In the company of wilbur SMith - South Africa...
Transcript of In the company of wilbur SMith - South Africa...
"After being a bona fide hunter for a long time, I thought it appropriate to put my hunting rifle
away and savour the beauty of the animals rather than hunt them. I decided that the
buffalo can run faster than I can now, so I rather observe them than hunt them.”
It’s a monday morning in Cape town and the unexpected mistiness
leaves the traffic gridlocked. An hour later, I arrive at the gate of
wilbur and niso smith’s Cape town home. here, the sky is a
cloudless blue and the birds are serenading a welcoming song for
their esteemed guests.
having owned the house for some thirty years, wilbur admits that
he has a distinct fondness for the property and when they can, they
visit at least once a year. “the great thing about this home is the
garden and the view onto table mountain,” he explains. “It’s in the
city, but it has a feeling of being out in Africa. table mountain is an
iconic part of my life. I feel very comfortable when I come to this
house.”
the majority of their time is spent at their home in the uk, which
is a stone’s throw from harrods, one of niso’s favourite shopping
haunts. they also own a place in switzerland, which they purchased
after their nuptials and when niso was only learning to ski. “now
she is a fantastic skier,” wilbur says, glancing over at niso. “I don’t
ski anymore because I think when you go skiing after the age of 70,
you’re stupid because you’re going to break something (he laughs).
After 70, things are a lot harder to fix. I watch from the terrace as
niso and her nephews go skiing and they tear down the mountain.
she puts the tips of her skis down and doesn’t stop!”
the joie de vivre that is niso forms an integral part of the well-
oiled machine that is wilbur smith. she runs everything with exact
precision to make her 81-year old husband’s life as comfortable
as possible. she is a breath of fresh air and wilbur admits that
he has never been happier in his life. despite their 39-year age
difference, they have been happily married for fourteen years. “we
have absolute respect for each other,” he says, “putting the other
person’s requirements at the head of your list. every morning
when we wake up, I say to niso ‘what do you want to do today?’”.
she is fantastic because she has become the lynchpin on which
everything hangs. she organises and runs all the homes that we
have spoken about. the main thing is that she makes my working
environment absolutely perfect for me. she puts my needs right at
the top of her list.”
niso talks about her husband for a moment. “wilbur is an extremely
complex but wonderful person. he is very kind and he is very
loving. he has never lost his temper with me. he deeply respects
the relationship, so I think that is the key to our happy marriage.
At times he can be difficult. but there are no words in the english
language to describe what a wonderful human being he is.”
born and raised in Zambia, wilbur’s fondest childhood memories
are being driven in his father’s truck at night when his parents were
going to a dance in the next town. “I was in my cradle at the bottom
of the truck and I recall seeing the stars and the trees passing in
the air. when the truck stopped, I heard the night sounds of what
was then northern Rhodesia. my next memory was being on safari
with my mom and dad, and going on fishing trips on the river. “I
still love fishing and obviously living on a ranch as a small boy has
left a lasting impression. many years ago, I used to go on hunting
safaris when there was still an abundance of animals. After being a
bona fide hunter for a long time, I thought it appropriate to put my
hunting rifle away and savour the beauty of the animals rather than
hunt them. I decided that the buffalo can run faster than I can now,
so I rather observe them than hunt them.”
wilbur’s father asked him what he was going to do with his life.
wilbur replied that he wanted to be a journalist. his father’s
response, “don’t be an idiot – you’ll starve to death.”
“so I studied to be a chartered accountant and as soon as I qualified,
In the company ofwilbur SMith
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I immediately went back to writing. writing was the only thing that
strongly attracted me. It was the only thing that I did where I fared
exceptionally well at school - essays, composition and english
language. I just love the written word; I love reading. I think the first
step into writing books is to reading them and to getting the feel, the
pace and the taste of the books. my mother was a great reader and
she encouraged me very strongly. I’m grateful to her for that.”
wilbur’s first novel was never published. he wrote it in the early 1960s
before he was thirty years of age. It was declined with thanks by many
of the publishers around the world. then he gave up writing, because
it was obviously a non-starter.
he received a letter from his agent in the uk who said that the first
book had great promise. “now what about the second?” she asked
me. “I said there ain’t going to be a second. she said there should be a
second. so I took up the challenge and in 1963, I wrote ‘when the lion
feeds’, which was published in 1964. that was accepted immediately
by the first publisher who saw it.”
his first attempt at writing was ‘a monster’ and he made all the
mistakes of a first novelist in the book. It was a learning curve. he jokes
that the one copy that he has will be buried with him in his coffin.
After his first effort at writing not being a runaway success, he
has learnt a great deal from his failures. “the failures are all
learning experiences. they don’t stop the bus as it were. they are
necessary; everybody fails at some time in their lives. the thing is
to rise above your failures and to continue with what you know is
what you have to do.”
where does an international bestselling author go to ‘find’ himself?
“I know myself now, I know my moods and my foibles, like all human
beings sometimes I get tired and I know what to do when I get tired.
sometimes I feel slightly depressed and I know what to do to avoid it.
when I start feeling slightly depressed, I pick up a 950-page novel of
mine and I read it through and I think ‘ok, that’s not too bad’.”
with 81 years under his belt, a full life and many life experiences
to contend with, he has learnt some profound lessons. “the most
telling lesson I’ve learnt is don’t look back in anger. everything is
necessary to live a full live. you have to make the mistakes; you have
to face the consequences and then leave them behind and move on
again. I sit here now with a clear conscience knowing well that I have
tried to the best of my ability and that I will go on trying for the next
fifteen years.”
what does 2014 hold for wilbur smith? “Another good year of living
life to the full, clinging to the good things and discarding the bad.”
my parting question - who is wilbur smith? “he is one of the
superheroes,” both wilbur and niso laugh. “on a serious note, I’m
just an ordinary person who has found something that he likes to do
and which other people like him to do. I’m very comfortable with my
life that I have lived well and look forward to the future. I don’t think
I’m big-headed or conceited, but I know my worth and I strive all the
time to be better.” heléne Ramackers
InsightsI would be nothing without my wife.
Home is where my wife and I are.
My favourite food Is meat.
I get angry when people don’t listen.
The last time I cried was a long, long time ago.
I am a success because I work hard and I want to be a
success.
My favourite saying Almost nothing matters and nothing
matters very much.
Making a difference in someone’s life fulfils my own life.
I love South Africa because of the people and everything
else about it – the mountains that tower above it, open
spaces, the wilderness and the seas that surround it.
Book alert
book number 35 will be published towards october 2014.
It is a taita novel set in ancient egypt.
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