From the 7th floor:
Putting old Goldenballs on our cover was a no brainer.
On Tuesday we had our cover sorted, story done and then we sat down to discuss how to handle the awful news of Beckham’s injury. Esmaré (which is why she is the editor) suggested he should be cover! Of course – what a brilliant idea.
Sometimes we get so bogged down in getting stories done and moving copy through the system that we might just have gone ahead with him as an inside story only if she hadn’t thought a bit further than the rest of us. Even I’m sad at the awful news of his snapped tendon – and I hate soccer!
But seeing David in action on SA soil would have been such an incredible thrill – and now it’s gone! But at least we’ll still get to see the sexy hunk around during the World Cup – hopefully in the flesh!
Living in Shanghai
My husband and I were sent to Shanghai for a year (originally for three actually but economic climes and other factors ended that).
We were to oversee the launch of YOU magazine in Chinese. But more of work life in the next blog. I had never been to the East and am still a Europhile of note. So being told we were off to live in China was a shock to say the least.
We headed off to spend a month at the Italian lakes before flying to Shanghai to find a place to stay and scout out the city.
I remember watching the sun set over the lake, weeping at the sheer beauty of it and wondering what on Earth lay ahead for us. But WOW is all I can say. Shanghai makes New York look old. Gleaming, slick, fast paced and a shopper’s paradise!
We rented a beautiful apartment on the 30th floor just five blocks from our office so we could walk to work. It took just 15 minutes around a lovely man-made lake and through the Xintiandi area – old original Chinese homes that had been revamped into fantastic restaurants and shops.
Our apartment block had modern designer shops on one side and just two streets away beautiful old Chinese streets crammed with local shops selling everything from socks to dumplings. And Dongtai Antique market just two blocks away.
That was our downfall. Not a weekend went by without us strolling the alleys buying ginger jars, clocks, bookends, Mao statues, silk carpets, beautiful Chinese cabinets, side tables and much, much more! The choice was incredible and the prices amazing. (We went over with just one large carton and came home with over 71 boxes – some taller than me!).
Vast streets had every branded shop you can imagine – Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Benetton and Zara were everywhere. We had cashmere coats, suits and shirts made to fit by local tailors. And the restaurants . . . Obviously tons of Chinese restaurants, but the choice! We hardly ate at home. A favourite became Sunday brunch at the five-star hotels – as much French champagne as you can drink and a spread including lobster and prawns like you’ve never seen! All for R475 a head.
Life was so different to my Cape Town social whirl. Learning to live without friends was probably the hardest part but skype became a lifeline for me and I even “attended” a friend’s birthday drinks party by having the computer placed strategically on her lounge table so I could chat to everyone.
It was with mixed feelings that we returned home; glad to be home and back in fresh air and sunshine and with family and friends but we often hanker for that lifestyle again – living in a foreign city, experiencing a (very) foreign way of life and being in a country the polar opposite of home.
But at least all our Chinese purchases bring us many happy memories.
See my photos below!
Linda Pietersen is YOU's senior deputy editor.