Father: Cornelius Johannes - never referred to as such unless in legal documentation or someone is very, very mad at him. Common or garden names - Con, Teen, Boetie, Old Salmon, Pap, or Old Man. Born 16 December 1952 in Pretoria, schooled in the old Transvaal and Natal. Studied commerce and law at Natal University, and achieved an LLM at UNISA. Began in private legal pracice in 1978 - not a lover of criminal work, but civil work a forte with a particular interest in farming, companies, medical negligence and all things cerebral. A workaholic, there's not much time for relaxation, but travel, classical music and gardening top the list of things to do when not working, eating or sleeping.
Me - Wini to everyone, except enemies and I don't want to know what they call me. The offspring have labelled me Ma, Old Trout, or Trouty when feeling kindly disposed. Born 19 September 1954 in Alberton in the old Transvaal and came to Natal University - trained as a librarian here and at UNISA. Worked for 8 years before the babies came, then as a full-time psychologist/nurse/chaeffeur/cook/teacher/adviser and general student of child development. Did some estate agent work which sparked my interest in property in general and particular, collected some certificates, diplomas and other qualifications in diverse fields along the way, learnt to garden, quilt and do beadwork, enrolled for French and Spanish language lessons, and play with paint now and then. In between I try to read as many books as I can, now purely for escapism - the heavy stuff is for those with more hours in the day. Movies of these work well for furthering the education!
Karen - firstborn in Pietermaritzburg on 6 December 1984. Our precious tomboy whose favorite toys were the snails in the garden, lovingly collected and brought inside in margarine tubs, only to be scooped off the curtains and carpets the next day. Schooled in Pietermaritzburg and Hilton, brilliant A+++ student. Studied medicine at UCT, graduated with honours, now considering her options for specialties. Hobbies - what're those? she'll ask, include cooking, beading, scrapbooking and TV shows like "Keeping Up Appearances"!
Stephan, the heir to the family misfortunes, appeared in Pietermaritzburg on 11 November 1991 and proceeded to conquer our world with charm and good looks. Schooled in Pietermaritzburg and Hilton, another A-grade scholar takes on the challenges of university life in a B Business Science. His idea of a balanced life is a beer in one hand and the TV remote in another, TV preferably tuned to a sports channel screening rugby. He can cook (otherwise he starves) but sport is his first love - correction, his car is his first love, sport next.
Family pets are Abu, the chocolate Burmese cat, Oliver the toy poodle, and Emma the blue-fronted green Amazon parrot.
Home administration would be a nightmare without Ningi, the able domestic helper and John the gardener, both of whom have been with us for decades and who are as much part of the family as everyone else.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Home building, health, quilting, beading, child-rearing, friendship, language learning, humour and much more!
Followers
About Me
- Wini
- Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa
- South African female with many and varied interests, aged 55 at last count, happily (mostly) married for 34 years to Con, a practising senior advocate. We have a pigeon pair, Karen, medical doctor in Cape Town, and Stephan, aspiring financial giant, studying at the University of Cape Town.