Wednesday, 4 November 2009



i flew out, i flew back, i waited a week, my boy flew in. i will
write again ...
i hope...
just not right now!

Monday, 5 October 2009

crossing the pond



the reef is off on an adventure, leaving my green and pleasant land for a three week sojourn in the rather more sophisticated environs of new york.

probably won't be posting much, if at all.

i'll be back!

Thursday, 1 October 2009

1st October 1966

pietermaritzburg, south africa, the presbyterian church.

a hot, hot october afternoon, the storm clouds building up big and black in the distance.

for us though, sunshine on our faces...

manfred walter oellermann and eryll margaret hart were married that day.

my sweet mann may no longer be around but today would have been our 43rd wedding anniversary and i still love to remember that day and all the brilliant years we spent together.

happy anniversary baby!

love has no expiry date...

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

sleepless on the west coast.

Photobucket

i do not have a problem sleeping, in fact, quite the opposite!
i sleep in the blink of an eye. i fall asleep in movie
theatres, reading out loud to my grandchildren. i drift off
during the first ten minutes of a show i have waited all week
to watch. sometimes, in the middle of typing, i wake up,
slumped over the computer keys! at bedtime, i switch off
the reading lamp next to my bed, my head hits the pillow
and zap ...
i am gone.

recently, i dropped off whilst driving. not a good idea, might
lead to all sorts of uncomfortable situations. i was lucky,
it was just for an instant and there were no other road users
around. i got such a huge shock, talk about adrenaline
overdrive!

to cut a long story short, the master medics decided it was
time for ...
a drug dosage adjustment!we are talking legal, prescribed
drugs here people ... no really!

which leaves me ... hot damn it! awake at 2.30 in the morning.
awake and aware.
what next?
what a pity i left saltcoats.
sleepless in saltcoats would have made a much better title.

Monday, 28 September 2009

blood ties




yesterday was a fun day. i drove through to dailly.
my son, the new dad, was balancing on a tall and wobbly ladder
washing their front windows.
the south african granny was due to fly into prestwick
in the afternoon.
after a cup of coffee and a ham and cheese roll, michelle
loaded young daniel into his rather oversized (for him anyway!)
car seat and off we drove to saltcoats.
i sat in the back with daniel, in case he fretted, but ...
like me, the boy tends to doze off in the car ;-)
this would be the first time daniel met his five cousins,
joshua, mairin, alaska, liam and savannah.
the latest addition managed to totally ignore this
auspicious occasion and slept right through the introductions
and the honour of being held in wonderment by each and every
cousin! there are photos ... i will try and get them uploaded
to my computer.
coffee and tea for the grown ups, coca cola for the kids and
yummy celebratory fairy cakes made by auntie nikki.
then, off to glasgow prestwick airport to pick up ouma. it
was fantastic to see her face light up at the sight of her
newest grandson!
on my way home i stopped at the chippie in girvan and treated
myself to a fish supper... yum!
family ... who would we be without them ...

Thursday, 24 September 2009

breathe shallow



once i wrote of need and want
of love today and tomorrow
my mind burned with an unreal intensity
love was my present and my future
my undeniable reality, i held the dream to me
with an unshakeable belief


today i write little and breathe shallow


Copyright © 2009 by Eryll Oellermann

Sunday, 20 September 2009

Daniel





Daniel and his paternal grandmother. oh yeah ... that would be me!





who calls this early?

six fifteen, the phone rings. i know who it is before i answer.

it is time, they are on their way to the hospital.

twelve thirty, the phone rings ... be still my heart, too soon,
just an update.

"i am a daddy!"

my boy is a father, daniel adam has come to stay.

the hospital is in kilmarnock, a little over an hour away.
i drive, i smile, i cry, i sing. i wish that my mann
was with me, to shake his son's hand and cradle daniel in
his arms.

nikki and i meet at the maternity wing entrance. excited?
... beside ourselves!
we finally find our way to michelle's room, she
is so beautiful, surrounded by the serenity of motherhood.
adam looks so tired and yet fit to burst, his bemused,
besotted gaze embraces his wife and their first born.

ah daniel... there you are! so small, just 5lb 13 oz,
small but perfect.
michelle smiles in understanding ...
"hold him" she says.