Why is it, dear Reader, that one always gets a zit on one’s chin before an event? It really is one of life’s little mysteries.
I am speaking of the zit I developed on my chin the day before the Royalty Soapie Awards. Our writing team was nominated but alas did not win, however two of the shows I work on did come away with a couple of trophies each so that was pretty gratifying. HUGE congrats to Sparky Xulu and Jack Devnarain for their wins.
Obvs our local awards are not quite like going to the Oscars, however I was really impressed with the show because over the years I have attended some pretty bad awards’ shows. Pulling off a good one is not easy, but I thought this one was very slick.
Our host was comedian, Mpho Popps Modikoane, he was lovely – funny and relaxed, picking on the audience in an affectionate way, and the musical numbers were also great.
People think Awards shows are glamorous, I can assure you they are not. The youngsters like them because they can get dressed up and there’s a free bar. I am of the age where getting dressed in evening wear is a chore and I can buy my own (generally nicer) booze should I so wish. I wore a Hip Hop Skirt I bought fifteen odd years ago for a ball at the Firstborn’s prep school and a vintage beaded top from Reminiscene. I was going to wear high heels and then thought fukkit and wore my sequinned crocs. And just as well, as there was a lot of standing around before we could get to our seats.
It was a hectic day all round as before the awards show, we went to watch We Will Rock You at Monte Casino. Wow, wow, WOW. What a fantastic, funny, moving production. The singing and dancing were amazing, the script was funny, and it was surprisingly poignant. What made it extra poignant for me is that I saw Queen perform with my brother and SIL when Freddie was still alive and made the infamous trip to Sun City so to watch this show with them thirty years later was very special.
It’s difficult to pick out anything in particular as the show is just so slick – scene changes, sound, lighting, the live band – all glorious. I thought Craig Urbani’s comic timing was brilliant and I particularly liked Only The Good Die Young (had the husband blubbing like a three year old) and Fat Bottomed Girls and the ensemble was just amazing in Radio Gaga. Oh and look out for the encore of Bohemian Rhapsody which was SUPERB.
I particularly enjoyed the fact that the ensemble was not made up of a bunch of tall, skinny dancers but there were all shapes and sizes and they were magnificent. We had three tweens sitting behind us and the commentary from them was excellent, particularly during the love scenes where they made kissy noises, not to mention their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody where they knew every single word.
It’s on until April 16, try and get a ticket if you can, it’s so worth it. Thank you to my brother and SIL for our tickets and for lunch!
On to my book launch on Tuesday, in between trying to edit a bunch of scripts, I had to go and get my hair and nails done – big mwah to Thandeka and Agnes at The Salon in Tyrone Avenue for sorting me out. This is the thing about all these exciting events, dear Reader, the world doesn’t stop whilst you have to sort out your gel nails and try cover up the zit on your chin.
So, although they are fun, they are also exhausting.
Lovely friend and author, Sue Nyathi did a FABULOUS job of interviewing me and I hope I made some sense as I tried to keep my boobs from falling out of my dress. Eish. As usual the team at Exclusive Books, Rosebank Mall were lovely and I have to say a big thank you to them and to the Jonathan Ball team for a great event. It was also wonderful to be surrounded by all my bookish friends especially the Chasing Marian crew who after all have a starring role in the book. And special shout-out to friends who came and to my brother and my SIL and her cousin who travelled all the way from Benoni to support me.
I’ve been quite overwhelmed with people who have messaged me or come up to chat about their own journey with alcohol and how they’ve felt the need to cut down or give up the grog completely. I was also immensely touched by the audience members at the launch who kept saying it felt like I wrote the book for them. I DID. I wrote it for all of us.
So, we can stop pretending we’re okay, that the last three years of the pandemic and the shit that’s going down not only in South Africa but the world has got us all more than a little freaked out. It’s been tough, and we need to be kind to ourselves and each other.
I did read an hilarious article about the way that I drink, apparently because I’m not completely dry, I am DAMP, hence the title of the blog.
TV/Film recommendations: I did my usual fast-forward through the Oscars and although I was thrilled for the cast of Everything Everywhere All At Once and very much enjoyed both Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh’s speeches which really were about not giving up, the Irish half of me was BEYOND pissed off that The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t win anything. They were robbed!
Book recommendations: Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Instead of tossing enormous quantities of whiskey and Guinness down your throats, perhaps read a book by an Irish author. As always, I recommend the queen, Marian Keyes, but there are lots and lots of lovely Irish authors out there. I just downloaded the new Maeve Kerrigan thriller called The Close by Jane Casey. This is book number 10 in the series, start from the top if you haven’t read any of these before and enjoy! They are quite delicious.