Natalie Thinks

  June - Week 2 (reading time 3 mins) Yesterday, I had one of those experiences with petty officialdom. I took a friend to the airport and drove into the drop & go zone.  As soon as she disappeared into the building, I look for my parking ticket, and… you’ve guessed it, it has disappeared.  I search for about 3 minutes, get out, look on the tar, check the boot – nada. Then I realise, that if I don’t exit within the 5 minutes time allocation, I will have to pay R26 instead of exiting free of charge; so I quickly head to the exit.  At this point, I must mention that this is in George – a very small airport, so all of this happens within a radius of about 10 metres. At the exit boom, a small piece of paper informs me that the intercom is broken (of course). I reverse (badly) and park. I walk over to the ticket office, adjacent to said boom. In a very friendly manner, I explain that I’ve just pulled up and dropped my friend, I even have 3 witnesses (security m...

  June-Week 1 What have I been reading? Firstly, I am not the person to come to if you’re looking for what’s new and current. I grew up visiting the local library and browsing among old and unattractive books, and although I have become somewhat captive to today’s pretty covers, I am still loath (and too poor) to spend money on new releases.  I prefer to stick to libraries, second-hand bookshops and loans from friends.  When I find a good author, I usually hunt down their older books at the aforementioned spots or on Kindle where they are more affordable. Secondly, my preferred reading at the moment is light. Not Coke Lite, just a really satisfying Coke.  I’ve read my fair share of Pulitzer Prize nominees and there’s a time and place for those too. So here’s my current list by author: 4 fiction, 2 non-fiction. FICTION Val Mc Dermid : Excellent Scottish crime writer (1955- ), with various series.  I really enjoyed the Karin Pirie thriller: Still Life. Cat...