Synopsis

Complete in itself, ‘Born Singing’ is also a sequel to ‘Innocent in Africa’. The two titles are a reflection of those years after the ending of apartheid, when barriers between blacks and whites came down But were the whites in South Africa ready to cross? The true story of an English woman, wife of an engineer, a grandmother and a teacher, observing events on both sides of the border between Lesotho and the Republic of South Africa during1996-1998

‘Born Singing’ conjures up throbbing images of voices, people and events.A lively and sensitive writer, Annette Willoughby offers the reader a feast of travel and humour.. for her there were no barriers. She writes about the Basotho people, whom she came to love and admire.

Skilfully, she transports her readers to the Karoo Desert, Gauteng, Kimberley Diamond City, Cape Town and across Lake Kariba to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Vivid recollections of King Letsie’s Coronation in 1997, the news of Princess Diana’s death, President Mandela’s official opening of Muela Dam in 1998, total immersion baptisms at Teyateyaneng Festival ..and more.

Her ex-pat lifestyle as the wife of a professional engineer contrasts strikingly with her involvement with the Basotho family at Ha Simone. She feels pulled apart by the conflict of emotions. Walter becomes desperately ill. Should she help to get him medical care in a hospital or leave him to die?

Radio Review Three Counties says ‘this author uses words like paints on a palette’ and ‘you will feel as though you have been there.’

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