Unexpected meetings

Today I went to a friends curtain/wedding dress/ hat hire/ alteration shop to borrow her large cuting table to baste a quilt. When I arrived she was out but her employee who I have to say I didn't recognise, turned out to be the girl who stole my first serious boyfriend whilst I was in my first homesick year of University. She acted like I was her long lost best friend and even talked about him at one point. It was all a long time ago, far too long for me to bear a grudge and besides, I needed her table to spare my knees and back the agony of trying to baste on the floor at home so I was quite happy to match her nice-nicey approach but at the back of my mind there was still a small distant voice screaming "But you made me cry!" (He left her by the way - ha!)

I still can't find the lead for the camera and the blog looks so dull photless that whilstIi was thinking of unespected meetings I thought I'd just stick up this photo, taken in 2005. This delightful little boy we met in a shanty town on the edge of Nyanga, Cape Towns' oldest township. When he saw us approach his street he came running down to play with us a huge beam on his face. He was fascinated with my digital camera. In fact all children in the several townships we visited wanted their photos taken and were thrilled to see it at once on the preview pane on the back of the camera.

But not this child. No, he wanted to take the photos himself. In fact the only reason he is not grabbing the camera in this shot is because my husband has hold of the back of his T shirt. Otherwise he just had to see into the lens to see what was going on.

We don't know his name so we call him Joe Slovo Boy as his area was called Joe Slovo Town after the anti-apartheid activist. He transpired to be a good photographer but I have now tried three times to upload another photo that he took to show you and Blogger won't let me - what is up with the thing?!

I keep his portrait as one of the photos I rotate as wall paper on my laptop not only because he reminds me to be grateful I have such things as a laptop but also because he reminds me that curiosity is the first stage in creativity and that the joy of learning is free and alwasy available. I often wonder whether he will turn out a famous film director or photographer one day.