Win a copy of Charlotte
By
Pride and Prejudice and
Longbourn – we’ve 5 copies to give away!
Everybody believes that Charlotte Lucas has no prospects. She is unmarried, plain, poor and reaching a dangerous age. When she stuns the neighbourhood by accepting the proposal of buffoonish clergyman Mr Collins, her best friend Lizzy Bennet is appalled by her decision. Yet this is the only way Charlotte knows how to provide for her future. Her married life will propel her into a new world: not only of duty and longed-for children, but secrets, grief, unexpected love and friendship, and a kind of freedom.
WATCH: Entire hospitalâs standing ovation for Covid-19 survivor after 65 days in ICU
By IOL Reporter
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Cape Town â Kathy Wootton, like many Covid-19 survivors, finds it difficult to fully describe what she went through.
The 56-year-old Wootton, from Kenilworth, admitted in a Facebook post that it is ââtoo surreal to talk about but this I have to share (video). Itâs me (on the gurney) leaving Kingsbury after a record breaking 65 days in ICU. I will never forget thisââ.
All the hospital staff at the Life Kingsbury had come out to give her an memorable send-off, applauding her as she was wheeled out of the hospital, with Wootton enthusiastically acknowledging their sentiments.
Last week, my sister Kathy Wootton left Life Kingsbury Hospital in Cape Town after a record-breaking 65 days in their Intensive Care Unit with Covid-19. She spent almost a month of that in a coma on a ventilator. A video taken by a staff member, showing her being wheeled out pumping her arms Rocky Balboa-style and blowing kisses at the cheering staff went viral, getting around 250 shares on Facebook alone (at the time of writing) and tens of thousands of views.
To me, it’s the most beautiful and moving clip I’ll ever see I weep every time I watch it but then I’m a little biased. What has been striking is the popularity of the video, and the intense emotions it inspires in strangers. Obviously, it’s the happy ending we all want to a Covid story, and it’s good news at a time when this is in very short supply. Almost everyone is depressed, broke, burnt out many have lost loved ones, their health, their livelihoods. It’s a comfort to be reminded, in the words of th
Gus Ferguson Photo: Helen Moffett
Gus Ferguson, you were a pure soul, and I purely loved you. You almost single-handedly created a body of southern African poetry over decades through your various creaturely imprints (Snailpress and more) and your wonderful poetry journal,
Carapace. But this formidable legacy pales in comparison with your extraordinary generosity, your sincere and energetic championing of writers – especially us skittish creatures, poets.
You were kind, kind, kind, without ever being sugary. You were the first professional poetry person to read the messy assemblage that would become my debut poetry collection,
Strange Fruit. You wrote me an enthusiastic email about how you’d read it on the train, and told me I had a publishable collection. And you were the first person to print a poem by me, a rude one about a penis, in
Clare County Library announce new app and festive fun
December 11, 2020
CLARE County Library have plenty to keep book lovers ‘appy’ this December. The library service has announced the development of an app to enhance visits to the library.
You will soon be able to check in and check out your own books in the county’s Wi-Fi-enabled libraries, at De Valera Library, Ennis, Shannon, Kilrush, Scariff, Sixmilebridge, Ennistymon and Miltown Malbay.
The app will also be able to check your own account, update your loans, search the catalogue, reserve books and e-resources. The Clare County Library app is free and available on the App Store and the Google Store.