pain and Hope : Brett Fish

How to Craft a South African Kaleidoscope

i just read a really helpful piece by Brene Brown titled, 'Own our History. Change the story' which is focused on Americaland which has what feels like a completely different story, when it comes to present race issues, in many ways, but also some remarkably similar overlaps. Owning our stories is standing in our truth. It’s transformative in our personal and professional lives AND it’s also critical in our community lives. But we don’t think about history [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-20T17:37:39+02:00June 20th, 2015|challenging thorts, change the world, inspire-ations, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|0 Comments

In the wake of Charleston

We are angry. We grieve, mourn, weep. But we also choose to remember these dear sisters and brothers. Rest in peace. Cynthia Hurd [54] Tywanza Sanders [26] Sharonda Singleton [45] Myra Thompson [59] Ethel Lance [70] Susie Jackson [87] DePayne Doctor [49] Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr [74] Rev. Clementa Pinckney [41] [From Eugene Cho, who is a man i greatly respect and admire: @EugeneCho] i think it is strongly significant to start a conversation about the [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-19T20:08:06+02:00June 19th, 2015|pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, world news|0 Comments

Poem: Sitting on the edge of the tub

SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THE TUB - by brett "Fish" anderson sitting here perched on the edge of this hot tub half in, half out struggling to rationalise my body's capability with the extreme temperature that is bubbling back at me but i've been here for a while and this water sure ain't getting any cooler am i getting any braver? and will i finally slide all the way in? hold that [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-13T20:55:29+02:00June 13th, 2015|God stuff, pain and Hope, poems and other creativity, things to wrestle with|1 Comment

I Write What I Like – Steve Biko: Part History and Heroes

A further extract from the same chapter as the last one i shared, this one looks at the history that is taught and the need for young black men and women to have stories and heroes they can relate to: One writer makes the point that in an effort to destroy completely the structures that had been built up in the African Society and to impose their imperialism with an unnerving totality the colonialists were [...]

By brettfish|2019-09-12T16:35:25+02:00June 9th, 2015|pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|2 Comments

The eleRAphantCE in the room…

i have a good friend called Megan Furniss and we like to make things up. a lot! Megan was responsible for pretty much bringing Improv to Cape Town in the form of TheatreSports [now Improguise: Players of TheatreSports] which quickly became Cape Town's longest running and much loved show. And best kept secret, it seems at some times, although at the moment we are doing some highly experimental and completely fun shows [different formats every [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-09T17:40:37+02:00June 9th, 2015|change the world, friends and enemas, inspire-ations, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with|3 Comments

Taboo Topics: Vegetarianism – Meet Mary Twin Enslin

10 things vegetarians are sick of hearing / your vegetarian friends want you to know I became a vegetarian on my ninth birthday. This usually elicits shock and the assumption that I am vegetarian because of my family / culture / religious beliefs. But, no – I was just a child who was interested in where my food came from and when I knew the facts eating meat (read meat, fish, poultry) didn’t make sense [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-08T02:41:37+02:00June 8th, 2015|challenging thorts, friends and enemas, pain and Hope, Taboo Topics, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|0 Comments

I Write What I Like – Steve Biko: Part Black Consciousness

In my quest to continue learning South African history from voices other than those i grew up with i was encouraged to read, 'I Write What I Like' by Steve Biko. Not so much a story as a collection of letters and speeches, this book is really helpful as it contains real time words, thoughts and ideas from one of South Africa's great leaders written during the height of apartheid. The Catholic Herald had this [...]

By brettfish|2019-01-28T12:30:52+02:00June 6th, 2015|challenging thorts, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|11 Comments

Taboo Topics: Vegetarianism – Meet S’thabiso Khuluse

My Facebook friend S'thabiso gives this topic a little bit of a different spin as she addresses: 5 questions you ask guaranteed to break the peace with any 'black' vegetarian‏ If you have prior to reading this asked any of the below please kindly proceed to the nearest tree and hug it tightly and ask Zeus to advocate on your behalf for mother nature to forgive you - repeat this three times whiles doing a [...]

By brettfish|2015-06-03T20:05:58+02:00June 3rd, 2015|friends and enemas, pain and Hope, Taboo Topics, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|1 Comment

Blood Brothers: Part Genuine Forgiveness

This is a much longer extract from the book 'Blood Brothers' by Elias Chacour, which i do encourage everyone to read. Both as a glimpse into the Israel/Palestine history and situation, but also as a much deeper journey of faith and wrestling with ideas of God and kingdom. This passage it helps to have read the rest of the book to understand the full story of, but a brief background is that Abu Mouhib is [...]

By brettfish|2015-05-27T07:00:00+02:00May 27th, 2015|challenging thorts, inspire-ations, pain and Hope, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|0 Comments

In Memory of the man i nearly knew… Ray Ferrer, artist extraordinaire

[i wrote this post a week ago because i wanted to get permission from Ray's wife Rhian before posting it, but am glad to be able to share it now] UGH, Cancer. i woke up this morning to the news that an insanely gifted man i had befriended on the Twitterer had succumbed to the brain tumour that had taken him hostage, and died a few days ago. His wife Rhian, had just shared the news [...]

By brettfish|2015-05-26T16:40:56+02:00May 26th, 2015|pain and Hope, poems and other creativity, thorts of other people|0 Comments