The Midlands

Today I head off on writing assignment to where I grew up. Howick, in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands; the last outpost of the British Empire. Where I get my thrift store English accent from, the place where rivers are good to swim in, and the dams and streams are full of obliging trout just waiting to be caught.

Kate Bush was a perennial soundtrack to those teenage days. Songs redolent of gumboots, walks in misty forests, and horse rides in warm summer rain. I first saw this music video at 13, and it’s remained one of my all time favourites. I like the story, and the countryside’s a dead ringer for the rolling hills of the Midlands. Oh, and when I’m old I want to look cool like Donald Sutherland.