Home | Jo'Burg Days
...To my amazement I saw three troop carriers filled with heavily armed soldiers disappearing up the road, and shortly afterwards heard an authoritative voice shouting, “Everyone inside, stay away from the doors and windows. Take cover!”...
Barbara Durlacher vividly recalls a momentous day in South African history.
Barbara Durlacher coninues the recollections of William James Symons of life in South Africa in the early days of last cventury.
Continuing the story of early British settlement in South Africa Barbara Durlacher present an account of a gallant rescue on the flooded Buffalo River.
Barbara Durlacher recalls her reactions what many regard as the most important event in human history.
...He was a great bully and ruled his subordinates – at least those that feared him, with an iron hand. He was his own great magistrate and judge, and I was going to say executioner, for I have known him to flog a driver for repeated drunkenness with his own hands, and being a big burly Yorkshireman who turned the scales, I should think at about 220 pounds, he used the cat o’ nine tails with considerable force...
Barbara Durlacher, aided by diaries and written records, continues her vivid account of early settlement in South Africa.
...It was pleasant when in bed on a summer night to hear the sentries from the various posts calling to each other in voices which proclaimed their nationality: “Number wan an’ all’s well,” then perhaps in a broad rural accent, “Number Two and all’s well,” and so on until I have heard the fifth repeated cry, and dropped off to sleep feeling that I was, although thousands of miles from the Homeland, still under the protection of the dear old flag...
Barbara Durlacher continues her vividly detailed account of early-day English settlers in South Africa.
…I quite pitied one unfortunate I saw drummed out of his regiment and the Army as an incorrigible. There was a full parade on the green where the reservoir above Amatola Row is, and the Provost Marshal cut off the facings and buttons of his uniform, after his sentence by court martial was read. He was then escorted by members of his regiment away from the parade ground accompanied by the drums and fifes play “The Rogue’s March.”…
Barbara Durlacher continues her fascinating and well-documented account of early settlement in South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher continues her fascinating account, which includes diary entries and newspaper stories, of her ancestors who were early settlers in South Africa.
...we had, of course, to get the court ready. The white lines had to be painted with that strange device something like a paint-tin on wheels with a long handle and a small tap in the base from which the paint was extruded. Having done that, we then had to enter the “black hole of Calcutta” otherwise known as one of the semi-cellars on the northern side of the building, to get a couple of tennis nets....
Continuing her reminiscences of her time as a pupil at a girls’ school in Johannesburg Babara Durlacher recalls days of holiday tennis.
...Cabbage was a great favourite with the boarding house chefs, and many were the disgusting meals we had to swallow made from this unpalatable vegetable – which can be so delicious when gently steamed and served with a pat of golden butter. A frequent visitor to the tables as well was the classic boarding school favourite, “Frogs Eyes and Glue” (Tapioca Pudding)...
Barbara Durlacher continues her engaging memories of her days at a South African boarding school.
...I can picture her today in her soft apricot-pink blouse with a ruffled front and well-cut tweed suit, topped off by her black academic gown, absently twirling her specs as she spoke to us “gels”. She was a kindly, motherly woman, but she had the sense not to let her motherliness overcome her innate respect for of discipline and order. One of her favourite sayings was “Make Haste Slowly” which she always used at the start of the important year-end exams. “Make haste slowly, gels” she would say, “Read through your papers thoroughly before you start and keep an eye on the time. Do not spend too long on one question, but make a plan before you begin how much time you should allocate to each question.”....
Barbara Durlacher continues her engaging reminiscences of her days at a boarding school – and of a popular headmistress.
...The Head Mistress when I started school was Miss X, who I recall as a stern, strict grey-haired woman, slender and transmitting an air of a desiccated old maid, the kind one read about in the popular girl’s boarding school tales of the period. She had fine black eyes but their clarity and direct gaze was spoilt by the dark circles which lay beneath – perhaps she suffered from lack of sleep...
Barbara Durlacher continues her vivid account of school days at a South African girtls school.
Continue reading "Memories Of A Very English South African Girls School - Part Two" »
...Classes were held for the youngest children in two split pole huts with cement floors and miniature wooden desks. These huts were reasonably comfortable in the warmer months, but absolutely freezing in July and August when the cold winds of a Johannesburg winter blew through the gaps between the poles and froze our hands to the point where we could hardly hold the chalk sticks we used to make the usual infantile marks on our school slates...
Open Writing columnist Barbara Durlacher recalls her school days in Johannesburg at the outset of World War Two.
Continue reading "Memories Of A Very English South African Girls School" »
...I was drawn to the spot against my better judgement. It was the first and I hope the last infliction of capital punishment I shall ever see. It was a triple execution, a Frenchman (of the Legion), a Hottentot and a Kaffir, and to make the punishment as cruel as possible the poor wretches had to step over their coffins to ascend the steps of the gallows...
Barbara Durlacher, continuing to delve into the early history of her ancestors, brings another vivid account of life during the early days of European settlement in South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher continues the fascinating story of how her forbears came to settle in South Africa.
To read earlier episodes along with other articles and stories by Barbara please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Continue reading "Fair Stood The Wind – Part Seven (A) – The Voyage Continues" »
...We know that my paternal grandfather, William James Symons was one of the new emigrants sailing to East London on the Lady Kennaway, and that he was then 17 years of age. Although there is no evidence that the two families ever met in the early years of settlement, with the small numbers of white families in the Eastern Cape, seventy-three years later my mother and father, both deeply rooted in the area, had met and married...
Barbara Durlacher continues her account of how her forbears came as settlers to South Africa.
Continue reading "Fair Stood The Wind – Part Six (B) – Life On Board Ship" »
...‘It was a considerable crowd who joined the train with us, for the long journey to Plymouth. We were greatly disappointed on arriving there at not being allowed out of the station, as my grand-parents and some other relations were waiting to bid us good-bye.
We were put on board a tug and taken out to the harbour to the Lady Kennaway and to our astonishment found a large number of women watching our arrival. We learned afterwards that the attempt to fill the ship with single women had been unsuccessful, hence the advertisement which brought us on board.
We were no sooner on board than the vessel started her voyage aided by a tug, and as we were leaving and the shores of England were gradually fading from view, I sang to the crowd at the bulwarks: “Isle of Beauty, Fare thee Well.”...
Barbara Durlacher continues the fascinating story of how her forbears came to emigrate to South Africa.
Continue reading "Fair Stood The Wind - Part Six - Life On Board Ship" »
...“Matters had become so bad through unemployment after the close of the Crimean war that those who had the opportunity to leave for South Africa readily seized it and many hundreds more would have come had they had the opportunity...
Barbara Durlacher continues her entertaining and well-researched account of how her forebears came to settle in South Africa.
To read earlier episodes and lots of other articles and stories by Barbara please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...My memory is quite fresh as to a Marshall Haynau, an Austrian I believe, who was reputed to have flogged women, or had them flogged. Well, he came on a visit to England, and amongst other places, visited Barclay & Perkins Brewery. By some means the employees found out who he was, and if the police had not been called in he would scarcely have escaped with his life.
“Chase him, boot him, pelt him well,
Make his back and his sides to swell,
And that will show how very well
We like the man that flogs the women”...
Continuing her richly detailed family history Barbara Durlacher quotes from the memoirs of her ancestor William James Symons.
Barbara Durlacher, continuing her family history, presents the background to the migration of British families in the Nineteenth Century to what is now South Africa.
To read the first two episodes, and lots more articles by Barbara please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Continue reading "Fair Stood The Wind, Part Three – Background To The Immigration" »
...As I sit down he flutters anxiously around until he settles on the table within a few inches of my hand and sits, regarding me with a piercing black eye with a slightly malignant expression, until I bring out his daily treat. Then I scatter a few pieces of grated cheese on the corner of my table, and we contentedly enjoy our meal together...
Barbara Durlacher delights in dining with her feathered visitors.
...“Enough of this struggle to find work! Enough of the insults and curses from hard-hearted overseers and bosses! It’s as much as a man can stand. I’m putting our names down to go out to the Cape of Good Hope,” and without pausing for further thought, he completed his application and rushed home to tell the family the news....
Barbara Durlacher continues her account of how her family left England in the Nineteenth Century to seek a new life in South Africa,
Continue reading "Fair Stood The Wind – Part Two: Decision To Emigrate To South Africa" »
Barbara Durlacher today begins a sumptuously-detailed family history – an account of why her ancestors sought a new life in Africa.
A jubilant Barbara Durlacher welcomes the start of the World Cup tournament in her homeland, South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher turns a spotlights on some of the delights of Bath, the English spa town.
Barbara Durlacher introduces us to Liesl Jobson who writes 'flash fiction'.
In this tasty article Barbara Durlacher introduces some delicious words concerning food.
...Then, as the sun sank slowly behind Table Mountain and the bugler played the haunting strains of the Last Post, two sailors carefully hauled down the Union Jack, folded it, and put it away for the night. It was enough to bring tears to the eyes, but as we stood there in our tight cocktail finery and high heels, with the crew stiffly at attention, the heat of the sun-baked flight deck beat through the soles of our shoes and our appreciation of the patriotic nostalgia of the occasion was muted by the desire to go below to ease our throbbing feet and grab something cool to drink....#
Barbara Durlacher, while reading the obituaries of Royal Navy men in The Daily Telegraph, is reminded of golden days and happy occasions.
To read more of Barbara's first class columns please visit http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...hearing a distant bell across the meadows is a beautiful experience. Lonely or sad, cheerful or happy, bells have such a distinctive sound that it is easy to become dependent on their regular chimes and come to regard these inanimate objects as individual personalities...
Barbara Durlacher recalls the bells of England, Russia, Italy and Austria.
...I have privately christened one of these farms Meerkat Manor, after the TV program of that name, as there are scores of these engaging animals in a field to the right of the sand road to the farm. Here, signs ask visitors to drive slowly and take care not to run over the small suricates...
Barbara Durlacher tells of the Free State, a hidden South African “gem’’ waiting to be discovered by more tourists.
To read more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...As a valuable aid in keeping the veld clean of dead potentially diseased livestock, today's farmers are actively setting up vulture restaurants as an ideal way of disposing of dead animals and eliminating infections...
Barbara Durlacher tells of efforts to restore the balance of nature in South Africa.
To read more of Barbara’s excellent stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
A message from a “long-lost’’ cousin after 40 years refreshed a host of happy memories for Barbara Durlacher.
Memories of train travel in the 1970’s light up this letter by Barbara Durlacher.
Barbara Durlacher paints a vivid word picture of an exotic setting in this story which features a young woman called Sheema, who is soaking up the atmosphere in Rajasthan with a view to writing a story.
This tale will be continued at a later date.
...I was lucky to travel around Europe before the tsunami of mass tourism hit and destroyed so much of the essential flavour. Moreover, I did it alone, and was able to experience countries and meet the locals on a one-to-one basis, and not as part of a coach tour or a noisy group of 20-somethings whooping it up and drinking themselves silly....
Read this splendid column and you will readily agree that Barbara Durlacher was born to be a travel writer.
To read more of Barbara’s articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...‘Tretchi’ loved publicity, and never shunned the limelight, and he always had an apt quip for the occasion. He was never upset by adverse remarks or bad publicity, taking the view that they could say what they liked, but he was the one laughing all the way to the bank...
The inimitable Barbara Durlacher tells of Vladimir Tretchikoff, painter of the Chinese Girl, the world's best selling picture.
A Congolese youth had been set a task to write a 500 word story around the phrase ‘the door slammed shut’. Barbara Durlacher, who was trying to help him, decided that it might be an encouragement if she did the same.
To read more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/ See alos her splendid photographs by clicking on our Gallery.
Barbara Durlacher tells the sad, sad story of a man who came into money.
For more of Barbara’s articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Less than 500 days to go before the kick-off of the World Cup in South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher introduces us to some of the lesser-known aspects of football watching in SA.
For more of Barbara’s ever-interesting words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...What an end to a kind woman’s life. In a few hours, there’d be nothing to show for all those years of loving and living in this closeknit community; nothing for those who’d known her to remember her by, and no trace of her many kindnesses over the years...
Barbara Durlacher’s tale concerns one of the saddest days in any human life.
To read lots more of Barbara’s quality stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
…She packed her scattered manuscript into a suitcase and – so one story goes – raced to the train station where she was lucky to catch Latham before he boarded the train to New York. In her hurry, the suitcase burst open and the manuscript fell onto the platform, and the scattered papers were gathered up and stuffed back into the case just before the train pulled out of the station…
Barbara Durlacher tells of Margaret Mitchell and her novel Gone With The Wind that was turned into what was to become perhaps the most famous film ever made.
...Jonas soon found that being a member of the gang was exciting and had many benefits. There was the money to be made from the copper wire from the stolen telephone cables; handbags nicked from careless woman shoppers yielded cash, credit cards and cellphones, or the careless driver at the traffic lights, busy on his cellphone was usually oblivious of the black arm grabbing a briefcase or laptop left conveniently on the passenger seat...
Barbara Durlacher’s well-told tale presents a sobering insight into life in present-day South Africa.
A writer seeks solitude in a mountain cabin in the dead of winter. Will she get much writing done? Can she survive in such hostile surroundings?
Barbara Durlacher tells a splendidly atmospheric tale.
For more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...Amazing how things have changed over the years. Today’s woman is too busy to consider sewing for the family, her presence in the office takes precedence over everything. So often the introduction of “Babygros” and disposable nappies, fast-foods and man-made fibres that can be tossed into the washing machine and tumble dried have put paid to all the old crafts and skills passed down the generations by our forebears...
Barbara Durlacher remembers bygone days.
To read more of Barbara’s articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Who knows what you might see while making zuccini soup?
Barbara Durlacher tells a surprising tale. To read more of Barbara’s words please click on
http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Barbara Durlacher tells of an "ordinary'' bucket which could be seen as a symbol of the futility of many African political aspirations.
...‘Will ya look at thaaat...’ he exclaimed in amazement as the storm increased in intensity, and hailstones as big as tennis-balls hit the windscreen. The wipers were helpless against the strength of the water falling from the skies with the force of a Niagara and Bob sat forward, and futilely wiped the inside of the glass fogged with the condensation of his and the dog’s breath...
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale about the disaster which overtook an Australian sheep farmer on his way to market.
For more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...I travelled on the first passenger train service back to Johannesburg, and when we reached Laingsburg it was difficult to believe the evidence of our eyes. It looked as if an atomic bomb had exploded over the town. Huge gullies had been eroded for miles along the banks of the river, enormous trees were piled higgeldy-piggeldly like matchsticks and there was devastation everywhere. It was heartbreaking....
Barbara Durlacher recalls a day in 1981 when heavy rains washed away a village in the Karroo.
To read more of Barbara’s varied and ever-interesting articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Barbara Durlacher presents a wonderful word portrait of high summer on the Scottish Borders.
...The carpets of brilliant orange, purple, magenta and ice-pink of the mesembrian-themums which a couple of weeks ago spread across rockeries have faded and the star-shaped fruit are forming. When ripe, children love sucking the sweet-sour juice and the Afrikaans name 'suur-vygies’ describes them well...
Barbara Durlacher tells of the arrival of Spring in Johannesburg.
For more of Barbara’s wonderfully varied articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...The carpets of brilliant orange, purple, magenta and ice-pink of the mesembrian-themums which a couple of weeks ago spread across rockeries have faded and the star-shaped fruit are forming. When ripe, children love sucking the sweet-sour juice and the Afrikaans name 'suur-vygies’ describes them well...
Barbara Durlacher tells of the arrival of Spring in Johannesburg.
For more of Barbara’s wonderfully varied articles and stories please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Barbara Durlacher tells of a exhibition designed to help children learn about the human race’s reliance on the diverse range of plants, insects and animals with which we share this earth.
To read more of Barbara's splendid stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
...Several Kurrichane Thrushes thrive here together with the Cape Robins who cock an enquiring eye in my direction whenever they see me, while a Common Shrike is so tame it will take morsels of cheese from my hand. It keeps an eye on my every movement and arrives for a feed within minutes of my appearance...
Barbara Durlacher tells of the hugely varied bird life in her Johannesburg garden.
Barbara Durlacher engagingly tells us of the cats in her life.
...In my memory those days were filled with laughter, sunlight and happiness. I basked secure in my parent’s love and each new day was an adventure. Winters were icy cold, the Highveld frosts made colder by the uninsulated iron roof only warmed by the valiant efforts of one tiny Victorian fireplace in the sitting/dining room over which we huddled on frosty nights...
Barbara Durlacher tells of her parents, and her happy childhood in Johannesburg.
To read more of Barbara’s engaging stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
The contents of a china hen bring back heart-aching memories for a mum in this unforgettable story by Barbara Durlacher.
To read more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Who is that quiet woman who rides the bus every day, keeping herself to herself?
Barbara Durlacher’s story is a warning that one should never jump to hasty conclusions.
To read more stories and articles by Barbara please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
Barbara Durlacher’s story concerns a hitchhiker who is in danger of outstaying his welcome.
For more of Barbara’s words please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/joburg_days/
The life of a professional drag artist is no joking matter, as Barbara Durlacher’s story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher tells of a novel which puts a different perspective on the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale involving the fate which befalls too many pretty young women.
Barbara Durlacher tells a sad story prompted by recent terrible events in Johannesburg.
...Now I’m old, I can eat when I like, dress as I like, and live my life as I like, all within reason and making allowances for others...
Barbara Durlacher express a jubilant and encouraging attitude to life which has accompanied the arrival of silver hair.
Do read more of Barbara's many and varied columns by clicking on Jo'burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Duralacher highlights details of that ill-fated ship, HMS Birkenhead.
Barbara Durlacher is delighted to announce the return of Springbok Radio, a station which enriched the lives of thousands of South Africans.
Barbara Durlacher tells of her grandparents who were early settlers in South Africa.
This is the second in a series of four articles.
Continue reading "Early British Settlers in South Africa – Part Two" »
Barbara Durlacher, in the first of four articles about early British settlers in South Africa, tells of a shipload of Irish girls who volunteered to be shipped out in 1857 as potential brides for men and soldiers on the Cape Eastern border with Kaffraria.
The second article in this series will appear next Wednesday.
Continue reading "Early British Settlers In South Africa - Part One" »
Barbara Durlacher tells of the sad, sad life of a man clad in plastic bags.
…Entering a café on the main square, crowded with enthusiastic mid-day diners we were directed to a tiny table. Here we sat down to one of the most memorable of several fine meals we were to enjoy in cold and wintry Provence.
This is the season for hearty, stick-to-the-ribs foods, and traditionally the time when game is on the menu. Today’s speciality is daube de sanglier, wild boar, proceeded by a brandade of salt cod, delicately seasoned finely pounded creamed salt cod served on a slice of crisply toasted baguette…
Barbara Durlacher enthusiastically experiences in the pleasures of Provencal food.
…Their capacity to understand and interpret the human world around them, and, almost always, turn the situation to their own advantage, must be unrivalled for creatures of their small size…
Barbara Durlacher tells of the much adored cats that have shared her life.
Barbara Durlacher is entranced by the marvelous old workhorses of the age of steam at a festival in South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher tells a highly-entertaining tale about a 21st Century dragon.
Settle down for a right royal read.
Not every creature enjoys going out to conquer the wide world, as Barbara Durlacher’s story reveals.
…I listened with tears in my eyes as I heard all the vitality and endurance of Africa in the music, along with the beauty of what can be achieved when its people are doing what they enjoy most, dancing and making music together…
Barbara Durlacher is deeply moved by a performance in Johannesburg of composer David Fanshawe’s African Sanctus.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the “Blue Angel’’ who came to the aid of a stricken Polish seaman.
Barbara Durlacher tells how a trip to town resulted in a young lad putting his life in danger.
Barbara Durlacher tells the story of two men who ran along the Great Wall of China - all 4,500 miles of it!
Barbara Durlacher plays tricks with time.
To read more of Barbara’s words please clock on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher tells the exhilarating story of Stella, who, when her ambition to be a ballet dancer was frustrated, became a shining star on an altogether different stage.
For more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this stage.
Barbara Durlacher visits the part of Johannesburg where she once lived, and is profoundly shocked by what she finds there.
When you venture into Antarctic seas you need more than Google to help you on your way, as Barbara Durlacher’s short story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher’s story tells of a particular South African scam.
Barbara Durlacher turns her attention to two books which shine the spotlight on South Africa’s uncertain political future.
Be extra careful who you target when you seek revenge at a masked ball. Barbara Durlacher tells a disturbing tale.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale of devious double- and triple-dealing.
...The mail train to Cape Town pulls up at a drab station and glimpsed from a comfortable compartment the bored travellers stare at the colourful crowd. From the guard’s van two wicker baskets of carrier pigeons, six cardboard boxes of day-old chicks, three bicycles and four mail sacks are offloaded; milk-churns clatter. Porters shouting “Mind yer baaacks!” push trolleys heavily loaded with suitcases pasted with hotel and steamer labels. Food and drink sellers move up and down offering koeksusters, lollies, peanuts, fruit and cold drinks. Passengers climb warily to the platform to stretch their legs. One returns triumphantly waving a “Diamond Fields Advertiser”. Now the ‘lounge-lizards’ can catch up with the morning’s news from Kimberley and the Orange Free State...
Barbara Durlacher conjures up vivid memories as she mourns the passing of South Africa's passenger trains.
Continue reading "The Passing Of South Africa's Pasenger Trains" »
Barbara Durlacher tells of Mariba, a lady whose eyesight is failing as she struggles in South Africa to earn money to feed her family in stricken Zimbabwe.
Barbara Durlacher is impressed by Jonathan Raban’s novel Waxwings, which, though set in one city, attempts to encapsulate life in the USA today.
...I listened with tears in my eyes as I heard all the vitality and endurance of Africa in the music, along with the beauty of what can be achieved when its people are doing what they enjoy most, dancing and making music together...
Barbara Durlacher enjoys a performance of David Fanshawe's African Sanctus.
…One by one, gracious and elegant old homes with spacious gardens and beautiful mature trees were sold, and in quiet gardens where golden Labradors and bulldogs once snoozed in the sun, fountains played and Madam’s silk skirts swept the well-tended gravel, the excavators dug deep into the unyielding red soil and dynamite completed what the mechanical shovels failed to achieve…
But now a Heritage Trust is fighting to preserve Johannesburg’s grand old buildings, as Barbara Durlacher reports.
Barbara Durlacher reviews the novel The Memeory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards.
In Barbara Durlacher's intriguing tale an internet love affair turns out not to be what it had seemed.
Barbara Durlacher was dreading her European train journey but it proved to be "a marvellous experience, something I'd longed to do for years, ever since I’d seen a picture in a travel brochure of an elegant couple raising their glasses to one another while sitting in a glass-domed observation car, enjoying a fine meal and glass of champagne...''
Barbara Durlacher enjoys a novel which emphasises the importance of a close-knot family.
Yes, life can be good, but an accident and a family of hungry mice can darken the outlook, as Barbara Durlacher’s surprising tale reveals.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the courage of a widow who is determined, despite all disappointments, to keep her family together.
…“Did you visit the Fitzmaurice’s home on Monday this week?” his bullying voice continued, not giving her time to catch her breath.
“Yes, you obviously know I did. I called in for a few minutes to return a book I’d borrowed. I didn’t see either of them, just spoke to the maid who said they were in bed.”…
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale with a shocking conclusion.
Barbara Durlacher pays tribute to two of her beloved friends who died recently – two women who showed a gritty determination to survive during the terrible days of World War Two.
Barbara Durlacher tells an astonishing story based on real lives – a story which contains as many twists and turns as a full-length novel.
…The Highveld scenery is wide and spacious; with golden grasslands and scattered outcrops of suikerbossie [Transvaal Protea], small wattle and gum plantations and then the blue expanse of Loch Vaal with its attractive sail boats…
Barbara Durlacher journeys to see the Katse dam, one of the biggest civil engineering projects in the Southern Hemisphere.
Barbara Durlacher tells us of Karen Blixen, author of the famous book Out Of Africa.
Barbara Durlacher pays tribute to two outstanding South Africans.
For more of Barbara’s words please click on Jo’burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher tells of a rescue on a hot afternoon.
A visit next door to see the new-born baby is an initiation into womanhood for a 12-year-old girl in this story by Barbara Durlacher.
Taking a bubble bath is not invariably a happy experience, as Barbara Durlacher’s story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher tells the tale of a lady driven to taking extreme measures.
For more of Barbara’s words please click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher chose Henry Moore’s picure ‘Underground’ as the inspiration for this sombre story.
For more of Barbara’s stories and articles please click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale of a young man on a desperate journey to find his father, who has gone to California. But what are his chances of doing so?
For more of Barbara’s entertaining words please click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher tells a spicy tale about the cleverest card-sharp in the business.
Barbara Durlacher tells a delightful tale of childish enterprise gone wrong.
What sort of bargain can you buy at an auction for just one rand! Read Barbara Durlacher’s well-told tale – and chuckle!
To read more of Barbara’s stories and articles click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher tells an inspirational story of what a man with a dream can achieve. The story is based on the experience of one of Barbara’s friends who was on a tour of the Zulu battlefields in Natal. Barbara, who felt compelled to tell this story, has not used the head's real name.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale of diappointment, and plans for an interminably long holiday.
Barbara Durlacher tells a story of enforced guilt.
Barbara Durlacher tells a colourful tale about a woman who thinks too much of herself.
Barbara Durlacher tells us of a Japanese-speaking South African tour guide called Angie – and the part she played in rescuing a round-the-world yachtsman.
In this brief tale Barbara Durlacher encapsulates the ghastly mundanity of warfare.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the life of Beatrix Potter whose stories, featuring such characters as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck and Mrs Tiggywinkle, brought delight to millions of children – a delight which for many has lasted throughout their lives.
The businessman is in a hurry, but what is he hurrying towards?
Barbara Durlacher tells a story, based on a real event, of an incident at a service station.
What price should be paid to ensure that a Grand Prix motor race is free from blowing dust? Barbara Durlacher tells a story of love and death.
Around 15,000 people die each year in road accidents in South Africa. Unroadworthy ‘combi’ buses and taxis, driven by unlicensed black drivers, cause many of these deaths. Combis, built to carry the driver and eight passengers, habitually carry from twelve to sixteen. When stopped at roadblocks, police find vehicles without brakes, headlights, wipers, and – occasionally, a steering wheel. A large shifting spanner is used instead.
Barbara Durlacher paints a frightening word-picture of traffic chaos.
Do read more of Barbara's varied and ever-interesting articles by clicking on Jo'burg Days in the menu on this page.
Swallows hurl themselves before the onrushing wind as a storm advances towards Johannesburg. Like distant drums, the thunder marches from the south, and householders unplug computers, fax machines and printers in case of a lightning strike…
Barbara Durlacher describes turbulent storm which presaged the arrival of South Africa’s summer.
For more of Barbara’s vivid words please visit Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
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Barbara Durlacher tells a tale about the dire effects of an African tribe's male initiation ceremony – a tale which regrettably is based in fact.
Barbara Durlacher, inspired by a mural depicting the arrival of the first white men in Africa, painted by one of her friends on a wall of the Cullin Museum at the University of Witwatersrand, is moved to express her admiration of the brave mariners who discovered the sea route to India.
To read more of Barbara’s fascinating articles and stories please click on Jo’burg Days in the menu on this page.
Continue reading "The Discovery Of The Sea Route To India" »
Barbara Durlacher’s South African story confirms that sometimes a tragic accident can have a happy ending.
To read more of Barbara's stories and features please click on Jo'burg Days in the menu on this page.
Barbara Durlacher muses on the man who might have made a difference to New Year celebrations in a French bistrot.
Barbara Durlacher presents a fascinating portrait of Ludwig II of Bavaria – known to many as the Mad King. Ludwig's story is as melodramatic as the powerful operas of Richard Wagner, the composer that he sponsored.
"Ludwig’s legacy lives on, in some of the most extravagant and beautiful palaces ever created,'' says Barbara, "and from which today the State of Bavaria collects huge sums of money in tourist income, far in excess of anything this visionary king ever spent on building these extraordinary creations.''
Poor Mary has to travel many miles from her home to a distant city in another country, there, hopefully, to sell hand-made goods...
Read Barbara Durlacher's article about the plight of the poor in Zimbabwe, and experience pity and anger in equal and generous measure.
...This is the season for hearty, stick-to-the-ribs foods, and traditionally the time when game is on the menu. Today’s speciality is daube de sanglier [wild boar] proceeded by a brandade of salt cod [delicately seasoned finely pounded creamed salt cod served on a slice of crisply toasted baguette...
Barbara Durlacher introduces us to the food of Provence – and if you don't feel hungry after reading this then your appetite has gone on holiday.
Sipho was so good at his job as a vet's assistant that Baas Kenny begins to wonder how he ever managed without him. But things do not go well for poor Sipho…
Barbara Durlacher tells a sobering and sad story set in today's South Africa.
Barbara Durlacher tells of an unnecessary car chase that was not the least bit funny.
Question: ‘Who is the worst person you have ever sat next to on a plane?’
Answer: Perhaps intriguing would be a better comment. A beautiful woman on the way to Dallas. We had a lovely chat and she went to the bathroom next to me when we got to the airport. She came out as a man!
After reading this in a magazine Barbara Durlacher was inspired to write the following tale.
…I scuttle between tv and kitchen, keeping an eye on steaming pots, boiling kettles or roasting pans. It takes skilful juggling to keep everything on the go without burning the bottom out of good stainless steel saucepans…
Barbara Durlacher’s early evenings involve split-second timing as she tunes in to must-see TV programmes and cooks a meal.
Barbara Durlacher considers the demands on the skills of TV and film actors.
In this colourful and wonderfully nostalgic column Barbara Durlacher recalls the Lavender Ladies, the lavender-hulled vessels of the Union-Castle Steamship Company which plied between Cape Town and Southampton.
… He could buy a watch, and a torch, a radio and a pair of shiny leather shoes. He would get Ntombintini a sewing machine, and a handbag, a new thick warm blanket, and a shiny pink dress for their wedding …
But to get these things Precious has to leave his village and go off to the big city to find work.
Barbara Durlacher tells a heart-breaking African story.
There’s news happening just around the corner and you don’t know it, as Barbara Durlacher reveals.
Continue reading "On Listening To The Evening News With Attention Momentarily Distracted" »
Barbara Durlacher writes alluringly of of the Fire Islands - a chain of seven islands resembling a heap of scattered coals, ninety miles off the North African coast.
Civil insurrection? What civil insurrection? Life goes on as normal for most folk while news is being made, as Barbara Durlacher reveals, looking back to events 30 years ago.
Barbara Durlacher captures the excitement felt by a young woman on her first sea voyage to another country.
Barbara Durlacher tells an intriguing tale of murder, illicit love and a 40-carat diamond.
Barbara Durlacher writes about the growth of long distance running, highlighting the South African Comrades, one of the longest and toughest foot races in the world.
Continue reading "The Crowded Roads Of A Long-Distance Runner" »
...The very lack of education and schooling has made me read books, hundreds and thousands of books, and nowhere can one find a better source of information. I feel that I’ve reached a point where, in my general knowledge at least, I am as good as the next man – better perhaps, in some fields...
Barbara Durlacher tells of an event that moulded her life.
“Will ya look at thaaat,” admiringly exclaimed the Irish nurse. “He’s ready to take on the world like a mini prize-fighter.” But the new mother is not pleased by what she sees, as Barbara Durlacher reveals in this vivid account of childbirth.
In this magical piece of writing Barbara Durlacher involves us in the centuries-old traditions of the Japanese tea house, and the studied, formal world of the geishas who devote themselves to entertaining and pleasing rich and powerful men.
You can usually find a place to park the car, but where do you park and 80-year-old granny who forgets to cook for herself? Barbara Durlacher tells of a happy solution to a major problem.
Barbara Durlacher enjoys herself while visiting some of London’s newer landmark attractions.
For a flavourful taste of life in South Africa read Barbara’s weekly columns. Click on Jo’Burg Days in the menu on this page.
So many books in the world - yet in South Africa there are children with no books to read. Barbara Durlacher is baffled by a conundrum.
This story was written when a caption to a photograph in ‘Aquarelle’, the house magazine of the Watercolour Society of South Africa caught Barbara Durlacher’s eye. This identified a lady with the name of “Rugani”, and triggered a childhood memory. The story is based on a family of that name who lived and worked extremely hard, running a market garden down the road from where the author lived in Bramley, Johannesburg in the 1930’s and ‘40’s. Sent by her mother to buy a basketful of vegetables Barbara still recollects the quiet suburban peace of that pretty suburb. Today it is a cacophony of hooters, roaring delivery vans, black ‘combi’ taxis and used-car dealerships.
The Rugani family sold up long ago, and moved to the northern edge of rapidly expanding Johannesburg, where they continue to grow and sell vegetables. But this time, it is a huge undertaking employing hundreds of workers and a large acreage of ground, and produces thousands of tons of food each year.
Barbara Durlacher continues the astonishing story of Stephanie Kobierzycka, who, after hearing that she was on a Russian hit-list, had to flee from Poland in a metal container packed with bottles of vodka.
Stephanie's article appeared in Open Writing last Thursday. To read it type her name in the search box on this page.
Stephanie Kobierzski tells of a chance meeting, and her extraordinary marriage. Stephanie was born and spent her youth in Warsaw, Poland. Towards the end of the war she met a man she had not seen for six years, and married him on the same day.
Open Writing columnist Barbara Durlacher is one of Stephanie’s good friends. Next week Barbara will continue the astonishing story of the bride who wore a blanket.
Barbara Durlacher tells us of Tulipmania, a mad demand for rare plants which “infected’’ the wealthy citizens of Holland in the 17th Century. A flourishing brewery in France was exchanged for a single tulip bulb.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale of a disasterous diving trip.
The little girl dreams of riding in the lift in the tall skyscraper… Barbara Durlacher’s gets inside a child’s mind to write a story about a trip to town with mother.
Barbara Durlacher tells a tale of surf, sea, and a magical rescue.
Visit Barbara's Web site www.u3a.org.za/u3awritingsa
Barbara Durlacher tells a story involving a very clever engineer, a collection of classic cars, a lost key, and a dog called Bozo.
To read some more enjoyable stories and articles visit Barbara’s Web site www.u3a.org.za/u3awritingsa
…The taxi passed a tiny donkey with a figure sitting sideways, covered from head to foot in a burnoose with only a pair of dark eyes showing… Barbara Durlacher writes of a colourful, suspenseful and unexpected overnight stay in Tangiers.
Barbara Durlacher’s gripping tale encapsulates an ocean of domestic misery which reaches a dramatic conclusion.
All is not well with South Africa’s train services, as Barbara Durlacher reports. The service grinds to a stop so frequently that commuters have taken to burning station buildings in a futile protest against inefficient and inept railway management, but to little effect.
Barbara Durlacher recalls a thrilling ride in Land Land Rover, up the Sani Pass to the Roof of the World.
…Approaching quietly, the hairdresser bent his knee in the traditional salute, then asked her requirements. ‘Straight back from the forehead, a bunch of curls above, and ringlets dropping from ears to shoulders,’ came the reply. He deftly removed the pins and clips and gently brushed the tangle of dusty tresses. ‘Scurvy varmint,’” hitting him with her fan, ‘“Stop pulling and torturing me. Do as you are told, I’m not easily fooled by your antics; follow my instructions!’ …
The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth, Gloriana, is being readied to have her portrait painted – a portrait which could turn the course of European history. Barbara Durlacher writes as though she was a witness to the event.
“The telescope stands on one of the largest and most accurately laid concrete platforms ever created in South Africa, constructed without a bump or flaw and with less than one millimetre difference in the levels anywhere on its surface…’’ Barbara Durlacher was formerly opposed to the building of an expensive telescope in her homeland, but now she hails it as a scientific wonder.
Barbara Durlacher packs an enormous amount of tension and drama into this short story.
“The alluvial delta is an artist’s palette of primary colours. Yellows and ochres; greens and clear blues. The occasional touch of red from a hunting camp draws the eye; a thread of smoke from a campfire or land clearing stains the sky for miles around, and over it all is the golden sunset air, dusting with ethereal pollen the peace of unspoilt nature…’’ Barbara Durlacher flies over the Okavango delta.
"...clusters of stonewalled thatched huts grouped warmly together in sociable huddles, the smoke from their early morning fires drifting thinly into the still, cold air. Early risers, warmly wrapped in their colourful blankets, clumped around in gumboots, seeking a warm corner while they waited for the pot to boil and the early morning porridge...'' Barbara Durlacher brings you the full flavour of Africa.
Continue reading "A Visit To Fouriesburg And The Katse Dam" »
“The only indication of a landing strip was the windsock flying - juicy and fat-bellied - in the strong coastal wind. As the small company plane approached the area, the first indication of a change in the landscape was the flat-topped mountain. Rising so unexpectedly out of the featureless terrain, copper-coloured buttresses glinting in the morning sun it was immediately the focus of all eyes….’’ Barbara Durlacher again displays her magical ability, possessed of all good travel writers, of making you want to go and see the places she describes.
Continue reading "The Two Matjiesfonteins - A Study In Contrasts" »
Barbara Durlacher tells of a troubled elderly lady who runs away from a retirement village. The final paragraph of this account will astonish you.
“In Constantia great armloads of arums grow along quiet streams, and small pockets of rain-daisies bloom in corners drawing the eye with their brightness…’’ Barbara Durlacher paints an enticing portrait of South Africa’s Cape region in the spring of the year.
In this wonderfully evocative prose-poem Barbara Durlacher paints pictures in the mind as she recreates the Johannesburg of 60 years ago.
Barbara Durlacher pays tribute to Arthur Mee, author and compiler of the Red Books, the famous Children’s Encyclopaedia which has brought her so much pleasure down the years.
When she was six Barbara said "If the house burns down, the two things I’ll save are the Red Books, and my Teddy Bear!”
What a good son Alec was. All those presents for his mother. Until the day the police came to call… But a mother is prepared to forgive anything, as Barbara Durlacher’s story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher takes a bleak thought-provoking look into the future.
After a wonderful holiday in Africa Barbara Durlacher’s daughter, Elizabeth, returned home to Switzerland, there to find her village devastated by floods.
"Donkeys were used to pull the ore trains in Van der Stel’s time, as beasts of burden, and as the major, if not only, form of transport. They are still used for transport by the poorer folk, who are collectively known as the “Karretjie-mense” (cart-people) as they depend so completely on these animals. For many years the South African Police used camels to patrol the desert, and a commemorative statue stands outside the Upington Police Station to this day...''
Barbara Durlacher, who has an eager eye for detail, takes us touring in a desert region of her homeland, South Africa.
"...in spring, the Cape shines with a brilliance found nowhere else in Africa. Diaphanous curtains of rain sweep across the mountains but after a shower the clouds blow away and the reflected blue skies on the rain-washed streets lend an air of magic to commonplace scenes.'' Barbara Durlacher's words make you long to immediately pack your bags and head out to see the places she has described.
"She could feel his eyes on her. Hot, burning eyes...'' A trip to the market can be a dangerous journey for a young South African woman, as Barbara Durlacher's story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher tells of The Owl House, and the reclusive woman who created it in the remote village of Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa.
"...Then, as the sun was sinking, we got within sighting distance of the birds. There, far against the soft blue of the late afternoon, was a band of pink, moving gently from right to left. Through my binoculars I saw a great congregation of water birds. One could see pelicans and red-legged stilts and, slightly further back, flamingos by the thousand...'' Barbara Durlacher delighted in the scenery and the wild life on a trip to Botswana and Zimbabwe in July - but she was depressed by what she saw of the ruination of a once prosperous and viable country by the totalitarian regime in Zimbabwe.
Continue reading "Impressions Of Botswana and Zimbabwe - July, 2005" »
Handsome Naval officers, jewels, bright clothes, a ship-board cocktail party... Barbara Durlacher mixes the ingredients for a romantic re-union.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the wonderful troop of Lipizzaner "dancing'' horses of Kyalami, the counterparts of the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. The dramatic story of how the Lipizzaners came to South Africa is prime Hollywood material. An ex Polish Cavalry officer, Count George Jawolkowski, became involved in creating the only performing troop of "dancing'' horses outside Austria. As a young girl Barbara took riding lessons from George.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the terrible consequences of an earth tremor which earlier this year led to the closure of a South African gold mine.
Barbara Durlacher recalls a long and exhausting journey from Athens to London on the Magic Bus - a journey during which she learned an important lesson.
"The dams have wallowing hippos, and there are rhino, many warthog, large numbers of lion and big herds of elephants...'' Barbara Durlacher suggests a visit to the Garden of Eden that is Pilansberg National Park, a 90-minute drive from Johannesburg.
She was not sure if there were any predators here. Best to keep the fire burning brightly. Barbara Durlacher recalls the smell of wood smoke and the majesty of the Milky Way while doing a stint of night watch on a camping trip to a game park.
Barbara Durlacher tells something of the history of Johannesburg - and the effects of modern transport and the ever-increasing demand for space on the city, and on its new version of itself, Sandton.
Barbara Durlacher gives a fascinating account of how the town of Hamburg in South Africa's Eastern Cape region came to be founded. Barbara has a German-born ancestor who lived in that area.
A whisper can lead to the loss of life, as Barbara Durlacher's short story reveals.
Barbara Durlacher tells a story about two "outies'', men of the open road - a story with an ending that will shock the reader.
Continue reading "It's A Hard Life When You're On Your Own" »
"How sad, and what an indictment of this extravagently rich city, that it seems it is only the elderly who perch so precariously themselves on the edge of insecurity, who can really appreciate the fear and anxiety of ageing pensioners, forced for many different reasons to live alone...''
Barbara Durlacher's true story about the plight of a lonely, feeble old man is set in Johannesburg. Hundreds of thousands of elderly people are caught it in similar sad situations in cities and towns around the world.
Barbara Durlacher introduces us to members of the eccentric, literary (some of them) English family, the Mitfords. One of the six Mitford girls, Nancy, wrote some of the finest and funniest English novels of the Twentieth Century. Nancy, and other members of the family, were far too extraordianry to be characters in a novel.
Barbara Durlacher's poem is as rich and colourful as the city in which it is set.
Barbara Durlacher enjoys the sights of Moscow but experiences keen diappointment when she goes to see the fabulous Fabergé eggs.
So many memories, so much history is bound up in two button-back chairs. With those chairs as a starting point, Barbara Durlacher presents an engrossing, richly-detailed South African family saga.
"A fin moved in, directly towards the swimmer...'' Barbara Durlacher tells a brief, dramatic story, with a surprise in the last paragraph.
"Is change always for the better,'' asks Barbara Durlacher in this thoughtful article about the haste to obliterate the Afrikaans language in South Africa, a country which one day may be known as Azania.
Barbara Durlacher guides us round Montecasino, an Italian-style village re-created in Johannesburg, a slightly Disney-like but charming 40-acre theme park dedicated to leisure activity.
Barbara Durlacher tells of a troop of vervet monkeys - possibly once captive and intended to be used for the production of vaccines in a virology lab - which survived on the Witwatersrand Highveld in South Africa.
There was a squealing of brakes, slamming of doors, then a furious ringing of the entrance security bell... Barbara Durlacher tells of the day when the Drug Squad arrived to investigate the noisy gang upstairs.
"The over-riding impression of the Croatian and Adriatic coast is of bare, sparsely forested mountains, towering over clear blue seas; arid, windswept, empty island archipelagos where even the tiniest patch of cultivatable ground is utilised; old stone houses and friendly people...'' Barbara Durlacher, roaming far from her South African homeland, paints a portrait of Croatia that will make you long to go and see the country.
Barbara Durlacher, in a column which begins with menace but ends in delight, paints a colourful word picture of Tangiers.
"Wonder what he's got in mind? Have I got myself into something I can't handle?'' Barbara Durlacher writes enticingly of an invitation by a bronzed and good-looking man in his mid-30s to go swimming from one of South Africa's most famous beaches.
In words more vivid than any photograph, Barbara Durlacher captures a Johannesburg scene on a summer's morn in 1941.
Barbara Durlacher reports that climate changes are resulting in variations in the bird life around the city of Johannesburg.
Continue reading "The Changing Bird Population Of Johannesburg" »
George, who is renovating a house with the intention of renting it out, buys a one-rand bargain at an auction sale. But what happens to that bargain? There's a chuckle in the tail of Barbara Durlacher's story.
Barbara Durlacher tells of the famous Max, who "detained'' a fleeing burglary suspect. Oh, by the way...Max was a huge silverback gorilla.
Barbara Durlacher introduces us to Hugh Goyns, a splendid chap who gave the very best guidance on now to have a happy retirement.
The city of Johannesburg is marching inexorably further and further north as its suburbs expand. As urban sprawl devours more and more of the lovely Highveld grassland, Barbara Durlacher remembers childhood days when she could ride a bike down sandy roads through unspoilt country.
This column by Barbara Durlacher will set you thinking about whether the impulse to do good necessarily results in good being done.
"At first sight, the Lord Milner Hotel...seems incongruously out-of-place... Like a faded snapshot, the Victorian buildings doze in the bright sunlight.'' Barbara Durlacher tells the story of James Logan, the Scottish emigrant son of a humble railway worker, who became the fabulously wealthy "Laird of Matjiesfontein''. The hotel that he built has now been lovingly restored.
Be warned. Barbara's wonderfully evocative prose will immediately make you want to don your travelling boots and set out for the place she describes.
Barbara Durlacher is deeply moved by the death of her neighbour, Aidan, and pays this heartfelt tribute to a man who flew a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain.
Barbara Durlacher reveals why someone would pay £200 for a dingy strip of khaki.
Barbara Durlacher tells the story of how Bozo the dog became involved with a very special collection of classic cars.
"Lots of lovely trees, and 24-hour security, especially important near an area occupied by blacks,'' Mrs Crabbe tells Tandi the black girl, describing the complex where she lives. Barbara Durlacher's story reveals that the "worlds'' occupied by Mrs Crabbe and Tandi are still far apart.
Barbara Durlacher, painting a vivid word picture, introduces us to a quiet high plateau corner of her South African homeland.
Barbara Durlacher longs for those leisurely days of travelling by ocean liner as bad smells assail her nostrils on a flight to Dubai.
Some stories cry out to be told. Barbara Durlacher's downbeat tale reminds us that for all too many people Christmas can bring sadness, along with the joy.
Our new columnist Barbara Durlacher writes of a holday visit to Cannobio, a beautiful place on the shore of Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy.
Barbara Durlacher tells us of Mr Duck-Duck, an Egyptian goose with a healthy appetite who patrols the gardens of the complex where she lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This is Barbara's first contribution to Open Writing. She will be writing regularly for us in the forthcoming weeks and months. Watch out for more Jo-Burg Days!
