Jane Ballot

Being me in the world

Friday 19th June

There is something about a good movie that speaks to us – in different ways. Partly, it’s about escapism and believing in that world for the short two hours. Or it may be about seeing your favourite movie stars in any role, really. It may also be about a good script, or interesting premise, or…

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Thursday 18th June

Today I found out that I never was a fraud when it came to anything to do with the cancer thing and the surgery. And the chemo. I had a really little procedure on my finger today. Really little. It had to be done in the theatre, though, because that’s where the relevant equipment is….

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Wednesday 17th June

I was reminded today that there is no timeframe for mourning and that making sense of anything, especially when it involves losing someone important to you, or having to deal with the idea of someone you love having an encounter with something classified under that wonderful term ‘dread disease’. There is no plan, no way…

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Tuesday 16th June

Today is Daynia’s birthday. It’s also Youth Day. Two very different reasons to celebrate one day. Two almost opposite sets of emotions that surface on this day. Both a personal history and a national history that are important. Definitely not a day to forget. There must be many days like this in the world –…

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Monday 15th June

So much about life seems to be both literal and figurative at the same time. This weekend, we did quite a lot of driving around parts of KZN and the Free State. Although we were mostly at the farm, it was really a kind of road trip weekend. We stayed three different nights in three…

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Sunday 14th June

I went on a horse today for the first time in many years. And it was great. I also rode a bit into the mountains for the first time in a very long time and it was like coming home. Well, kind of. I’ve always loved riding, but have never done it properly or competitively,…

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Saturday 13th June

According to me, South Africans are amazing people, for many reasons, but perhaps mainly because we have the most amazing ability to adapt, to make a plan, to make things work. I am reminded of the old saying that  “ ‘n Boer maak a plan”, which I think is really, really true. It isn’t only…

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Friday 12th June

Here’s a question: When it comes to yourself, whose opinion matters most? We all know that there are different realities out there, different understandings and different perceptions that we each hold. Even if someone’s opinion is the same as mine, there will be subtle differences because I will see things just that little bit differently…

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Thursday 11th June

Every so often, you get the opportunity to see things from the other (or, at least, another) side. Today some of our students presented a session at a school in Soweto and we went to examine them. On one level, it was just like being in any school, in any process drama class, because, basically,…

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Wednesday 10th June

Being a doctor’s daughter, I don’t often google medical things, knowing that there are so many different definitions, explanations, bits of advice etc out there and all of them can be confusing and, even, damaging and, maybe, a little dangerous. For those, and other, reasons, I have studiously avoided googling anything to do with the…

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