On Thursday last week I launched my book “From Courtrooms to Cupcakes” at my home. It was a way for me to celebrate the end of the book, but of course in a way it was a beginning too.
I emailed some friends and acquaintances and before I knew it, there were close to 150 people coming. Suddenly it became all about feeding them maybe, needing more wine, and where was everyone going to park and I need candles, and who’s going to help sell the books and what am I going to wear for heaven’s sake?
But this post is not about the book. It’s about the special people that turned the evening from one which would have been “really lovely” into one which was truly special.
Rosemary Lapping-Sellars, whom I met some years back at my children’s pre-primary school as their pottery teacher was the eloquent guest speaker. She also happens to be an artist of extreme talent, a psychologist and philosopher, a “rabid feminist”, thinker, expressive speaker and someone who has crept deep into my soul. Her intensive and inspirational research into matters of the two-headed hydra of a woman’s brain and uterus, and the advancement of women from Anne Robinson to Virginia Woolf, moved the mood from celebratory to reflective and then back again. In the words of one of the many guests…
”It was truly a DIVINE evening – so much positive energy in that room, I felt like I was going to explode with life and inspiration on the way home!!!”
And then there were the cupcakes…about 150 of them, each one carefully crafted with the patience, artistry, skill, detail and selfless generosity of my friend Sandy, whose extreme talents are often hidden. Sandy too is an artist and ceramicist, a glass-maker, an extraordinary animator and a genuine friend. When I suggested I just get some Pick n Pay ready-made cupcakes and we just slap on some icing, she was horrified. And when I felt like I should symbolically make the cupcakes (I thought 50 would be enough- really for décor I thought) and I delivered them to her home for the decorating, she took them silently and promptly made 100 more …and then of course, decorated them all. They were beautiful to look at and then easily devoured as the sweet after the cheese and wine.
And if you were wondering about the other logistics of the evening, and of course my snazzy outfit (bit fancier than my usual!) well, all credit to my old-new friend, Gail, who decided that my black pants, which I thought perfectly fine, were not good enough and hauled me into a wonderful place called Country Road.
To you all, and of course Carlie, Megs, Milly and two friendly, efficient hotel catering students at VC, my heartfelt thanks and love to you for making it a really memorable evening for me.
Niki Malherbe 