I view the imagination as the garden of the mind that needs to be fertilised to yield, firstly, signs of growth, then a crop and should the fertiliser be potent enough, many orchards are hoped for. The optimism of the gardener provides fertile soil!

Childhood in an era devoid of a television set in the family lounge room in the days of apartheid rule in South Africa meant the only ‘moving pictures’ apart from the local cinema were those created in my imagination.
The absence of television in apartheid South Africa was strategic, to keep the masses ignorant regarding democracy and justice in a bid to thwart the emerging voices of resistance. Avid reading and listening to the radio for recreation offered many hours of joy in a world where outdoor games were limited in apartment blocks.

Radio held its own fascination with the popular weekly, Friday evening, crime fiction episodes of, Squad Cars. I listened intently, forming images in my mind about places and situations in each episode. My rite of reading passage into the world of crime fiction depicted through voices and sounds grew each week.

Crime/Detective/Adventure fiction in children’s books from the Famous Five series to Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie’s and Edgar Allen Poe’s short stories were feverishly seached for each week at the local library. Visions of snaking queues of children lining up, thirsty for their favourite book is imprinted in my memory. Such were the days…

After school radio programs for children were eagerly anticipated, excitement gained momentum with the chatter of voices speculating what Noddy (by Enid Blyton) would be getting up to and whether Mr. Plod, the policeman’s kind and watchful eye over Toyland would save another day. Empathy for the skittles who did not seem to care whenever they were run over, filled my waking and sleeping hours.

The imagination was ablaze with stories that wove into the stories of my mind’s eye. The imagination was fertilised with self-created images of places, characters, and events. A lifetime emotional investment in compassion for those who struggled by being mistreated or maligned and revulsion for those who harmed others was set in motion.

Listening and reading awakened the inner being as fodder for the imagination in the years ahead in the creation of my own stories - in the adult years, I turn back to my own voice recordings of my reactions to places I have visited, places that I have been moved by, to mulch and refresh an evocative sense of place through the voices and visions of my characters .

Audio books are a blessing, like reading is, to supercharge the imagination for a personal take on people, places, and events that ‘moving pictures,’ with all its commendable grandeur, might not quite fuel personal interpretation as a book might.  

‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere’- Albert Einstein