The final instalment of the "Tandem Blogging Project"! And this week's title is "Tupperware Party". Enjoy. It's a tribute to all the amazing writers writing for this project.

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Kathryn scraped the undercarriage of her SUV as she pulled into Anne's typically tilted Mission District driveway. Kathryn never imagined Anne Rice would have a home as humble as what presented her only 10 feet from the street. She did some calculations in her mind in order to make the best decision about where to park her Ford Edge. There were only four cars in the smaller than average San Francisco driveway, and space was becoming quite the conundrum for Kathryn.

After finally navigating the tight spaces, she felt like she had done a considerate enough job. A final glance in the rear view mirror to confirm her make-up didn't need a touch-up, and a deep sigh to gather emotions. She hated these kinds of events. But Anne had been so persuasive over the phone that she couldn't refuse. And of course; it was Anne Rice.

She could hear the bustle of a good time from the driveway, but this was nowhere near enough to quell her apprehension. She held her finger over the ivory doorbell, and paused. One last collection of consciousness to brace herself for small talk and cynicism.

The doorbells chimed in a way you would expect from a home owned by Anne Rice. A gothic melody of magic. Kathryn heard a distant "coming!" from amongst the chatter. The door opened. It was Anne.

"Hello my darling!"

She threw her arms around Kathryn's shoulders, leaving Kathryn with the option of going under Anne's. Anne embraced her as if she were Kathryn's mother. A welcome emotion she hadn't felt in decades.

"Ah!" exclaimed Anne in a piercing delight, "I'm just so glad you could make it!" Anne's voice contained an air of relief. If coming along was for the sole purpose of supporting Anne, it was worth it.

Anne grabbed Kathryn's arm just above the elbow and pulled her down the hall and into the living room, where seven others were standing and mingling.

"Kathryn Bigelow!" came a cry from the furthest corner of the room. Kathryn could feel her nerves internally standing on end. Seth MacFarlane was always over the top in his greetings. He broke away from his conversation with what Kathryn could make out was Jason Silva. She loved Jason's work. But alas it was MacFarlane so eager to greet Kathryn.

"Kathryn!" Seth praised loudly, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room, as if her presence hadn't been announced enough already, "It's so cool that you could make it!" he proclaimed as he gently held her left elbow and reached out for a double-cheeked kiss.

Kathryn responded warmly, which was only polite. She never had much time for Seth MacFarlane. He was beyond witty and in her mind one of the most talented comics in America, but his skill came at an immense cost. He was just too inconsiderately imbecilic. She often pondered the vast contrast between IQ and EQ, and how people can so often be extremely high in one sector whilst extremely lacking in the other.

Just before he could blast into idiotic smalltalk about her latest project, there came a shrilling *ting!* *ting!* *ting!* from the centre of the living room. Kathryn turned with relief to see Anne in her typically stunning purple velvet calling to attention the talent laden attendees.

The room quickly quieted and Anne asked everyone to sit.

"Everyone. Thank you all so much for coming. I understand it's a small group, and a long trip for all of you," she began with, accompanied by polite snickering, "I'm just ever so surprised no-one could bring their partners."

"We wanted to keep ourselves available!" sputtered Seth.

Kathryn rolled the imaginary eyes inside of her head.

"Oh Seth! Please!" exclaimed the beautiful Victoria from the opposite couch on which Kathryn was sitting. Victoria Beckham had been a mentee of Doris Day's, and coming to any event she was hosting was a given in Victoria's mind. She was a lot more frank with Seth about her disdain for his out of place satire.

"Yes, Seth," continued Anne, "please. We are all responsible aristocrats here."

"Speak for yourself Annie!" Zach Galifianakis piped up from the corner couch, referencing his recent lack of work and unfortunate tax deductions. There was a far more expressive giggle from the group this time. Zach was a lot more warm a comedian. Not quite as sharp as Seth, but a lot balanced in his IQ and EQ metering.

"Please, everyone. I know we are all large personalities here, but let's try and keep it to one conversation for now?" Anne mused, in a questioning tone rather than a polite request.

"Now, Doris has called us all here for an extremely important cause. One that none of us would have responded to if we didn't believe in what she was doing." The group all nodded amicably.

"Doris has asked me to host the evening, and as host she wanted me to chair proceedings as well."

"Well I'm glad someone brought their own chair!" piped Robin Williams, with a blurt of his own narcissistic laughter. Robin Williams wasn't narcissistic at all, he just enjoyed his own jokes.

"Robin, please! I am trying to talk!" retorted Anne. "Now, let me get straight to proceedings as I can see keeping you all attentive is going to be harder than writing for my teenage audience sector."

The group erupted in a cheerful giggle. It seemed more polite than responsive, though.

Anne continued as if nothing happened, "Doris, would you like to say a few words before I get into it all?"

Doris, looking delightfully elegant despite her ailing health at 87, shook her head in a confident sort of way.

"Right then. So! You all know why you've been invited, and again thank you for being here," continued Anne in a grateful tone, "but let me tell you what it is that you have been invited for.
Some time last year, Doris wrote to me with the most hideous description of what the feral cat and dog population of LA looks like. Friends, let me tell you, it is atrocious.
We then conversed over email about how we could raise awareness and funds to end the scourge of feral animals in the major cities of our beautiful country."

This is why Kathryn was here. She loved animals, she had three cats of her own.

Anne continued with her firm but convincing tone, "We came to the conclusion that coupling our channels of influence with our combined intelligence..."

Seth spluttered on his Diet Coke. Kathryn found that ironic.

Anne rebuilt her sentence, "...with our combined intelligence, we could come up with a plan that could effectively end feral animals in our country."

Doris jumped in. Being frail and quiet, she raised her finger first, Anne immediately turned toward her and paused.

"I have a goal, everyone," her voice was barely above whisper level, "that we can end the feral animal problem within the next ten years. I very well may not be around then, but of all the things I am passionate about..." she coughed on a clearly dry throat. She gracefully took a sip of her gin and continued, "Of all the animal projects I am passionate about, this is the one I want my legacy to leave." She stopped and looked up from the group back to Anne, indicating she was done.

"Thank you, Doris. And we believe in this goal. That is why we are all here." Anne responded.

"So you see, this is a Tupperware Party with a difference. I want to sell you something that could literally change the world."

Sir Terry Pratchett leaned forward and piped up and raised his right hand, "excuse me Anne!" his hand shaking conspicuously from his disease, "but you don't need to convince us about buying into this project. We are behind you and Doris with our whole hearts. Please, don't be apologetic. This means the world to Doris, and so it means the world to us!"

Terry had always been one of Kathryn's favourite humans. He was, in her mind, by far the most intelligent person in the room. Not only that, he was immensely generous. The fact that he even flew out from London in his condition showed emphatically what kind of a friend he was.

The night had officially begun. Two hours later, Kathryn had settled and was a lot more comfortable with the brainstorming and invigorating dialogue. This really was a Tupperware Party with a difference. Anne mused how she had paid for her first typewriter selling Tupperware, and she was so thankful all those years of hosting such parties came in handy for a cause so great as this.

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This post was a lot of fun to write! But extremely difficult. I hope it wasn't boring, as I can't imagine how a Tupperware Party for celebrity Animal Rights Activists would come out.

In tribute to all my fellow writers, I compared them with celebrity characters that reflected what I had got to know about them from engaging on Twitter, Facebook and their Blogs.
And please, Nick! Don't take any offence at the picture I painted about Seth MacFarlane. It was purely for story reasons, no innuendo intended whatsoever!! :)

Kathryn Bigelow: www.meganshead.co.za/
Anne Rice: https://medium.com/@ricegirl2
Terry Pratchett: http://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/
Seth MacFarlane: https://medium.com/@nick_frost
Zach Galifianakis: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/
Doris Day: https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/
Robin Williams: http://squidsquirts.blogspot.com/ 
Victoria Beckham: www.kerrycontrary.com/

By now you should know the drill of this "Tandem Blogging Project". (If you don't click here to go to last week's Post and read the intro for a summary.)

I'm going to get straight into this one. Yes, as in right now... this is my post. In the first person. Speaking to you directly.

I went with this format because I am privileged enough to have been to India. And whilst there, the country experienced one of its worst terrorist attacks in its history. And it happened in Mumbai.


I was in Delhi at the time, but the nation was in absolute shock. These attacks were arguably worse than the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in 2015. I felt the impact of those attacks more than most, so when someone says "Mumbai" (even in cricket), it brings back pertinent memories.

So what I will do is, in honour of the 164 innocent people who lost their lives in a Mumbai November 2008, I will take you on a journey through my experience of India.

Many of you having traveled there yourselves I'm sure, and being good Geography students of the internet, would know that India is the world's 2nd largest country by population (1 billion people) and 7th largest by land area. It has 29 States, with 46 cities populated by 1 million or more people. 13 of which have populations of over 2 million, with 8 of those having populations of over 4 million.

The top 3 most populated cities in India are 1-Mumbai (12,4 million) 2-New Delhi (11 million) 3-Bangalore (8,4 million). Just get your head around those numbers.

I so wish my trip in 2008 took me to Mumbai, but having immersed myself in Delhi in 2008, I felt it was a good second best.

New Delhi is up in the mid-North of India, and is the nation's capital. While Mumbai is on the mid to South-West of the country's coast.

I loved the country! And what I want to do off the back of that intro is take you through a bit of a photo journal of my experience and give some thoughts as I do so...


I found the people to be among the most friendly and hospitable of any nation I have ever visited. And I have been privileged enough to travel to a fair amount.

These kids, complete strangers who had just come out of school as I walking the streets, saw me taking some shots and wanted in! They embodied the hospitality and fun-loving nature of the Indian people.


In stark contrast to young children in decent school uniform getting a good Indian education (which we know provides a good stead!) was a woman in what I could only describe as "abject poverty". Her eyes were blank, her stare eternal. If you think South Africa has a crazy divide of middle-class and poverty, take a trip to India. The poor are "truly among you".


Travel to anywhere in the city is easy and cheap on a "Tuk-Tuk" or "Auto". A little three-wheeler mo-ped type of thing. Just know where you are going! And hope you get an English-speaking driver!


Depending on your budget, accommodation is pretty affordable on the South African Rand. This hotel would easily have passed as 3-star in South Africa, and if my memory serves me correctly cost us less than R500 a night per person including breakfast, internet, aircon and a daily newspaper. Again though, the contrast of middle-class and the feeling of poorly managed suburbs was intriguing. Despite the fact that this is one of Delhi's upper end suburbs.


A trip to New Delhi is not complete without a trip to Old Delhi, the original bustling hub of the city. The bustle hasn't left. Traffic moves from 4 lane chaos, to all out open-ended anarchy. Drivers are confident. To say the least.


Old Delhi's heart. One of the most populous places on earth. You're literally walking in a sardine can...


India to this day remains one of my favourite memories, unfortunately marred by the justifiably sombre mood which overshadowed the nation in the wake of the atrocious attacks in Mumbai. I long to visit India's most populous city, do some business, meet the people, and watch some cricket.


Here's to Mumbai!

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To see what the 8 other Blogging talents came up with for the title "Mumbai", check them out below!
(One of our Bloggers, Nick Frost, is celebrating his birthday TODAY!)

Megan: www.meganshead.co.za/
Sarah: https://medium.com/@ricegirl2
Dave: http://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/
Nick: https://medium.com/@nick_frost
Brett: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/
Cath: https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/
Scott: http://squidsquirts.blogspot.com/ 
Kerry: www.kerrycontrary.com/

Megan: www.meganshead.co.za/
Sarah: https://medium.com/@ricegirl2
Dave: http://bloggsymalone.wordpress.com/
Nick: https://medium.com/@nick_frost
Brett: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/
Cath: https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/
Scott: http://squidsquirts.blogspot.com/ 
Kerry: www.kerrycontrary.com/

I am extremely privileged to have been included in a Tandem Blogging "experiment" with some of SA's most gifted bloggers. Fortunately I bring the average IQ down to a palatable level so you all can relate a little better.

Every week 9 SA Bloggers are given a random title, and asked to create a piece around it. We each publish the piece on our Blogs at 2pm every Wednesday. This week's title was "The Art of Boredom". Here's my piece... 

(See below the Post for the links to other Blogger's work!)

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"7 February 1993

The last 12 months have been nothing short of sensational. I never in all my life expected my work would ever receive such acclaim.

When I first wrote A Few Good Men in 1985 I wanted to take a stab at the political game of megalomaniacs. When will humanity rid itself of these arrogant imbeciles who continue to make the lives of their contemporaries a living hell? I fear the worst sometimes. Fortunately people like Rob Reiner and Tom Cruise restore my faith in humanity.

Why Rob would ever believe in the play the way he did, and take a chance on me, is still to this day a mystery. I knew I had something special in A Few Good Men, but getting people to believe in your vision can be one of life's toughest challenges. I think back to failing my sophomore year. I almost called it quits. But thank God for that fail. I could've easily become an actor, and missed out on penning my baby.

She is just that. My baby. What Tom, Demi and Jack did with those characters though took a baby and made her a dazzingly radiant beauty queen. I am just so proud.

But I fear my own future. What now? Have I peaked too early? I never dreamed I'd ever reach such lofty heights. But will Hollywood still want me? Am I done before I've even begun? I have so much more to give!

I anticipate my greatest challenge in the coming months: Mastering the art of boredom. I have all I could ever have wanted. I have no need to continue creating.

But maybe that's the key? Maybe my next piece could rise from the mire of a bored soul?

The art of boredom.

That could make for a good film? Well, for now, I think I'll try and master boredom's art before conquering its challenge."

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Fictitious excerpt from Aaron Sorkin's diary. 

Check out what the other great Bloggers came up with below:
Megan: www.meganshead.co.za/
Sarah: https://medium.com/@ricegirl2
Dave: www.meganshead.co.za/
Nick: https://medium.com/@nick_frost
Brett: https://brettfish.wordpress.com/
Cath: https://cathjenkin.wordpress.com/
Scott: http://squidsquirts.blogspot.com/ 
Kerry: www.kerrycontrary.com/

This "s**t hitting the fan" message is a prime example of the mindsets of most of humanity: Default to view things negatively. (This default is the reason the 'Rapture Theory' became the most popular End-Time theory after World War 1).

Now, yes, what is going on in KZN is atrocious. And yes, it IS a negative situation. No doubt about it. But the way we spread messages and the messages we send go a long way in the kind of atmosphere we perpetuate in our communities.

(The very reason this xenophobia has exploded is because the rhetoric within these communities has translated into action) DID YOU KNOW THERE IS A MARCH FOR PEACE IN THE DURBAN CBD BEING LED BY THE KZN PREMIER AND ASSOCIATES TOMORROW?
For every 1 post I have seen noting this, I have seen TWENTY negative thoughts making comment about the violence.

Humanity loves stories. We love to comment and give our 2 cents.
But CHANGE requires ACTION. Not comment.

We each have the power to contribute to ending this violence. We do.
And it starts by a simple action: Viewing these horrendous circumstances through a different lens.

What lens you may ask? For starters: One that sees the root of where this violence all started. A root of uneducation. A root of poverty. The pain of the past.

When we view these attacks through this lens, immediately there is an empathy which arouses a need to contribute to preventing this from happening again.

The s**t may be hitting the fan. But how much s**t is it? And what percentage of people are actually activating this violence verse those that are mere sheep-like followers?

There is a much better way to warn our fellow citizens than by opening a line with "s**t hitting fan seriously".

Garissa, Kenya. That was SERIOUS "fan s**t". Us privileged picket-fence dwellers don't know "fan s**t".

Let's change our viewpoints, and see this as a call-to-responsibility as fellow South Africans to rise up and take back our beautiful Rainbow Nation.

For starters, I will be at tomorrow's March. Will you be there with me?

The world is getting better. It will take A LOT to convince me otherwise. In spite of this fact, humanity is still fighting the scourge of religious extremism causing atrocities like the attack on Garissa University in Kenya yesterday. 147, mostly students, dead. The day before "Good Friday". It is simply wicked.

I think humanity's greatest fights right now are that of religious extremism and climate change. And these WILL be fights humanity wins!

This Good Friday, we remember that Jesus went to literally infinite lengths (from the heights of Heaven to the depths of darkness) to reposition mankind to where and how he was originally positioned at his creation: In the image of God Himself at the top of a sustainable ecosystem which he was designed to manage.

This Good Friday, mankind's infinite value and greatness was validated. Within humanity is greatness we cannot even begin to fathom. Those that are filled with hate are simply the products of a recovering system which was deeply broken. They are simply believing lies about themselves and their fellow humans. They themselves carry greatness within their DNA. Despite their actions.
I see it throughout history. Acts of terror, war and hate are decreasing (and have decreased) at a percentage we can barely comprehend. Mankind is better today than it ever has been. And it is only getting better.

It is only a matter of time before al-Shabab, ISIS, Boko Haram and the few others are defeated. Mark my words. It may take time. And it will take sacrifice for which I and my fellow humans are forever indebted.

Humanity is too great to allow these lies of hate to perpetuate themselves. People are waking up. We are children of God. We are better than that. We are children of Light and Love.

Thank You Jesus for Your inconceivably immense sacrifice that rescued us from our self-inflicted houses of hate.

Dear friends,

I am taking this Blog Post down. For now, anyway.

Firstly, I call all of you friends. Including Brendi Richards. For we are all fellow humans living on the same planet.

I realise my Blog Post has caused quite a bit of hurt for many of you affected by crime in South Africa, especially Brendi Richards. My name-calling was unnecessary and thoughtless in my exuberance. And for it I sincerely, sincerely apologise.

I realise Brendi and many others have been violently abused at the hands of heartless criminals in South Africa, and this is nothing to make light of. Something I should have been more considerate of in my outburst. I do not make light at all of what Brendi and others have faced at the hands of South African criminals, and I deeply sympathise with all of you.

I too have been affected by crime in South Africa, having been mugged once at gunpoint, once at knifepoint, and once beaten for my cellphone (three times). My father has been held up in a bank heist, and tied up in his home along with his secretary while the house was looted. He has also been held at gunpoint in his car while thieves took his cellphone. My mother and sister were attacked in their driveway by would-be hijackers, but supernaturally my mother, calling on the name of Jesus, literally chased them away with her prayers. I have had my car stolen at Pavilion, and my wife's parents have had their home broken into while at work.

So it is not like I have not been affected by crime. Please understand this. I am not coming from a naive or ignorant perspective. I am just an extremely positive guy and choose to see the best in everything. I am very aware South Africa has a crime epidemic and something must be done.

Again, please forgive me for any hurt I have caused. I can't take that hurt back. I am so sorry. All I ask is that you find it in your heart to forgive me.

I sincerely mean it when I say I love all of you. Even those who say they have no respect for me, or call me a "little s**t" etc. I am sorry you would feel that way about me but you are entitled to your opinion and I do hope you can see past this situation and know I am not out to hurt anyone. If you would be so kind as to delete your comments I would be extremely grateful, but if not, that's understandable.

I will be responding to your comments in due time. But it will require a fair amount of emotional energy which I do not have at this moment in time. So the best thing to do right is to take the Blog Post down. But I do look forward to engaging in healthy debate about this topic some time in the near future. Until then, let's move on from this unfortunate situation.

Again I apologise for any offence. And once again plea your forgiveness.

All my love,

James Preston

I'm really proud to introduce my incredible wife for the first time on this Blog. Despite me encouraging her over the years that she has much to offer, she's never taken the plunge of actually doing some serious writing!
But the other night after an interesting day and coffee with a friend, she had unusual inspiration to journal her emotions coming out of the day. When I read it, I knew it had to be published somewhere! What better place to start than my Blog! Enjoy this great piece from my incredible wife Corinne. Please drop a comment and leave your thoughts afterwards!

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My mom gave me a gold nugget of advice recently, she said, "sometimes you just have to close your eyes, jump and hope for the best." - this seems to be true wisdom...

Today I mourn  the loss of a good friend who is a legacy leaver, she left our world at 03:30 this morning, my Facebook has not stopped with tributes, condolences and loving memories of this incredible woman Gail Parker. She gave life to so many: her family, her children and all she came into contact with! She personally taught me to get on with the job.
"Just do it, don't worry how... the hows will come as long as you start." - I can hear her words in my mind like it was yesterday.

I have come to realise that the most interesting people in life are those that take risks! Those that have more stories of failures than success, hardships than plain easy sailing, cause what is failure after all? What do we measure the word failure against? Perhaps you have only failed if you have not learnt from your mistakes.

There is LIFE in jumping, taking that risk! Not knowing how it's all going to work out, riding on the opportunities of new exciting ventures some working and some just not going anywhere, that's okay, as long as you're learning, as long as life does t get you down.

I sat in a coffee shop listening to an old friend of mine as she was telling me about her exciting life in Zambia. By no means a piece of cake... She is home schooling two beautiful children with a third on the way, she has lived with no electricity at times, lived in a tent for 2 months with her two children, moved house plenty times, had months where they did not know where their next salary would come from, endured the hardships of different cultures, looks after 70-80 sheep every day with her two children, not unwise to the crocs and snakes that lurk near in the river below their home and the hippos that arrive when the rains come. Let alone the malaria and typhoid that are constant challenges! And the story goes on and on...

YET she looks at me, her eyes are beaming full of life, there is a richness a deep beauty that is no fake, no mask, this woman has true character, flexibility, grace and strength. This woman knows love, knows how to love and oozes wisdom (She is turns 30 this year). She does not harp on the challenges, she speaks about the goodness of God, she loves her life and you can see it. She enjoys the challenges and gets over the hard days when they do come, many hours spent in prayer next to her bed! I say it again; I look at her and see radiance. She is truly happy, and she sees her life as one exciting adventure.

I came home inspired, what if life is more exciting taking that jump? Allowing myself to take a risk and make an exchange to live a life with no regrets rather than focusing on my ducks that need to be in a row? This option seems safe, but on the other hand could be quite boring! Gail's words echo in the back of my mind, "just do it, don't worry how... the hows will come to you" along with my mom's words, "sometimes we just need to to close our eyes, jump and hope for the best."

What are we scared off? Can we fail? I don't think so... I think the knocks of life make us stronger, make us flexible, gives us wisdom, force the masks of fickleness and shallowness to dissipate and bring out a strength and beauty that this world cannot buy.

So don' t be scared now... I say..."Close your eyes, jump and enjoy the ride!"