I was born and grew up in Glencairn, Cape Town on the False Bay coast, when it was still quiet and remote, travelling by train to the other worlds of school and university. There I majored in mountainclimbing, crosscountry running and talk. To my surprise, I was accepted at Oxford after a couple of years saving up. I then zigzagged between Stellenbosch (five years), Toronto (eleven years) and back to Cape Town with a long stint in the English Department. I finally saw the light and bunked, working in community safety and dancing and writing, in the best years of my life. Contributing author to the Life Righting Collective’s This is how it is anthology.