Sisters in arms

A few days ago, I watched The Godfather for the umpteenth time. I’ve always loved gangster films; Goodfellas, A Bronx Tale, The Untouchables and Scarface … Read more

Pieces of me

Anniversaries. I’ve never really paid attention to anniversaries. Ask me when I got engaged and the only reason I’ll be able to tell you is … Read more

Mother

Growing up, we are fed many ideals. Films, books, music and society have us believe that we will find a person who loves us deeply, … Read more

Time

He had a hard life but he did the best that he could. He laughed seldom but when he did, it lit up the room. … Read more

Immaterial girl

“You have got to be kidding me!” I say to my sister.

She shakes her head. “It’s fine. It’s pretty much average. They’ll be happy with that price.”

I look at the gold necklace, bracelet and earrings laid out in front of me. “But that’s three months’ salary! How can anyone possibly justify spending that much on useless tat?”

She gives me her best ‘Keep-your-voice-down’ look. “It’s not like we’re paying for it,” she says.

“I don’t care who’s paying for it. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I don’t even wear jewellery.”

“It’s tradition,” she tells me. “Whether or not you wear jewellery is immaterial.” I start thinking about pawn shops.

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We’re going through changes

Most of us get jokes and funny pictures sent through to our e-mail account a few times a week. Maybe we’ve laughed or scoffed at something like this, thinking, “Thank God times have moved on.” I know I have. So imagine my horror when I realised that in the run-up to my wedding, I was being trained and instructed in the same way. And whilst my “training” has not been as stringent or backward as the linked picture, it is most certainly based on the same ideology.

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