South Africa : Brett Fish

Always Another Book Review of sorts…

inspire-ations, South Africa, what i am reading

Always Another Book Review of sorts…

This morning at around 2 am i finished reading Sisonke Msimang's 'Always Another Country'. Which was my second Christmas present from tbV after 'Americanah' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. To be fair, i think any book i read after 'Americanah' would have felt somewhat like a hospital pass, because Adichie just has such an impressive gift when it comes to knitting words together to make unbelievable garments that defy simple communication. But in and of itself [...]

By brettfish|2018-02-16T09:10:23+02:00February 16th, 2018|inspire-ations, South Africa, what i am reading|0 Comments

A Few Woke White Men

South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, tricky things

A Few Woke White Men

Are white women more open to becoming wokified than white men? If you're not sure what 'Woke' means in this context, a quick delve into Merriam-Webster should help you out: Stay woke became a watchword in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware, questioning the dominant paradigm and striving for something better. But stay woke and woke became part of a wider discussion in 2014, immediately following the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The word woke became [...]

By brettfish|2018-02-07T10:09:26+02:00February 6th, 2018|South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, tricky things|1 Comment

The [Cape Town] Life Aquatic: How do we go from here?

challenging thorts, change the world, inspire-ations, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, Uncategorized

The [Cape Town] Life Aquatic: How do we go from here?

Day Zero continues its menacing approach like a menacing Sith Lord approaching with somber orchestral accompaniment in the background... Cape Town readies itself by desperately grabbing hold of any water-catching, water-containing or water-producing containers it can find... And we stand at a dry and dusty crossroads where both paths seem to lead away from any kind of aquatic-heavy future. There has already been a fair amount [...]

By brettfish|2018-02-01T08:40:41+02:00February 1st, 2018|challenging thorts, change the world, inspire-ations, race vibes, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Water we do now: a collection of helpful posts and stories

pain and Hope, South Africa, thorts of other people, tricky things

Water we do now: a collection of helpful posts and stories

Cape Town Water Day Zero approaches rapidly with April 12th being the latest prediction. And people are talking about it everywhere... and there is some really helpful stuff... and so i thought it might help if we collected a bunch of it together for easy access, you know, like 25L water bottles in that one guy's trolley! If you find any of these links helpful, please pass them on and feel free to share them [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-30T14:36:30+02:00January 30th, 2018|pain and Hope, South Africa, thorts of other people, tricky things|0 Comments

Dear South Africa – meet a privileged white woman

#NotOnOurWatch, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading

Dear South Africa – meet a privileged white woman

Dear South Africa... This is an interesting one. i was sent this story and asked if i could share it anonymously. And only realised when i copied it in here that it was a two-parter [i had initially missed the second part]. Which adds a whole different layer to the first part of the story and i imagine different people will have different reactions to it. But at the same time it gives a glimpse [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-30T06:52:27+02:00January 30th, 2018|#NotOnOurWatch, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people, what i am reading|5 Comments

Cape Town Water Crisis: The Longer game…

pain and Hope, positive ideas for change, South Africa, things to wrestle with

Cape Town Water Crisis: The Longer game…

i have written and shared a number of posts about the water crisis in Cape Town and the approaching Day Zero. It is super important that we think about those things. And continue to. BUT, this too will pass, and if we are still alive at the end of it, then we will need to take some things into account so that we don't keep Groundhog Daying slash Dejavu'ing this scenario again and again. [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-26T11:59:50+02:00January 26th, 2018|pain and Hope, positive ideas for change, South Africa, things to wrestle with|0 Comments

A Christian’s foolproof solution to the drought in Cape Town

inspire-ations, local news, South Africa, things to wrestle with, what i am reading

A Christian’s foolproof solution to the drought in Cape Town

Dear Christ-following people of Cape Town, Apparently a million or more people were praying yesterday for rain. That is an amazing thing. Okay, let's go back to the checklist and see what else is there: "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-25T06:29:06+02:00January 25th, 2018|inspire-ations, local news, South Africa, things to wrestle with, what i am reading|2 Comments

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet Shana’s realisation

inspire-ations, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet Shana’s realisation

Yesterday i posted a Facebook status by my sister-in-law Shana who was celebrating the fact that she had managed to combine a shower, hair wash and condition, teeth wash and leg shave all just using 5l of water. She did get some pushback as a number of people commented about how that has been their normal for as long as they can remember. And to her credit, she listened and really heard and this is [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-24T17:06:01+02:00January 24th, 2018|inspire-ations, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people|5 Comments

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet the realisation.

South Africa, things to wrestle with

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet the realisation.

"We've been doing this for years!" As we celebrate and cheer ourselves on for reducing our water to comply with restrictions [ a good thing - the reducing, not the cheering] many of our eyes are being opened to the reality that for so many people across the country, this has been their reality for always. Until we know we don't know. Should we have known? Perhaps. Certainly for those of us who have insulated [...]

By brettfish|2018-01-24T06:05:07+02:00January 24th, 2018|South Africa, things to wrestle with|2 Comments

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet Shana Kreusch

inspire-ations, South Africa, things to wrestle with, thorts of other people

Day Zero approaches: Water we going to do? Meet Shana Kreusch

i would like to introduce you to my sister-in-law Shana and her easy and doable water-saving idea combo: = = = == = = = == Guys. I did it. I brushed teeth, showered, shaved and washed and conditioned my hair, using 5L of water, and caught it all to use to flush the toilet tonight. To be honest, it was actually so easy, I'm aiming for 4L tomorrow. Here's how: 1. Measure 5L hot [...]