden burst of optimism andconnection with South Africa again? Partly I can nowfind my way around London again without feelingtotally lost, and secondly because I'm looking intoresearch opportunities one the net through university topossibly be able to link with South Africa, and seeing pictures of similar places and faces. At the momentit is just talk and ideas and looming grant proposals,but I am considering two main ideas - one concerningissues around diversity and perceived culturaldifferences, and how museum and art artefacts and/ordisplays relate to this, and thus may be challengedand changed (comparing London and Cape Town, ofcourse) - and the second a bit more cognitive - alongthe same lines - or maybe even linking in - which Ihave not quite resolved as yet as I need to talk withpeople and read a bit more. There is apparently a lotof work here on how people 'read' and 'interpret'objects.

DANCE NEWS

Enough of that. Those who are not interested inresearch will be yawning by now, so I move to thesalsa and dance scene here. I am proud to say I wentto my first Eastern European Balkan (I think) eventwith an additional polish gypsy band. The band camedown and danced with the crowd after and by the end ofthe evening I could dance to Balkan music (actuallyit's not that hard but it's a lot of jumping - veryenergetic). Salsa however is still full of guys who think it is'Strictly Ballroom' and discuss dance moves like theywould cars and stereos, and when I dance with them Ifeel like a clockwork doll. Occasionally I come acrosssomeone who dances with the feel of the music and ampleasantly reminded of Cape Town jazz (now turned salsa, methinks) dancers who have real rhythm. Is thisnostalgia setting in, I wonder? An altruistic androsy-pink view of life in Cape Town? But there is ahuge difference between a society where music anddance permeates the environment and social events andone where music is absent. A South American friend once told me this true storyof his first time at an English party. He went in andpeople were standing around drinking and talking andnibbling little snacks. He waited, and they keptnibbling and talking. He waited more, and still the same. Finally, he went up to the host and asked him,'excuse me, when is the party going to start?' The host looked puzzled and said, ''but this IS theparty!' I meander. Time to move on to the next subject....

VISUAL ART


Well, I helped edit a forthcoming book on Thupelo workshops for a while for Gasworks (Triangle Network),and they graciously included a tiny excerpt from mydoctorate on the workshops I attended (mostly attendeeartists quotes), but hey, I'm not complaining. It wasfun, and I learnt a lot about the Triangle network. For those who don't know about it, you can alwaysgoogle. I went to the Tate Modern for the first time the otherday and saw the Kandinsky show and realised there wasquite a lot variety to his work than one usually sees.One of my favourite paintings was very dark and madeone feel slightly nauseous when looking at it. Andthere was another very lovely very figurative painting on glass, although to be truthful, the postcardversion was better. So it got me thinking I should take up paint andpaintbrush again and deprive myself no longer. Build asketchbook.And now for another topic...

WRITING

I formed my own writing group! At present it consistsof three regular writers and three totally unreliableones. But the important thing is the other tworegulars have published already and the group is verysupportive. I have my three chapters ready and a roughdraft for a cover letter and an agent contact, but thetruth is my job hunting has taken priority as I needto get work soon to pay the bills and get a place onmy own as I'm in a very temporary space. I think alsothe cultural shock, missing SA and the pressure ofneeding to find work took over my book and made it hard to edit. I think that things are easier now, and going better.

London is surprisingly devoid of enthusiasm for serious writers groups. I went to a large writer's meeting and was a bit shocked to turn up to a meeting where I can truly say two of the 'writers' (and possibly a few more) shouldhave been certified insane. One member argued that, aseveryone was an 'intellectual', that the next sessionshould start with a general knowledge questionnairelike 'who wants to be a millionaire', and he thenstarted firing general knowledge questions at everyoneand didn't stop. The other asked if anyone couldrecommend a book no longer than 80 pages as he couldnever read a book longer than that, and then added that people who have read the film AND the book amaze him, as he usually has done neither. He also tookcopious notes on the first man's general knowledge questions and answers. Not quite like the Touch of Madness Group in Obs - but maybe the two groups should change names...?

Enough of that. Back to...

MORE NEWS AND VIEWS

Today is 9/11 and British TV is full of programmes onterrorism and even feature films on it. The situationblurs reality and fantasy; when the British thirst forthrillers and suspense on TV is replaced by 'truestories' of conspiracy and secret 'cells' in the UK breeding terrorists in numbers. There is an amazingparanoia about anyone who is muslim and, it seems,resentment for the large numbers of Eastern Europeans flocking to London. People are often tense about crimein SA, but I see a different form of tension here onthe underground, a nervousness. Or maybe it is mynervousness. The converse thing is it's safe to walkaround the centre of London on my own, but feels lesssafe to be on public transport. At first, it was very hard to take the British newsseriously compared with South African news - it seemedvery 'tame' and a bit of a joke. News like do British children eat too much sugar, etc. The last week or so it's been much more serious.