Fairlady June 2016

Dene Smuts Former shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development for the DA, who edited FAIRLADY from 1984 to 1987. I’ve always admired her. She was already, as she put it, ‘a liberal of my own persuasion’ before she joined the then-Democratic Party in 1989. She was SA’s first-ever female whip in Parliament and a gender activist for women’s rights. She was one of the good ones, and we will all feel her absence. The friendship of women I love this story about Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe that I read on huffingtonpost.com. Ella wasn’t allowed to play at the Mocambo (then Hollywood’s hottest nightclub) because she was black. Marilyn, who was a huge fan, told the club’s owners that if they hired Ella, she would sit in the front…

WINNING LETTER Dear Franziska’s sister Our paths have never crossed; we’ve lived different lives, spanning different times, but we belong to the same club now. It’s not a club you can join. It’s a club that fate forces on you, without your consent. There are no perks, no meetings, no membership badges and the entrance fee is a piece of your heart. We have no visible wounds but the hurt is very real. We’re the Surviving Sibling Club and it breaks my heart to welcome you into the fold. Nobody can tell you what to expect. There is no right or wrong way to mourn a sibling. There is only your way. You’ll have good and bad days. In time, the bad days will get further apart. Try not to…

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The sunrise swimmers While most of us are hitting the snooze button, this group of early morning swimmers have already braved the cold waves on Fish Hoek beach, done a few laps and seen the sun rise over False Bay. Nothing stops these women from their daily swim, says Lorraine Lemmon-Warde. ‘Come winter, summer or rain – we’re here every morning. The only time we don’t swim is when there’s hail (it stings!) or lightning.’ Just before sunrise, they start to gather on the benches just outside the restaurant on the boardwalk, all looking like they’ve been up for at least an hour or two. ‘I’ve been doing this since 2000, but some of the women have been here longer,’ says Lorraine. It’s not a formal group – it formed…

‘I grew up on a horse farm 65km outside Pretoria – nowhere near the ocean,’ says Hanli with a laugh. ‘My sister and I swam in dams and rivers, connecting with water in whichever way we could, despite being landlocked.’ A few years later, Hanli moved to Sweden to study acting and filmmaking. ‘Of all places to start freediving, I started in a fjord in Sweden! I was in a film there at the time and the editor suggested I try freediving. I swam to an underwater ledge and sat there for a while. It was so peaceful – exactly what I’d dreamt of.’ Hanli had unknowingly swum an impressive 20 metres deep! She started training at 19 and went on to compete in freediving for over 10 years, setting…

‘I always say that my job found me. When I finished school, I did nursing training at Groote Schuur. As part of the training we did midwifery. I’d never even heard of a midwife, but it was the only part that appealed to me. So, at 22, I went directly into being a midwife.’ Angela has been delivering babies for 23 years and has lost count of how many she’s helped bring into the world. These days, she’s part of a private group practice. ‘I take on about 50 clients a year and see them through to their six-week postnatal check.’ Angela estimates that about 60-70% of her clients choose water births. She highly recommends birthing in water. ‘It’s empowering for the woman. When she gets into the water, the…