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Writer's pictureCathie Rooyen

Old, but new

Tuesday 11 July 2022


I woke up with the early light sneaking through the gap in the curtains so I opened up to the lovely view outside my hostel window.



I planned to walk to the TV compound because it was a way to experience the town of St Andrews. But I was closer to the entrance of the course than the town so I didn't really see much, until my walk back from work.



Work. It's got such a funny feeling on my tongue. In many ways my own TV days feel like last week and then former colleagues mention the age of their kids and I remember where I am on the planet.

St Andrews,  Scotland, on a full moon in the middle of the year 2022, in a university student's apartment with full sunshine at 9.30pm. Bizarre and magical all in one moment.



Doing new things outside my comfort zone every day has brought a sense of confidence about what my comfort zone is. As I was sitting quietly at work, in the back of the truck with over 100 walkie-talkies, listening to the technical checks, it felt so familiar yet so different. It's not only the technology and the hundreds of faces that have changed- it's me.  TV was a world I loved and for these golden opportunities that I am in the middle of, I'm really enjoying but I couldn't do it full time anymore.  A step-in for a few weeks every summer would be very cool, but doing this every week would take its toll on me.



As I stopped by at the small Tesco's to buy some shampoo,  there was a song from my 'Durban phase' of my road trip. The Dua Lipa/ Elton John song was played daily on East Cost radio and it's become the opening track of my Gap Year. So I was reminded that I'm still road tripping and it's not 1997. My walk back was full of granite and flowers and stone walls and my heart is full again.



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