Eggs to Lay, Chickens to Hatch: A Memoir

'Alert - this is no mere sequel to Shirley, Goodness & Mercy.

Chris van Wyk's recall, his wonderful use of language and his sense of purpose give an entirely different dimension to time, circumstance and interpersonal relationships in Riverlea.

These are tales of joy and sadness rivetingly told - and always the durable truths are buried in the title itself.' - TREVOR MANUELAgnes, the Van Wyks' Zulu housekeeper, had a special friendship with young Chris in the late sixties to early seventies.

He would defend her whenever she came to work with a hangover on a Monday morning and made a mess of the cleaning.

In turn, Agnes never told on Chris when he played truant from school.

As the years passed, the two grew closer, swopping stories about coloureds and Zulus, life in Riverlea and Soweto, pass laws, politics and falling in love.

She taught him to count in Zulu and he promised to teach her to read in English.

Whenever the clock ran against her, Agnes would stop almost in mid-sentence, grab a broom or cloth, and declare: 'I have to rush.

I have eggs to lay, chickens to hatch.' What an odd, ungrammatical thing to say, Chris often mused.

But many years later, he played a CD by Louis Jordan, a 1940s American jazz singer, and it all became clear.