Verity's Blog

Rubbing shoulders with SA's finest...

Tuesday last week was a very very busy day for me - as a speaker, actress & singer. At 9am found myself being welcomed to the second day of the SA Music Exchange where I was invited to be on the panel for 'Keeping It Real - South African Success Stories'. I found myself in the esteemed company of Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse, Neo Muyanga (Blk Sunhine), Andy Mac (Mac Stanley) and Doug Davenport (Evolver One). We all took our seats on the stage and then one by one shared our stories and experiences in the music industry with the audience. It was a forum for everyone gathered to learn more from our respective journeys and also ask questions on how to get around common obstacles facing musicians. Sitting next to Sipho was an incredible honour - even if just to soak up his humble presence and to get how passionate he is about this industry. He kept referring back to my story of pre-funding 'Journey' and saying how the only way for artists to get ahead is to invest in their own dreams. It was a huge vote of confidence!

I left the Exchange very inspired and had to dash to Stellenbosch to spend the rest of the day shooting on the MNET Mini-Series 'League of Glory' that I have a really great role in. It is proving to be a fantastic experience - with a great script, fab cast and crew and a really good challenge for me as an actress, so I cant wait to actually watch it when it starts flighting on April 21st! We wrapped at around 6.30pm and I screeched back into to town to sound check for the Music Exchange Showcase at Mercury Live. The band decided to use our 30 minute slot to let everyone in the industry to get a taste of our new upbeat sound. At 10pm we kicked off with 'One Of These Days' and from there took everyone in the room on a true Verity & The Shades afro-pop/dance/rock journey! We came off stage absolutely drenched from playing our hearts out and exhilirated to have had the crowd calling for more.

The feedback from everyone on our new songs was awesome and best of all was that Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse kept saying we had blown him away!!! All in all a very good day after what has been a very difficult start to the year. It felt good to get back to the work I love!

"Verity & The Shades performed one of the best live sets I've ever experienced... The set worked, her  interaction with the audience was magic, her energy on stage with her band ensured pristine delivery that had the people in the crowd  captivated!"  (Tim Hill, Music Exchange Organiser)

The Colours of her Life...

When we decided to hold a ceremony to honour our mother for the 'colours of her life' on the 28th of February, we had no idea that just three days later she would peacefully pass away. It seems now that we were divinely guided to have it when we did, and forever more we will know that we have experienced the rare priviledge of having nothing left unsaid.

We put together a simple ceremony where we played 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' as we surrounded mum in a circle and dressed her in a beautiful rainbow skirt. After my brother, sister and I had read a welcome, everyone picked up a piece of material, and she sat in a sea of colour as we read to her the meaning of each colour in relation to her life. It was about acknowledging & thanking her for her journey as a woman, a sister, a friend, a wife and a mother. I was blown away by how graciously she received each compliment and when we finished, she sat amongst us and shared her thanks and feelings with everyone. One by one we shared candid memories about her and she laughed and cried with all of us. It was incredible.

I could never have known that less than a week later we would share the colours of her life once again at her memorial. Despite the deep sorrow we all felt, her memorial was a celebration of her life and ended with friends and family dancing to 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' on a carpet of fallen leaves in Tokai Forest. I knew in that moment that my parents were watching us and smiling - knowing that the legacy of their lives will live on in all who loved and cherished them.

All I know right now, is dont wait until it's too late to let people know they are loved. There is something sacred about creating your own ceremony to honour a loved one - even if it is only for a birthday or to give them hope when they are going through a tough time. Life is defined by the moments when we truly connect with people - and if all it takes is a bit of creative effort, some coloured material and some words of love & song played softly in the background to make it happen - then do it. I can promise you that the memory you create, will sustain you through the darkest hours.

My beautiful mother passed away, far sooner than we ever expected, last Wednesday 3rd March at 5.38pm. My sister, her husband, my aunt and I were all around her bed holding hands as she passed very peacefully from this world. It was a strangely beautiful and achingly painful experience that has stayed with us through these last few surreal days.

I will be eternally grateful that we held a life honouring ceremony for her just three days before she died and that each of us had the chance to tell her just how much we loved her. We had no idea she would be taken from us so soon, but also feel relieved that she was spared from prolonged physical suffering. She lived her life to the fullest until the day she passed away and I will remember forever that last Tuesday she walked me to my car and our last words to each other were 'I love you'.

I have been humbled by the love and support our family has received through all of this and am overwhelmed with love for my family who have grown even closer through this experience. We held a memorial for mum on Saturday under the trees at the Tokai Arboretum, and it was a true tribute to her to have nearly two hundred family, friends and fellow travellers arrive to celebrate her memory and give her a standing ovation for a life so beautifully and graciously lived.

It will be a challenging road ahead adjusting to life without her but I feel amazingly at peace to know she doesn't have to suffer anymore and that she left this world having said all she needed to say and knowing how much she was adored. I love and will miss her so much!