Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Voer

 Jamon. Photo: Voer

An interview with the two bloggers behind Voer is featured today on the South African Food and Wine Directory -  itself authored by Jeanne, of Cook Sister!  

As anyone who is familiar with my meagre blogroll will know, Voer is a regular read of mine. Co-authored by a 25-year-old Pretoria-based filmmaker, who goes by the blogging name of Arcadia (which is a suburb of Pretoria, and often the subject of her personal blog, Passing the Open Windows) and jvdh, a 28-year-old Southampton-based engineer and PhD candidate  - who happen to be romantically involved with each other - Voer is a transcontinental love affair with food and language. Both bloggers write with a finely perceptive clarity that leaves readers not merely hungry but also conscious of having traveled swiftly to another place entirely.

Posts are written in English and Afrikaans, with Arcadia favouring the latter, and reading these is for me a great pleasure, as I grew up, despite my Afrikaans name, going to English speaking schools and speaking mostly English at home. I spoke Afrikaans to my father, but we certainly never talked about food, unless it was to the effect of, Please pass the salt, or Why are you eating the lamb bone that was promised to me?

So onwards and upwards for these two web friends of mine out there.  The fact that both cite this blog as inspiration makes me feel quite complicated and very touched. We have not met in person, perhaps one day we will, and perhaps not, but it is a sweet and happy connection. I know I am the better for it.

7 comments:

  1. ;-)

    Dit het my dag gemaak. Dankie.

    Ns: Jul maak nie dalk weer Desember 'n Kaapse draai nie?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting. Both my folks were also Afrikaans, but I always went to English schools. It's now my language of expression, but Afrikaans will always be my language of "yearning"...

    Thanks for passing on the link to "Voer", I'll definitely be stopping by there again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I also found Voer via your blog...for which I am very grateful...and I think that your writing is peerless and your photos are stunning and your blog is a daily source of inspiration and joy to me.The posting yesterday of the market and the quinces made my teeth ache!

    ReplyDelete
  4. arcadia - my plesier. Ja, ek moet my kaartjie bespreek. Ons is nie seker of V sal kan kom nie, lang storie. Ek hoop so. Waar gaan jy/julle wees?

    Marie-Louise - I have tin-roof house envy after seeing your blog...

    Ag, Mal, thank you. Did you really eat quinces like that? It makes my teeth curl up to think of it. I had a friend whose mother would take quinces with them on picniccs to the sea, prick them, and put them in a rockpool to soak, then they ate them, with apparent enjoyment. Weird verby.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dis fabulous. Ons is in die Kaap van 21 Desember tot 4 Januarie. As ons tye ooreenstem moet ons 'n plan maak!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the mention :) And strangely enough, I also gre up with 2 dyed-in-the-wool Afrikaans parents who sent me to English schools. I speak more Afrikaans now than I ever did at home and my life is richer for it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dankie vir die wonderlike woorde.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.