Melanie Verwoerd
We differed 34 years in age. And yet, for a short while our friendship defied all the barriers of the three and a half decades between us.
I met Allister Sparks for the first time 23 years ago, when he came to Stellenbosch to interview me and my now ex-husband for his book Tomorrow is Another Country. I naturally knew of him and was familiar with his work. In the two decades that were to follow before we met again, I remained aware of his writings. After I returned from Ireland, I wrote to him and asked if we could meet. He agreed immediately and invited me to lunch at one of his favourite restaurant’s in Cape Town, Maria’s on Dunkley Square. We sat outside under the tree in the blazingly hot weather. (He came from the Eastern Cape, from a farm called Hotfire, which ensured a life-long love for the heat). I don’t share Allister’s love for the sun, but three hours later we were still talking...as we did every day until his death.