Welcome to our 'Share Your Stories' page
This is where we get comfortable to read our stories...
Here you will find the many stories that have been sent to me. They come from our hearts. This is not an academic forum, rather a relaxed place to connect with writers, their stories and the various questions and feelings they arouse in us. All you need to do is to click the title of the story you want to read on the table below. Enjoy! Please send me your feedback, comments, suggestions and stories at gail@chol.website.
Stories are numbered and uploaded in the order we receive them. By clicking the top of the 'No.' column the stories can be displayed from newest to oldest and clicking again will reverse that, from oldest (no. 1) to newest. Clicking the title link will bring up the story and clicking the recording date leads you to the recording of the writer, or a friend, reading it (where available). Clicking on the title cell of the 'Writer' column groups all stories by author, in alphabetical order. (You can do this with any column and clicking again reverses the sort order.) There is also a 'search' feature on the top right of the table that allows you to search the table for a writer or topic. For the latest information, check my 'Gail's Updates' or email me at gail@chol.website.
| No. | Writer | Title | Topic | Recording date and time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 153 | Russell Sacks | More Than Just a Bakery | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 152 | Allan Wolman | Africa | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 151 | Brenda Kerbel (Kaye) | Chopped Herring | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 150 | Russel Sacks | Metilda | Fictional essay | Not yet recorded |
| 149 | Karine Schomer | The Power of Music | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 148 | Beulah Gross | What's Your Name | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 147 | Beulah Gross | The Repossessed Dog | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 146 | Gail Loon Lustig | Mebos | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 145 | Lynette Karp | A Tale of Two Doctors | Memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 144 | Harry Friedland | Once upon a Time in the Great Karoo | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 143 | Harry Friedland | Ponyevez Shul, Gardens, Cape Town | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 142 | Linda Kantor | Renata's Piano | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 141 | Rose Saltman | The Vacuum Cleaner | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 140 | Jodi Schneider Neelin | The Other Battlefield | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 139 | Lynette Karp | Wherefore Is This Night Different from Other Nights? | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 138 | Linda Frysh | Smiley | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 137 | Harry Friedland | My Reading Chair | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 136 | Beulah Gross | I was a Mills and Boon Junkie | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 135 | Russell Sacks | White Peonies with Coffee and Rum | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 134 | Gail Loon Lustig | The Real Taste of Chocolate Eclairs | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 133 | Harry Friedland | Swastika Cookies | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 132 | Beulah Gross | How I Got to Be a Writer | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 131 | Beulah Gross | Never Let a Chance Go By | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 130 | Beulah Gross | Yahrzeit for Shoah | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 129 | Linda Kantor | Little Lighthouse | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 128 | David Bleiman | Reclaim the Name | Poem | Not yet recorded |
| 127 | Jodi Schneider Neelin | Some Days | Personal essay | 2024 Mar 10 51:14 |
| 126 | A Joint Composition by CHOL Members | October 7th – 18 Mail Entries of Members of the Forum | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 125 | David E. Kaplan | A Case of Love | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 124 | Mark Wade | The Jews of South Africa | Reflective essay | 2024 Mar 10 17:38 |
| 123 | Linda Frysh | Tokolosh | Fictional story | 2024 Mar 10 3:43 |
| 122 | Harry Friedland | My Life in Israel | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 121 | Harry Friedland | On the Beach | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 120 | Harry Friedland | The Truck | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 119 | Harry Friedland (read by Gail Lustig) | Stompie | Narrative essay | 2024 Mar 10 57:24 |
| 118 | Sheila Swartzman | The Eyes Have It | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 117 | Raphael Shevelev (read by Karine Schomer) | The Letter | Personal essay | 2024 Mar 10 36:40 |
| 116 | Jack Hoffmann | A Light unto the Nations | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 115 | Stanley Loon | The Jan S. Marais Hospital | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 114 | Gail Loon Lustig | Eighteen - Chai | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 113 | Gail Loon Lustig | Like a Bird on a Wire | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 112 | Gail Loon Lustig | A Sleuth in a White Coat | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 111 | Sheila Swartzman | Black and White in Colour | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 110 | Silvia Duran | My Formative Years | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 109 | Beulah Gross | Now Hear This | Narrative essay | 2023 Sep 3 6:18 |
| 108 | Beulah Gross | Listen and Learn | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 107 | Beulah Gross | To or from Russia with Love | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 106 | Glenda Levitt | A Portrait of Bella and Life in a Shtetl | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 105 | Jack Hoffmann | Amaryllis Belladonna | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 104 | Jack Hoffmann | The Lesson | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 103 | Solly Kaplinski | As Long as We Speak about Them and See Them, They Are with Us | Personal essay | 2023 Sep 3 17:25 |
| 102 | Richelle Shem-Tov | A Boy, a Girl and the Sea | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 101 | Bella Brom | Double Decker Buses | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 100 | Bella Brom | Post Card – Story | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 99 | Mike Zaslansky | Memories of Life in South Africa | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 98 | Glenda Levitt | Emma Vanga and Ingrid | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 97 | Avra Scher | Medical and Ophthalmic Photography, a Unique and Fulfilling Career | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 96 | Beulah Gross | Finding Olga | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 95 | Beulah Gross | Memories of Port Elizabeth – Shabbat | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 94 | Brenda Yagil | The Yom Kippur War, a Personal Experience | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 93 | Stanley Loon | Dementia | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 92 | Gail Loon Lustig | Maurice Antonis | Narrative/memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 91 | Raphael Shevelev | Martin Pretorius and the Fleetmaster (Learning to Drive in Apartheid South Africa) | Narrative essay | 2023 Sep 3 54:04 |
| 90 | David Bass | A Few Words (and a Star) for My Uncle in Italy | Memoir essay | 2023 Sep 3 35:14 |
| 89 | Russell Sacks | The Oak Desk | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 88 | Russell Sacks | Blessed by Poseidon | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 87 | Russell Sacks | Arak and Holy Bread | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 86 | Russell Sacks | Disgorged Olive Pips | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 85 | Denis Benjamin | A Postcard – Art and Photography | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 84 | Denis Benjamin | Entering Medicine The Compleat Physician – Reflections of a Golden Era of Clinical Medicine | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 83 | Denis Benjamin | A Postcard – A Passion for Mushrooms | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 82 | Harry Friedland | Isaac Rosenberg | Narrative essay | 2023 Jun 18 37:20 |
| 81 | Beulah Gross | The Samovar | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 80 | Fonda Dubb | My Treasure Chest | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 79 | Silvia Duran, read by Gail Lustig | My Awakening | Personal essay | 2023 Jun 18 3:46 |
| 78 | Avra Scher | My Childhood in Durbanville | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 77 | Raphael Shevelev, read by his widow, Karine Schomer | Fourteen Lambs | Personal essay | 2023 Jun 18 19:59 |
| 76 | Gail Loon Lustig | Full Circle | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 75 | Gail Loon Lustig | Family Passions | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 74 | Gail Loon Lustig | The Shattering of a Dream | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 73 | Gail Loon Lustig | Bad Breath | Narrative essay | 2023 Jun 18 1:02 |
| 72 | David E. Kaplan | The Adventurers - the Reunion of the Bnei Zion Youth Movement at Kibbutz Timorim in 2008 | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 71 | Beulah Gross | Memories of a 1920 Pesach | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 70 | Beulah Gross | Memories of the High Holy Days and Succoth in the 1920s in Port Elizabeth | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 69 | Richelle Shem-Tov | Flashbacks - An Account of Her Professional Life as a Physiotherapist in Israel, 1970-2000 | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 68 | Ivor Kosowitz | A Tale of Two Shuls - Schoonder Street and Vredehoek | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 67 | Ivor Kosowitz | Cape Town Nostalgia - Growing up in Cape Town in the 60s-70s | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 66 | Ivor Kosowitz | Habonim in the Old Days | Memoir essay | Not yet recorded |
| 65 | Brian Binyamin Meyer | The Escarpment's Edge (Part Two) | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 64 | Karine Schomer | A Word Triggers a Chain of Memories | Reflective essay about Karine's late husband, Raphael Shevelev | 2023 Apr 16 |
| 63 | Sheila Swartzman | A Little Bit of News | Personal essay | 2023 Apr 16 |
| 62 | Beulah Gross | Death | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 61 | Beulah Gross | My Father's Diamond | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 60 | Beulah Gross | Reclamation of our Holy Land | Poem by Henny Ausbruch, Beulah's grandmother | Not yet recorded |
| 59 | Beulah Gross | Gran's Place | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 58 | Beulah Gross | The Sound of Music | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 57 | Harry Friedland | Death in the Family | Narrative essay | 2023 Apr 16 |
| 56 | Issy Nochomovitz | A Personal Journey | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 55 | Raphael Shevelev | Mrs Marcus's Bagels | Personal essay | 2023 Feb 19 6:10 |
| 54 | Fonda Dubb | Poems | Personal poetry | 2023 Feb 19 33:47 |
| 53 | Harry Friedland | The Adventures of Eric | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 52 | Harry Friedland | The House of Arthur Tintagel | Persuasive essay | Not yet recorded |
| 51 | Leon Moss | Yoni and Kiddush | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 50 | Leon Moss | My Grand-Daughter, the Gibeonite | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 49 | Leon Moss | My First Week of Work | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 48 | Leon Moss | David and Goliath - An Everlasting Choice | Reflective essay | Not yet recorded |
| 47 | Leon Moss | Whisky and Milk | Narrative essay | Not yet recorded |
| 46 | Leon Moss | Last Item on the Agenda | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 45 | Richelle Shem-Tov | Tarab | Descriptive essay | Not yet recorded |
| 44 | Harris Zvi Green | A Soldier and His Diary | Reflective essay on his father | 2023 Feb 19 56:54 |
| 43 | Basil Porter | Outside | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 42 | Fonda Dubb | A Collection of Poems | Poetry | Not yet recorded |
| 41 | Beulah Gross | Henny and Julius - A Love Story | Memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 40 | Gail Loon Lustig | The Gift | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 39 | Brian Binyamin Meyer | On the Edge of the Escarpment | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 38 | Richelle Shem-Tov | A Psalm to Freedom | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 37 | Harry Friedland | John Keats and the Unlimited Time Exam | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 36 | Anthony Fagin | The Girls Next Door | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 35 | Anthony Fagin | Vredefort | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 34 | Anthony Fagin | The Return of Gertrude Gelehrter | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 33 | Anthony Fagin | For Giving Me Life | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 32 | Anthony Fagin | Dad's Estate | Personal essay/memoir | Not yet recorded |
| 31 | Glenda Levitt | About Chocolate | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 30 | Harry Friedland | The Fastest Gun in Greenmarket Square | Personal essay/narration | Not yet recorded |
| 29 | Harry Friedland | The Spinster's Tail | Personal essay/narration | 2022 Oct 24 37:00 |
| 28 | Gail Loon Lustig | The Bane of my Life | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 27 | Basil Porter | The Concert | Personal essay | 2022 Oct 24 1:01:00 |
| 26 | Richelle Shem-Tov | Ibrahim and Dvorah | Historical fiction | Not yet recorded |
| 25 | Anthony Fagin | Why Mark Kaplan Didn't Become a Lawyer | Personal essay | 2022 Oct 24 12:47 |
| 24 | Emanuel Derman | Prost | Personal essay/observation/insight | Not yet recorded |
| 23 | Emanuel Derman | Separation Anxiety | Narration | Not yet recorded |
| 22 | Fonda Dubb | Poems | Poetry | Not yet recorded |
| 21 | Beulah Gross | Immigration Australia Style | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 20 | Beulah Gross | Peklach | Memoir/opinion | Not yet recorded |
| 19 | Stanley Loon | The Story of Sam Perch | Genealogy/history | Not yet recorded |
| 18 | Stanley Loon | Family Tales | Memoir | 2022 Oct 24 51:00 |
| 17 | Sheila Swartzman | Death and the Diaspora | Memoir | 2023 Feb 19 42:04 |
| 16 | Sheila Swartzman | A Time in my Life | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 15 | Glenda Levitt | A Duet | Personal essay | 2022 Oct 24 3:50 |
| 14 | David Kaplan | Rebels with an Unjust Cause | History, roots, family | 2023 Feb 19 14:45 |
| 13 | Stanley Loon | Sport in the Sixties | History, sport, reminiscences | Not yet recorded |
| 12 | Fonda Dubb | Creating a Coexistence | Memoir, personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 11 | Richelle Shem-Tov | Branches on a Family Tree | Memoir, roots | Not yet recorded |
| 10 | Solly Kaplinski | A World of Pains | Memoir, personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 9 | Margaret Green | Finding Borys Tolczynski | Roots, memoir, mystery tale | Not yet recorded |
| 8 | Brian Binyamin Meyer | Table Mountain | Memoir, family, personal essay | Not yet recorded |
| 7 | Solly Kaplinski | Until 120 | Personal essay/memoir | 2022 Aug 22 3:56 |
| 6 | Sheila Swartzman | A Portrait | Family/roots | 2022 Aug 22 10:54 |
| 5 | Lynette Karp | Welcome Home | Personal essay/memoir | 2022 Aug 22 22:20 |
| 4 | Glenda Levitt | A Love Story | Personal essay | 2022 Aug 22 40:00 |
| 3 | Richelle Shem-Tov | The Old Lady in the Park | Personal essay/memoir | 2022 Aug 22 54:00 |
| 2 | Gail Loon Lustig | The Knockout | Sport/family member | Not yet recorded |
| 1 | Gail Loon Lustig | Muizenberg | Personal essay | Not yet recorded |
An active forum
We have established an active Share Your Stories forum, meeting regularly on Zoom, to listen to the stories, to chat about our writing and meet the writers. If you have already written or not yet taken the plunge, you are welcome to join our stories forum.
Contribute a story
I know from responses received that there are many of you who not only love expressing yourselves through writing but have been sharing your efforts with family and friends ever since you were old enough to type. If you have stories to contribute to these pages, please get in touch. Tell me where you are based. Include a little bit about yourself and the writing you do. We can discuss how you would like to be involved. When sending your stories, you are invited to include a short biography and background to the piece you are submitting. This could include the stage of your life in which it was written and the circumstances which stimulated you to write it. You are welcome to include a picture of yourself with the story.
A word about me
I grew up in Cape Town, studied Medicine at UCT and then came on aliya in 1976. After serving the community in Israel for decades in various capacities relating to my profession and on a voluntary basis, I recently retired. I still feel deeply attached to my roots. The formative years back then, growing up in apartheid South Africa, have been an immense influence in my life and the way I view things. I have been writing stories that are coloured by my South African background for as long as I can remember.
I would really love to hear from you!
Gail Loon Lustig gail@chol.website