Where Words Take Us

Fish with wasabi and trimmings on black plate with black background
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Wasabi

Wasabi secrets and instructions for newbie sushi fans. What to do and what not to do if you want to start a long and happy relationship with sushi and wasabi. Oh, beware, the wasabi.

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Black Ink image of Phiz from "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. London: Chapman & Hall, 1859. First edition. First state.
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Opposite

When Dickens meets Digital in the pandemic, something’s cooking. Perhaps a new storm? The opposites of Dickens’s world seems scarily familiar to us, don’t they?

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Table wiith old books and tealight on cloth. Spectacles lying on open book in front.
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Gewaarwording

Every language has certain words which are just so precisely descriptive that you know exactly what they mean, even if it’s a very abstract concept. One such English word is ‘mind’. We just don’t have an Afrikaans equivalent for it that encompasses the concept in its entirety. But today, I’ll show you one such word in Afrikaans: Gewaarwording

With thanks to Adam Nieścioruk from Unsplash for the feature image. https://unsplash.com/s/photos/adam-niescioruk

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Lizard on rock with whit, orange and blue blown-up throat
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Throat

Although no human can hope to have such a display of splendour at the throat, our own throats are pretty spectacular. A silent air-traffic controller without which we would simply stop breathing.

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Msasa Trees in the Miombo Woodland with their spring leaves
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Miombo

The Miombo Woodlands is spread across southern-central Africa like a green sash. It has a truly special way in which to herald the start of the rainy season. With thanks to Meg Coates Palgrave who kindly provided the feature photograph.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/person-display.php?person_id=14

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Honeybee gathering pollen and nectar from a white flower.
Helene van der Westhuizen
Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Honeybee

The plight of the honeybees and how you can save them so they can save you.
With thanks to Johan du Toit for the feature photograph today. https://www.facebook.com/jdtcommunications

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Blooming Jacarandas lining a street in the late afternoon.
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – October

October is still spring, if ever it is longer than ten minutes. It’s the month of the Jacarandas in Pretoria and the arum lilies in the Western Cape. It’s the month that inspires the arts. Dis die mooiste mooiste maand.
With thanks to Sam J Basch for the image of the Jacarandas https://koisan.co.za/

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Three Copper Symbols arranged diagonally from top left to bottom right on Bundles of Copper Wire
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Heléne van der Westhuizen

Where Words Take Us – Copper

Copper has shaped the human story since the Neolithic Period. It is shaping our lives today. Are we able to sustain its availability tomorrow if we allow the demand to jump with 250% in about 50 years? We have electric vehicles on the up and up. You do the maths.
Photo Credits: Łukasz Klepaczewski (Background Wires) https://pixabay.com/users/disign-304935/
Copper Symbol: Skylnt https://pnghut.com/user/Skylnt/2

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