U3A JOHANNESBURG'S WRITING VENTURE
YO-HO-HO by Astra Warren
Astra Warren, in company with fourteen other Western Australians, goes on a canal boating holiday in France. An enviable experience, vividly described.QUACKERY by John Merchant
"...the medical profession long ago realized it could not continue to keep patients in ignorance of their maladies. If nothing else, easily accessed information has forced medical doctors to come down from their ivory tower and treat patients like intelligent human beings, So with all this, isn't it surprising that the snake-oil purveyors are as alive and well as they obviously are? In fact quackery probably never had such an enthusiastic, or profitable following...'' John Merchant thinks we humans should come out of the cave into the light of day, and stop rattling the chicken bones.
THE DIRTY WARD by Bill Russell
Bill Russell is a member of a sister writing club 'Writer's 2000' and, although ill-health precludes him from attending the monthly meetings, he is still in touch and recently sent us a copy of this poignant story. His story has also been published on Peter Hinchliffe's wonderful website for U3A writers openwriting.com - a feast for writers of all ages.THE WAY FORWARD by Barry Jacobs
'Free verse baffles me, and I must stick to simple doggerel,' says Barry Jacobs from U3A Helderberg in the Cape. Nevertheless, many folk with empathize with the sentiments he expresses here.BETWEEN THE ANVIL &
THE HAMMER -
The Ethiopian Refugee by Brian Barratt
Brian's
encounters give readers a stark picture of refugee struggles
to survive. SPANISH SECRETS by Craig Briggs
'Wild blackberry bushes snare the unsuspecting
gardener. The needle-sharp spines of wild gorse pierce gloves, clothing
and flesh like arrows in a dartboard . . .'. As spring arrives in Galicia,
Craig Briggs braves the dangers of the garden.
THE STRANGE AFFAIR AT THE RIVERSIDE by Cynthia Kasmy
Cynthia writes about a very strange event. Is
it true or not? The reader must decide!
THE CANVASSER by Dorothy Grist
Our new writer, Dorothy Grist, writes an evocative description of a fruitless crusade to try to make conditions better in an area where every effort seems hopeless.
AN ALIEN'S IMPRESSION OF A JHB MUICIPAL STRIKE by
Ian Spitz
Ian writes an imaginative story about an actual
event - now all too common in the 'New' South Africa.
THE MISSING INGREDIENT by Ida Smith
Ida Smith is a frequent contributor to U3A Writing.
Much of her work is set in what was formerly known as the Western Transvaal.
Her style is reminiscent of the South African author, Pauline Smith, whose
stories were set in the Little Karroo in the 1920's. Ida's delicate understanding
of the bleakness of rural life and instinctive sympathy for those less
privileged is evident.
GOLDEN SLIPPERS by Zelda Margo
Zelda is a fund of arcane information on one of her favourite subjects - Art!
WINTER PLEASURES OF THE PROVENCIAL TABLE by Barbara Durlacher
France is famous for its interest in good food and gourmet cooking. Read on and experience vicariously the pleasures of the French table!
S.E.N.O.R.I.T.A by Barbara Tregoning
Barbara Tregoning sets her story in Spain's
most exotic city, Seville.
LIFT by Jane Leitch
Irish-born Jane has an engaging and humorous
way of looking at life which never fails to lift the spirit, as she demonstrates
with this story..
THE GREY UPHEAVAL by Phyllis Els
Phyllis Els has written for us before and her delicate and sensitive views of life are always worth reading.
NURSERY TALK by Stella Leonard
Stella always has an amusing slant to put on even the most mundane events and objects!
INTERLUDES HEATHROW: THE DANCE OF THE DRAGONFLIES
by Sylvia West
There is a spring a little way up the hill, and
it is the best tasting water in the world. It finds its way down to the
valley bottom, and down there, in the depths, the dragonflies live and
lay their eggs. They are the ballet dancers that we wait for. As if on
cue, two or three rise up to greet the sunlight, then a few more, then
more, and still more, until hundreds, maybe thousands, are dancing and
swooping, gliding, floating, a few yards this way then back again . .
.
LUDDITES by Walter Murton
Walter Murton's cool analytical mind produces
this clear and concise report of an important event in Britain's industrial
history.
ANSWERED PRAYER by Zelda Margo
There must be many lonely women who have felt
the same emotions that Joan felt. Read on to see how she coped.
THE LAVENDER LADIES by Barbara Durlacher
Many South Africans must cherish fond memories
of the beautiful Union-Castle Mail Steamships with their lavender painted
hulls that plied the Atlantic between Cape Town and the UK for so many
years.