IT was off to Johannesburg last week to launch the book of the above title. Firdose Moonda is the author and my wife. If you don't know who Janine van Wyk is, buy the book. I went as moral support. And as the unofficial photographer.
We left a bright and beautiful Cape Town and we plunged into Joburg's coldest day of the year. It's 5° out there:
THEN we hit a snag. That evening's launch at Love Books in Melville was cancelled because the area was out of power as well as water. "World class African city" my arse. Spare a thought for Van Wyk, who had flown all the way from Sweden, where she is coaching Kristianstads in the Damallsvenskan, the country's top flight. We went to the bookshop the next day for Firdose to sign copies:
HOW disappointing that the book couldn't make its debut at Love Books, a wonderful space:
THERE was time to visit other Melville haunts:
ALL was put right, in style, at a launch at the Italian Club in Germiston two nights after the Love Books washout. Van Wyk's agents, Forwardzone, staged quite some show. The room, which was filled by around 100 people, looked slick:
IT helped significantly that Firdose and Janine were interviewed on stage by no less a consummate professional than Leigh-Ann Diedloff:
BEHOLD, the stars of the show:
THEY weren't the only notables in attendance. Here's Regina Mogolola:
AND these two:
IT isn't often you can put Ayabonga Khaka and Lucas Radebe in the same frame. Neither does it happen often that an occasion is graced by the special elegance of the author's mother, Parveen Moonda:
THAT was far from the only book autographed on the night:
WHAT was left to do but party and pose. Second from left in the picture immediately below is Fran Hilton Barber. To her left is Joseph "Skeshekeshe" Mkhonza. Both are giants in Van Wyk's development into the stellar footballer she became. In the row below that, the man on the right of the photograph on the left is Ashley Kotzin, the founder and chief executive of Forwardzone:
MANY in the crowd had known Van Wyk for decades. Others hardly at all. But everyone knew who and what she was and is. And why her amazing story deserved to be told in book form. Her agents chose Firdose to tell it. They got that right - I can't think of another writer who would have had the professionalism, commitment, skill and talent to do this project justice. I saw firsthand how hard she worked on it, and she should be proud of the result. Small wonder that, by my count, 92 copies were sold at the launch.
I'M sure many people have good things to say about Radebe. I had never met him before Thursday, and I can say with utter confidence that he is among the friendliest, most unfamous famous figures I have yet encountered. As he and I stood talking, I spilled some beer onto the floor. Before I could move, Lucas stopped chewing on his slice of pizza, put down his plate, grabbed a serviette, sank to his haunches, and started cleaning up the mess. Lucas Radebe was mopping my slop! All I could do was take a picture of the bit of pizza he had parked. I told him I was going to sell it for a lot of money. He laughed and said I wouldn't be able to prove it was his. And so a fine evening continued ...
© 2026 Telford Vice. Words and photographs.