Full Tilt

Mums and their bumps.

samuelgroves — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:50:34 +0000

Six year old Joah’s insights are ahead of his time. Varicose veins and bumps at the front and the back are just right for moms, he reckons. Sarah writes about the makings of a mom as discussed in our home recently. Published in The Witness and available here.

Filed under: Children, Classics, Literature

‘My Life is My Message.’ -Gandhi

samuelgroves — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:56:21 +0000

Gandhi declares ‘My life is my message’ whilst a man in the foreground reads a text message. This bronze statue stands in Church Street, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Copyright Sam Groves.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Art is long, life is brief. -Seneca

samuelgroves — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 15:17:47 +0000

Photograph by Ulrike Welsch in 'The World I Love To See'. 1977, Boston.

Filed under: Art, Photography

Common Cents.

samuelgroves — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:57:55 +0000

“We have to make money now, while we can,” my 8-year-old daughter, Lael, explained to her 8-year-old cousin, Hannah, “or one day we will both be out on the streets…”

Read more here. Written by Sarah and published in the Christian Science Monitor.

Filed under: Children, Writing

Little kitchen helpers…

samuelgroves — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:47:08 +0000

“WHAT can I do with you?” my sweet, quiet, middle-child, Anna, asked, late one afternoon. I was feeling a fair bit of pressure to finish dinner off, but how could I say, “Nothing.” Read the rest of Sarah’s piece. Published in ‘The Witness’- 2 October 2011.

Filed under: Food, Writing

Carrie by Ted Kooser.

samuelgroves — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 06:21:58 +0000

Carrie
“There’s never an end to dust
and dusting,” my aunt would say
as her rag, like a thunderhead,
scudded across the yellow oak
of her little house. There she lived
seventy years with a ball
of compulsion closed in her fist,
and an elbow that creaked and popped
like a branch in a storm. Now dust
is her hands and dust her heart.
There’s never an end to it.

from Sure Signs, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1980

Filed under: Literature, Poetry, Writing

Ode to Tobacco.

samuelgroves — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:28:19 +0000

“It was the opinion of the poet Calverley, expressed in his immortal Ode To Tobacco, that there is no heaviness of the soul which will not vanish beneath the influence of a quiet smoke.” -P.G. Wodehouse in ‘Summer Lightning’.

Filed under: Tobacco

My favorite bands by Lael Groves.

samuelgroves — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 14:14:36 +0000

I have three favorite bands. They are the Beatles, Mango Groove and Johnny Clegg. First, I like the Beatles because their history is fascinating. Second, I like Mango Groove. I like Mango Groove because everyone can sing like mad. Third, I absolutely enjoy Johnny Clegg’s music. Because it makes me dance till I’m out of breath. Every time I listen to these bands my heart is booming loudly and I get goose bumps.

Written by Lael Groves.

Filed under: Music, Uncategorized, Writing

Bird eats man in Wakkerstroom.

samuelgroves — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:56:42 +0000

It was horrible. Whilst holidaying recently in Wakkerstroom- the jewel of Mpumalanga- I witnessed something truly awful which, just like one of those irritating Abba tunes, will remain in my head for a very long time. I, along with a couple of other tourists, was standing on a bridge overlooking the wetlands when I sensed I was being watched. Slowly, I turned around with my camera on-the-ready and snapped a photo as quick as I could.

I then heard a loud scream for help and snapped again. By the time I asked somebody to help it was too late. One of the tourists had been taken- Senqu clothing, binoculars, large-rimmed kakhi hat and all.

It was horrible. A local resident once said of this place that “There is magic in the air in Wakkerstroom. If it grabs you, you will fall in love and never leave.” But there is also a man-eating bird which if it grabs you, you too will never leave.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Show me the funny…

samuelgroves — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 18:43:22 +0000

We’re counting down the years until our kids can tell actual funny jokes. You can read more about it here.

Filed under: Children