Memories of the other famous Madge

Posted on November 6, 2012 by Bo

November always reminds me of my Granny. Annie Magdalene Loots, otherwise known as Madge to her friends, Granny to me. Her birthday was on the 4th of November.

My Granny was a very knowledgable woman with strong opinions. She never made it to High School because she was forced to drop out and look after her family. In return, she was given the house she lived in until she passed away. Here’s her Std 5 class photo…

To this day, I am incredibly proud to tell people that both my Granny & Grandpa were captains in the Salvation Army. In fact, My Granny’s house was right next to the church in Bez-Valley. Here’s an old wedding photo of them, dressed in their Salvation Army uniforms…(yip, they wore black)

There are many days when I wish she was still alive and I could be sitting with her, drinking tea, munching on home-baked vanilla sponge cake around the big kitchen table.

I remember…

The 10am and 3pm tea times
The huge pink gown she used to wear after her baths
New Year’s eve when we stayed up late to watch ‘The Sound of Music’ together.
The trips to the Jo’burg Gen.
The weekly shopping at the butchery (I can still hear the meat being cut).
The spagbol on Saturday nights.
My Granny’s roast potatoes.
Rhubarb growing in the garden.
Lemon pudding with custard.
The Vespa.
The 3-Quarter bed my grandparents slept on.
Granny cutting up liver with scissors to feed the cats.
Cheese Naks hidden in the sideboard cupboard.
Never missing the News on TV.
Listening to stories of her sisters and Betsy Anne.
She only ate meat on Sundays (ahead of her time with meat-free Mondays).
She wore an apron every single day of her life.

My Granny was 84 when she died 11 years ago. Having been diagnosed with Mycenae Gravis when she was 12 years old, she never let it get her down. She was a woman with very strong values and would always speak her mind. I’d give anything to sit and listen to her stories, just one last time… I miss you Granny!

What happened in the week of April 11th?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Bo

I was born during the month of April. The 11^th of April to be exact. A couple of years ago, I noticed that ‘things’ happened on or around my birthday. Things that I would later in life remember about my birthday week. These are some that I remember most…

The assassination of Chris Hani – 10^th April 1993: I was at the Rand Easter Show with friends the day before my birthday. Two of my friends were soldiers on a break from the army and were called to come back to service that day when the shocking news of Chris Hani’s assassination broke. The next day, my birthday was spent indoors listening to the news.

Hansie Cronje lied – 11^th April 2000: On this day, Hansie Cronje was sacked as SA’s national cricket captain after confessing that he had not been “entirely honest” about match fixing. Hansie was my hero and my heart was broken! Watching him during the King Commission was even more difficult. I have never really enjoyed cricket since then and was saddened by his death two years later.

Ellis Park Stadium disaster – 11^th April 2001: KK and I had just returned home from a birthday supper and I happened to switch on the TV. What I saw was ghastly as dead bodies were being laid out on the grass of the Ellis Park Stadium after a local soccer match between Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. 43 supporters were crushed to death that day.

But it hasn’t always been bad memories….

My first Two Oceans Half Marathon – 11^th April 2009: Such a special memory that is carved in my heart! The organizers made me feel extra special by surprising me with a Puma rucksack when I collected my race pack as well as printing my name in the Two Oceans magazine. But what made this race even more memorable is that after a break of 20 years, my dad ran the race too! I was so proud!

Can you remember anything special or memorable that happened on your birthday?

Remembering Valentine’s Night Race 2008

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Bo

On Friday night I was trawling through my Twitter timeline and started to see tweets from people who had just finished the Randburg Harriers Valentine’s Night race.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with such emotion as I remembered the race that got me hooked onto running 4 years ago.

I remember that night like it was yesterday. The hot afternoon when we arrived at Randburg Harriers, sitting on the grass with friends watching the field fill up, walking to the start, the sun setting as the gun went off, the funny costumes people were wearing, the streets getting dark and then the final 300m when KK and other friends stood waiting for me as I neared the finish line. (I also recall the KFC burger on the way home!)

My time: 87 minutes!

Reflecting on the race has made me realise something…

I have spent the last couple of years obsessing about my running pace and the fact that I run so slowly. I have even gotten to the point where I have hated races and dreaded running just because my pace is so slow. I started a blog to document how slow I run!

Yet, on that night 4 years ago, nothing could take away that feeling of immense pride and self-accomplishment that I felt. I was on top of the world and felt incredible. Victorious. After completing that race, I felt as if I could conquer the world! But look at my time! Did I care? Not a chance!

So what happened?

How and where did I lose my passion and love? Where did this obsession come from?

I know the answer: Two Oceans 2010. Missing that 3 hour cut-off broke my spirit. I felt like a failure and since then I’ve been on a mission to ensure it never happens again. In a way, it’s become the focus of my running and I’ve lost a bit of that passion that fuelled me that night. Yes, so I did go back and conquer Oceans, but the stress of it all still overshadows the victory.

These past couple of weeks, I’ve started to relook my priorities and decide what’s important. I’ve been doing some soul searching to understand exactly why I run, why I am so hard on myself and what I enjoy about running.

Because right now, I’m not sure if what I’m focussing on is right. It sure as hell doesn’t feel as good as it did finishing Valentine’s Night race 4 years ago…